Chapter 7
But in all the videos I’d seen so far, there had never been a final mission that said something like “steal the two-letter thing from the five-letter one.”
Normally, a phrase that matches the final mission shows up when the game starts, so you can guess from that…
Steal the treasure forbidden to villains!
That was mine.
Isn’t that just a vague, meaningless line? After all, stealing someone else’s treasure without permission is already theft, and thieves are villains by definition.
‘Sigh, there’s no point wasting time thinking about a problem with no answer. Let’s just level up first.’
Leveling up is always important, but the reason I’m especially obsessed with the last level is because the bonus includes a hint that helps with the final mission. If that’s the case, maybe I’ll be able to figure out what the final mission actually is.
‘So, what am I supposed to steal next?’
I sat at my desk pretending to space out, while actually scrolling through the mission window.
‘Snatch candy from a child’s mouth? What’s with the system’s morality level?’
There were a few new missions, but none that seemed worth doing.
You might think, “Then why not just do nothing?” But in Gemma Steel, if you don’t complete missions within a certain period of time, you fall into a madness state. That’s how the crazy ending comes about.
‘Hmm… I also need to repair my items…’
Since I had only recently cleared a mission, I wouldn’t go insane right away, so maybe I could just quietly spend some time gathering materials needed for item repairs?
The player can craft special items according to their class. The umbrella I used yesterday and the spring boots were both things I made that way.
Since they’re practically broken-tier items, they require bizarre and rare materials. The umbrella especially took me over a year just to gather everything.
At least repairing them with a repair kit is cheaper, but even that needs no small amount of materials.
[Umbrella of a Nanny: Durability 40%]
[Boots of Spring-Heeled Jack: Durability 24%]
Just look at how much durability the boots lost saving Hunt yesterday. I should really file for damages. Last time, I forgot to repair my boots and they dropped to 0 durability and vanished—I wept blood for days.
‘Gotta keep them at least 80%.”
With durability above 80%, I can hop across rooftops with no problem. But yesterday, since I was unexpectedly chased by Hunter, I spammed jumps like crazy, so I couldn’t use the boots to escape and had to pull out my precious umbrella.
‘Repair kit.’
[There is no repair kit.]
When did I use them all up?
‘Repair kit materials?’
[10 Thornfeathers of the Eng-parrot]
Not “parrot,” Eng-parrot.
Unlike ordinary parrots, Eng-parrots had flamboyant thorn-feathers fanned out from their tails. They were rare birds, expensive imports from the southern tropics—you couldn’t just run into them anywhere.
‘Nothing left in my inventory…’
Guess I’ll have to raid another zoo or rich household. I was just about to check the map for that zoo I hit last time when—
WEE-OO WEE-OO!
An emergency siren blared in my head, and glaring red letters appeared.
[Sudden Mission]
Reward: 20 Thornfeathers of the Eng-parrot
‘Ohhh! Thank you, system.’
Penalty: The next normal mission will proceed without the face-recognition disorder effect
‘Huh? What’s with that balance?’
Time Limit: 10 minutes
Objective: Achieve one of the two within the time limit.
<Getting Kicked by Raven Hunt>
vs
<Kicking Raven Hunt>
‘You should’ve given me this yesterday!’
I kicked Raven Hunt yesterday, you know.
[Time Limit 09:57]
In the corner of my vision, the countdown ticked down. No time to grumble. I jumped to my feet and stormed into the captain’s office.
“Captain!”
Just kick me once, please. If you won’t, then I’ll kick you.
‘…Where’d he go?’
The office was empty.
I turned and asked Wesson.
“Where’s the captain?”
“He’s in the Commissioner’s office.”
The Commissioner’s office was on the top floor, the 5th floor. I rushed outside and caught the elevator.
“Oh.”
It only hit me around the 3rd floor.
‘What if I miss him while riding the elevator?’
Should’ve called the secretary’s office first. If I get unlucky, I’ll be stuck playing tag with Hunt in this huge building.
Just about 8 minutes left.
Ding.
The moment the elevator doors opened, I bolted to the Commissioner’s office and asked the secretary,
“Where’s our captain?”
“Inspector Hunt? He just left. Didn’t you see him?”
Didn’t I tell you this would happen?
I dashed back toward the elevator hall.
There were two elevators. One was the one I’d just ridden up, so Hunt couldn’t have taken it. The other wasn’t going down—it was coming up.
‘Then the stairs?’
Of course.
I hurried down and spotted Hunt just passing the landing between the 3rd and 4th floors.
“Captain!”
Hunt had been tugging roughly at his tie knot, as if suffocating, but stopped and lifted his head. The moment his eyes met mine, the deep crease in his brow only furrowed harder.
“Kent? What brings you here?”
An administrative assistant from the investigations unit had no business coming all the way to the top floor where the executives’ offices were. I’d need an excuse, but that was a problem for the future me.
‘Just kick me once, please!’
But staring into those piercing eyes, I wondered if I’d gone insane thinking I could say that aloud.
‘Who in the world would actually kick someone just because they’re asked to?’
As I chased after him without a plan, I couldn’t miss the displeasure written clearly across his face. Did he just get chewed out in the Commissioner’s office?
‘Then maybe… would you feel better if I kicked you instead?’
Am I out of my mind?
Who would do something like that? Especially a man as rigidly upright as him—absolutely not.
He was so principled that, despite all the pressure he’d been under for years because I kept slipping through his nets like a slippery eel, he had never once fired a gun at me.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t shoot. He simply wouldn’t.
He’d had countless chances to end the chase with a single bullet. Just one shot, and medals, fame, and another lightning-fast promotion would be waiting for him, along with a brilliant future.
“Thief, not a robber.”
…That was the principle he held to.
Since I had never threatened anyone, using firearms to subdue me was against regulations. Even when pressured from above to look the other way, Hunt never gave in. He was that scrupulously upright.
So then… how the hell am I supposed to get kicked by him?!
[Time Limit 04:59]
Then I’ll just have to do it myself!
I’ll slip on the stairs and accidentally kick him. Like a soccer player making a sliding tackle. Hunt wouldn’t even get a scratch, though my backside would definitely catch fire.
‘Better than getting caught without the face-recognition disorder effect!’
“Captaiiiiin!”
Putting on my best klutz act, I sprinted down at full speed and pretended to trip right in front of Hunt.
“Ahhh!”
My surprised act was perfect. My sliding tackle aimed at Hunt’s right ankle was also perfectly natural. But then…
‘…Did he dodge that?’
In less than a second—no, in less than a millisecond—Hunt whisked his foot out of the way. And he didn’t stop there…
‘He even saved me?!’
Dodging at the same time, he bent down and grabbed my arm with a sharp snap.
What did I just see? His precise, swift movements were so seamless it felt like I’d just witnessed some kind of high-level skill.
And so, while I was left momentarily stunned, Hunt easily helped me back to my feet.
“That was dangerous. From now on, don’t run in high heels like that. In fact, don’t wear them at all.”
Even as he scolded me sternly, I was still too dazed. Only when I was inadvertently guided to stand in front of the 3rd floor elevator did my mind snap back.
“Kent, take this one down.”
Hunt pressed the button and turned away, clearly intending to leave me behind.
‘No, wait. I’ve only got three minutes left!’
I chased after him toward the stairs, and he stopped, turning back to look at me.
“Do you have something to say?”
“Uh, that is…”
‘Come on, brain, roll something out!’
But no matter how I wracked my mind, I couldn’t come up with a way to kick him—or get kicked—without raising suspicion.
‘Should I just go for it and make up an excuse later? Time’s running out anyway.’
[Time Limit 01:42]
“Kent.”
Suddenly, Hunt called my name in a grave tone.
“What are you looking at?”
Following my gaze, Hunt turned toward the hallway mirror, where the countdown timer was blazing across my forehead. Of course, nothing was reflected there.
Then he shot me a sharp, cutting stare.
“What are you doing right now?”
