[I wanted to see more of the protagonist’s house…]
The author’s voice, sounding utterly deflated, reached my ears.
Did they want to observe the protagonist’s house more closely?
But there was nothing I could do about it.
"I’m sorry, Author-nim. Something urgent came up, so I hope you can understand."
[Hiiing…]
"I can visit again next time. Then we can take our time looking around."
[…Okay!]
Calming the author down wasn’t all that difficult.
I could just come back later, right?
I also wanted to properly examine the structure again myself.
I was curious about how Yu Siwoo lived, after all.
Fortunately, the author seemed to understand why I had to leave in a hurry.
[But impersonation?! That’s unforgivable!]
"Is that so?"
The author suddenly started raging at the imposter.
Huh, so they were thinking of me.
That thought almost lifted my mood—until their next words sent it crashing back down.
[Of course! It’s such a cool secret organization! How dare someone impersonate it…!]
"…Ah, right."
Of course.
…I’d completely forgotten that the author had the mindset of a child.
They weren’t angry on my behalf—they were just mad that someone had impersonated their *cool* organization.
Well, whatever. I didn’t have time to dwell on that now.
Even if I’d created Arachne on a whim, it was still *my* organization.
And managing it was my responsibility.
As soon as I got home, I clapped my hands to gather my subordinates.
"Oh, Master. That beloved chi—"
"Welcome, Arte. You’re early?"
"Yeah, well. Things worked out that way."
It seemed like they’d grown pretty close after spending so much time together.
Laira, who had clamped a hand over Spira’s mouth before she could finish speaking, turned to me with a smile.
Ah, right.
Did these two already know?
"Did you see the news?"
"The news? …What’s that?"
"You haven’t? Alright. Then let’s all watch it together."
Hayu and I led the way, and soon everyone was huddled around to watch the broadcast.
"This is…"
"Arachne killed a civilian?"
"Have you taken any action recently?"
"No! No! I haven’t! I’m innocent!"
"I wasn’t accusing you."
Spira was as consistent as ever.
She’d do anything to survive—that was just her nature, and I’d seen it enough times to know.
But…
"…Not me either. I’ve been too busy keeping an eye on *this* one."
"This one?! W-What did *I* do?!"
"Put your hand on your chest and think, you useless snake. Arte, is the snake wine ready yet?"
"Should I prepare it?"
"Yeah. Please."
"?!"
Come to think of it, last time when I’d threatened to force snake wine on her, Spira had looked absolutely terrified… and Laira had been watching the whole thing.
It seemed she’d realized that the only way to handle Spira was through threats.
For Laira, who struggled to deal with Spira’s antics, having snake wine as leverage was probably necessary.
…Wait, no. That wasn’t it.
"What do you think, Investigator Hayu?"
"···Can't forgive, can't forgive, can't forgive, can't forgive, can't forgive!"
"?"
What the—?
Startled by Hayul’s rapid muttering, the two bickering members and I instinctively stepped back.
"I can never forgive this! How dare they tarnish the name of Arachne by harming civilians!"
"···Uh, yeah. That’s right."
"Laira, doesn’t this make you angry?! Our name is being used by those bastards!"
"Y-yeah. It’s pissing me off."
I knew better than anyone that Hayul would never harm a civilian.
After all, I was the one who recruited this justice-driven investigator into the organization.
I even asked the Author to fabricate a tragic past for her to make it happen.
I’d figured it was the only way to bring her in.
Damn, the Association was efficient...
"We have to find them and make them pay! The price for sullying our name with their actions is death!"
"···Y-yeah. Okay, can you calm down a little?"
But had my methods been *too* effective?
Her sense of justice had warped into blind devotion to Arachne.
Well, from my perspective, that was a good thing... but—
Ugh, this just made me feel like absolute trash.
I wasn’t some cult leader, for fuck’s sake.
"Then I’ll assume no one’s doing anything about it."
"···Yeah, that’s about right."
"I didn’t do anything!"
"Obviously!"
Laira looked like she couldn’t be bothered.
Spirra kept glancing at the others.
And Hayul was clearly waiting for me to give the order.
I studied the three of them.
···These were all people I’d originally planned to kill.
How had we ended up under the same organization, living under the same roof?
A moment of whim. A fleeting pity.
It pained me to watch these lives I’d spared—against my better judgment—moving on their own.
Like watching puppets go about their daily lives backstage.
Their personalities, hobbies, all those trivial details I never needed to know.
Had the puppets I *had* killed been living lives like this behind the scenes?
···No. Stop. I didn’t need to think about that.
I didn’t need to know the inner lives of the puppets.
"Alright, everyone. We should probably teach those bastards a lesson for dragging our name through the mud."
"Do whatever."
"Should we start with gathering intel?"
I’d avoid relying on the Author as much as possible.
Every time the Author acted, it forced this world to confront its own falseness.
Everyone except me and Siwoo would realize their lives had been upended by the Author’s whim.
[Please punish them, Reader!]
"Alright, let’s go punish those imposters."
Truth be told, I’d been planning to do it even without the Author’s say-so.
How dare they interfere with my chance to learn more about Siwoo.
And even if this organization was an accident, they had no right to impersonate Arachne.
Now, how should I make them suffer?
"Ahaha, ahahaha···."
"Whoa, your laugh is terrifying···."
"Shut up, Spirra."
"How’s it going?"
"No one suspects a thing. Idiots."
A few burly men gathered in a dark alleyway, laughing and chatting loudly.
As if boasting of their own merits, they were busy bragging about the crimes they had committed.
"If you kill a few people but draw well, no one will suspect you!"
"Even if you rob a store and steal valuables, they’ll be the ones who get blamed. They’ll call them accomplices to criminals."
Stories of murder. Tales of theft and escape.
Stories of fraud and running away.
Each boasted of their own feats, mocking others as they did.
"If it’s a crime committed by Arachne, everyone just assumes it was against a villain!"
"Even the investigators seem to think that way. Idiots."
"Thanks to Arachne, this is like a windfall!"
They were nothing but small fry.
Villains, yes, but pathetically weak ones.
At best, they were the lowest rungs of a criminal organization. The reason they could commit crimes so openly was simple.
"Business has been good lately."
"Yeah, because we’re the ones splitting the profits."
An organization that had once dominated the area.
Or perhaps one that had controlled more than half the country—had simply disintegrated into thin air.
It was only natural that the remaining villains, once suppressed by them, would begin to lift their heads.
With such a massive power vacuum, the hyenas couldn’t resist pouncing.
"Why bother committing crimes? Arachne would punish you for it."
"Right? Heh heh. Idiots."
The number of crimes committed by villains had plummeted. Ever since Arachne appeared.
That was a fact supported by any statistic, and so Arachne was praised by the citizens.
To the citizens, Arachne was an organization that eliminated the bad guys.
…But statistics weren’t always accurate.
As Arachne’s activity began to dwindle, cunning minds emerged.
If Arachne punishes villains, then why don’t we just pretend to be Arachne?
That simple idea led to impersonation.
And it was shockingly effective.
If they just left behind a crimson spider emblem and fled, the victims would be suspected of being villains themselves.
"Ah, this is hilarious, isn’t it?"
"Yeah. Did you see their faces?"
"I did! That look of injustice! Khahaha…!"
Just the accusation that Arachne had targeted them was enough to cast suspicion on the victims.
Maybe they used to be villains.
Or maybe they had some shady dealings with villains.
Such doubts spread, forcing the victims to either spend ages proving their innocence or stay silent.
Even if investigators realized the victims were innocent and reopened the case, it was already too late.
The real culprits had long since escaped.
With Arachne’s activity slowing down, there was no need to worry about the real Arachne catching them.
"Long live Arachne!"
"Wahaha! What are you doing?"
"What? Isn’t this only natural? They’re the ones who made our lives easier."
"True. Heh heh. Maybe I should try it too. Long live Arachne!"
The foxes laughed.
In a world without tigers, foxes thrive.
And so, this was now the age of the foxes.
They laughed merrily inside the tiger’s den,
unaware that the tiger had returned.