I Received a Request from the Villain Boss - Chapter 3

“Then the deal is done. I hate when people go back on their word.”

“Yeah. I won’t change my mind. So I just need to follow you?”

“First……”

Eclise’s eyes narrowed, looking at some part of the building.

“Get in that carriage.”

There was a large carriage near where he pointed.

When Eclise lazily flicked his hand, a sturdy potato-like man rushed over from somewhere.

“Yes. Your orders?”

“Gemvil. Help this one get into the carriage. Those short legs won’t do.”

“Are you really taking this one?”

The giant-like man with deep scars scattered across his body blinked and stared down at Rodi.

He looked like a potato that had just been dug up and wounded. Though a handsome potato, at least.

Eclise remained silent for a moment.

His eyes showed he was thinking carefully about giving her a proper title.

“Temporary recruit, I suppose.”

“What? You’re making this tiny child your subordinate?”

“Do I need to repeat myself?”

When Eclise responded irritably, the potato man straightened up stiffly.

“No sir. I’ll escort the new recruit to the carriage.”

Rodi, who had been observing them both, nodded and followed the large potato man.

With dark brown hair and skin the exact color of well-baked bread.

“Oof!”

Thinking she wanted to poke him, Rodi hadn’t taken three steps before nearly falling face-first.

Eclise, who was walking ahead, reflexively reached back.

It was an instinctive reaction born from natural athletic ability.

Thanks to catching her tiny arm, Rodi stopped while tilting precariously.

Before she could straighten up, Rodi spread her hands wide, pointing somewhere.

“My shoe!”

She had found it a month ago while out begging since the orphanage wouldn’t buy her shoes.

Despite wearing them so carefully because they were precious, they were already worn out.

“…That was supposed to be a shoe?”

Eclise clicked his tongue at what looked no better than a dirty piece of leather.

Even a dog’s tongue that had licked the ground would probably be cleaner than that.

Eclise roughly pushed it away with his foot.

The impact sent the worn shoe flying, breaking it in two.

“No!”

“Hey, it’s filthy.”

“That’s my shoe!”

Rodi started to run and pick it up but stopped.

“Tch……”

Suddenly barefoot, Rodi looked up at Eclise reproachfully, her small dirty feet on the ground.

Sparks flew between them for a while, like a battle of wills.

Eyes that showed no fear at all.

Eyes that said she needed to speak her mind.

Like an untamed street cat ready to pounce despite its small size.

‘Look at that one? To Master Eclise?’

Not just Eclise himself, but even the rough potato man beside him watched with interested eyes.

They had never seen someone like this before.

Adults usually knew to grovel, and even ignorant children would typically run away or burst into tears just from seeing that look.

But this little one had quite the temper.

After a moment, one of Eclise’s eyebrows twitched.

He had seen countless eyes filled with killing intent, but somehow it was burdensome to meet these clear, determined eyes that held such definite purpose.

Ah geez, this tiny thing. Eclise muttered and gestured to Gemvil again.

“…Gemvil.”

Flick flick.

Eclise’s hand pointed to Gemvil’s shoes.

“Yes.”

“Take them off.”

“Pardon?”

“I said take them off.”

At that, Gemvil made an indescribable expression but removed his shoes without a word.

At 198cm tall, Gemvil’s feet were giant-sized.

Even at a glance, the opening of Gemvil’s shoes was bigger than Rodi’s entire foot.

It was an absurd order, but disobeying would only lead to trouble. Better to take them off than get hit.

“What are you waiting for? Put them on and follow.”

Rodi looked back and forth between Gemvil and the shoes, then rubbed her foot against her opposite leg before putting them on.

Gemvil’s shoes looked like they could fit five of Rodi’s feet with room to spare.

When Rodi tried to take them off again, struggling to even walk in them, Gemvil stopped her.

“You need to wear them.”

“…But what about you, mister? They’re your shoes.”

Gemvil made a shocked face.

“Ah, m-mister…? Don’t worry about me. You just wear them, no, temporary recruit.”

“…Okay. Thank you!”

“Aren’t you coming?”

Eclise, who had already moved some distance away, half-turned with his hands in his pockets, urging them on.

“Coming! Boss!”

Clunk clunk, she pushed her feet as far forward as possible and hurried toward Eclise while wobbling.

Eclise had now turned completely around.

Scratching his raised eyebrow with his index finger, he asked.

“Hey, why am I ‘boss’ now?”

First ‘mister,’ now ‘boss.’

Nothing about her was ordinary.

“You said we’d work together. That mister just called me a subordinate. So what should I call you?”

Boss and subordinate.

Leader and follower.

Among the various words indicating hierarchy, these were the four Rodi knew.

A clear organization of their future relationship.

But ‘follower’ wasn’t very cool.

Besides, ‘boss’ was also Rodi’s role when leading others in sand play on days she didn’t go begging.

Eclise, who had been looking down at her with his head tilted, seemed to finish thinking and turned his gaze forward.

“…Whatever. Call me anything.”

They wouldn’t see each other after the job anyway.

Then he strode ahead with his long legs.

“Okay, boss!”

Rodi followed diligently, clomping along in Gemvil’s giant shoes.

***

She was going to work with Cheiles.

Rodi, now a ‘temporary’ member of Cheiles, firmly occupied her seat in the large black carriage.

She had heard that Cheiles ran a huge guild, not just Cheiles Road.

They said it was an amazing place with many employees that could easily handle difficult tasks.

Come to think of it, she might have heard about the Cheiles Guild before.

‘To become a new recruit at such an amazing place!’

Even if temporary!

After getting out of the carriage, Rodi looked around in amazement, letting out “wow, wow” exclamations.

The smooth floor without a speck of dust and soft carpets echoing with cheerful footsteps.

Sturdy and majestic stone pillars so big you could hug them and still have room.

The spotlessly clean corridor that sparkled was lined with statues of fearsome animals.

While following Eclise earnestly, Rodi asked.

“Is all this huff, huff, really yours, boss?”

“Who else’s would it be?”

“Whoa, then you must be the richest in the empire?”

“Who knows.”

Eclise answered halfheartedly to the endless chattering questions from behind while walking quickly.

He had no time to pay attention to the little one who kept asking questions even while panting.

Eclise’s nerves had been frayed for weeks now because of a certain matter.

“Wow, amazing!”

Eclise’s steps stopped abruptly at the cheerful exclamation.

He turned around with a smirk.

“Of course it is.”

This kid knows something.

When Eclise started walking again, Rodi energetically followed behind.

Gemvil, who was following behind them, watched Rodi running while panting and, seemingly unable to bear it anymore, lifted her up by putting his hands under her armpits.

“Ah!”

Rodi turned her head back in surprise.

“I’ll carry you.”

Then he began following Eclise with long strides.

“Wow, wow. Thank you!”

When Rodi’s eyes widened with excitement, Gemvil slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

After passing twenty more doors along the corridor, Eclise stopped.

He turned left and grabbed the firmly closed door handle.

Through the large door that opened smoothly without a single scraping sound, an empty space like a banquet hall appeared.

And in the center sat a box larger than a person’s height.

In the middle of the box were two doors, one with a blue handle and one with a red handle.

Eclise felt his blood pressure rising again at the sight of the box.

“Hah…. damn crazy old man.”

This was it.

It was because of the commission fee left by their previous client at the guild.

The client was an elderly man facing imminent death.

Though a self-made wealthy noble, he had lived like a fool and suffered many wrongs, saying he couldn’t close his eyes without resolving this.

“Please hear my request. I heard there’s nothing Cheiles cannot do.”

“Old ma-, no, sir. This isn’t a corner store.”

“Cost is no object. I can’t take it with me when I die anyway. If you grant my wish, I’ll give you all my fortune.”

“How much are we talking about?”

“For starters, 1 billion Libra.”

Even Eclise, who had been sitting indifferently with crossed legs, straightened up at this amount.

1 billion Libra gold coins, not the commonly used Delo alloy of the empire.

It was worth 10 times the value of Delo.

Though he absolutely hated small, annoying jobs, the starting fee was substantial, and seeing the lamenting old man, he accepted the request.

As expected, it wasn’t just one or two requests but required lots of manpower and effort in various ways, and they had quite a struggle.

1 billion Libra.

Believing in that alone.

But on the day they were supposed to receive the commission fee after completing all requests.

The old man left only news of his death.

Even though they had heard he was fine just the day before.

Fortunately, as if prepared in advance, a huge safe was delivered to Cheiles headquarters that evening.

A safe so large it required an entire room.

Uniquely, it had two doors on either side of a central wall.

And in front of it was a small note.

[Thank you for your hard work.

I’ll give you more than the commission fee.

One door contains the 1 billion Libra plus an additional 10 billion Libra and everything I own,

The other door has a barrier that will burn everything inside the safe.

If you guess correctly, all this will be yours, young man.

You have only one chance. Try to guess.

ԅ(´´ิ∀´ิ`ԅ)]