The cunning NPC and his reincarnated villainess

*CRASH*

Medea moved out of the way of the projectile, and the glass shattered on the wall behind him.

*rustle*

"..."

A few gang members were ready to move into action, but Medea shook his head without even looking at them, and the commotion died out.

"Get out of my sight, errand boy!"

"..."

Oliver roared, but Medea didn't even budge. Instead, the boy was looking at a bald man with a braided beard and motioned at the door with barely noticeable movement.

"ARE YOU FUCKING DEAF?! FUCK OFF!"

"..."

The dark-blond-haired man shouted so loudly that his face went completely red, and his eyes bulged out of their eyesockets, and the black-haired boy finally moved. Without a word and without any sign of respect.

"Why is the stupid man so loud?"

Medea walked down the stairs and entered the room with a hatch, where he was greeted by the muscular brunette.

"Because he is stupid, so he mistakes being loud for being important."

The black-haired boy shrugged his shoulders and explained while leaning against the wall.

"Wait a moment."

"...? Alright."

Netilear reached down to open the hatch for Medea, but the black-haired boy stopped her, and she stepped to the side.

"...Boss...!"

Not even full five minutes later, the bald man with a braided beard showed up in the passage and called out to Medea.

"Just call me Medea, mister Thomas. At least until we confirm what kind of connections Oliver has in the capital."

"O-oh... right... sorry."

The black-haired boy shook his head and smiled, making the bearded man flinch and nod apologetically.

"Here. Just as you instructed, I gave Oliver the duds – these are the real ones."

Thomas made sure that no one except him, Netilear, and Medea was within hearing distance and handed the black-haired boy a small box.

It wasn't a pellet case like the one Medea had on him at all times but rather something akin to a jewelry box meant for an engagement ring.

"Good job."

Medea took the box and opened it for a moment, closing it as soon as he caught a glimpse of three pinkish marbles.

"Big sister Nentilear, if you don't mind."

The boy put the box in the inner pocket of his clothes and nodded at the muscular woman who hurriedly opened the hatch for him.

"And I'm serious, mister. Make sure that none of the boys will kill Oliver. In the worst-case scenario, we could have someone from the capital sending an elite mercenary squad to capture, torture, and then kill us in the worst way possible."

"No worries, Bo... Medea...!"

Medea was descending the ladder but popped his head up to give Thomas one last warning with a friendly smile, making the bearded man start sweating nervously.

The black-haired boy didn't waste any time afterward. He got through the tunnel and back into Gerard's house, walking at a speed that would be considered running by most people.

He left the hairnet and the dark-blond wig in a secret compartment in one of the cupboards along the way and exited the house without even checking whether the potion master was present or not.

His destination was obvious enough – the renovated mansion where Ava and her uncle were allowed to reside.

The black-haired boy had no trouble with assuming his bright persona when greeting the townspeople that he passed along the way, but he definitely didn't stop for a longer conversation. Thanks to that, soon enough, he was at the mansion's door.

"Young Miss is in her bedroom. She is nervous."

The soldier at the door pointed out while making way for Medea.

"She has good intuition, then."

The boy said back while entering the mansion.

It had been some time since Medea memorized the blueprints of the mansion, so he could easily find his way to the right room, where he knocked on the door and waited.

"Theo, I knew that you would...! O-oh..."

After the sudden rustle, the door busted open and flustered. Ava showed up full of hope, just to e disillusioned the moment that she saw Medea's face.

"Ava. I have some bad news."

"I more or less know what you will say."

The black-haired boy said with a serious voice, and the hazel-haired girl stepped aside, letting him enter her room with a sigh.

"Knowing how much your boss likes to play, I bet that he told you the price for the charm pellets has increased... But, you all will have to wait – at the moment, I have not a single big gold coin left and..."

The pixie-cut girl complained in an anxious voice – but then she was lost for words when Medea took out the box with the magic pellets and pushed it into her hands.

"...eh...?"

Ava managed to gasp as she stared at the box and opened it.

The two pinkish marbles were right there, with absolutely no additional cost or clever traps attached.

"Your request was completed. The bad news I have isn't about it."

"...no...!"

Medea declared and watched Ava's face turn pale as her hands trembled, grasping onto the box.

"You know that Theodore wanted to join the gang, don't you? But did you also know that he wasn't satisfied with starting as an errand boy and wanted to do something bigger to show off his worth?"

The black-haired boy breathed out and asked without taking his eyes off of the pixie-cut girl.

"...I... I did, but... it wasn't supposed to be anything too dangerous, right? I gave him some additional money – enough to get a paralysis pellet in case things go wrong...! Did he get caught...?!"

Ava trembled, biting her lips and looking at Medea with terrified eyes.

"I came here as soon as I got the news. We don't have complete information because our people didn't have the privilege of having any wiggle room, but from what we know, Tee was last seen when he was spotted by the big brown-haired servant of the Rotteloss family and was leading him to the back of the building. The wounded brown-haired servant was shouting and chasing him with an axe. After that, we have nothing. Tee didn't show up at the meeting point for the group partway back to Startinton, and it looks like he didn't return here either. Boss is expecting the worst... but if you say that he did have a paralysis pellet, then there might still be a chance that's he's alright."