The Runaway Warrior from Extra

Chapter 2: The Suspicious Maid and the Extra (2)

Day 1 of Confinement.

"A disappearance case?"

"Yes, that's correct."

The butler I was closest to, Leopold, informed me.

Apparently, in Juniperville—the town where our family had settled—events even more suspicious than those in the mansion were occurring.

Leopold seemed to think that, as someone who had been punished for playing detective, I would find this particularly interesting.

"Really? But everything seemed normal until yesterday."

"That’s because all the missing people were outsiders. It took time to notice, and the townspeople didn’t pay much attention."

"Outsiders..."

His words reminded me of a certain red-haired outsider who had recently joined our household.

Juniperville, despite being relatively close to the kingdom’s capital, was a remote village off the main roads, meaning it had few visitors.

Those traveling to the capital usually stuck to the main routes, and there were larger towns nearby, making Juniperville an unlikely destination unless one had relatives there or had taken a wrong turn.

Because of its ambiguous location, it had a small population. The capital's allure often drew people away in search of better opportunities rather than bringing new residents in.

My mother once explained that this very remoteness allowed our noble family, of foreign origin, to settle here easily.

To the capital’s nobility, this place was considered a complete backwater.

"Yes. Adventurers passing through, traveling merchants, or just unfamiliar strangers—those who rented rooms at the inns vanished overnight, leaving their belongings behind."

"Leaving their belongings behind? That is strange."

So, outsiders coming to Juniperville had been disappearing one by one. A truly suspicious case.

Would the red-haired maid, who had arrived around the same time, vanish soon as well?

"Hmph. Hmhmhm~♪"

However, when I looked outside, she was cheerfully humming while carrying a shovel somewhere.

Was she burying trash again, like last time?

"Emily, I presume. She’s been well-received among the staff. Despite her age, she works tirelessly until late at night."

"...She’s definitely up to something."

Like meeting other ‘Extras’ in secret late at night.

"Are you interested?"

"Huh? Of course I am."

How could I not be? She was incredibly suspicious and hiding something.

"Hmm... This is the first time I’ve seen you take such a particular interest in a girl. You usually get along well with the village girls, don’t you?"

"Well, all the older sisters in Juniperville are nice to me."

There was the baker’s sister, who always gave me free bread.

The blacksmith’s sister, who showered me with toy weapons she claimed she made just for me.

The alchemist’s daughter, who showed off new curiosities whenever she got them.

And my childhood friend, who constantly clung to me, asking to play together.

All the women I knew in Juniperville were kind and friendly.

Except for that red-haired maid.

"...You should be careful not to get slapped later, Young Master."

"Why? They’re all nice to me."

Leopold always said strange things. As if those kind and gentle people would ever hurt me.

"Just a feeling. Anyway, why do you get along with everyone except Emily?"

"Well... my chest feels weird when I see her."

"Your chest?"

"Yeah, my heart pounds, my fingertips tremble... It just feels off."

More accurately, I felt a chill down my spine and a suffocating tightness in my chest.

As if I had encountered something terrifying—like a giant snake or a spider.

But I couldn't say that aloud. I’d just be scolded again for making baseless accusations based on feelings.

"Hmm, for someone as perceptive as you, that’s rather... premature."

For some reason, Leopold just smiled at me knowingly.

"Anyway, what do you think about the disappearances?"

"Hmm... The innkeeper is the most suspicious."

"That’s what the town guards thought as well, so they started investigating the innkeepers first."

"And?"

"The key thing to note is that this didn’t happen at just one inn. If it were only one, suspecting the innkeeper would make sense, but since it happened at multiple inns across town..."

"Oh..."

Then the situation reversed. The innkeepers weren’t suspicious at all.

"That makes the guests suspicious instead."

"Exactly."

The innkeepers had done nothing, meaning the missing individuals must have had ulterior motives.

"Like being wanted criminals..."

"They weren’t criminals, but they were hiding their identities."

"Hiding their identities but not criminals?"

"Yes. For example, one was a guild employee pretending to be an adventurer. Another was a tavern owner from the capital disguised as a merchant."

"That’s really odd."

"Indeed. Even stranger, they had no apparent connection to each other."

These missing people weren’t criminals but ordinary folks who had concealed their true professions.

"And the most bizarre part?"

"What is it?"

"Right before they disappeared, they all started acting differently—like completely different people."

"Like they changed personalities?"

"Yes. And they all suddenly packed up and headed straight for Juniperville."

"......"

"As if they had become entirely different people."

"Hic...!"

Chills ran down my spine.

People suddenly changing, flocking to our town, then vanishing without a trace...

Where had they gone? What had happened to them?

This was a truly eerie disappearance case.

"Today, the missing people’s families stormed into town, demanding their return. The lower village is in chaos. If this keeps up, Juniperville might get a reputation as a town that eats people."

"Did the missing people... get eaten?"

"It’s just a rumor."

The eerie case unfolding in town wasn’t the scariest thing I’d hear today.

"Now then, today's special lesson is on identifying signs of dark magic and evil, along with recognizing ominous warnings."

"S-Special lesson?!"

This was just the beginning. Something even more terrifying awaited me.

"The Lady was quite upset about the recent witch incident, so she insisted I teach you properly. Brace yourself. Today’s lesson..."

Leopold smiled slyly at me.

"Might be too frightening for a ten-year-old."

That night, I struggled to sleep.

***

"Ugh..."

Was it because of the lesson?

"Should I sleep with the lamp on..."

Tonight, the darkness in my room felt much deeper.

"No. The outside of the blanket... is dangerous."

The world was filled with dangers, some of which should never be approached recklessly.

What if the red-haired girl really was a witch who had infiltrated our mansion?

Had I not fled when I did, I might have suffered an unimaginable fate.

Witches were too dangerous to be approached out of mere curiosity. For someone like me, who lacked the strength to protect myself, such actions weren’t bravery—they were recklessness.

I had learned just how powerful and dangerous witches were.

And how terrifying the beings of chaos who worshipped pure evil could be.

I had also heard, in too much detail, the horrifying fates of those who fell into their clutches.

If one ever hears the sorrowful wailing of a woman in the dead of night, the first thing to check is whether there is the sound of water nearby.

If there is, then it might be a banshee washing the bloodstained armor of the dead.

A banshee, a vengeful spirit mourning her lost husband and stillborn child, would mistake a child like me for her own and abduct me—dragging me not to the land of the living, but to the realm of the dead.

And that wasn’t the only horror.

A doppelgänger, born of deceit, might come in the middle of the night, speaking in the voice of someone familiar, pleading to be let inside.

If one failed to ask the right questions before opening the door, they would find themselves face-to-face with a faceless monster, one that would kill the house’s owner and steal their identity.

On the night of a witches’ gathering, when a strangely colored moon appears in the sky, one must never look up.

For that moon may not be a moon at all, but the eye of the Dark Mother, the being who grants power to witches.

If one stares into her gaze, then she, too, will see them.

"Ugh..."

The world was filled with such terrifying creatures and beings beyond comprehension. And the night belonged to them.

"I... I don’t need to go to the bathroom."

Why now, of all times? I had already gone before bed. Staying up too late must have been the reason.

"I don’t need to go... I really don’t..."

Mother had always warned me to be mindful of my words, yet no matter how many times I repeated it, the urge did not go away.

Because, deep down, I knew I was lying to myself.

In the end, there was no choice but to go.

I could call for my personal maid to accompany me, but...

Unfortunately, my personal maid was that red-haired girl.

The thought of being alone with her in the middle of the night made cold sweat break out all over my body.

"No, I can do this... I’m ten years old now."

This was something I did all the time. It only felt particularly difficult tonight.

Some nights were just like that.

Nights where, even though I knew nothing was there, I still felt as though something lurked in the darkness.

When I felt a gaze on me despite being alone.

This was one of those nights.

The faint footsteps I kept hearing were probably just a rat or a cat.

The missing people in the village were likely nothing to worry about.

It was all just my imagination.

Hadn’t I been scolded recently for getting too absorbed in playing detective?

That must be why I was seeing mystery and suspicion everywhere.

There was no way a famous monster like a banshee or a doppelgänger would suddenly appear inside our mansion, especially not tonight of all nights.

Yes. If I just went to the bathroom, everything would be fine.

If I did that, I would prove to myself that no monsters lurked in the dark to devour me.

And I would be able to go back to bed without fear.

I could do this.

I had to do this.

With newfound determination, I climbed out of bed and made my way to the bathroom.

Step.

I exited my bedroom, passed through the sitting area, then past the servants' quarters towards the bathroom.

In a noble’s mansion, walking to the bathroom at night was a major endeavor.

Though I could barely see in the darkness, I couldn’t run my hands along the walls for guidance, as they were lined with expensive decorations.

When I finally arrived at the bathroom...

"Phew..."

Nothing had happened.

The tension melted away, and on the way back, I even felt a little more relaxed.

"I know you’re there. Come out."

Hmph.

Trying to act fearless, I mimicked a line I had read in a book once—the kind of thing the protagonist would say when surrounded by assassins.

It was just for fun, since no one was around to see me.

"Oh?"

Wait... had I imagined that?

"Even if you’re still young, you are the protagonist, after all."

Why... was the shadow speaking?

"Sid, do you know who I am?"

No, that wasn’t a shadow.

It was a man hiding in the darkness.

The words caught in my throat, and I froze in place.

His unwavering, knowing gaze.

The way he blended into the darkness, as if he belonged there.

And the hand resting on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw at a moment’s notice.

Everything about him made it clear that he was not here with good intentions.

"If you don’t know, then there’s no need for conversation."

I didn’t have time to think.

If I didn’t answer, that sword might be drawn.

Before anyone could hear my scream, I would already be dead.

"I’ll ask again. Do you know who I am?"

Of course I didn’t.

But I had to answer. What should I say?

For some reason, a single word surfaced in my mind.

"E-Extra...?"

The mysterious word the red-haired maid had told me about.

I still didn’t fully understand what it meant, but it changed everything.

"Ah. Is that so? So you’re one of us too?!"

Because this man... was an Extra as well.