Endurance System

Not To Be Stupid

“Him! He hit me and even almost assaulted that innocent girl!” The middle-aged man in the black leather jacket pointed at Elric angrily. His voice rose. Veins bulged on his neck and temples, showing just how emotional he was at that moment. “Officer, please give us justice! Punish this man to the fullest extent of the law! He shouldn’t be hiding behind his uniform! His presence could endanger many people.”

“No! It’s not him, it’s you—” The woman who had been slapped earlier retorted just as loudly. But the man glared sharply at her, his hand making a subtle, threatening gesture.

Naturally, this made the woman flinch and step back. Her courage to speak the truth instantly faded. She no longer even thought about her original goal of punishing that pervert for his heinous act.

“Evil people like this shouldn’t be in the midst of society. He must be exiled, receive a fitting punishment, and be blocked from all industries,” the middle-aged man said, further heating the atmosphere.

“Sir, take him to the police station immediately! It’s a shame these two innocent girls have to suffer lifelong trauma,” he continued, urging the police officers who had looked annoyed by his shouting all along.

“Stop! Let us investigate properly!” snapped one of the officers finally.

“The witness is right in front of us—what else do you need to investigate? Take him away now!” The middle-aged man persisted, causing the officers to stare at him in bewilderment. Panic was clearly visible in his eyes.

Elric, who had witnessed all of this, remained calm. He didn’t even seem the least bit inclined to defend himself.

The woman who had been slapped earlier couldn’t contain her fear and tugged at Elric’s sleeve, causing him to turn his head. “Why are you just staying silent?” she asked softly.

“They went through years of education at great expense—not to become fools,” Elric replied.

The woman fell silent upon hearing his words, but it didn’t ease her mind. “But what if you’re cornered and there’s no room left to defend yourself?”

“It’s okay,” Elric replied with a faint smile.

In the end, the woman pulled her hand away and watched silently as everything unfolded, forcing herself to stay calm.

“Can we see the CCTV footage?” one of the officers asked Elric.

“Sure.” He nodded, then turned to call out to Mark, who stood silently at the end of the cashier’s counter with a frightened expression. “Show them the CCTV footage.”

Mark stood there nervously, glancing repeatedly at Elric, the police, and the three other people involved. His behavior seemed suspicious to the police.

However, since the matter involved his coworker, it was natural to feel afraid. And eventually, they understood.

“Can we see the CCTV footage?” asked one of the officers, snapping Mark out of his daze.

The man nodded quickly and hurried to the server monitor, fiddling with it briefly before stepping aside to make room for the officers to view it.

In the footage from all the cameras, the minimarket’s atmosphere today was clearly visible. Spotting Elric, who had been on camera since early morning, they immediately looked at him, and one of them asked, “Are you working a double shift?”

“Yes,” Elric replied calmly.

“Why?” he asked again.

“The manager arranged it,” Elric said honestly.

“The manager?” The two officers exchanged glances for a moment, then muttered in unison, “So he has the backing of someone important in this store.”

Just then, Mark approached them again and asked, “What’s the punishment for indecent behavior?”

They were startled and turned around. For a moment, they were at a loss for words, “Ah, that—”

“Can you guys handle another issue at the same time?” Mark cut the officer off. “It looks like something’s missing here.”

“What?”

Elric stared intently at Mark. “What item?”

But Mark avoided his gaze and instead reached for his phone to call the manager. “Hello, sir. Can you come to the store? There’s a major problem. There’s… harassment, violence, and theft.”

**

“So, Elric did all that?” The manager looked at the police and Mark, who had just explained what had happened.

The store had been closed to facilitate the resolution of this issue. However, several people were intentionally kept there to serve as witnesses.

“Yes, the people involved said so themselves.” Mark tried to stay calm, but his constant attempts to avoid Elric made it clear he was nervous. “Manager, what if we resolve this at the police station? We already have witnesses.”

“Witnesses alone aren’t enough. We need evidence too. Right?” the manager asked the police officer.

“Besides, this concerns our store’s reputation. We have to resolve it here to explain things to the customers,” he continued.

The police officer nodded. “Right. We were intentionally waiting for your arrival to ask a few questions of the witnesses present at the scene.”

“No need to ask!” the middle-aged man—the perpetrator—suddenly shouted.

His outburst startled everyone present. Even the Manager blurted out, “Why?”

“Well, because they weren’t there. They were quite a distance away. Of course, they wouldn’t know exactly what happened. The point is, there’s no need to question them—it’s a waste of time,” he replied loudly.

“Right. How about we go straight to the police station?” Mark replied hesitantly.

The manager immediately looked at them in turn. So did the police. Then they looked at each other as if communicating through their eyes.

Elric only gave a faint smile. He tried to stay calm amidst his surging emotions. Ever since earlier, the system had been constantly warning him not to let his emotions get the better of him.

Although it felt difficult, it was clear he didn’t want the mission he was on to fail. Everything he’d done would be for nothing. And that was more painful than having to hold back his emotions.

“If we go straight to the police station—even if I didn’t do it—won’t everyone who saw it already assume the worst? And besides, wouldn’t that give the real culprit a chance to escape?” Elric finally spoke up after remaining silent all this time.