Chapter 9: You Want To Buy Me An Ice Cream?

It was an ordinary midsummer day.

"Sweetie, what are you doing? It'll only take five minutes."

A mother with her daughter on a casual outing.

"Hmph!"

The girl sulked and pouted, but the mother knew just the right words to say.

"Dear... Is it about the ice cream again? Would you like one on the way home?"

"...I want one now."

"Hmm... Did you know there's a special trick to make ice cream even tastier? On a hot day like this, if you patiently wait a few minutes, it becomes incredibly tasty."

"Really?"

Gasping, the starry-eyed girl immediately changed attitudes at the thought of the delicious and chilly snack that sounded like the perfect match to such a sweltering afternoon.

In the midst of her imagination, the girl suddenly spotted something strange out of the corner of her eye.

"...?"

A man dressed in all black with a medical face mask; he held a portable camera in one hand and an ice cream in the other.

At first, the girl was impressed that someone could wear an entirely black outfit on a day like this, and then more so at the fact that he could eat an ice cream with such a mask on.

But after a moment, she realised he wasn't eating the ice cream at all.

That he would waste such a magnificent treat angered the girl who wished for that exact thing most in the world right now.

It was a hefty, triple-scoop ice cream, too.

Unable to suppress her fury as she watched the man, sitting calmly on a bench and looking at the camera in his hand, the girl had had enough of his ridicule.

'I'll make him not dare to commit such a heinous act again!' She vaguely thought.

And so, sneaking away from her mother who was entering a bank to withdraw some money, the girl stomped up to the man with exaggerated huffs that clearly portrayed what she felt.

"Stop it!" 

With such a yell, the girl addressed the man.

"...? Oh, hello. What's wrong?"

Turning to face her, he talked as if he had no clue what the problem was. Without delay, she replied while pointing at the dessert in his grasp.

"It's bad to waste the ice cream!"

A few moments of silence passed before the man exclaimed. "Ah... My, that's certainly careless of me, isn't it?"

Puffing her chest out, the girl gained confidence from his reaction.

"That's right! Be careful next time!"

"Of course."

Satisfied with the result, the girl was just about to return to her mother when she heard his voice once more.

"One more thing before you go, miss."

Responding to his call, she tilted her head.

"I need your help with something, if that's okay."

The man then shook his head with great lament.

"You see, because I'm wearing this mask, it's impossible for me to eat this ice cream. And so, I need someone to help eat it for me. Young lady, you seem like the perfect candidate for such a task. After all, as you said, we don't want the ice cream to go to waste, do we?"

Normally, the girl should have declined, albeit regretfully, because of what her mother taught her about accepting food from strangers. 

However, when the mysterious man emphasised the scrumptious, absolutely mouth-watering dessert he held, and held it out to her so teasingly, the girl simply couldn't say no.

After all, it was a triple-scoop with a chocolate flake and sauce. To not accept would be too big a waste. 

Accepting the ice cream he then handed over with disguised glee, she couldn't believe her luck. 

But, as the man said, there was something she needed to do in return.

"Now, all I want you to do is enjoy eating that ice cream out here while you wait for your mother. That's all you need to do. Oh, if you happen to finish it before your mother returns, just wait a tiny bit longer."

The girl almost screamed.

Jackpot x 2.

All she needed to do was sit out here and eat the ice cream? It was way too easy.

Gazing for a moment at that beaming girl who couldn't hide her elation, the man finally stood up and reminded her.

"Whatever you do, don't enter the bank, okay? It's a promise."

"Okay! Um, thank you for the ice cream, sir!" 

She politely bowed her head and gave her gratitude. Surprised by the gesture, the man stood silent for a few seconds before letting out a chuckle.

"Haha. You're welcome. Then, have a lovely rest of your day."

Leaving her to eat the ice cream by herself on the bench, the man soon took off and began walking elsewhere. She became confused as to the man's warning, but that feeling quickly faded once she started munching.

Meanwhile, the man, who had but one destination, headed in a certain direction.

Towards the bank.

❖─────❖─────❖

My objective today was making money.

Well, I didn't require a whole lot, but I wanted to aim for a sum that would suffice to then use on the stock market.

The method I would be using to achieve this starting fund was, in the end, a bank heist.

So, how does one go about robbing a bank? 

Well, the answer is rather simple―You steal the money.

Of course, though I say that, it's not like things are that simple. One has to gather intel, make a plan, carry out said plan, et cetera et cetera. I had already done most of that, though. I roughly planned everything out, and now all I had to do was carry it all out.

The plan isn't guaranteed to work, of course, but it has a higher chance of success than someone else doing it. I also had prior experience, so I more or less knew what I was doing.

Still, even without knowing whether or not the plan will work for certain, I can gain a rough knowledge of weaknesses in the plan and what could be improved.

To be honest, though, I didn't bother with making it a perfect plan. Broadcasting it might've made things difficult, but it was still easily doable.

In any case, there wasn't a whole lot of preparation I had to do, so I was ready to go at any time.

Let's start the broadcast first.

[yooo]

[we live !?!!]

[damn not first]

[wassup]

[why are you wearing a normal face mask instead of the smiley one from last time]

[^^ You think he's gonna wear that **** in public bruh?]

[^^ why not]

[is here!]

[any fellow truth seekers in chat?]

[Wait ur not banned ? lmao]

Being blasted by an instant wave of comments, I was taken aback.

...It just started, right? How come there are so many people here already...?

「There are many viewers who quickly became fans after witnessing the extreme and over-the-top content shown previously」

Uh huh... A bunch of weirdos, in other words. Well, whatever. I won't complain.

"Hello. How is everyone today?"

[@Truthseeker09 I am well!]

[good]

[What have you got for us today Mr Truth]

[AAAAAAAAA]

[The king cares! Of course, we couldn't be better! How are you?!]

[@Truthseeker09 I am doing terribly today. Dog died, cat died, girlfriend broke up with me, bullied at school, lost my wallet, house caught on fire...]

"Hmm. Well, good to see people are doing well. Today will be short, but I hope you enjoy it."

Changing the title of the livestream with some previous advice from Truth, I waited to see the reactions.

[Mr Truth what is this...]

[wtf]

[BAHAHAHA WHAT IS THAT TITLE LMAOO]

["IRL BANK HEIST STREAM!" ←Truth figured out how to clickbait😭]

[@Truthseeker09 what does this mean??]

[xd xd xd xd xd]

[We robbing banks today bois!!]

[No way xD]

[@Truthseeker09 Is this real????]

[^^ Did you watch the last stream? There's no doubt it's real]

[^^ No no last stream was fake remember]

[^^ Oh yea mb]

"Yes. We'll be making some money today. Or, I will be."

My streams from now on could have titles like this without worrying about being shut down thanks to Minami's assistance. Using her power and connections, it's an effortless task to disrupt the authorities from turning off my stream.

Although, even without that, I've heard that the 18+ section isn't really monitored, so I'm probably safe anyway.

Letting them calm down a bit as we walked down the high street, I soon noticed an influx of messages asking for one thing in particular.

[@Truthseeker09 buy ice cream]

[@Truthseeker09 ICE CREAM!]

[aint you getting sweaty af wearing that outfit lol]

[^^ Mr Truth would never be affected by the likes of a measly sun]

[^^ Our king shall not be halted by weather!]

[^^ Sure, but... ice cream??]

[^^ Mr Truth doesnt care about the sun, but... yeah, ice cream]

[@Truthseeker09 pls get some ice cream]

[@Truthseeker09 ice cream]

[get some ice cream @Truthseeker09]

What's wrong with these people?

"What? Why would I buy ice cream? I'm here to make money, not spend it."

[ur gonna make a load of money soon anyway so why not]

[@Truthseeker09 I'll donate u the money if u swear to buy an ice cream]

[^^ Me 2]

[^^ Me 3]

[@Truthseeker09 BUY IT ANYWAY!!]

[Me 4]

[@Truthseeker09 please buy ice cream

[I live thru you buy the ice cream so I can experience it too]

These guys... They must be seriously obsessed with ice cream if they're willing to pay me to buy some. 

However, if they'll give me money for it, then sure.

...No, hold on a second. Aren't they just trying to bait me into eating so I reveal my face?

"Okay, you want to buy me an ice cream? Go right ahead."

Within a couple seconds of saying as much and enabling donations, my smartphone began pinging incessantly as a flurry of notifications appeared.

[You have received a donation of $9.99!]

[ -- Here. Take this money and buy not one, but multiple ice creams! -- ]

[You have received a donation of $5!]

[ -- How do I get the girl I like to like me? -- ]

[You have received a donation of $20!]

[ -- Truth-senpai, you can use this money however you'd like, but please answer my question: Are you single? Please answer. It is important. By the way, your voice is hot -- ]

[You have received a donation of $5!]

[ -- Proud donor of the truth -- ]

[You have received a donation of $3.49!]

[ -- This is all I have on me, but it should be enough to buy an ice cream -- ]

[You have received a donation of $5!]

[ -- Mr Truth, are you going to teach us a lecture on how to rob banks today? Can I be your accomplice? I need money bad -- ]

...Wow. Are these people stupid?

The amount of money suddenly flooding in was way out of my expectations.

Of course, it's not going to stop me from robbing the bank, though.