After finally finishing two full servings of pork chop rice and stuffing the rest of his packed portions straight into his inventory right in front of the three Inquisitors, Steven wiped his mouth, ready to bid farewell to this surprisingly decent organization.
Honestly?
For such a remote and godforsaken place, the fact that they even managed to get him multiple servings of pork chop rice?
That was quite impressive.
Steven felt like it would be rude to keep acting all distant and aloof.
But just as he was about to say something, he noticed three pairs of eyes staring directly at his hands.
"…Something wrong?"
Something was very wrong.
Irene looked at Steven in shock.
If his previous actions had only proven that his physical strength was monstrous, then this?
What the hell was this?!
Those were two massive bowls of pork chop rice, the size of washbasins, how the hell did they just vanish when he moved his hands behind his back?!
And judging by the expressions on her teacher and commander, they also had no idea how he did it.
Irene hesitated, then cautiously gestured toward him—
"How did you just… you know… that?"
She mimed the exact motion of placing something behind the back and it disappearing.
This obviously wasn't something Originium Arts could do.
No way.
Steven blinked, and then smiled as he quickly came up with an excuse.
"Oh, it's just sleight of hand. You know, a magician's trick. I actually just stuffed it in my pants."
—Yeah.
That should work, right?
In truth, Steven had completely forgotten how absurdly difficult it would be to explain his inventory in this world.
With all the weirdly skewed technological advancements here, you'd think they'd at least have some kind of spatial storage magic, right?
But nope.
Apparently, even their magic tech tree was completely messed up.
To prove his "explanation", Steven reached behind his back, pulled the two pork chop rice bowls out again, and then in slow motion, he put them back in.
Irene looked even more confused than before.
"…You've gotta be kidding me."
She wasn't blind!
That food didn't go into his pants, it just disappeared right into thin air!
"You—"
"Ah, ah, ah."
Steven cut her off before she could argue.
His expression turned mock-serious, like an elder advising a younger generation.
"Listen, you're an Inquisitor, right? Some things are worth investigating to the end. But some things? It's better not to dig too deep."
Irene frowned.
Steven gently patted her on the head.
"As an Inquisitor, you have a lot of judgments to make. One of them is learning to prioritize what's important."
[World Acknowledgement Points +1]
"You—!"
Before Irene could explode, a deep voice interrupted her.
"Irene, he's right."
The High Inquisitor, Dario, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up.
His expression was calm, but his words were firm.
"A competent Inquisitor must understand the situation before them. Pursuing the truth blindly—without regard for everything else—can be dangerous."
Irene gritted her teeth but held back whatever she wanted to say.
She could tell that Dario agreed with Steven's point.
Steven smirked, then piled on just to mess with her.
"See? You've got a great superior. You should learn from him."
"Otherwise, why do you think his rank is so much higher than yours?"
Irene's face twitched with frustration.
Steven chuckled to himself.
Compared to all the slick, old foxes he had dealt with before, he definitely enjoyed teasing this one the most.
"Everyone has their secrets, Mr. Steven. If you don't wish to explain, we naturally won't press further."
The elderly Saint stepped forward at the right moment, skillfully bringing the previous topic to an end.
Then, with a serious expression, he offered his gratitude.
"Regardless, we sincerely thank you. Whether it was purging the remnants of the Church of the Deep in this village or assisting the Penal Battalion in repelling the Seaborn, you have more than earned the Inquisition's recognition."
Steven laughed lightly.
"No need to be so polite, makes me feel awkward. Anyway, if there's nothing else, I'll be heading off. Next time you want to drag me back to the Inquisition, it won't be so easy."
Truth be told, this self-proclaimed Saint had left a pretty good impression on him.
Certainly much better than that green-haired cat lady named Kal'tsit.
At least he didn't speak entirely in riddles.
If it weren't for the fact that Steven still needed to stick around with Rhodes Island to farm some World Acknowledgement Points, and escort Gladiia to reunite with her fellow countrymen, he wouldn't mind messing around in Iberia and finding a comfortable position to slack off in.
"I'm not worried."
The Saint named Carmen nodded at Steven.
"I trust that you are not someone who would willfully trample upon Iberian law. As long as you maintain that, the Inquisition will always treat you as we do now."
His gaze then shifted skyward.
Steven followed his line of sight.
At the very edge of the sky, a flying machine bearing an unfamiliar emblem—a chess rook—Was slowly descending.
Carmen narrowed his eyes.
So… that woman has taken an interest in this enigmatic young man as well?
What a shame.
Had they reached him earlier, perhaps Iberia could have kept him.
Steven let out a short chuckle.
"Wow. Look at that VIP treatment. Even got a private jet, huh?"
Compared to Irene, who was staring at the aircraft with wide-eyed amazement like a village girl seeing a skyscraper for the first time, Steven was completely unfazed.
It was just an aircraft.
If he really wanted to, he could craft one himself.
However, just as Steven was about to bid farewell and finally leave,
A long-absent red notification suddenly popped up in his chat log.
[Under Tides (Prologue)] Hidden Achievement Completed √]
[Base World Acknowledgement Points: 100,000. Plot Participation: 50% (Bonus +50%). Worldline Impact: 0.01% (Bonus +100%).]
[Evaluation: Your arrival led to the eradication of a Church of the Deep stronghold. At the same time, your strength has been noticed by the entities of the deep.]
[Total World Acknowledgement Points Earned: 250,000]
[Would you like to claim your rewards now?]
Steven's brows lifted slightly.
So, this counted as a hidden storyline completion?
Just as he suspected, the system didn't necessarily require him to follow the main quests step-by-step to farm points.
Otherwise, what would happen if he altered key events?
Wouldn't that just break the subsequent storylines?
The way this system was structured…
It was almost as if it encouraged him to integrate into the story and change things.
And what's more, if he altered events in the right way, he could actually earn even more points.
Now, with this "hidden" storyline appearing, Steven finally had his answer.
This was just like those galgames he'd played before.
If he met certain conditions and rewrote certain endings, it would unlock entirely new routes to explore.
Steven's lips curled into a smirk.
"Huh, at least this system knows how to be flexible, way more reasonable than the rigid systems I've seen in various light novels."
He then glanced back at the system prompt.
"…250,000 points?"
His smirk turned into a grin.
"What, you think I'm a beggar? If you're gonna show me the multipliers, you better believe I'm gonna exploit the hell out of them."
His grin only widened.
Steven turned back, locking eyes with Carmen once again.
"Say, would you mind me sticking around a little longer?"
"I just remembered a deal that would benefits both of us."