Ch.103 A Pervert is Taking Over the Young Girl's Place

"Excuse my rudeness one more time. Does SPIRITsnack- "Cern is fine." -san... Does SPIRITsnack-san- "I said I'm Cern." ...Does SPIRITsnack-san- "How stubborn.", know about Cern, the daughter of this <Kumahachi Inn>'s owners, Yahau-san and Shichi-san?"

"Huh? What are you talking about, customer? That 'Cern' is me, you know? I just introduced myself a moment ago."

SPIRITsnack insisted that he is Cern no matter what. He is trying to push his claim through by being stubborn.

Was the slight pause in his response due to his conscience, or was there something in my statement that he found concerning?

"I'm not talking about SPIRITsnack-san, but about Cern-san, the girl who lived at this inn."

"What? You're saying I don't look like a young girl? You're a terrible person, Vester-san."

This guy went ahead and performed an appraisal without permission. It's a crime because I didn't authorize it. He'll accumulate karma points.

"You look nothing like the Cern-san I know; you're quite the opposite. And your voice and way of speaking are also different from what I'd expect from someone claiming to be Cern."

He's been making statements that imply he knows about Cern. Is this intentional impersonation?

He has no conscience whatsoever; he's utterly wicked. He's the lowest of the low.

"...Sigh...I keep telling them I'm Cern, so why won't you believe me..."

With a sigh, the man in front of me lost all traces of his innocent and energetic demeanor from moments before, and his face became expressionless.

"This Ojou-chan really does know the real Cern, huh? ...If she wasn't her acquaintance, she'd probably accept it if I kept telling her. Acquaintances are such a pain."

The high-pitched voice that he used to produce is gone, and now only low-pitched sounds are emitted.

Is this his real voice, the voice of the avatar they set? It sounds quite good.

"I don't know what your purpose is in impersonating Cern-san, but no matter what your reasoning is, you shouldn't use her name for yourself. It's a crime. Utterly awful. Are you getting too big for your britches?"

He doesn't look like Cern-san, nor does he look like a girl. No matter what he says or what he does, my response won't change.

"Are you trying to provoke me?"

"If that's what it sounded like, then I guess that's what it was."

"Hahaha, is that so? Listen, Ojou-chan, I don't know if it's a sense of justice or whatever, but telling someone to stop because it's a crime doesn't get through to someone who knows that but ignores it and does it anyway. Do you understand? Persuasion is completely pointless. Are you okay in the head?"

SPIRITsnack-san flashed a mocking smile and waved his hand in front of his face.

I'm not trying to preach or persuade anyone by brandishing my sense of justice. I'm simply stating the truth. A crime is a crime.

If they acknowledge that their actions were wrong and voluntarily turn themselves in to the military police station or police station, that's fine. But if they refuse to acknowledge their wrongdoing and continue their misdeeds, they'll need to be taught a lesson.

"I see. By the way, did you buy what you're wearing from a store, or did you make it yourself?"

"Hmm? These clothes? ...Ah, I see, I see. Don't worry, they're totally mine. The border is bright red, though."

...Bright red. The fact that the item icon's border is red means...

"You stole it? That's disgusting. You're the lowest kind of scum."

A red border around an item icon indicates that the user does not own the item. This color is used for items stolen from other players or NPCs.

In other words, all the clothes this guy is wearing originally belonged to Cern-san.

However, I'm not looking at him with the gaze of contempt because he's wearing clothes that have already been worn.

If I say that, then anyone who buys clothes at a second-hand shop will be labeled a pervert. Though, I do think it's better to buy new clothes from internet rather than buying someone else's used clothing at a second-hand shop.

The reason I blurted out "that's disgusting" was because he had touched other's belongings without their permission and, even worse, wearing them.

Whether he has permission or not, I can't help but look at him with contempt, find him disgusting, think of him as the lowest kind of scum, and feel discomfort and disgust.

"That's a pretty awful thing to say. Can you correct that? I'm just wearing my own clothes."

The man, perhaps as a threat, conjures flames in his palm, showing his intention to attack.

"Cern isn't some perverted piece of trash like you. She's a family-oriented girl who loves her family and wishes for their happiness."

While I wonder how things got this way, I also understand that this outcome was inevitable. It's that feeling of hurting someone even though you haven't said anything wrong. Excessive insults can become an attack on someone's mind.

With my right hand, I prepared to draw the small cutlass attached to its sheath on my waist, and extended my left hand forward, ready to activate <Blood-Rotten Tree Powder> at any time.

This game doesn't have areas designated as non-combat zones, PvP-free zones, or PK-free zones. Because it was created with the aim of realism, there are no restrictions on those aspects.

Combat is possible anywhere—inside the city, buildings, vehicles, on rooftops, underwater...

However, if you do something like that in a populated area, soldiers will come, you'll be arrested, and you'll end up in jail. If you're going to do it, you should do it outside the city.

I'm merely making a show of attacking, But I have virtually no intention of actually attacking.

Assuming the other party was under the same conditions, they wouldn't attack. He also took a stance to counterattack in the unlikely event of an attack.

"That's not very calm, is it?"

"You were the one who showed the intention to attack first, weren't you? Otherwise, we could have resolved this through discussion alone."

"That may be true, but you were the one who started the psychological attack, weren't you? My heart is already aching. Aw aw aw aw, that hurts!"

He's trying to elicit sympathy with his clumsy fake crying. He has both hands over his eyes, but the eyes visible between his fingers are not watery and no tears are falling.

"It hurts because I'm right, doesn't it? Take them off right now and report yourself to the military police station."

"Oh my, are you an exhibitionist despite your appearance? You're such a naughty little rascal, wanting me to take my clothes off here!"

"...What's wrong with this guy?"

...What's with this guy?

"Sigh... I don't understand why you won't accept it. I'm Cern. Dad, Mom, and even my little sister treat me as Cern. That's basically it. What's wrong with me, Cern, wearing my own clothes?"

This level of impersonation and defiance is beyond appalling; in a way, it's almost impressive. I wasn't planning on attacking, but it looks like I should reconsider. I feel like this guy needs some physical punishment.

This is an attack against evil people. As long as you don't get caught by the soldiers, your karma points won't accumulate.

"So, since it's a hassle, why don't I just rewrite your recognition?"

"...Huh? Are you out of your mind?"

"Wow, how awful. But I don't mind."

"No matter what you say, it seems you won't feel any remorse or admit your guilt. In that case, I'll personally punish you on behalf of Cern-san! Drop dead, you bastard!"

I declared my intention before attacking. I could have done it silently, but that would have made it look like I was the one initiating the attack, so I spoke up before attacking to avoid being misunderstood by those around me.

Well, whether it looks like it or not, the fact is I'm the one attacking... yeah, it's not a misunderstanding.

"...Whoa, that was close. What a troublesome personality. A justice man, or rather, a justice woman... Whoops."

Being small does give the advantage of being able to move quickly and nimbly. But, a small cutlass that's suited to my body has a narrow attack range.

It's easy to approach the man in front of me, but he moves with agility. No matter how close I get, he just takes a step back, so I can't hit him.

My downward slash from above is dodged with a quick movement of his body, and I swung again after being dodged, but that too is not connecting.

Incidentally, this is not something I'm doing out of a sense of justice.

Therefore, I am by no means one of those rare creatures called "justice men" or "justice women."

I only attacked because there happened to be a disgusting pervert in front of me, and although I said something about carrying out private retribution on behalf of Cern-san, in reality, it's unrelated.

It might sound like I'm some kind of monster that attacks any pervert they encounter, but it's only because the man in front of me is particularly prone to provoking me into attacking.

Are you secretly using some kind of magic to make that happen?

Having said that, I do think about Cern-san a little bit, just a tiny bit. But we've only known each other for a day, so it's not right to get deeply involved at this stage.

Putting all that aside, I'm not the type to quickly lend a helping hand and effortlessly assist people like a manga protagonist, nor do I possess a grand sense of justice; my abilities are ordinary, or maybe even below average. It's a heavy burden for a fairy who's not a hero of justice or anything like that.

Of course, since Nabla-kun is a monster and a fellow member of the same race, I'll be the one to help him. I'm helping to the best that I can, but make sure I don't die myself.

Oh, please don't say things like, "It's only human nature to help someone in need," or "Of course, you'd help them." I'm just saying that leaving those things to soldier/police is the normal and common way to solve problems.

I can't help but think that if I could just happen to put an end to SPIRITsnack here, Cern-san could come back without knowing about this incident.

"...That's not a good thing to do."

"I don't want to hear that from a perverted villain."

I swung the cutlass again, but it was dodged once more gracefully and missed. So, I decided to jump above SPIRITsnack's head and activate <Blood-Rotten Tree Powder>.

"Something seems a bit dangerous."

"Get rotten you pervert! "Okay, pay attention to my eyes." <Blood-"

What's wrong with this guy? His eyes were dark just a moment ago, but now they're red...

"Rotten- "My name is Cern. The eldest daughter of <Kumahachi Inn>. That's correct, right?" -Tree Pow- ...Hmm? Oh? That's...right?"

Why did I think that was wrong? I lowered my hand, wondering about it.

Her tanned, cheerful face, combined with a body that blends the muscles of roaming the fields and mountains with a girlish charm—there's no doubt about it. It's definitely Cern-san.

She's dressed well, almost exactly the same as what she wore yesterday and today. Even the buttons on her shorts are properly fastened. There's nothing wrong with her, nothing unnatural. I must have mistaken her for someone else.

I place my cutlass back inside the sheath, lower myself to her eye level, and opens my mouth.

"Wait, another self-introduction...? You already introduced yourself yesterday."

"Hmm? Oh... it's okay to do it as many times as you want, right? I don't want you to forget."

"Ah, I see, I understand?"

Maybe she's just tired. We met yesterday and today, yet she still treats me like a stranger and acts like a pervert.

Actually, now that I look closely, her body isn't transparent, and the fact that her clothes are different from this morning means that she can change her appearance, just like my clones. Maybe she's gotten used to being a ghost and can use that kind of magic now.

First of all, why is Cern-san in front of me? Between flying and running on the ground, flying is faster... wait, right. She must have flown too.

So, that means I was being followed, right?

She found out I lied when I left the fairy forest. ...I really need to apologize...

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〘Unique Magic: Bewitching Eyes〙

This was a unique magic possessed by the succubus queen, one of the executives who once served in the Demon Lord's army.

This ability is activated by looking into the opponent's eyes. While activated, the user's eyes turn red.

The effects are alteration of perception and manipulation of memory.

This is a powerful magic that can alter the target's perception and manipulate their memories, but it consumes a lot of MP with each use

The magic effect can be negated by killing the caster or by using a spell or magic that removes the curse.

The magic effect only works on NPCs. It does not work on players.

Whether it works or not, whether it hits or misses, the moment the magic is cast, a price will be paid.

Only one person in the world can use it at any given time. If that person dies, the next user can be found by fulfilling certain conditions.

Method of acquisition: Consume a part of the previous user's corpse. Whether fresh rotten, skeletal, or fossilized, swallowing it will make you learn the magic.

Cost of use: Reduce level by 5 each time it is used. (If your level is 5 or below, it cannot be used.)

Required MP: 50

〘Military Police Station〙

This is a place where military police, who are responsible for maintaining order, discipline, and morale within the military, are stationed. Unlike in the real world, it also serves as a police station.

Soldiers are taking on the role of the police in maintaining public safety and order in the lives of ordinary citizens, including conducting criminal investigations and arrests, directing traffic, and responding to disasters.

There is a prison in the basement where criminals are temporarily held. After that, the criminals are taken to a detention facility (prison) and live in it.

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