ISEKAI? More like I See Crap!-Chapter 249: The Hidden Threat ( )

And now, according to Ridan...

He and Ridan would be leaving Macia town soon.

The thought lingered like an aftertaste.

He didn’t know when.

Ridan wouldn’t say.

Just kept floating near him, smiling that unreadable smile, whispering things like "It’s time." or "Soon."

He sat quietly in the corner of the restaurant, sipping his tea as the kids laughed and argued over second and third plates.

They deserved it.

They earned it.

And yet—

His hand clenched slightly around the cup.

When he left... who would protect them?

He’d already done what he could.

The orphanage had been repaired—new walls, a new roof, proper beds at last.

He made sure Kisha opened a bank account.

Over twenty gold coins sat inside—enough for years.

Good food, warm clothes, maybe even school if the town permitted it.

He even helped reinforce the fences.

Ridan had woven spells into the wooden posts—ancient scripts that pulsed faintly in the dark.

Nothing monstrous—no goblin, no troll, no creeping beast—could pass through without burning to ash.

But fences weren’t enough.

Gold wasn’t enough.

Who would be there if something else came?

Something that magic couldn’t stop?

Something—like... people?

Hazuki exhaled, staring at the swirling tea in his cup.

If only...

If only someone could guarantee their safety.

Someone he trusted.

Someone who wouldn’t fold or run.

But those kinds of people—rare.

Even rarer now, in a world that only cared about ranks, coins, or bloodlines.

Ridan floated outside the restaurant, arms behind his back, his tail of spirit mist drifting lazily behind him.

The breeze was gentle, peaceful—rare and welcome these days.

He twirled in midair, upside down, relishing the quiet moment.

Then—

Something shot through the sky like a cannonball.

Ridan’s eyes widened, but before he could react—

"Got you!"

A firm grip seized him mid-flight, spinning him around like a rugby ball.

"Mmmphhh!!" he muffled, limbs flailing slightly.

Then he saw them.

Two figures. Standing calmly where the open sky had been a moment ago.

Even in his spirit form, Ridan shuddered.

Them.

Those two.

They looked the same as ever—smiling faces that didn’t quite smile, eyes too deep, too still.

The air around them warped slightly—not from heat, but from their presence, a heavy weight pressing down.

One had a silver pipe in his mouth, softly puffing herbal smoke.

The other wore a tattered but clean traveling robe, patched and frayed.

The figure holding Ridan grinned lazily.

"How’s your day, Ridan~?"

Ridan struggled, then sighed in exasperation.

"Can you two not show up like this...?"

His voice lowered as he looked at them, eyes narrowing.

"...You really scared the shit out of me."

The pipe-smoking one tilted his head, glancing at the restaurant behind them—the faint sounds of children laughing, plates clinking.

"Is he still unaware?" he asked calmly.

"For now," Ridan replied, gently hovering upright.

But then, he frowned.

Because both of them were quiet.

Too quiet.

And their usual smug playfulness? Gone.

Ridan felt the change—an invisible pressure tightening, warning him.

He gulped.

Deep inside his mind—Ah... they’re serious.

The man with the silver pipe didn’t raise his voice. His calm, steady glance from behind the veil of smoke was enough to freeze lesser spirits in place.

"You and the human have overstayed," he said again, calmly flicking ash from the edge of his pipe without bothering to look directly at Ridan. "Didn’t I tell you? Three days after the rift incident—he needs to move."

Ridan hesitated, drifting a little lower, the invisible threads of pressure tightening around him.

"That... that’s true," he finally admitted softly, voice subdued.

The other figure—the one who tackled him midair—leaned forward slightly. His grin had faded, replaced with a cold, unyielding stare.

"I already tried to persuade him..." Ridan mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Err..."

"You know how serious his mission is, right?"

That voice was slow, deliberate, cutting through the air with precision.

Each word sharper than a blade.

Ridan winced. "Y-Yeah..."

"You know what happens if you disobey?"

A pause.

A long, heavy silence.

Then, barely above a whisper—

"Yes..."

"Three more days, Ridan."

Ridan’s shoulders sagged.

"Right..."

But then—

Just as he thought the matter was settled—

The one with the pipe turned, glancing back at him with a slight flick of his eyes.

And his gaze sharpened.

"If you and that human think you can overpower us..."

A thin wisp of smoke curled through the air, slicing through dimensions like a blade of reality.

"...you’re wrong."

Ridan didn’t dare move. He couldn’t speak.

He just nodded.

Slowly.

Gravely.

Then the two vanished—no flash. No wind. Just silence.

Ridan floated there, eyes wide, a cold bead of ethereal sweat trailing down his translucent face.

Inside his mind—

Shit... I really need to get this idiot moving. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

Ridan floated in place, unmoving.

The gentle town breeze brushed through his mist-like form, but beneath that calm exterior, his core stormed with turmoil.

"Three days..."

He whispered the warning mentally, not just as a deadline but as an unbreakable command.

Because this wasn’t just about some monster or a simple task.

It never had been.

His mission was clear.

Guide the human—yet never tell him.

Never interfere.

Lead without leading.

Push without pushing.

That was how it had always been.

From the very beginning.

Back in the halfling town—

Hazuki thought it was just a random monster. Just one.

But Ridan had nudged him, gently, into that moment.

Into that fight.

And Hazuki leveled. Fast. Hard.

A leap so sudden it defied logic—even Hazuki himself wondered if it made sense.

Then came the forest.

The portal. Invisible. Timed right down to a breath.

They walked through it by accident... and in an instant, landed near the Beastkin capital.

A journey meant to take eighteen days. Gone.

Vanished as if it never existed.

Even the princess—

Even Ellyn—

It wasn’t luck.

That wasn’t fate.

Ridan had told him to focus mana into the sword.

To channel—

And perhaps, just a little too much of his own magic.

The result?

A single attack that shattered a kidnapping attempt before it could unfold.

When Ellyn was nearly taken—

Hazuki had been there.

Not because he knew.

Not because he planned.

But because he was guided.

Ridan closed his eyes, body drifting slowly toward the inn’s rooftop.

Hazuki didn’t know.

He couldn’t understand.

That the journey ahead had already been carved into stone.

He wasn’t just walking the road.

He was the road.

( End Of Chapter )

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