"Don't tell me what to do, you bastard."
The Doppelganger Slime with Ackster's face glared at him. But Ackster just ignored it.
"Yeah, yeah. Just shut up for now, and listen closely."
Despite its rebellious words, the Doppelganger Slime obediently shut up and waited for Ackster to continue.
"Ah, that's nice. Now then. You're going to have to create a distraction so that I can sneak out. I'll give you a few rules. Don't fight with anyone. Don't attack anyone or fall for any provocations. Don't talk too much with any one person. Act just a little suspicious, as if you're thinking about how hard it would be to flee without actually considering it. Got it?"
The slime nodded.
"Good. Keep that in mind while you go to the knights' training ground, where the fight with The Hero will be held tomorrow. Make noise and make sure to drag as many of the knights there without making it suspicious. Say that you're just inspecting the place to make sure there's no foul play going on or that no one is making preparations to help The Hero. Don't be too slow about it, but make it believable. Got it?"
The slime nodded.
"Good. Go– Ah, wait. You're free to talk now, you bastard."
"Who says I need your permission to talk, Pignose."
'Insults like that lose their flavor when you have the same appearance, huh, especially when you're handsome.'
Ackster saw his Doppelganger out the door while confirming that he did not have a pig's nose by looking at his duplicate. If anything, it was a nice, even, straight nose, very much unlike the things most pigs had.
Ackster closed the door and realized that he shouldn't waste precious time thinking about such useless things. He had to concentrate.
He could already hear his doppelganger cuss the servants who got caught in his path, and it wouldn't be long until he made it to the training grounds.
Considering the flight risk and the inherent strength Ackster had, more than a couple of guards would show up to make sure Ackster was 'protected.' But Ackster's goal in having the Doppelganger Slime go to the training grounds and create a distraction wasn't only to get the guards away. By now, with his experience from the previous times, Ackster was pretty sure he could sneak out undetected without the Doppelganger Slime's help.
However, it was the last night before the fight with The Hero. It was also the only night left during which Ackster could try and flee.
The Hero, who had already been made to wait an entire week from continuing his mission of investigating the signs of Doppelgangers, real Doppelgangers, not the slimes, wouldn't tolerate Ackster fleeing at the very last moment.
The Hero wasn't so lazy or bored that he could watch Ackster's window and make sure he didn't flee every night. He was The Hero. He couldn't afford not to be productive, whether that be training or studying.
However, he was still autonomous and independent enough to be able to watch Ackster one night. And since Ackster hadn't fled yet, it would be this night.
The Doppelganger Slime's distraction wasn't to move the guards and shift the tightness of the net they had laid to stop Ackster from escaping. It was to move The Hero's attention away from the window.
Ackster also hoped that The Hero would see Ackster being his usual dickheaded self and decide that it would be better to either rest or practice and train instead of watching an overblown idiot posture like a drunk goose.
So, even if he wanted to pop his head up and peek out the window, Ackster held back and used his ears to pinpoint how it was going for his doppelganger. If The Hero sensed or saw Ackster through his window when the Doppelganger Slime was walking around outside, he would instantly realize that something was amiss, and all of Ackster's hard work and planning would have been for naught.
Even if he could hear most of the guards move around the side of the house to create a secure perimeter around the Ackster, claiming he would inspect the training grounds to make sure The Hero wasn't cheating, the real Ackster couldn't take a look.
Despite the critical situation and the fact that his fate hung by a thread at this very moment. Anything could make or break the reaper's scythe resting on his neck. And Ackster had to be patient. He had to find the perfect timing.
It was just that finding and holding onto his patience in such a tense situation took all of Ackster's concentration. He would much rather relive his fight with the poison goblin, no experience, with the fever, pain, and all that.
He didn't even know why he had such a hard time concentrating on being patient when he had done so well thus far, what with his life being about the end due to being thrust into such a ridiculous situation just because he was involved in a traffic accident. He didn't even know if he really had transmigrated. It could just be a silly dream, but it all felt too realistic, despite the elements of fantasy. The pain when he broke his arm and when he stabbed his own leg had been especially realistic.
Well, after being in a traffic accident enough to put him in a coma, maybe his body and mind were good at pain. It could all just be a way for him to handle the pain of being run over. But what would happen if he died then? Was it a sign he hadn't been able to handle the pain? Or would the dream restart?
But what if it wasn't a dream? If he had really transmigrated, as ludicrous as it sounded, he would die if he died. And he definitely didn't want to bet on having another go or coming back to life after he died.
In all stories he had read where the main character was in such a situation or possessed that kind of ability, they always discovered it quickly. If Ackster had that kind of ability, he felt like he would have ended up in a situation where he would have used it the first night. Either because The Hero would have killed him or because he would have died to the goblin.
But neither of those two things had happened. Sure, life wasn't necessarily like stories, but if he had transmigrated into a story, why couldn't other aspects of his life follow the reasoning and patterns often found in stories?
There was also the fact that there was no reason for him to receive another attempt or transmigrate to another place and person.
It was all just so unreliable. Without knowing anything about how or why he had transmigrated or whether he would get another attempt or not, Ackster wouldn't take any unnecessary chances. He had gotten one more chance at life, even if it wasn't his own. And he would do his best to see it through to the end.
But at the moment, he was going to focus on what was ahead of him. After all, if he failed tonight, seeing his life through to the end would only be a matter of hours.