We walk through a hallway.

Actually, it might be a stretch to call what I'm doing ‘walking’.

“How about just killing him now...”

“This isn't a good idea, that fairy really wanted us to bring him to her."

I can hear the men talking up ahead.

I don’t care if you’re going to discuss whether I live or die, but can you at least speak in a voice that I can’t hear? It’s not that hard.

Tsk, no manners.

“Hey. Even if his leg is sprained, isn’t he a bit too slow?”

“Like I said. He’s probably stalling.”

…And now they’re even hurting my feelings.

As I awkwardly shuffle along, I take in the new environment, making sure to leave nothing out.

The walls are made up of dirty, yellowed tiles, with motivational posters sporadically displayed every ten feet or so. Fluorescent lights flicker overhead, and if I squint my eyes, I can make out a signboard in the distance.

Line 3, Line 4

It seems we’ve been transported into a subway station.

“Sir Fairy Assistant, my friends are a bit impatient.” the leader informs me with a snicker.

I lower my head at his words.

“I apologize. I’ll try harder to walk faster.”

“A nice and fast response. That’s good.”

He's talking to me like I'm inferior.

I have now decided. I’ll definitely destroy that ugly face of his, I’ll drag it through the mud.

I won’t go easy on him even if he begs for mercy later. Look forward to it.

“My friends and I have an occupational disease of sorts. We’re suspicious that your honor is trying to trick us. That you’re stalling for time to do something to us.”

“That’s impossible.”

A poster directly to my left catches my eye as I respond, depicting a dancing cat with a silly phrase at the bottom: Let’s get this party started!

There’s nothing to gain from playing fair with these kidnappers.

Indeed, it’s time to put on a show.

“I used to have friends too. They were nothing special, but they were still my precious comrades. Just like your friends are to you…"

Tears began to fill my eyes.

I have the ability to cry on command. It requires a little trick, a special move that my little sister had taught me.

“B-But now… they’re all dead… that damn fairy betrayed us… and now I’ll never see my friends again."

“H-Huh?”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The leader panicked.

“You aren’t crying now, are you?”

“N-No. Cry? I would never.”

I spoke like a child who was desperately trying to hold back his tears.

“It’s just that amongst them, there was a girl who I was close to… we went through everything, together."

My pitiful wails echo throughout the hallway.

“After the fairy betrayed us, she held me until the very end. Even after being stabbed, even after shedding so much blood, she continued to hold me tightly to protect me from the fairy’s magic. I can’t forget the emotions I went through during that time no matter how hard I try…"

“…"

“She had wrapped both of her arms around me. I couldn’t see a thing, but with a thud, her body shook. Thud thud, her body kept shaking. I didn’t know what was happening at first, however, I soon found out that it was because of the fairy’s magic arrows. Each time an arrow fell, her body would shudder. Despite that…"

A single tear rolls down my cheek.

My act is about to reach the climax.

“Despite all that, she was looking down at me... and smiling. She smiled until the very end. I wasn’t sane. I thought I was going crazy. The most precious person in the world to me was dying in front of my very eyes… dying to protect me, she was even smiling. What was I supposed to say!?”

I reach upwards, covering my face with trembling fingers.

“I asked if it hurt. If she was in pain, but do you know what she told me in response?”

“…”

“‘Everything will be okay.”

The air has gone still.

The men had been captivated by my story at some point and are now quiet.

I enjoy acting. In fact, it’s probably my third favorite activity.

I went through a test at one point. Go to any cafe and talk on the phone, like in those prank youtube videos. Pretend to argue with a girlfriend, when in reality, the phone isn't even on.

‘I’ll do better from now on...'

‘Please! We can make this right!'

At first, the reactions from the other cafe customers had been annoyance.

They were simply relaxing in a cafe and then suddenly some guy appeared and started talking loudly on his phone. Regardless, as time passed, their expressions slowly shifted. Their emotions changed.

Sympathy.

They had experience the same thing before. They had pleaded to a loved one at a point in their life. Feeling empathy, they finally started to treat me with pity.

My kidnappers are no doubt beginning to feel the same. I’m sorry to say, but they're no match for me.

Using this at my own will, I perform passionately.

“She told me she loved me… and then she died.”

“…”

“Now I have nothing left… except for rage. A burning rage for the fairy who I serve, and the one who killed my friends. "

In this depressing atmosphere, the men start to whisper to one another.

“Damn… poor guy”

“I didn’t know he had such circumstances either.”

“So he suddenly lost everything. Tsk tsk……”

As predicted, sympathy falls upon me.

There was something I didn’t predict that happened too. It was a transparent screen that appeared out of thin air, similar to the ones I had used to take the quiz before I was brought here.

[Your lies have captured the people!]

[Affection +3]

There’s an affection system as well, huh.

I wonder if there’s a way to see the affection of a specific person, but now is not the time to test that out.

“I am grateful to have met you all, though.”

I smile faintly.

“You didn’t hand me over to that bastard of a fairy. You showed consideration to me who was seriously injured, and are even supporting me like this. This is the first time I’ve met people as kind as you in my entire life…"

Another lie.

I knew from the very first moment that they would have killed me if they hadn’t been ordered to bring me to the fairy.

However, no human dislikes being flattered. The men awkwardly scratched their heads at my words.

“No, we didn’t really do that much…”

“It’s because you cooperated so willingly.”

[Affection +4]

Did their wariness go down? Compared to earlier, the amount of points that went up increased.

With a tear drenched face, I grin broadly.

“I apologize for delaying everyone. Now, let us resume towards the hidden reward.”

It wasn’t a smile out of happiness, but a forced smile to match other people. I emphasized that feeling in order to plant the seed of guilt into them.

“Ehem. That, uh, there’s no reason for us to deliberately hurry.”

“That’s right. The treasure isn’t going to grow legs and run away.”

There's a saying that the scariest animal on Earth are humans, but I think opposite. Humans are animals that I can feel most reassured with.

I can't trick a bear. If I encounter a lion, I’ll one hundred percent get mauled to death.

But humans.

Humans can be deceived.

But I don’t like manipulating people. It's better to sincerely gain people’s trust than through lies. That's why I avoid using deception unless I feel like my life is in danger. It’s something like being good at lying, it’s not a skill worth bragging about.

“Ah, but.”

If these men had not threatened my life.

If they had approached me with a bit more politeness.

If we had forged a genuine friendship...

I would not have to bare my fangs.

“Everyone— if we take too much time, other people may arrive.”