The Lying Witness

The perfectionist nature of his made it hard to understand why he would take on such a case. There was no evidence to suggest innocence.
I spoke into the empty air.

“What do you think?”

[Me?]

It doesn’t even give me a notification when it’s just the two of us.

“Yeah. Who else is here besides you, the blackmailer?”

[…I told you I’m not a blackmailer.]

“Then what should I call you?”

Come to think of it, I had never once asked its name.
As if caught off guard by my question, the hologram didn’t appear for a while.
I immediately refocused on the case.

‘There must be something I’m missing…’

If this proceeds as it is, it will be difficult to avoid a prison sentence.
The culprit in the CCTV footage looked like a planned murder to anyone.

It was a problem even if that part-timer was the real culprit. I didn’t want to release a criminal into the world.
But if I lost again, I would die.

‘This is quite a dilemma.’

Tiriring.

[This is a reward for your first trial.]

Just then, I heard a notification sound I had never heard before. Not from my phone, but in my ear.
Then, a light green window, not the usual blue, appeared.

[A ‘skill’ is unlocked to commemorate your first victory.]

<Eye of Truth> Lv 1
Can discern the innocence of a client.

It was a sentence that made my eyes widen.

‘I can discern the innocence of a client?’

[This skill will tell you if the client is truly innocent.]
[However, this skill cannot show you evidence, nor can it read the client’s inner thoughts.]

This skill ‘can’t’?
That means other skills can.
Instead of being flustered by the unusual message, I focused on the information that was meaningful to me.
The hologram didn’t give any particular answer to my reaction.
Silence is usually an affirmation.
And soon, another window appeared.

[You can acquire other skills later through skill points.]

Just the ‘Eye of Truth’ seemed like it would be a great help, but if I could get other things as well, that was great for me.

‘Waking up after dying once isn’t so bad after all.’

If I can get this much convenience in exchange for my life, well. Am I going crazy? To think such a thing.

Locked
<Truth of the Lips> 100 points
Can detect the opponent’s lies and concealments.
<Evidence Before Your Eyes> 250 points
Can find the most important evidence for victory.
.
.
.

No matter how skilled I was at pretending to be calm, my eyes couldn’t help but widen at the skill descriptions.
This is too much of a cheat.
Still, it seems they didn’t intend to let me die.

“So how do I accumulate those points?”

[It is accumulated in proportion to the time invested, such as by repeatedly reviewing the case file, or investigating the crime scene and surrounding people.]
[3 points for investigating one person around the client]
[2 points for reading the case file once completely]
[In short, it’s a race against time.]
[It may not be an easy task.]

“Really?”

The hologram spoke as if it were a difficult task. But…

‘Why is that?’

Aren’t those times that should be spent anyway?
I lowered my gaze back to the file.

The angle of the sunlight entering the house changed. The sun set, the moon rose, and the sun rose again.
I had sat down in the chair in the evening with the Buddhist scriptures playing, and I rose from that spot at 5 a.m.
It was something I always did, so I wasn’t as tired as I thought.
It also seemed like I was less tired because Cha Yohan was younger than my original self.

[…I thought you died sitting there.]

“Well, it’s something I hear often.”

I had torn apart the file until I had memorized it all, and 100 points had fallen into my lap.

‘I only read it 50 times. Being able to count like this might be good. It would be perfect for when my mind gets lazy.’

And there was only one goal for which I had stayed up all night like this.
The client’s innocence.
Seeing it accomplished right before my eyes like this seemed to actually increase my efficiency.

“I’ll buy <Truth of the Lips>.”

Now, I had 6 days left.
I went to the detention center where Jeong Jiwoon was being held to both check my skills and plan my defense.
As Won Youngoh had said, using the name of the Dike Law Office.

“Who are you?”

Not ‘hello,’ but who are you?
Did I hear that wrong?
Meeting Jeong Jiwoon through the visit, I was unusually flustered but managed to compose myself and speak.

“I’m Cha Yohan, the lawyer who came in place of Lawyer Won. Is there a problem?”
“No… I thought a celebrity had come.”
“Haha. I received the case from Lawyer Won. I wanted to ask you something directly.”
“Lawyer, I’m really so wronged.”

There’s no one who isn’t wronged in front of a lawyer.
Even a guy caught red-handed after stabbing someone dozens of times with a knife said he was wronged.
That was the type of person I hated the most.
I quietly muttered to myself.

‘<Eye of Truth>.’

Before arriving at the detention center, I had already learned how to use it from the hologram.

Hmm, interesting.
I asked Jeong Jiwoun the same questions I had identified from the file.

“No, he was really dead! I reported it! So how can I be the culprit!”
“There are many cases where the first reporter is the culprit.”

‘<Truth of the Lips>.’

Soon, two light green holograms appeared in succession.

I got everything I needed.
I stood up from my seat without any lingering feelings.

“Thank you for the confirmation. What you told me today was quite helpful. I’ll see you again.”

Vroom.
Screech.

“We’ve arrived.”
“Thank you.”

Thump.

As soon as I got out of the taxi, I saw the yellow police line.
The place I headed to next after leaving the detention center was the crime scene.
The police line was stretched across the entrance of the PC cafe located in the basement.
Even though a considerable amount of time had passed since the incident, two police officers were guarding the area.
It was probably a measure taken because Jeong Jiwoon was consistently denying the crime.

‘Should I start by investigating the surroundings?’

After looking around, I turned my steps towards the comic book cafe right in front of the PC cafe.

Chime.

A much lighter and clearer sound than the wind chime at Won Youngoh’s law office was heard.
I raised my head once towards the source of the sound.

‘A Daruma doll.’

Does this kind of thing become a clue?
Sometimes, yes.
Any object could act as evidence at any moment, depending on the place and date of purchase.
Just like how this Daruma wind chime is usually sold as a souvenir at temples.
Even if it was a gift and not purchased directly, I could infer the personality of the person who gave it to some extent.

‘A Buddhist, or at least someone interested in feng shui, and other personal clues.’

I headed straight to the counter where a middle-aged man was sitting.

“Hello.”
“…Yes, well. Are you looking for something?”

The man, who was watching the news on his phone, looked up at me with a disgruntled face.
Well, I must have looked suspicious, showing up at a comic book cafe in a full suit.

“Can I ask you a few questions? Ah, I’m a lawyer. Here, my card.”

I handed the man Cha Yohan’s public defender business card.
The man checked my simple card back and front, then fiddled with the corner and muttered as if to himself.

“They seem to hire lawyers based on their faces these days. That lawyer back then was also very handsome.”
“Haha…”

I replied with an awkward laugh.
The other lawyer the comic book cafe owner mentioned was probably Won Youngoh.
I tried to erase the awkwardness with a light hand gesture and asked.

“Are you talking about Lawyer Won Youngoh? The cold, handsome man.”
“Yes, the one with the sharp eyes.”
“I’m handling the case with that lawyer.”

At my words, the man nodded as if he understood and spoke again.

“Then it’s obviously because of the PC cafe in front, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. Have you ever been to that PC cafe? I’m sure you’ve already told them, but please tell me one more time.”
“Yes. Well, there are no customers right now. Yes, I have. It’s right in front, and it’s open 24 hours, so I’ve sometimes left my part-timer in charge and gone there.”
“Was business good? That PC cafe.”

Swoosh.

The man put my card down on the counter and spoke again.

“There were quite a few people. It wasn’t empty at night either.”

This much was already in the report.

“Do you know the night-shift part-timer, Jeong Jiwoon?”

At my question, the man’s expression subtly changed in an instant.

“I knew that punk would cause trouble someday.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Kids these days are all like that, but he was especially worse. I hired him to work, but he would always hide and play around, saying he was tired because it was night.”

The comic book cafe owner seemed to know Jeong Jiwoon well. And he seemed to have a complaint.
I asked one last question.

“Did you have a close relationship with the victim?”
“We’d smoke a cigarette together a few times when we met in front of here. Since our situations were similar.”

Beep!

Just then, a loud warning sound rang in my ears.

“!”

I instinctively looked around.
I thought there might be a fire somewhere.

“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

I stopped in my tracks at the sentence that appeared before my eyes and looked at the man beyond the hologram.

There is a saying that a lie is not a lie until it is caught.
Then what happens after it’s caught?
From that moment on, it was no different from a sandcastle crumbling.

‘From where to where is the lie?’

[The skill level is low, so it is difficult to determine accurately.]

‘There are levels too?’

[Yes. You can upgrade it using points as well.]

It’s a pity, but this is better than nothing.
Since I couldn’t clearly grasp the scope of the lie the skill was telling me, I had to confirm it properly.
Because this owner in front of me could be the real culprit.
I instinctively held back the frown that was trying to form on my forehead with all my might.

‘They’d just smoke a cigarette together sometimes…’

Such a relationship can be maintained on the surface even with underlying animosity.

‘Was there really no other story?’

Clues always wait for the moment of discovery, holding their breath in the smallest of cracks.
I first focused on the commonalities between the victim and the comic book cafe owner.

‘Self-employed.’

The victim was the owner of the PC cafe in the same building, and the opponent was the owner of the comic book cafe right across.
Of course, there would be a sense of solidarity between self-employed people who rent their business spaces. But would there only be a sense of solidarity?

“Hey, what’s wrong all of a sudden?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. I have a bit of tinnitus.”

I answered the owner who asked again in surprise, and then looked around again.
Well, the afterimage of the ‘beep’ was still ringing in my ears, so it wasn’t entirely wrong.
At the end of my gaze, I saw the comic book cafe’s menu.

‘It’s almost like a restaurant.’

The menu was much more diverse than I had thought.
Even though it was a cafe, there were various menus from coffee to ramen reminiscent of a snack bar, fried rice, and even pork cutlet.

‘Ah, right.’

Come to think of it, PC cafes these days also sell similar food and beverages.
In addition, a competitive dynamic arises from the fact that they buy and sell time and are right next to each other.
Even the age range of the target audience is similar.
Customers would hesitate between the PC cafe and the comic book cafe, with only a few steps of a hallway separating them.

‘Should I try to probe him? I have to check.’

I threw a bait at the owner who was looking at me with suspicious eyes.
I felt a little sorry for the client, for my conscience’s sake.

“Anyway, that’s a relief. It seems you didn’t have much of a relationship. I was worried for nothing.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The client said you and the victim had a meal together on the day of the incident. This could just be a word, or it could be a ‘statement’ depending on the circumstances.”

I gently emphasized the word ‘statement’.
The comic book cafe owner, who had been sitting all along, jumped up from his chair and raised his voice, leaning on the counter table.

Thump!

“That crazy bastard said such nonsense! Why would I eat with a guy like that! I get annoyed just looking at his face! I’m not crazy enough to give myself indigestion!”

Ah, so this is what their relationship was really like.