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nI silently looked down at the sharp sword aiming its tip at my neck.

nThere were long marks and dark drops of blood in the area where the sword grazed against me.

nI slowly blinked and watched the man with the blade against my neck.

nI never expected to meet the male protagonist from the novel like this.

n‘This never happened in the original storyline.’

nWhile going down the stairs, I encountered countless knights.

nWhen I finally came out of the stairway by knocking them out one by one, a man blocked my path, the main character.

nHe had been waiting for me, standing back against the wall in a relaxed manner.

n“I don’t know you, but you seem strangely familiar. Do you know me?”

nHypron and I had met a long time ago. We often greeted each other at the banquets and had even danced together.

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n‘What the hell?’

nAs far as the novel goes, he still had to put down the auction house.

nBut why are you waiting for me in advance?

nI wouldn’t have been so nervous if Hypron didn’t know me.

n‘If he finds out who you are, it’s over.’

n“I hope it’s just my feeling, but I don’t think it’s my imagination for some reason.”

n“….”

n“You know me, don’t you?”

n“…….I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s my first time seeing you today. Who hasn’t heard of Sir Hypron here?”

nI deliberately answered him, letting him hear my voice-modulation magic, indirectly telling him I was a man.

nSo he wouldn’t guess I’m a woman, especially not Serina.

n‘Even so, it’s a sloppy cover.’

nOf course, if he takes my mask off, my efforts would be in vain.

nI am wearing a men’s costume, but he will recognize me as a woman if he looks closely enough.

nEven if I changed my appearance using the transformation magic right now, I was out of time.

nFrom the beginning, I was wondering if I should do some metamorphosis magic, but I gave up because I had used up a lot of mana.

n‘Damn it.’

nIn this lifetime, it’s the first time I’ve been so nervous, trapped in a frustrating situation in which there is no escape.

nMy skin became so sensitive, readily reacting to the cold air. Goosebumps sprung up all over my body.

nIt would be impossible to beat him no matter how much magical power I pulled out.

nIf Alastair was the strongest swordsman on the continent, Hypron was the best swordsman on the continent.

nHis talent was different from the start.

nSince he was a child, he had honed his skills.

nIt was so great that a standard sword-fighting test could never be done with him.

nHe didn’t stop there and became a swordmaster within a few years of starting sword lessons.

nIn a word, the human named Hypron was born with plenty of male lead buffs.

nThere was no chance I would beat him.

nThat was not to say that there wasn’t a chance of success if I ran.

n“Well, we will see if you take off your mask.”

nHypron laughed low and took his blade off on my neck.

nI stumbled back, but he overtook me with a large stride.

n“……!”

nHe reached out to my mask.

nI have a hunch that I’m going to get caught.

nI closed my eyes tightly.

nI couldn’t block his hand and felt helpless.

n“……!”

nAs Hypron tried to snatch my mask, someone covered my face with a gigantic hand.

nMy face was covered with one hand, and his other hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me into his arms.

nWhat the hell is going on here?

nThe split second I wondered about it, my view was shaken by the force.

nMy body was floating.

nI groaned at the sudden weightlessness.

nI could tell that the person who shielded me from Hypron was a man based on his size and the texture and physique of his chest’s tight muscles that I was pressed against and his hard back that I had grabbed.

nHe eased the strength of his hand in case my face would hurt. Even in such an urgent situation, the caring attitude was a little funny.

nAlso, I felt a strange sense of relief.

n‘Teleportation····· he must be a wizard.’

nMeanwhile, Hypron’s moment to take off my mask was interrupted, and he murmured in a stunned voice that was cut off.

nMy vision began to obfuscate, and I realized the man teleporting us again.

nAbruptly, I could see the slave auction house from a distance being devoured by a fireball.

nThe moment I registered the scene, my view changed again.

nThe auction house that was embroiled in flames evaporated. Instead, I was now looking at a wall made of wood?

nI looked around, perplexed, trying to find out what was going on.

nIt was dim. I was in a room.

nThe floorboards creaked under my weight. I looked around.

nThe stale smell of lumber stung my nose.

nNearby was an old wooden table.

n‘It’s like a deserted cabin.’ (TN: Noooo, save the f*ing elf!)

n“You….”

nThe man took his hand off my waist.

nThen he stepped back a few steps.

nWhen I looked back in a hurry, a man was wearing a robe tightly wrapped around him.

nIt was the man who had bid against me for Igelto, the one that declared an astronomical amount.

nThe man who caught my gaze trembled and turned as if trying to run away.

nAre you running away after helping me?

nI slightly frowned.

n“Who are you?”

nOh no.

nA feminine, delicate voice comes out of my mouth.

nWhen we teleported, I must have dropped my magical voice-modifying tool.

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nBut the man didn’t react to my sudden and dramatic voice change.

nAs if you already knew my voice.

n“I’m grateful for your help. But why are you running away?”

nThe man seemed unwilling to answer.

nIt seemed to me that he wanted to run away from this situation.

nIt was pretty funny to see him sweating as if he was embarrassed.

nI approached the man at a slow pace. As I got closer, I saw the man’s body stiffen, so I laughed.

n***

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