Chapter 32
“My lady, you haven’t answered.”
“You… you’re not the cleaner, are you?”
“I don’t understand what you mean. Are you trying to insult me?”
The fake James suddenly adopted a stern, scolding expression.
“I work to beautify the palace, and I take great pride in organizing the surroundings. For you to say I’m not a cleaner is an insult.”
…This guy’s lying so smoothly.
There was no doubt about it.
Out of all the people I knew in Arc, there was only one character who would get so deeply obsessed with a disguise in such a perverse way.
Then again, if there were another like him, it would be a complete breakdown of the game’s world.
Anyway, this madman’s identity was none other than one of Arc’s ultra-difficult targets, a pervert among perverts…
The Assassin Guild Master, Randolph.
That’s right.
A real assassin.
Should I pretend I don’t know, even though he’s trying so hard to deny it?
As I was pondering, I frowned at him.
“Heh heh, it seems you don’t believe me.”
“…No, it’s just…”
“Gotcha.”
The fake James muttered to himself as he straightened up.
Crack. Snap.
“Hmm…?”
A chilling cracking sound echoed, and the fake James’ back straightened completely, causing him to suddenly grow taller.
From a 165 cm old man to someone over 180 cm—seeing it in person was wildly bizarre.
But what shocked me even more was that this transformation wasn’t the end. His body twisted with bone-cracking sounds, and his once frail frame filled out with muscular, lean muscles.
His wrinkles smoothed out one by one, his hair and eyes changed gradually, and his hair lengthened.
I had seen similar transformations in the game’s animation, but seeing it in person was even more disturbing. After going through this strange process, the fake James was completely transformed into a young man.
He was a handsome man with a smooth jawline, light brown hair that looked almost like wheat, and striking golden eyes that seemed to shine. Upon closer inspection, his slightly pointed ears suggested that he was of mixed blood with the fairy race.
Anyone could tell that he was no ordinary person.
Yeah, it’s him.
I scowled and took out the memory I had stored deep within my mind.
[Title: Who the hell is this?]
Author: O.O
I was playing the social route with my daughter when suddenly, the dance teacher turned into an assassin and killed my daughter.
ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I was playing hardcore mode to escape being a newbie, so it’s not recoverable.
This is so absurd…
↳S.S: Haha, that’s because the girl who likes the crown prince sent the assassin after you.
↳Author: What? So I can’t romance the crown prince?
↳S.S: No, just conquer the assassin and make him your ally. But his personality is so weird, it’s hard to increase affinity with him. I’d recommend looking up a strategy guide.
↳B.B: (link to strategy guide) Don’t give up because it’s tough.
That’s right.
This insane guy was the assassin mentioned in that post.
He was the “Shape-Shifter” who was notorious for being one of the hardest targets to capture. It took hardcore players multiple attempts to even attempt to conquer him.
I had seen the game over screen more than thirty times trying to conquer him…
So, the strategy guide was something I could recite even with my eyes closed. I still remember it to this day!
First, you have to put in at least three requests for the alleyway assassin guild and gain the ‘Regular Client’ title. Then, on the full moon, you must visit the fountain in the plaza five times, help fairies three times in the Elioen Forest, and then enter the fairy village to clear goblins. After that, you need to increase your elegance and persuasion stats to 50…
Anyway, there was a whole lot more to it, and I had to drink with this guy while comforting him, but the options for that changed with the seasons.
This pervert was so difficult to target that it would have been easier to find a unicorn or mine magic stones for another hundred days.
One thing that bothered me though:
Why is he here now?
In the game, I wouldn’t meet Randolph until May, no matter how fast I played.
“How unfortunate.”
As I pondered, Randolph seemed to interpret my silence as fear, and suddenly spoke in a cold voice.
That snapped me out of my thoughts.
“What… do you mean by unfortunate?”
“I also avoid killing those who aren’t targets. However, since you’ve seen my face, you must die.”
Is this guy crazy? Is he suddenly saying he’ll kill me?
It was absurd, but then I realized—this guy, he was known for doing this kind of thing in the game.
His declaration of murder twisted my heart for a moment.
“I’m sure it’s a loss for me, as I work to improve the environment, but killing someone as valuable as you…”
“Then don’t kill me…”
Knowing Randolph’s one-shot-kill nature, I tried to cowardly add something.
But,
“Aah, how truly sad.”
The obsessive pervert ignored my words and proceeded with his plans, looking utterly unfazed.
The shimmering liquid in the corner of his eye… was probably tears.
The moment I saw that, I couldn’t help but think in my mind:
Crazy.
But still, my heart raced wildly.
I knew that this guy, who was now performing like some sort of farce in front of me, had already made his decision, and my life was hanging by a thread.
As mentioned in the community post, Randolph had the ability to shapeshift into any character in the world.
But being a character from Arc, he couldn’t escape the bizarre and flawed design of his own.
Just like how the leader of the paladins was a fanatic and the crown prince hid his obsession with captivity behind his dignity…
Anyway, the biggest weakness of this guy was that once he transformed, he became intensely obsessed with the role, and his immersion became complete.
So the tears he was shedding now, were 100% genuine feelings, because he had fully immersed himself in the character of James.
So what now…
Suddenly, the double swords glowed ominously as he approached, a murderous intent shining through his every step.
Those swords could instantly kill anyone they grazed, sending them straight to the afterlife.
Meaning, if I let my guard down, I wouldn’t even have a chance to scream before I died.
“Wait a second!”
“What is it?”
In the midst of this, I quickly racked my brain and arrived at one conclusion.
To survive, I needed to complete the quest.
But despite figuring out that James was fake, the quest completion message hadn’t appeared yet.
So, I must get Randolph to admit who he really is.
Ugh, why does this have to be so hard? Every time I get involved with this obsessed shapeshifter, it’s like there’s no solution.
“If I die not even knowing who I’m dying for, it’s just… it’s not fair! We’re comrades who cleaned up the trash together!”
That’s too ridiculous to work, right?
“That’s true.”
…Wait, is this really happening?
As I stared at him, Randolph seemed to have been waiting for me to say that.
“My name is Randolph. I run the Assassin Guild in the back alleys. Meeting me here is truly unfortunate.”
As Randolph finished introducing himself, the system window appeared, just as expected.
[SYSTEM] Quest <The Person Who Gathered the Clues> has been completed!
You have successfully met the condition for the sudden quest <Trust of the Suspicious Knight>!
A grand fanfare effect erupted, and the quest success message followed.
[SYSTEM] The identity of the ‘something’ that infiltrated the palace is the shapeshifter and Assassin Guild Master, Randolph!
Make sure to report this to the ‘Suspicious Knight’ immediately!
…But first, surviving is the priority.
Crazy, are you trying to Drug me?
