Chapter 15 - Episode 3: Create an Incident (5)
◈ How to Become a Star Writer ◈
Episode 3: Create an Incident (5)
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A new skill?
It hadn't appeared when I wanted it to, so why now?
I quickly opened my skill window.
<Common Skill: Sophistry (Level 3)>
Description: A skill you devised to somehow win verbal disputes despite having no logic whatsoever. Those who hear your sophistry will either be persuaded by your words or fall into confusion.
...I really didn't like that skill description.
Why was this the kind of skill I got, even when one was created?
Still, I kept talking.
“Think about it. Everyone has imagined killing someone at least once.”
Maybe it was the skill, but the words poured right out.
“A close friend, a superior, even family. We simply don't put those thoughts into action, but every one of us has the potential to kill someone.”
[You use the Common Skill “Sophistry.”]
[Sophistry Skill successful! “Plausible Nonsense” activates!]
[Guard “Bane” is persuaded by your sophistry.]
[Guard “Zeke” is confused by your sophistry.]
“Hmm, the punk might be right. Zeke, you imagine stabbing the captain in the back every time your pay gets cut, don't you?”
“Shut up. Want to die?”
“Oh? Look at that. You're saying you'll kill me? Captain, don't you think Zeke should be thrown in prison too?”
“...Hey, innocent bandit. Why don't you defend me too?”
This skill might be more useful than I thought.
I grinned at Zeke.
“Zeke, was it? Of course, you don't need to go to prison. You've always lived by making the right choice when faced with killing or not killing. Choosing not to kill. It is through that choice that we can finally live as humans.”
Guard Zeke's expression turned strange.
Should I drive the point home? I looked at each guard in turn and continued.
“The same goes for me. I may be a bandit, but I haven't killed anyone yet, and I never will. Just as you don't kill your superiors. Because... I want to be a human like you.”
[Sophistry Skill successful! Now they will even believe you when you say fermented soybean blocks are made from soybeans.]
Just as I thought! ...Wait, aren't fermented soybean blocks supposed to be made from soybeans?
[Guard “Zeke” is persuaded by your sophistry.]
“...Captain, now that I think about it, he doesn't even have a charge. Can't we just let him go?”
“Hahaha! Looks like this guy doesn't want to share a cell with you!”
[Guard Captain “Solzhenitsyn” is confused by your words.]
...Did it work?
“So this bandit bastard knows how to read a few words.”
[Guard Captain “Solzhenitsyn” resists your sophistry.]
Damn it. What a crazy literary master.
“You're a bandit. Since you've joined a bandit gang, you'll probably kill someone eventually! What are you doing? Drag him away already!”
Was this guy's brain made of combat power too? There was no sign of him being persuaded.
I had to find an opening.
I stared again at Guard Captain Solzhenitsyn's character information, especially the description. Then information I hadn't been able to see properly before appeared. Was it because my Imagination level had risen?
[Character Information]
Character: Solzhenitsyn
Description: ...[Omitted]... Recently, he has been deeply worried about his runaway son. A born desert man, he blames himself for whether his blunt nature may have negatively affected his son's upbringing...
...He was a more ordinary family man than I expected. Wait, if I made good use of this...
I quickly put together a sentence.
“...What if I were your son, Captain?”
“What?”
“If I were your son, would you still say the same thing?”
Solzhenitsyn's eyes turned wary at the sudden question.
“Don't be alarmed. Let's just suppose it.”
“Ah, ahem.”
Apparently, his son's running away was a secret.
“Of course. Even if you were my son, you couldn't avoid punishment if you committed a crime!”
“Even if your son's only charge was being a ‘potential criminal’?”
“M-My son hasn't committed a crime!”
“You don't know that. By now, he might be somewhere, having become a lowly bandit like me.”
“...That can't be!”
“Ah, don't get worked up. Let's just suppose it. Anyway, your son, having become a bandit, might be caught by some guard and say this. ‘It's all because of Dad.’”
Solzhenitsyn's face was turning pale.
“Th-That...”
“As his punishment is forcibly carried out, he will think, ‘If Dad had just been a little kinder,’ ‘If Dad had made me practice swordsmanship a little less,’ ‘If Dad had been a little less blunt,’ I wouldn't have left home.”
[The Common Skill “Sophistry” activates!]
What an expression worth seeing.
Was this how a great literary master would look upon hearing that the novels he had exported across the world had sold only a hundred copies in total?
“I... I...”
Solzhenitsyn's mustache trembled.
“If Dad had loved me just a little more.”
Watching his expression made my own chest ache.
[The Common Skill “Sophistry” takes effect!]
[Guard Captain “Solzhenitsyn” falls into confusion.]
“Yes, is it all because of me...”
If not for a desert man's pride, he looked as though he would have burst into tears right then.
But it would be a shame to end it here. This wasn't over yet.
“No. As I said, this is only a supposition. It might be the opposite.”
“...?”
“Your runaway son may understand you by now.”
Solzhenitsyn's eyes wavered.
“‘Yeah, maybe that wasn't what Dad truly felt.’ ‘Dad grew up in a desert city.’ ‘Dad isn't good at expressing his feelings.’”
“...!”
“Because he's stubborn, a man who sticks to his principles no matter what.”
“Why are you saying that? I...”
Solzhenitsyn looked at me as though I really were his son.
It was time to land the final blow.
“Because you haven't done anything wrong yet.”
“...!”
“Whatever you think, that is not your fault. You may be blunt, but you are not someone who does not know love. Your son running away is not your fault.”
“Why...”
“Why? Because I believe in you.”
“Why would you believe in me...?”
“Isn't that what it means to be human?”
Deep shock spread across Solzhenitsyn's face. His emotion spread to the guards beside him as well.
“You have no reason to shoulder all that responsibility merely because you are a father. Just as I have no reason to bear the blame for every bandit in the world merely because I am a bandit.”
[Sophistry Skill overwhelmingly successful!]
[Guard Captain “Solzhenitsyn” is persuaded.]
[Now they cannot help but trust you even when you say one plus one is one.]
[Sophistry Skill has reached Level 4!]
As I listened to the satisfying messages, I delivered my final line.
“I am merely an ordinary human. Captain, please let me go now.”
[Some stars admire your sophistry!]
[Some stars have paid 2,000 Dust for your story.]
[One of the great stars glances your way.]
[You have gained an additional 3,000 Dust.]
I barely managed to stop myself from jumping for joy.
Guard Captain Solzhenitsyn stared at me blankly.
.
.
.
And shortly afterward, I was locked in the holding cell again.
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