If The Villain Catches Me Alive Chapter 22.5 - If the villain catches me alive

 

Theodore spoke a little faster.

 

“No, that’s okay. Really…”

 

You’re alive… That’s all that matters.

 

Suddenly, a tear fell from Theodore’s eye. It dropped on the wooden table, leaving a faint trace.

 

“Ah, no…”

 

Dante was so flustered by this that he frantically looked around for something to wipe his tears with. Just as he was about to reach for the handkerchief that had fallen to the floor;

 

He suddenly felt a heavy weight on his chest. It was similar to the feeling he had when he accidentally ate something very spicy at the market. The pain was intense enough to make him feel the exact location of his heart, and it echoed all the way to his head with a dull, throbbing hum.

 

“W, wait… just a moment…”

 

No, why am I like this…

 

Dante’s physical reaction came sooner than he had expected. Huh, huh. The gasping sound he let out echoed loudly in his own ears. By then, he already couldn’t see his disciple properly, who had suddenly appeared from who knows where in front of him.

 

“……Dante?”

 

His vision gradually blurred. His body lost its balance and collapsed in an instant. If Theodore had not caught his hand, he would have certainly fallen to the floor. The voice, which sounded as if it were underwater, gradually faded away.

 

“……! Dante!”

 

Soon after, Dante lost consciousness.

 

***

 

“……You’re awake.”

 

Dante only realized that his eyes were half open already when he heard those words…

 

‘Ugh… my whole body hurts.’

 

What is this? 

 

Dante’s whole body feels stiff… It was like the muscle pain you would experience the morning after doing three hours of strength training the day before, which he didn’t do.

 

As he struggled to swallow the pain and try to get up, he was stopped by Theodore’s large hand.

 

“Don’t get up.”

 

Theodore’s words were filled with exhaustion. He was sitting on the floor next to the bed without a chair. No… the insulation here isn’t good, the floor must have been cold… Well… That’s his problem.

 

Another moment of silence fell. As Dante sat there… he began to think about the past. Yes, back then…

 

Just as those thoughts were flooding Dante’s mind, Theodore gently brushed his hair out of his face. He instinctively closed his eyes as Theodore’s hand approached. His hands were covered with gloves that he had never seen him wearing before.

 

‘What is that? I don’t have anything like that at home.’

 

Could it be that he… doesn’t even want to touch me anymore…? Is that why he’s wearing them now…?

 

But Dante didn’t even have the energy to ask, so he just obediently accepted his touch. Breaking the long silence, Theodore spoke again.

 

“Why is your body… in such a state?”

 

It seemed he wasn’t expecting an answer, as he continued to mutter to himself.

 

“Is this why… You left?”

 

At those words, Dante’s eyes nearly flew open in shock… but he managed to hold them back.

 

‘Now’s the chance. Now!’

 

This is my last chance, and it won’t come again! 

 

Every cell in Dante’s body was trembling.

 

Of course, the truth was simply that the body I’d ended up in was naturally frail. But really? Did I need to explain every little detail? No. Not at all. None of what I was about to say was a lie, anyway. 

 

So Dante turned his head with as much sorrow as he could muster, burying half his face into the blanket, and answered.

 

“…Thank you. I’ll be fine on my own. Really…”

 

“…Dante.”

 

Yes. You’re seeing this, right? I’m so weak that you don’t even have to kill me yourself! You saw me collapse, right? That’s my everyday life! It’s true!

 

So what I’m saying is! Even if you don’t get your hands dirty, I might just die quietly without anyone noticing! That’s what I wanted to say!

 

So, that…

 

Can’t you just…

 

Dante begged desperately inside his head.

 

“Don’t say that…”

 

Why is this disciple missing the point and saying such things?

 

“…Theodore.”

 

“I… I’ll do something. So please… don’t leave so easily.”

 

Wait? Did you mean…

 

‘Don’t die easily until I kill you myself.’ Explain yourself, quickly. …Please.

 

Goddamn it…

 

Can’t you just leave me alone…

 

***

 

Dante’s earnest wish was in vain.

 

Theodore started coming to his house as if he were clocking in for work. No, to be precise, he tried to come and go, but Dante never opened his door for him! But the thing is…

 

“Good morning, Dante.”

 

…I never said that I need a doorman.

 

He’s always in front of my small, cozy home.

 

Seeing Theodore standing there like the fountain in the village square, Dante narrowed his already tired eyes.

 

‘No, just give up and go back… Please…’

 

Aren’t you busy? Why is someone who was considered a promising candidate for the Magic Tower, who had even completed their training period, wasting their talent here? 

 

The workload at the Magic Tower was brutal. Of course, it offered compensation beyond what anyone would expect, but it was a place that drained the very souls out of nages, with two or three people collapsing from exhaustion every year.

 

‘So, how could this kid stay here for so long? There’s no way!’

 

…Could he have quit?

 

If not, there’s no other explanation… right? It’s been roughly four days since Theodore came down here, right?! Did the tower master grant him such a long vacation? That’s impossible! 

 

With that thought in mind, Dante peered through the kitchen window to check on Theodore’s movements. Just as Theodore turned his head upon sensing his presence, he quickly hid himself under the sink. That… that… beast.

 

“Did you sleep well?”

 

A soft greeting came from beyond the window. Dante’s heart skipped a beat again at those words. Heart, can you stop being so easily startled already? I’m afraid I’ll die of shock if this continues.

 

‘I’m only pretending to be frail… Why do I feel like I’m drying up day by day…’

 

Once Theodore’s patience runs out… That door will be smashed to pieces in an instant… Unrecognizable… And I’ll be crushed too… 

 

During those four days locked inside the house, Dante filled a basin with water and prayed earnestly to the moon. “Please! Let something big happen at the Magic Tower so they’ll recall all the vacationing staff!”

 

‘Please, someone just call him back already… please…’

 

Truthfully, Dante secretly packed his bags during those four days… so he could leave at a moment’s notice…

 

It takes at least four hours by carriage from my cabin to the capital.

 

So what if I just grab a bag and make a run for it to another village? Perfect! Absolutely perfect!

 

…Those kinds of pointless thoughts Dante would never usually have kept flashing through his head.

 

That’s how close to his limit he was.

 

‘But… I don’t have a choice…’

 

‘I’m out of food.’

 

He opened the empty cupboard, where only dust stirred in the cold air, and internally wiped away tears. He was seriously tempted to go back in time and smack his past self for not keeping even a single emergency ration on hand.

 

‘So hungry…’

 

With no decent food in his stomach, all his strength had drained from his body. Dante collapsed onto the bed and curled into a ball as his stomach growled loudly.

 

It wasn’t like Theodore had physically blocked his door or said something like, “You’re not allowed to leave anymore.”

 

It was nothing like that. It was just…

 

‘He follows me everywhere I go… that’s the problem…’

 

Even living out in the countryside costs money. Firewood bundles don’t fall from the sky. They’re bought at the edge of the village. And food? That doesn’t cook itself either. He bought that from Jose with the money he made from selling herbs.

 

And now?

 

His source of income had been completely cut off, ‘thanks to that overly perfect disciple of mine’ standing in front of the door like he’s some sort of statue!

 

‘Aaargh! No! I can’t take it anymore! I’m really going out today!’

 

I lasted two whole days without food. That’s enough. I don’t care, I’m going out today to eat something hot and delicious!

 

That impulsive resolution immediately turned into action. Clutching his hungry stomach, he flung the door open.

 

And right beside it, Theodore slowly opened his eyes, as if a dragon had just awakened.

 

“Ah, hello… sorry. Go… go back to sleep…”

 

He even forgot that he was supposed to be ignoring him and just blurted that out.