The Author is an Extra, The MC is a Reincarnator

[22 April 2023, 08:00 AM]

[House]

A day passed after I told Chloe that I wanted to find my little sister, or rather, Vincent's little sister.

As today's matter was to meet someone, I wore a black shirt and red vest combined with black pants instead of using casual clothes to appear more mature and formal. I didn't forget to change my face to Rai and put on a mask. Of course, I also didn't forget about my magic bag. It was strapped on my waist.

My left eye was changing into pure black without white sclera because of the side-effect of using [Horus' Sunglasses], but I had nothing to hide it, so I just let it be. I only found out about it when I took a shower this morning. That was why Chloe freaked out a bit when she saw my eye yesterday.

'But, should I cover it up? This looks rather ominous.'

While I thought about whether I should cover my eyes or not, a voice called out to me from the direction of the stairs that led to the second floor.

"Vincent, I am ready."

From the second floor, Chloe stepped out while wearing a black sleeveless shirt and some kind of black gloves that went up to her elbow. She also wore a red miniskirt with a black belt, and completed her fashion were tights-high black socks. Her magic bag was strapped on her left waist, similar to mine. Her [Veil Necklace] was hanging around her neck, which added more color to her fashion.

When I saw her dressed like that, my eyes bulged a little. Usually, she dressed modestly. Her pajamas were all long-sleeved, and her combat clothes even covered all her skin. The casual clothes that she often wore at home at least covered most of her skin too, but this… She wore something a bit revealing from the usual. More revealing than the first clothes that she wore when I saw her raiding the Lich Dungeon.

"Umm, Chloe? Are you sure you are going to dress like that?" I asked her as she stopped in front of me.

"Hmm? Is it strange?" She asked, checking her clothes by rotating around in front of me. She stopped and looked at me while tilting her head. "I did my research yesterday and thought that all Mercenaries dressed like this?"

"Well, it looks good on you, but… Are you sure you are going to wear that?"

"I will wear this. It looks good on me, no?" She smiled teasingly as she leaned closer to me with her hands behind her back.

"Yeah, it looks good on you. Honestly, you look stunning." I complimented her, to which she answered with a cute giggle.ᴘᴀ ɴ ᴅᴀ n ᴏ ᴠᴇʟ

"Thanks." She stepped back a little. "Oh, right. I have something for you." She rummaged in her magic bag and took something black in her hand.

When I noticed what was in her hand, I looked at her with a surprised expression. "You prepared that for me?"

"Un. That will be… rather drawing some unwanted attention, right?" She pointed at my left eye as she handed the thing in her hand to me.

"Thanks." I took the black thing from her. I wanted to give her a smile, but I had already used my mask, so I just nodded my head slightly to show my gratitude.

The black thing was, not unexpectedly, an eyepatch like those used by a captain in a pirate cartoon. I was wondering how I should cover my left eye and was about to use [Horus' Sunglasses] to hide it, but… this should be better.

I wore the eyepatch to cover my left eye and asked. "How is it?"

"You look cool." She answered as she went around me with judging eyes. "Un. Better than anyone that I ever met."

That was enough. Her honest opinion was enough for me, as she was someone who had never told a lie. If she said I was cool, then I was indeed cool. No one could argue with her.

I nodded my head, satisfied, and said. "Let's go then."

***

[10:15 AM]

[Las Vegas]

We took a plane to fly to Las Vegas, where the man that I wanted to meet lived. It was surprising, but not too much.

The guy that I wanted to meet took secrecy to the utmost level; hence, he hid in the world's most popular gambling place. He had a lot of money from selling information, so he chose a place where the money circulated the most to blend himself in. pᴀɴda nᴏvel

For an informant that worked in the Merchant Store, he seemed to be a bit sloppy if he wanted to hide in Las Vegas, but no. Actually, his hiding place was perfect, and no one had ever found a clue about him because they never expected where he lived.

Chloe and I arrived in Las Vegas after an hour of flight. The plane was faster than the one from Earth, once again due to Mana Technology, and so we arrived faster. I had prepared our flight ticket yesterday, and we were currently at North Las Vegas Airport.

When we stepped out of the airport, Chloe looked around curiously and exclaimed. "This is Las Vegas? I thought the state would be filled with neon lights, considering what I saw on the news."

I chuckled, hearing her words. A lot of people also looked at Chloe before chuckling. A few of them even whispered something like, 'Look at that girl! She thought Las Vegas is always full of Neon Light!' while pointing at us, which made Chloe's face flushed red in embarrassment.

Surely, the news about Las Vegas was always about its nightlife, gambling, and entertainment. It was normal for Chloe to mistake Las Vegas for being all shiny and such from the neon lights.

There was almost no dungeon in Las Vegas for some reason. There were only low Ranked dungeons that existed in this place. In total, there were three F Rank and two E Rank.

Los Angeles had five F Rank, including the Hollywood Dungeons, two E Rank, three C Rank, and one B Rank. That was a lot of dungeons in one state, but it was normal, considering Los Angeles was the first state where Zaiden would train himself until Arc 2.

However, I had no plan to make him stay until Arc 2. Those three arcs were filled with dungeon diving and collecting some money. I had taken care of the main enemy of Arc 1, Raymond, so he should be able to focus on training himself instead of caring for the Scammer.

I guess he would need around three months to train, which would be perfect for me as I needed two months to get the opportunity that would present in the Academy. After that, Vincent would Awaken and join Zaiden's party to guide him to danger.

Enough of that; Chloe pouted because I chuckled at her words.

"What's so funny, Rai?!" Her voice raised a little as she glared at me.

"Hahaha, my bad. It's just… you are not wrong saying that Las Vegas is filled with neon lights. I will show you later at night."

"Really?" She asked, her mood seemed to recover as she smiled widely.

"Yup! Though, we need to meet that man for now. The faster we take care of our main objective, the better it is, right?"

"Of course! So, where are we going?" Chloe asked. She must've been wondering where the world's current greatest informant hid.

"Where do you think he is hiding?" I asked back to her, trying to be mysterious.

Fortunately, Chloe was playing along with me as she put her index finger on her chin and looked up to the sky, thinking about her answer. After a while, she tilted her head while her finger was still on her chin and said.

"Maybe some casino or some gambling place?"

I made an X mark with my arms and announced while imitating the famous TV show called Something Feud.

"Boo boo~ You're wrong. Try again!"

Once again, Chloe fell into deep thought with her head lowered. This time, it only took her three seconds before she raised her head and guessed.

"Then, a mansion? Or a bar?"

"That would be eye-catching." I retorted with a wry smile, not that she could see it. "Are you giving up?" I asked.

She shrugged her shoulders and said. "Yes… It's too hard. In the first place, I don't know the possible place where an informant set their operation."

"Well, at least you are trying." I said, "Let me give you a hint. He's hiding in a place where no one thought he would be. That means the place is unusual for an informant to stay at."

Chloe listened quietly as she nodded her head repeatedly at my words.

"So, what kind of place in Las Vegas that's less connected to Las Vegas' name?"

"What kind of place in Las Vegas that's less connected to the Vegas' name?" Chloe repeated my words carefully. "Las Vegas is famous for its neon lights, gambling parlor, and its entertainment. So what kind of place is less connected to Las Vegas in Las Vegas?"

Chloe's eyes widened a little. Finally, it seemed like she had some clue about where Darkest Secret was hiding in this city after I gave her some hints.

"Is it school?" She asked.

That was not a bad deduction. School, a place to learn, was not connected to Las Vegas' name at all. However, her answer was a bit wrong. I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders.

"It's close. It's also a kind of school, but not exactly a school." For Chloe, I must've sounded disappointed by her answer, but I was only teasing her with it. Somehow, I developed some disease where I loved teasing her to escape from my worry and stress.

When she heard my answer, her shoulders slumped a little. She looked disappointed because she answered it wrong.

"H-hey, Chloe. Don't be disappointed, okay? Your answer is correct, but not exactly it."

She looked at me with upturned eyes and asked, "Then, what's the correct answer?"

"The correct answer is… orphanage. Darkest Secret is hiding in an orphanage called Hart Child Care." I answered.

***

[A certain office]

In a certain room that looked like an office room with a working desk, two couches, and a table between the couches, a gray middle-aged man wearing round glasses was sitting behind the working desk while typing furiously on the laptop in front of him.

He was wearing a dark blue priest cloth and a golden rosary necklace. His expression seemed to be serious as he focused on his laptop's screen.

Knock, knock, knock.

ραꪒⅆα-ꪒꪫꪥꫀ​ꪶ​ When he heard the knock on the door, he stopped typing and put off his glasses before he raised his head, glanced at the door, and said.

"Enter." His voice conveyed a hint of wisdom, which was expected for someone his age.

Right after the middle-aged priest spoke, the door was opened, and an energetic girl with short platinum hair entered the room. She was wearing some kind of baggy pink jacket with a black collar on top of a black shirt with three pink stripes and short black pants.

On her side was a pink cross bag, and her socks were colorful stripes combination of pink, pale green, and white, hugging her feet to the knees.

Right after barging into the room, the girl shouted.

"Father Richard! How could you forget to bail me out of jail! Because of you, I must contact Chris to make her bail me out." She pouted her cheek as she approached the couch, jumping on the one on the right before continuing. "I also almost died because of that! I saw a Demon there yesterday, a freaking Demon! He was two meters big!" She spread her arms wide and threw her back to the backrest.

"Hmm, a Demon?" The man muttered. He looked at the girl with an amused look. "That's a word that I haven't heard for a while.

"Right?!" The girl exclaimed. "They are hiding among humans as expected!" She put her hand inside her pink cross bag and pulled a lollipop out; it had the word 'Strawberry Flavored' on its wrapper. "Anyway, that information will be worth a lot, no? I also heard that the Demon said something about Fake Artifacts and such."

"Oh, that will be interesting." The man grinned widely. "Talking about Fake Artifacts, it seems that the Artifact Dealer and a person, who certainly will interest you, have taken care of the mastermind."

"Hmm?" The girl looked at the man curiously as she put the strawberry-flavored lollipop inside her mouth. "The person that certainly will interest me? Who is that, pops?"

"Why are you asking me that? Isn't there only a person who will get your interest?" The priest-looking man put his elbows on the desk and put his head in his hands. His grin turned wider as he closed his eyes. "It's your brother, Vincent Dihart."

"Brother?!" The platinum-haired girl stood up and smiled brightly. She approached the man and slammed her hands on the desk.

Bam!

"H-Hey! Do you think he will come back here, to this orphanage? It's been a long time since I met him!" She leaned against the man, interrogating him with an excited voice. Her expression was that of delight and happiness, showing that she was really excited to meet her brother again.

"He will, Tina." The man answered. "And it will be sooner than you thought." His glasses flashed the glint of sunlight that came from the window behind him.