[Location: Liar Game - Japan - Tokyo - Nakano - Residential Apartments.]
Shinichi Akiyama, a young ex-convict, psychologist, and the man known as the "genius swindler," was resting on the bed in his small apartment.
The room was quiet, dimly lit by the faint glow of a lamp in the corner.
He had just returned after a long day of construction work—a job that formed part of his reintegration process into society.
The moment he arrived, he took a quick shower to wash off the sweat and dust before collapsing onto the bed, completely exhausted.
"The genius swindler." That title haunted him like a shadow, even now as he attempted to lead an honest life.
He had earned it by driving one of the post-war era's largest multi-level marketing (MLM) corporations, Shuuei Trading Co., into complete bankruptcy.
The feat was legendary; he utilized his intellect to manipulate the corporation from within, gathering incriminatory evidence while dismantling its networks.
Not only did he leave them penniless, but he also ensured they would never be able to operate again.
Of course, all the money he recovered was seized by the authorities. But for Shuuei Trading Co., the most lethal blow was not the financial loss, but the exposure of their greed and cruelty. Because beneath their facade of success, the company had built its empire by scamming the most vulnerable people—including Shinichi's mother.
His family's history was tragic, yet far from unique. Like many Japanese families, they faced a mountain of bills following exorbitant education costs.
The burden escalated when Shinichi's father died in an accident, leaving the family without its primary breadwinner.
In her desperation to keep Shinichi afloat, his mother took on multiple jobs, ignoring her fragile health. But her body soon gave out, and before long, she fell gravely ill.
That was when a former friend re-entered her life, promising a way out. Convinced she was helping her family, Shinichi's mother joined Shuuei Trading Co., only to discover she was trapped in an exploitative web.
The contract she signed was virtually unbreakable, and debts accumulated faster than she could ever repay them.
Yet, despite everything, she never let Shinichi see the weight of her suffering.
She was a woman far too pure and honest for her own good, and her love for her son was her driving force.
However, in the depths of despair, she found a solution as devastating as it was definitive.
Her life insurance policy.
And one night, while Shinichi was away, she made the decision that would alter his reality forever.
When Shinichi found his mother's lifeless body in the street, bloody and twisted at an unnatural angle, something inside him shattered.
The scene was etched into his memory with heartbreaking clarity. But it was not just the act itself that broke him—it was discovering the reasons that drove her to that point.
When he turned to the authorities seeking justice, he encountered only indifference. Legal complexities and systemic corruption protected Shuuei Trading Co., while offering him nothing more than empty condolences.
Shinichi could not accept that. So he took justice into his own hands, sacrificing his future and freedom to destroy the corporation from its very foundations.
His plan worked.
Shuuei Trading Co. was dismantled, but the price was steep. Not only did he lose years of his life in prison, but he also lost his faith in humanity.
Now that he had served his sentence, he was trying to live an honest life, just as his mother would have wanted. But the weight of the past continued to haunt him.
Lying in bed, in that brief moment of quiet, a face flickered in his mind.
'Nao.'
Nao Kanzaki was a university student he had met on the day of his release.
A naive girl, almost too good for this world, who reminded him of his mother in more ways than one.
He had helped her out of pure altruism, unable to ignore the resemblance between the two. Even now, he wasn't sure if he had done it out of pity or something deeper.
"And I'm supposed to have a master's degree in psychology..." he muttered sarcastically, letting out a heavy sigh. He sat up slowly, deciding to grab something to eat before sleep overtook him.
That was when an unfamiliar sound interrupted him.
Ding!
A holographic text window materialized suddenly before him, blocking part of his field of vision.
[Do you really want your days to be so monotonous? Work, eat, sleep. Work, eat, sleep... Isn't something missing?]
"Eh?" Shinichi blinked, thoroughly bewildered.
The message floated in the air like something straight out of a science fiction film, yet there was no projector or visible device to explain its origin.
Instinctively, he rose from the bed and began inspecting every corner of the room.
He checked behind the furniture, the windows, and even the ceiling, but found nothing that could account for the technological anomaly.
Finally, he stopped, placing his hands on his hips as he let out a long sigh of frustration.
'A joke? An illusion? I don't have time for this...' he thought. Yet as the window remained floating there, untouched, his natural curiosity won out.
Shinichi slid down into a corner of the room, resting his back against the wall—a habit he had developed in prison to avoid being caught off guard.
His eyes narrowed as he examined the screen, searching for any clue regarding its purpose or origin.
'Who would go through such an elaborate setup just to mess with me?' he pondered, though he knew he had no active enemies... at least none he was aware of.
He decided to speak aloud, simply to gauge how whoever was responsible would react. "What is it you think I'm missing?" he asked softly, his tone neutral yet laced with caution.
The window seemed to react immediately, emitting the same metallic chime as before.
Ding!
A new text window overlaid the previous one.
[A better job, of course. Do you want more details?]
Beneath the words, two options stood out clearly.
[Yes / No.]
Shinichi narrowed his eyes, his mind operating at full speed. This was no simple marketing gimmick; it was far too sophisticated, far too personal. And while he had no proof it was dangerous, he couldn't rule out the possibility either.
The Shinichi Akiyama of the past would have rejected this without a second thought. The weight of pride and anger would have spoken for him. However, the years had made this Shinichi wiser.
He understood that he couldn't act solely on emotion or prejudice. In mind games, information was the only true advantage. If this anomaly was a threat, he needed to understand it first.
Finally, his finger moved slowly toward the [Yes] option—not out of genuine interest, but because his analytical nature told him this was the most effective way to gather more information.
'Let's see how far this goes...' he thought, fixing his gaze on the holographic screen as he selected it.
[Yes (Selected) / No.]
Instantly, the window reacted.
Ding!
A new line of text materialized in the air.
[Great! Then, welcome to the "Part-Time Workers Group"!]
Shinichi frowned. "Group of what...?" he muttered in disbelief.
His thoughts began racing in circles. 'When did I accept a job?' he thought, irritated. The casual, almost cheerful tone of the message stood in stark contrast to the gravity with which he approached any unfamiliar situation.
He was given no time to deepen his analysis. Before he could formulate a response or even avert his gaze, the world around him crumbled as though it were a dream. The walls, the floor—the entire world—vanished in the blink of an eye.
/////
The introduction of the characters will end in Chapter 8. Chapters 9 and 10 will be the end of this arc, starting with the story itself.