Becoming a Shadow in the New World

Ok……

What's the difference between this behavior and an ostrich burying its head in the sand when it's in danger? The other party will already know his true identity at a glance, and he won't do something as foolish as burying his head in the sand.

"If I am the Shadow, what do you want to do? Use me? Tell me, who told you my true identity? The Lion King Organization? What are your schemes?"

In just a few seconds, Sid had already selected a suspect in his mind: the Lion King Organization, the force that sent Yukina Himeragi to Kojou Akatsuki's side.

During his battle with Rudolf in Akatsuki Castle, he heard this name several times from Rudolf and another magic user, and he casually memorized it.

After all, it was really strange of him to think that a force that could give away a girl who could reach A-level strength in her teens was really bizarre. Was this really the "Magical Disaster Management Bureau" that Himeragi Yukina mentioned, and not some human trafficking organization?

Now, he began to suspect that this force, after setting its sights on Akatsuki, had also set its sights on him.

It's no wonder he was suspicious; the scene was just too familiar. The blonde girl was almost identical to the one he had met when they first met, and despite having no interaction with her, she knew his true identity and even dared to follow him.

While it's a bit strange that a nun would emerge from an island nation's organization instead of a shrine maiden or a ninja, who knows if this so-called "Lion King Organization" is really that bizarre?

They also had their motives for discovering his true identity. In the case of Himeragi Yukina, it could be said that he was the one who ruined their Lion King Organization's plans. Although they had some backup plans, investigating him seemed quite reasonable, and it wouldn't be difficult for them, as a local power.

As the investigation continued, they discovered a flaw he had revealed at some point in the past, realizing that he was the Shadow. They then planned to replicate their actions against Akatsuki Kojo, and the timing matched up. The more they thought about it, the more convinced they became that the Lion King Organization had sent this blonde nun to follow him.

"no no……"

Just as Sid was about to pin the blame on the Lion King organization, Asia, whom he had pinned against the wall, seemed to hear something unacceptable. Her expression suddenly became agitated, tears welled in her eyes, and she spoke in a loud voice.

"I am here to repay Mr. Shadow's kindness. How could I possibly use my savior?"

"the world!"

"suck!!!!"

Sid took two steps back, gasping in shock at what Asia had just said. He looked Asia up and down, then down, then up and down, and remained in the world where time had stopped for a long time before finally speaking.

"Who are you!"

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Simple Asia

In the quiet alley, Sid paced back and forth in front of a motionless girl dressed in a nun's habit with long blonde hair, occasionally stopping to glance at the frozen expression on her face.

Maybe ten minutes have passed, maybe several hours, or maybe only a few seconds—who knows? In a world where time stands still, time has long lost its meaning.

In short, after what felt like an eternity of silence, Sid let out a long sigh, his face bearing an expression of having done his best.

"I really can't remember who you are. Never mind, it doesn't matter. Let's think about how to deal with this first."

Magic seeped from Sid's body, allowing him to sit in mid-air in front of Asia, looking at this blonde nun named Asia, who claimed to have come to repay a debt of gratitude, from a male perspective for the first time.

She had long, smooth, and beautiful golden hair that seemed to shimmer even in the dim alleyway under the faint sunlight; a pair of deep, beautiful eyes like emeralds; and a delicate face that suited her petite figure.

Well... even by Sid's standards of beauty, which were raised by his sister and seven childhood friends since he was a child, she is a standard beautiful girl.

The only slight drawback is probably the slime on the other side—it's not that it's nonexistent, but rather that its future is promising.

Of course, none of that matters. The important thing is that Sid has been thinking about it for so long but still can't figure out what she meant by repaying kindness and being a savior.

For someone like him who occasionally goes out to hunt in the wild and previously even competed with the anti-bandit forces of three worlds for jobs, it's perfectly normal for him to have saved some people.

The main problem is... he never used the identity of Shadow to fight bandits. He always used the image of a mysterious bandit-fighting expert to fight bandits, and he never used the identity of Shadow to fight bandits.

After all, a Shadow-level user who goes to rob thieves is extremely weak, okay? How could he possibly do something so self-destructive and putting the cart before the horse?

So for more than half a year, he operated as a mysterious bandit-suppressing expert. But after a few months, he was basically left with only a few thieves who were not worth much and might explain themselves at any time.

He then retired from his life of crime and returned to being the Shadow Warrior, the mysterious bandit-slaying expert destined to remain just a legend.

After reverting to his Shadow form, he recalled that he had mostly saved core employees of the Mitsukoshi Trading Company, who were actors hired by Gamma. He hadn't saved anyone else. So, what exactly was the savior that Asia was talking about?

Is Asia lying?

Not like.

It wasn't because the other person was a beautiful girl, nor was he the kind of person who would blindly trust someone just because they were pretty. It was simply because... he didn't think someone with the same naivety in their eyes as Delta would lie.

By the way, Delta should be considered his dog, right? It's smarter than a husky... I think.

Since Asia isn't lying, then he must have misremembered?

It doesn't look like either.

So what is the answer?

Unbeknownst to him, he possessed immense confidence in his own memories and in the simple, intelligent character of Aisie, whom he recognized at a glance as having the same traits as Delta.

Most people might have stubbornly stuck to their guns, but he had no other merits except for his good attitude. He simply treated it as an accident, making the blonde nun named Asia believe that the Shadow had saved her life.

See, the problem is solved right away, isn't it?

Next, all we need to do is find out from Asia how she discovered his true identity and when "Shadow" saved her in her memory, and then we can erase her memories.

I need to come up with some reason to fool them... Hmm!

Wait a minute, all you're thinking about is getting rid of your background character and avoiding being exposed is such a vulgar thought. What kind of Shadow Warrior is that? It's such a great opportunity, don't you think it's a waste not to take the chance to get some Shadow Warrior achievements?

Floating in the air, Sid, who had been rubbing his chin with his right thumb and forefinger, suddenly shuddered, a sly smile creeping onto his lips as he looked at the frozen Asia.

What is his current status in Asia's eyes?

shadow?

No.

Sid?

No.

what is that?

He is a shadow disguised as an ordinary student.

Oh oh oh!!!

Unlike Alpha and the others, Asia didn't think he was a crazy, immature person. Instead, she genuinely believed he was a Shadow-level powerhouse, a mysterious and powerful figure who would descend from the sky at crucial moments to change the outcome.

This touched him deeply. You see, in a good story, if there aren't one or two characters who know the true identity of the Shadow Power user, or at least have some clue about their true identity, it will lose a lot of points.

Look at how much effort he put into creating this character who knows the true identity of the Shadow's power.

Shadow Garden and Netheril were the fruits of his labor, but...

Less than three years later, his charade was exposed by Alpha and the others in Shadow Garden. Although they didn't expose him directly out of gratitude, they used a more tactful approach.

It's not that we can't continue to ask them to help us act, but fake is fake after all, and no matter how pure it is, it can never reach 100%.

Netheril's account wasn't exposed, but it was just ruined.

LOL, what kind of Shadow-level power does "Emperor of Netheril" have? I'll just use that account as a stepping stone for Shadow later.

Third time's the charm. Having learned from his two previous failures, he was confident that he would succeed in conning Asia this time.

Even if he succeeds in tricking Asia into revealing information, she will still have her memories erased. But it doesn't matter. He'll just treat her as a one-time use item and take this opportunity to farm achievements.

In short, he wants to erase Asia's memories to prevent her identity as a Shadow Power user from being exposed, and he also wants her to achieve the status of a Shadow Power user.

He wants both of them.

Having made up his mind, Sid quickly finalized a script for a Shadow Powerhouse in his mind, then landed on the ground from the air, one hand passing next to Asia and touching the wall, maintaining his wall-slamming pose from before time stopped.

If Asia hadn't looked so agitated and seemingly angry, the scene would have been a picture of a perfect couple.

After assuming their positions, a burst of magic shot out from Sid's body, flying towards the entrance they had come from, and finally forming a magic circle on the wall at the alley entrance before disappearing.

Time resumed its flow.

"Hmph, interesting. Normally I might be a little interested in hearing your explanation, but unfortunately I'm not interested now. I'll just search your memories and then delete them."

"Eh!"

Hearing Sid's words, Asia, who had just mustered up a little courage, was stunned. Especially when she saw Sid's hand slowly approaching her head, she realized that Sid was not joking and panicked.

She instinctively wanted to run, but when she thought about how the person in front of her had saved her life, she gritted her teeth, suppressed her fear, closed her eyes, and waited for her memory to be erased.

Looking at Asia with her eyes closed, Sid... fell silent.

No, why aren't you following the script? Oh well, it's all the same whether you run or not.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt much. Just close your eyes and it will be over quickly. There won't be any lasting effects."

Yeah, right. Given the difference in our mental strength, if I were to search your memories, your mind would collapse.

Perhaps because she truly believed what Sid said, Asia stopped trembling with fear at the thought of having her memory erased.

No wonder you're as naive as Delta; you believe everything I say. It's a good thing I'm fake, or you'd be on the verge of a mental breakdown.

As Sid was internally complaining, footsteps came from the entrance of the alley.

Chapter Seventy: Are you telling the truth?

The footsteps coming from the alley entrance attracted the attention of Asia, who was waiting with her eyes closed for her memories to be erased. Asia opened her eyes and looked at the entrance of the alley.

What she didn't see was that behind her, Sid's lips curled into a smile, which quickly disappeared.

Along with the footsteps came the voices of two middle-aged men.

“It looks like a blonde girl was just pulled inside. Alpha, don’t just stand there like an idiot, come with me and take a look. What if there are vampires? We can look out for each other.”