As evening finally took over, Esther and I left Nilfheim Manor.
Alternating between the bustling streets in the shopping district, we walked confidently in the direction of meeting the Dung Beetle.
However, before we could reach the designated spot, a commotion on one of the streets pulled us in.
"YOU!!!!"
A drunkard with a disheveled beard and a trashy hat, wobbly on his feet, pointed at me, shouting.
"IT'S YOU!!!"
I felt a headache.
Damien was tall and stately, so being stealthy was as difficult for him as trying to hide a peacock among the chickens. And his handsome, intimidating face made him stand out even more, always attracting trouble.
"Scoundrel! Did you steal... Eeek... MY bottle?! Answer me... E-eeeek... you little brat!"
Continuing to scream at the top of his throat, his entire body shook uncontrollably.
"..."
"Should I kill him, Young Master?"
"What...?"
Hearing her simple question, all I could do was stare at her.
"What are you, Esther? A serial killer? Just leave him, he'll go away on his own."
No, really, what is that woman thinking?
Getting in trouble because of some drunken passerby?
I valued my time more than that.
But contrary to what I said, the prediction did not come true.
The drunkard not only didn't leave, but began to waddle toward us. When he was a meter away from us, the strong smell of alcohol made my eyes water.
I was about to take action and throw him out, but his trembling hand regained its firmness for a moment, secretly holding out something to me.
"Lord Dung Beetle sends his regards."
Whispering in a low voice, the vagrant placed the piece of paper in my hand.
...?
As soon as he did, his eyes were once again draped in a shroud of alcohol.
"Eeeeek! It's definitely You, I recognize you...!!"
With a crooked smile I turned around and left with Esther.
"Freeze, you scoundrel! I said freeze, Eeeeek!!!"
To his frantic shouts we continued on our way.
So I got the information from Dung Beetle, who for some reason unknown to me did not want to meet me in person. There was only one question.
Why draw so much attention with this performance?
Quietly relaying the information by staging an unintentional collision would be, let me see... 10,000 times easier?
"Haaaa...I don't know what Dung Beetle is thinking, but I have a bad feeling..."
That unpredictable bastard was a problem even in the game.
Unfolding the note, I read.
- - -
East Balmont, Tower of Repentance. Dark Elf, young girl.
- - -
"Not bad."
Exact information and location after only half a day.
At the very least the ability to get dirty information in the shortest amount of time was perfectly in keeping with his title and pleasing to the eye. It justified the problems of communicating with Dung Beetle.
With that, we changed direction towards the Tower of Repentance.
***
My first target was Lily – Yennefer's little sister – who was perhaps already forced to see the Baron's naked body.
...Just thinking about it made my eyes bleed. I had to come and save her as soon as possible.
Of course, it wasn't that simple. Even if by some miracle the player managed to save her, the Fat Baron would get angry for stealing his slaves and falsely accuse the player of several rapes and murders that Baron himself had committed in the past.
After that, you'd get a total ban from all big cities and your face would appear on every bulletin board.
From that point on, your life was reduced to constantly avoiding the major Guilds, hiding at any appearance of the Imperial Guard, having to forge an identity every time you stopped at an inn...
The ever-present fear for your life hung around your neck like the Sword of Damocles.
And that's not to mention the constant reputation drop, which not only makes recruiting your party members more difficult, but also completely cuts off the possibility of dialog with some important NPCs who are of the 'lawful good' characters.
"If you speak to me again, I will cut off your **** and feed it to the Imperial dogs. In my eyes, you're worse than the maggots under my boots."
And a lot of similar phrases become a player's best friend wherever they go.
If you didn't get slaughtered on the spot as soon as they found out your identity, that was a success.
In short, it was a pretty nasty ban that might make you reconsider your desire to touch Baron.
However, this was now the real world, not a game.
Just as the risks were disproportionately higher, there were also more ways to get around it.
For the record, right now, I was in the body of Damien Nilfheim, son of House Nilfheim, those in charge of Punishments and Executions in this Empire.
Even if I stole the Baron's wife in front of him, he would only smile and shake my hand, praising my manliness.
I guess that's the flavor of power, huh?
I could become addicted to it.
Finally, we arrived at the right place.
"Wow."
"Wow."
A synchronized exclamation escaped our lips.
The Tower of Repentance, majestically piercing the sky with its spire, appeared before us.