"...One. Two. Three. Four. Is that all?"
"Seems like it here."
"Haa... Just how many are there?"
Four trembling men.
Even now, it was hard to believe, but all of them were imposters.
"P-please spare me!"
"I’ll never impersonate anyone again...!"
"..."
I’d lost count of how many times I’d heard this same plea.
This is ridiculous.
I wasn’t the only one thinking that—Laira also laughed in disbelief.
"Wow, impressive. Were we that popular?"
"I don’t want this kind of popularity from scum like them!"
"We’re not even celebrities, so what the hell..."
Just four people.
But thinking it was only four would be a huge mistake.
"How many was it again?"
"Twenty-two."
"Hiiik...!"
This is driving me insane.
I clutched my throbbing head.
I never expected there to be this many imposters.
Even so, this was way too much.
"It’s probably because we’re a secret organization."
"...A secret organization?"
"Yes. It’s the perfect condition for impersonation."
Why were there so many imposters?
As I pondered that, Hayul, who had been deep in thought, finally spoke up.
"It’s just a name that’s known to the public. It makes sense people would think it’s easy to impersonate, especially since our activity has slowed down lately."
"...Is that it?"
"A secret organization no one knows the truth about. But the public loves them. Even if they commit murder, their popularity soars."
What do you think?
No one answered Hayul’s question.
We didn’t need to say it—we all understood.
In the end, the very nature of being a secret organization had its limits.
"...Haa."
"This is... hopeless. There are too many imposters. If we kill them all, it might tarnish our reputation."
[N-no! The citizens adore you as dark heroes—it’s so cool!]
Killing them all would solve everything.
But realistically, that was impossible.
After hours of searching, we’d only found around twenty.
Someone might say that’s a lot, but the problem was that even with all that effort—and with investigators helping—we’d only caught that many.
Who knew how many imposters were out there in total? It was probably far more than this.
In this insane city, trying to catch every single imposter might take months of nonstop work.
The roads were so twisted that even if you kept going straight, you’d somehow end up back where you started.
"...We can’t catch them all."
"You think so too?"
"Yes. We’ll have to make an example out of them instead."
"Hii, hiik...!"
"Don’t worry. We won’t kill you."
Maybe it was inevitable that Arachne became known as the ones who punish villains.
After all, the author had scattered absurd plot hooks, and we ended up hunting villains to clean them up—that’s how Arachne was born.
It wasn’t like the organization was created to punish villains, as the citizens believed.
We just ended up killing so many villains that an organization formed around it.
That image wasn’t intentional, but... the author seemed to like it.
So I had no intention of killing anyone who wasn’t a villain.
Even if the image was unintentional, if it was a good one, we’d just go with it.
"Consider yourselves lucky. You’re not quite villains, so you get to live."
I didn’t particularly want to kill people who didn’t need killing either.
I didn’t feel like slicing through every single one of them just because they were in my way.
Plus, our investigator would hate it.
Hayul didn’t seem to think of them as villains.
Then as her boss, I should respect that.
"But I thought you’d tell me to kill them. Aren’t they villains?"
"They haven’t killed anyone. There’s still a way for them to atone for their crimes."
…Ah. That’s why.
It was only now, hearing Hayul’s answer to Laila’s question, that I realized why she hesitated to kill them.
Because they hadn’t taken a life.
That was all.
Hayul had joined Arachne for revenge.
Revenge against the villain who had killed someone precious to her.
"Stealing money doesn’t warrant death. They can just repay the damage. Attacking someone doesn’t warrant death either. They can just provide appropriate compensation."
"For someone who was muttering about not forgiving imposters, you’re being weirdly rational…"
"I’m embarrassed. But I do separate public and private matters. Just because I’m angry doesn’t mean I can kill without reason."
"I see."
"…However, those who take another’s life cannot be forgiven. No, they can’t even ask for forgiveness. The victim is already gone from this world."
"Then why do you kill villains?"
"That’s different."
Hayul declared it flatly.
As if it wasn’t even worth discussing.
"I know what you want to say. That the same should apply to villains. But I’ll say this clearly: villains are an exception."
"Oh? …I wasn’t trying to say anything. I was just curious. Don’t get so worked up."
"That’s an order. You’ve rested enough. How about you go threaten those imposters a bit?"
"Ah, yes. Arte-nim. I’ll do that."
"…Fine, fine. I’ll do what you say."
I forcibly ended the conversation.
I didn’t want to hear any more of that.
Whether killing was right or wrong—none of it mattered.
In the end, they were all just puppets. Thinking about it wouldn’t change a thing.
It would only give me a headache.
There was only one being in this world who must never die.
Yu Siwoo. Only him.
The rest didn’t matter.
That’s right. The rest wasn’t important.
The only thing that mattered was that one. The rest didn’t matter…
"Huh. Where am I…?"
When I suddenly looked up, the scenery around me had changed.
I’d only taken my eyes off the path for a moment, but in that short time, I’d ended up in an unfamiliar place.
"…Hmm, this is a problem."
I was a little troubled.
This was a place where even groups of people often got lost. Would I really be able to find where everyone else was?
Sure enough, every time I moved, the scenery changed, and it was always somewhere new.
I never thought I’d end up lost like this.
They say if you get lost, you should stay put…
But even so, standing still would look bad.
I’d forcibly torn my subordinates apart just to end the conversation.
That had clearly been a bad choice.
At this rate, should I look for other people nearby and ask for directions?
…Or use my Thread Extraction Ability to climb to the rooftop of a building?
Hmm, that sounds better.
Just one half-glove should be enough.
Fine. If my subordinates notice, I can just claim it’s easier to observe from the sky.
"Hey, sister. What are you doing here?"
"···?!"
Just as I looked up at the rooftop of a tall building to untangle the threads from my gloves—
A voice came from behind me.
"Die···!"
"Tsk, don’t move. You look like an Academy student. You don’t actually think we’d ambush you alone, do you?"
I ignored the sharp blades pressing against my neck and back, ready to strike.
No one who could sneak up without a sound would have good intentions.
If I hadn’t noticed the blue energy swirling around the dagger, I probably would’ve attacked.
"···Mana?"
"See? I told you. If they’re a superhuman, they’d recognize it."
"Yeah. Guess that drug really works."
"It’s a prototype made by the guys who raided the Academy. The effects are guaranteed."
Ah.
I let out a small sigh.
Another side effect of the author’s worldbuilding, huh?
Must be that drug those animal friends were making.
After their downfall, the prototype that supposedly turns people into superhumans must’ve spread to back alleys like this.
I let my guard down.
If I had time to prepare, fighting would be one thing, but getting ambushed with no prep at all was a problem.
With my Thread Extraction Ability, preparation was everything for maximum effectiveness.
They must’ve taken advantage of my distraction in this maze-like street to strike.
They probably knew this area like the back of their hands.
"···What do you want?"
"Wow, sister. You’re pretty calm. Not scared? Hehe. If this blade goes in just a little deeper, huh? You die."
Thud.
A slight pain in my neck, and my leotard dampened a little.
The dagger must’ve pierced my skin.
Probably just a warning.
"I asked what you want. Just say it. I hate wasting time."
"Damn, you’ve got guts."
Guts or not, I can’t die, so there’s no need to be afraid.
There are a few reasons.
First, I’m the author’s only eye.
According to the author, I am their eye—the one that observes the world in their place.
If I died, the author would be in deep trouble. So at the very least, I wouldn’t die.
Second, these guys won’t cripple me.
Even if the Academy seems indifferent to student safety by sending them into the field, that’s not actually the case.
Whenever a few students got hurt, the teachers would personally hunt down the villains based on student testimonies.
That had been going on for weeks now. The rumors must’ve spread far and wide.
Proof of that? If they wanted to subdue me, they could’ve just chopped off my arm. But they only drew a little blood as a threat.
···And lastly, I’ve already finished preparing to take you down.
What good is focusing your vision on the upper body?
Did you really not consider an attack from below, idiots?
The threads from my stockings had already unraveled, ready to strike from their blind spot.
Since they’re being annoying, maybe it’s fine to cut off a finger or two.
···No. Since they marred my pretty body, maybe it’s legal to sever the hand holding the weapon?
Hmm, probably legal.
Just as I was rationalizing my way into attacking the bastards—
A sudden voice made me freeze.
It was someone who had no business being here.
"Can you let her go?"
Yu Siwoo, for some reason, appeared right in front of me.
···Why the hell is *he* here?