I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 185: law-abiding citizen (3)

Yuki. Can you help me?

The sudden phone call.

And Yuki let out a short hum as he heard the purpose of the call.

Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.

"Didn't you say before that you didn't need help?"

...Did I say that?

"Yeah. You said you didn't need help when I asked if you could solve it."

No, that was...

At the same time that Da-eun shouted over the phone, a girl's voice followed, whining, "Scared me."

To soothe the girl’s whining, Da-eun’s voice briefly faded away, but it returned shortly afterward.

...That’s because of what you said.

"My words?"

You said if some weird person showed up, you would call them out to fight in the ring. So I thought it wouldn't be necessary to bother you.

"? Is there something else you need help with? I really can't think of anything."

...What is that extreme self-awareness?

"I've always been like this."

Really unbelievable.

"So—"

Yuki imagined the expression Da-eun must have been making on the other side of the phone, probably with a very incredulous look.

"What kind of help do you need?"

Will you help?

"Well... let me hear you out first."

Rather than giving a definite answer, Yuki deferred with a vague response.

From a general perspective, this wasn’t a particularly positive signal.

It almost sounded like, "I'll consider it and get back to you."

However, Yuki’s true meaning was that he wanted to hear the details and then decide, but Da-eun, assuming it was a no, started with the main point without much expectation.

Well, you see...

"...‘Could you walk around near my house?’ What kind of request is that?"

What kind of request is this?

Even funnier is that I actually agreed to such a request.

Yuki walked down the street, muttering to himself.

According to Da-eun, it was something about "baiting" or something.

At first, he had dismissed it, but now, as he walked aimlessly down the street, it truly felt like he had become the bait on a fishing hook.

"I really don’t need to do this."

...

Yuki complained, but this had already been explained to him when Da-eun asked for help.

The focus was on Kana, and it wouldn't mean much if he just walked around alone, especially since he didn’t want to reveal Kana either.

Of course, you wouldn’t want to show yourself to someone like that.

As Da-eun explained, her voice full of apology, it felt like an act of using someone else, not asking for help.

So, Da-eun didn't feel comfortable asking for help.

"I don’t mind."

But again, Yuki didn’t care about it.

He had been on TV countless times. What's the problem with being recognized a little more?

Of course, there was a difference between being in the public eye and having his personal life exposed, but anyway, Yuki didn’t care about that kind of thing.

In fact, Yuki didn’t like how this situation was interrupting his training, so he readily accepted the request.

It was a new bait for the fish, and a trap to catch the target.

...

Having this conversation, everything in Yuki’s mind was wiped away, leaving only the simple cause and effect that Da-eun asked for help, and he agreed to it.

And one more thing.

"If I finish this quickly, I can go back to training."

Since he had been itching to move his body anyway, Yuki was happy for the work to be done as soon as possible.

It was a simple and straightforward logic.

"...Does this actually work?"

No matter how he thought about it, he felt like just having a direct confrontation would be easier.

Grumbling, Yuki followed Da-eun’s request and kept walking.

"?"

Then, an odd instinct crept up his spine, and his head tingled.

Instinct told him to stop walking, and he looked around, but there was nothing to see.

"Is it just my imagination?"

Looking around, Yuki turned his head.

If she were the heroine of a horror movie, she would have met the ghost’s face the moment she turned. Or if it were a comedy, she would have fallen into an open manhole.

However, nothing happened to Yuki, a real person.

‘Is it just my imagination?’ Even though he muttered the mantra with the same weight as ‘Did I kill it?’

But...

When Yuki looked back, she saw a shadow quickly hiding in an alley, and though she couldn’t confirm the figure, she didn’t miss it.

"Hmm."

Yuki brushed her lips.

...Why is this working?

Yuki, who would rather face the storm head-on than avoid it, couldn’t understand it at all.

But her task was just to carry out Da-eun’s orders, and there was no need to understand anything further.

She had prepared herself for a few days of hard work, so it was a good thing that the plan worked on the very first day.

Confirming that the fish had taken the bait, Yuki slowly but surely pulled on the fishing line.

"...Didn't notice, right?"

Meanwhile, the man who had taken the bait and posted about Journey and her cousin online let out a long breath.

With the expensive camera he borrowed from a friend hanging around his neck, he stepped out confidently, but in reality, he was just as clueless.

After all, him thinking Journey lived around here was just his guess—it hadn't been confirmed as fact.

Perhaps she was visiting a friend who lived here and happened to be out that day.

If that were the case, it would be a waste of time and money.

A man who was known as the "Bill Gates of Time," but still felt a tinge of regret as he saw the sand slipping through the hourglass.

Not fixing that was another problem.

Anyway, having thrown down the gauntlet, he now found himself uncertain of what to do as he stood outside, looking around.

And then, he saw a woman with silver hair.

The moment she confidently walked past him, he recognized her immediately as someone he had often seen on the streams.

‘It’s Yuki, right?’

But Yuki didn’t live around here, did she?

Suddenly, it hit him like a thunderbolt.

Hadn’t Journey and Yuki connected when they started playing Cilia Online?

Although the girl who had acted as the link between them was gone, it wouldn’t be strange if a connection had formed because of that.

"...Something feels off."

It felt like he had forgotten to turn off the gas stove and just left.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had missed something.

But he couldn’t identify what was bothering him as he raised his camera.

As he had expected, if Yuki was here to visit Journey, wasn’t this the opportunity he had been waiting for to catch the clue?

So he proceeded cautiously, trying not to be noticed by Yuki or anyone else around.

He felt like a detective or maybe a secret agent...

In reality, it was a poorly executed tailing, and he had been spotted long ago, though he was blissfully unaware.

Even the people walking across the street were looking at him suspiciously, though he didn’t notice that either.

And so, the man walked after Yuki, following her silver hair, completely unaware that he was walking straight into the trap.

"Where is this?"

The man, who had been following Yuki, arrived at the front of a building.

The upscale looking officetel was definitely one he recognized from memory.

Yet, he couldn’t recall it easily because he rarely had business in this area.

Since she lived in a place like this, it made sense that they would never cross paths.

"...Ah!"

The man, looking up at the officetel, realized too late that the silver-haired woman had disappeared from his view.

What should he do?

Should he follow her and check which floor she’s on?

"No."

He shook his head.

Even though it was tempting, it was too risky.

If he made a wrong move, he might get accused of a crime, and that was something he didn’t want.

So, the man decided against entering the officetel.

What he wanted was "proof," not to commit a crime.

And so, he didn’t enter the building, but he didn’t head home either, still dissatisfied with just finding a clue about his prey.

Snap!

"Ah, another dead end."

The man had been sitting in a hidden corner, taking photos of the people coming in and out of the officetel for a while.

But he didn’t know.

Thud—

The line he could turn back from had long passed.

"You’re a photographer, huh?"

A cold hand rested on his shoulder.

"I also like looking at photos. Could I see what you’ve been taking?"

That hand felt so cold.

The man’s head jerked as the voice came close to his ear.

Just moments ago, the woman who had been inside the camera lens was now staring at him with a cold expression.

Along with a big, burly man in uniform.

"Ah, uh..."

"Could you show me?"

Anyone who wasn’t completely oblivious would know that Yuki’s words weren’t a request, and unfortunately, the man wasn’t one of those who had a clue.

If he had been more aware, he probably wouldn’t have gotten himself into this situation.

Countless excuses flashed through his mind, but none of them made it to his lips.

Even as he thought about saying something, the moment his eyes met the man’s cold stare, all his resolve shattered.

Finally, all he could do was place his camera in the scarred hands of the man glaring at him.