A Suspicious Offer in a Suspicious City
The preliminary preparations began with a suspicious person making a suspicious proposal in a suspicious situation.
“So, what do you say? Want to work with us?”
The natural response to that was, of course—
“What the hell are you talking about?”
My tone came out sharp. I couldn’t help it.
“Don’t be so guarded. It’s literally a recruitment offer.”
“…We just met. What makes you think you can trust me?”
“Well, I’d like to say it’s because of the goodwill you just showed… but that’s not quite it.”
Nefure extended her hand toward me as she spoke.
“You’re the little vigilante of Altea, aren’t you? Meeting you was a coincidence, but I’ve been looking for you.”
“!!!”
Killing intent flared up instantly. The vague hostility Nefure harbored toward strangers had amplified in the blink of an eye.
“You… how do you know that?!”
“Oh, that’s impressive. I didn’t even see it.”
It wasn’t empty praise—I was genuinely surprised. Before I could even notice, she had already retreated a considerable distance away.
This is the power of Nefure’s unique ability.
If it could even fool my senses, it would be extremely difficult for more than ten people in the entire world to track her movements.
“Answer me! How do you know about me?”
Obviously, it came from game information and regression knowledge. But I couldn’t just spit that out.
So I pulled out the cover story I had prepared in advance.
“Your information is already in the security forces’ records. I just read it.”
“…What? That… that can’t be right.”
I tilted my head, pretending to be puzzled by Nefure’s reaction.
“Why couldn’t it be? Isn’t it obvious? Of course the security forces would have files on a vigilante who’s been stirring up the whole city.”
It wasn’t a lie. It was the truth. Appearance, age, abilities—everything. The security forces had gathered a decent amount of information on Nefure.
“…Then why did they leave me alone?”
“It’s their way of saying thanks.”
As members of the security forces, they had to at least pretend to chase active criminals. But fundamentally, they were all from Altea. While the higher-ups might feel differently, the field agents naturally welcomed the vigilante.
“Especially since the little vigilante has been robbing those arrogant noble families and forcing them to renovate the streets, right? No one from this city could possibly hate you.”
“………That’s—”
It was a relatively simple story. A resort city was a place where massive amounts of money flowed, but it was also a battlefield of colliding interests. Despite its famous reputation, Altea wasn’t exactly built on the most honorable foundations. So if someone with malicious intent blocked the roads leading here—if nothing but money entered the city and no actual goods followed—the city’s demand for resources would far exceed what any individual could handle. The remaining supplies would be depleted in no time.
Well, it’s not exactly a lie.
The only part where I deceived her was that I hadn’t personally heard this explanation.
“………”
When I glanced at Diana, she gave me a bright smile. As expected, regression information really was overpowered.
“The important thing is that you’re trustworthy and skilled at committing crimes. People like that aren’t easy to find.”
I was almost there. I could tell from the look on Nefure’s face.
She wants to do something about this situation anyway.
The reason she kept listening to such a shady story was simple: it sounded tempting.
“…Why are you trying to fix the current situation? You two are just tourists, aren’t you?”
That was the final question. And the answer wasn’t difficult.
“Does there need to be a reason to clean up trash? You just do it when you see it.”
That was my true feelings. As long as catching petty criminals was enough to fill the Spiral of Good Deeds, that thing was nothing more than a bonus. At my core, my heart simply ached at the sight of such trashy situations.
“…………”
Even though she could have walked away right then, Nefure simply stood there. It was obvious she was seriously considering my words.
Even though it has nothing to do with her, she didn’t reject it outright. As expected, she’s fundamentally a good person.
In truth, whether Altea’s public order worsened or not was none of Nefure’s business. If anything, given her talents, a lawless environment would probably benefit her more. Yet she still hesitated. Because it was the right thing to do.
…Or because she had been taught to act that way.
“…………”
However, her hesitation was dragging on. Considering the fate of the “little vigilante” as described in the game, it was only natural.
In that case, I just needed to throw out some bait she couldn’t ignore.
“People who do good deeds should receive good treatment.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Not interested in the academy?”
“…Huh?”
“I can write you a recommendation letter.”
I added with the most harmless smile I could muster.
“If you want, I can give you any other reward you desire.”
Time to think it over.
“Give me some time.”
“Take all you need. Just come find me here.”
In the end, we didn’t reach a conclusion on the spot.
I expected as much.
Among the connection characters, Nefure had the most difficult early-game route. There was no way she would agree immediately.
“We caught a total of 32 people today! Thank you so much for your help!”
So for now, I decided to focus on catching petty criminals.
It was already the third day since arriving in Altea. Unfortunately, the city was still overflowing with criminals today.
“It’s truly amazing! There are many people who help catch bad guys, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone catch as many as Sir Helio!”
Lier was still full of energy. Her speech was a bit strange, but that could just be considered part of her charm.
“You seem like you’d be really popular, Lier.”
“Huh? Ahaha… that’s not true.”
“Really? That’s surprising. You’re such a good kid.”
“Eek! Th-thank you…”
Lier scratched her head shyly. Even from a guy’s perspective, the gesture was pretty cute, so her claim of being unpopular felt genuinely unexpected. She was diligent, good at her job—I figured the girls would love her.
Is she just dense? Or has Oh Ji-o’s memories made my sense of these things completely different?
Anyway, setting that aside, after spending the past few days together, we had grown fairly close.
In short—
“Then let’s go grab some food.”
“Yes!”
We had reached the point where we would eat together after finishing work.
“How did you like the restaurant last time?”
“Like I said before, that shellfish place definitely put something weird in the food. The fact that the side steamed dish tasted better makes no sense.”
“Not being able to enjoy that flavor means you’re missing out on life!”
“Even if it costs me in the future, I’d rather enjoy the present. Let’s go somewhere more normal this time.”
“Yes!”
She really was a good kid. If there was such a thing as an ideal junior, it would be someone like her.
But at the same time, she was also a suspicious person.
Perfect again this time.
They say a true master can recognize an opponent just from their gait. It was a common phrase in martial arts novels, but not entirely baseless. What someone had trained their entire life would seep into their very being, so every gesture and every step would reflect their life story. This was especially true for those who used their bodies.
Through stepping practice, I had achieved perfect physical balance, freed myself from all bad habits, and could assume the optimal posture and movement in any situation. That was how I could tell for certain.
“By the way, it’s impressive.”
“What is?”
“The fact that you managed to secure lodging at this time of year. Are both of you high-ranking nobles?”
“…Not me. Diana is.”
“Heee… That’s amazing.”
The person walking beside me right now—Lier—was at minimum a sword master level powerhouse.
The moment I realized Lier’s true ability, I was stunned. There was no such character in the Academy Great War that I knew.
A sword master level powerhouse could be useful in almost any event.
The fact that she didn’t appear at the academy could be explained if she simply lacked a unique ability. But Altea was a place players could reach relatively easily in the game, and it was packed with events. After all, it was the only place where you could see swimsuits, so the developers had sensibly crammed in tons of events here.
Among those many events, quite a few involved the security forces. Yet not a single one featured a character named Lier.
If that were all, she would have simply been an NPC who didn’t appear in the game.
“I’ve never seen her before either.”
However, Diana also smiled with interest as she said that. It meant she had never encountered someone named Lier in any previous regression.
“…The theft incident at the Altea family usually happens in a month or two, right?”
“Yes. There were occasional connections to the security forces depending on the circumstances, but I’ve never seen a boy named Lier. However…”
“Yeah, I felt it too.”
That didn’t necessarily mean Lier was a complete irregular.
“The face feels familiar.”
“I felt the same way.”
Both Diana and I shared a sense of déjà vu when looking at Lier.
“Anyway, there are two possibilities I can think of right now.”
One was that Lier was the culprit behind this incident. The other was—
Maybe the original Lier was supposed to be dead…
“This way! It’s a shortcut only locals know!”
“Hey, Lier.”
He really was a good kid. You could say he radiated an aura that screamed “I want to be friends” from every pore—an ultimate social butterfly.
“Yes? What is it?”
So I asked him directly.
“You seem to have quite the ability to be stuck in the security forces. Is there a reason for that?”
The discrepancy between his strength and his position.