The world of Valamore looked more fictional than real to Solved. He blinked several times, as if willingness alone could prove it was not a dream.
The air smelled wrong—too clean, like someone had scrubbed Tokyo and forgotten to put the city back.
Damn. I really got isekai'd, he thought, scanning the landscape.
From the hill where he stood he couldn't see the town—the place was ringed by gigantic walls—but towers and castle spires poked up like the teeth of some sleeping beast, all stone and shadow, like something out of medieval lore.
[VALAMORE]
The name hovered before him in thin, luminous letters.
"Nice. Now I have to walk all the way there," he muttered, exhaling a laugh that tasted like defeat.
As he descended toward the wall his legs began to burn. "You could have just teleported me there," he cursed the system under his breath. "Stupid—"
The interface chimed.
[NEW CASE.]
He glared at the floating text. He wasn't even at the gate yet; what kind of mission started with a hike?
[CASE FILE OPENED]
Classification: Copper Mystery
Subject: "Why must you walk?"
Notes: The Seed stirs — purpose hidden within the journey
Potential Reward: +10 EXP
[STATUS: INQUIRY IN PROGRESS]
"Easy," he said, grinning despite himself. "Because you hate me. Or you're testing me. Is that even a mystery—"
The system gave no answer. Only the faint hum of the world and the rasp of his boots on the path answered him.
He rubbed his chin as he trudged forward. "Alright, think. Why make me walk?"
First possibility: punishment. He did mouth off to the system earlier. Petty, but possible.
Second: test of stamina. Maybe it judged strength by endurance.
Third: diversion. Walking wastes time, which means something important might happen on the way.
Fourth… He narrowed his eyes. "An encounter. Someone I'm supposed to meet before the gate."
He smirked. "Yeah. That sounds like your style."
The interface dinged again.
[ The Enigma Seed Stirs... ]
Case File Status: Half-Solved
Progress: 1 / 2
Reward: [Locked — Mystery Incomplete]
[ Seek the remaining truth. Only the whole picture shall yield the reward. ]
Solved scoffed. Half-solved, huh? So the system was layered—rewards under rewards, puzzles under puzzles.
"Fine," he said to the sky and the floating UI and whatever intelligence lurked behind it. "Let's meet your person."
He picked up his pace toward the distant gate, the spires of Valamore rising like a promise—or a threat—against the horizon.
---
The steady clatter of hooves echoed down the road behind him. Solved glanced back to see a carriage approaching, the driver reining in two well-groomed horses.
The timing bugged him. Twenty minutes of walking, and boom—convenient rescue.
"Yeah, right," he muttered. "Because that's not suspicious at all."
Their tack gleamed with polished metal, and the carriage itself bore fine detail—too ornate for common folk.
The man on the bench caught sight of Solved, his sharp coat and tailored clothing elegant enough for Tokyo standards, but here they looked alien, an odd silhouette against the medieval world.
Solved lifted one hand, palm out—the same easy gesture he'd used a thousand times to hail a cab in Shinjuku.
The driver's brows knit with surprise, but he slowed the carriage all the same.
A noble, Solved concluded, noting the embroidered clothes, the decorated harness, the quiet authority in the man's bearing.
Then he looked at the hands holding the reins.
Wait. Solved's eyes narrowed.
The guy's hands were wrong—too rough for someone in fancy clothes, callused from manual work. And no family crest on the carriage, just expensive-looking decoration without meaning.
Trying too hard.
[TRUTH SIGHT ACTIVATED]
[Target Analyzed: Deception Detected]
[Status: False Identity Confirmed]
The carriage slowed to a halt, wheels crunching over dirt. The man looked down at Solved, eyes narrowing in curiosity.
"You're dressed strangely, traveler. From what province do you hail?"
Solved smiled faintly. "Farther than you'd believe. Let's just say… east of the sunrise." He brushed off his coat as if that settled it.
The man studied him, clearly unsatisfied. "You speak with confidence. Noble? Scholar? You don't look like a farmer. And your coat—no tailor in Valamore makes such a cut."
"Let's call it a memento from my last case." Solved ran a finger down the lining with casual pride.
The driver's gaze flicked to Solved's hands, then back to his eyes. "Strange mementos, strange words. Why are you walking alone toward the city? No guard, no servant, no crest?"
"Maybe I prefer to travel light. Fewer questions that way." He shrugged, eyes wandering over the horizon with practiced indifference.
The silence stretched. Solved raised an eyebrow, voice calm but pointed.
"So what about you? A noble without a crest. Hands too rough for soft living. Why dress the part if you don't own the title?"
The man's jaw tightened, then a small smile cracked his face. "Sharp tongue. You see too much for a weary traveler."
"Occupational hazard."
The man weighed him for a long moment, then finally flicked the reins. "Very well. Get in. I'll take you as far as the gates. But know this—Valamore doesn't welcome those who lie about who they are."
Solved smirked as he climbed aboard. "Good thing I'm telling the truth… mostly."
---
"What should I call you?" the false noble asked as Solved settled into the seat beside him.
He was tempted to say his real name—Takuma Itadori—but since he was in a new world, why not make his code name his real name here?
"Solved," he said simply, then tilted his head with casual interest. "And you?"
"Andrew Ten."
The pause before answering. The way his eyes shifted left for just a fraction of a second. The faint, almost unnoticeable tightening of his lips.
[TRUTH SIGHT ACTIVATED]
[Andrew Ten: FALSE NAME DETECTED]
[Emotional State: Cautious, Calculating, Mildly Amused]
Solved smirked. They were both lying, neither giving their true names. Two players in the same game.
"Nice to meet you, Andrew," Solved said, letting just enough knowing amusement into his voice to make it clear he wasn't fooled.
Andrew's grip on the reins tightened almost imperceptibly. Smart man—he'd caught the subtext.
"Likewise, Solved." Andrew's tone carried the same subtle acknowledgment. "Unusual name. Is that what your parents called you, or something you earned?"
"Something I became." Solved settled back, studying the approaching walls of Valamore. "What about you? Born a Ten, or did you count your way up to it?"
Andrew actually laughed at that, a genuine sound that cut through the tension. "Sharp and quick. I can see why you travel alone—most people probably can't keep up with your conversations."
"Most people lie poorly. Makes conversation boring."
"And what about people who lie well?"
The interface glowed, glyphs fading one by one until only silence lingered.
[ ASSET FILE ACQUIRED ]
[Subject: Marcus Blackthorne ]
↳ Known Aliases: Andrew Ten, "The Fallen Heir"
[ Lineage: House Blackthorne ]
↳ Status: Stripped of Titles, Two Years Exile
[ Inner Flame: Vengeance Unyielding ]
↳ Seeks Justice: Lord Blackwood — accused of patricide
[Value Assessment: MAXIMUM ]
↳ Binding Thread: Vendetta sharp enough to pierce betrayal
[System Advisory: Conceal knowledge of true identity.]
Solved smiled as he looked at the hovering text.
"An asset, huh? More like a walking storm in borrowed clothes."
He dismissed the panel with a flick, though the warning lingered in his mind like smoke. Conceal the truth. Don't speak his name.
"Guess you're important, Marcus Blackthorne," he thought, eyes shifting back to the man beside him.
"But the system only hides sharp knives for one reason—because they cut both ways."
The carriage rolled on toward the massive gates of Valamore, two strangers who weren't strangers, sharing lies that might as well have been truths, each wondering what the other was really after.
[CASE FILE PROGRESS UPDATE]
[ The Enigma Seed pulses... ]
Progress: 1.5 / 2
[ New Objective: Discover Andrew's True Purpose. ]
Almost there, Solved thought, watching the city walls grow larger. But what's the real mystery—why I had to walk, or why you were waiting for me?
The answer, he suspected, was about to become very clear indeed.
---
[ENTERING VALAMORE - FIRST CASE AWAITS]
[Welcome to your new hunting ground, Detective]