The Girl Who Looted Tomorrow

Freya fell silent for a long time.

Truthfully, the current Freya did not know Amy very well.

But through the original Freya’s memories, she knew how kind Amy had been to her. Amy had often looked after her, helped her through daily difficulties, and supported her whenever she could.

Now, a sweet and caring girl had died because of Freya.

She could not accept that.

Freya rested one hand against her chin and carefully traced the chain of events.

Because she had gone to the police, Nolan and the others had come to protect her.

Because she had missed school, Amy had visited her.

Because Amy had stayed for dinner, she had left later than usual and crossed paths with the watcher.

That encounter had gotten her killed.

Amy’s attack had forced Nolan to rush outside.

Freya had followed him and seen too much to be hypnotized.

That was the only reason she had been recruited into the Special Affairs Division.

Was there any way to improve this sequence of events?

She could refuse to let Amy stay and urge her to go home immediately.

But if she did that, Freya would probably be forced to remain inside the apartment. She would never see the scene outside, and Rena would erase her memories afterward.

Did that mean Amy had to die if Freya wanted to join the Special Affairs Division?

Freya had not shown much emotion when Amy was injured the previous day, or when she learned of Amy’s death this morning.

That was only because she knew this was a simulation.

She had already decided that once she returned to reality, she would never choose this route.

Refusing to join the Special Affairs Division meant losing access to both the Law Path and Fate Path potions.

She would miss her chance to gain supernatural power through official channels.

But if the Special Affairs Division was not an option, perhaps she could approach the problem from another direction.

Freya immediately left the hospital and headed for the division.

Nolan looked confused when he saw her.

“Shouldn’t you be at school right now?”

Freya ignored the question.

“Captain, what exactly is Obsidian?”

She lowered her voice.

“Amy didn’t make it. She died because of that creature.”

Nolan remained silent for a moment before answering.

“About a month ago, large numbers of Rank One practitioners began appearing throughout Auxerre.”

Auxerre was the name of the city.

“None of them were especially strong, but they caused the Special Affairs Division a great deal of trouble. We’ve been overwhelmed for weeks.”

He continued, “We eventually discovered that every one of them carried a black envelope.”

“Each envelope contained an address and a recognition phrase. The contents were different every time.”

“Someone has been distributing potions to these people in secret.”

“We captured several contacts, but every one of them died before we could get any useful information.”

“They simply collapsed without warning.”

Nolan’s expression darkened.

“That brought the investigation to a complete halt.”

“Whoever is behind this is extremely cautious.”

“This entire case is now known as the Obsidian Incident. Every Special Affairs team in the city is trying to investigate it.”

Nolan seemed to assume that Amy’s death had made Freya hate both the creature and the organization behind it.

“I know you’re grieving,” he said, “but your first priority is training.”

“You need to pass the assessment and drink your potion. Only then will you be able to help.”

That was not what Freya had come for.

She wanted the black envelope Nolan had taken from the watcher.

The official route could not get her a potion within the simulation’s time limit.

But the watcher had also been a practitioner.

If Obsidian was secretly handing out potions, could she obtain one through their network instead?

According to Nolan, someone was distributing potions in the shadows.

Why could the next recipient not be her?

If she acquired the envelope, followed the address, and gave the correct recognition phrase, perhaps she could obtain a potion from the contact.

Freya considered asking Nolan for the envelope.

He would never agree.

There was only one reason someone would want it.

They intended to go to the meeting place and use the recognition phrase.

That would immediately make him suspicious.

She would have to obtain the envelope another way.

For example, she could avoid contacting the police from the beginning.

She could deal with the watcher herself, then search the body and take the envelope.

Once Freya settled on that plan, she did not end the simulation immediately.

Instead, she looked at Nolan with determination.

“I want to start training now. What do I need to do?”

Nolan raised an eyebrow.

“You’re not going back to school?”

“No.”

Freya’s expression remained firm.

“I want to become stronger and avenge Amy.”

Of course, that was only a reasonably convincing excuse.

From that day onward, Freya woke early every morning and reported to the Special Affairs Division.

She trained her body, practiced close-quarters combat, and learned how to shoot.

A month passed before she knew it.

During that time, the Obsidian Incident continued to grow worse.

Attacks involving supernatural practitioners became increasingly common throughout the city.

Today, however, Nolan looked over Freya’s training results and showed a rare smile.

“Very good.”

“Your application for the Fate Path potion has been submitted.”

“Come with me to headquarters at this time tomorrow. We’ll collect it together.”

“Tomorrow?”

Freya murmured the word.

She needed only one more day.

If the simulation lasted until tomorrow, this saved version of her would become a supernatural practitioner.

Unfortunately, today was the final day of the simulation.

It was disappointing, but there was nothing she could do.

The minutes continued to pass.

Before long, a system notification appeared.

[This simulation has reached its time limit.]

The familiar sensation returned.

It felt as though Freya had been holding her breath underwater and had finally broken the surface.

Her eyes flew open.

She had returned to the day she first arrived in this world.

She was standing outside her apartment, at the exact moment when she had been about to go to the police.

“Overwrite Save Slot 00.”

She gave the command without hesitation.

She had not obtained the Fate Path potion during the simulation.

Even so, the month had not been wasted.

Freya had eaten proper meals every day, allowing her body to gradually recover from malnutrition.

She had also exercised constantly.

Her physical condition was far better than it had been when she first arrived.

Why would she keep using a weak and undernourished body when she had a healthier one available?

The moment Save Slot 00 was overwritten, Freya’s real body began to change.

Her hair grew several inches longer.

Color returned to her cheeks, and her entire complexion became visibly healthier.

Her ordinary clothes were replaced by a fitted women’s Special Affairs uniform.

Freya looked back at the system interface.

Future Simulation had entered another cooldown period.

This time, the countdown was thirty hours.

“So every day I spend inside a simulation adds one hour to the cooldown?”

As she considered the possibility, Freya checked everything she had brought back from the simulation.

The first thing she noticed was that the golden lock in her consciousness had disappeared.

It had come from the Law Path contract.

Did that mean contracts signed during a simulation did not affect reality?

Freya then found a Special Affairs identification badge in one of her pockets.

It displayed her name and official information.

She had been a recruit for less than a month, but a member of Special Affairs was still a member of Special Affairs.

By presenting this badge, she could give orders to any regular police officer.

Of course, the badge was effectively a single-use item in reality.

She could issue an order, but once the officer returned to the station and checked the records, they would discover that no one named Freya Russell worked for the division.

Then she would be in serious trouble.

She had no intention of using it in reality.

Inside a simulation, however, it might prove useful.

Freya also found a compact handgun.

It was a Loco 191.

The magazine held twelve rounds.

It had less stopping power than her revolver, but also produced less recoil, making it far more suitable for someone of Freya’s size.

It was accurate, easy to handle, and had been assigned to her personally by Nolan.

Finally, Freya removed the Special Affairs uniform.

She folded it neatly, placed it inside the wardrobe, and changed into ordinary clothes.

“I need to buy some new clothes.”

The original Freya had always lived as frugally as possible and owned very little.

Overwriting the save file had also replaced the outfit she had been wearing, which meant she had effectively lost another set of clothes.

Freya counted carefully.

Only two everyday outfits remained in the wardrobe.

Since she had nothing else to do during the cooldown, she took enough money and headed for the nearest shopping district.

She entered the first clothing store that caught her eye.

Then she stopped in front of a display rack.

Several dresses hung beside pairs of sheer stockings.

Freya blinked.

“This era already has stockings?”