Old Records, Ossuary of Letters. (1)
A sudden assault from Class A.
The moment I brought up losers from a bygone era, they all charged me like some random donut guy.
I even took it back in case this happened, but those bastards had no forgiveness or tolerance in them.
"Take it back...! What you just said...!!"
"Kisamaaa!"
Eyes blazing with rage.
Seeing them act like this even during a school trip, their loyalty was honestly impressive.
"Still."
They did not draw their swords, and they did not cast magic.
If they started a violent incident, the fun school trip would be ruined.
And even if they did use force, it was still questionable whether they could take me down anyway...
"No swords, no magic, no punches..."
So what did they fight with?
The root of all duels.
The fairest GOAT game in human history.
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
Yep, it was rock-paper-scissors.
They all thrust out their hands and shouted in unison.
It was a cowardly gang-up, but I answered without backing down.
"Come on, then!"
Sliiide-.
They lined up in a single file and waited their turn.
There were about nine of them.
Even if I beat the first guy, eight would still be behind him.
The odds of me winning nine in a row were only 0.0051%.
"But."
I had a way to push past those impossible odds.
A hand hidden in my pants pocket, out of sight.
Inside it, I was gripping an old pocket watch.
With the ticking hands in motion, I pressed the center button.
Click-.
"That one... scissors...!"
My vision slowed as if in slow motion.
I could see every tiny movement of my opponent's fingers.
On top of that, the Class A guys weren't reinforcing themselves with mana, aura, or sorcery.
I easily read their hands and threw the winning move in response.
"No way! My scissors lost...?"
"Noob cut."
"Move! I'll avenge you!"
"Noob cut."
"I'm next...!"
"Noob cut."
Infinite rock-paper-scissors.
From my side, it was a fight I could never lose.
The Class A guys kept rushing in, unable to accept the results, but all they did was keep losing.
Only after I achieved the absurd score of 100 wins in 100 matches did it finally end.
Class A warriors collapsed in a heap, all in Yamcha-like poses.
"Urgh...!"
"Damn it, Class E top student! You're the strongest even at rock-paper-scissors...?!"
"You greedy bastard! Lucky bastard too! Don't live your life like that, crazy bitch!"
"Class E top student, you are a creature that should not exist."
The defeated students' highest praise rang in my ears.
I smiled, refreshed.
Yeah.
In the end, every match comes down to rock-paper-scissors.
"Heh."
I walked toward the guys sprawled on the ground.
Broken scissors, shattered rocks, torn paper.
Defeated soldiers clutching their ruined weapons in despair.
When the conqueror stood before them, those trampled and broken raised their heads to look up.
"What now... what else do you want? You already won, so what's left?"
One of them muttered.
He was the one who rushed me first and lost with rock.
I sneered.
"You lost."
"What?"
"You need to pay the price."
"T-the price?! What are you trying to do...?!"
His eyes filled with shock.
Then he snapped at me shrilly.
"You're gonna get rough with me! Like in an ero doujin...!"
"..."
Fuck, you're a man.
I barely held back the fist that almost flew.
Was Class A really nothing but lunatics?
"Shut up and hand over your wallet."
I naturally collected their wallets.
As expected of rich kids, they were stuffed full.
I cleaned out every last thing inside.
"Heh, it's all mine."
"Stop! That coin was left to me by my mother...!"
"Oh? Was it a keepsake? I'm sorry. I didn't know..."
"She's alive, though. My mother."
"...What?"
"I just meant my mother gave it to me."
"..."
Fucking hell.
That natural, breathing-level parent flex only non-orphans could pull off.
Never thought they'd flex their parents right in front of an orphan.
"I got hit by orphan disadvantage."
Rage boiled up.
After thoroughly ravaging their wallets, I tossed them back.
The non-orphans frantically checked inside, but everything had already been taken.
"All right, everyone! There are plenty of street food stalls nearby! Want to grab something before we head back?"
I turned and spoke to my group.
Lua's eyes were sparkling in particular.
"Miss Lua. If there's anything you want to eat, name it all."
"Really? Dad is the best...!"
"Everyone, pick expensive stuff. The worst value-for-money items you can find."
Lua bounced up and down in delight.
The Class A non-orphans' eyes shook.
"No! That's this month's living expenses!"
"Do you have no human heart?!"
"Why are you doing this to us...?!"
I stopped in place.
"...Why am I doing this?"
You picked the fight first, and now you're playing the victim.
I took a deep breath and answered their question.
The reason I crushed them and made them pay.
A merciful smile hung at the corner of my lips.
"Because Hero Himmel would have done the same."
That day.
The Class A cadets lost half their spending money.
***
After filling ourselves up, we returned to the lodging.
The noisy first day of the school trip came to an end.
The students collapsed in their rooms and slept, waiting for morning.
"..."
A quiet night settled in.
While everyone else drifted off to dreamland, I calmly slipped out of the lodging.
Even with the kids asleep, I still had things to resolve.
Cool sea wind tousled my hair.
"Hm."
Whoooooosh-.
The night sea killed the summer heat, leaving only a cool, salty scent.
I walked along the shoreline as if savoring the moment.
Waves rolled through my ears, and starlight poured from the sky.
The clear sea reflected the colors of the night across its surface.
"Nice view."
I tossed out the words.
A silver-haired girl was walking beside me.
In the gentle breeze, her long hair fluttered in dreamy colors.
"Yeah... it's not bad."
Princess-nim murmured absentmindedly.
Like a watercolor overlaid on a landscape, the girl was part of the night sea itself.
Carmilla stepped over the sand as if enjoying a brief walk.
Meanwhile, Lua was hopping around while clinging to my sleeve.
"Dad! The wind is super cool...!"
Excited as always.
Princess-nim gently stroked the girl's head.
"Lua, do not hop around too much. You might fall."
"Yes! Princess-nim!"
"Hmm... so you will not call this one Mother."
"Princess-nim is Princess-nim! Dad's liege!"
"Well, that's fine in its own way."
Light small talk.
This outing was for handling a quest.
I spoke to Carmilla, who blended into the night scenery.
"Thank you for coming with me."
"Why be formal now?"
"Even so, I dragged Princess-nim into a personal errand."
"It is fine. If it is important to my retainer, then it is important to me as well."
"I am honored."
"Be even more honored."
A faint smile in her eyes.
Maybe it was because she was a vampire, but night suited her especially well.
Shhhhhhh-.
We crossed along the coast.
After about an hour, a huge statue blocked our path.
Without stopping, I slowly approached it.
"We're here."
A statue modeled after an old man.
It was known to be based on an ancient sage.
It was so worn down that even the facial features were gone.
Only the bent back told us it was an old man's form.
"Around here."
I circled the statue and looked down at the cane the old man was holding.
Then I reached out and knocked on it.
Carefully, making sure not to get it wrong.
"If I remember right... this was the rhythm."
Knock knock-.
I had to keep a fixed beat.
If I got it wrong even once, the statue would not answer for 24 hours.
Keeping up with the changing rhythm, I brought the number of knocks to 93.
I'd come here a few times in the game, so it wasn't hard.
"Done..."
After finishing the set knocks, I waited a moment.
Soon, a faint light shimmered across the ground where we stood.
Hummmm-.
The ground trembled as if resonating with mana.
Between the sand-covered slabs, a blue magic circle appeared.
A bright flash filled my vision, and blue swallowed me and my companions.
Flaaash-!
"Viktor...!"
"Dad!"
The two of them panicked.
I grabbed both their hands to show them it was fine.
After a split second of stillness, our bodies blinked out.
Crackle-.
"Interdimensional teleport."
Unknown magic etched since ancient times.
When we opened our eyes again, we were standing in a completely different world.
Carmilla steadied herself and looked around.
"This place is...?"
"Looks like we arrived correctly."
I moved past her and stepped out into the darkness ahead.
A new landscape awaited us.
Lamps placed all around lit up the area.
"...A library archive?"
The ceiling had to be at least 30 meters high.
And bookshelves were stacked so high they looked like they could touch it.
They were filled with books written in all kinds of languages.
"Dad! It's huge...!"
Big enough to fit at least two soccer stadiums.
That entire space was packed with towering shelves.
It felt like seeing a city made of books.
Ding-!
[You have entered the nonexistent space 'Raziel's Library'.]
[The apostles 'Sentinel of Ancient Knowledge' are watching you.]
[Clear the field and obtain rewards.]
Messages swept across my vision.
Right after that, the things hidden between the shelves raised their heads.
Their grotesque cries echoed through the entire archive.
<Grulk, grrrulk-.>
<Scrk, grulk, rlk.>
They were golems that looked stitched together from books.
Each one was plastered with torn pages and shredded covers.
As if commands had been planted in them, they were mechanically approaching us.
"Viktor, those things..."
"We need to clear them out."
One look at the way they swung their arms wildly was enough to tell they weren't friendly to outsiders.
The monsters guarding this field.
I held out a hand to Lua.
"Miss Lua? I'm counting on you."
"Yep! If it's Dad asking, anything!"
"Activate. Scythe."
Shwaaaak-.
Pitch-black gathered into the shape of a giant scythe.
I stepped toward the charging golems.
Ding-!
[Chain Quest]
-Title: Old Records, Ossuary of Letters.
-Objective: Break through the field 'Raziel's Library.' Hunt the boss monster 'Sentinel of the Highest Knowledge.' Among millions of books, find a book related to ■■■.
-Failure Penalty: None
-Success Reward: ■■■
[Time Limit: ???]
"Then... let's begin."
Tak-!
A powerful leap forward.
The strike I swung sliced through the Sentinels' necks.
Shraaaak-!
Paper scraps fluttered and scattered through the tears.
I pressed my loosened mask back into place and aimed my scythe at the golems behind them.
"We're going through without stopping."
The rich scent of old books settled at the tip of my nose.
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