How to Get Girls, Get Rich, and Rule the World (Even If You're Ugly)
Chapter 73: How to Uncover a Massive Corruption Scheme by Accident (7)

Chapter 73: How to Uncover a Massive Corruption Scheme by Accident (7)

I woke up to the sound of the world coughing.

My back screamed, my head spun, and the taste of soot in my mouth was stronger than any bitter medicine. The sky was too bright. Bluish, indecent, like it was mocking what had just happened.

We were in the middle of a street. Me, lying at an awkward angle, and Thalia thrown a few meters away, wrapped in a tarp that probably belonged to the cart now... well, scattered into dozens of splinters across the pavement.

People began to gather. First the curious. Then the anxious. And finally, the self-appointed justice seekers.

[STATUS: Conscious]

→ Physical Trauma: Moderate

→ Fatigue Level: 73%

→ Posture: Misaligned (Charisma -2)

→ Public Detection: High (Surrounded by civilians)

→ Hostile Attention: Rising...

I tried to stand. My body obeyed, but with the slowness of an old man carrying sins on his back.

"Hey!" someone shouted. "He’s alive! That one — over there!"

"Look at the girl! She’s hurt!"

"What did they do? Was this an attack?"

"Look at his face. He’s one of the wanted ones."

I sighed. Of course I am. And of course someone’s about to play hero at my expense.

"Calm down," I raised my hands, staggering. "We’re not a threat. In fact, we just stopped something very—"

"Stay away from the girl!" shouted an old man with a gray beard. "She’s scared! Look at him! Looks like a killer!"

"It’s him! The poster said ’obstruction of investigation, assault, criminal-level sarcasm’!"

[PUBLIC THREAT LEVEL: ESCALATING]

→ Crowd: 17 civilians, 3 armed with improvised tools

→ Estimated time until military intervention: 1 minute

→ Recommendation: Retreat

That’s when the hooves began hitting the stone. The city guard’s riders. Always too late to prevent a crime, but punctual as death when it came to punishing those who dirtied the ground with inconvenient truths.

Two of them dismounted, armor runes gleaming under the morning sun. A third raised his voice with dry authority:

"In the name of Antoril’s guard, you are under arrest. Surrender now."

"Wait!" I raised my arms, but the crowd was already pulling back, like I carried a plague. "This is a mistake! I just saved—"

"Surrender!" the knight repeated, already pulling out a containment seal. "Or we’ll use force."

And that’s when something unexpected happened.

Thalia, still trembling, still crying, stood up.

"Wait."

Everyone turned. She was filthy, her face still marked by dried blood, eyes red, and hair tangled like she’d slept through a nightmare. But there was something in her stance — a vulnerable firmness, a shame turning into steel.

"This man," she said, pointing at me, "is not the culprit. He... he saved me. I was kidnapped. Locked up. And he risked everything to get me out."

[EMOTIONAL TRAIT UPDATE – THALIA]

→ [Public Humility – Activated for the First Time]

→ Charisma Boost: +3 (emotional sincerity)

→ Social Resistance Penalty: -2 (exposed vulnerability)

→ Synchronization with Dante: Restoring... (61%)

"It was my fault," she continued, her voice faltering between sentences but pushing forward. "I insisted. I disobeyed orders. And he... only came after me. Because I was too stupid..."

Her words cut through the air like a razor. Not because they were harsh — but because they were rare. Thalia — the girl who never admitted mistakes, who mocked fear and answered everything with sarcasm — was there, humiliating herself.

And not out of fear.

For me.

[SYNC RATE: 67%]

→ Bond Status: Restoring

→ Shared Objective: "Uncover the Core of Corruption"

→ New Trait Acquired: "Mutual Burden" (Effect: +2 cooperation / -1 pride)

"So if someone has to be arrested, let it be me," she finished, arms open. "Because he’s not guilty. I am."

The silence spread like a spell. A sudden void where once there had been judgment.

The knights exchanged glances. The crowd didn’t react. No stones, no shouting. Just wide eyes and half-closed mouths. Before everyone, the daughter of one of the city’s most influential men exposed herself. And for the first time... she felt real.

The tension was so thick even the system flagged it.

[AREA STATUS: Unstable Negotiation Field]

→ Crowd: Temporarily Neutralized

→ Commander: Awaiting Decision

→ Action Suggestion: Speech (Chance of turning event: 53%)

I sighed. Took a step forward. My throat still itched from smoke and gunpowder. I looked around.

It was my turn to speak.

But I hesitated.

Because part of me still wanted to run. Not out of fear — but exhaustion. I was drained, body and mind. And standing there, with shackles digging into my wrists and blood drying on my face, I wasn’t sure words could fix anything. The people in front of me weren’t enemies — not yet. But they weren’t allies either. They were waiting for a reason to believe. Or a reason to blame.

I had maybe ten seconds to give them one or the other.

"One minute," I asked. "Just one minute to tell you what really happened here."

The crowd hesitated. Murmurs exchanged, sidelong glances, fingers pointing. The morning sun poured over Antoril’s rooftops like judgment — golden and unforgiving. And there I was — covered in dried blood and soot, cloak torn, hair a mess — next to a trembling girl on a half-charred cart.

Of course I looked like the villain.

"Look..." I began, my voice still raspy, thick with smoke and adrenaline. "I know it doesn’t look like it, but I’m the good guy here."

[Social Resistance: 87%]

→ Public Perception: Hostile

→ Status: Light Fugitive (Active)

→ Bonus Applied: Unintimidating Appearance / -2 Persuasion

The first voices came laced with sarcasm:

"With that face?"

"And the girl? Is she alive or just a hostage?"

Thalia tried to stand, but nearly collapsed. Her knees folded like dry branches, and for a moment, I thought she’d pass out again.

But then she spoke.

"He saved me..." her voice came out low, cracked. ’He saved me. It was all my fault."

Silence.

The kind of silence that begs for an explanation.

She raised her face, her eyes still blurred but steady. The crowd saw. And recognized something not everyone knows how to read: real shame.

Thalia — Marlow’s daughter, the bold, proud girl who had once delivered speeches in assemblies and humiliated merchants with sharp logic — was now bowed before the people, owning a mistake.

[Status: Thalia]

[Emotion: Cracked Pride]

→ Effect: -3 Ego, +5 Credibility

→ Trait Gained: "Humility Shock"

→ Passive Effect: Crowd Tension -20% for 1 round

"I went looking for information... alone. Thought I knew what I was doing. But I got caught. And Dante... he... he took the risk. He got me out. Took beatings for me. Killed for me. And if it weren’t for him..."

She trembled. Couldn’t finish.

The tension in the air eased.

[System Notice: Crowd Level Adjusted]

→ Suspicion: 64% → 37%

→ Engagement: Passive → Receptive

My cue.

I stepped onto the edge of the cart, trying not to look like a monster risen from a nightmare.

"My name is Dante. And yes, before anyone asks, that’s my real name. And I’m not a thief or a killer — I’m a journalist. Not from the capital, not from the empire, not from some political guild. I’m from Ashveil. Small town. Big problems. Just like this one."

A murmur rippled through the crowd.

"And you know what Ashveil and Antoril have in common?"

I pointed toward the collapsed tunnel entrance.

"Greedy people digging underground to hide their filth. And I’m not talking about trash."

I pulled one of the still intact packages from the cart. Tore it open with the tip of my pickaxe and let the sealed memory strands project into the air like translucent ghosts — brief scenes, faces, voices. Fragments ripped from someone. From many.

"Memories. Lives, sold like merchandise. This stuff should be in a hospital. Or a sanctuary. Not in some stinking basement run by rich criminals."

[Evidence Acquired: Tier 2 – Memory Contraband, Magical Artifacts, Blood Taint Residue]

[Persuasion Boost: +15% – Tangible Evidence]

"There’s more down there. People being erased, exploited, turned into nothing. And when you become nothing, someone gets rich. You know what that’s called? A scheme. Corruption. People in power pretending not to see."

An old man stepped forward, hat in hand.

"And we’re supposed to believe you just ’cause you talk pretty?"

I looked at him — too tired to sugarcoat it.

"No. I want you to believe it because it’s all here. Because there are trails. Because someone has to say something. And if no one else will, I will."

[Skill Used: Public Address (Passive – Iron Conviction)]

→ Charisma Roll: SUCCESS

→ Crowd Morale: +30%

→ Disposition: Supportive (Temporary)

Faces changed. Some nodded. Others stepped back — maybe to spread the word.

But then...

"Step aside!" barked a metallic voice.

The Antoril knights pushed through the crowd. Black cloaks. Gray helms. Bored expressions.

"You two are under arrest. For trespassing, destruction of property, and suspected unlawful killing."

The crowd stirred again — now split.

"He saved the girl!"

"Didn’t you hear a word he said?"

But the guards were unmoved.

"Justice isn’t served through speeches. It’s served in court."

I let them cuff me without resistance. Thalia too.

[Quest Complete: Exposure Attempt (Rank B)]

→ Outcome: Incomplete Success

→ System Note: Seeds Planted / Resistance Unlocked

"Fantastic," I muttered to the guard. "Hope your prisons are well-ventilated. Because if we die in there, it’s gonna be louder than you’re used to."

As we were taken away, the eyes of the crowd followed us. No applause. No jeers. Just silence.

Silence and doubt.

And maybe — just maybe — the spark of something lit.