Thanks, I’d Rather Not Be Right Ever Again

Mineruva groaned, clearly annoyed.

“Can’t I convince you that you’re being totally careless?”

I shook my head, and she gave me a nod of forced approval.

“Okay–five minutes, but if I don’t find you here by then, I’m sending the Tanukis after you!”

“Got it!”

With that, I stepped away, and over my shoulder I saw them teleport. It was the first time I could see what it looked like from the outside.

From top to bottom, the three girls’ forms were erased by Mineruva’s signature yellow light, until nothing remained where they had stood a second ago.

I looked up at the sunset sky, relieved, knowing they were all safe after today's struggles.

This world was amazing, full of NPCs who were just like us. Sure, today had proven that evil and scheming existed here, and I couldn’t just brush those aside.

Yet all I could see at the moment was the beauty, being able to see things closer as an NPC myself.

So here I was, now alone, and I knew where I wanted to go first.

Back to the alley where the Birdman had first appeared before his attack.

◆ ◆ ◆

And that place in avatar form wasn’t exactly inviting.

Back at my computer, I only had a vague sense of this place, but now I was actually in there, feeling everything directly.

Especially the overwhelming stench of trash littering the alley. Mud puddles splashed beneath my shoes and the debris by the walls gave off an odious, stinky smell.

I made my way behind tall, multi-story buildings, stables and storehouses for a few minutes, and the further in I got, the more certain I was that this was leading nowhere.

Yes, I wanted to be certain about our enemy, but chances were he wasn’t even here.

There was something I had to test, which is why I wanted to find him. Mineruva said he’d stumbled away. The question was, where could someone who was wounded and weak go in a few minutes?

First guess: somewhere familiar. The Birdman must’ve come through here to appear at the opening to the road where he saw us.

He’s got to be here. This would be the perfect hiding place.

I stopped suddenly. I was at a turning when I sensed it.

The smell hit me first, then the hairs stood up on my arms and I stopped. Instantly, my throat was on fire, but not from smoke, as I didn’t cough.

There was something otherworldly coursing through my veins. I shuddered from a burning, empty feeling, slowly trying to consume me from the inside.

Lupa must’ve felt the same as he caught her hand.

This is dark magic…

I looked out from behind the corner and saw him at a dead end.

The Birdman leaned against a wall. He radiated this lifeless, suffocating feeling. All around him I could see the same evil magic smoldering, more faintly than before.

He was in one piece, but part of his clothes and cloak seemed to have burned away, and his skin was charred underneath.

I tensed myself and with great pain, I stepped out of my hideout, turning straight for his direction. Immediately beside me, I caught sight of a pipe on the ground, and picked it up, since I had no shield or sword.

And no, I didn’t want to hurt him, though I had a strong temptation. I’d done enough damage to his self-esteem already just by entering this world.

“So you’re really here,” I said as I approached. “I’m not done with you yet.”

He looked up at me from under his mask, quietly growling. He radiated defeat and hated, laced with fear–the most basic captured-animal logic.

He hesitated, not moving an inch, for he was at a dead end. I knew that if he could, he would’ve ran away from me, or even attack me if he was stronger.

“Did it feel good? Stealing from a little girl at night? Then poisoning those three men, knowing she’d be executed instead of you?”

Only soft panting broke the silence.

He was emotionless, focused. That was what I had to test.

“I was there too, believe it or not. I’ve seen what you can do, and I have an inkling of what you are. And definitely not human.”

He stepped back with one foot, keeping distance. His hand shook behind his back, quickening his breath, waiting for his chance.

It was time to debunk his biggest flaw.

“Your magic makes you fast and agile, but you think I didn’t notice you acting like a machine? Yeah, not that you’d even know what that is, so I’ll enlighten you...”

CLANG!

I slammed the pipe loudly against the wall with every step I took, and he flinched with each jangle.

CLANG!

“A machine doesn’t feel, and doesn’t ask. It only does what it’s programmed to do, and does it with frightening precision.”

CLANG!

I stopped and leaned against the pipe.

“You think I didn’t notice that the whole time, you didn’t blink once under your damn mask?”

I noticed it at night, but today was another proof. The Birdman ran, jumped, but never blinked, something that wasn’t human. His pupils barely moved, like some soulless surveillance camera.

Then he tilted his head, as if measuring me, but more like a silent admission of ‘Finally figured it out, bright boy?’

No, it can’t possibly be…

“You were an ordinary guy until someone reprogrammed you into obeying their commands. I bet they gave you access to dark magic. Now the question is, who was the one who rewrote you?”

It was horrible to think that this was possibly the truth. I was standing in front of an ordinary NPC who was part of the System. But someone had given him a new purpose and made him into the Birdman.

How could the System allow that?! Or could it be fooled?!

Whoever did this must’ve had a Master Profile. Someone able to command others while possessing dark magic was on the same level as Mineruva, if not greater.

The Birdman then backed away and began to shake his head violently, placing both hands on his forehead. Then, suddenly, his form began to distort.

As if I was seeing a mirage, his mask and cloak disappeared in a blur, and a slightly shorter figure stood in his place, and it freaked me out.

It was me.

I saw myself in my new clothes, but with a grin on my face.

And he didn’t blink.

God, he’s using Perception Altering...

A strong growl, and my evil-self took a leap and exploded toward me.

He tried to push me sideways, hard, and kick me so that I couldn’t get up quickly from the ground. He came at me incredibly fast, even though he was the weaker.

I was glad I had that pipe. In a split second, I held it before me and hit him where he wanted to attack. He grabbed the pipe and tried to push me back like a raging bull.

Looking back, it might’ve looked hilarious if someone saw this—literally two versions of the same guy wrestling like lunatics.

I pressed forward with all my strength to force him back to the dead end. His face was inches from mine, I could feel his snarl, tempting me.

Finally, with great force, I managed to push my evil-self away.

He fell back against the wall, then crawled backwards until he sat up, but he wasn’t prepared for what I was about to do.

I dropped the pipe, and grabbed his hand tightly.

I wanted the same thing he did to Lupa, but this time, I was tricking it out of him on purpose.

And then, all the dark magic that was left in him flooded me at once. No matter how prepared I thought I was, what happened next was too much.

I was burned, suffocated, and blacked out all at the same time, and the darkness swallowed me whole.

What followed was barely a split second, but I remember it vividly. The alley around me disappeared, entirely covered in darkness, and I was no longer holding anyone’s hand.

I was in a purplish, foggy place. There was no floor, yet I was standing on something transparent. There was silence, and even the slightest noise echoed loudly.

What is this place?!

A shadow stepped out of the fog, right next to me. I couldn’t quite make it out, but it looked like a tall, feminine figure, wearing a wide-brimmed hat.

“Fine, I get it,” she said, her voice echoing around me. “I’d gain nothing from pursuing that girl further. Not anymore, as now there’s four of you who I shall deal with.”

She stepped closer, her features almost visible.

“Now get out, or I’ll make you. You wouldn’t want that… would you, Creator?”

What did you just—

Everything around me burst into dark flames and the shadow disappeared with the fog, as everything was getting purged with invisible fire, including me.

I found myself in the alley again after that like nothing had changed, except that my head hurt like there was no tomorrow.

I had to kneel down and hold my head to ease the pain, but it didn’t go away so easy. That’s when I spotted the strange black scorch marks across the bricks.

Looking up, I found that in the place of my evil-self, there was now a huge charred circle with a human-shaped hole in the center. Nothing was left of him.

The Birdman didn’t exist anymore.

◆ ◆ ◆

I stared at the emptiness for minutes, losing track of time.

Did I realize what had just happened?

Yeah, I did, that’s exactly the problem!

And the worst part? I’ve been right!

Now I was sure that the System could be fooled, I had living proof. Well... not anymore… The proof’s gone, which only made things worse.

There was that woman who could rewrite and control harmless NPCs and make them do things they didn’t want. She could also infuse them with dark magic, turning them into perfect puppets who wouldn’t back down from anything.

I couldn’t imagine what would happen if someone I knew became like this. A mindless machine, like that damn Hellcat Ande Velos.

My face reddened at the thought of Rumel or Lupa ending up like that.

They won’t.

Whoever she was, and whatever she had to do with what happened today, I was going to find out how to deal with her.

I heard footsteps behind me. I didn’t have to look—I already sensed the short girl in the white dress popping up behind me.

Mineruva had finally arrived. I didn’t know how much I had kept her waiting, but thankfully the danger had passed. At least for now.

“What in the world happened here?! Did you do that?!”

She knew something was off. I wasn’t afraid that she was shocked, angry, or anything, but that I had seen something that broke Leclaire’s rules. And my gut told me that she didn’t know about this, and it would scare her too.

“Well… I guess I did. The Birdman is gone forever now. But that thing on the ground and wall wasn’t me.”

She crossed her arms and looked up at me with a puffed-up expression. It was kind of cute.

She felt offended, and honestly, I couldn’t blame her. It was my first time here and I was already doing something irresponsible.

“Could you please clarify what exactly you did and how it happened?”

It took me less than two minutes to get to the end.

I told her everything I noticed about the guy, what I found strange, and even though Mineruva didn’t mention anything like it, I had to assume as a gamedev that an NPC could be rewritten or corrupted just like a file.

Not that I believed it, but it was a reasonable explanation for those inhuman abilities and behavior. When I mentioned the woman to her, her eyebrows shot up, and she went pale.

That said it all.

“Mineruva? Do you know...”

I didn’t dare continue. She slowly lowered her head and I heard her sigh as she tried to hold something back.

Something old and painful.

She really knew her.

“Michio-sama...”

Her voice trailed off halfway through. She must’ve wanted to say many things at once, but she couldn’t.

Then somehow after a moment, she managed to find a place to begin.

I slowly stood up in the meantime, looking down at her silently.

“There were things I didn’t tell you. Not because it was a secret, but because when we first met it wasn’t relevant. You didn’t know about the System either, so I didn’t want to overwhelm you. And... I was ashamed of it too.”

So that’s what I saw in her yesterday.

She felt ashamed when I realized she was a goddess who lived for thousands of years in this world. When I asked if there were anybody she could talk with, being a lonely goddess, she confirmed, but didn’t say more.

I was worried about her, that’s why I asked. Later on I wanted to talk about it more, but it never was the right time.

Birdman this, rescue that, then Birdman again…

“It’s okay, I–”

“I owe you an explanation as your guide!” she looked at me uncompromisingly, wiping away her small tears. “But not here. The others are waiting for us at Ente & Ovia. We’ll rest there for today.”

She stepped a little closer, hands glowing, ready to teleport.

“They have questions too, just like you do. Everyone will get their answers today, then we’ll decide on what to do next. Is that okay?”

Now I was the one who felt ashamed. I never wanted to see her this way, yet even now I felt she knew I wanted to make sure she was okay, and put me before herself.

I truly felt that all four of us–me, her, Lupa, and Rumel—would do the same, no matter if we knew each other for a day or more.

Next, I did something I’d only ever imagined in front of the computer.

I opened my arms and, accepting her completely, with all her strengths and fears, I hugged her.

“Huh?”

She was surprised, a little uneasy, but she hugged me back. We stood like that for minutes, quietly reassuring each other.

Why do I get the feeling that this was the first moment in a thousand years that she’d really missed?

She let me go slowly, once I was sure that everything was okay.

Whatever she had to say, I knew she would tell me just as she’d tell the others, even if it hurt.

“Ready to go?”

I kindly nodded, whereupon she whisked us away at once, and all the worries vanished along with the darkness the Birdman left behind.

Now I was standing in a familiar bedroom. The wood creaked beneath my foot, and a subtle scent wafted through the ajar door.

“Is this really...?”

I was at Ente & Ovia! And in Rumel’s room!

“Finally seeing it up close?” Mineruva asked warmly.

“Yeah! I thought I’d never get to actually experience this!”

It was amazing to see the room as an avatar! I turned around and took in all the things I’d only seen from the outside. The wardrobes, the bed, the window overlooking the little backstreets...

CREEAAK!

“There you are at last!”

I caught myself, but then saw it was only Lupa standing in the now open doorway.

“I thought you’d been swallowed up by the city, Michio-kun.”

“Hehe,” I scratched my temple, a bit embarrassed. “Maybe I had.”

“So, what happened back there?”

“Too many things to say at once. Point is, the Birdman’s gone for good, so there’s nothing to fear from him anymore. Also, we have some new information to discuss.”

A look of modest relief came over Lupa’s face.

“Finally, some good news. Everyone’s been through enough hardship today. We’ll get to the details later, in the meantime, come on down! You’ve got to see this.”

I thought something bad had happened already, but Lupa wasn’t worried, so we followed her through the upper corridors and down the stairs.

I could already hear the gentle merriment, the clinking of plates and cutlery... Did I mention the awesome lute music?!

God, this is the coziest place in the world, and now I’m really here!

As we got downstairs, I noticed what Lupa meant.

Rumel was surrounded by four people gathering around a table as she was telling them what happened today. Adiel and Tara stood there too.

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily, that’s for sure!”

“I should hope not!” the elf-girl said. “Otherwise, who would I buy the finest tea in the city from?”

Yeah, if I could’ve told my yesterday-self that he’d actually see Adiel be happy that we saved her best friend, I wouldn’t have believed myself.

Regarding Tara though, I was damn scared.

For one, she was taller than me, and I knew from yesterday that she had a deep, scary voice, even though I’d never seen a kinder dragon-woman than her. Plus, I knew that if she didn’t like me, she’d have burned me to a crisp with a flick of her wrist.

Other than that, I was scared because I made her a promise, even if she didn’t actually know it. I didn’t dare think what would happen if we failed to bring Rumel back. I was afraid that if we didn’t succeed, I would only hurt Tara and Adiel by giving them hope.

However, a huge weight had lifted from my shoulders like a rockfall when I realized they were happy. They smiled and laughed with joy, seeing that everything was okay again.

Rumel was finally home.

“I’m sorry, dear, that I couldn’t do more when they took you.” Tara said, her voice shaking. “I was so close to blowing up. Yet... those two… I felt so helpless before them. I failed you, I should’ve been there with you.”

No, I can’t just stand here watching like this.

“That’s not true, Boss!” I interjected, just loud enough to drown out the background noise, but not with enough force to sound rude. “You have nothing to be sorry for!”