Chapter 244: It's Too Normal… That's Why It's Not Normal
Centaurea was annoyed.
No, to be more precise, the Platinum of the Armorless Union was feeling really annoyed right now.
Just yesterday, she'd nearly been blown up in a building due to a critical intel failure. And yet, not a single word of apology or concern had come from her superiors. Instead, they had the audacity to throw a brand-new mission at her the very next day.
Sure, this time it wasn't an assassination—just some on-site supervision and keeping an eye on some distant relative of the Nearl family. But even that much was enough to seriously piss her off.
This was supposed to be her long-awaited vacation, damn it!
She really should have faked her injuries a bit more yesterday. Maybe then she could've skipped out on today's mission entirely.
The truth was, the whole setup of the Armorless Union was flawed from the beginning.
That whole nonsense about a "reverse triangle" structure? What a joke. All it meant was that there were more people giving orders than actually carrying them out.
And in the end, all the grunt work just fell on the shoulders of bottom-tier agents like her—the one singlePlatinum.
How long was she supposed to keep living like this?
Maybe that guy was right. Maybe she really should consider packing up and disappearing for good.
But with the Armorless Union's influence spread so deeply through Kazimierz, where exactly could she even run to?
These thoughts swirled in her head as she put on a cold, unmistakably unapproachable expression—the kind that said "Don't even think about talking to me"—and took advantage of the pre-match lull to go out on a patrol.
Well, "patrol" was just the excuse. She really just needed to get some air.
But before she could slip away unnoticed, a black-haired boy suddenly stepped out from the side and blocked her path.
"Yo, long time no see."
Steven didn't even try to disguise himself this time.
He didn't bother covering his face, didn't even wear a hood. He simply raised a hand in casual greeting, his voice soft and relaxed.
"…Who are you?"
Centaurea raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. But the moment her eyes met those familiar black ones—playful and calm—her expression froze.
Her eyes widened.
"Wait, seriously? You're just gonna waltz right up to me like this?!"
She knew his voice had sounded familiar. But after seeing his eyes—those eyes she could never forget—she immediately recognized who he was.
He'd at least had the decency to wear a mask yesterday.
So why the hell was he just walking around in broad daylight now like he owned the place?
"What? I'm not doing anything shady. It's broad daylight—why should I cover my face? I'm just saying hi to someone I know. That's not dangerous, is it?"
Steven looked down at himself, puzzled.
His outfit was casual—nothing weird, nothing flashy. How exactly was he being "blatant"?
If anything, walking around with your face covered in daylight was way more suspicious, wasn't it?
"…That's not what I meant. Ugh, whatever. I've already seen you, I can't exactly un-see you now, can I?"
Centaurea sighed heavily and shot a glance at a shadowy corner behind her.
She subtly raised a hand and made a small gesture.
The hidden Armorless Union operatives lowered their drawn bows, reluctantly backing off.
Only then did she return her attention to the ridiculously brazen boy standing in front of her.
Sure, he was good at sneaking around and escaping—so much so that she was the only one in the entire Armorless Union who knew he'd been there inside the room during yesterday's incident.
But still! That didn't give him the right to just stroll up and start chatting like they were old friends.
Didn't he realize how dangerous this was? Did he seriously not care if he got caught?
If she were to report him to the higher-ups right now, wouldn't he basically be throwing himself into the jaws of a beast?
"Alas. A true man walks the world with his head held high. Creeping around in the shadows… what kind of hero does that?"
Steven's smile never faltered. His words were calm, but carried a weight that made it impossible to dismiss him as a simple fool.
And Centaurea couldn't help but think—
Just what kind of crazy person was this guy?
Steven still looked as relaxed as ever.
Of course, he was fully aware of the Armorless Union assassins lurking in the shadows nearby—but so what?
He was just here to say hi to a friend. Was that also forbidden by the Armorless Union now?
"Oh, sure. Real heroic of you—robbing a Platinum of the Armorless Union. What now, ran out of cash from yesterday and came back for seconds?"
Now that Steven was being so brazen about it, Centaurea could only sigh and accept it. She resigned herself to walking alongside him, casually strolling around the perimeter of the arena.
And honestly, just like Steven had probably guessed, as long as yesterday's incident didn't leak out, even the Armorless Union wouldn't do more than throw out a few suspicions. She could probably get away with saying he was just a personal friend or something.
No matter how heartless the organization was, it hadn't reached the point of banning employees from having friends.
"Oh come on, I'm not the type to keep milking the same little lamb forever, you know. Maybe I came for something else today."
Steven scratched his cheek with a sheepish smile.
Was that robbery? Please—he practically saved her life yesterday. If it weren't for him, this little pony would've ended up buried under rubble. Sure, maybe not dead, but definitely not walking around as comfortably as she was now.
"Oh? So you do have a reason for greeting me."
Centaurea rolled her eyes in an exaggeratedly cute way. Her words might've sounded annoyed, but her expression said otherwise.
Truthfully, she didn't mind chatting like this with Steven—not at all.
It was a whole lot better than doing a lonely, boring patrol by herself.
"If you're gonna say it like that… search your heart and tell me you don't owe me something. Without me, wouldn't you already be toast?"
Steven didn't hold back, throwing the truth right at her without hesitation.
And sure enough, he was rewarded with the sight of Centaurea biting her lower lip, clearly flustered.
It was... pretty adorable.
"You really have zero gentlemanly manners. In this kind of situation, shouldn't you at least say something nice? Throw me a compliment or two—wouldn't that be way better?"
There was no way to argue with what he said—after all, it was true.
She couldn't refute him, even if she wanted to.
But seriously, why did everything he said make her want to punch him?
"Alright, fine. Let me rephrase," Steven said, grinning. "I was just overwhelmed with emotion, seeing my former idol now standing proud as a Platinum. I couldn't resist the urge to come reminisce with you for a bit. Happy now?"
He followed along with her mood, sure—but that smirk, that barely-contained laughter behind his eyes made it so obvious that he wasn't being even a little sincere.
All he got in return was a more exasperated look from Centaurea.
"Seriously? You think that's gonna cut it? Let's just drop the banter—why did you come find me? Don't tell me yesterday didn't satisfy you, and now you've got your eyes on today's match, planning to rob a bunch of competitive knights?"
She finally got down to business.
From her perspective, Steven wouldn't have shown his face like this unless it was something important.
—Surely he wouldn't ask something stupid like a date, right?
Then again, this guy had already broken into the Roar Knightclub HQ and robbed the spokesperson. Who could say what went through that head of his?
"Sigh. If I had money, I wouldn't need to do anything illegal, now would I?"
Steven raised both hands with a helpless expression. "I just wanted to watch the match, but I couldn't get a ticket. So I figured I'd ask if you, as an insider, might be able to help me out?"
"After all, you just looked kind of important back there, you know?"
Steven's reason completely caught Centaurea off guard.
But at the same time, it made a strange sort of sense.
It was so normal that it actually felt... abnormal.
"That's it?"
Her mouth twitched a little as she asked again in a dead-serious tone, not quite believing it.
"What else would it be? Oh—if you've got spare time, feel free to go crack down on those scalpers too. Charging three times the price and trying to rip me off? That's just rude."
Steven replied just as seriously, pointing toward the line of people still queuing near the entrance.
He had no idea if the Armorless Union would ever bother with something like ticket scalpers, but hey—no harm in raising a complaint, right?
"..."
"...You really never fail to surprise me."
After a long pause, Centaurea gave Steven a slow once-over, eyes narrowing slightly.
Every single one of his actions always caught her off guard.
He was just so... unpredictable. She genuinely couldn't tell what he wanted at any given time.
"Isn't this, like, the most normal thing ever? I'm just asking a friend for a favor. If you can't do it, I'll go figure something else out."
Steven gave a nonchalant shrug, as if he was asking her for directions instead of a favor.
Since when was asking for a ticket such a big deal?
"...That's exactly it. It's too normal. Which is what makes it weird."
Centaurea muttered under her breath, but she quickly brushed the thought aside.
If this was all it took to make him happy, then fine—so be it.
"Just come in with me later. That'll settle it."
Honestly, this wasn't even a problem. If anything, it worked out well for her.
At least this way, he wouldn't be off somewhere causing trouble behind her back.
Besides, something like this wouldn't put her at odds with the Armorless Union.
She is a Platinum after all—this kind of trivial thing was well within her authority.
Letting a friend into the arena?
Please. Even a regular member of the Armorless Union could do that much.
If she couldn't even pull this off, then maybe she really didn't deserve the title of Platinum.
"Great. So, uh, what about the scalpers? You gonna take care of that too?"
Steven leaned in, grinning like a kid tattling to the teacher. "I'm telling you, they're way out of line. Totally ripping people off."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll have a word with the ticket office later. Just promise me one thing—once you're inside, don't do anything that's gonna cause me trouble. Got it?"
"..."
Centaurea had only said that to give a light reminder, but the moment she asked for a promise, Steven suddenly clammed up and went totally silent.
"…What's with that face? Say something. Don't tell me you actually do have something else planned?"
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