Ch.81[Chapter 81] Not an Advertisement, but an Idiot!

The masked person trembled with embarrassment.

Sir Dominic was right.

If they had just fled without doing anything strange when first discovered, things wouldn’t have escalated this far.

The masked person’s grip tightened.

The dagger pressed against Remi’s neck dug a little deeper, creating a thin red line.

“Remi!”

Sir Dominic, alarmed by the wound, tried to move closer.

“Stop! Don’t come any closer! Don’t you care about the hostage’s life?”

The masked person said this while pressing the dagger even closer to Remi’s neck.

“Sorry to interrupt when you’re both so immersed…”

Just then, a voice that sounded half-asleep came from behind the masked person.

“Did you forget that in Gachaland, you can come back to life as long as you have value?”

“Ah.”

Sir Dominica, who had been lying on the sofa behind the masked person, scratched her messy hair as she sat up.

Sir Dominica was right.

Although the situation had escalated into a hostage crisis, such tactics were meaningless in Gachaland where people revived immediately after death.

“I was wondering when you’d realize.”

Remi, now fully awake from the pain at her neck, sighed.

She grabbed the stunned masked person’s wrist, pushed it away, and slipped out from their grasp.

Click. The sound of a gun being loaded came from beside the masked person.

“You must pay for interrupting my pleasant dream, Hyper Authentic.”

Sir Dominica smiled as she called the masked person by what seemed to be their real name.

“This might sting a bit. I deal pretty good damage for a tank.”

Bang. The sound echoed through the yard and into the forest.

Birds in the forest took flight all at once.

…

“So.”

Sir Dominic looked at the masked person, Hyper Authentic, who was kneeling.

An old fedora, a suit full of holes, and a faded coat.

According to Sir Dominica, he was an investigator working under Duke Poe Le Zac.

“Why did you break into our house?”

“Well…”

Hyper Authentic trailed off with an expression that suggested he didn’t want to die.

“Actually, would you believe me if I said the Duke has been keeping an eye on you all?”

Hyper Authentic said this with a serious face.

“The Duke was so impressed with you that he sent me to invite you to his duchy during this event.”

“Wait, then what’s that suspicious harp on your back?”

“And why did you panic when you were discovered?”

Remi and Sir Dominic asked sharply.

“Well, to answer one by one—”

As an investigator, Hyper Authentic had a habit of collecting suspicious evidence.

The suspicious harp he found on his way here couldn’t fit in his inventory, so he had to carry it on his back.

“And actually, our investigation department… is a secret information police, so we shouldn’t reveal our identity. Previously, someone noticed us and kept posting nonsense on the internet, causing trouble for many people.”

Though the issue was resolved somehow, Hyper Authentic continued.

“The advertisement is part of that. About 30 seconds. One minute at most. We blur people’s perception, stop their movements, and complete our mission within that short time.”

This time I was trying to deliver a letter with a mysterious concept, but… Hyper Authentic trailed off.

“By the way, you were impressive. I didn’t expect everyone to be such veterans that you wouldn’t care about your lives.”

“…Huh?”

Remi was puzzled by Hyper Authentic’s words.

“Confusing me with talk about having multiple lives in Gachaland and then escaping. That’s something only a veteran agent could think of.”

Hyper Authentic was speaking as if life was singular.

“Do you… perhaps believe you only have one life or something?”

Sir Dominic asked with a dubious expression.

“Isn’t that obvious?”

Hyper Authentic pulled up his worn coat and declared confidently.

“Just as the Earth is round and leaves fall, having one life is common sense, isn’t it?”

Everyone stared at Hyper Authentic.

“It is… common sense, right?”

Hyper Authentic’s voice grew smaller.

His fragile heart couldn’t withstand these stares.

One might have realized by now that Hyper Authentic was Super Deluxe from a parallel world.

Super Deluxe was the embodiment of self-love with a strong desire to promote himself through social media.

Conversely, Hyper Authentic had almost no self-assertion and believed whatever he read on social media to be true.

Hyper Authentic believed the Earth was round, learned that rabbits don’t live on the moon, that Santa Claus doesn’t exist, and that we’re all characters in a novel. From social media.

In reality, Hyper Authentic didn’t know that Gachaland’s terrain was a flat plane with holes here and there in unobserved areas, that a Moon Rabbit event was being prepared for the New Year, and that Santa was gaining weight for Christmas.

He hadn’t kept up with events because he was too busy with work.

A complete opposite of Super Deluxe who starred in events.

After reading on social media that people only have one life, he truly believed it.

“So, in Gachaland, you can come back to life as long as you have value—”

“Come on, stop joking. How could anyone revive so easily? If you’re going to deceive me, at least make it believable—”

What a frustrating man, Hyper Authentic!

He must have received an explanation when invited here, but Hyper Authentic was so lost in his own delusions that he didn’t listen properly.

“If people had multiple lives, then the rumor about a 2-tier tank performing at 4-tier level must be true.”

Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica flinched.

They had indeed shown performance beyond their tier, enough to be called to a hearing and get nerfed.

“And it must also be true that only 10 cards of such tanks were released into the card pool.”

Hyper Authentic laughed, thinking no one would release just 10 cards instead of at least 100, but Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica couldn’t laugh.

“Above all, the post saying our Duke was impressed by such people must be true too!”

Sir Dominic wanted to ask if that wasn’t why he came looking for them through you, but he remained silent.

Apparently, this investigator was quite… foolish.

“Anyway, this Hyper Authentic is moved by your spirit. Truly worthy of the Duke’s attention.”

Hyper Authentic pulled out an elegant letter from his inner pocket.

The white envelope decorated with gold leaf was sealed with red wax, and the ducal family’s crest was stamped on the seal.

“The Duke invites you to his duchy, so please accept this invitation. The address and map are inside.”

After saying this, Hyper Authentic subtly stood up, and while everyone was distracted by the invitation, he shook hands with each of them.

“It’s an honor to meet such remarkable people. Now I’ll be on my way—”

What cunning speech!

Smiling pleasantly as if he hadn’t just been holding someone hostage, Hyper Authentic prepared to leave.

This was the result of his desperate instinct to avoid the administrator who came whenever he made mistakes.

“Wait.”

However, Sir Dominic stopped Hyper Authentic as he was about to open the door.

Hyper Authentic broke into a cold sweat, wondering if they were going to demand compensation for the hostage situation.

He slowly turned around to face Sir Dominic.

“What is it?”

“About those advertisements you mentioned—”

Hyper Authentic’s heart sank.

So they are going to demand compensation for trespassing and taking a hostage! In that case, I should strike first—

“Were those advertisements for Cauldron Stew, Heaven Delivery, and that radio commercial?”

“I’ll process compensation for trespassing and hostage-taking right away— What?”

Sir Dominic tilted his head at Hyper Authentic’s words, then realized this was indeed compensation he should receive.

Realizing his mistake, Hyper Authentic sweated profusely and changed the subject.

“I was just confused earlier. Yes, look! I’ve been thinking about compensation all along. Anyway, what did you say?”

“Were the Cauldron Stew, Heaven Delivery, and the radio at the end all yours?”

Hyper Authentic stroked his chin at Sir Dominic’s question.

“Well, Heaven Delivery and Cauldron Stew are affiliated with our duchy, so that’s correct… but radio?”

Sir Dominic remembered the terrible dream he had earlier.

Thinking about it carefully, the Cauldron Stew and Heaven Delivery were fine, but after the radio appeared, something felt off.

“We don’t use radio for advertising. It wouldn’t be proper to advertise without paying for it.”

Hyper Authentic still seemed confused, touching his ear and tilting his head.

“If you accept the Duke’s invitation, please find me again. I’ll investigate this matter by then.”

Having already caused enough trouble for Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica, Hyper Authentic offered flattering words to survive.

He still believed that people only had one life.

…

‘—will do so.’

“Oh dear, we might have been discovered.”

In a counter-intelligence tower hidden in the forest, a woman wearing a headset was eavesdropping on a conversation.

She was dressed in a neat suit like a corporate secretary, wearing intellectual-looking glasses.

Believing her mission was complete, she removed her headset and gathered the materials she had collected.

“The boss might like this.”

The secretary descended from the counter-intelligence tower.

The place where she had been eavesdropping was now empty.