Don't Come Near Me, I'm Just a Background Character [BL Harem]

15 - the Yandere

I glanced up at the imposing clock tower and checked the time. 1:28 a.m., it read. A heavy weight seemed to fall on my shoulders. Ah, already that late. I thought sadly. I wanted to enjoy myself more.

The stars were so bright tonight. The streets were just as rowdy and vivacious as they were a few hours ago. I took one last glance at the vibrant and hectic city before turning around and reluctantly trudging towards the canopy of trees.

When I approached the departure area, I reached my hand into one of the bags to grab the amulet I left, but reached for nothing. Puzzled, I stopped and placed my bags down. However, after rummaging through the bags individually many times, the amulet was nowhere to be found. A bud of worry began to sprout. If I didn't have the pendant, it would take me almost half a day on foot to get back. The forest cover would block my sense of direction, and consequently, I would walk aimlessly, without any markers as to where to go, waiting for the manor gates to enter my view.

I hastily tried to think back. When—where—did I leave it? When did I leave the bags unattended, where someone could snatch something from my mountainload of purchases right under my nose?

...Fuck me.

My grip on the four bags strengthened and I stopped in my tracks. My head dropped down, I slowly began to turn and walk slowly back to the bazaar with reluctant steps.

Fuck me.

A lump of rage felt stuck in my chest as I walked. My original light and bouncy steps turned heavy as I felt a dark aura surround me. Of course, this is my punishment from God for being mean to the Brute. I spent too much time bullying him that I forgot about the baggage I left on the floor of a public area. Still... out of all the little magic trinkets in that bag, how would the perpetrator know that the plain amulet was extremely valuable...?

Oh, fuck me.

They saw me land.

I thought no one was watching when I landed from above the canopy and entered the town, but it turns out...

I felt a nerve pop on my forehead. It turns out that the moment I landed, that thief was eyeing the amulet and was ready to take it from me. They followed me across the city until I entered that contest. I rubbed my temple and sighed. It was already close to 2 a.m., and I was going on this wild goose chase. Luckily, as dumb as I was for leaving my belongings unattended, I was smart enough to compensate. Before I left the manor, I cast tracker magic on the amulet in case I lost it. It turns out my contingency plan was useful.

Well, it's time to get to work. I heaved a deep sigh and bent down to grab a relatively pointy stick. Dragging it carelessly across the unpaved dirt path, with practiced strokes, I began to sketch out an enlarged magic circle identical to the tracker I placed on the amulet. When I slid the stick for the final stroke, a sloppy light burst from the crevices of the dirt and out onto the sky. A large red arrow shimmered above, completely covering the expanse of stars which used to pepper the sky. I sighed for the umpteenth time and rolled my eyes. So flashy, I swear... I pressed my hand on my knee for support, grunted then stood, and began to jog to wherever the arrow was pointing at.

I dashed through the buzzing streets, consistently looking up at the sky to make sure the direction of the arrow didn't change. I looked like a dolt, running with my arms splayed out and my head facing straight up. What a practical invention! You're trying to track someone, so you let a giant, flashy and red arrow onto the sky. And of course, since you have the arrow, why do you even need to see where you're going? No, you just keep your head pointed straight up without having to worry about bumping into people, or tripping on the stone sidewalk, or... My sardonic complaints never ceased even as I grew increasingly out of breath and my scalp began to grow numb from the shock.

At a certain point—and I didn't know when, I had never even bothered trying to keep track of time—the large, bold arrow in the sky flashed a bright neon green and slowly began to vanish from sight. I sighed and finally moved my head back into an upright position, feeling some satisfying cracks on the back of my neck as I pulled back up. I shook my head to try and shake off the tingly feeling shooting around my brain from the re-circulation of blood. Peeling my eyes off the night sky, I turned to the individual (presumably) standing in front of me. I moved my eyes down, then down, then farther down, farther down...

A small child.

A small child witnessed my landing, knew immediately that it was the amulet I almost covered with the palm of my hand, stalked me around the town for over two hours, waited for me to leave my bags, and was able to spot the discreet magic amulet among all of the other trinkets in there?

He stood in front of me, with wide and watery eyes, tightly clasping his arms behind his back as if timid. I growled at him but his crocodile tears immediately melted my heart. I could feel an arrow pierce my heart as I struggled to keep a nosebleed back. He was... a rather cute child, though. I rubbed my forearms and immediately looked away. I was afraid that if I kept looking at that angelic boy, I would end up forgetting about the amulet and treating him to candy instead.

"Listen... you stole something, give it back." I mumbled. What was that?! Since when did I sound so timid! Am I confessing my love or something? Am I really that much of a face-con? I wailed inwardly and my face glowed bright red at the thought.

A wide grin stretched onto the boy's face. I felt like beams of light radiated off his white skin. Luckily, after spending so much time with the demon Cyrus, I had grown a (slight) immunity to angelic looks. Still, I stubbornly stood with my feet firmly planted and kept my hand extended, waiting.

"The amulet... g-give it back." I stuttered and my face grew redder. What is wrong with me right now... I lamented.

"B-Brother..." I could soon hear quiet sobs. The small whimpers were so adorable that my head swiveled back and a worried, anxious expression surfaced.

In front of me was a boy, around seven or eight, with tattered brown clothes and worn-down shoes that seemed to be pretty much useless. His clear, purple eyes, a beautiful dioxazine shade, shined as tears pooled. His fluffy marshmallow-like nose was stained with a faint pink as he continued his lovely cry.

I felt like my heart had been stabbed with a love arrow. "Keuk..." I coughed and stumbled back. Ah, my last shred of resolve for anything has collapsed. I've died and gone to heaven. God, thank you for letting me see such an innocent and lovable boy before ascending.

"Young Master." A gloomy and foreboding voice interrupted. It was deep and gravelly, shaking me to the core. I could hear the slight sound of a horse hoof stepping onto the dirty paved road. I slowly, mechanically, unwillingly, turned towards the voice, still unwilling to face my imminent demise.

Standing behind me, with a dark and seething expression that which made the earth quake, was Eliad. His eyes furrowed and face ashen and grave, he clutched the reins so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Surrounding him was a cavalry of knights, all with worried and heated expressions, gripping their hilts alertly as if ready to pull it out at any moment. But that's not the thing that frightened me the most.

"Remis." A person who seemed like he was possessed by an evil spirit grabbed me and forcefully pulled me onto their horse. His hands held my waist so tightly I felt like I could barely breathe. His emerald green eyes were so murky I was afraid of looking in them, and his original sunny and doglike persona became one of a controlling psychopath.

"Don't try to run away from me again."

Ah. How could I have forgotten that Cyrus was a yandere so easily?