Worthless Skill Escape (WN)

Chapter 230

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TL: ALT

Chapter 230 – The Fugitive: Yuto Kurashiki Part 2

“What if I say it’s the wrong person?”

…Even though I think that’s a little presumptuous, when I put on the Crow Tengu Mask, it kind of ends up that way.

It’s not the hidden effect of the item; it’s just how I feel.

“I’m the one asking the questions here.”

The man who looks like a member of the Special Forces replies.

Although he doesn’t have his rifle pointed at us, he looks ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

He seems to be skilled not only in firearms but also in hand-to-hand combat.

“You don’t get jokes, do you? So if I’m this Kurashiki guy you’re talking about, what do you want?”

“I’m the one asking the questions here, you know.”

“Still, I don’t even know who you are, you know? Didn’t your parents ever tell you not to follow strangers?”

The man said this without even raising an eyebrow in response to my teasing (although I couldn’t see his face, there was no sign of him moving his facial muscles).

“Yuto Kurashiki. You have an arrest warrant.”

“Huh?”

I couldn’t help but return to my normal self.

This isn’t a joke.

It was so sudden that I reacted stupidly, but if I think about it carefully―or even if I don’t think about it at all―it’s a pretty serious situation.

“So you’re a police officer? What exactly are you arresting me for?”

I wasn’t really expecting an answer, but the man dutifully replied.

“We are the ECRT―the Search and Criminal Response Force of the Cabinet Secretariat. Yuto Kurashiki, you are under arrest for violating the Counterintelligence Law.”

“Counterintelligence Law…?”

“The Act to Prevent Espionage and Other Intelligence Activities Related to State Secrets, commonly known as the Espionage Act.”

It is a thing of the past that Japan does not have an anti-espionage law like other countries.

But that wasn’t so long ago.

After the nuclear missile crisis caused by the collapse of the Okutama Lake Dungeon, the Orimura Cabinet pushed through the law as a last-ditch measure to bolster its administration despite fierce opposition from some opposition parties.

Normally, it takes some time for a law to be enacted, but this law was apparently given an unusual timetable and was enacted at the beginning of this month.

As a civilian, I can’t say that this has nothing to do with me.

It is said that powerful explorers are also recruited by overseas agents.

They lure you with big money, make you approach the opposite sex you like, or find your weak points and threaten you.

Even if it’s not direct poaching, there are also thoughtless explorers who sell designated strategic resources to other countries for a high price without obtaining permission from the country.

But the Paladin Knights I belong to are strict about compliance.

We regularly receive warnings and questionnaires from Haitani-san, and we are notified immediately if new regulations regarding dungeons are implemented.

Thanks to Haitani-san’s briefings, I was also aware of the circumstances surrounding the passage of the counterintelligence law.

However,

“Me, a spy? What country are you talking about?”

I haven’t received any such contact yet.

Even if I did, I would definitely ignore it.

In the first place, I unofficially shot down the missile attack, so I’ve only contributed to national defense.

If there is a possibility… it’s probably something like being recruited by the US, our ally?

The history between me and Seiji Tozaki would be something that would be immediately apparent if such an agency were to seriously investigate.

Would they suspect that I went to the US because I didn’t like the fact that Tozaki had become a powerful man?

However, my prediction was way off.

“The Kingdom of Erythusia.”

The man who spoke in a tone that was completely serious,

“Where is that?”

After thinking for a moment, I asked him again.

Some people who were not good at geography might have thought, “Was there such a country?”

I happened to be one of them.

I tried to use my limited geographical knowledge to find the name of the country.

The closest I can come up with is Eritrea, but if you asked me to locate Eritrea on a blank map, I’d have to rely on my intuition.

At least it’s not a country that would send spies all the way to Japan to try to contact me.

“Don’t play dumb. It’s the Kingdom of Erythusia in the other world of Spring Raven. It’s an opposing force to the Republic of Ramanna, with which Japan has friendly relations.”

“No, I don’t know.”

Where on earth did that story come from?

Or is this story itself just an excuse to arrest me?

“Can you prove that you are really a policeman?”

“Strictly speaking, we are not police officers, but we have a warrant. In any case, you have no right to resist. We will take you along peacefully.”

“Hmm…”

I wonder if my experience as an explorer has helped me remain relatively calm in this situation.

I’ve often found myself in situations that were close to a death sentence.

But this is a different kind of crisis.

In the past, I’ve been able to break through by force.

I’ve been able to use a combination of skills and the job system to find a “game-like” solution.

But is it okay to break through by force in a situation where you’re being arrested with a formal court order?

Of course, I can now shake off the special forces called ECRT and escape or even turn the tables on them.

I’ve secretly evaluated them, and their average level is around 3000. The group leader, Keisuke Toudou, is a little higher at 16147, but he’s still no match for me. Serika’s level is higher than his, though.

At that level, he should be at the top of the domestic rankings, but I think that special forces members have opted out of the ranking system.

By the way, Toudou’s unique skill is Unshakable Heart.

It seems to have the effect of making him strong but not so strong that he doesn’t feel shaken in battle.

If anything, the accompanying description “not negatively affected by any mental abnormalities” seems more useful.

And of course, Toudou has been given several “strategies” by SeijiTozaki’s unique “Change of Strategy” skill.

“Obey me,” “Strength is everything,” “Don’t choose your means,” and “Squeeze out every last drop.”

I have a theory about the way Seiji Tozaki’s strategies were given to him.

I think that by winning the election and becoming Prime Minister, Seiji Tozaki expanded the scope of the Change of Strategy ability.

Then, he invoked a Change of Strategy during that speech.

The last words of the speech were as follows.

“I hereby declare a Change of Strategy for the Japanese people! Obey me; strength is everything; don’t choose your means of survival, and squeeze every last drop out of the fruit you have grasped!”

…Yeah, it’s pretty black.

Even if you didn’t know about the existence of the unique Strategy Shift skill, you’d still feel that there’s something wrong with that expression.

However, it’s also in the realm where you could get away with saying it’s just a generic phrase.

Maybe, like my Escape, it’s a mysterious effect that you can’t tell when it’s activated.

We can only speculate about the extent of the Change of Strategy.

After all, Tozaki’s status was kept secret from the system.

However, it is certain that the election has triggered something.

The conditions are too loose to be able to just give a speech to the whole country and then use a “strategy.”

If we think of a game, the player character, the leader, decides on the “strategy.”

In some games, this is called a command or an order.

The reason you give a “strategy” is to get the character you are not controlling to take the action you want.

If that is the case, then the fact that Tozaki has become the “leader” of this country as the Prime Minister must mean something, right?

If he becomes the Prime Minister, can he target all the citizens of the country?

No, if that were the case, it would be too strong because it would mean that the person to whom the “strategy” is given does not have to agree with it.

Since the “strategy ” also has disadvantages, some kind of expression of intent is probably necessary.

For example, if you vote for Tozaki or his own party in an election, are you considered to have recognized Tozaki as the leader, or something like that?

…Speaking of which, what about me?

I voted for his own party in that election.

If I had known that Tozaki would become Prime Minister, I wouldn’t have voted for the party, but Tozaki was expected to lose in the single-seat constituency.

After the nuclear missile crisis in which I was involved, the security environment surrounding Japan was in a state of extreme tension.

Some commentators have compared the situation to the eve of the start of the Pacific War or the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In the current situation, a change of government to an opposition party that is weak in security and whose ability to manage the government is questionable is a high risk.

It seems that not only I but also the majority of voters thought so, and when the election was over, the ruling party won a landslide victory.

At first, the reason for the dissolution of the Diet was criticism of Prime Minister Orimura’s approval of nuclear attacks, but the ironic result was that the ruling party increased its seats even though it had just changed its leader.

Anyway, I voted for that party in the proportional representation section.

If that means that I’m recognizing Tozaki as the leader, then there’s a possibility that I’m also being forced by a Change of Strategy.

I made a detailed assessment of myself so that Tozaki wouldn’t notice.

…There it is.

The hidden status displayed by the Detailed Appraisal shows the same four strategies as Tozaki’s.

…Come to think of it.

Even though I was in a hurry to meet up with Honoka-chan, jumping out of the station right onto the street was a bold move for me.

Yes, it was an action that “did not choose its means.”

However, compared to the people who were subjected to the “strategy” in the past―the younger brother next door and the explorers of the Men’s Association―the effect of the “strategy” on my psyche seems minimal.

Perhaps there is a hidden “spec” that makes it harder to be affected if your Mental Strength stat is high.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I want to leave it alone.

I used Force Cancel to cancel the strategy that was placed on me.

Maybe the strategy was making me think more?

I suspected that, but there seems to have been almost no difference in the direction of my thoughts before and after the cancellation.

Did my fear of taking a hard line or my social anxiety about the warrant increase slightly?

I guess you could say that the strategy had suppressed my anxious emotions, and now they’ve been released.

This level of effect isn’t enough to affect my thinking, but if it were stronger, there would be people who would cross the line.

Wait a minute?

I suddenly had an idea.

I used Force Cancel on Toudou in front of me and canceled the strategy.

“Hey… are you still thinking about arresting me? I think only the government knows how to travel between worlds, right? Don’t you think it’s ridiculous that I’m in contact with an enemy country in another world?”

I asked him, but…

“What a ridiculous thing to say. Our job is to enforce the law. Questioning the decisions of the cabinet is beyond the scope of our duties.”

Toudou gave me a very serious, exemplary answer.

“…I was the fool who expected someone who doesn’t think for himself.”

I couldn’t help but mutter to myself.

I tried to “cancel” the two members who were following Toudou, but… well, it was probably useless.

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