The Nameless Extra: I Proofread This World-Chapter 25: The Shape of Your Future

’How... did I know her name?’

’Huh?’

Ruvian repeated the question inside his head, not so much in an attempt to answer it, but as though he were questioning the question itself.

Why would she ask something like that? And more troubling still... how did she know that he knew her name in the first place?

A light film of sweat formed along his forehead as he slowly grew uncomfortable.

Suddenly, an unpleasant realization crept up on him. A sinking feeling took hold of his stomach before his thoughts did.

’Could it be...’

Had he done something that prompted her to ask that?

’Shit.’

As he retraced the sequence of events, starting from his very first interaction with Silvena and Irene, the answer came to him with trenchant clarity.

At some point, without thinking, without even realizing it at the time, he had called Silvena by her name!

’Damn it.’

Such a careless mistake!

’You are an idiot...’

Ruvian dragged a hand across his forehead, rubbing at it in open disappointment with himself, while Silvena continued to stare at him, slightly confused.

The main reason for his frustration was not the aftermath of his action. That alone was still far from the worst possible outcome. What truly irritated him was the realization that he was still carrying an old habit from his former self.

Whenever he became too focused on getting the job done, he had a tendency to overlook the finer details, so long as he could perform his role efficiently and without error.

The process mattered less than the result, and anything that did not interfere with that result was quietly discarded.

In this case, it meant that he had unconsciously decided that issuing an order to Silvena by her name at that moment was simply the most efficient course of action, forgetting to consider how unnatural that might have appeared.

Letting out a slow breath, Ruvian finally opened his eyes and looked at the woman standing before him.

"I’ve made a mistake." he flatly said.

"Huh?" Silvena blinked, tilting her head slightly.

"What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, as you heard," Ruvian replied, adjusting his cuffs. "I made a mistake."

Silvena’s frown deepened as she measured his face for truth.

"I don’t understand what you mean."

Ruvian paused for a brief moment, choosing which words to let through. To be precise, he was ransacking his brain to determine which flavor of bullshit would make sense to her.

Then he spoke again, calmly.

In the end, he decided to use his ultimate trump card.

"The reason I know your name, and the reason I wasn’t surprised to see you here... is because I already knew it in advance."

The air between them suddenly grew dense.

Silvena narrowed her eyes.

"And how... did you know that?" she asked slowly.

Now, this was the part where he needed to be careful. Extra careful. Some truths could be bent. Others could be trimmed down until only their harmless outlines remained.

But there were lines he absolutely could not cross.

Revealing that this world was a novel, or that he himself had once been nothing more than a proofreader, was out of the question.

Absolutely not!

Ruvian sighed, grounded himself and let his expression settle into neutral.

"It’s difficult to explain, because I don’t know how it works either." he said evenly.

"You don’t—whattt?"

Ruvian shook his head slowly.

"This is going to sound ridiculous. So, it’s up to you to accept it or not... But, there are times when I see something like a vision of events that haven’t happened yet."

He paused briefly, his gaze drifting, pretending to search through distant recollections.

"It’s less like a prediction, and more like someone is pointing something out to me after the fact. A kind of revelation. A vision of the future..."

Ruvian paused.

For some reason, hearing his own bullshit made him almost click his tongue. It sounded weak. Empty. Exactly, like the bullshit any fraud would use.

’Haa... I’m screwed.’

’What the hell was that? I didn’t sound convincing at all!’

He replayed the words in his head and immediately regretted it. And yet, despite the catastrophic quality of what had just left his mouth, he couldn’t stop now.

Because if you’re already knee-deep in your sea of bullshit, you don’t retreat.

You have to keep committed until the end!

And thus, he gloriously marched forward, without a single fibble of doubt.

"...Anyway, just like today," he continued.

"What happened here followed the same pattern as that vision. Though it wasn’t exact. I had interfered with it, after all, so some of the details ended up slightly distorted. That was precisely where I forgot that we haven’t introduced ourselves yet."

"In other words, I fucked up."

He watched her carefully as Silvena turned her gaze away, as if she were piecing something together in her own mind.

’...Was that enough?’

’Did I manage to convince her?’

Silvena remained silent for several seconds, her earlier confusion giving way to a sharper, more focused attention that made Ruvian quietly brace himself.

She silently looked away.

"I see, so that’s why he ordered plain water," Silvena muttered to herself, her voice low and thoughtful.

"What did you just say?"

Ruvian blinked, not quite following what she whispered.

"Ah, sorry," she said, straightening suddenly. "I mean, you ordered plain water earlier because you already expected you were going to get involved with these people, didn’t you?"

Her eyes widened slightly as realization dawned, excitement creeping into her expression.

’Huh? Wait, that...’

Suddenly, his thoughts stalled midway. Because what she had just said had lined up perfectly with his fabricated lies.

After a short silence, Ruvian simply nodded, his face composed, devoid of any emotion.

"Yes... as expected of D’Elvoire’s daughter."

"You’re quick to catch up."

[You have received +50 Plot Points!]

"Hmm~ and so that’s why you already knew he was a demon, as well?"

Ruvian gave another nod.

Silvena studied his face closely, searching for even the slightest hint of deception. However, there was none. Ruvian held her stare with the serene indifference of a man who absolutely had nothing to hide.

His poker face remained immaculate.

After a moment, she exhaled and leaned back.

"Fine."

"I believe you."

A slight smile formed on her face.

"Though I can’t say I’m quite as convincing yet."

Later, her eyes suddenly gleamed with mischief.

"So, if you don’t mind, can you take a look and tell me something about my future? I’m curious about that power of yours. Since it’s quite rare to encounter a self-proclaimed oracle."

She gestured lightly toward herself.

With a heavy sigh, Ruvian shifted his gaze past Silvena, toward Irene, who stood slightly behind him. She hadn’t intervened at all, merely watching with that same calm attentiveness she always had.

Then, his eyes returned to Silvena.

From the look of it, Silvena had already trusted him.

Ruvian understood that she wasn’t pressing him for deeper truths, nor was she trying to corner him into revealing more than he should.

Yet, her request still echoed in his mind.

’Tell her something about her future, huh?’

Ruvian actually knew her well enough. She liked to poke and tease, to see how people reacted when nudged. That was her character.

And more than that... he’d already made it clear. Whatever these visions were, they weren’t something he could summon or shape at will.

So, he reemphasised that again.

"I’ve told you, it’s not something I can control."

Silvena’s shoulders slumped a little, though the disappointment on her face was clearly exaggerated.

"That’s too bad then," she said with a playful shrug. "Honestly, I really do want to know more about my future~"

Ruvian held her gaze, his expression unreadable.

"Then, how about this..."

Silvena blinked, her playful expression faltering as she looked at him more closely.

"In two weeks, you’ll be enrolling in Wellencrest Academy. Am I right?"

Silvena stopped short, then nodded slowly. Her masked smile faded. Beside her, Irene stiffened as well. Her eyes widened slightly, as her hand tensed at her side.

Surprisingly, no, shockingly, the man knew about her upcoming enrollment, too... a matter that was supposed to be locked away tighter than a royal treasury.

And yet here he was, casually aware of it.

"...Yes," Silvena admitted at last.

Ruvian absorbed it calmly, his look growing intent.

"Then, do not enroll there."

For a long, stretched-out moment, silence settled between them. Then Irene finally broke it, her patience snapped.

"Do you take us for a fool?"

"Hey... that’s a pretty big thing to say, you know?" Silvena let out an awkward laugh, clearly scrambling to recover the mood.

She tilted her head, forcing lightness into her tone.

"Why would you tell me something like that?"

Ruvian held her gaze.

"Because Wellencrest isn’t part of what comes next for you."

"Come to Velthia, Silvena."

Both of them stiffened again.

"Velthia?" Silvena asked.

Ruvian nodded.

"Make a choice. I know you’re good at that. After all, that’s your gift, isn’t it? To always make the best decision for yourself. You believe in that, no?"

Silvena no longer looked as confident as before, and uncertainty slowly showed on her face. The fact that he also knew about that.... slightly terrified her.

"Furthermore, I believe my visions only work within my proximity," he continued. "Just like today. You were involved because you were close... because this is my hometown."

"And just so we’re clear... if I hadn’t stepped in, your friend here would already be dead. No offense. That’s simply what my vision showed me. And that’s why I came, regardless of how weak I am. I can’t just let her die."

He waited quietly, giving her the moment to settle.

"So, if you want to see your fate... if you truly wish to know where your path leads..."

Ruvian paused again.

"Then come to Velthia."

Silvena looked at him, with an ambivalent expression.

Then, with a thin, shrewd smile, Ruvian added:

"If you do so, then without any doubt, I will show you...."

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[Chapter 25: The Shape of Your Future]