I'll Be Villain to Everyone! Except for my Cat...-Chapter 54: Puzzle

"No, no, I appreciate you worrying about me... But I’ve lived in Concord my whole life, kid. Believe me, I know what to do in situations like this..."

"This is no joke, old man," Mr. Nobody said in a serious tone. "What are the odds that someone would take an interest in someone as insignificant as me? Next to none. They picked me only because I’m the most famous mercenary in Southville. Southville, you understand? Most likely, this whole scheme is Southville and all its residents, not me."

"Even if you say so, but..."

"No buts. Do you even realize how strange it is that there’s still a hidden part of Southville — the underground? Basically a second district and your own little corner of peace and quiet. Something like that would be possible anywhere but Concord."

"That’s where you’re wrong, kid. Our people take security seriously and always follow safety protocols. We never let strangers in, and we always figure out if we’re being watched."

"Are you serious, old man?" He gave a grim smile. "You can spot surveillance in a country ruled by Big Brother? Marcel, when was the last time you looked in the mirror? When was the last time you really looked at the people around you?"

"What are you..."

"What’s implanted in the temple of every Southville resident? What’s in your head and your son’s head?"

"..."

"Damn Neodeck," he said coldly, pointing a finger at Marcel’s temple. "All these years, they never bothered watching you simply because there was no need to. Everything and everyone... You, and even your thoughts, are always being watched."

"...I think I understand now why the padre liked you so much," the old man remarked with a smirk.

"Marcel..."

"All right, all right. Let’s say your paranoia has nothing to do with it... Then why now? Why did they turn a blind eye to the underground in Southville all these years, and now it’s caught someone’s attention? Don’t you find that strange? What could be the reason?"

"I... don’t know."

He himself understood that all of this looked and even sounded very strange.

Marcel’s skepticism seemed quite justified...

But his intuition still wouldn’t leave him alone.

After all, he really hated coincidences.

"...In any case, be careful. Follow every safety measure you can. Also, tell Schrodinger everything... Most likely, the padre is the only one who knows how to handle situations like this."

"Okay... But you’re still way too close to that old man!"

Mr. Nobody sighed heavily.

"...And take care of your family, uncle. That’s the most important thing."

...

Mr. Nobody was an unusual man. He really could adapt to Concord, and live here.

But being a lamb among wolves was never easy.

Even he felt terribly powerless in a situation like this.

He felt like just one small person facing something truly... big.

But be that as it may, he was doing and planned to do everything in his power. Of course, that was the only thing he could do.

After going over the final details once more, he asked Marcel to send him all the contract data.

As he understood it, identifying the client this time would be very, very difficult, but it was still worth a try. He had Paymax, and if that advanced intelligence couldn’t handle this task... then no one could.

They would investigate the client’s identity together with Paymax.

"Well, as they say... If we’re going to die tomorrow, we might as well celebrate today. That’s Southville’s motto for a reason."

"A terrible motto," Mr. Nobody commented dryly, gazing out the window with a cigarette between his teeth.

"Terrible? What’s your motto, then?"

"What’s up, danger."

"Oh God..." Marcel sighed wearily.

"Anyway... What should we do with this thing?" He pulled the item from the contract out of his pocket.

"Are you completely out of your mind?! You’ve been assuring me for so long that Southville is in danger, and yet you’re calmly carrying this thing in your pocket?!"

"Marcel, if it were a bomb, it would have already exploded."

"Huh? Well, that makes sense..."

"So what should we do with it? Give it to Southville as a charity gift??"

"Are you out of your mind?! If Schrodinger finds out about this whole situation, he won’t let this thing come within 10 kilometers of Southville."

"Ha-ha... Well, yeah. He was born before Big Brother appeared, after all. And when the event that everyone knows about happened, he was probably just a kid... People like that are completely different."

"That’s exactly what I mean. Bring him this thing, and he’d probably go crazy and start screaming..." Marcel began to caricature the old man in a wheelchair. "He’ll find out! He’ll find out! He’ll find out! They’ll come... The old man might even have a third stroke."

"That’s for sure..."

Mr. Nobody took the puzzle in both hands and began to touch it with his fingers.

Some parts could be turned, some moved, and others pressed.

12 sides, 12 panels, and a whole lot of interactive slots.

"Hmm..." Mr. Nobody frowned and set about tackling the puzzle with renewed interest.

After devising a specific sequence of moves, he repeated it on each of the 12 panels.

When he was done, he tried turning the object like a Rubik’s Cube, but nothing happened.

Moreover, none of the object’s cells, except for the ones already used, were available for interaction anymore.

"Is there something else I need to do? But what exactly...?"

Five seconds later, all the cells strangely returned to their previous positions.

It seemed the puzzle had "reset."

"...Paymax, did you time it from the moment I applied the sequence to each side?"

"Confirmed. Twelve seconds passed before the ’reset.’"

"So I had 12 seconds to do... something. That’s interesting," he remarked with a smile. "What do you think, old man?"

"...If I were you, I’d throw this thing away," Marcel remarked with a skeptical expression.

"You probably don’t know this, but this puzzle was meant to be a gift. In your opinion, what’s the best gift for a tough guy?"

"Hmm... A woman?"

"Almost. A beautiful woman and a cool weapon." Mr. Nobody stood up and put the puzzle back in his pocket. "Who knows, maybe if I solve it, I’ll get a weapon capable of killing a god..."

"Or a bomb that’ll blow you up too."

"...That already happened once, so it’s not very interesting."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just a painful reminder of what I’ve lost forever... Anyway, get my wolf suit ready. It’s time to finish up the last job for today," he said, gazing at the girl outside the window with a conflicted expression.

"...Sometimes you say the strangest things, kid."