Became the Villainess’s Guardian

It was definitely not the voice of someone working at the factory, as far as Freugne knew.

For a moment, she thought a firefighter had come for a rescue operation, but in that case, they would have grabbed her hand to lead her out instead of casually conversing like this.

The stranger’s attire also raised her suspicions.
Clad in a thick, pristine white suit as if unaffected by the heat of the burning building – an extremely unfamiliar sight in Londinium, where dirt easily soiled clothing and most gentlemen opted for black.

More strikingly, however, his suit showed no signs of scorching or even soot stains.

“…Who are you?”

Instead of answering Freugne’s wary question as she instinctively took a step back, the man posed a question in return.

“Do you wish to live?”

“……”

With his hat pulled low enough to obscure even his eyes, his expression was difficult to discern.

“I can give you the power to survive this and ensure you never face such a situation again.”

His tone was as if he could see the thoughts running through her mind just moments ago.
Less a human voice and more a serpentine hiss.

“But favors always come with a price, as is due.”

“A price, you say?”

“That’s something you’ll find out in due time.”

“But I at least need to know what you’re talking about-”

“Is there anything more precious to a human than their life? Or will you cling to the slim chance that someone might come to your rescue? The possibility of no one coming is far greater.”

No one.

Freugne mulled over those words.

Looking back, her childhood had been filled with loneliness.
The friends she made would leave the orphanage one by one, ‘adopted’ or venturing elsewhere for work, each with their own reasons.

The man extended his hand.

“Take my hand. I will grant you that power.”

“Then… I can live?”

“Of course you will live, and depending on your capabilities, I may entrust you with greater tasks.”

Like anyone else, she wanted to live.
Even if the one proposing it did not reveal their identity.

While she could not blindly trust without any guarantees, she had nowhere else to depend on at this moment.

So not fully believing, but
If he could truly grant her such power, if she no longer had to live each day fearing death,

And at the moment Freugne reached out her hand as if entranced,

-Thud!

A resounding boom echoed from the door they had closed to block the flames. It sounded like someone was pounding it forcefully with fists or feet from the other side.
She didn’t recall locking it, but the frame had likely warped from the heat, preventing it from opening properly.

“…?!”

“Tsk.”

-Bang!

Freugne’s head whipped around.
The man let out a soft sigh.

Soon after, the old hinges fell away and clattered to the floor. Freugne’s eyes widened as she confirmed the face of the person who had entered.

It was neither a firefighter nor a factory worker.
The name slipped softly from Freugne’s slightly parted lips.

“…Edan?”

After purchasing the rather tough, stale, and likely overnight-baked bread at premium night rates,
I first asked the employee who had noticed Freugne’s absence about the factory’s general layout.

The girl, who had been incessantly repeating how dangerous it was inside while blubbering incoherently, calmed down a bit when I claimed to be a magician coming to assist the rescue efforts.

It seemed she assumed I was a skilled magician capable of safely entering and exiting by enveloping myself in a whirlwind or something. I didn’t exactly lie either.

“So, enter through the main entrance, then go straight right. There’s a staircase, and at the end of the corridor is a ladder. Did I explain it correctly so far?”

“Y-Yes, yes.”

“Alright, thank you.”

“Magician sir.”

“Yes?”

As I was about to rise after getting the information I needed, the girl asked,

“You can save Freugne, right…?”

I didn’t know much about Freugne’s life outside the orphanage.
But at the very least, her human relationships seemed healthy – completely incongruous with the idea of betraying humanity.

I nodded and handed the girl a few bread rolls, telling her to share them with her friends.

“Hold it right there! Stop!”

The magician generating water from a wagon noticed me sneaking towards the entrance and shouted out.

“The building could collapse at any moment. I can roughly guess what you’re thinking, but there’s nothing that can be done! Most people have already evacuated-”

That humans experience the greatest agony when burned alive.
Anyone in their right mind wouldn’t approach the blaze. Which made venturing inside all the more formidable.

But wasn’t it common sense that consuming food replenishes one’s vitality?

-Cough

“Keck, keck… hurk.”

“What is he even doing…”

There was no point in expecting much from the slum bakery’s day-old wares.
After a brief dry coughing fit, I managed to force down the rock-hard, stale bread. My throat was far from healthy.

And yet,
The scorching gale that seemed to sear the flesh no longer felt so alien after taking that first bite.

Seizing the magician’s momentary speechlessness as he watched my antics, I took a step forward.
My hair appeared to be burning off, but it would likely grow back soon. For some inexplicable mechanism and structure, my body was rather peculiar even to myself.

With the piles of textile materials and miscellaneous equipment that must have once blocked the path now collapsed by the flames, it was not difficult to find the way.
Carefully navigating the scattered basement openings, I pressed onwards through the blaze while munching on the bread, following the girl’s directions.

I grabbed the searing hot ladder rungs with my painless hands and climbed up.

There were faint murmurs audible from inside.

While the fire had not reached this far yet, I had seen the support pillars begin cracking during my ascent. Time was running short.
And there was another issue – while I had brought enough bread, my stomach was starting to feel rather full. A few more mouthfuls and I might vomit.

The door appeared to be made of withered, aged wood, so I began kicking at it.

“Is anyone in there?”

“……”

“I’m coming in!”

And as was typical of facilities in such places, after the third kick, the door fell away completely.

Inside, I came face-to-face with Freugne, blinking her eyes in confusion.

It was someone I never expected to encounter in a place like this.

“Munch.”

“…?”

And Edan was doing something I never expected in such dire circumstances.

He had eaten bread on his way here? Why on earth would he do such a thing…?
My common sense crumbled as a slight dizziness set in.

Freugne turned her gaze sideways once more.
The spot where the man in the white suit had stood was now empty.

‘Could it have been a hallucination?’

Children who inhaled fumes from mines or chemical factories often reported experiencing hallucinations.
Perhaps she too had inhaled toxic smoke and was seeing things that didn’t exist.

And yet, aside from the bread-eating, this seemed more grounded in reality. His disheveled suit bore scorch marks here and there, and ashes were piled atop his head.
The reason the hallucination took Edan’s form made sense. The white suit could be interpreted as a manifestation of her desire to live, and Edan represented past regrets.

And as he trudged right up to her, he said,

“Let’s go.”

“…Is it really you, Edan?”

“Is there a fake Edan too?”

He carelessly tossed aside the bundle of bread he had brought and lightly scooped her up.
Even in this scorching heat, his warmth was palpable. Unless she had gone completely insane facing death itself, it was an unmistakable, genuine warmth.

“How did you know to come here?”

“I happened to pass by and saw the scene. I got the location from your coworker.”

While she didn’t know why Edan of all people had come, the fact that he had made it to the top floor meant there must be a way out.
Unlike when she had looked earlier, the fire might have burned itself out with nothing left to consume. Or perhaps the blaze had been suppressed to some extent.

But contrary to her expectations, instead of returning the way he entered, Edan planted one foot on the window sill Freugne had shattered.

This couldn’t be.
Surely not.

“You can’t be serious?”

“You know it well.”

“If you go back the way you came-”

“The flames are too intense that way now. If we pass through, you’ll suffer severe burns even if I remain unscathed. And the building feels like it’ll collapse soon anyway.”

It wasn’t that she hadn’t considered such a method herself.
But there was no one to catch them below, and the ground was as hard and unyielding as stone.

What meaning would falling from a height easily exceeding ten meters have?
It was a drop that assumed even a strong adult, let alone a young girl like herself, would have their legs shattered upon landing at the very least.

“Cling tightly to my arms and legs. Under no circumstances must you let go of my embrace.”

“…Huh?”

“We’re jumping.”

“W-Wait a minute!”

“If you’re scared, it’ll be over quickly. Just squeeze your eyes shut.”

And without giving her a chance to respond, Edan planted his other foot into the air.
Freugne finally understood why it was said that when one is too startled, not even a scream can escape.

Unfortunately, Edan’s prowess did not extend to midair walking, and their bodies plummeted straight towards the ground akin to falling rocks.
Freugne braced herself for the impending impact by squeezing her eyes shut.

And when she counted to three in her mind,

-Thud

“We’ve landed safely.”

“Huh?”

Both she and Edan were outside the factory, standing squarely on both feet, limbs intact.