Chapter 20

Sayu with [Perfect Memory].

He has zero combat ability, and his only role is managing the administration office at the academy. Like [Paper] whom I killed before, he doesn’t play a major role in the main story.

No matter how I think about it, it seems like eliminating teachers with combat abilities first would be the right approach, but the status window keeps giving me strange targets.

I decided to follow its orders without exercising free will, but.

What I don’t understand, I don’t understand.

Human willpower is incredibly tenacious and doesn’t disappear as easily as one might think.

In the end, I still hadn’t abandoned my will, and I was falling while clutching it to my chest as if it were something precious.

‘First, let’s tail him.’

No matter how I think about it, the timing seems a bit suspicious.

It looks like someone is trying to draw someone out using Sayu as bait.

Maybe… if they’ve deduced that the academy is the starting point for the culprit based on the fact that an academy teacher was killed, they might be trying to catch the killer by using another teacher as bait.

The academy, which had been vigilant all along, suddenly sent out a teacher? And one with no combat ability at that?

I couldn’t help but think something was off.

Cough- Cough-

I coughed, but I wasn’t close enough for the sound to be heard.

I calmed my startled heart and resumed tailing. The shadow swallowed even sounds like a mud swamp, and it was as dark as a prison without light.

Unlike in the morning, there was no worry about being discovered at night.

Time was on my side.

As I got closer, I was near enough to barely hear their voices. From now on, I had to control even the sound of my breathing.

The Perfect Memory ability wasn’t just about having good memory.

It literally remembers perfectly.

For example, knowing which direction the left antenna of an ant crawling on a sidewalk block was bent.

It was like saving a snapshot of the scenery in the brain at every moment.

If there was any sense of discomfort in the captured scenery… I would be discovered.

“What is there to talk about in a place like this?”

“Ah, hello.”

A figure I hadn’t expected appeared. Jay, who had arbitrarily started the duels during today’s exam, was there.

So, the reason Sayu came out of the academy alone was to meet with her.

Completely hiding my body in the shadow and leaving only my ears exposed, I began eavesdropping on their conversation. I maintained a distance to avoid being detected as much as possible.

“…”

“There’s something I want to ask.”

“What is it? No, more importantly, is there a reason I should answer?”

“Pardon?”

“You are not affiliated with the academy, and we accepted you only because of government diplomatic issues. Legally, this means we have no reason to provide information to a foreigner.”

Sayu’s words were reasonable and certainly valid.

The only problem is that he couldn’t distinguish who was in the superior position and who was in the inferior position at this moment.

Who is the strongest person here? Who could use force if they wanted to? It wouldn’t be strange if Sayu died at Jay’s hands right now.

A dark, sticky killing intent covered the area.

“I’m not asking you for a favor right now.”

“…”

“I’m just informing you. I’m informing you that I’m going to rewind time a few times to get the answers I want.”

Jay’s words were true. If she wanted information from someone, she could torture them in the future, then return to the past. That’s all there is to it.

So what is it that she wants to know so badly that she’s using coercive methods?

What was she trying to ask?

“What do you want?”

“The identity of the ‘item’ in the academy’s basement.”

“It’s a book that erases the memories of those who see it… that’s what it is.”

“…Hmm, I understand roughly.”

“Aren’t you planning to return to England tomorrow anyway? Why are you curious about that…”

“I don’t recall giving you permission to ask questions.”

Jay spread her intimidating aura again. Sayu closed his mouth and glared at her. But there was nothing he could do.

Having obtained a satisfactory answer, Jay smiled and disappeared into the darkness.

Sayu likewise began walking in the opposite direction.

Only then could I finally relax and emerge from the shadow.

I exhaled the breath I had been holding for several minutes all at once.

I felt like coughing, but I successfully managed to hold it back.

‘Shall I start following him now?’

The [Jamming] ability was essential to expand my range of activities to areas with cameras.

If I could operate without being detected by cameras from now on, I could carry out the next quest more boldly and quickly.

To undo my mistakes, to get my family back as soon as possible. I prioritize efficiency above all else.

‘It would be good to have more combat ability…’

: That’s a bit difficult.

‘Why?’

: Because the operational principle of your ability [Other-Killing] is basically similar to Ryu Seong’s ability.

‘…What?’

: Yes. That’s right. It’s not about focusing on killing others, but about how valuable the person you kill is. That’s the issue.

: Characters important to the story, or people you consider important, or precious people. The value of these is high.

‘Then, if I kill someone with the [SAVE & LOAD] ability… couldn’t I skip all of your quests right away?’

: But that’s impossible. You can’t kill her as you are now, and she’s going to exit the story soon anyway.

: She’s just a minor character who briefly appears in an event and then it’s over.

Certainly, with my current abilities, I can’t kill such people.

The protagonist’s ability is naturally unapproachable, and there’s no way to deal with the ability to rewind time. Similarly, I didn’t know of any characters with abilities of similar value to resurrecting the dead.

But here, one question arose.

‘…What happens if after killing someone, I save it instead of immediately exchanging it for an ability?’

: You already know that.

‘Know what?’

: Your ability. [Shadow] is a precious ability that cost the lives of three of your family members.

My family, despite my not wanting it, had always been by my side in a changed form.

That’s what the status window is saying.

Slowly, I took out a lighter from my pocket. In my other hand, a cigarette was naturally held.

I put it in my mouth and lit it.

When I inhaled the smoke deeply into my lungs, my thoughts became hazy again.

With an empty mind, I began to mechanically follow Sayu. Nothing else particularly mattered. Let’s forget everything else.

Just blankly complete the status window’s quest and receive an ability that will help.

That’s all I need.

I run endlessly through the dark alleyway. Sounds are swallowed into the shadow. Nothing can hinder me. The streetlights are the only source of light.

I’m getting closer and closer to my target.

Even though he’s not a combat-type ability user, I won’t let my guard down.

Didn’t I already make the mistake of letting my guard down when I caught [Paper]?

I’ll behead him more cleanly than last time. And I’ll show the academy that I’m still active. I’ll display his head in a very high place.

Simple and crude plans work better than expected.

“Hmm… to call that merely a book.”

As I was hurrying, sliding along the ground through shadows, a strange sound that I seemed to have heard somewhere before penetrated my ears.

It was the sound of a woman breathing.

Was she lost in agony? Or was she just spacing out, killing time?

A suspicious short-haired woman using an umbrella as a cane, spinning around in the same spot under the streetlight, briefly passed through the corner of my vision.

Even though it was just for a moment, I could immediately recognize who that figure belonged to.

‘…Jay?’

I hadn’t sensed any presence around, and I thought she would have left immediately after getting the answer she wanted from Sayu.

My mistake was in making assumptions.

The status window clearly said that she was just a minor event character and wouldn’t interfere with the story. In my memory too, she wasn’t a character with a lot of screen time.

It had been said many times.

‘After today, you won’t see her again.’…

And at that moment.

I recalled one important fact.

I looked at the watch on my wrist.

The time had not yet passed a day.

Today… had not yet passed.

I made a mistake.

“Hey, stop there for a moment.”

“…”

“Yes, you. We’ve met at our duel, right?”

I slowly turned around, my neck creaking.

Under the light, in the darkness, a woman standing alone was looking straight at me, using her umbrella as a cane.

For the first time since I received the status window’s orders and deviated from the game’s story to become a complete villain, I was feeling fear.

“I wonder why a student is wandering around at this hour.”