I'll Be Villain to Everyone! Except for my Cat...-Chapter 53: The Diamond Puppet

In fact, the atmosphere in the bar was quite unusual.

A striking neon sign hung directly from the ceiling.

"Congratulations on reaching Diamond! Show all those pendejos what you’re made of, our rising star of Southville!" the sign read.

The sign was positioned so that anyone entering would notice it immediately.

But as evening set in, only Mr. Nobody and Marcel lingered in the bar, the earlier energy having faded.

"Actually, word got around that you took the rank-up contract ... The guys gathered earlier and wanted to congratulate you, but, unfortunately, you were delayed, and they’ve already left to run their errands."

"Alright, that’s a shame. I’ll be sure to thank them later... But maybe you’ll tell me what happened?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure... God, kid?! What’s wrong with your hands? Have you been up to your old tricks again?!"

Marcel’s expression was one of utter shock. Mr. Nobody’s left arm was bandaged up to the elbow, but the once-white bandage was now completely soaked with blood.

His right arm looked like someone had tried to pry it open with a can opener.

"It’s not as bad as it looks. I’ll take a pill, and after I sleep, everything will be back to normal."

Mr. Nobody was discussing yet another invention created by the scientist who invented Neodeck. It was a pill that temporarily enhanced natural regenerative abilities tenfold. Usually, after a simple night’s sleep, a person can heal all minor bruises, cuts, and the like.

"You fool! Even a child knows you shouldn’t take them as often as you do! I’ll be right back."

It was pointless to argue, so Marcel went down to the secret basement for a while.

He returned with two stimulants, spare bandages, and an unusual device resembling a strange tool that looked like a pair of thin tweezers.

"This is going to sting a little," Marcel said, removing the bandage from his left arm.

"Yeah..." Mr. Nobody replied, clenching his teeth.

He hadn’t realized the bandage had stuck to his skin and had almost fused with it. Pulling it off was excruciatingly painful.

Soon Marcel removed the bandage and inserted the stimulator into his left arm. Before long, the limb began to feel cold, and the pain was barely noticeable.

Next, Marcel applied a new bandage and set to work on his right arm.

"So what happened, old man? Don’t try to dodge the question; I know you started the procedure on purpose, so I wouldn’t move."

"You mean the contract? Well..." Marcel inserted the stimulator into his right hand. "The client’s not responding. To put it simply, he’s vanished."

"Damn it! That bastard doesn’t want to pay up?!" "He tried to jerk his arms, but it didn’t work." "At least let me punch the table before I find him and beat the shit out of him!"

"Easy, kid, you’re always like this! Relax, it’s not that bad—he transferred the rest of the money, got it?! The job’s done!"

"Huh...?"

"Yeah, that’s exactly right..." Marcel stopped poking at the wound on his right arm with the tweezers and looked at him with a broad smile. "You’re officially Diamond now."

"Oh..."

As if waiting for this moment, a congratulatory melody blared throughout the bar.

It was so loud that even Kuronuma, standing outside with the bike and cat, couldn’t help but peek through the window.

"..." Mr. Nobody simply smiled at her, since he couldn’t wave his hand right now.

"...Ugh!" In response, Kuronuma quickly turned away.

It seemed that after what had happened with Marie, the girl had started to feel shy around him.

"What’s that? Why is some little girl wearing your helmet?" Marcel asked in confusion.

"That’s... another problem we’ll have to deal with today. Anyway, did he pay in full? How much was it?"

"Heh-heh, that’s the standard fee for a Diamond-level contract, even though you’re on Black Gold yourself. 50,000 up front and 50,000 after successful completion, which comes out to... 100,000 Concord credits."

"Holy shit..."

Mr. Nobody had never received such a large payment at once before. To tell the truth, after recently buying his fourth motorcycle, he had less than a couple of thousand credits left in his account. That wouldn’t even have been enough to cover a month’s rent.

So why had he already bought a fourth motorcycle? Well, there was one reason...

"But the commission on the contract is still calculated based on your previous level," Marcel brought him back down to earth.

"And I’d already started dreaming about how I’d spend it... So, how much is it?"

"If you were already Diamond, you’d get seventy percent of the payment, which is seventy thousand... But right now you only get sixty thousand."

"A difference of a whole ten thousand?! That’s almost a third of a motorcycle!"

"That’s just how things are... By the way, I’ll get twenty percent of the remaining forty percent, and the last twenty is supposed to go toward... necessary expenses." Marcel had finished with his hand and began applying a new bandage. "Hmm, looks like this is the biggest payout I’ll get for my work as a broker. Now you’ll become a Diamond, and I’ll only get a much smaller percentage..."

"Don’t play the victim, old man. What else am I entitled to for reaching Diamond?"

"One of the biggest rewards? Now you can live for free right in the heart of Como. You didn’t move into the Southville underground precisely because you wanted to live there, did you? I suppose this will be a great reward for you..." Marcel said in a melancholy tone.

"Haa... Old man, enough with the sentimentality. You know perfectly well that I spend most of my time in Southville anyway. Anyway, where is this apartment?"

"Oh, I think you’ll like it. On one of the floors of the Neocorp Tower." Marcel slapped him on the shoulder. "The real major league, kid!"

But strangely, there was no joy on Mr. Nobody’s face. There was something...

Else.

"I see... I’m not moving there. Honestly, my place in the Como slums isn’t that bad. I even have a view of that Neocorp Tower."

"What?! What kind of nonsense is that, kid? Why are you turning it down?" Why are you turning it down? It’s the best housing mercenaries can get.

Mr. Nobody just smirked, but without any joy in his voice.

"I have a pretty bad relationship with towers that stand at the heart of the capital."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Usually, if I stay inside one of those for too long... I can’t help but blow it up."

"..."

"Let’s put thoughts of an explosive revolution on the back burner for now."

...

And though Mr. Nobody tried, he couldn’t ignore that feeling for too long.

How could that very mysterious client just disappear like that? Especially after paying for the job in full.

Why did he do it at all? What was he trying to achieve? Why did he choose...

Him, of all people, to carry out this job?

Maybe he wanted this strange object to end up in his hands specifically? For what purpose?

Mr. Nobody didn’t know.

Sometimes that feeling was a blessing, but now it was a curse, eating away at his mind.

He felt like a pathetic, helpless puppet, with someone powerful pulling the strings...

Someone terrifying.

"I hate coincidences..." he whispered.

The question of the other bonuses could wait. He had been put on hold for now.

For now, he decided to confide in Marcel his anxieties.