Chapter 7: What? Of Course I Lied

So, they had a trump card like this, huh.

Judging from the insignia on his chest, it seemed he was the 'real' Team Leader of the group, hiding in wait all this time.

I thought something seemed strange about that woman from before being the leader.

"I think it'd be a good idea for you to put her down," I pointed at the hostaged Minami in his tree trunk-like arms as I spoke. "If you care at all for your health, that is."

"Shut it! Throw your weapons away, now!"

It didn't seem like he would heed my advice, but that was to be expected.

Normally, a hostage wouldn't be effective on me since I don't have anyone who you could threaten me with, but in this case, I need Minami to be alive for our deal.

I knew he wouldn't actually kill someone as valuable as Minami, though, so there was no real need to worry. 

Besides, if he did something stupid like kill her, he should know that I would just shoot him where he stood.

Rolling my eyes towards her for a moment, I inwardly sighed.

I wonder how I should go about this, then... Ah, Truth, don't answer that. It was rhetorical.

An atmosphere of eerie, dissonant silence was present on this Mochitou rooftop; the howling winds and the flapping of Minami's kimono as she squirmed in an attempt to break free as the only noises.

Once the plan was roughly formulated, I opened my mouth.

"Say, would you like to settle this with a friendly contest?"

My blithe attitude might be called into question here, but did it really matter?

"Shut up! I ain't dumb, ya know. I know I hold an advantage as we are now, so do as I say!"

An advantage, huh...

"Ah, but you realise that, if we each do nothing, this situation will continue on endlessly, right? In that case, why shouldn't we just hold a simple competition to decide the winner? I'm telling you, it would speed things up by a lot."

"Hah! You really think I'm an idiot, punk?! I've been ordered not to listen to whatever you say or give in to whatever you propose, no matter how good a deal it sounds!"

Wow. He's not even hiding it anymore. This guy...

"What are you, a mutt? Just doing as others say, you brainless... You do understand that none of your superiors actually care about you, right? The whole reason they sent you here to capture me is because they have no more use for you. Isn't that right?"

I could see his expression subtly changing; his rage was ramping and his wariness, waning.

"..."

Grinding his teeth, I think he wanted to tell me to shut my mouth again, but could he not find the words?

In that case, isn't it just one more gentle push?

"You mongrel. Just have a competition with me. Can't you make your own decision? I know it wouldn't be at all fair to have a no holds barred fight since I have a gun and you, a knife, so I'll be kind and limit it to a brawl of pure physical brawn. What do you say? Dog."

"...?"

He loosened his grasp of Minami slightly, causing her ceaseless wriggling in his arms to eventually set her free. Falling a short distance to the ground, she immediately ran over to my side and hid behind the camera, where her bodyguards quickly came over and shielded her.

Then, with a solemn gaze, the man spoke to me in a low voice.

"...I know that I was practically sent here to die. I've always been dumb, so the chances of me winning against you were said to be less than a percent. Even if I still live after losing here, I'll be put down anyways. According to the boss' plan, I waited it out and took an important-looking hostage, so I doubt you'd keep me alive..."

His gaze then transformed to one so sharp it could cut a man.

"But, are you saying you're still gonna give me a chance despite that?"

I smiled.

"Of course. I'm not nearly as evil as your higher-ups are, you know? A fair competition is much more enjoyable than a dishonest one, isn't it? If you win, then sure, I'll help you live."

A shimmer of hope and relief reignited within his eyes.

"...Hm."

With approximately 10 metres between us, the fight was about to begin.

"Okay, are you ready?"

Of course, since his was the kind of body that required a consistent intake of performance-enhancing drugs to properly function, I can't imagine there are many to beat him in contests of raw strength. 

Naturally, I am included as someone who would lose in that type of contest.

"Then, the match begins!" 

"Haa...!"

I announced enthusiastically, and instantly my opponent charged at me with zeal.

However...

Within an instant of starting the match, I drew my Ruger Mark IV and emptied the magazine into him, drilling him full of .22 calibre holes before he could even realise it.

Slam-!

The thunderous sound of a 7 foot tall, 400 pound body impacting the floor reverberated.

"..."

Did he honestly think I was going to fight him with naught but my body?

Casually reloading the gun as I put it back in my coat, I glanced once at the blood-soaked body and spat.

"Really. How do people still fall for it after years?"

Bearing witness to me elegantly finishing the match as I did, Minami's astonished utterance behind me was rather amusing. 

"Did... Didn't you say it was a contest of pure brawn...?"

Her question was so ridiculous it almost made me laugh. 

"What? Of course I lied."

Why on Earth would I fight a brute like that in a just fight? In fact, it should be more fair for me to use a weapon, should it not?

Now, in any case, the time was 20:10, and as I'd been here since around 17:30, I was beginning to get slightly peckish.

"Minami. I'm hungry."

Her expression hardened for a moment, but she quickly bowed. 

"...Of course..."

"Good. Oh, and you know what'll happen if I find my meal to be tampered with, don't you?"

"..."

Seeing her off the rooftop whilst carrying the unconscious girl in her bodyguards' arms, Minami said a servant would be up here shortly to escort me to a room.

After she left, I turned my attention to the chat.

"So, show's over. How's it been?"

[this man is a psychopath AND I LOVE IT]

[paid actors right?? paid actors right?? paid actors right??]

[those guys are just mannequins, right? ]

[Minami ! Run and dont come back! He's evil !]

[@Truthseeker09 you dirty dog how could you do that last guy like that]

[its ketchup YEP its ketchup YEP]

[@Truthseeker09 reported]

[How is this stream not banned wtf]

[^^ its age-restricted they dont care about 18+ streams]

Mixed reviews, right? Well, I obviously didn't expect many people to enjoy it, especially for the first time, but there's still a surprising amount of people remaining, huh?

Should I placate some of their concerns a bit?

"Don't worry. Everything here is staged; no one is actually dying or anything. Oh, Minami is definitely real, though."

[Surely]

[staged YEP staged YEP staged YEP staged YEP]

[YEP not staged YEP not staged YEP not staged YEP not staged]

[TRUTHSEEKER PLS DONT KILL MINAMI TRUTHSEEKER PLS DONT KILL MINAMI]

[xd wtf are police doing]

[@Truthseeker09 I believe you 🙂]

[Honestly can't tell if this chat is being real. People are actually dying here and they are saying stuff like this.]

[^^ No he said it's fake KEK]

"What, you don't believe me? I know it looks realistic and all, but it's just a big budget performance, you know? I would never harm a fly, let alone kill someone."

[capping so hard LOL]

[Truth "I would never harm a fly" Seeker YEP]

[@Truthseeker09 I believe you 🙂]

[@Truthseeker09 stop cappin bro we know what u did]

[Srsly what is with the people here? Do u not realise he KILLED PEOPLE in front of your EYES ???????????? Reported stream]

[^^ Yo chill out man its fake]

[^^ Yeah if it was actual people dying do you seriously think it would still be live rn?] 

[^^ 🤓☝️"Reported stream"]

[This chat is being weird af...]

Hmm... Well, that's good enough for now.

No matter the quantity of viewers that disagree with my actions, they can't stop me from growing an audience. There's always going to be people who crave what no other creator can give them, after all.

I can't deny that I've been lucky the broadcast hasn't been taken down yet, though. In the future, I should probably have Minami sort that part out. 

Well, it's quite a pain in the ass, so I probably won't be doing it many more times. But, at least I'll have some kind of "public support" for now.

Until I acquire more suitable allies that can protect me, this will have to do.

"There will be a break for now. The show will continue briefly at 9:30 pm for a special event, so make sure not to miss it."

Ignoring the comments whining about stuff, I changed the scene of the stream to a 'break time' setting and turned the camera off. 

As I did so, the very last chat message to enter my view caught my attention.

[You don't deserve to challenge the Order. August 15th, Aurigan Arena. I'll be waiting.]

Hmm...?