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Aiden was strolling through the streets at dawn.

The pier at the edge of the capital.

A massive ship could be seen cutting through the bluish dawn.

Most of the weapons smuggled into the capital are brought in through ships traversing the canal.

And today’s incident will take place right here.

-Quest Info

▶ Failure to complete the listed events will result in significant penalties!

<Life is Beautiful>

– Katia Heinkel Craven desperately wants something from you. Help the target fully experience ‘sensation’ to the best of your ability!

A related event is imminent. (D-Day!)

★ Depending on how you handle the event wisely, the way ‘The Weaver of Fate’ applies to the target will change.

Act 1, <Cracks in the Capital>

– Your frequency of interaction with important figures in the scenario has significantly increased.

– Soon, your presence will officially be integrated into the scenario. The direction of the scenario will be determined by your actions!

– A related event is imminent. (D-Day!)

Main Quest

Act 1, <Cracks in the Capital>

– A group is smuggling weapons into the capital. Arrest them all.

Clear Condition: Ensure no civilian casualties.

—

Fail the quest, and you die!

Seeing the list of incidents that will break out at the same time shoved in his face made his chest feel tight.

Especially the “death upon failure” etched smartly into the main quest.

Unlike a side quest he received once before, this felt like it’s being particularly emphasized that he ‘must’ succeed.

‘It’s just like the game I saw.’

The savage threat of “fail this, and I’ll kill you” reminded him that he’s standing in a game world.

But unlike a game, where death allows for a retry, here, once he dies, it’s the end.

At least, he thought, the relief is that today will be the last time he has to worry about such things.

‘For sure……….’

Aiden recalled the ‘progress’ of the incident in his mind.

No matter how discreetly they try to smuggle the weapons in, bringing in enough for a coup is bound to get noticed. The capital’s police force will catch wind of it and rush to crack down on them, marking the start of the ‘scenario’ that will sweep the entire world.

‘You’ll be there.’

And within the police squad, there will be Aiden’s target.

The savior, who will awaken their talents in today’s ‘crisis.’

The protagonist of this world.

At this point, just a rookie in the capital’s police force.

Aiden doesn’t know their appearance or personality, but one thing is certain: today, they will make their debut.

They must, for the future of the world.

‘So, take some of this burden off my shoulders.’

That’s his true desire, anyway.

Regardless, to take the first step, he needs to meet up with the person he arranged to meet.

They should be waiting around here.

As Aiden scanned the surroundings, suddenly, a face popped down from above.

It was Katia, hanging upside down like a bat, her legs hooked onto a nearby streetlight.

His heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

“Hi.”

Katia waved from her inverted position, smiling brightly, but just seeing her made his chest feel heavy.

Although she appears to be just a girl, her presence exudes the pressure of facing a massive predator.

He feels something similar with Noel, though at least with her, there’s no certainty she’ll actually cause harm, unlike Katia, who feels like a ticking time bomb.

“It’s strange.”

The beast in human form spoke the moment she saw Aiden’s face.

“What is?”

“That you didn’t notice me until I got this close.”

“…..”

“For someone as extraordinary as you who can use the same sacred powers as I do, how come you can’t manage something so simple?”

“…..”

“You’ve got all this power but no idea how to use it. I want to drag you off to the Holy Kingdom and dissect you.”

Her unexpected, direct jabs were definitely contributing to the oppressive feeling he had.

And she was absolutely right.

All of Aiden’s abilities are overwhelmingly powerful, but he doesn’t have the slightest idea how to ‘effectively use them for combat.’

To a seasoned warrior like Katia, he must seem utterly pathetic.

“Well, it’s fine.”

Katia dropped down from the streetlight and continued.

“As long as you keep your promise, the little details don’t matter. So, what’s first?”

“I’ve got someone to introduce you to. Let’s meet them first.”

For our protagonist, making an impression on Katia shouldn’t be a problem.

After all, in the original story, Katia became an ally after sensing something from the protagonist during their first encounter.

In no time, and by any means necessary, he will break through her congenital insensitivity and make her ‘feel’ something—that’s how her personal quest begins.

He vividly remembered how Katia ended up following the protagonist everywhere after that encounter.

Katia chuckled softly and responded, “I’m looking forward to it.”

…Though she sounded cheerful, it also felt like she was saying, “Handle it well, or else.”

The crackdown site was heating up.

Literally, as bombs exploded and bullets flew through the air, raising the temperature.

The police were continuously urging the criminals to surrender through loudspeakers, while the smugglers shouted insults, and the sound of gunfire and explosions added to the chaos.

It was absurd how intense things had gotten for a weapons smuggling operation.

‘At least no civilians are getting hurt, thank goodness.’

No matter how they aren’t regular soldiers, the capital police are still elite members among law enforcement organizations. 

These aren’t the kind of people who would struggle with wiping out a criminal organization like this. 

It doesn’t seem like the “no casualties” condition for clearing the quest will be too difficult. 

And outside of the intense battle,

“Do we really have to stay this quiet?”

While Aiden was getting increasingly stressed just by being there, Katia, who had been hiding in the shadows and watching the scene, spoke up in a disgruntled voice.

She didn’t seem to care much about what needed to be done here but was clearly frustrated by how ‘boringly inactive’ they had been.

‘Seriously…?’

With no sensory experiences directly affecting her, Katia enjoys indulging in bizarre activities just to feel ‘something’, even mentally.

“Just hang in there for a bit. It’s not like we’d gain anything from jumping in now.”

“If this ends up being boring after all this waiting, I’ll really be mad.”

As crazy as it seemed to hear someone complain about being bored while bullets and bombs flew around them, Aiden knew one thing for sure: when Katia gets mad, it signals the beginning of a major catastrophe that could easily result in a death toll in the double digits—or worse, triple digits. 

It wasn’t something to take lightly.

‘They should be showing up soon…’

Luckily, before Katia could grumble further, the incident Aiden remembered was unfolding before their eyes.

“Everyone, stand back!”

That’s right.

Aiden nodded inwardly as one of the cornered criminals stepped forward, holding a box that was clearly dangerous.

“…A Hellfire Bomb?”

Even Katia, who had been watching with disinterest, let out a whistle of surprise.

“Weren’t those too expensive to use even during the Allied War? What’s something like that doing here in the backstreets?”

As she muttered that to herself, Aiden noticed the growing panic on the faces of the capital police. They knew instinctively that if that thing went off, the entire area would be obliterated.

“Wait, calm down—”

“Put down your weapons! If you don’t drop everything, I’ll detonate this right here!”

‘Ah, the nostalgia. Isn’t this the first cutscene right after the tutorial? And then, here, our magnificent protagonist is supposed to appear, swiftly subduing the lowlife threatening to blow up the area, marking the grand beginning of the story.’

Yes, any moment now.

One.

Two.

Three.

“Captain, what should we do?”

“For now, don’t provoke him. Can’t you see how crazed he looks?”

“Hey! What are you whispering about? I said, put your weapons down!”

“Wait, calm down. Okay? We’ll put them down. Just relax.”

He should be here.

No.

He ‘should’ have shown up by now…

Aiden’s spine tingled as he looked at the situation in front of him, where ‘nothing’ was happening.

His hands and feet grew cold.

Of course.

The one who was supposed to be here was nowhere in sight.

‘He’s not here?’

At this moment, he ‘had’ to be here.

In this chaotic situation, there must be at least one person who steps forward to show ‘courage.’

But.

There wasn’t.

Everyone was too afraid of dying, and no one dared to make a move.

Here, there were only ordinary people.

There was no shining figure, no one carrying the fate of the world.

The ‘protagonist’ Aiden had hoped to shift the burden onto was nowhere to be found.

Aiden tightly closed his eyes.

In the end.

The ‘worst-case scenario’ he had desperately wanted to avoid was now materializing before his very eyes.

“Hey.”

And before he could even process his thoughts,

A chilling voice came from beside him.

“So, where’s the person you were going to introduce me to?”

“…”

“Don’t tell me it’s one of those pathetic fools over there, right?”

It wasn’t exactly the kind of atmosphere where he could honestly say “no.”

He was sure that if he did, it wouldn’t be surprising if his head got lopped off right then and there.

In fact, knowing Katia’s usual temperament, that would be ‘normal’.

Again.

A switch clicked on in his mind.

His survival instincts, which always kicked in during extreme situations, were now in play.

“Aiden, aren’t you going to answer?”

Even the usual smile Katia wore like a mask was beginning to fade as she asked that sentence again.

It was essentially the final warning. It was as if she were saying, “Did you really waste my time on this nonsense?”

Meanwhile, in Aiden’s mind, estimates were being calculated at a terrifying speed.

‘The most urgent thing right now…?’

What he had to do, right here and now, was somehow make this monstrous princess beside him ‘feel pain’.

If he couldn’t pierce through all the ‘divine powers’ that Katia possessed and manage to inject some sort of ‘sensation’ into her…

He was going to die, right here.

‘The premise is…’

And he had already considered a way to achieve that goal once before.

The solution was to land a powerful ‘strike’ strong enough to break through all the divine powers Katia held.

What he had on him right now was a single revolver he carried for self-defense and a bunch of half-baked supernatural abilities that, as Katia pointed out, he didn’t even know how to use properly.

Pitiful weapons, with powers as useless as pearls around a pig’s neck.

With these in hand…

He had to land a ‘strike’ strong enough to surpass a monster on par with Noel.

So then, the question is.

Can he do it?

Is there a way?

The calculations were quick, and the conclusion even quicker.

“Are you deaf? I’m asking you a question.”

“Shut up for a moment.”

There was.

Just one way.

A method he had once decided on before, but it was something he absolutely didn’t want to do.

A method he really, really didn’t want to use.

“I.”

To do that, first.

There’s someone he had to call.

As he said that, Aiden reached into his coat and pressed something.

“I told you to wait.”

One second, two seconds, three seconds…

He counted, up to ten.

After a short moment of silence.

The unexpected event occurred immediately.

“What’s going on?”

Someone sharp enough to sense the change at the pier muttered those words.

It was probably because they instinctively felt that something in the environment had changed.

Although it couldn’t be seen with the naked eye, anyone with a good sense would have noticed the formation of intense currents around them.

Starting with faint movements.

Then wind, followed by a storm, and finally, a typhoon that seemed to lift even the heaviest objects.

Eventually.

From the sky.

A ‘human’ wrapped in pure white mist crashed down, resembling a meteor.

-!!

–|||||||||

With a thunderous boom far more intense than the earlier deafening noises of the battle, almost everyone in the vicinity screamed.

That is, except for Katia, whose eyes were now gleaming, and Aiden, who had ‘called’ the figure.

“Hoo—”

Noel, slightly adjusting her hat that had been dislodged from the force of her landing, casually looked around.

“Oh.”

She soon spotted Aiden and gave a soft smile.

“—Did you call for me?”

Her greeting was calm, entirely unfitting for her fearsome entrance.

Aiden, fiddling with the switch still in his hand, stared at Noel in disbelief.

It was the signal device she had once given him, telling him to press it if he was ever in danger.

…‘So she really did come running the moment I was in trouble.’

It wasn’t a lie after all.

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