39 – They’re Just NPCs, Man.
Crow, with the book still open on the page talking about the elf waifu tier list, looked up. "So... was I supposed to say something?"
The elf-enjoyer responded, "Just look from page 11 onward and don't read it out loud. Everything you read carries illusion magic, so if anyone checks your memories, nothing will show up... to be honest, the illusion is so strong that maybe our conversation can’t be checked by anyone who didn’t hear firsthand."
This guy... he actually...
Crow flipped past the elf tier list and checked page 11.
Looks like my college group aren't the only ones pulled into this world. The technology's more advanced than it should be. Instead of automatic beasts stuffed with magic, there are already old firearms loaded with magic-infused ammo. Thankfully I managed to acquire and build my class the right way. If everything goes smoothly I can dodge the bad ending...
He flipped a few pages...
The problem is... the Hero seems incompetent. He hasn't done a single side quest. Is he some kind of noob possessor? It doesn't make sense for him to skip the sidequests, everyone does the sidequests... He also hasn't pulled off a single glitch or used any exploit. I confirmed it all with the informants I'm paying to watch him, and from what I can tell, he fights the monsters without showing anything. A modern human would react somehow... Is he actually just a normal person from this world? And as a result he's just living a normal life, and the story got distorted because of some other event? One thing's for sure, that—
"Do you like this shoe? It's made to be as comfortable as possible for noble maidens...” The dwarf rubbed his hands together as he talked, looking at Sharon, a nervous smile on his face. “As you can see, the inside is nice and soft, perfect for walking around the city, and also..."
Where was I? Ah, whatever, too many bad notes. I'll just skip around until I find something that looks interesting, since this guy clearly wants to make sure I don't ruin his “Run”. Too bad he has no idea we're already cooked. Alice has access to weapons of mass destruction now, and something nobody could've predicted might be coming. Honestly, I think it's already over. Anyway, let's see...
Crow flipped through a few more pages, skimming. Line by line, his eyes widened, until he sat there frozen, stunned.
Read this again and again, lock in the run, main point. As long as the Tyrant gets taken out early, the run's secured. She's the only boss that ever gave me trouble, so if the Hero won't do his job, I'll have to do it myself. Once I get the broken ring, "Magic Isn't Real," the boss fight turns easy, just pull the throne room glitch and take the opening. Since I've only confirmed newbies so far, or transmigrated scientists, this should go fine. It's not like anyone's going to step in and complicate things. Really, that's the plan, invade right after the Hero's invasion quest. If he fails, I finish it, and the world settles down, and I get to enjoy my chill isekai and pull off for sure my maximum isekai enjoyment plan—
Makoto spoke up, "Again, I can tell by your face. Yeah, you screwed everything up, didn't you? This whole situation right here is proof enough. It wasn't supposed to go like this... man, we're cooked now. You get that, right?"
Crow lifted his eyes and stared at the man, silent, expression totally blank.
Makoto broke the silence. "Tell me you're at least going for some secret run. How far did you get?"
Crow sank back into the couch. "A bit past the... throne?"
After picking out her shoes, Sharon had gone to look for clothes while they were talking.
The elf enjoyer's mouth hung open for a moment before he answered. "Yeah... we’re cooked."
Crow shut the book, tossing it back to Makoto before speaking."Whatever. What's done is done, and this is reality, not some fantasy. What do you want, showing me this?"
The elves came back, dressed in their new clothes. Makoto got up and the taller, curvier elf threw her arms around him, nearly choking him in that hug while she smiled. "Master, thank you so much for the presents."
He pried her off and caught his breath. "Right... Katarina, not now... I'm in the middle of a serious conversation—"
The dwarf approached them and said, "Makoto-sama, their clothes came to—cough—44 silver coins."
The elf-enjo... Makoto asked, “What?”
"40 silver coins, Makoto-sama." The dwarf rubbed his hands together again, smiling nervously.
Man, I just want to get out of here... Now that I look over, Sharon's already dressed and everything. Did I spend too long reading? Whatever, I'll just grab a shirt and a jacket, that's more than enough... and some shoes, of course.
Crow got up, picked out some dark clothes and shoes from the back, and after putting them on, asked, "So, old man, how much for all this?"
The dwarf stroked his beard. "Well, the prices keep climbing, you know how it is... inflation from the war... so we don't post prices anymore... but today, no question, the price is—"
Crow glared at the dwarf. "You trying to scam me?"
The dwarf held his breath for a few seconds. "N-no, of course not, haha, these things happen. I'll knock the price down to 10 silver coins, since demand isn't exactly high for that rag—cough... for that style of clothing..." He glanced at Sharon. "And the princess's, those are on the house. She can just take them."
Makoto, already preparing to leave with his elves, murmured, "Princess..." Then he glanced back at Crow. "Come on, it's not hard to guess, you need to leave the city, right? Since you're escorting... a princess. You help me, I help you. You know what's on the line here... I hope you do." Then he walked out of the shop.
Maybe it’s not a good idea... but...
[Status]
Name: M4k0T077 ELFS111333
[...]
ERROR: Passive Skill: What are you looking at newbie?
Yeah...
Crow paid the shopkeeper, and as they headed for the door, Sharon leaned in close and whispered, "Crow, I haven't said anything, but it's pretty obvious you two are hiding something... what was that conversation about? I tried to look at the book, but it was written in some language I couldn't read, too distorted, maybe because of that illusion magic he mentioned. But it doesn't make sense that you could read it."
I don't even know what to tell her... that has to be the most random thing that could've happened in a clothing shop, honestly—
She tugged lightly at his shirt. "Crow?"
He leaned closer to Sharon and whispered in her ear. "He knows more than I do... that about sums it up."
Sharon glanced ahead, then back at Crow, a few times. The man walked a few meters in front of them, an elf hanging off each arm like a pair of crutches. "Then we should kidnap him and bring him with us."
He sighed. "Sharon, I already tried using my item on him, and it didn't work. He's strong, maybe stronger than you, and he's a Rogue who uses magic too, maybe stronger than the Hero. If he wanted to fight, we wouldn't stand much of a chance. Not in our current shape, exhausted and still recovering from everything that happened..."
She'd looked almost ready to fight a second ago, but she eased back. "Yeah, fair point. We've got enough problems already, better to just get out of here. He offered to help us leave, which is suspicious... but if it comes down to it, we fight."
I always figured I was the one itching for a fight... looks like she's loosening up a little too...
Makoto stopped walking and turned to face them. "Oi! How long are you two gonna lag behind there? It's weird, come walk with us. Might not look like it, but I'm nobility around here, you know, being rich and everything..."
Does he have no shame to say that at all? Whatever.
They stopped and waited for Crow and Sharon to catch up, and once everyone was together, they started walking again. Makoto picked right back up. "Right, my name's Makoto." He gestured at the shorter elf. "This is Diana." Then at the taller, curvier one. "And this is Katarina. You know, I used to play a lot of MOBA, and those names always sounded cool."
Crow's face twisted slightly. "They don't have their own names?"
The shorter elf bristled. "Y-you—"
Makoto raised his right hand, and the elf went quiet. "Anyway, you guys don't need to tell me your names, I already know. You know how it is, Karl, System and all that."
He and the elves walked on the right, Crow beside him on the left, Sharon on Crow's other side. She leaned closer, hand cupped near his ear and whispered, "What's a system?"
"It's pretty complicated," Makoto cut in. "Oh, sorry, was that meant for him? My skill just kind of lets me hear things easily, and you two are standing way too close... er, are you going for some Otome Game route? Don't tell me... the Archmage girl too? Must be that skill of yours. Ah, who am I to talk, forget the tier list thing, okay?"
What an insufferable guy. I'll just keep my cool until we're out of here. Does he really still think this is just a game?
As they approached the port, a few ships lay docked along the piers, and a small group of guards stepped forward to intercept them.
That's all I needed...
One of the guards, all smiles, walked up to him. "Makoto-sama, what brings you here?"
"Business trip, you know how it is. These two are my guests, no need to search them, okay?" He waved toward Crow and Sharon, then walked straight past, and the guards just bowed and stepped aside.
Hm...
A few steps later, Crow snuck a glance back, then toward the ship ahead. "You're not bribing these guys, are you, Makoto?"
Makoto turned to him. "Of course not, what do you take me for? The Hero would wipe the floor with me for that. Never played Skyrim or any of those games? Getting a bounty on your head in the main city of any RPG is just dumb, how would you finish the quests? I just pay a ton of taxes. If I left the city, taking all my businesses with me, they'd take a massive loss. You could even say I'm the one paying their salaries."
As they neared the ship, Crow glanced at the book Makoto was holding. Still walking straight ahead, Makoto casually flipped to a page and tilted it toward Crow, pointing at the text. "See? Walkthrough for the money speedrun. Never fails."
A few men passing by glanced at the elves, but the second they spotted Makoto, they looked away and fixed their eyes on Sharon instead.
Hm? Oh, yeah... she caught me off guard when she grabbed my hand. Guess she's feeling self-conscious because of them. Right, getting out should be pretty easy... honestly, calling anything easy after everything that happened is almost a joke. Makoto... finding us was way too convenient, but calling him out right now might not be smart. I'll wait until we're out at sea, almost out of the city...
A crewman standing at the front of the ship came to meet them. "Makoto-sama, the ship's ready to set sail as instructed, but we couldn't find... that thing."
Makoto pressed a coin into the man's hand. "No problem. Let's go." He climbed aboard and waved for Crow and Sharon to follow. Passing a handful of crew members, he led them to a room near what looked like the ship's main section, then sat down at the table in the middle of it. Behind him, a large window showed the view outside. "Ladies, give us a minute. I'd like to talk to Karl alone."
Sharon's face hardened.
Yeah, I get it, sketchy. One-on-one, he'd win without a doubt. Speed, items, level, it's no contest. But if he wanted us dead, he would've made a move already.
Crow looked at her. "Sharon, it's fine. I'll see what he wants."
"Right..." She didn't like it, but she left anyway, and the elves went with her.
Crow watched her go, and once the door shut, he sat in the chair, put both arms on the table, and asked, "So? Tell me what you want."
"Karl, here's the thing, I was gonna go for the Hidden Quest, but I'd need a sacri—cough... a strong mana source, to lure out the secret boss, and well, Sharon is... she's a good option. The loot alone would defin—"
SMACK!
The table split down the middle when Crow's fist slammed into it sideways. "You messing with me right now?"
"Whooooaaa, easy, easy, I got ahead of myself, I didn't mean she'd die. When I saw her +33 affinity points toward you, I already figured something was up..." He threw both hands up. "Relax, we'd just lure it out, that's it, I'm getting you out of the city here, help me out man, finding a strong mage to... on my own takes forever, she's not a mage but with that level and mana concentration... you know, think of the loot man, think of the items, not to mention the XP!"
He is joking... right?
Crow looked at the space behind Makoto for a moment, eyes on the window. "You want to get rid of her... to make your 'run' easier, don’t you?"
Makoto stood and turned toward the window. They'd already reached open water. "Crow, you know what's on the line here, right? Alice is a broken boss. You being here with her stunning curvy general tells me something's gone seriously wrong. You can find pretty faces anywhere in the world... you don’t need her, and you're playing with a Hidden Class..."
Hidden Class?
Makoto turned back around. "You need to choose, Karl. Maybe spending too much time with them messed with your head, or maybe Alice brainwashed you. One of the routes to the early bad ending features the Hero getting brainwashed... that's probably your case. Or maybe you actually think you're in a dating sim, planning to build yourself a villain harem?" He stepped closer and placed a hand on Crow's shoulder. "You never beat this game, did you... it's got multiple endings. When I say she needs to die, it's not out of malice, she's..." He pulled his hand back and turned away. "She's just insane. A cliché villain who wants to rule the world and won't stop until she does. You think I've been clowning around out here? I used everything I learned from playing this game for over 10 years, all to get OP as fast as possible. I messed up a little, so the speedrun's not clean, but it still works. If a few of her generals die... before the boss fight, I can solo her using some glitches and exploits I know about. They're just NPCs, man..."
This guy... does he actually think this is a video game? How can he look everyone in the eye and think—
Makoto stepped closer again, to where Crow still sat in the chair. "I know she's pretty, all of them are, especially the maids at that place, the thick dark elf... and apparently the vampire general has somehow taken a liking to you, but they're just NPCs. There are plenty of pretty girls out there, and if you want more, we can just head to the elf lands. They've got the S-Rank waifus from the tier list, it’s the perfect opportunity to kill Alice’s personal—"
Crow rose from the chair and hauled him up by the collar. He didn't say a word.
"Karl... so that's how it's gonna be?"
Thunder rumbled somewhere close, and night had already arrived. Makoto looked to the side and, paying attention through the window of the ship's main room. "I didn't want to have to do this, after all you're a real person like me... Karl, I know it's something kind of insane, especially for a newbie, I can't even imagine what it must have been like ending up there and getting brainwashed..." He placed his hands over Crow's and easily forced them open. "But you need to wake up to life, dude. Are you going to help Alice take over the world? Are you going for the bad ending? Are you crazy—"
Thunder cracked, the ship tilted to one side, and both of them slid to the side of the room, along with chairs, cabinets and the wreckage of the broken table.
What just happened? Felt like a whale rammed into us.
Makoto smirked. "Well, Karl, looks like the Hidden Quest already kicked off. Come on, you owe me for getting you out of the city, and for not going to the guild when I sent the group to..." He cut himself off, his smile falling. "I'll explain later, let's go farm the Hidden Boss."
He sent someone to talk to me before? Honestly I don't even know what to say anymore, it's too much information.
The ship steadied, and Makoto caught his balance with a smirk. "Grab the secret item that drops off the boss, get rid of the pretty face vampire to lock in the good ending, all at once, nothing beats farming a ton of XP in a few minutes... I can feel it... this is the Run."