I Became the One Who Takes. 112

## Chapter 112 - (3)

Even though I managed to avoid any serious blunders thanks to my tension, it seemed like that alone was enough to upset Eun-jeong.

Eun-jeong looked at me like I was some kind of weirdo, subtly avoiding eye contact.

Still, it seemed my message got across, as neither of them rashly chose to become Vessels.

"So, how did you really find out?"

I answered Jae-hoon, who was full of curiosity.

"Well, I got a Vessel offer too."

That was a lie.

The only reason I knew was because I had read the original story.

But the lie came out so naturally that even I could have been fooled.

Should I be happy about this?

It felt like I had become a master liar.

"...From who?"

Eun-jeong was the one who was suspicious.

Without changing my expression, I spat out another lie as easily as breathing.

"From the Goddess of Justice."

[The Goddess of Justice is flustered that her name is being used.]

Oops, she was watching.

Well, it didn't matter.

That Constellation was just an easy target to exploit.

The type of Constellation that would forgive anything as long as it was just.

Even if I used her name, she would forgive me as long as I wasn't doing anything unjust or evil.

Even now, she was just flustered, not angry at me.

[The tutorial has completely ended.]
[The first mission will begin in two days.]
[Survive until then.]

A message window appeared in front of everyone once again.

"Another one of these in two days..."

Someone muttered in despair.

Everyone must be feeling the same way.

For reference, the first mission would be on a completely different level from the tutorial.

Both the rewards and the difficulty of the mission.

I asked the two of them.

"You two, want to move together?"
"Huh?"
"...Excuse me?"

The answers were similar, but Jae-hoon looked surprised, as if he was wondering if I was talking to him, while Eun-jeong was openly showing her discomfort.

Even in the face of such expressions, I pulled out my own bargaining chip.

"You both got rewards, right? I got a reward too. Hehe."
"Ah..."

Why did I laugh like that?

I was doing so well, but I messed up when I relaxed.

The atmosphere became a little strange because of that.

Until I laughed, Eun-jeong seemed interested in the reward I received, and her uncomfortable expression had briefly disappeared. But after hearing my sinister laughter, she started glaring at me sideways again, as if I was a weirdo.

I wish she wouldn't look at me like that.

I hate this side of me too.

It's true that every single word is important.

"...What kind of reward did you get?"

Eun-jeong asked, as if she would listen first before deciding, and Jae-hoon next to her looked at Eun-jeong in bewilderment.

I said confidently.

"A stronghold ticket."
"Sorry. I already have that."

That was the answer I expected.

I was hoping, but it seemed that even if I tore off the arm of the mascot costume, the rewards the two of them received were the same as in the original story.

If so, Eun-jeong probably got a stronghold ticket and a skill called physical ability, and Jae-hoon got a weapon gacha ticket and a reflex skill.

I hurriedly said to Eun-jeong, who was trying to drag Jae-hoon's arm and go somewhere.

"What about information?"
"...Information?"

Eun-jeong stopped in her tracks at my words.

I was trying to refrain from mentioning it as much as possible because the Constellations were probably still watching, but now it was all or nothing.

"I heard about the next mission from the Goddess of Justice!"

[The Dwarf King is intrigued.]
[The Chain Smoker sees through your lie.]
[The Goddess of Justice is horrified and denies that she ever did such a thing.]

"...Really?"
"If he's mentioning the Goddess, wouldn't that mean he's not lying...?"

Eun-jeong asked again, and Jae-hoon gave weight to my words.

Well, that's what most people would think.

In reality, if I did this to another Constellation, I would have to be prepared to become enemies with them.

But there was no need to worry about that with the Goddess of Justice.

...Even so, I probably shouldn't use it too often.

Anyway, some fairly well-known Constellations were reacting.

I had to be careful with my words.

Even though I had thrown the strong move of information about the next mission, the two of them were still hesitating about whether it was okay to act with me.

But they didn't turn around and leave like before.

What happened today must have been shocking, so they probably wanted information about the next mission.

It was a natural situation since their lives were at stake.

I said to put an end to the worries the two of them were having.

"I'll give you the stronghold ticket I have too."
"...Why?"
"Huh?"

Eun-jeong asked me, saying that no matter how she thought about it, it was strange.

"Why are you trying so hard to go with us?"

That was a very natural question.

And it was also a question that was difficult to answer rashly.

If I answered honestly, I could answer in several ways.

Because you're the main characters of this world, because I enjoyed the webtoon you came from, or because that's my quest.

But I shouldn't say any of these things.

It was bad enough to tell them, but above all, I couldn't let the Constellations find out about this fact.

So, I just said it proudly instead.

According to my instincts.

"I like pretty girls."
"...Wow..."
"...Ugh..."

Jae-hoon was impressed by my courage, and Eun-jeong was horrified by my answer.

[The Dwarf King laughs heartily at your honesty.]

At least one of the Constellations laughed.

That's a relief. That's a relief.

I also ran my hand over my face because of my self-loathing.

"...Wait, let's talk amongst ourselves for a bit."

The two of them moved away from me for a while and had a conversation at a distance where I couldn't hear them.

Then, after a while, they came back to me.

Looking at Eun-jeong's expression, which showed that she really didn't like it, it seemed that my intentions had been achieved.

"You're really going to give us the stronghold ticket and information about the mission, right?"
"Of course!"

Anyway, I didn't need the stronghold ticket, and I was planning to give them information about the mission after adjusting it appropriately.

To the extent that the future wouldn't change.

That should be fine.

"Where are you two planning to go?"
"I have a house nearby. I'm going to go there first."

Jae-hoon said with a faint smile.

I knew it, but I asked just in case.

To check if the future had changed.

As expected, the future hadn't changed.

Then, Jae-hoon glanced back.

And he sent his gaze towards me.

More precisely, to the people in the parking lot behind me, who couldn't decide what to do.

I said coldly after seeing that lingering gaze.

"That's greed. Greed."
"...Yes?"
"It's hard enough to keep your own life, don't worry about other people. You'll die."

My words became a little rough, but Jae-hoon nodded with a surprised expression, as if he understood what I meant.

Eun-jeong didn't like that I was like that and warned me quietly.

"...Why are you talking so sharply to Jae-hoon?"
"Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to."

I felt a little wronged.

What could I do when these words came out as soon as I relaxed a little?

Still, Eun-jeong didn't say anything more to me.

Probably because she thought she had said the words that she should have said to Jae-hoon instead.

I remember that in the original story, Eun-jeong awkwardly comforted and persuaded Jae-hoon.

"Wait, are you going to go out like that?"
"...Yes?"

Jae-hoon turned around to look at me, wondering what was wrong, when I stopped the two of them from leaving the large shopping mall as they were.

Was he serious?

Well, I guess it was like this in the original story too.

I didn't feel any particular discomfort when I read it as a webtoon, but it was frustrating to see it in front of my eyes.

"Stop, we need to get some food and equipment before we go out."
"Yes? No, even so, stealing is..."
"Stealing?"

I frowned.

Even if they couldn't see my expression now, I must have been making a very frustrated expression.

I sighed and looked towards Eun-jeong.

Eun-jeong would have known.

That it would be better to take some food or equipment from this shopping mall.

"It's a disaster situation. Mascot costumes are attacking, and orcs are walking around on the streets. No one will say anything if you take some things in this situation."
"..."
"Right?"

When I asked Eun-jeong as if confirming one last time, Eun-jeong reluctantly nodded.

Jae-hoon, who was still hesitating even after my words, slowly turned back into the shopping mall when Eun-jeong joined in.

"Because it's a disaster situation..."
"Yeah, yeah."

I comforted Jae-hoon and walked around the shopping mall.

As expected of a large shopping mall, we were able to get a decent amount of supplies after going around once.

"..."
"..."
"Why are you looking at me like that?"

The two of them were looking at me with a slightly dumbfounded expression in front of the door after we finished shopping.

"...Isn't that a bit too much?"

Jae-hoon said carefully, pointing to the two carriers that were being pulled by my hands.

...Is it?

Why did I put so much in here?

Is this all because of the influence of the villain?

It seemed to have had a slight influence not only on my way of speaking but also on my mental state.

Even my greed has increased.

"...I'll carry it around quietly."

The two of them looked at me with a dumbfounded expression, as if that wasn't the problem, and then left the shopping mall.

Even if I couldn't see their favorability, I thought that at least Eun-jeong's favorability towards me was hitting rock bottom.

Maybe it was even in the negatives.

"There are a lot fewer monsters on the street."

As Jae-hoon said.

The many monsters that were visible outside during the tutorial were a device.

A device to prevent them from leaving the mission area where the tutorial was taking place.

Therefore, now that the tutorial was over, the number, type, and danger of those monsters had decreased.

Even so, they were still much stronger monsters compared to the mascot costumes.

"It's this way."

Jae-hoon's house was very close to the shopping mall.

It was a villa.

It was said that the shopping mall could be seen from the villa window, so it was really a distance that could be reached if you fell.

The problem was that there was an uninvited guest near the entrance of the villa.

The three of us hid in the alley and peeked at the existence.

"Is that... by any chance, that?"

Jae-hoon asked me.

He was asking if it was what he thought it was.

I nodded and said casually.

"Yeah, it's a goblin."