The Valamore world seemed to Solved more of a fiction than real. He was blinking a few times, as a willingness was not enough to demonstrate that it was not a dream.
The air was unright, in that it was too clean as though somebody had scrubbed Tokyo and forgotten to repaint the city.
Damn. He had been isekai'd, he said to himself, looking about.
The town lay jumbled between giant walls, unknown to him who was standing on his hilltop. The towers and the castle spires were the only structures that broke through the sky line - teeth of some slumbering stone monster.
[VALAMORE]
The name was floating in front of him in beautiful light letters.
"Nice. Now I must walk round there, he said to himself, throwing out a laugh that was like a loss.
His legs started burning as he continued to descend towards the wall. You might have teleported me there, you could have, he thought. "Stupid--"
The interface chimed.
[NEW CASE.]
He stared at the floating text. He had not yet even reached the gate; what sort of an errand began with a tramp?
[CASE FILE OPENED]
Genre: Copper Mystery.
Subject: "Why must you walk?"
Notes: The Seed stirs--purpose secret in the journey.
Potential Reward: +10 EXP
[STATUS: INQUIRY IN PROGRESS]
Easy, he said, smiling in spite of himself. "Because you hate me. Or you're testing me. Is that even a mystery--"
The system gave no answer. The moaning of the world and the hacking of his boots on the way alone replied to him.
And he rubbed his chin and walked on. "Alright, think. Why make me walk?"
First alternative: punishment. He had talked back to the system previously. Petty, but possible.
Second: test of stamina. Perhaps it measured the power of stamina.
Third: diversion. Walking is time-wasting and this implies that there is a chance that something significant may occur during the process.
Fourth... He narrowed his eyes. "An encounter. Somebody I have to see at the entrance.
He smirked. "Yeah. That sounds like your style."
The interface dinged again.
[ The Enigma Seed Stirs... ]
Case File Status: Half-Solved
Progress: 1 / 2
Reward: [locked-mystery-incomplete].
[ Seek the remaining truth. It is the entire picture that will bring the reward. ]
Solved scoffed. Half-solved, huh? So the system was stratified--rewards beneath rewards, puzzles beneath puzzles.
OK," he answered the sky and the floating UI and some intelligence behind it. "Let's meet your person."
He walked faster to the gateway in the distance, the spires of Valamore springing toward him like a promise--or threat--up in the distance.
The sound of hooves was heard steadily thudding down the road at his back. Solved looked over his shoulder to see a carriage coming on, whose horses were reined by their driver who was riding two well-kept horses.
The timing bugged him. Twenty minutes of walking, and convenient rescue.
"Yeah, right," he muttered. Why not? That is not suspicious at all.
Their harness was shiny with well-polished steel and the carriage itself was very fine--excessively fancy to be used by common people.
The man in the bench saw Solved and his keen coat and tailored trousers classy enough to pass in Tokyo, yet here they stood out, an unshaven figure in an unfamiliar shape of an alien in the middle of the mediaeval world.
One hand, palm extended--the motion that he had made a thousand times in hailing a cab in Shinjuku--was raised by Solved.
The eyebrows of the driver became drawn up in surprise, nevertheless he reduced the speed of the carriage.
It was a noble, Solved concluded, observing the wrought garments, the adorned harness, the mute authority in the man bearing.
Then he saw the reins in the hands.
Wait. Solved's eyes narrowed.
There was something wrong with the hands of the guy--they were too coarse to be on a person in fancy clothes, and they were callused where he had done manual labor, and his ear-scar ran down to his chin.
And no crest to the carriage, but costly-appearing decoration that does not mean anything.
Trying too hard.
[TRUTH SIGHT ACTIVATED]
[Target Under Analysis: Cheating Caught].
Status: False Identity Confirmed.
The wagon came to a grinding stop, with crunching wheels. The man gazed at Solved and his eyes contracted with curiosity.
You are dressed like a stranger, traveller. Whom do you belong to, province?
Solved smiled faintly. "Farther than you'd believe. Let's just say... east of sunrise." He dropped off his coat as though it were closed.
The man looked at him, evidently not contented. "You speak with confidence. Noble? Scholar? You don't look like a farmer. And your coat--no tailor in Valamore is such a cut up.
It would be a souvenir of my last case. Solved stroked the lining with nonchalant pride.
The driver looked at the hands of Solved, and then turned his head to look at his eyes. Unusual souvenirs, unusual phrases. What are you doing alone going towards the city? No guard, no servant, no crest?"
I guess I would rather keep it light. Fewer questions that way." he shrugged, and the Golden brown eyes could be seen going over the horizon, with a practised indifference.
The silence stretched. Calm but pointed, Solved raised an eyebrow.
"So what about you? A noble without a crest. Too coarse a hand to live with soft. Why act like a babe when you do not have the title?
The smile made its appearance on the face of the man with a tightening of the jaw and a little smile. "Sharp tongue. You look too big to be a fatigued pilgrim.
"Occupational hazard."
The man hesitated long before weighing him and when he did, he flicked the reins. "Very well. Get in. Far as the gates I will bring you. But do you know--Valamore does not like liars who pretend what they are.
Solved grinned to himself and boarded. Good thing I am telling the truth... most of the time.."
---
"What should I call you?" the false noble asked as Solved settled into the seat beside him.
He was tempted to say his real name—Takuma Itadori—but since he was in a new world, why not make his code name his real name here?
"Solved," he said simply, then tilted his head with casual interest. "And you?"
"Andrew Ten."
The pause before answering. The way his eyes shifted left for just a fraction of a second. The faint, almost unnoticeable tightening of his lips.
[TRUTH SIGHT ACTIVATED]
[Andrew Ten: FALSE NAME DETECTED]
[Emotional State: Cautious, Calculating, Mildly Amused]
Solved smirked. They were both lying, neither giving their true names. Two players in the same game.
"Nice to meet you, Andrew," Solved said, letting just enough knowing amusement into his voice to make it clear he wasn't fooled.
Andrew's grip on the reins tightened almost imperceptibly. Smart man—he'd caught the subtext.
"Likewise, Solved." Andrew's tone carried the same subtle acknowledgment. "Unusual name. Is that what your parents called you, or something you earned?"
"Something I became." Solved settled back, studying the approaching walls of Valamore. "What about you? Born a Ten, or did you count your way up to it?"
Andrew actually laughed at that, a genuine sound that cut through the tension. "Sharp and quick. I can see why you travel alone—most people probably can't keep up with your conversations."
"Most people lie poorly. Makes conversation boring."
"And what about people who lie well?"
The interface glowed, glyphs fading one by one until only silence lingered.
[ ASSET FILE ACQUIRED ]
[Subject: Marcus Blackthorne ]
↳ Known Aliases: Andrew Ten, "The Fallen Heir"
[ Lineage: House Blackthorne ]
↳ Status: Stripped of Titles, Two Years Exile
[ Inner Flame: Vengeance Unyielding ]
↳ Seeks Justice: Lord Blackwood — accused of patricide
[Value Assessment: MAXIMUM ]
↳ Binding Thread: Vendetta sharp enough to pierce betrayal
[System Advisory: Conceal knowledge of true identity.]
Solved smiled as he looked at the hovering text.
"An asset, huh? More like a walking storm in borrowed clothes."
He dismissed the panel with a flick, though the warning lingered in his mind like smoke. Conceal the truth. Don't speak his name.
"Guess you're important, Marcus Blackthorne," he thought, eyes shifting back to the man beside him.
"But the system only hides sharp knives for one reason—because they cut both ways."
The carriage rolled on toward the massive gates of Valamore, two strangers who weren't strangers, sharing lies that might as well have been truths, each wondering what the other was really after.
[CASE FILE PROGRESS UPDATE]
[ The Enigma Seed pulses... ]
Progress: 1.5 / 2
[ New Objective: Discover Andrew's True Purpose. ]
Almost there, Solved thought, watching the city walls grow larger. But what's the real mystery—why I had to walk, or why you were waiting for me?
The answer, he suspected, was about to become very clear indeed.
---
[ENTERING VALAMORE - FIRST CASE AWAITS]
[Welcome to your new hunting ground, Detective]