Cracks in Peace (2)

How the hell did things end up like this? Why did that bastard—the Madman of Drug from Carpe Diem—barge into the PC bang and start tearing the place apart?

Before we get to that, let's rewind and think about what kind of day today actually was. You know those days. The ones that feel so perfectly peaceful you catch yourself muttering, "Wow~ Today is seriously peaceful~" and thinking, "I hope every day feels like this." Yeah. Today was exactly that kind of day.

The PC bang was nearly empty. Eris must have been getting crushed in her game—she kept clutching her head and sighing. Thanks to that, she never ordered ramen, which made my shift ridiculously easy. I could just sit behind the counter and do absolutely nothing.

Of course, there was one thing that annoyed me.

The TV was glorifying gangsters again. Not that they were lying. Carpe Diem really had driven most of the world's scientific progress, and their researchers enjoyed excellent welfare and fat paychecks. Among the Three Major Organizations, they were the only ones who paid you just for doing research without forcing you to commit violence.

But Carpe Diem was a coin with two very clear sides. If anything, they were more honest about it than the others. Their organization had no real entry requirements, so every kind of idiot and lowlife could join. That meant whenever some filthy incident occurred, it was almost always their handiwork.

Did they ever face real punishment? Of course not. Once you were in, they spouted nonsense about "we're all family" and handled everything through internal regulations. Public authorities couldn't touch them. After all, who would be responsible for scientific advancement if you messed with Carpe Diem? And they even hunted monsters for us—what a grateful organization.

Most citizens thought the same way, which was why Carpe Diem's crimes kept getting worse. As long as it didn't affect them personally, they didn't care. But what would they do when it finally did? Bunch of idiots.

So I changed the channel. No matter where I flipped, some program would be praising one organization or another, but there had to be at least one decent station somewhere. Like the anime channel, for instance.

The most popular animation, The Legendary Hero, Mohanya, was airing. Naturally, it was one of my favorites. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠followed a pink-haired, eyepatch-wearing woman who meowed like a cat and sliced her way through everyone. True to its title, she crushed evil wherever she found it, which made it genuinely fun. I almost wanted to call it the last remaining conscience in this rotten world.

Since I didn't seem to have much work today, I figured I'd relax and watch Mohanya.

—Or so I thought. It really was supposed to be a peaceful day.

Right up until the moment Choon-sik kicked the door open, screaming.

Ah. Maybe the reason Eris had been clutching her head was an omen after all. They say there's always a sign before disaster strikes. Her not ordering ramen while tearing at her hair was a clear warning, and the fact that I missed it makes me the idiot. But there was no time to regret the past. I had to deal with the present.

"I-I'm Eriseleno!"

Eris shot up from her seat and walked toward Choon-sik. He took one look at her and shouted in disbelief.

Oh. This was actually a pretty good chance. Even though he'd pulled a gun, we might be able to get through this by playing up how young Eris looked. Why? If my eyes weren't deceiving me, Choon-sik was a direct executive of Carpe Diem. The Madman of Drug. If the boss of an entire organization gave someone a nickname like that, it meant he ranked pretty high. Guys like him usually had too much pride to lose their temper at a child. So maybe we'd be okay?

"Eek! Isn't that the Madman of Drug, Choon-sik?!"

"For real? Holy crap, he's terrifying..."

"Let's get out of here. I don't wanna get dragged into this and die."

But now that I thought about it, why did they call him the Madman of Drug? ...Never mind. This definitely wouldn't work. The guy was one hundred percent insane.

"No, I really am Eriseleno, okay? I'm twenty years old! And like I already said, I didn't kill ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you because I wanted to. Can we please just talk?"

Maybe it was because she was the boss of a ruined organization, but Eris stood her ground confidently even with a gun pointed at her and suggested talking.

But Choon-sik wasn't backing down either. True to his name, he simply shoved the gun forward. As it got closer, Eris began trembling violently.

Why only now?

"Hiiik! It's a gun!"

Ah. So she just hadn't seen the gun before. I was the idiot for momentarily expecting something from her as an organization boss. Thanks to that, I'd become an idiot twice in one day.

Once a gun was out, there was nothing I could do. Most ability-user organizations avoided using firearms because it hurt their pride, but Carpe Diem was the exception. They developed the guns themselves and committed all kinds of insane acts in broad daylight, so they had no pride left to lose. If anything, stronger guns were just another way to show off their scientific superiority.

We were completely fucked. That was the only thought in my head.

Starting with the fact that I'd have to watch Eris—who I'd grown somewhat fond of as a regular—die. And if Choon-sik started frequenting this place, regular customers who didn't want to get involved would stop coming. Then Carpe Diem members connected to him would occupy the PC bang and demand protection money in exchange for "keeping the peace." If we paid, they'd leave us alone and let us run a normal business, but we'd still have to keep paying the fees regularly.

It might sound ridiculous, but this was a common tactic used by garbage organizations like Carpe Diem. Plenty of business owners had no choice but to pay protection money just to survive.

At least this was supposed to be under the jurisdiction of one of the Esper Hunter guilds—the Jujak Guild—so I never expected Carpe Diem to show up. Tracking someone's IP for a PK and invading another organization's territory? The guy really was a madman.

Besides, even if this was Jujak Guild territory, they probably wouldn't care if one random PC bang started paying protection fees to Carpe Diem. Those guys only cared about hunting monsters.

Fucked. That was all I could think. This wasn't even a situation where I could joke around anymore.

How was I supposed to explain this to Mom...

"Items you worked hard to collect? What items?! You were a total noob! You died because you got caught up in a monster fight, so why do you keep threatening me... sir? Could you please lower that gun...?"

Wait. Noob? I could suddenly picture the whole situation. Yeah, it was exactly the kind of thing a madman would do. And I knew a way to help Eris and resolve this as smoothly as possible—

What the hell was this nonsense all of a sudden? Fighting Dog of Fantasia? Getting a title was good, but Fantasia was the name of a ruined organization. Becoming its fighting dog was ridiculous. Of course, the plan I'd come up with was a gamble that could go horribly wrong if it failed, but no matter what, I had no intention of becoming a dog that fought for gangsters. I was just a PC bang part-timer.

So I boldly refused and decided to push ahead with my own plan.

"Title Window."

A holographic window appeared, displaying all the titles I possessed. There were quite a few, but I could only equip up to three at once. So I chose those three.

Just so you know, every title collected by the Title Collector has an additional effect. However, titles don't activate their effects just by being equipped. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠They only work once you make them public. Right now, the title floating above my head probably read something like Expert Ramen Cooker Who Is Unaffiliated with Any Organization and Is a PC Bang Part-Timer (Professional).

It was as ridiculously long as a light novel title, but it would draw plenty of attention, so it was perfect. In poker terms, this was like going all-in with four of a kind. The chance of failure was extremely low.

"Could you wait a moment, sir?"

I took a deep breath and spoke in the gentlest voice I could manage. Choon-sik frowned and turned toward me, then had to look up because ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I was taller.

"As you can see, I'm the PC bang part-timer."

I pointed at the title above my head, emphasizing it. Choon-sik blinked in surprise when he saw it. Yeah, if someone didn't react to a title this bizarre, they'd be a complete idiot. And if he really was crazy, this title would only make him more interested.

He took the bait. If he was asking like this, success was guaranteed.

"I'm not your average ramen maker. Anyway, I overheard your fight. This friend is playing Lineage on an account registered under her parents' name. Her actual age is only ten years old."

"What? For real? But you said you were twenty!"

Eris, if you want to live, play along.

"I'm sorry, I lied... I'm actually ten years old..."

Eris sniffled and clasped her hands demurely in front of her chest, looking as fragile as possible.

Now it was time for the finishing blow.

"It seems this young friend didn't know any better and ended up killing your character. If it's not too much trouble, could you tell us exactly how much real-world damage was caused by your character's death? Our PC bang will compensate you."

Since he'd called himself a noob, the actual damage was probably negligible. And because Choon-sik's eyes kept drifting back to my ridiculous title like the madman he was, I could already predict what he'd demand as compensation.

What a load of crap. The same guy who would put a bullet in Eris's head if the ramen tasted bad was running his mouth. It was disgusting, but I wasn't worried. The ramen I made was genuinely delicious.

"Whoa! This is seriously good! I'll come back for more ramen later!"

And so, without accepting the new title of Fighting Dog of Fantasia (Ruined) or whatever, the Choon-sik incident ended peacefully.

At the time, I had no idea.

I had no idea that I would spend the rest of my life regretting the fact that I didn't become the Fighting Dog of Fantasia.