『Stop hiding, you punk! Show yourself quickly!』

A raspy voice bellowed out from the distance, as I heard another gunshot ring in the surroundings.

『Give it up already, you have nowhere else to run, sneaky bastard!』

I held my breath for a long while, until the sounds of pursuit slowly died down.

When the tension alleviated, I heaved a sigh of relief. Wiping off the sweat on my forehead, I rested my spent body against a tree. How long had I been running, how long had I been hiding. Everything blurred in the night, as my eyes wandered up to the moon obscured by the clouds.

My body was painful and dreary, every single warning signal was blaring at me to stop and give up.

But at this point and at this stage, things had already escalated to a point of no return.

Even if I did now, things wouldn't resolve themselves peacefully, would it? After having a gun pointed at my head before, I had already lost all hope of negotiations. These guys were out to silence me after all!

How did I even get into such a predicament. Running for my life, I was chased into a deep dark forest, wearing nothing but a wedding dress---- Through a series of coincidences, things have devolved to such a state. Believe me, I am no crossdressing pervert, I had no choice!

Aah, aah... it seems like I'm really too exhausted that I'm thinking about strange things like this.

I spent a bit more time resting before heading to the nearest path towards civilization once more. There was no one around this time, and taking that chance I made a mad dash towards it.

I ran, and ran. Running madly like a wanted criminal, the lights of the nightscape seemed so foreign all of a sudden. But I couldn't stop. I didn't dare to stop. With my life at stake, and countless more involved, I couldn't give up now. Finally losing my breath again, I stopped to scan my surroundings. It seems like I'm in front of an internet lounge.

I entered it hastily, and booked a private room inside. Fortunately, there was still some money in my pockets. I locked the door behind me and found a place to sit down. Resting against the cushion of a chair, I began to think more clearly and dissect the information that I had learnt tonight.

How did everything turn out like this was no longer important. The crucial thing was to find out how to progress from here on out. After all, staying in this city is no longer safe all thanks to this thing that I was protecting the entire time.

What those guys in black suits were after, and what the whole country is going crazy for.

An inconspicuous black-luster card rested in the palm of my hand.

At first glance, it would seem like just an ordinary card, but I learnt its truth the hard way. Its true purpose was actually a key to the gates of a brand new world, the likes unimaginable to a commoner like me.

And the catalyst for obtaining that permission, was the possession of an astronomical sum of money. The black card was the key to a sum large enough to move people behind the shadows... a sum powerful enough to grant absolute authority.

But why did all this have to do with me?!

If I had known, I would never put that card in the ATM that night----Had I known, my life wouldn't have steered off course. I wouldn't have become aware of things that I shouldn't know, and I wouldn't have came into contact with people I shouldn't meet-----

But it's now all too late. Once the gears have started turning, there is no more going back.

I have to accept my fate now. One who possesses this unbelievable amount of wealth, I have this responsibility. Still, I wasn't exactly the best candidate for these kinds of heart-pumping events!

「Please give me a break...」

Perhaps, this was simply the start to something even greater. And it seems like an inevitable life of misfortune still awaits me in the not so distant future.