Transmigration: I Made A Deal With A Man in Yellow

Our trip back to the border was peaceful, without any major problems.

Though, if anything dangerous had happened that threatened our lives, it wouldn’t have been anything Ezio couldn’t handle unless some incredibly powerful monster—or perhaps a dragon—decided to appear out of nowhere and end our lives simply because it was bored.

During the journey, I got to know Mia better. She had been cautious about talking about herself at first, but as the days passed, she gradually became more comfortable around us and started opening up. She explained that she disliked nobles down to the core, and apparently, the reason she had been able to open up to me was because I was different from the nobles she had met before.

I couldn’t really blame her.

The majority of nobles were stupid bastards.

Mia was still grieving, but her grief had become quieter compared to the day her party was slaughtered. It hadn’t disappeared, nor would it disappear anytime soon. Losing people you cared about wasn’t something you could simply get over in a few days. It would take time, and all she could do was slowly raise her head and keep moving forward.

Since I allowed her to speak informally with me, she became even more comfortable. She started speaking freely, occasionally joking around and even smiling from time to time.

We hunted a few monsters along the way, although I did all the work. I didn’t want Mia fighting while she was still grieving, and besides, there was no reason to force her to do anything.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get many fragments from the monsters I encountered. We had already left Section 2, so Greater monsters were becoming much rarer. Most of the creatures I encountered were only High-class and Apex monsters.

Another funny thing was Ezio.

The bastard had been quiet as hell ever since Mia started traveling with us.

The man who normally cursed at me, argued with me, and constantly complained about my decisions had suddenly returned to the cold and silent personality he had when I first met him.

Heh.

The bastard was just shy because someone else was around.

I made sure to tease him whenever I got the chance. He would glare at me in response, but he restrained himself because Mia was there, which only made me laugh even harder.

After several days of traveling, we finally reached the border.

The moment we stepped out from between the trees, I could see the massive gates in the distance.

"We’re finally here," Mia said with relief.

I nodded. "Yep. We’re back."

Originally, I didn’t even want to bother passing through the gates. Ezio could simply teleport us inside, saving us the trouble of reporting our return. Unfortunately, every adventurer entering or leaving the Lands of Horror had to report to the border because every entry and exit was monitored.

Mia also needed to report the deaths of her party members, and since she had no way of carrying their bodies herself, we needed to be present.

So, yeah, it might actually cause a little trouble.

Not because we couldn’t explain ourselves. We could simply teleport once we were inside the border.

What bothered me was someone else.

We hadn’t even stepped out of the forest before I noticed a woman standing in front of the gates.

She was waiting for us.

And judging from the expression on her face, she had been waiting for quite some time.

She’s here, Ezio said carefully inside my head.

Ah, fuck.

It seemed like we were cooked.

I’m regretting my decision. Let’s hide inside your shadow.

Before I could even turn around, a voice reached my ears.

"I can see you."

The woman’s voice carried clearly despite us being dozens of meters away.

We can’t run away from her, Ezio said. I mean, we could, but she would just chase after us. And I don’t think she’d appreciate us making her chase us.

He was right.

The woman standing in front of the gates had a very short temper. Anyone who managed to anger her usually didn’t live long enough to regret their mistake.

And, unfortunately, I was the one who had written her that way.

"T-That’s Lady Andromeda, your aunt, right? Or am I seeing things?" Mia asked, her voice trembling slightly with awe.

"That’s right. That’s my aunt."

Well, she was Yves’ aunt.

Not mine.

"Let’s go greet her."

Mia and I walked out from behind the trees and approached Lady Andromeda, stopping a few meters away from her.

Damn.

She was freaking tall.

Standing at roughly two meters tall, Lady Andromeda had short snow-white hair styled into a bob cut and crimson eyes that looked like they could kill someone with a single glare. She wore a military-style black and blue outfit consisting of long black pants, a blue long-sleeved shirt bearing the Laurent House insignia on her chest, and black boots that reached almost to her knees.

Her porcelain-like skin made her already striking appearance even more beautiful.

Now I understood where Yves got his looks from.

It just ran in the family.

Unfortunately, this was not the time to admire her appearance.

I needed to act like the old Yves.

Cold.

Aloof.

Emotionless.

I activated [Clear Mind] and immediately felt my expression change.

"Good morning, Aunt Andromeda."

My voice came out cold as I bowed my head slightly.

"Good morning, Lady Andromeda," Mia greeted nervously, bowing as well.

Lady Andromeda stared at me with narrowed eyes before finally speaking.

"What the hell are you doing here, Yves?"

Her voice was already filled with irritation.

"This place isn’t for you. Or do you suddenly have a death wish?"

She smiled.

But the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

Death wish?

Not really.

I actually wanted to live.

"No, Aunt. I don’t have a death wish."

"Then tell me, my dear nephew, why would you, who always remained inside that lonely mansion, suddenly decide to travel to the Lands of Horror?"

Her smile widened slightly.

"Did you simply wish to die, or is this because you’ve awakened?"

I nodded.

"Yes. It is because I awakened that I decided to travel to the Lands of Horror. If I wanted to breach the gap between myself and my siblings and cousins, I had to come here and hunt as many monsters as possible."

I paused before pointing toward myself.

"As you can see, I’ve achieved results."

Lady Andromeda stared at me for a moment.

Then her irritated expression changed.

"You..."

Her eyes widened slightly.

"You’re at Mid Ascendant."

That’s right.

That should calm her down.

I had done something that most noble children wouldn’t even dare to consider.

"Yes. By constantly hunting monsters and exposing myself to danger, I was able to rank up several times and improve my skills. I also did something that neither my siblings nor any sane child would do."

I maintained my aloof expression.

"So don’t I deserve a little praise?"

You lunatic. Are you insane?!

Okay, maybe I was stretching it a little.

But I had already said it.

Lady Andromeda stared at me.

For some reason, the red in her eyes seemed to become even deeper.

A chill ran down my spine.

She wasn’t going to kill me, right?

Her expression looked even angrier now.

Then, unexpectedly, she smiled.

"You’re bold and courageous. I’ll give you that. That’s something most of your generation doesn’t have."

Her smile disappeared.

"But there’s a difference between courage and stupidity. You almost got yourself killed."

I raised an eyebrow while maintaining my aloof expression.

"But I didn’t. So does it matter? It’s not like you would care anyway. No one ever did."

I felt Mia’s gaze on me, but I didn’t look at her.

I kept my eyes on Lady Andromeda.

For just a brief moment, I saw something flicker across her face.

Pain.

It disappeared almost immediately.

"Of course it matters," she said. "I would have been the one forced to fetch your dead body—assuming there was enough of it left—and that’s troublesome. I would also be blamed for allowing you to pass through the border."

"I doubt I would’ve died. My guardian is pretty strong."

Hey, hey! Why are you mentioning me?! Ezio shouted inside my head.

What? We traveled together. That makes us accomplices.

No, it doesn’t!

"Oh, your guardian?"

Lady Andromeda’s eyes narrowed.

"That bastard is hiding inside your shadow and didn’t even bother greeting me."

The moment she said that, a heavy pressure suddenly slammed down around us.

Fuck.

Ezio, come out before she crushes Mia and me with her aura.

Ezio seemed reluctant to come out despite my repeated attempts to bribe him with various rewards.

I had never seen him this afraid before.

Fine.

My shadow stirred.

Ezio emerged from it.

But unlike the cold expression he had maintained throughout our journey, he was now desperately trying to smile.

He failed miserably.

"Hello, Andromeda. How have you been?"

Did he just call her by her—

Before I could even finish the thought, Lady Andromeda disappeared.

I didn’t even see her move.

All I saw was Ezio’s body launching backward like a missile.

BOOM!

He crashed through several trees, snapping them apart and sending pieces of bark flying through the air.

Lady Andromeda stood exactly where he had been a moment ago.

I stared at her.

Then I looked toward the destroyed trees.

Then back at her.

’’...’’

Ah.

Things had escalated really quickly.