Chapter 4: An Offer She Cannot Refuse

A week passed, and both the toilet incident and the ambush were reported on national television.

They were rather horrific events that occurred in quick succession, so it wasn't surprising.

Other than the hypothesised consensus being that the former was a sudden gas explosion and the latter was the result of a local gang fight, some internet pseudo-detectives are even theorising that the two cases are somehow related since they both occurred in the same city.

They're not entirely wrong, but to think that two incidents occurring in the same city means they're related is ridiculous.

Anyway, it's a useless endeavour to try and uncover the real perpetrator of these crimes.

Isn't that right?

「No; if someone with a suitable Measurement gets assigned to either case, it will not be far-fetched for them to discover your identity as the culprit」

Oh, right. Ah, well, it won't be much of an issue, even if they do find out.

Either way, I'll announce the truth at some point. I can just blame it on the Order since they're the ones who started it anyway. Technically, it is their fault.

In any case, I was supposed to die today as well, right? 

The time was roughly 6pm, so I wouldn't say there was too much time left for anyone to take action, but you never know.

「In four hours」

10pm, huh? Well, I already knew that, though.

If it wasn't today, then I'd have wasted my time waiting here for nothing, so it's good news if they haven't gotten cold feet.

Incidentally, I am currently sitting atop the tallest high-rise structure in the city of Weinstell, known as one of the most popular tourist sightseeing spots in the nation.

Mochitou, the Tower of Desire.

This world renowned building owned by the richest person in the world, Minami Mochizuki, is the country's most famous tourist destination, but more than that, it's a fun place where the talented are welcome as challengers to take on the tower's trials.

If you overcome them all and make it to the top, Minami herself would grant you a wish. To the best of her ability, that is, and it of course has to be something within reason.

It basically functions as a place for those with unique Measurements to show themselves off, and if they're lucky, perhaps win a prize. Usually, it's just used to attract and scout talented people, though.

In fact, I once visited this place a while back.

It was quite entertaining, but I don't know if that was because I was still relatively new to my freedom back then or because I had no real sense of danger because nobody knew where I was at the time.

Oh, I remember Minami's reactions being quite funny, too. Like when I revealed the location of her secret vault―she thought the world was coming to an end when I said I'd tell everyone, though she tried her best not to show it.

I hope she can still provide me with what I want.

After all, she's the reason why I'm here right now.

Glancing down at the smartphone in my hands, a brief back-and-forth of text messages was briefly reflected in my eyes.

[Truthseeker09: Minami Mochizuki. It's about time I claimed my wish from a while ago.]

[Truthseeker09: And by the way, if you don't respond to my messages, I'll disclose your secret about Selina.]

[Minami_Mochizuki_Official: How do you know that? Who the hell is this?]

[Truthseeker09: I'll be waiting for you atop Mochitou in two hours. Be safe.]

Now that I look at it again, it was less of a back-and-forth dialogue and more of a one-sided blackmail.

Anyway, that last message was sent not even an hour ago, but because it's her, they'll be here soon regardless. Her and her merry band of bodyguards, that is.

But, did she forget me? 

I can't imagine she doesn't have at least some kind of idea who I am, what with my username being 'Truthseeker09'. 

The number of people who successfully cleared the Tower of Desire could be counted on one hand, and the only one of those people who hadn't claimed the clear reward was me.

She must be pretending.

Whup-whup-whup-whup-!!

Just as I was thinking about the various events I have planned, not one, not two, and not even three―but an entire four helicopters rose into the sky before I even realised it.

Ahaha, hmm... Truthy never told me this was going to happen.

Was this a bad thing?

「Not necessarily」

Of course. It's what I make of the situation, after all.

They were all floating around the vicinity and shining powerful spotlights on me, so I suppose it's Minami's doing. 

Do they even have snipers on there...? They really went the extra mile, huh.

But, it's a shame.

She wouldn't dare to kill me without finding out where her secret leaked from and ensuring that I haven't already leaked it, so I'm safe for now.

Whether that stays the case in four hours' time, though, we'll have to see.

I remained seated with crossed legs in the centre of the rooftop. It would only reduce their hostility by an insignificant amount, but standing for too long was also uncomfortable for me.

"Ah..."

Having my hair being ruffled and blown around violently by the intense wind produced by the chopping of the helicopters' blades was an unfamiliar feeling, but the dazzling spotlights were significantly worse for my squinting eyes.

Fortunately, I had a mask to cover my face, so nobody would realise it.

Soon, from the rooftop entrance of the building, a woman emerged, surrounded by a fleet of armed guards just like I had predicted. 

The men aimed their semi-automatic rifles at me, modified with unpleasant flashlight additions and colourful laser points pointing at my head, but I didn't mind it too much.

I could ask the question 'Am I going to get shot by these guys?' and the reply would be 'Not without provocation', but I was confident even without that reassurance.

The dozens of soldiers encompassed me in a large circle, so there really was no way to escape now. Even if I tried, I doubt they'd hesitate to gun me down within an instant.

I wouldn't do that, of course, but if I did, wouldn't that be a change of fate?

Thankfully, the woman in front of me approached close enough for us to hold a conversation. Waving her hand at the troops, they lowered their guns.

From now on, it seems they will stay on standby.

She wore a magnificently-woven, traditional kimono that didn't at all suit her stern and tension-filled expression, but I thought it understandable considering the situation. She must also be confused.

"...Let me first ask. Who are you?" 

Her voice contained considerable strain. I must admit that it felt slightly insulting that she didn't seem to remember me, however, since I was currently wearing a mask with a smiley expression that covered my entire face, it was, again, understandable.

Taking her question as my cue, I rose to my feet, pressed a button on the rather expensive film camera I had brought along with me, tapped again on my smartphone which I then put away in my coat pocket, and began the show.

"Good evening! Call me Truthseeker. Minami Mochizuki, rest of the world, welcome!"

Yelling with uncharacteristic enthusiasm as I exaggeratedly flung my arms wide open, I introduced myself as so.

"Today, I've got a special little event planned for you all in a short while, so stay tuned."

Minami frowned at me as she had no clue what I was up to, but I ignored her worries and continued, taking care not to act so spontaneously that the soldiers would pull the trigger.

"Don't be alarmed. It's nothing too spicy―after all, rather than cause chaos, my purpose here is to offer you an accord, Miss Minami." 

With my white smiley mask veiling my face and all its expressions, there was no way for her to know what I'm truly after, so I'm sure she was uneasy.

After a moment of hesitation, however, her expression turned firm, and she sharpened her gaze.

"I assume from this play that you are aware of my capabilities...?"

By capabilities, she was talking about the Measurement of Investment she possessed.

Using that power, Minami is able to gauge the outcome of a potential investment―whether it is worth taking or not―and thus has the ability to effortlessly amass extraordinary amounts of wealth.

It is the reason she is the richest person in the world.

"Why, of course I know." 

With such a claim, in addition to the little pieces I've revealed so far, I don't think I need to do much more to get her on board.

But, just to play it safe, I'll add one more thing.

"I'm called 'Truthseeker' for a reason, after all; I know everything and anything you could possibly imagine."

And then.

"My offer for you is as follows: follow my every command for the next twelve months. In return, your wealth will triple. What do you say?"

Frankly speaking, it was a nonsensical offer.

One that no sane person would accept under any circumstances, let alone in the current situation.

Of course, she couldn't say yes immediately.

"Don't worry, I do not expect an answer right away. I promise it'll be good for the both of us, after all, so I don't want you to react hastily."

"I will convince you by the end of tonight, so please be patient."

It was a ridiculous claim to make, and yet she seemed to take it into serious consideration. A minute of silence passed as she appeared deep in thought, contemplating and weighing the benefits of my trade. 

She looked to be playing hard to get, but I already knew what the outcome of her profit calculations would be long before she even set foot on this rooftop.

No matter how utterly absurd it sounds, my offer was one she simply couldn't refuse, and that was for one reason:

I know how to take advantage of her Investment.

You see, although her ability is indeed all-powerful if the goal is to acquire wealth, there was one crippling weakness to this astounding ability, and to put it simply, that weakness was me.

To be precise, it was someone who knew how exactly her Measurement of Investment functioned.

Because, although I don't know a whole great deal about business, I do know that her Investment works by appraising intention and glancing at the causality that follows as a result of it.

For example, if I offer her a deal where I give her a million gold coin and she gives me ten gold coins in return, there is no issue.

However, should I then intend to steal two million of her gold coins, then it will appear as 'red'―a complete failure of an investment because she will lose almost an entire million gold coins from it.

Likewise, if I offer Minami a deal where I intend to give her even just one gold coin with the assumption she will give me nothing in return, it will appear as 'green'―a positive investment.

Of course, that last example would have to be juiced up by quite a bit since the profit of a single gold coin wouldn't be anywhere near the amount of cash needed to make this money-grubbing woman move.

In any case, unless one is aware of her Investment, it's nigh-impossible to scam her. 

Even if I don't intend to take any money at first but end up wanting to take some later on, she'll soon be warned that the investment will turn south and preemptively jump ship before anything bad can happen with her money.

I did my research and found that there were only three times in the past twenty-odd years that someone has scammed Minami out of money, and two of those times were before she became an adult.

The third time was an accident.

Ever since her maturity, she wouldn't fall for something like a petty scam, and she also made sure to brush up on her business skills and knowledge to ensure she didn't make a mistake again.

But what I plan on doing isn't a scam, so it's fine.

On the surface, it looks like the biggest, fattest, and most obvious scam you'll ever encounter, but Minami doesn't look at the surface.

Her eyes penetrate one layer deeper.

Still, the gain she perceives she will get in return is vastly higher than the reality.

If there's anything I do want from her, then so long as my intention is to make her do it without using our deal to make it happen, then the value of the deal also remains unchanged, so I can still make her do stuff without it affecting the value of the deal.

It is a small technicality in the fundamentals of how her Investment functions, but it's important to take note of in order to persuade her.

If she thinks that she's going to be risking a lot by doing what I say for a year, then the profit she thinks she'll receive after the fact will be simply unimaginable.

Even better than green―a 'gold' investment.

After all, bigger risk equals bigger reward, right?

So, the result was unquestionable.

"...Indeed, isn't that a rather interesting offer? Mr... Truthseeker. I cannot lie that your offer contains some degree of merit."

Hah. Look at that mischievous grin she's trying to hide, as if she just won the jackpot lottery.

"Isn't it? I trust you to make the correct decision, Minami."

Incidentally, I had been taking acting lessons from Truth ever since the attempted assassination. 

Learning all the best tips and tricks of how to be a phenomenal actor; I didn't think it would go so well at first, but here I am, making deals with the richest person in the world.

Apparently, it was mostly confidence that made one's facade convincing, and now I can see that to be no less than true.

Slowly, Minami moved forward; her slender and pale arm concealed behind the exotic kimono gradually neared me and eventually revealed her hand in front of me.

"―For now, I accept your proposal, Truthseeker. I look forward to the gains that follow."

Now, that's what I like to hear.

Stretching out my hand to meet hers, I gave it a firm shake.

"You've made a good choice."

Thus, the opening act was a success.

"...By the way..."

Suddenly, Minami leaned in slightly, opened her mouth and uttered a low whisper.

"Do you mind stopping those recordings now? We can continue business discussions in private, so there is no further need for you to put up a guard such as this, is there?"

Hmm...? 

It didn't sound like she was making an offer but rather issuing a command. What ever did she mean, private discussion?

Turning a glance to my right, the high-quality film camera had been recording everything the entire time.

I didn't forget about it, but why would I turn it off already?

Not now, when things had yet to even begin.

Previously, I had wondered what a good general defence against the Order might be. One of the answers was supposedly 'having people on my side'. 

To be precise, it was a matter of quality or quantity.

I could either have a massive public presence and fans to defend my actions whenever I get into some trouble, or I could have a select few, but powerful individuals on my side.

It made sense to me which is why I'm doing it, but as I don't even have any friends, I didn't think there would be many people willing to defend me against a large underground organisation like the Order.

Of course, now I have Minami on my side, so one of the quality members has already been settled, but she alone is not enough. No, I need more.

But, until I can acquire more powerful allies to protect me, a temporary defensive measure would be to build up a large force of public supporters. 

So, I asked Truth what would be a quick and easy way to get a large number of people on my side and the answer it gave me was one word.

Broadcasting.

I contemplated and eventually came to the conclusion that I would give it a try, and so here we are. I had previously asked him how to gain substantial internet traction in a short amount of time, so there should already be a lot of viewers.

Briefly searching my coat pocket, I grabbed my smartphone and quickly checked it to discover an unusual sight.

[Wow~~~ Minami sooo pretty in this shot!!!]

[@Truthseeker09 @Truthseeker09 @Truthseeker09 @Truthseeker09]

[what the **** is this]

[pog]

["follow my every command for a year" 😈😈😈]

[TRUTHSEEKER GANG ! TRUTHSEEKER GANG ! TRUTHSEEKER GANG !]

[yo what is this chat on lol why is there so many ppl]

[Visit me here if you want to check out my Ytube: *link* !! Visit me here if you want to check out my Ytube: *link* !!]

[Actually can't believe we're watching a live deal between Mochizuki and some random ass chum lol How did he even get her to agree to that tf??]

[^^ should be asking why they're on the roof with armed guards and helicopters lol]

[^^ r u ******** its obv fake]

["truthseeker" XD bro what kinda name"truthseeker" XD bro what kinda name]

[why is this channel in my recommended its literally never uploaded or streamed before]

[@Truthseeker09 @Truthseeker09 @Truthseeker09 @Truthseeker09]

[the helicopters are so loud can you lower sound please]

[<3 Minami <3 Minami]< p>

[Mochizuki Corp is corrupt. Dislike. Mochizuki Corp uses foreign countries to outsource labour for cheap. Look it up people. Big corporation is bad, who would've guessed? Don't let her good looks fool you. Reported. @Truthseeker09]

[^^ ???]

[^^ lol]

[REAL BILLIONAIRE!!!!!! DONATE MONEY!!!!]

[is this a bug or a bot why are there so many views on a channel with no posts]

...What on Earth?