episode_0016

“Have you been waiting long?”

“Haha, no, not at all. I still have plenty of time.”

“…Was there a car parked at our police station?”

Detective Layton asked as he entered the conference room and saw the tea I was drinking.

“I have something to tell you first.”

“Yes, go ahead. I came here to listen, so of course I’ll listen.”

“The undercover police we’re going to deploy are not actual police officers.”

“….?”

“They are civilian interrogators.”

“Civilian interrogators?”

“Yes, it seems that the villain Mad Hatter has a very reliable way of obtaining information from our police side. So if a police officer registered in our server were to infiltrate, they might become suspicious.”

“I see.”

It makes sense.

Thanks to Hector, or more precisely, the program Hector possesses, I can access government-known information as a police officer, as a hero. But if we deploy personnel not recorded in the server, Mad Hatter won’t know.

But our collaborator, Arthur Riddle, will understand.

(Door creaks)

“You’re here.”

“Nice to see you.”

“Nice to meet you…”

I stood up and shook hands with the woman who had entered the conference room.

“She’s called Yi Seol.”

“…”

Snow Flower?

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Perception Obfuscation Magic

A magic that is indispensable for villains and heroes alike, preventing the recognition of the wearer’s true identity. It’s a simple yet tremendous spell.

To what extent?

If you look at a photo of me wearing a monocle and a regular photo side by side, you wouldn’t realize they’re the same person. When someone wears this magic, whether in a photo or video, it’s as if your mind refuses to recognize who that person really is.

Especially, it’s said that high-level perception obfuscation magic even makes people refuse to recognize that two individuals are the same person, even if they see the person wearing the magic right in front of them and then taking it off.

Of course, such high-level perception obfuscation magic practically doesn’t exist, so I’m using a standard one.

However, it doesn’t completely obscure the fact that Mad Hatter and Arthur Riddle are the same person.

There’s an example with Anderson and CEO Choi Myung-wol. They concluded that based on the circumstances, Mad Hatter is Arthur Riddle. This shows that perception obfuscation magic isn’t foolproof. However, it certainly prevents the recognition of identical appearances.

“She’s called Yi Seol.”

However, the woman in front of me, Yi Seol-ha, looks like Snow Flower. No, she’s just the same person. I’m sure.

Certainly (with some exceptions), all heroes use perception-inhibiting magic. Snow Flower is no exception. But I could tell.

The woman in front of me is Snow Flower.

“…I’m Arthur Riddle.”

“? Why do you say that?”

When Arthur looked blankly and introduced himself, Yi Seol-ha asked.

“No. A beautiful lady came out, and I was momentarily distracted.”

“Yes?”

“You are beautiful.”

“…Do you often say such things?”

Yi Seol-ha blushed and hesitated for a moment before sitting down.

“Haha, I don’t lie normally, so… I might say it often or not at all.”

“You belong to the management department. Whether it’s organized crime or villains, you’ll be a great help.”

Detective Layton introduced Yi Seol-ha’s identity to me as Snow Flower.

(Creak)

“Senior, hold on.”

Opening the door slightly, a junior detective called Detective Layton.

“Sorry. I’ve been busy lately. You two go ahead and talk first.”

It seems that Detective Layton went out of the conference room for a while to handle the excessive workload, probably due to Anderson or Devil Colosseum.

“Miss Yi Seol-ha? Where did you work in the management department?”

“Why do you ask…”

“Oh, it’s just personal curiosity. If it’s a problem, you don’t have to answer.”

“…I’m sorry. It’s confidential.”

“Oh, okay.”

Of course, she’s a hero.

“Before starting a casino business, did you have any special business? What prompted you to start?”

“Oh, that’s… Well…”

I told Yi Seol-ha the same thing I had told the local council members, just as Snow Flower, not as Yi Seol-ha.

“…Gambling, isn’t it?”

“Haha, running a casino is gambling, isn’t it?”

“It’s too risky and burdensome.”

“It’s a legal business.”

“You know, there are a lot of illegal people there.”

“And above all, there…”

“Yes, it’s in the middle of the villain Mad Hatter’s territory.”

So why would someone infiltrate my area, especially my casino, in disguise? Why?

“I have to beg. I hope Mad Hatter doesn’t ruin my casino.”

“…”

“At least if he pays all the debts and ruins it, that would be nice.”

“I will protect it.”

Haha, being taken from F Zone to another place is helping me a lot. I barely managed to stop those words from coming out of my throat.

*clunk*

“I’m sorry. There was a shootout.”

“…Is it a war?”

“No, it’s not. I thought so too, but it was just a small-scale conflict between organizations.”

*swish*

Detective Layton unfolded a paper and a photo.

“First, Mr. Yi Seol-ha will infiltrate the casino. Mad Hatter appeared recently due to the truce between Anderson Club and Devil Colosseum.”

“…”

It seems like the police undercover is very capable.

“He said F04 Zone is his territory.”

“…Then it’s a big problem.”

I muttered with a genuinely worried expression.

“If uninvited guests appear in the casino business, it’s one of two things. It’s either a crazy organization targeting the F04 Zone or it’s Mad Hatter.”

“…I hope it’s neither.”

It seems like the casino is receiving more attention than I thought.

But the strange thing is, Detective Layton is not in charge of the F04 Zone. I separately bribed the detective in charge of the F04 Zone. Of course, it’s not the main jurisdiction, but I can handle all the crimes in the F Zone.

“But how does Yi Seol-ha help in such a situation?”

“…”

“Oh, it’s not that I’m ignoring you. I’m just curious about what an ordinary person like Yi Seol-ha would do if a villain like Mad Hatter comes.”

“Don’t worry.”

“If a beauty believes, there’s no choice but to believe.”

“…Can’t you stop calling me ‘beauty’?”

Yi Seol-ha said, covering her mouth with her hand.

“If it’s uncomfortable, I’m sorry.”

“It’s not that it’s uncomfortable.”

“Yi Seol-ha will request support from the Management Bureau and the police. And wouldn’t Yi Seol-ha, who received training from the Management Bureau, respond better to Mad Hatter than others?”

“…Now that I think about it, that’s true. Please take care of me in the future, Yi Seol-ha.”

“Seol-ha, call me Seol-ha.”

“Yes, Seol-ha.”

“What? Snow Flower?!”

“Huh?”

“So Snow Flower is going to infiltrate your casino?”

“Oh, undercover investigation.”

“Crazy.”

“…Interesting.”

Quietly listening, the headhunter said, “It’s the most absurd situation I’ve ever heard of in my life, a hero with a hidden identity working at a casino run by a villain with a hidden identity.”

“But how did you know it was Snow Flower?”

“…Just seemed like it?”

“?”

“Just seemed like it. Looked exactly the same?”

“……?”

“Seriously.”

“She must have been using perception-inhibiting magic.”

“Right.”

“When you met her.”

“She probably didn’t use it then, maybe she used something else.”

“But you recognized her?”

“Yeah.”

“…If someone else had said that, I would have thought it was an exaggeration.”

“Me too, if you had said it, I would have thought it was an exaggeration, but it’s true.”

“Okay… Wait, what?”

“Interesting, it’s the first time I’ve seen someone immune to perception-inhibiting magic.”

Jim said with an intrigued expression, “Really, not a single person?”

“Even in our mercenary industry, people use perception-inhibiting magic, but someone for whom it doesn’t work? Zero, not a single one… Well, maybe there was one.”

“?”

“Never mind, don’t worry about it. Anyway, it’s a very rare type, so are we sure about Snow Flower?”

“Yes.”

“Should we take her out?”

“…No, let’s just leave her be.”

“Spies are only threatening when their identities are unknown, right?”

“Oh, damn! I was about to speak.”

Arthur shouted after having his lines taken away, “The one who speaks first gets the cock.”

Hector said triumphantly, “For now, Hector, go find a designer and buy some perception-inhibiting magic.”

“Who are you going to use it on?”

“Just in case, and Jim…”

“?”

“You said you didn’t want to face the hero. Just want to take a break?”

“…No, let’s just go to the casino.”

“Weren’t you avoiding facing the hero?”

“Just… I think this job will be interesting.”

“Today is your first day at work.”

“Does the CEO come to pick up every new employee on their first day?”

Iseul asked upon meeting Arthur at the main gate.

“Yes, I’ve been waiting for exactly 48 minutes.”

“…Really?”

“No, I waited for about 2 minutes. Let’s go in.”

(cranking sound)

As Arseu and Isolha approached the casino main entrance, the staff in formal attire opened the door for them.

“Finally, we’re officially opening tomorrow.”

Inside the splendid casino, there was not a single person except for the staff.

“What would my job be?”

“Well, to be honest, it would be great if you could be a dealer, but we have professional dealers… Do you happen to excel at something special?”

“…”

He couldn’t bring himself to say he was good at catching villains.

“What would be good for Miss Isolha to do…”

Arseu fell into thought for a moment. It meant finding a job at the casino that would keep her as far away from himself as possible.

“…How about a personal secretary?”

“A secretary?”

“You could provide security by the side of the owner, and most importantly, the most dangerous person will be the owner, right?”

“Haha, that’s perfect. Since there’s a separate secretary, I’ll be at the casino and won’t be interfered with no matter what I do. That’s just perfect.”

If I refuse the position of secretary now, I might raise suspicion. It might be a bit tough, but dispelling suspicion is the top priority, so I’ll have to endure it.

“I’ll do my best.”

Appointing a hero as a personal secretary, this is truly an honor.

“Do you happen to know any heroes?”

“Huh? Why do you ask?”

“Haha, it would be great for the casino if heroes or the like came, it would be good for publicity, wouldn’t it?”

“Oh…”

Isolha followed Arseu into his office.

“If you come tomorrow, I’ll place a desk over there. But I have to show you a place where you can handle your work.”

“Yes.”

“Would you like some coffee or tea?”

“Oh, I’ll make it.”

“?”

“I’m the secretary, after all.”

“Oh, indeed, undercover investigation.”

“Tea? Coffee?”

“Haha, I’ll take coffee, please.”

I sat on the sofa, waiting for the hero to serve the coffee.

(clink)

“I’ll enjoy it.”

Snow Flower, Isolha, happily savored the coffee I had brought.

“…How is it?”

“It’s good.”

(plunk)

While saying it was good, her hand naturally went for the sugar.

(plunk, plunk)

And she put two sugar cubes into the coffee.

“Mmm.”

(plunk, plunk, plunk)

“Haha.”

After tasting the coffee again, Arseu added awakening pills. No, he just threw them in.

“It’s delicious.”

“I’m fortunate. It seems to suit your taste for me to drive from now on.”

“Hahaha”

Darn