Chapter 7
<7>
But the final mission in the videos I'd seen so far didn't involve stealing something two letters long from someone five letters long.
Usually, the phrase matching the final mission appears at the start of the game, so I could try to guess from that…
"Steal the treasure forbidden to villains!"
Mine was this.
Isn't that a vague statement that means nothing? After all, stealing someone else's treasure without permission is theft, and committing theft makes one a villain.
'Sigh, agonizing over a problem with no solution is just a waste of time. For now, let's just level up.'
Leveling up is always important, but the reason I'm particularly fixated on the final level is that it includes a special reward with a hint that helps achieve the final mission.
That might let me know what the final mission is.
'What should I steal next?'
I sat at my desk, pretending to space out, and rummaged through the mission window.
'Snatch a candy from a child's mouth? What's with the system's moral level?'
There were a few new missions, but none seemed particularly doable.
I thought I could just do nothing, but if Gemma Steel doesn't complete a mission for a certain period, she enters a state of madness. That's how a crazy ending comes about.
'Hmm… I also need to repair my items….'
Since I cleared a mission not too long ago, I won't go mad immediately, so maybe I should just quietly gather materials for item repair for a while?
Players can craft special items suited to their class. The umbrella I used yesterday, and the Spring Boots, were items made that way.
As they are game-breaking items, they require bizarre and rare materials. The umbrella, in particular, took over a year to gather all the materials for.
It's cheaper to craft a Repair Kit and fix them, but even that requires no small amount of materials.
[A Nanny's Umbrella: Durability 40%]
[Spring-Healed Jack's Boots: Durability 24%]
Look at how much durability I used up saving Hunt yesterday. I should claim compensation.
Last time, I forgot to repair my boots, and they disappeared when their durability hit 0, causing me to shed tears for days.
'I need to keep it above 80%.'
If durability is above 80%, I can leap across rooftops. But yesterday, I was chased by Hunt unexpectedly and had to spam jumps to escape, so I couldn't use my boots and had to pull out my precious umbrella.
'Repair Kit.'
[No Repair Kit available.]
When did I use it all?
'Repair Kit materials?'
[10 Spiny Feather of the Engmu Bird]
It's Engmu Bird, not parrot.
Unlike regular parrots, the Engmu Bird was a rare bird with a magnificent spiny feather fanning out like a tail at its rear. It was an expensive exotic species from the southern tropics, not something commonly seen.
'There's nothing left in my inventory….'
Do I have to search zoos or rich people's houses again? It was when I was trying to find the zoo I went to last time on the map.
Beep beep!
An emergency siren blared in my head, and bright red text appeared.
[Sudden Mission]
Reward: 20 Spiny Feather of the Engmu Bird
'Ooh! Thank you, System.'
Penalty: The next normal mission will proceed without the Facial Recognition Impairment effect.
'Huh? What's with the balance?'
Time Limit: 10 minutes
Objective: Achieve one of the following within the time limit.
<Be Kicked by Raven Hunt> vs <Kick Raven Hunt>
'You should have given this yesterday!'
I kicked Raven Hunt yesterday.
[Time Limit 09:57]
The countdown in the corner of my vision ticked down. I didn't have time to grumble.
I jumped up and stormed into the captain's office.
"Captain!"
Just let me kick you once. If the captain doesn't kick me, I'll kick them.
'...Where did he go?'
The captain's office was empty.
I turned around and asked Wesson,
"Where did the captain go?"
"To the Director's office."
The Director's office was on the top floor, the 5th floor. I ran outside without a second thought and got into the elevator.
"Ah."
It was on the 3rd floor that I had a thought.
'What if I miss him in the elevator?'
Should I have called the Director's secretary first? If I'm unlucky, I might end up playing tag with Hunt in this huge building.
Less than 8 minutes remaining.
Ding.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, I dashed into the Director's office and asked the secretary,
"Where is our captain?"
"Inspector Hunt? He left a little while ago. Didn't you see him?"
I knew it.
I quickly ran back to the elevator hall.
There were two elevators. One was the one I came up in, so Hunt couldn't have taken it. The other was not going down, but coming up.
'Then, the stairs?'
As expected.
I quickly ran down and saw Hunt just passing the stair landing between the 3rd and 4th floors.
"Captain!"
Hunt, who was roughly pulling at his necktie knot as if frustrated, stopped and looked up. The moment our eyes met, his deeply furrowed brow creased even further.
"Kent? What are you doing here?"
A research team's office assistant has no business coming to the top floor where the executives' offices are. I'll have to come up with an excuse, but that's a job for future me.
'Just let me kick you once!'
Facing those piercing eyes, I suddenly wondered if I was crazy to have thought of saying that earlier.
'Who would just kick someone because they asked?'
I had rushed after him without thinking, and I could clearly see his displeased expression. Did something happen at the Director's office?
'Then how about I kick you once to help you feel better?'
Are you crazy?
Who would do such a thing? Especially that man, who is so stubbornly upright, he'd never do that.
He's so principled. Even though he's been under pressure from various places for years because I've slipped through his arrest nets like a loach, he's never once fired a shot at me.
It wasn't that he couldn't. He chose not to.
He had countless opportunities to shoot and hit me. Just one shot would have ended his long pursuit, leading to medals, fame, and another rapid promotion, unfolding a bright future for him.
"He's a thief, not a robber."
…He stuck to that principle.
He argued that subduing me with a firearm wasn't regulation because I had never threatened anyone. Hunt was that excessively upright man, unyielding even when pressured from above to turn a blind eye.
Then how could I kick him!
[Time Limit 04:59]
Then I have to kick him!
I'll pretend to slip on the stairs and give him a little kick. Like a soccer player making a sliding tackle. Hunt wouldn't even get a scratch, but my backside would be on fire, that's for sure.
'It's better than getting caught without the Facial Recognition Impairment!'
"Captain!"
Pretending to be clumsy, I ran down at full speed and then feigned losing my footing right in front of Hunt, sliding.
"Ah!"
My act of surprise was excellent. And my slide, aimed at Hunt's right ankle, was incredibly natural. But…
'…He dodged this?'
In a split second, less than a millisecond, Hunt moved his foot and dodged. And that wasn't all…
'He saved me?'
As he dodged, he bent down and grabbed my arm.
What did I just see? It felt like I witnessed an amazing skill, such clean, precise, and swift movement.
So, Hunt, seeing me momentarily stunned, easily helped me up.
"That's dangerous. Don't run like this in high heels from now on. No, don't wear them."
Even as I received his stern reprimand, I was still dazed. It wasn't until I was involuntarily led to the elevator on the 3rd floor that my senses snapped back.
"Kent, you should take this down."
Hunt pressed the elevator button and turned away. He intended to leave me and go alone.
'No, excuse me. I only have 3 minutes left!'
I blindly chased after Hunt, who was heading back to the stairs, but he stopped and looked back at me.
"Do you have something to say?"
"Uh, well…"
Come on, my brain, give me something.
But no matter how hard I wracked my brain, I couldn't find a way to kick him or be kicked without arousing suspicion.
'Should I just kick him and deal with the aftermath? There's no time.'
[Time Limit 01:42]
"Kent."
Suddenly, Hunt called me in a serious tone.
"What are you looking at?"
Hunt glanced at my reflection in the hallway mirror, specifically my forehead where the countdown message was displayed, confirmed there was nothing there, and then…
"What are you doing right now?"
He cast a sharp gaze at me.
