Chapter 11: Role-Playing, Getting Serious
The Next Day.
Gao Mo set out early to buy a stack of books related to the butler profession. Following that, he rented several movies on videotape about butlers. At home, there was an old computer gathering dust, which he figured he might still need someday, so he went ahead and reinstalled internet service as well.
He hadn’t forgotten that Rei Koutani had promised him a part-time job, helping the police organize outsourced materials. Without internet, it would be inconvenient.
At noon, Gao Mo returned home carrying the videotapes, ready to bunker down with instant noodles for a few days of study, when suddenly the elevator in his apartment malfunctioned.
Apparently, due to yesterday’s elevator accident, high-rise buildings all over Tokyo had commenced elevator inspections. The neighborhood had responded swiftly, without a hint of slack.
Unlucky.
Reading the notice posted by the elevator entrance, Gao Mo wanted to say there was no need to be so anxious — this was just a special case. But seeing the frightened residents one by one, he resigned himself to climbing the stairs.
“Huff!”
Others seemed to have chosen to wait for the repairs to finish; not a single person followed him up—well, save for one.
By the time Gao Mo reached the third floor, he was already gasping for breath. Struggling on, he barely made it to the tenth floor with his face pale and drenched in cold sweat.
His airways burned fiercely, his lungs felt ready to burst.
Leaning against the wall to rest, he caught sight of Rei Koutani’s agile figure. The man appeared to be training on the stairwell, running up and down repeatedly.
“Mr. Kido?”
Rei stopped with an easy smile, holding a plank position on the stairs.
“You’re in bad shape. You need to exercise regularly… preferably with systematic training. A friend of mine offers such courses.”
“A police friend?” Gao Mo gasped, shooting him a tired glance.
“Yeah,” Rei said, squinting in amusement, “training alone can easily lead to injury or even backfire. Want to try it out? It’s way better than a gym, and best of all, it’s free.”
“N-no interest.”
Gao Mo took a breath and continued climbing.
This guy was surely trying to persuade him to become a police officer again. He didn’t know what he was after.
In terms of combat power, Gao Mo was practically at negative zero.
Intellectually… though he hated admitting it, in the detective world, he was a minor player.
His only standout traits for now were his extraordinary “Eagle Eye Vision” and the actor’s gift of “Rapid Immersion.”
Rei probably wouldn’t notice these.
Well, he might have an edge in looks—after all, he used to be a popular idol—but that seemed irrelevant to becoming a cop.
“If you ever change your mind, let me know.”
Rei used the stair railing to demonstrate a difficult move—a one-handed handstand revealing sun-kissed abdominal muscles.
“By the way, about that part-time job, my friend has a lead… a task analyzing two months’ worth of surveillance footage. Interested? The pay’s 50,000 yen.”
Fifty thousand yen was no small sum; even Kazami Yuya’s base salary was just 400,000 yen.
“I’ll pass this time. Maybe later,” Gao Mo thought it over and declined.
Money could be earned anytime.
His biggest task was still preparing for the first professional role-play in a few days.
The path of the extraordinary required long-term accumulation. He couldn’t afford to miss any opportunity.
Yesterday’s horrifying death of that chubby guy was still fresh in his mind…
“I might be busy all week,” Gao Mo added.
“No time?” Rei paused mid-move, nearly losing balance.
He’d assumed Gao Mo was desperate for money after losing his job.
“So soon you’ve got new work?”
Rei studied Gao Mo’s struggling figure thoughtfully.
To solve a job problem in one day, and with a quality that piqued his interest even more…
If before Gao Mo was just a promising candidate, now he felt compelled to recruit him.
There had been idols who became police informants before, but Gao Mo seemed different.
---
Apartment 1604, a three-bedroom, one-living-room unit.
Gao Mo lay slumped on the couch, his head swimming and nearly losing consciousness.
It felt like dying—the discomfort nearly matched a near-death experience.
He had overestimated himself.
No, Rei was right; he needed to get into shape.
He was in a totally subhealthy state—climbing stairs was such a struggle. If danger struck during a case, he’d be the first to die.
After about ten minutes, his body slowly returned to normal.
Adding a follow-up training plan for himself, Gao Mo’s thoughts wandered.
He wasn’t sure what exactly activated a profession. He’d been a librarian for so long in his previous life, yet the system had never responded.
Maybe he had to get a job in the Conan world?
His other self had pursued various idol careers, but only “actor” was recorded, while “supermarket cashier” was simply accepted.
If possible, he wished to register some combat-related professions.
Perhaps he could level up through the stars and skip the basic training phase.
If given the chance, he’d try.
Yesterday, Kogoro Mouri’s judo was quite impressive.
The useless old man was transformed into a masterful presence.
“First, I’ll complete this role-play mission.”
Gao Mo gathered his focus and inserted a videotape into the player.
Operating the old device wasn’t too difficult; the film played smoothly, though the picture was blurry.
Actually, the world already had DVD technology, but for some reason, it wasn’t popular in Japan.
The internet was stuck around the year 2000, making research much harder.
If all went well, it would be a long time before the world fully modernized into what he was used to.
“Zzzz!”
Sitting back on the sofa, Gao Mo was about to flip through his butler books when he noticed the film’s soundtrack sounded off.
A horror movie?
False advertising!
The store manager had clearly said it was a cross-era butler film…
Well, maybe it was cross-era.
---
He switched tapes several times, none satisfying him, and finally settled on a training video.
Combined with the books, some knowledge finally seeped into his brain, but maybe due to being used to the system’s reading mode, he kept feeling sleepy.
Information flowed in—and then out.
Three days to complete the “butler” profession’s basics was proving not so simple.
Gao Mo lounged on the couch, rubbing his temples.
Being a butler was no easy career; it required a great deal of time to master.
He’d have to make up for it with acting skills, studying mannerisms and gestures to portray authenticity as much as possible.
---
“Vrrr!”
A sudden phone vibration shattered Gao Mo’s drowsiness.
Snapping back to reality, he realized night had fallen unnoticed.
The TV was still playing the instructional video, which lasted three hours and seemed to have looped automatically.
How had he fallen asleep?
“Ha ha, Kido kid,” a cheerful, mustachioed voice greeted him on the phone, “I’ve got Miss Yoko’s autograph board and her signed photo… really thoughtful of her!”
“Is that so? Good.”
Gao Mo yawned, turned off the tape, and switched to a TV program.
Only three days left; he needed to find another way.
Right before the evening’s Ultraman broadcast, there was a live interview with Yukino Yoko.
When mentioning her ex-boyfriend’s death, Yoko didn’t shy away; instead, she sang a motivational song on camera.
Her cheerful voice lifted Gao Mo’s spirits.
“You’re watching Yoko’s show too? I was just about to tell you,” the mustachioed man said, sounding like he’d found a kindred spirit, “But Yoko’s really tough — after all that happened, she’s bounced back so quickly…”
“Mm.”
Gao Mo wasn’t eager to comment.
Life as an idol could be quite pitiful.
Yoko had to hide her true sorrow and fear from her fans.
Otherwise, she’d lose their support…
Well, Yoko was definitely doing better than him.
He had been out of the spotlight for years; he couldn’t even keep a fan club going. It had disbanded long ago.
By now, hardly anyone recognized him; he didn’t have to hide when walking down the street.
It was impressive that the mustachioed man recognized him.
“*Click!*”
Throwing the phone on hands-free to the side, Gao Mo turned on the lights and continued leafing through the butler books.
Sleeping made it easier to absorb, especially accompanied by Yoko’s singing—his friend’s voice possessed an invisible charm.
Portraying a skilled butler suddenly didn’t seem impossible.