Kaien remained still.
The warehouse was empty.
No footsteps.
No movement.
Nothing.
Darius slowly walked toward the center of the room.
"How?"
Kaien looked around.
"There are no exits on that side."
Darius checked the doors.
"Only one entrance."
Kaien's eyes narrowed.
"Then they didn't leave through a door."
Darius looked at him.
"You think they used a skill?"
"Probably."
Kaien crouched near the floor.
There were no footprints.
No traces of blood.
No discarded equipment.
Nothing.
It was like the person had never existed.
Darius stood beside him.
"You recognized something they said."
Kaien didn't answer.
Darius looked down.
"Kaien."
Kaien finally looked up.
"They knew my name."
"I heard."
"They shouldn't."
Darius remained silent.
Kaien stood.
There was something else bothering him.
The stranger hadn't called him Gluttony.
They hadn't called him an adventurer.
They'd called him Kaien Arclight.
His identity wasn't public.
As far as Kaien knew, nobody in the Veiled Crown knew his connection to Ethan Cole.
Nobody knew he was reincarnated.
And nobody should know that this world was supposed to be fiction.
Kaien clenched his fist.
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
"Let's go."
Darius nodded.
Neither of them spoke during the journey back.
The Veiled Crown was unusually quiet when they returned.
Seraphina was sitting at the main table, reading through several documents.
She looked up.
"You found something."
Kaien stopped.
"Someone."
Seraphina closed the document.
"Explain."
Kaien placed the warehouse report on the table.
"Someone was waiting for us."
Darius added,
"They knew we were coming."
Seraphina's expression hardened.
"How?"
"We don't know."
Kaien hesitated.
Then—
"They knew my name."
The room went silent.
Lucien slowly lowered the book he'd been reading.
Selene's smile disappeared.
Even Noah opened his eyes.
Seraphina stood.
"Your name?"
"Kaien Arclight."
Nobody spoke.
Seraphina's eyes narrowed.
"That's impossible."
"I know."
She walked toward him.
"Who else knows?"
"My parents."
Kaien stopped.
He immediately corrected himself.
"Or... people who knew my family."
Seraphina noticed the hesitation.
She didn't comment.
"Did they say anything else?"
Kaien looked at her.
"They mentioned the story."
That got everyone's attention.
Lucien stood.
"What story?"
Kaien realized he'd said too much.
He looked away.
"They said I shouldn't be digging into things that aren't part of my story."
Selene frowned.
"That's strange."
Darius nodded.
"Very."
Seraphina remained silent.
Then she asked,
"What did they look like?"
Kaien described them.
Their clothing.
Their voice.
Their height.
Everything he remembered.
Lucien listened carefully.
"I don't recognize them."
"Neither do I," Selene said.
Darius shook his head.
"No."
Seraphina looked toward the table.
"Then we have a problem."
Kaien sat down.
"Yeah."
Seraphina placed both hands on the table.
"Someone knows about the Veiled Crown."
She looked toward Kaien.
"And someone knows about Gluttony."
Kaien corrected her.
"They know about me."
Seraphina nodded.
"That's worse."
Later that night, Kaien sat alone in his room.
The small piece of paper on his door read:
MSG
He stared at it.
"My Sweet Gluttony."
He smiled faintly.
Then the smile disappeared.
He sat on his bed.
His mind returned to the warehouse.
You really shouldn't be digging into things that aren't part of your story.
Kaien had spent years believing he had an advantage.
He knew the characters.
He knew the major events.
He knew the villains.
He knew which dungeons became disasters.
But the moment he entered this world...
Everything had begun changing.
And now someone else knew.
Kaien opened the system.
[Weapon Points: 25]
He stared at the number.
Then at his pistol.
He had become stronger.
But not enough.
Not nearly enough.
He needed better weapons.
Better control.
Better information.
And maybe...
More people he could trust.
Kaien touched the mark beneath his right rib.
"Gluttony."
The word felt strange.
It wasn't just a title anymore.
It was becoming another identity.
One that could protect his real one.
Kaien looked toward the door.
MSG.
He smiled.
"Someday."
He didn't know why he said it.
Maybe because he needed something to look forward to.
Maybe because part of him wanted to build something that belonged to him.
Not Ethan's old life.
Not Kaien's original story.
Something new.
His own.
The next morning, Kaien arrived at class as usual.
Mira was already sitting at her desk.
She looked at him.
"Sheep."
Kaien dropped into his seat.
"Morning to you too."
"You look tired."
"Didn't sleep well."
"Why?"
Kaien paused.
He couldn't exactly tell her.
Someone who knows I'm reincarnated tried to scare me.
"Just thinking."
Mira studied him.
Then pushed something across the desk.
A small snack.
Kaien looked at it.
"What's this?"
"Food."
"I can see that."
"You didn't eat breakfast."
Kaien looked at her.
"How do you know?"
"You always buy the same thing."
He stared at her.
"...You've been paying attention."
Mira immediately looked away.
"I notice things."
Kaien smiled.
"Thanks."
"Don't make it weird."
"I'm not."
"You were."
Kaien opened the snack.
For a moment, everything felt normal.
The classroom.
The students.
Mira.
The stupid nickname.
Kaien almost forgot about the warehouse.
Almost.
Then the classroom screen flickered.
A news alert appeared.
BREAKING NEWS
ANOTHER DUNGEON INCIDENT HAS BEEN REPORTED IN SEOUL.
Kaien stopped chewing.
The screen changed.
A photograph appeared.
A black crown.
Kaien's eyes narrowed.
Mira looked at the screen.
"What is that?"
Kaien stared at it.
He already knew the answer.
Someone was making their move.
And this time...
They wanted everyone to notice.