Unsolved Case (2)
Feeling the effect of the Crime Points, Shirone and his companions looked up at the sky and asked, "What's our points now?"
-Currently, your Crime Points are 91P.
Nade said, "We gained 9P. It's useful to know, but we need to accumulate Crime Points. If we don't solve the problem of getting them, we can't do anything."
Eden said, "First, let's survey the village. If it's an event that orbits, it could come back. Let's learn everything we can before we clear the mission."
Walking the streets and watching the village, Shirone couldn't meet the eyes of any passerby.
'We have to kill them. Three of them.'
Dorian was a small village, and they'd gathered all the information in just thirty minutes.
Back at the village entrance, the party sat under a tree and exchanged opinions.
Eden opened his mouth. "They feel like real people."
Iruki said, "But they aren't. No—you're missing the key point. What matters is that they resurrect."
Nade agreed. "Right. If an act's consequences get reset, do we even need to punish them? If we don't clear the mission, the points will keep dropping. We'll end up in prison."
Iruki turned to Shirone. "You decide. We're here to help you anyway. Whatever you decide, we'll follow."
"Melkidu must be a world where hidden codes apply. You could call it a simulation," Shirone said.
The group listened. "High Gear was similar. Back then, players even killed each other," he added with a shrug. "But this feels different. They keep killing defenseless civilians."
Iruki said, "It's the murderer's rule. Definitely a system made with malicious intent."
Nade stepped forward. "Is that so? I find it interesting. I'm not saying I like killing people in reality, but when we were kids we played war games, right? You hit someone with a stick and they dramatically fall. This is a bit more realistic here, but so what? We've fought world wars."
They had all seen enough cruelty to be jaded. "Just do it. We don't have time. Or I can go now and grab someone and—"
From the alley Nade had pointed to, two girls were giggling.
After watching them for a moment, Nade quietly lowered his hand and pressed his legs together.
Iruki, looking disdainful, said, "If you don't want to kill civilians, how about hunting villains instead? It's a place for murderers, but murderers don't always seek pleasure. There are timid cowards, mercenaries, blind fanatics who hate evil. If this world includes those gazes too, there might be ways for us to play that fit our principles."
"Oh, that's right!" Nade suddenly said.
"Curtis did that. At first he raised points by catching villains. He said it was inefficient, but we're not in a position to be picky," Nade added.
Shirone felt uneasy. "If a villain threatens people, I'd fight with my life. But going around hunting villains just to kill someone—that feels wrong."
Nade shot back, "Hey, if you think like that, how are we supposed to clear the mission?"
Eden said, "I agree with Shirone. We need to separate the intent of an act from its result. Shirone's saying we shouldn't accept this as normal, right?"
"Right. I know killing villains is the optimal approach. But the moment we start rationalizing, we get tainted by Melkidu's system. Then it won't matter who we kill."
Just like Curtis had done.
"What about Seina? We have to save her quickly. Seina is a real human." Shirone confessed his worry.
"Actually… I can liberate her right now," Iruki said.
"Like Andre's labyrinth?" Shirone asked.
"Yeah. Open the Immortal Function completely and reverse this world's Law. Those who have attained the state of Entry can return to reality. It wouldn't be a criminal act then. Melkidu would be absorbed back into the real world."
Eden asked, "So why not do it?"
"To return after opening the Immortal Function, you have to embrace this world in your heart. The murderer system, the demons in Melkidu, and…" Shirone's eyes hardened. "Giyorugi too."
He meant accepting back the demon Yahweh had cut out for humanity.
"No one understands Giyorugi like I do. This is probably the core of Yahweh's assassination strategy: planting the demon in me. Seina will be safe. If she isn't here, I have no reason to liberate this world."
Iruki stood. "All right. Decision made—shall we start? Let's ask the villagers who the biggest villain is."
One hour later.
"No way! Did that really happen?"
"It did! That's why I screamed—Hey! You just pooped your pants!"
"Kekeke! That's hilarious!"
Shirone, Nade, Iruki, and Eden watched from a distance as Nade chatted with the girls.
"This is driving me crazy," Nade muttered.
They'd spoken to over twenty people, and none of them were villains; every single one was kind.
"So we caught a thief…" Shirone cried out.
"Hey! Nade!" Nade snapped back to himself, waved at the girls, and ran over to his friends, grabbing his head. "This is bad. I don't feel like killing anyone. Isn't this village just too nice to live in?"
Iruki said, "It's a small community. In places like this, even minor incidents are rare—the culprit gets identified right away."
Shirone propped his chin on his hand. "Still, Curtis wouldn't have broken trust from the start. He said it's inefficient, not impossible. Maybe he didn't explain more because inefficient patterns are varied?"
"That's possible. Nearly two hundred people are acting with their own personalities. Some variable could occur. The problem is we don't know when," Eden said.
"We have no choice but to wait. For now, change the order and get weapons first. We can't do it empty-handed," Eden added.
They didn't want to strangle anyone barehanded, even if the target was a villain.
"Material," Iruki said, turning to Shirone. "Why not create them with that ability? It'd save points. You can make swords, right?"
"Of course I can, but—" Shirone activated Material.
-You lack the Crime Points needed to commit this crime. Your current Crime Points are 91P.
"My points are insufficient. Making a murder tool counts as a crime, apparently."
"…Annoying, but fair. So we either buy or steal," Nade said.
"I'll do it. Wait here." Nade glanced left and right, crossed the street, and slipped into the weapons shop across from them.
"Gotta pick something easy to kill with."
A moment later the door opened and Nade came out holding a knife identical to the murderer's.
Someone in the shop shouted, "You bastard! How dare you steal my goods? Thief! Thief…!" Nade didn't look back; he slammed the door shut with the sole of his foot.
Bang!
With his friends watching, Nade crossed the street again and tossed the knife. "See that? Masterful theft."
Iruki snatched the spinning knife by the hilt and inspected the blade. "Is this the best you could do?"
"This short one was all they had. There was a weird glowing one, but it said I didn't have enough points."
"How much then? What are our points now?"
-Currently, your Crime Points are 76P.
"Fifteen. Fifteen—cheap as expected. If we'd played normally, that'd let you stab fifteen times and kill three people. Under the murderer condition, that's an appropriate difficulty."
Armed with weapons, they entered an alley and waited for a variable to appear.
"This actually makes us look like criminals." There was no joking mood; Shirone bit his lip in anxiety.
'The possibility's high. But it's really inefficient. If nothing changes within a day, we'll have to rethink this strategy.' An hour later, as the sun was setting, the paper sign at the entrance began to flutter.
"Raid! It's a raid!"
Shirone's group burst out of the alley to find three thieves brandishing knives.
'This is it.'
The thieves' leader shouted, "This village is ours for today! Bring us three women and the most expensive liquor! Then nobody dies."
A system voice chimed. -A band of thieves has joined the village.
"The bastards…" While the villagers went pale with fear, Shirone's group was visibly excited.
"Now's our chance. Let's go."
Just as they were about to move, a voice came from behind. "Wait. We go first."
Shirone's party turned. Three people held knives identical to the one Nade had stolen.
'Players. Are these accomplices too?'
They'd apparently avoided detection while investigating, so they were trained.
A tall man looked Shirone over. "You're players too? But we've been waiting three days. Even if you're non-players, we couldn't kill innocent civilians."
That made sense.
"Of course we know you thought the same. Sorry, but we're chasing a brutal criminal. He's killed seven women. Could you yield to us?"
The thieves numbered three, so only one team could clear the mission.
When the man rolled up his sleeve, a hawk tattoo inside a circle showed on his forearm.
'Hawk Eye.'
He was a civilian investigator active in the Stang Kingdom.
"You recognized it. Right, we're an unofficial police force that handles cases the kingdom can't. Coincidentally, the guy we're chasing is a powerful noble." He laid a hand on Shirone's shoulder. "Honestly, I didn't expect you to find this hidden event so fast. Information about the thieves is only available at the village chief's house late at night. It took us two full days to learn it."
Meeting Curtis had been lucky, but what moved Shirone was something else.
'They waited three days.' Knowing the system and still refusing easy murder showed restraint.
"All right. We'll yield."
Shirone stepped back, deflated, and Nade patted his shoulder. "Can't be helped." He let out a resigned sigh.
The three investigators bowed as if in thanks and moved forward. "One man each."
"Good." They all carried short swords. After a brief stare, they launched themselves forward.
"Die, thieves!" As the investigators charged, the thieves bent low and gripped their longswords.
"Kekeke!"
Almost at the same moment, six people collided, and soon three investigators lay on the ground, stabbed.
"Uaaaaa!" The watching companions' eyes went wide. "They're really strong!"
Shirone was surprised too. 'They are certainly strong. But the investigators aren't able to fight properly either. Because of Crime Points…'
The thieves' leader shouted, "Puhahaha! You pathetic lot are playing at being something!"
"Ugh!" A peacekeeper cut in the ribs crawled backward, and the leader raised his longsword high. "Where's the heart supposed to be around here?"
"Tch! Give it!" Nade grabbed Iruki's dagger and, without giving him a chance to stop him, plunged into the battlefield.