World's Best Protagonist [BL]

[Jade’s POV]

The forest felt like it had grown teeth unbrushed for decades. The littered dried leaves that create scary noises once stepped onto, and the smell of dead, decayed mushrooms sprouting above the damp ground.

I covered my nose with a hand while the other one kept slapping away the small thorns protruding in the way, trying not to let my cheeks be scraped. Meanwhile, the captain was unbothered.

My gaze shifted to the stranger. I couldn’t help but be skeptical. We should be getting out of the forest, but instead we were walking deeper into it. It’s suspicious that this Red House we’re looking for is located in the heart of the forest.

It doesn’t make sense.

Our ’guide’ was hobbling a few paces ahead, which really meant Claude was practically dragging him by the collar.

If the guy stumbled one more time, I was pretty sure Claude would stop dragging and just start carrying him like a sack of potatoes. Or a corpse.

Honestly, depending on Claude’s mood, maybe both. But right now, he was a bit...colder than usual.

Above us, the sky was painted an ugly gray, all mist and no mercy. The kind of sky that made you question why you ever left your bed that morning—except I hadn’t had a bed since we got thrown into this world.

But how dare I complain when my dear captain even provided a tent for us, with a few books inside? I don’t get him. We were fine the other day, but then, today, he was avoiding me, and now that we have no choice but to be together on this journey, he was treating me coldly.

I was so close to smacking the back of that incomprehensible head to get answers.

I bet if Lexie’s words didn’t make sense, this guy would not even bother to consider taking me with him. I stepped over a large root protruding above ground, my steps heavy and deliberate, feeling annoyed somehow.

I adjusted the strap across my chest and kept my hand near the hilt of the new dagger Claude gave me. I hadn’t had much chance to test it out yet. A part of me was hoping I wouldn’t need to.

"How far is it?" I asked, careful to keep my tone even. Just curious enough to sound casual, not desperate. I was trying to check if he would answer, or would just continue to ignore me.

The trafficker—a guy who reeked of old smoke and bad decisions—winced when he looked back.

"Not far. Maybe... half a mile from here. Through the grove and down a slope."

I wasn’t talking to you. But I guess Claude would not know the answer. I should have asked ’How long are you gonna sulk?’, so it would be him who would answer.

"You’d better be telling the truth," Claude threatened the guy with his signature death stare.

I glanced sideways at him. "You think he’s lying?"

Claude didn’t even blink. He also did not look at me. Thankfully, he replied, "I know he’s stalling. He keeps glancing left and right like he’s expecting someone to jump us." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

The guy froze. Bad move. Your reaction gave you away, dude. I do hope he was just being dramatic, though. I don’t want to engage in a fight outside the monster’s lair as much as possible.

We don’t want to attract attention, given that we are no residents of this world. If they found out that we exist, we might experience what the NSA did to Claude and the others.

Before I could warn Claude about that, he had already moved.

One second the guy was standing, the next he was on his knees, Claude’s blade gleaming against the side of his neck. No big gestures. No wasted words. Just this lethal, unshakable calm.

"I’ve tortured people who mattered less than you," Claude said, his voice low and steady. "Start talking straight."

If the guy could have peed himself, he would’ve.

"No! I’m telling the truth! I swear—the Red House is just ahead. Just... Please, don’t kill me."

I narrowed my eyes. "If you’re lying, we’ll find out. And you won’t like the result."

Claude didn’t say anything, just gave the guy a meaningful look as he let go, though not without leaving a faint red line on his neck. Not deep, but enough to make a point.

The guy shuddered in fear.

"Move."

We kept going.

The grove came into view soon after—a clearing filled with dead trees that looked like they’d crawled straight out of a horror novel. Their branches stretched like broken fingers, clawing at the sky.

I half-expected one to groan and move.

Beyond the grove was the slope. It was jagged, steep, and annoyingly crumbly. It seems like a mistaken movement will send someone rolling down below.

At the bottom was a narrow canyon, and nestled at the end of it like some decaying beast was a building that could only be described as bad news dressed in blackened red bricks and surrounded by trees with ashen leaves.

As we approached a bit closer, we noticed embers flew in the air.

Claude and I exchanged glances. He finally looked at me, but both of us felt a foreboding.

Claude shoved the guy to his knees. "You brought us to a burnt-down place. Do you really want to die?"

"W-What...," the man whispered, as if saying it louder might get him shot. His eyes narrowed for a moment, then they slowly widened after recognizing the state of the house.

Did Claude damage his eyes so badly that he couldn’t properly see something sitting right before his eyes?

"N-No! No, no, that’s not how..." his voice trailed off, and devastation closed his mouth shut.

My gaze moved up from the guy to the ruined building.

"It seems like he’s telling us the truth. But if that’s the Red House, then what could have happened here?"

The scent hit our noses first, despite the distance. Smoke—sharp and bitter—clung to the trees like a ghost that refused to leave.

It made my eyes sting and my throat burn. For a second, I thought we were too late. But when we finally pushed past the narrow path and entered the circle where the building was, I realized that too late wasn’t the right word.

We were just too far behind.

The Red House was gone. It was really burned to the ground.