I’m Looking for the Male Lead for the Ending - Chapter 67

Chapter 34.2

‘Now, it wants me to find the murderer in a killing spree?’

I let out a dry laugh at the absurd demands of this system.

I was already irritated by the sheer difficulty of this mission of finding the culprit of a murder case entirely unrelated to me, without a single hint, when I hadn’t even managed to find the child who’d killed me in my previous life. The most ridiculous part, of course, was the reward for completing this nonsensical mission.

“Success will help me recover lost memories? Not even a full recovery, just help?”

I glared at the system window with its absurd message, angrily reaching for the ‘NO’ button, but then hesitated.

‘Wait… Missions usually unlock only after opening a route. Could this possibly be related to Estieren’s route?’

I checked the mission window again, anxiety building as I recalled from past experience that missions related to hidden routes couldn’t be refused.

Trying to calm my pounding heart, I pressed the ‘NO’ button.

And, just as I feared, the system window reappeared as if it had been waiting for this.

[ 〈 SYSTEM 〉

Missions involving characters from the hidden route cannot be refused. ]

‘Are you kidding me? Seriously? Is this mission really related to Estieren?’

[ 〈 SYSTEM 〉

The mission has been forcibly accepted due to it being non-refusable. Please erase the shadow of death looming over Arbonis.
(Note: Failure to erase the shadow will result in death. Time limit: 100 days.) ]

[ 〈 SYSTEM 〉

Ongoing mission — Erase the shadow of death looming over Arbonis!
Suspicious Deaths (1/0) ]

Before I could even process the question forming in my mind, another system message popped up in quick succession. I squeezed my eyes shut, annoyed by yet another forcibly accepted mission without even a decent reward.

But then…

‘Wait a minute.’

Thinking that I’d seen something strange, my eyes fluttered open, and I quickly rechecked the mission in the system window.

“…Failure to erase the shadow of death will result in death?”

The brief line sent a chill down my spine.

I’d always felt that death lingered closer to me than life, though it was absurd to think I’d die outright instead of just losing health points.

‘Is the system forcing me onto the hidden route just to kill me?’

Despite the fact that the thought crossed my mind, there was no way to confirm it. It wasn’t as though the system was something real I could speak to.

Whether it was reassuring or not, this mission’s time limit seemed somewhat generous.

‘…Then again, with unsolved cases, it’s not exactly what I’d call generous either.’

As I tried to steady my growing unease, I looked over the mission screen again and noticed something else unusual.

[ Suspicious Deaths (1/0) ]

‘1/0? What’s that supposed to mean?’

Wondering if I’d misunderstood something, I quickly scrolled back through the system screen.

Above the mission I’d just accepted, other unfinished missions were still listed.

[ 〈 SYSTEM 〉

Ongoing mission — Find the lost fragments of memory
Fragment of memory (0/2) ]

I narrowed my eyes, comparing the details of the mission I had just accepted with the mission window floating directly above me.

[ Fragment of memory (0/2) ]

‘So, 0/2. This means I haven’t found even one of the two memory fragments yet.’

If that was the case, then…

[ Suspicious Deaths (1/0) ]

‘…What does this 1/0 mean?’

“…Is this another glitch?”

The first thought that came to mind was, naturally, that it might be a system error. But soon, I felt that might not be the case.

Up until now, when there have been errors, a ‘?’ symbol has usually appeared.

I went over the mission again and again, but I couldn’t come up with any clear idea of what it might mean. This was my first time unlocking a hidden route, so every mission related to it was new to me. And now, a suspicious death. Even after repeating this routine dozens of times, I’d never heard of a murder in Erhel…

Just then, a thought crossed my mind, leaving me frozen in place.

I shook my head, trying to dismiss the absurd notion, though my hands began to tremble as if sensing something ominous. Still, my gaze fixated helplessly on the ‘0’ displayed on the system screen.

“Could the zero mean that no one was originally supposed to die? And the one… does it mean that someone did die anyway? Does that mean… the one could increase?”

Without realizing it, I took a step back.

I shook my head vigorously, trying to dispel the dreadful thought that had surfaced.

I told myself it couldn’t be true. There was no way the ‘1/0’ on the system screen could mean that a death occurred that was never meant to happen.