"Now, tell me your name and age."
"Hiiik?! P-please! Spare me! Please spare me!"
"Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you. What were you doing here? Did you see anyone around?"
"W-what the hell is the Association doing?! How is this guy just walking around fine?!"
"…Sigh."
Hayul’s body turned into mist with a sigh.
Not long after the mist entered the man’s body, his eyes rolled back.
"Did you kill him?"
"No. I just knocked him out. I don’t kill people without reason. This guy’s just a petty criminal, isn’t he?"
"O-oh… right."
I had assumed she’d killed him, of course.
Judging by the doubt in Spira and Laira’s eyes, they’d thought the same.
Not sure what her criteria is.
I figured she wanted to kill all criminals, but it seems she has her own standards.
…Well, that’s not what matters right now.
"Arakne has a really bad reputation here."
"Of course. It makes sense."
"Anyone who badmouths the Master’s organization should be killed—!"
Here we go again.
I lightly ignored Spira, who had started flattering me while eyeing my reaction.
This wasn’t the first time she’d done this.
She did it so often that I couldn’t even bring myself to like it.
…Though she seemed unaware of that.
"Theft, robbery, fraud, assault—they’ve committed every crime under the sun. Except murder. Maybe they drew the line there because that would’ve been too dangerous."
"You don’t seem very happy about this."
"…Well, yeah. I’m part of this organization, after all."
Even if I was forced into it.
Laira’s expression was a little complicated as she said that.
She seemed to have given up on returning to her old life a while ago…
But when had she grown so used to this group life?
She looked genuinely uncomfortable at the news of people impersonating Arakne.
"…What about you, Arte?"
"Me?"
"You’re the boss of the organization."
Hmm, right.
If I had to say whether I was happy or not, of course I wasn’t.
I’d rushed over in a panic when I heard about the imposters.
I thought I was just going to punish those bastards. That was my mindset.
…But I guess I was wrong.
It bothers me more than I expected.
As I walked through the areas where they’d been active, I felt it clearly.
There weren’t many favorable opinions about the organization.
Of course, Arakne is a criminal organization. I knew that well.
An organization that goes around killing people can’t be normal.
Even if we make deals with the Association behind the scenes, we’re still a group of criminals. That’s undeniable.
…But it’s *my* criminal organization.
Even if I don’t feel any particular attachment to it. Even if I created it on a whim, it’s still the organization I took in, the one I built.
And they dare impersonate it.
"They’ll have to pay for this."
"…Really?"
"Yes. The crime of daring to impersonate us is a serious one."
"…Hmm, I see."
"Yeah. Probably imposters."
"Got it. I’ll tell Dad."
I passed Arte’s message to Amelia.
Since Arte had called in sick today, we could talk freely. Normally, she wouldn’t skip school, but this semester’s midterms were being held in an unusual way, so no one batted an eye at her absence.
The classroom was already half-empty.
Probably off to earn Points.
That must be why Arte felt free to skip school too.
"Still… you’re really something…"
"What now?"
"No, nothing."
Yu Siwoo could guess what Amelia was getting at.
She was wondering why he hadn’t done anything with Arte after bringing her home. Was he impotent? That kind of thing.
Amelia always talked like that.
He decided to ignore her.
She always jumped to weird conclusions anyway.
"Where would Arte go…"
"What, you gonna look for her?"
"You think I shouldn’t?"
"If you do, she’ll just ask why you’re there. How are you gonna explain that? Plus, he’s obviously small-time. Most imposters are like that."
"…Small-time?"
Amelia started explaining, saying it was something she’d heard from her father.
"Say there’s some insanely strong guy. He’s either mentally broken or rebelling against society."
"Yeah."
"You think someone like that would hide behind someone else’s reputation?"
Most villains didn’t do that.
That’s what Amelia said.
"They’d cover up their own crimes, but they wouldn’t frame someone else. It’s rare."
"…I see."
"Right. Only the weak, the ones with no pride or strength, do that. For example…"
Amelia suddenly scanned the other students, confirmed they weren’t paying attention, then leaned in and whispered.
"That criminal you fought…"
"The one with the wind Ability?"
"Shh—! Keep it down! People don’t have good memories of that word. Some are still sore about getting knocked out in one hit."
She hastily checked their surroundings, then, once she was sure no one was listening, smacked Yu Siwoo’s back.
"Anyway. That guy had a reason for attacking. You know that."
"Ah, you mean that?"
Yu Siwoo recalled the violet-haired woman.
She’d been giving orders to the woman beside her, sending her into the Academy.
At the time, he’d just been relieved their forces were thinning…
But now that it was all over, he understood.
Maybe it was just his ego, but he’d interfered.
He’d stopped them from entering the Academy.
That was why she’d only achieved half her goal.
One missing executive. And the artifact from the secret room, gone.
As soon as he heard that, she came to mind.
Judging by the blood loss, the boss—the woman—was dead.
But her follower had survived. Survived with the artifact.
She’d accomplished her goal, but at the cost of her own life.
Hence, a half-success.
"She wanted to use the artifact in the secret room to change society."
"Change society?"
"Yeah. They gathered intel from the bloodstains on the floor and somehow found a hideout… and discovered the founder’s memoir."
"What?!"
"I told you to keep it down—!"
He quickly clamped his mouth shut, and once the briefly gathered gazes dispersed, he let out a sigh of relief.
He’d tried to stay quiet.
But the shocking news had caught him off guard.
The founder’s memoir of the Academy? That’s something from hundreds of years ago.
It was the kind of thing you’d only find in a museum.
"S-so? What did it say?"
"Hmm, well… I didn’t hear the exact details. They said it was too dangerous. But apparently, it’s some kind of world-changing, dangerous artifact…"
"A world-changing, dangerous artifact…?"
"Where have I heard that before?"
The reason Amelia and I met.
Wasn’t it because I’d overheard Arte muttering something?
"Looks like the story got out. Anyway, the big shots usually have some grand purpose. My guess? That villain probably wanted to use it for something."
"…Yeah, I think so too."
"But think about it. If someone’s impersonating another person, how can they follow that person’s goals?"
By impersonating someone, the villain’s identity and purpose would be handed over to someone else.
After saying that, Amelia told me I didn’t need to go.
"So impersonators are usually just small fry."
"I get it."
"…Then why don’t you look like you get it? I said you don’t have to go. You don’t even know where Arte went."
"I don’t. But I’m going anyway."
Amelia’s reasoning made sense.
Arte was probably acting as Arachne, and even if I went, there might be nothing I could do to help.
It would be wiser to stay put rather than move and risk drawing unnecessary suspicion.
Her advice was perfectly logical.
But I decided to go where Arte was.
"That’s just a guess, though."
"…Huh?"
"I understand that most impersonators are small fry."
I got Amelia’s point.
Well, I didn’t know the details, but she was probably right. Her father was a top-tier Hero, after all.
Maybe the statistics even backed it up—most impersonators were small fry.
But even so, I decided to go where Arte was.
"What if this impersonator isn’t small fry? What if this is all a setup to lure out Arachne?"
"No way. Who’d be crazy enough to do that? They’re a group that wiped out hundreds of villains."
"I know. The odds are low."
It wasn’t rational. Siwoo knew that better than anyone.
But even so.
Even if it was irrational. Even if it was a stupid choice.
Siwoo decided to follow Arte.
"You… just lied to me, didn’t you?"
Fast.
She’s really quick to notice things like this.
"Tell me the truth. Why are you going?"
"Because she’s my friend."
I answered Amelia’s question without a moment’s hesitation.
There was no need to hesitate over a question like that.
"At first, I thought she was someone I had to stop, and I still do. But she’s my friend."
"…"
"If Arte is walking down the wrong path again, if she’s doing something like that…"
I didn’t want Arte to get blood on her hands anymore.
Because I’d seen how fragile she really was.
Because I’d glimpsed what was in her heart.
"A friend should help them find the right path."