"Mass fraud," he said.
"What?" Kai was confused by the answer.
"Investment scheme. I ruined about four thousand families." He picked up his cup.
"I died and the system condemned me to this world to pay my debt by entertaining people from some unknown place."
"The system in this world has a very specific sense of humor when it comes to the ability it gave me."
"Did you use it on purpose? At first?"
Long pause.
"Yes."
Kai nodded.
Not with approval or condemnation.
"And now?"
"Now I have forty-seven women who depend on this village to live, a system I can't fully deactivate, and eight hundred forty-two thousand viewers watching me try not to make a situation worse that I made worse myself." Jameson set down his cup.
"And someone at the guild who doesn't understand the difference between 'dangerous mage' and 'complicated situation' put my name on a red sheet."
Kai looked at the quest sheet still in his pocket.
Then at Jameson.
"The quest says lethal magic of unconfirmed classification."
"Yes." Jameson extended his hand.
A blue flame appeared in his palm — small, perfectly spherical, the kind of temperature Kai already knew from the combat room in the dungeon.
"Soul fire," Jameson said.
"Side effect of the enchantment system when I reach certain influence levels. I didn't ask for it. I don't control it well." The flame went out.
"Two hunters who came to investigate two months ago saw it activate accidentally when I got startled. They ran. And I suppose in the report they put 'lethal magic' because technically it is."
---
[GarcíaFTW: SOUL FIRE. THAT'S WHAT THE HUNTERS SAW.]
[NocheEterna99: he got startled and it activated on its own. The hunters ran and put "lethal magic" in the report.]
[StreamerHunter: Kai has the face of someone completely recalculating the quest.]
[xSorinx: "complicated situation" not "dangerous mage." The difference matters.]
---
Kai was silent for a moment.
"What do you want?" he finally asked.
Jameson looked at him.
"What do I want?"
"From this situation. From the village. From the system." Kai set his cup on the table.
"What outcome do you want?"
It was the most direct question anyone had asked him in four years.
Jameson took his time answering.
"I want the women of the village to be able to leave if they want," he said.
"Without the system holding them back." Pause.
"And I want to learn to control it better. So the range of influence shrinks. Eventually to zero if possible."
"Can that be done?"
"I don't know. But you've been here sixteen days and you already have things I haven't been able to do in four years." He looked at Serah.
"And an SSS who clearly made her own decisions."
Serah looked at him from her position behind the chair.
"I am not under any system effect," she said, in a perfectly flat voice.
"I know," Jameson said. "That's why I mentioned it."
---
[NocheEterna99: "I am not under any system effect" — Serah clarified that very quickly]
[GarcíaFTW: Jameson used it as an argument in Kai's favor. Smart.]
[StreamerHunter: this isn't going to end in a fight. Kai is thinking about something different.]
[xSorinx: there's something Jameson hasn't said yet. I saw it on his face when he mentioned the four years.]
[Pedro_Sierra: Kai is analyzing the situation wondering why everything has taken this unexpected turn.]
---
It was Serah who noticed it first.
"There's something else," she said.
It wasn't a question.
Jameson looked at her. Then at Kai.
"Yes," he said.
He picked up his cup. Set it down without drinking.
"Three weeks ago, someone contacted my stream," he said.
"Not a normal viewer. Someone who knew exactly what I am, how my system works, and how long I've been here." Pause.
"They offered me information on how to leave Aethon."
Kai looked at him.
"In exchange for what?"
"In exchange for information about you."
Complete silence in the room.
[System — notification]
[The system notes that the conversation has reached a significant information point]
[The system suggests something doesn't add up — recommends not trusting this man]
---
[GarcíaFTW: SOMEONE KNOWS ABOUT KAI]
[NocheEterna99: AND THEY WENT TO JAMESON TO GET INFORMATION]
[StreamerHunter: "in exchange for information about you" — WHO]
[xSorinx: Jameson is telling us this. He didn't take the deal. Or he did take it and he's warning us. I don't know which is worse.]
[Deral_Bleattler: viewers: 780,000. The number went up just from the silence.]
---
"Did you take it?" Kai said.
Jameson looked at him steadily.
"No," he said.
Kai studied him for three seconds.
"Why not?"
"Because whoever contacted me knew too much about me to be someone who wants to help me." Jameson finally picked up his cup and drank.
"And because you've been here sixteen days, there's no reason to be against you."
"And what does that have to do with anything?"
"Because if someone wants information about you with that kind of urgency," Jameson said, "it's probably worth more to be on the side that doesn't give them that information."
Kai looked at him a moment longer.
"Who contacted you?"
Jameson opened his system panel.
Navigated to the viewer logs.
Turned the panel toward Kai.
The username in the log was simple.
Three letters.
[A_D_M]
---
[GarcíaFTW: A_D_M]
[NocheEterna99: ADM. ADMINISTRATOR.]
[StreamerHunter: THE STREAM WORLD ADMINISTRATORS ALREADY KNOW ABOUT KAI]
[xSorinx: and they went looking for him through Jameson THREE WEEKS AGO. Before the dungeon.]
[Deral_Bleattler: this just stopped being comedy]
[Current viewers: 890,000]
[The system notes a viewer increase of 97% in the last 4 minutes]
[The system also notes that Kai has been silent for 30 seconds]
[For Kai, that's a long time]