Chapter 214: What do you want *me* to do?!

"Since you’ve got your own complicated dynamic with them, maybe you try to use that mask of yours to get in touch with him."

Blake stared at Estelle.

He slowly pointed at himself.

"Me?"

"Yes. You."

Blake glanced back at the monitor, where Asher’s uncle’s face was still displayed.

Then he looked at Estelle again.

"Well... it’s not like it’s impossible, but..."

He scratched the back of his head.

"I don’t actually know anything about him. Like, specific locations or places he usually goes. Besides, his work specifically requires traveling."

"Exactly. Which is why I don’t expect you to simply bump into him on the street."

Blake raised an eyebrow, as Estelle tapped her fingers against the desk.

"I kind of expected you to have no chance of getting close to him through your little friends, but..."

She shrugged.

"That was simply a faster route, more than anything."

She turned back toward the keyboard.

Her fingers moved across it, pulling up several files.

The screen changed. Then, many images appeared.

Blake leaned forward.

The pictures showed an elegant building decorated with elaborate lights. People dressed in expensive formal clothes moved around the halls.

Some wore masks that covered only part of their faces, while others had extravagant designs that made them almost impossible to recognize.

Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Is this some kind of masked event?"

"Yes."

He looked at Estelle.

"You want me to go there?"

"You got that right."

Blake’s expression flattened.

"...Of course."

He looked back at the screen.

"What exactly do you want to know about him, anyway?"

Estelle paused. Her eyes shifted toward him.

"That’s a bit of a secret, actually."

"Secret?"

The voice came from behind Blake.

His shoulders stiffened as he slowly turned around.

Myles stood in the doorway.

’When did he get back? So silent!’

Myles’ gaze immediately went toward Estelle.

"I told you not to push him too much."

Blake smiled.

"Good morning."

Myles looked at him.

"Good morning."

He walked over.

His eyes briefly moved over Blake, checking him almost instinctively before settling on the monitors.

One eyebrow rose.

"What are you—"

"Please hear me out, okay?"

Estelle quickly interrupted.

Myles looked at as she gestured toward the screen.

"Just hear me out first."

Blake looked between them.

"What is this all about?"

Myles didn’t answer immediately.

He looked at the monitor again, his expression changing

’Huh? Feels a little tense...’

His eyes narrowed slightly, hand settling on Blake’s shoulder.

"This must be about killing Alfred Hicth."

Blake froze.

"...Ah."

Blake stared at the monitor.

If he was still using the novel as a reference, Alfred Hicth was supposed to die.

He knew that much.

Blake frowned.

’Well, I kind of knew that it was supposed to happen somewhere around the first middle of the story. Definitely not this late, it is already June.’

The world was supposed to end on November 11th.

So four months away.

He hadn’t thought about it properly before, since there had simply been too many things happening.

Everything had been piling on top of everything else.

But now that Estelle had brought it up... Blake suddenly started connecting things.

He glanced at Myles.

Then at Estelle.

"Why didn’t you do that before?"

Myles remained silent, while Estelle sighed.

"Actually, we planned on killing him around the middle or end of December."

"December?"

Blake’s voice became quieter.

"Yeah. He was supposed to go on a business trip."

She clicked on another file.

"But at the end, he didn’t go."

Blake froze, his eyes widening.

’Oh, isn’t that around the time I managed to get the tour at SRRT Tower?’

Blake’s stomach tightened.

’No way, it can’t be related to that.’

He stared at the screen.

’But then, why didn’t he go?’

He shook his head internally.

That couldn’t be right.

It had to be a coincidence.

Surely.

But then another memory surfaced.

Calliope’s birthday party, which was before his whole thief work. Blake had been there, along with Alfred. They even had some kind of awkward conversation.

What stood out the most was that Blake had almost exposed himself to him.

’Well, if someone discovers that they are being spied on during a high-profile event, would they really just walk into another event afterward?’

Of course, it was more of rhetorical question.

Blake’s expression slowly became more troubled.

’Oh, shit.’

He leaned back.

If Alfred’s movements had changed because of what happened at the birthday party, then that meant..

"Blake."

He looked up.

Estelle was watching him.

"You don’t seem that surprised with this one."

She laughed.

Blake’s eyebrow twitched.

"Well..."

He looked away.

"Now I can’t really be surprised by anything, can I?"

Estelle smiled.

But Blake’s mind was somewhere else.

’Wait.’

He looked down.

’If I’m following this theory...’

His face went blank.

’I accidentally delayed his death, that’s why the bastard wasn’t dying!!’

Blake slowly covered his face.

’It probably wasn’t one of the novel’s inaccuracies.’

He groaned internally.

’It was my own fault!’

The more he thought about it, the worse it became.

He had come into this world believing that certain events were fixed.

Not necessarily every single detail, but some important parts.

He had assumed that if something hadn’t happened yet, there must have been some other explanation.

But now, maybe Alfred’s death hadn’t been inaccurate. It was just him interfering.

’Not that I had much of a choice, but still...!’

Blake sighed heavily and leaned back.

’Then again...’

He frowned.

’The timeline would still be moving much faster than it had in the novel.’

Technically, the middle of the novel was around January and February, not December!

So it wasn’t completely his fault.

Probably.

He hoped.

’Still...’

He glanced at the screen.

’If I really caused him to change his plans, that’s quite regrettable.’

Blake looked toward Estelle.

"So how do you want to kill him?"

Estelle smiled.

"Through interacting with Asher’s uncle, and getting some information about him. Last time we discovered about his trip as a miracle, after all."

She turned toward another monitor.

"I did a bit of work a while back."

A new file appeared.

"I took this."

Blake leaned closer.

"At first, I didn’t know what to do with it. But Tania told me fortune was attached to it in the future."

Blake frowned.

"Fortune?"

Estelle didn’t explain.

Instead, she pressed another key.

An invitation appeared on the screen.

Blake’s eyes widened slightly.

It was elegant.

The paper was decorated with delicate lettering and expensive-looking details.

At the top was a name.

Sage Larue.

Estelle smiled.

"Tania was right, after all."

She tapped the invitation.

"Stealing this was worth the trouble, since you happened to come along."

Blake looked at her. Then at the invitation. Then at Myles, whose expression had already become cold.

"No."

Blake’s eyebrow twitched, pointing toward the screen.

"Don’t tell me..."

He swallowed.

"You want me to go there as her?"

Estelle tilted her head.

"Well, can’t you?"

She gave him an almost innocent look.

"C’mon."

Blake’s face immediately became embarrassed.

"Yeah, I could, but—"

"No."

Blake looked at Myles, blushing a little.

’Theoretically... how would that even work?’

He rubbed his chin.

"Does this woman know her invitation was stolen?"

Estelle shook her head.

"She doesn’t."

"Then wouldn’t it be suspicious if I just showed up?"

"Not really."

Estelle leaned closer to the monitor.

"I specifically targeted her."

"Why?"

"Because she’s part of what you’d call... a ruined family."

Blake blinked.

"Eh?"

"They simply failed with stocks and things like that. They’ve hit rock bottom."

"Oh."

"When the invitations came out, they were paying whatever they could. Begging for one, basically."

Estelle shrugged.

"They wanted their daughter to have a chance at finding a marriage partner."

Myles’ expression hardened.

"That’s enough, Estelle."

Estelle sighed.

"I’m explaining the situation."

"You’ve explained enough."

She grumbled.

"It’s not like Blake will have to sleep with him."

Blake’s eyes widened.

"Wait."

He turned toward her.

"That’s what this is about?"

Estelle looked at him.

Blake’s face gradually turned red.

"If I have to go there and ask information out of that man..."

He hesitated.

His eyes moved toward Myles.

Then back to Estelle.

"...through trying to, like..."

He made a vague gesture with his hands.

"Seduce him?"

Silence.

Blake stared at them.

"You’re asking me to seduce him?"

Myles’ hand tightened slightly on Blake’s shoulder.

"No."

Estelle sighed.

"Not necessarily..."

"Not necessarily?!"

Blake nearly jumped out of his chair. But he was still a little careless, so he felt a little lightheaded.

Myles pushed him into the chain again.

"What does that even mean?!"

Estelle pointed at the invitation.

"You’ll be Sage Larue and attend the event, get close to him, talk to him, and find out whatever you can about Alfred Hicth’s future travels."

"And if talking doesn’t work?"

Estelle smiled.

Blake immediately became suspicious.

"...Why are you smiling?"

"I believe in you. You’re good at making people like you."

"That doesn’t mean I can... do whatever you’re asking me to."

Myles looked at Estelle.

"He isn’t doing it."

Blake glanced at Myles.

For some reason, that made him feel a little better, but he felt like an imposing fate was pressing on him.

Blake rubbed his forehead.

’Somehow, I went from trying to survive the end of the world by seducing the villain to pretending to be a woman at an event to seduce a guy on the hero’s side.’

He looked toward Estelle.

"...Can we at least agree that this is a terrible idea?"