Chapter 7: Who Gets the Money from the Defeated Villain?

***

Five days later.

"K, Kiriko! Be careful!"

"Cut the crap. Just get the beer ready."

Following Rosmerita's shout, I also chimed in.

"Remember everything I told you? Keep it in mind!"

"Got it, now shut up."

As I watched Kiriko's retreating back with Leo, I thought to myself.

We're doomed.

"......"

All my attempts to get involved in the story had come to naught.

I thought at least one of them would work, but I was wrong. The author seemed to detest any unexpected interference in the pre-set scenarios.

My first attempt was to approach Leo separately. I tried to naturally connect with him by asking if he remembered me from Initialis.

However, this was blocked from the start.

[Warning!]

[An attempt to violate causality has been detected]

[Behavior is prohibited by the preceding plot]

[A 20-second silence penalty is enforced]

Just like that, I was cut off at the entrance.

Honestly, I didn't expect it to be this strict. It wasn't just that I couldn't have a conversation; I couldn't even get close. Any attempt to attract Leo's attention was also forbidden.

In the end, I gave up.

My next attempt was to interfere with the mafia.

Since the chapter was about to start, and I had already posed as a Red Scorpion officer, I thought I could create some situation before the two of them arrived.

But as I headed towards the main base,

[Caution!]

[This area is designated as a no-entry zone]

[Attempting to enter will result in additional penalties]

A warning message appeared as soon as I got close to the building.

It was a type of restriction I had never seen before.

No penalty was given, but the risk was too high to ignore.

In the end, I gave up again.

'Geez.'

Honestly, it was too strict. It was as if any chance of interference was completely blocked.

Naturally, any attempts to converse with the large men loitering around Rosmerita's shop were also restricted. Just like with Leo, I couldn't even get close.

The only thing I could do was sit in Rosmerita's shop and keep nagging Kiriko.

"The top officers are three in total, and one of them is particularly good at escaping, so be careful."

"There are three secret passages in the building. Two lead outside the city, and one leads inside, so be cautious."

"There are no special abilities to watch out for, but they have guns. You know that, right? Be on guard."

By the time I had heard "I know, now shut up" five times, "Get lost" three times, and "I'll kill you first" twice, the morning of the fifth day arrived.

"Phew......"

As I watched the two of them head towards the mafia's main base, I thought to myself.

Now all that's left is to pray.

'Please, let this not have been a waste of time......'

Of course, I didn't think I would immediately be marked for deletion. After all, I had left a clear impression on Kiriko. My recognition should have increased somewhat.

However, since I didn't make a significant impact, it was unlikely that my "author favor" or "reappearance potential" would rise.

But if Kiriko at least muttered something like, "That guy was right......" or "The information from that guy was helpful......" in his thoughts, it might be different.

In the end, all I could do was pray.

Kiriko! Remember me!

*

The next morning.

In the center of Virgin City's square.

All the citizens of Virgin City gathered here, where the effects of the previous week's conflict had not yet been fully restored.

The reason for their gathering was simple: to express gratitude to Leo and Kiriko, who were about to leave the town.

Last night, the two of them had completely wiped out the mafia organization.

It didn't take long, maybe 4 or 5 hours?

When they returned, Kiriko casually ordered a beer as if he had just finished a normal day's work. Honestly, it was a bit absurd. Why did they just stand by and watch all this time?

At that moment,

"Thank you."

Someone walked up to the two, who were standing there blankly. It was an old man with gray hair, seemingly a representative of the city.

"Thanks to you, the city has regained its vitality."

The old man kept expressing his gratitude.

He explained that the city had suffered under the mafia's tyranny. You, who defeated them, are the heroes of this city.

Then, all the people in the square cheered and clapped.

It was a very typical ending to an episode.

Moreover,

"Mr. Kiriko...... Are you really leaving?"

A touch of melancholy was added.

Of course, Kiriko wasn't swayed by Rosmerita's sniffles.

"Yeah, I'm thinking of traveling with this guy. It sounds like it'll be fun. An adventure, you know."

"Stay safe wherever you go!"

"Don't worry."

It was time for the chapter to end.

I estimated how much time was left.

'Thanks have been expressed, the question of whether they're leaving has been asked, and now just the final goodbyes......'

The end. It was over.

And as I realized this,

'Wait, wait a moment...... Is this really the end?'

A wave of anxiety washed over me.

There were no more scenes left in the chapter. This meant that the character evaluation would begin immediately.

However, Kiriko hadn't mentioned me at all. There was no acknowledgment of my existence.

Then,

"By the way."

Suddenly, Kiriko turned around.

His eyes seemed to be searching for something.

Then,

"Remember me, square-jaw. You talked a lot, but...... you were actually quite helpful."

Kiriko muttered.

His gaze was definitely directed at me.

······That's it!

I couldn't contain my overwhelming joy at that moment.

It couldn't have gone any better. My presence had been featured in the final scene of the chapter.

Of course, I didn't forget what needed to be done amidst my joy. The ending is always the most important part.

I maintained a composed demeanor and responded in a meaningful tone.

"Sure, then...... see you again."

With that, the two of them disappeared into the distance.

Soon after,

[Chapter 3 – 'The Mad Gunman of Virgin City' has ended]

[Character evaluation for Villain 3 has been updated]

[Name changed to 'Square-Jaw']

[Characteristic 'Talkative' added]

[Received support from a few readers]

[Recognition increased by 38]

[Reappearance potential increased by 0.2%]

'Square-Jaw......'

[Status]

- Name: Square-Jaw

- Characteristics: Slightly strong, Showy, Talkative

- Recognition: 39

- Author Favor: 0

- Reappearance Potential: 0.2%

The chapter ended.

But the results were strange. Something...... wasn't as expected. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't what I had hoped for.

Even if the author's favor and reappearance potential were low, a recognition of 38?

It wasn't just the number 38 that felt small. The message said, "Received support from a few readers."

This meant that only a few readers had noticed my "reappearance."

I had been with Kiriko for five days, and I hadn't just been idle. I had talked all day, to the point where my life was threatened.

How could this be the result...... They must have seen me.

Just as I was puzzled,

"Ah, perspective!"

A thought flashed through my mind.

I pulled my hair. How could I have overlooked something so simple?

Chapter 3 had never deviated from "Leo's perspective" from the first scene. This meant that even if Kiriko was the main character, anything Leo didn't see wouldn't appear in the scenes. This meant that most of what happened between Kiriko and me was unknown to the readers.

'But even so, a few scenes could have appeared.'

I had at least three scenes where I could have appeared.

When I watched Leo and Kiriko's fight in the square, when I talked to Kiriko in Rosmerita's shop, and when I talked to him before they left to wipe out the mafia, and the final scene of the chapter.

The author couldn't have been unaware of my character, so this meant the author intentionally didn't show me. There was no other explanation.

'If I could check the reader comments, I could get an idea of my screen time......'

But I didn't have enough points to buy them. Even if I did, I probably wouldn't have spent them. They were too valuable right now.

'Something's off......'

Just then, another message arrived.

[The final character evaluation has been determined by the author]

[Square-Jaw is a 'deferred deletion' candidate]

[The given deferment period is '4 chapters']

[114 character points are awarded for the increase in recognition]

[2 character points are awarded for the increase in reappearance potential]

Deferred deletion again.

As expected, from the author's perspective, I hadn't made a significant impact.

"......Hmm."

I couldn't do much about it. I had to be satisfied with the improvement from the previous chapter.

By the way.

I looked around, a bit tense.

Since entering this world, many things had happened, but this was the first time I couldn't predict what would happen.

The start of character settlement.

Clearly, most of the people in front of me, except for Rosmerita, hadn't made any memorable contributions.

This meant that all of them could be deleted.

'How will it turn out?'

And another thing, Rosmerita's reaction. If this situation actually happened, how would she react to it?

Then,

......

Nothing happened.

No characters were deleted.

People dispersed, and the city returned to its daily routine.

I scratched my head.

'......What?'

After thinking for a while, I came to a conclusion.

Perhaps they were all 'background' rather than 'characters.' They hadn't been given any significant roles from the start.

That seemed to be the case. And if this logic holds, the characters who would be deleted in this settlement would be the mafia members. They at least had roles opposing the main characters.

'Not much to it.'

I had thought Rosmerita might realize her character's self-awareness.

Hmm.

Anyway, it was time to return to the real-world problems.

What to do now.

*

While drinking Rosmerita's special honey beer, I thought.

This won't do.

Now that Leo and Kiriko have teamed up, the story will start to unfold rapidly.

It's not just because two powerful people have teamed up. It's because 'unique abilities' have appeared.

Unique abilities are a key element that directly reveals the world of this adventure king and drives the readers' interest and enjoyment.

In other words, the introduction of the main characters is over, and the story is about to begin in earnest.

Moreover, these unique abilities also signify the 'rank' of the characters.

As the main character's rank increases, the ranks of their companions and opponents naturally increase as well. This means that most of the characters to come will have unique abilities or at least special abilities.

If I fall behind in abilities, it will be difficult to attract the readers' attention, and it will be hard to keep up with the story.

In other words, my survival will become even more uncertain.

'......I should have earned more points in this chapter.'

I needed to somehow learn a special ability, but the situation wasn't favorable. The points I earned this time were just a bit over 100. I needed at least 1000 points to buy something meaningful. It was impossible with the points.

I racked my brain.

There was a way, though.

Special abilities are not innate but can be obtained by taking special drugs. This means they can be obtained within this world, not just from the character shop.

Moreover, these special drugs can be bought on the market. They are not sold through secret channels, except for a few dangerous ones.

The problem was money.

I had already spent the few coins in my pocket at Rosmerita's shop. I had no money at all.

'Money...... How can I get money?'

The only fortunate thing was that I had some time.

I had four chapters. From what I remember, chapters 4 and 5 were rest chapters. After that,