Chapter 96
A sudden assault by Class A.
When I mentioned the loser from the previous era, they all charged at me like some donut man from wherever.
I had even taken back what I'd said because I was sure this would happen, but these guys had no forgiveness or tolerance in them.
-Take it back···! Those words you just said···!!
-You basstaaaard!
Eyes burned fiercely.
Seeing them do this even during a field trip, I had to admire their loyalty.
‘Still.’
Maybe they did realize they weren't supposed to cause trouble.
They didn't draw their swords or cast any magic.
Because starting a violent incident would ruin their fun field trip.
Besides, even if they used force, it was questionable whether they could take me down···.
‘They didn't draw their swords, use magic, or throw punches···.’
Then what did they fight with?
Why, with a method that was practically the root of all duels.
The GOAT of fair games, one that would go down in human history.
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
It was rock-paper-scissors.
The guys thrust their hands forward as a group and shouted the chant.
It was a cowardly gang-up, but I didn't back down and accepted their challenge.
“Bring it on!”
Stretch-
They lined up in a row and waited their turns.
There were about nine opponents.
Even if I took down the first one, eight would remain behind him.
The probability of me winning nine times in a row was only 0.0051%.
‘But.’
I had a way to transcend the limits of probability.
My hand was slipped into my pants pocket where it couldn't be seen.
Inside, it gripped an old pocket watch.
Along with the ticking hands, I pressed down firmly on the button in the center.
Click-.
‘Was that... scissors···!’
My vision slowed as if in slow motion.
I could see every single movement of my opponent's fingers as they unfolded.
What's more, the Class A students weren't wrapped in mana, aura, or sorcery.
I easily saw through their moves and played the winning hand to match.
“No way! My scissors lost···?”
“Noob cut.”
“Move! I'll avenge him!”
“Noob cut.”
“It's my turn···!”
“Noob cut.”
Endless rock-paper-scissors.
This was a battle I could never lose.
They kept charging at me, unable to accept the result, but all they did was repeat their defeats.
Only after I achieved a bizarre score of 100 wins out of 100 did the situation finally end.
The Class A warriors lay sprawled in heaps in Yamcha-like poses.
“Graaagh···!”
“Damn it, top student of Class E! Are you saying you're even the strongest at rock-paper-scissors···!”
“You bastard who has everything! You bastard who's lucky too! Don't live your life like that, you son of a bitch!”
“Top student of Class E, I am a creature that should never have existed.”
The losers' lavish praise rang in my ears.
I smiled refreshingly.
Hmm.
As expected, every contest comes down to rock-paper-scissors.
“Hehe.”
I approached the sprawled-out guys.
Broken scissors, shattered rocks, torn papers.
The defeated soldiers were dejected, each clutching their ruined weapons.
When the conqueror stood before them, the trampled and broken raised their heads to look up at him.
“What now, what else···? You've already won, so what more could you possibly want?”
One of them muttered in the meantime.
He was the one who had charged first and lost to rock.
I sneered.
“You lost.”
“What?”
“You'll have to pay the price.”
“P-Pay the price? What are you planning to do···!”
His eyes widened in shock.
Then he spoke sharply.
“You're planning to get rough with me! Like in an erotic doujinshi···!”
“······.”
Fuck, you're a man.
I restrained the fist that nearly rose on its own.
Were there really nothing but psychos in Class A?
“Shut up and hand over your wallets.”
I naturally collected their wallets.
Perhaps because they were young masters, they were stuffed nice and full.
I emptied out every last thing inside.
“Hehe, it's all mine.”
“Stop! That coin was left to me by my mother···!”
“Oh my, was it an heirloom? I'm sorry. I had no idea···.”
“She's alive, you know? My mother.”
“······What?”
“I just meant she gave it to me.”
“······.”
What the fuck.
The distinctive humblebrag of the non-orphaned leaked out as naturally as breathing.
Who would've thought they'd humblebrag about having parents in front of an orphan?
‘I got bullied for being an orphan.’
Boiling anger.
I thoroughly ransacked their wallets before returning them.
The non-orphans hurriedly searched their wallets, only to find everything inside had been taken.
“Come on, everyone! There are lots of street-food stalls nearby, too! Shall we buy something to eat and head back?”
I spoke as I turned to my companions.
Lua in particular had sparkling eyes.
“Miss Lua. If there's anything you want to eat, why don't you tell me everything?”
“Really? Dad, you're the best···!”
“Everyone, choose something expensive. Preferably something with the worst value for money.”
Lua bounced up and down in delight.
The eyes of the Class A non-orphans wavered.
“No! That's our living expenses for this month.”
“Do you have no human heart!”
“Why are you doing this to us···!”
I stopped short.
“······Why, you ask?”
They started the trouble, and now they were playing the victims.
I answered their questions with a deep breath.
The reason I trampled them and demanded payment.
A benevolent smile hung at the corners of my mouth.
“Because that's what Hero Himmel would have done.”
That day.
The Class A cadets were stripped of half their living expenses.
***
After filling our stomachs sufficiently, we returned to the lodging.
The noisy first day of the field trip came to an end.
The students collapsed into their respective rooms and slept, waiting for morning.
“······.”
The night descended quietly.
While everyone had gone off to dreamland, I leisurely slipped out of the lodging.
Even while the children slept, I still had something to take care of.
The cool sea breeze tousled my hair.
“Hmm.”
Whooosh-.
The night sea killed the heat of summer, giving off only that refreshing salty scent.
I walked along the shoreline, savoring the moment.
The sound of waves surged in my ears while starlight poured from the sky.
The transparent sea reflected the colors of night upon its surface.
“What a beautiful view.”
A single word tossed out casually.
Walking beside me was a silver-haired girl.
In the gentle breeze, her long hair fluttered with an ethereal hue.
“Yes··· It isn't bad.”
Her Highness the princess murmured absently.
Like a girl captured in a nighttime seascape, painted over in watercolor.
Carmilla stepped onto the sandy beach as if enjoying a brief stroll.
Meanwhile, Lua clung to my sleeve and bounced.
“Dad! The breeze is so cool···!”
She was as excited as ever.
Her Highness gently stroked the girl's hair.
“Lua, don't bounce around too much. You might fall.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“Hmm··· You don't call me Mother, I see.”
“You're Her Highness! Dad's master!”
“Well, I suppose that's fine too.”
Idle small talk.
This outing was for the purpose of completing a quest.
I spoke to Carmilla, blending into the night scenery.
“Thank you for coming with us.”
“Why are you being so formal all of a sudden?”
“Still, doesn't that mean I've dragged Your Highness into a personal errand?”
“It is fine. If it is important to my retainer, then it is important to me as well.”
“I'm honored.”
“You should be even more honored.”
She gave a faint eye-smile.
Perhaps it was because she was a vampire, but she was a girl who suited the night particularly well.
Swoosh-.
We crossed the coast.
About an hour passed like that.
A large statue blocked our path.
I didn't stop, but slowly approached the statue.
“We've arrived.”
A statue modeled after an old man.
It was said to have been modeled after an ancient sage.
It was quite worn, to the point that its facial features could no longer be made out.
Only its hunched back revealed that it was the figure of an old man.
‘This should be it.’
I walked around the statue and looked down at the staff the old man was leaning on.
Immediately afterward, I reached out and knocked on it.
Carefully, so I wouldn't get it wrong.
‘It was definitely··· this rhythm.’
Knock knock-.
I had to keep a steady beat.
If I got it wrong even once, the statue wouldn't answer for 24 hours.
Keeping track of the constantly changing rhythm, I knocked until the count reached 93.
It wasn't difficult, since I'd visited this place a few times in the game.
“There···.”
After finishing the prescribed knocks, I waited for a moment.
Before long, a faint light flickered across the ground where we stood.
Rumble-.
The grains of sand trembled as if resonating with mana.
A blue magic circle appeared between the sandy slabs.
Soon, a brilliant flash filled my vision, and blue swallowed my companions and me.
Whooosh-!
“Victor···!”
“Dad!”
The two were flustered.
I took both their hands to show them I was all right.
After a brief pause, our bodies flickered.
Crackle-.
‘Teleportation through another dimension.’
An unknown magic engraved since ancient times.
When I opened my eyes again, we were standing in a completely different world.
Carmilla came to her senses and looked around.
“Where is this···?”
“It seems we've arrived safely.”
I moved ahead of the girl and out beyond the darkness.
A new landscape awaited us.
Lamps placed here and there illuminated the surroundings.
“······An archive?”
A ceiling that must have been at least 30 meters high.
And bookshelves stacked so high they seemed to reach that ceiling.
They were filled with books written in all sorts of languages.
“Dad! It's so huge···!”
It was large enough to hold at least two soccer stadiums.
Bookshelves packed the entire perimeter of that vast space.
It was like looking at a city made of books.
Ding-!
[You have entered the nonexistent space ‘Raziel's Library’.]
[The Apostles, ‘Watchers of Ancient Knowledge,’ are watching you.]
[Conquer the field and claim your reward.]
Messages flashed past before my eyes.
Immediately afterward, the beings hiding between the bookshelves poked their heads out.
Strange cries echoed through the entire ancient archive.
<Grrk, grrrrk-.>
<Krrk, grrk, rk.>
They were golems that looked as though they had been made by binding books together.
Their bodies were covered in torn pages, covers, and the like.
As though some command had been implanted in them, they mechanically advanced toward us.
“Victor, those things···.”
“We'll have to clear them out.”
Just from the rough way they swung their arms, it was clear enough that they weren't friendly toward outsiders.
The monsters guarding this field.
I reached out toward Lua.
“Miss Lua? I need your help.”
“Yes! Anything for you, Dad!”
“Activation. Scythe.”
Shaaak-.
The blackness took the shape of a huge scythe.
I stepped toward the golems charging at us.
Ding-!
[Chain Quest]
-Title : The Ossuary of Old Records and Type.
-Content : Clear the field ‘Raziel's Library’. Hunt the boss monster ‘Watcher of the Highest Knowledge’. Among the millions of books, find a book related to ■■■.
-Penalty for Failure : None
-Reward on Success : ■■■
[Time Limit:???]
“Then··· shall we begin?”
Thwack-!
A powerful leap.
The blow I swung sliced through the Watchers' necks.
Shaaah-!
Pieces of paper fluttered and scattered along the torn gaps.
I firmly pressed my disheveled mask back into place and pointed my scythe at the golems behind me.
“We'll go through without stopping.”
The rich scent of old books seeped into the tip of my nose.