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TL: ALT
Chapter 232 – The Fugitive: Yuto Kurashiki Part 4
“Are you trying to confront me?!”
Toudou’s words made the members of the special unit, which seemed to be called the Cabinet Secretariat Investigation and Response Unit, bristle with anger.
“Yu-Yuto-san…?”
Honoka-chan lets out a worried voice behind me.
It seems that even Honoka-chan doesn’t know if she should obey or not.
I can feel her hesitation behind me: she wants help but can’t cause any trouble.
I shrug in the direction of Toudou.
“No way. I wouldn’t attack an innocent policeman―or did you say you weren’t a policeman? Anyway, if I attacked you, who are just following orders, that would be obstructing the execution of official duties.”
Even if the suspicion of violating the counterintelligence law is cleared, if the obstruction of official duty remains, I would be giving them an excuse to arrest me.
But as long as there’s a formal arrest warrant, I’ll probably be charged with a crime even if I just try to escape.
So what should I do?
I’ll use two of my skills.
If they find out that I used my skills, I’ll be charged with official misconduct, but as long as I don’t leave any evidence, I should be fine. …No, I think I’ll be in trouble, but at least I won’t be charged.
“Then you’ll run away, Kurashiki! You have nowhere to run to!”
“…Even if it was by accident, it’s interesting that you ask me that.”
I chuckled as I hid under my mask.
As Toudou said, I plan to escape from this place.
Even if I can knock them out, I won’t be able to defend myself against the authorities’ enforcement team.
But surprisingly, it’s quite difficult for me to “just escape.”
As soon as I make a move to escape, they’ll start fighting me.
In that case, the system will consider both me and them to be in combat.
What’s wrong with that?
My unique skill, Escape S.Lv1 Escape from Combat, has two well-known limitations.
One is time.
In order to escape combat, I have to “keep running out of the combat area for (30-5×S.Lv) seconds”.
It’s difficult to maintain that kind of escape posture for that long while avoiding the attacks of those high-level explorers.
Well, I think I can do it now, but I don’t want to scare Honoka-chan.
The other thing is space.
The combat area is a space with a radius of (10 x S.Lv) meters from the center of the enemy’s starting position.
The specification for the Escape from Combat skill is to keep running away from the outside of that combat area for a certain number of seconds.
This is more of a problem.
When I use the Escape from Combat skill, an invisible barrier is placed along the outer perimeter of the combat area.
Because of this barrier, I can’t escape normally without using Escape from Combat.
The only way around this barrier is to avoid being noticed by the enemy―in other words, to avoid being recognized by the system as being in a combat situation.
If I can make myself invisible, use stealth, or run past the enemy before they notice me, I won’t get caught in the escape area.
On the other hand, once I’m in a combat situation, I won’t be able to get out of the area without using Escape.
Even if Escape is successful, there will still be problems.
Even if I can escape from this place, I can’t escape from the fact that I’ve escaped from a government official with a formal arrest warrant.
Even if there’s no way to avoid that, at least I don’t want to leave the fact that I “did something” to Toudou and the others.
So, what should I do?
First, I’ll use the Hypnotism I got from the A-rank dungeon tour.
It can be used to block recognition, control consciousness, and manipulate memories against recognized enemies.
The success rate is determined by comparing my Magic Power to their Mental Strength, but… to be honest, it’s not even worth talking about.
Toudou’s Mental Strength is just under 400,000, while my Magic Power is over 4.5 million.
“Forget it.”
With my mere muttering, Toudou’s eyes went blank for a moment.
The members standing on either side did the same.
With that, the three of them lost their memories of everything that had happened since they came in contact with me… But I can’t do anything about the other members who didn’t appear here.
Since the communication records are also left behind, I will undoubtedly be suspected of having done something.
Even so, I would like to think that it would be wise not to leave clear evidence that I resisted with my own strength.
And then I use my other skills.
“Honoka-chan.”
“Yuto-san?, Eh, kyaaa!”
I picked up Honoka-chan and used the fourth ability of my unique skill, Escape.
“Escape from Situation.”
I mutter, but nothing special happens.
Toudou and the others don’t move.
Neither does the red light dot that should be watching over the situation.
I turn my back on Toudou and continue walking at a leisurely pace towards Shinjuku Station.
“W-why aren’t they following us?!”
“That’s how the skill works.”
I think back to the level 4 Escape skill I had just acquired.
Skill──────────────────
Escape
S.Lv1: You can escape from combat.
S.Lv2: You can escape from reality.
S.Lv3: You can escape from difficulties.
【NEW!】S.Lv4: You can escape from the situation.
【NEW!】S.Lv4: You can escape from the situation.
You can leave the situation without anyone noticing. The effect of being unnoticed by others lasts for S.Lv x 10 seconds.
Conditions for use:
You must be more uncomfortable than embarrassed by the situation.
Special notes:
The duration of the effect of being unnoticed by others can be temporarily increased by using “Escape from Situation” repeatedly. If you continue to use Escape while in this state, there is a risk that the effect of being unnoticed by others will become impossible to reverse.
────────────────────
The SP required to obtain it was a whopping 163,840,000.
To avoid counting the digits, let me repeat that: 163,840,000 SP.
For such an absurd amount of SP, I first thought, “This is a bit of a disappointment.”
With Skill Level 2 Escape from Reality, I was able to evacuate to an alternate space and manipulate the speed of time.
In Escape from Difficulties (skill level 3), I was able to return to any point in time by following the chain of causality.
In comparison, Escape from the Situation (skill level 4) seems rather ordinary.
However, Escape from the Situation, which seems rather ordinary at first glance, also has some advantages that cannot be ignored.
The requirements for its use are more relaxed.
With Escape from Reality, you had to have “a strong desire to escape reality for (5-S.Lv) seconds”.
Escape from Difficulty requires”realizing in your heart that the situation you are in is completely unsolvable.”
Escape from the Situation, on the other hand, requires “feeling more anxious than uncomfortable about being in that situation.”
Furthermore, unlike Escape from Reality, which is triggered automatically when the conditions are met, you can choose to leave the situation at your own discretion.
The downside, “If you keep using Escape from Situation, the effect of not being noticed by anyone will be impossible to cancel,” is a scary thought, but since it seems unlikely that I would use Escape from Situation regularly, there is no need to worry too much.
The effect seems weak because the conditions for its use are so loose, but it seems like it could be used in certain situations.
Serika and Haitani-san helped me test the effect.
I deliberately created an unpleasant situation and used Escape from the Situation.
From Serika and Haitani-san’s point of view, I had disappeared without them noticing, and they couldn’t even remember when I had left.
In addition, they said that their memories of the time before and after the embarrassing scene they had created became hazy.
By the way, for the purpose of verification, they were forced to assume the mysterious scenario that “Serika found out that I was having an affair with Haitani-san.”
Even though it was an act, it was really embarrassing, so I was grateful that it became blurry.
This mysterious phenomenon is similar to the resetting effect of Escape from Combat.
When I use Escape from Combat, the situation of that combat is reset.
A typical example is when I rescued Honoka-chan in the Mizukami Park Dungeon.
The illegal explorer I killed was “resurrected” by the reset, and I had to start the scene all over again.
The effect of Escape from the Situation alone might have been enough to fool Toudou and the others, but I also used Hypnotism.
The Hypnotism method can make people lose their memories by setting a certain range.
The ‘Escape the Situation’ method is difficult to verify due to its dangerous disadvantages.
That’s why I decided to use it in conjunction with a method that I know for sure works.
…However, this is only a temporary solution.
As long as there is a warrant out for my arrest, they will appear before me again.
If I continue to react the same way every time, they will probably come up with a countermeasure at some point.
I drop Honoka-chan off in a quiet alley and then blend in with the crowd in the busy downtown area, which has many mixed-use buildings.
I also put the Crow Mask, which makes me stand out, in my Item Box.
I thought people might notice me holding the hand of Honoka-chan, who was wearing her junior high school uniform, but the passersby didn’t look at us.
If I wanted to, I could make myself invisible, but doing that in a crowded place would make me stand out even more.
More specifically, it would mean that other people would walk right into me without noticing.
If I had made myself invisible and Honoka-chan stayed as she was, it would probably have looked strange to the people around us.
So I didn’t make myself invisible, but I tried to ‘control’ my presence so that I wouldn’t stand out too much… but even that might not have been necessary today.
It’s a busy, bustling scene that truly feels like Shinjuku, but today, it’s even louder than usual.
People hang out at the entrances of small izakaya and karaoke bars, making a racket with their loud voices.
Normally, they’d be complaining about their jobs or talking about how bad their boss is, but today, the main topic seems to be the country’s politics and security.
It’s not that they’re having a good time talking about how bad politicians are, but it seems to be turning into a pretty aggressive argument.
It’s just like the ideologues from the Men’s Association and the Women’s Association did on Genron.net.
“It’s kind of scary…”
Honoka-chan’s grip on my hand tightens.
At that moment,
“I won’t let you escape, Kurashiki!”
“Wha-?!”
I was really surprised by the voice I heard behind me.
Looking over my shoulder, I saw Toudou coming through the crowd with an old rifle in his hand.
Kyaaaaaaaa!
A woman screamed nearby.
A large, angry member of the Special Forces was running towards us with their rifles raised.
No wonder she was screaming.
“Why…?”
“Too bad, Kurashiki! Mental action skills don’t work on me!”
“Oh no, that’s right…”
Toudou’s unique skill is Unshakable Heart.
“Even if you are affected by some kind of abnormal mental state, you will not be negatively affected.”
The effect of Escape from the Situation is not an abnormal mental state, so why didn’t Hypnotism work?
No, but it seemed that the Hypnotism had worked on Toudou as well.
I see.
The explanation doesn’t say, “Abnormal states don’t work”.
The Hypnotism itself worked, but only the negative effects were canceled.
That’s why I thought the Hypnotism had worked on Toudou.
And as I had feared at the beginning, it seems that the ‘Memory Fading’ effect of ‘Escape from the Situation’ alone was not enough to cover up the unnatural situation.
The memory-fading effect of Escape from the Situation is a secondary effect that creates the situation where I disappeared without me noticing, so it’s probably not very effective.
Perhaps the special team led by Toudou, called the ECRT, had considered the possibility that I might have some kind of skill that interfered with the mind and had put Toudou, who had an Unshakable Heart, in charge.
If they had that kind of mindset beforehand, it wouldn’t be surprising if they were less susceptible to the mental effects of Escape from the Situation.
Toudou whispered softly behind his helmet so that I couldn’t hear him.
“Go ahead.”
Immediately after I picked up Toudou’s words with my super hearing, I detected an attack from above.
It was the effect of the Usurper’s unique bonus: “You can detect all dangers approaching you.”
I used the Demon King’s skill on the spot to create a physical barrier without chanting.
The bullet that exceeded the speed of sound was stopped by the invisible barrier and crushed in midair.
A little later, I heard the sound of the gun firing.
“Are you crazy? Shooting in a place like this, with so many people around!”
“Now that I know you have no loyalty to this country, I can’t just leave you alone!”
“But that doesn’t mean…”
I thought I had thwarted Tozaki’s plan.
Maybe he’s just someone who doesn’t care about the means to an end.
But… this is bad.
With the attack we just made, it’s likely that me, Toudou, and the others are now considered to be in a state of combat.
As a result, the effect of Escape will cause an invisible wall to appear at the outer edge of the escape area for me.
So I can’t escape normally because of Escape.
The Hypnotism deception has also been revealed.
My attempt to resolve things peacefully (?) has been ruined.
“Yuto-san……!”
Honoka-chan’s voice rises behind me.
“Please hide behind me.”
“No, please give me a chance!”
“What are you…”
Just as I was about to ask her back, the desire to fight suddenly disappeared from my heart.
I don’t want to fight.
I don’t want to hurt others.
I just want to spend time with the person I love.
Such inappropriate feelings bubbled up from the depths of my heart.
“Now, Yuto-san!”
Honoka-chan’s voice startled me.
It was Honoka-chan who had caused this phenomenon!
Even Toudou, whose mental abilities should not have worked, stood there stunned, his weapon hanging limply at his side.
And that’s not all: the people around us, who were about to panic at the appearance of the gun-toting special forces, were also blushing with embarrassment.
I turn around and pick up Honoka-chan.
“Well done, Honoka-chan! But how did you…?”
“I used my unique skill, Empathy, to spread the feeling of not wanting to fight to everyone around me. Everyone who paid attention to me.”
Honoka-chan replies while clinging to me as we run.
“I see, so there’s no way that feelings like not wanting to fight or wanting to be with the person you love can be ‘bad for the spirit.'”
By extinguishing the fighting spirit of Toudou and the others, Honoka-chan has ended the battle between me and Toudou and the others.
Of course, there’s no way that Honoka-chan knew about Toudou’s unique skill.
It was just a coincidence that she tried to stop Toudou’s movement, but she did something that I couldn’t do.
The temperature of Honoka-chan in my arms is hot.
I feel affection for Honoka-chan.
My arms that hold Honoka-chan are getting a little tighter.
Is this also the effect of Honoka-chan’s Empathy?
If Serika suspects me later, I might have to use Escape again.
I entered the Odakyu Department Store from the street, cutting off Toudou and the others’ line of sight.
There was a risk of drawing in people who had nothing to do with it, but at this time of day in Shinjuku, it would be the same no matter which way I went.
“I can’t hold out much longer!”
“I know!”
I ran through the boutiques on the first floor and dashed out to the west exit of Shinjuku Station.
There were more people than usual near the ticket gates.
Some people were staring at their smartphones as if they were going to devour them, while others were making noise in groups.
There were even a few people arguing with each other.
The electronic bulletin board displayed information about train delays, and the station staff’s apologies could be heard over the public address system.
“What are we going to do?”
Honoka-chan asked.
“We’re going as planned.”
“A-as planned…?
“Yes. We’re going to run to the next dungeon.”
The original plan was to run to the nearest dungeon, clear it, and then use Dungeon Travel to teleport to another dungeon.
It’s unexpected that we’re being chased by the Toudou group, but we’ll do the same thing anyway.
The only difference is that my social status has become even worse.
Honoka-chan gasps at my explanation.
“The nearest dungeon… you don’t mean…!”
Where is the nearest dungeon?
――Of course, it’s the impregnable S-rank dungeon, the Shinjuku Station Underground Dungeon.
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