[Purity: Well, speaking is hardly surprising since all Holy Relics were originally human… But you don’t seem to have the leisure for such old stories. I have no way to help. Purity was created by the Holy Emperor to filter out impurities, after all.]

[Law-Abiding Player: Isn’t the Holy Emperor a crazy bastard? You’re telling me Holy Relics are made by grinding up actual people?]

[Purity: That statement is blasphemy. Not that it’s incorrect.]

The unexpected truth made my head spin, but right now, the most important thing was finding a way out alive.

Inviting ‘Chris,’ who seemed to have no connection to Purity, and the Protagonist, the Demon Lord’s son, to an exhibition of such a Holy Relic… It was clearly a targeted move.

If the Holy Emperor wasn’t on our side, he wouldn’t even consider clearing my name by releasing the footage recorded by the ‘Gaze.’

[Law-Abiding Player: Alright, then tell me how much time is left before it goes off. I suppose I have enough time to think of my last words.]

[Purity: By your time, about ten minutes. How about it, is that enough?]

It was so sufficient that I could even draft up the division of my meager assets.

[Purity: Well, since you are not the Creator God’s child, I know you wouldn’t have received Her blessing. But you’ve made it this far, so don’t you have your own methods? It’d be a shame to die so young.]

That ‘own method’ is probably a skill granted by the System, but you see… It’s been blocked so I haven’t been able to use it for a long time?

‘Haa, what do I do? I can’t exactly become invisible either… Wait?’

Something suddenly crossed my mind. Yes, this might just work.

A method to erase my very existence entirely.

Of course, I couldn’t be certain of its success, and it was undoubtedly a reckless move—

‘Status Window.’

[<Unchosen> Chris Dotten

Recognition: 15 / Someone I’ve seen somewhere…

Mana: S / Human Magic Core

Strength: F / No muscles to lose

Agility: F / Friend of a snail

Defense: F / Wet A4 paper]

‘And the battered old sword I’ve been hiding under my dress.’

Perhaps because it was an item given by the System, it didn’t get caught when I entered the banquet hall. I only tried it because it was something female protagonists in fantasy novels did all the time, so thank goodness for that.

‘Until now, I’ve never been able to touch the windows the System brought up, except when there were choices to make.’

But what if it’s an item from the same System? The reason the battered sword’s description was so vague might be because its range of applications was wider than I thought.

‘It’s do or die anyway.’

To safely conclude this banquet, I just needed a small scratch. Taking advantage of the moment when the surrounding gazes were focused on the priests, I drew the sword.

And I slammed it into the status window right before my eyes.

‘It actually pierced it!’

It felt like I was forcibly poking something very solid, but it was enough. Now, if I just moved it slightly to the side…

“Professor? What are you doing…”

Just as a voice from nearby reached my ears, the status window began to react.

[<Unchosen> Chris Dotten

Recognition: -15 / ??????????

Mana: S / Human Magic Core

Strength: F / No muscles to lose

Agility: F / Friend of a snail

Defense: F / Water-soaked A4 paper]

[Corruption detected. An unexpected error has occurred.]

[Recognition below 0 cannot be perceived. Existence becomes transparent.]

[Reconstructing player data…]

[Emergency maintenance. ? hours required for system recovery…]

The status window cracked heavily, and red error windows popped up like crazy. Just as I was getting a bit nervous that this might be turning into a bigger mess than I thought—

“…Huh? Who was I talking to just now?”

The Protagonist, who had been speaking to me, turned his gaze away. Even though I was still standing right in front of him, it was as if I was no longer visible to his eyes.

I clenched my fist. It worked!

‘A method to erase my presence by carving a minus (-) sign in front of the recognition number with the sword blade.’

It was so intuitive that I was a bit anxious, but it seems sometimes the ignorant and brave path is the answer.

For all its arbitrary nature, this System is surprisingly sloppy. I guess you could say there’s a baseline perspective that looks down on me as an inferior being.

‘So, sometimes catching it off guard works.’

The very fact that it bothered to create a recognition stat in the status window meant that number had a direct correlation with me.

Conversely, I figured that if I changed the recognition number, it could affect my actual presence.

‘I’m a bit worried about the side effects, but I can’t waste this invisible mode I just obtained.’

First, let’s think about how to deal with this ten-minute time bomb.

‘First option: return the Holy Relic to the Holy Emperor. It’s the most textbook solution to quell the commotion.’

But ending it like this would be a bit disappointing. Didn’t the Holy Relic kindly tell me earlier who the thief was?

[Purity: That damn ■■ bastard, whose pocket did they shove me into?]

‘I got a little curious as to why they specifically tried to screw me over.’

I’d just been sweating buckets a moment ago, so it would leave a bitter taste in my mouth if the guy got away completely dry.

I stroked the Holy Relic in my pocket and looked at the crowd before me. Thinking about returning the favor to the culprit exactly as I received it brought a smile to my face.

Good grief. I’m going to lose my actual personality at this rate from all this roleplay acting.

* * *

Quite a few people had attended the Holy Emperor’s birthday banquet.

It seemed the Holy Relic exhibition event had a significant impact.

‘It’s just a glittering bead, so why is everyone so interested?’

There was no way an object created to destroy perfectly fine people under the guise of filtering out impurities could truly be sacred. Anyway, religions in fantasy novels should always be doubted first.

Muttering complaints inwardly, I pushed my way through the noisy crowd.

“…So why should I be subjected to this suspicion! Aren’t you going to take your hands off me?”

“There, you’re done, right? Then I’d appreciate it if you let me leave now. The enjoyable banquet is already ruined, isn’t it?”

They said a warning letter had arrived. Therefore, it seemed highly likely to be the work of an outsider, but…’

The place where the Holy Relic was stored could only be accessed by those with a Holy Mark.

That meant at the very least, there was cooperation from an insider, or it was the insider themselves.

‘As expected, no need to worry about a namesake. It’s that guy.’

I shifted my steps toward the group wearing priestly robes.

Quite a few of them were gathered, but there was no need to wander aimlessly.

The closer I got to that guy, the more violently the Holy Relic trembled.

‘Let’s see, let’s see. How should I return this favor?’

Looking around, I spotted a glass tumbler that someone seemed to have dropped during the search. If I slipped the Holy Relic into the culprit’s pocket and then conveniently placed the glass in front of his feet…

“Then next, the priests will search among themselves… Ugh!”

He slipped and fell over the suddenly rolling glass. And casually tumbling out of his embrace was the Holy Relic.

Ah, what a beautiful sight.

“W-What? Isn’t that the Holy Relic?”

“Why is it coming out of Father Beryl’s robes…?”

Why, you ask? Because the culprit the Holy Relic spoke of was that damn Beryl. Beryl’s face, which had been beaming as he handed me the dress, was now stained with panic.

“I definitely didn’t sense any flow of mana! When did he do this!”

As the commotion broke out, I saw the Holy Emperor quickly walking this way after assessing the situation.

“Father Beryl. What is the meaning of this?”

“Y-Your Holiness! That is… It’s a misunderstanding! There’s no way I would have it! I clearly gave it to that person earlier, and they must have pulled something… Huh? W-Who was it? Who did I pass this off to? What was their name…!”

The aftermath of the System error must have been quite severe, as he couldn’t even remember my existence. It was almost pitiful to see him tearing his hair out in distress.

That’s what happens when you mess with a Roleplay Addict who was minding their own business.

‘Did Chris really look that easy to mess with? Then that’s a problem in its own right.’

Being in a position where I always had to consider the solidity of my roleplay meant I had a lot to worry about. While I was leisurely watching the chaos unfold with such thoughts—

“…I see. Can I take that earlier statement as a confession?”

I felt as if I had made direct eye contact with the Holy Emperor.

Ugh, he was clearly talking to Beryl, so why was he looking here? It gave me goosebumps.

‘Don’t panic. No matter how great the Holy Emperor is, he shouldn’t be able to see through the System.’

Fortunately, the Holy Emperor’s gaze soon returned to Beryl, who was sobbing and confessing his sins.

It was somewhat pitiful to see him begging the Holy Emperor, but there would likely be no forgiveness. The Holy Emperor was a strict man when it came to such matters.

“Take the sinner Beryl to solitary confinement. We will determine his punishment after the investigation is complete. I am truly at a loss for words to our distinguished guests. The banquet will end here for today, but I will prepare another event tomorrow, so please do attend if you are willing…”

Sighs of relief and grumbles erupted here and there, but the Holy Emperor skillfully wrapped up the situation. He mentioned he would hand out magic stone accessories, a specialty of the Holy Kingdom, as compensation.

By the looks of it, quite a few people would be staying until tomorrow.

‘Of course, I’m going to bolt right away.’