Chapter 54
“Meow!”
A passing black cat seemed startled by my shout and yowled loudly.
“Ah, sorry…”
Feeling awkward, I hurriedly left the area.
Suddenly, I recalled rescuing a cat that had fallen into water.
‘I wonder if it’s doing well.’
I hoped it wasn’t getting rained on like me, but was instead snoozing warmly indoors.
As I pondered this, I had approached the exclamation mark and began half-running. Then I heard more footsteps.
Another cat? No, it wasn’t. Unmistakably human—and more than one person.
Under the faint moonlight, I spotted a group in black robes encircling me.
“Gh…!”
“Oh, you’re all here!”
When the black figures pulled down their hoods, I saw familiar faces. It was my assistants, the victims’ group.
My startled heart settled, and I let out a laugh.
“Why are you all appearing from every corner and startling me?”
“Well, this is my home, you see.”
“That may be, but our homes are in different directions.”
They all muttered rebuttals to my question.
“Then why are you all wearing those pitch-black robes…”
“We matched our outfits while investigating this time.”
“Ah, there’s one for you too.”
“The warm, waterproof material is perfect for a day like this.”
In a daze, I accepted the black robe. I put it on carelessly, but my body immediately felt warmer.
“Shall we hear what you uncovered in your investigation?”
“Alex always sleeps in late. He skips breakfast.”
“He has a salad for lunch without fail. Yesterday he paid with counterfeit coins…”
“He won’t even touch egg yolks.”
What use is knowing all that? The excess of useless information made my head spin.
“Um, why don’t we sit down and continue your report?”
With nowhere else to go, we sat on the chairs lined up in the plaza. Conveniently, there was a roof to shelter us from the rain.
By the time I finished listening to the long report, it was already dawn.
After sifting through the overwhelming amount of information to find the useful parts, the summary was this:
Alex goes to the gambling hall regularly, especially on Mondays.
Why Mondays? Because the dealer that day is pretty.
‘What a completely unlikable guy.’
After working hard and listening to a night-long report, I was exhausted. I rubbed my eyes and came to a conclusion.
“Well done everyone. I’ll start the operation on Monday. So, for now…”
I was torn between diving into bed as soon as I got home and taking a shower first.
As I moved to shout “return,” one of the victims grabbed my sleeve.
“We should do this together. We can’t let someone as young as you handle such a dangerous task alone.”
“That’s right, let us help too.”
“Why? Your role was just to gather information.”
I was taken aback by their unexpected reaction. This victims’ group wasn’t formed to solve problems. It was just a support group for people to lament their misfortunes.
So I naturally assumed they would simply welcome someone else taking the initiative to solve the problem.
“Still, how can we leave it all to you?”
“We’re not that kind of adults. Tell us what to do. We’ve gained some skills from our investigations!”
I stared blankly at the victims who were now eager to prove their worth.
‘They’re good people.’
I had intended to part ways after gathering information.
After brief consideration, I calmly spoke up.
“But I really can handle this alone. No matter how formidable his family is, they’re no threat to me.”
“Still…”
Concern clouded the victims’ faces.
“But your situation is different, right? So please, trust me with this.”
“Are you sure that’s alright?”
“Yes. If you really feel bad about it, um, I wouldn’t call it a trade but…”
For some reason, the words didn’t come easily as I fidgeted with my hair.
“How about coming to my cocktail bar for a drink if the case is resolved? I run a cocktail bar, you see.”
“Oh! Well then, we’ll definitely need to celebrate with a toast.”
“The cocktails we had before were delicious.”
The mood brightened at my suggestion. The sun had fully risen, and the streets were bustling with people. We, tired and cloaked in black robes, stood out.
Before drawing more attention, I quickly said my goodbyes.
“Everyone, take care! I’ll contact you once it’s done.”
“Take care of yourself.”
With their kind farewells, I chanted the return spell.
🫧
Come the following Monday, I donned the black robe symbolic of the victims’ group and entered the “Rose Mansion” dimension.
I knew the way to the gambling hall. I had heard detailed directions many times and even had a map.
‘This alley, right?’
I advanced through the narrow, maze-like alleyway.
After winding quite deeply inward, the alley widened and a few people appeared. It was then, in the distance, that I spotted Alex.
I carefully tailed him.
‘Still flaunting his wealth, I see.’
The large gemstone rings adorning each finger and plush fur coat drew the envious gazes of passersby.
Whenever envious eyes landed on him, he puffed up with pride.
I initiated my plan when Alex paused to light a cigarette.
Could I physically overpower that bulk?
‘Not a chance.’
Fortunately, I had a simple method.
“Designate Assistant.”
<Notice> To designate an assistant, you must make eye contact with the target.
Was that a requirement?
Come to think of it, I had made eye contact while chatting with the victims’ group.
If it must be done, so be it. I boldly approached Alex and called him out.
“Excuse me, you dropped this!”
A magic phrase that would make anyone stop in their tracks.
But Alex didn’t even acknowledge me.
“Wow, that guy must be rich! Could it be the infamous millionaire?”
I tried some over-the-top flattery.
“Huh? Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?”
I tried feigning familiarity.
“Excuse me, handsome!”
I even attempted flattery, but Alex still did not react at all. That was supposed to be my trump card.
‘So he does have some conscience, despite appearances.’
In that case.
‘Ah, why don’t I try that feature?’
It was time to utilize the first ability of the ‘Deduction Mode’ I had yet to use.
“Options ON.”
I would take advantage of the dialogue choices to get Alex’s attention, as in a game.
- Shouldn’t you respond when someone calls you four times?
- The chocolate you gave me tasted awful.
Wait, did I really call him four times already?
Anyway, option 2 had always been the traditional way to piss Alex off.
As I chose the number, the words automatically flowed from my lips.
“That chocolate you gave me tasted awful.”
“What did you say?!”
Alex, who had been blatantly ignoring me, whipped around. With an utterly enraged expression, he stomped right up to me.
“That was precious chocolate made by my own mother!”
Despite his large frame seeming threatening, I kept a calm face and glared back at him.
“Oh my. You’ve been scamming people with that ‘precious’ chocolate?”
“Scam? What scam? What are you talking about…. Wait, who are you? Why are you making such a fuss?”
Alex huffed and puffed, looking me up and down. At that moment, our eyes definitely met.
“Select assistant.”
<Notice> Selecting ‘Alex’ as an assistant. (60 seconds)
“What the…?”
“Alex, follow me.”
<Notice> The assistant is ‘Following’ you.
<Notice> The assistant is refusing the command.
So what if he refuses? I simply reassigned the command.
“I said follow me.”
<Notice> The assistant is ‘Following’ you.
I had to redesignate him as an assistant and repeatedly reissue commands, but at least the compulsion worked for a minute. Alex obediently followed me.
Though he kept complaining non-stop.
“What the hell? My body isn’t listening to me! Damn it. What did you do?”
“Return.”
“What the…. My vision!”
As the familiar fade-out occurred, visible only to me, Alex panicked and fidgeted.
“We’ll be moving right away.”
Back at the Milky Way Lounge, I pictured the ‘Retired God’ dimension and abruptly opened its gateway.
🥂
Thank you for reading! ♡
