"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Alex mutters, clearly frustrated, as he dashes through the shadows—while Jewel, perched happily on his head, rubs her fuzzy body against him.
❤️
"I don't know why you're so damn happy! This is a complete disaster. I don't think I've ever fucked up this badly," Alex complains.
Soulmate needs to relax; it was a glorious mission! Princess Jewel enjoyed the show!
Alex, choosing not to argue with the spider, picks up speed. He avoids the wider roads, keeps using Zetsu, and sticks to the backstreets and narrow alleys.
"Well, you know what?" he mutters. "I haven't screwed up this bad before, so if I do get kicked out of this world, it should still be enough for a D rank. I guess I can afford to mess up once... fuck it."
This can't be considered a failure. Soulmate did the job he wanted to do. He just drew a little bit of attention to himself, which is not a problem.
"Maybe..." Alex grumbles, climbing over a crumbling wall and onto the roof of a nearby house. "Still, this sure as hell won't fix my alignment. Chaotic Neutral... looks like I'm stuck with it for a while."
This might be childish, but I still blame that damn snake and spider duo for all of this. They pushed all my buttons... the wrong buttons.
Shit... no. This was on me. I made so many stupid decisions back-to-back. I'll do better. This is clearly my fault. I was arrogant, choosing to fight them alone. I shouldn't have set fire to the damn building, as well... of course, that would draw attention! What a stupid decision.
At least no one from our group died or got hurt. In that sense... maybe I got lucky. It could've gone so much worse.
But the biggest mistake—no question—was not wearing my [Jack's Spare Silvery Mask]. I'm such a moron. I had the means to stay anonymous and avoid this entire mess, and I didn't use it. I couldn't think straight... I got arrogant. Fuck!
He lies flat on the roof for a moment, keeping low while watching for any signs of pursuit.
Once he's sure the coast is clear, he resumes moving, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Eventually, he reaches the rundown hideout that the gang had shown them earlier, which they use as a temporary base.
As he enters the building, all eyes turn to him. The gang members stare in stunned silence—some of them with outright terror written on their faces.
Alex walks straight up to their leader. "The others aren't here yet?"
"N—no..." the boss replies, fidgeting nervously.
"How much money do you have here?" Alex asks casually.
"W—w—what? W—why do you want to know?" the man stammers, going pale.
"I picked up a few weapons. I want to sell them," Alex replies. "Figured I'd give you a chance to buy them cheap. I assume you know how to move some quality gear?"
"I mean, I could..." the man says, looking very much like he doesn't want to say what comes next. "But... we're broke. We barely have a few hundred thousand in our pockets."
This looks like a dead end, Soulmate. We can keep the weapons and sell them somewhere else. There will always be people willing to buy them.
I agree, Jewel. It was just an idea.
"Sorry," Alex says aloud, "that won't be quite enough."
Still, deciding to throw them a bone, Alex steps into one of the empty side rooms. He pulls a crate of cheap sabers from his inventory and sets it down in the middle of the room.
"I promised you a reward," he says as he returns to the room where the boss is. "There's more coming for you—if you hold up your end. For now, check out that empty room. If you keep working for us... maybe more will follow."
No, there won't... I'll never see them again, but this will at least guarantee they keep quiet... at least until we're gone.
Deciding there's nothing else to do for now, Alex heads into one of the other empty rooms and sits down, continuing to use Zetsu to recover as much as possible.
Jewel, you're still fit. Can you check if anyone is coming? Warn me if there is a problem.
Princess Jewel will take care of it. She'll be back if there is a problem.
With that, Jewel scurries off, leaving Alex alone.
Bored, Alex looks out the window, still spotting the smoke and faint glow of flames in the distance.
What a mess!
Tired, he pulls out one of the [Superior Dish (Fried Squid Balls)] from Menchi.
Chewing slowly, Alex still isn't fond of the taste of the squid, but thanks to Menchi's cooking talents, he manages to stomach it without much complaint. As soon as he finishes, he feels his body gradually regain its strength.
Not bad... this is effective! Almost like a damn drug, the exhaustion is almost gone!
Exactly two hours later, Jewel hurries back, leaping back onto his head.
Benezia and Tereza are returning.
"Finally... I was starting to get worried," Alex says, rising to his feet.
He walks back into the main area. Most of the gang members are gone by now, only the boss remains—sprawled out and snoring on a bench, covered with pillows.
Moments later, Benezia and Tereza slip into the building, entering quietly.
Alex lifts a hand, gesturing for them to follow.
Without a word, the three of them retreat into the room Alex had used earlier.
Inside, the atmosphere is heavy. No one speaks for a moment.
Finally, Tereza breaks the silence. "What happened?"
"There's a small chance that Nico Robin betrayed us," Alex says bluntly. "The damn shop was under surveillance. They mentioned the corrupt weapons merchant and claimed he was acting against the kingdom. That sounds a bit too convenient for my taste; after all they were there that exact night when we received the mission, the mission to take care of the weapon store?"
"Really?! That bitch!" Tereza hisses. "We should've killed her."
"No," Alex says, shaking his head. "We should've acted like we didn't notice anything and just gone with the flow."
"So why aren't you blaming me?" Benezia asks quietly. "I'm the one who forced the issue. I pushed her into a corner."
"Simple," Alex replies. "I remember what led you to do that in the first place. The same thing that made me burn the shop down."
He turns toward the spider on his head. "It's your fault... Jewel. You're the spider of destruction. Everything ends up in flames with you around."
Princess Jewel is innocent! All her observations and suggestions are based solely on logic and common sense.
Alex chuckles and gently picks her up, giving her a soft stroke.
"I know," he says, barely suppressing his laughter. "It's the lowest thing ever to blame a spider. I was joking. Truth is, I messed up tonight. I made a bunch of dumb decisions that I should've known better than to make. That's on me. I'll learn from it. I'm not making the same mistakes again."
"As for Nico Robin," he adds, "there's no proof she betrayed us. It's just a possibility. But I think she's smart enough to know something like this can't really stop us anyway. Also, she handed us a list with many targets. She couldn't have known, only guessed, that we would act so quickly and target the weapon store."
"In any case," he continues, turning toward them. "Did you manage to complete your mission?"
"Yes," Benezia answers. "The delay was due to a partial lockdown. It's likely connected to the fire... which you started. As for Nico Robin, I agree with you, Alex. It is not very likely that she attempted to get rid of us. I could feel her body shaking when I threatened her. She knows that I am way too strong to fall against such foes. At the very least, we shouldn't act against her yet; this may turn out to be irrelevant. We'll soon leave the Kingdom of Arabasta, so there is no need to take a risk. We'll be back... eventually."
She is arrogant, alright. Whatever.
"It's not just that," Alex explains. "Jewel thinks she saw some players in the area too... and I also had to take care of Pell and Chaka. You know, the two head guards of Arabasta."
"You took them down?!" Tereza asks, wide-eyed.
"Yes," Alex replies. "There was no way I could outrun the Falcon and the Jackal. I got caught up in the fight and just decided to end it. Didn't really matter at that point... at least I earned two Blue chests for my trouble."
"I'm more concerned about the players the little one mentioned," Benezia says. "They might have joined the royal army and could be working for the Kingdom of Alabasta. That's a valid choice for a faction."
She thinks for a moment, then continues. "Since we've taken out two targets already, we should leave Alubarna. Best to summon Menchi now and disappear while we can. Even the organization will understand—we've drawn attention to ourselves. Fighting players in their faction's own capital city... that won't go well for us."
"Agreed," Alex says.
"System!" he commands. "Summon Menchi!"
[Summoning Supporter Menchi
Remaining Time until summoning: 4 Minutes, 2 Seconds
Warning: If the player leaves the vicinity of the current town, the summoning process will be cancelled.]
"At least it won't take long," Alex mutters. "By the way, I looted a ton of weapons, including rifles. I gave a few to the gang, made them a small promise... they should keep quiet about us for now."
"What a night," Tereza sighs. "So, where are we going?"
"Three possible goals," Alex says. "Tamarisk—a small port on the eastern coast. Nanohana—the main port of the kingdom, directly south of us, also a big trading hub. Or Katorea, the rebels' unofficial headquarters. What do you think?"
"Nanohana," Tereza replies immediately.
Princess Jewel wants to go to Katorea and look for strong enemies to take down. She didn't get to do much tonight!
"You might actually be right, Alex," Benezia says, her voice unreadable. "That spider is the spider of destruction. In my religion, Siari, we believe in All is One—the idea that the universe is a single consciousness, and all life is part of it. By that logic... the little one is undoubtedly the root of our troubles, at least in our group."
"..."
"..."
Stop blaming Princess Jewel, Peasant!
"Heh, was that a joke, Benezia? I think you're slowly warming up to us," Alex says, smirking.
Tereza giggles. "True!"
A terrible joke! Benezia failed!
"Joke?" Benezia replies in a cold, flat tone. "I can't even—"
Before she can finish, Menchi appears, teleporting into the room in a sudden shimmer of magical light.
"Hey! I was in the middle of cooking! You gave me four minutes to finish my dish! I had to waste a ton of Aura to rush it!" she complains, glaring at Alex.
Alex sighs before giving her a quick summary of the situation.
"So yeah, that's why you're stuck here in the capital for now. We figured you had better opportunities here than in Rain Base. We're leaving now, so we'll see you later down the line. Benezia, you never answered—where do you want to go?"
"What do you think, Alex?" Benezia responds, dodging his question.
"I agree with Tereza," Alex says calmly. "Nanohana is a good compromise. We'll have enough opportunities without too much danger. Katorea is too risky, and Tamarisk is too safe... and too boring."
"Then Nanohana it is," Benezia states.
"We'll see you soon, Menchi," he says, stepping out of the building. Benezia and Tereza follow closely behind, with Tereza giving Menchi a quick hug before leaving.
Once again, the group mounts Tereza. She shifts into her bat form, and they take to the skies, the darkness no hindrance to her sharp senses.
"It's directly south of Alubarna," Alex says. "We can't miss it. I wonder what we should do onc—"
Suddenly, a familiar noise cuts through the wind.
"Purupurupuru..."
Alex freezes slightly, reaching into his pocket.
Sounds a little different today.
"... Let's hope it's Robin," he mutters, pulling out the Den Den Mushi.
"This is Mr. 6," Alex says calmly.
A cold, deep voice responds on the other end.
"This is Mr. 0..."
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