While I’m confident in my memory regarding anything related to “Nekoneko,” I hadn’t memorized all the answers to fifty quiz questions.
I cleared this quest using the “Easy Strategy 2” on my third or fourth playthrough, I believe. It was around the time I became less resistant to looking things up on the wiki. I clearly remember laughing after comparing the questions and answers for the false statements, so those are firmly etched in my mind. However, my recollection of the other questions is honestly a bit hazy.
Still, for a regular quiz, if Layla, Serie, and Maki are here, it should be easy to solve. I think I can safely leave the questions other than the false statement ones to the three of them. I conveyed this to them and asked them to solve the problems, and they all readily agreed.
“Yep, I’m fine with that,” Maki said casually.
“We’ve come this far, so it would be more troublesome if you told us to stop now,” Serie said, adjusting her glasses with words of strong support. Finally, Layla added, “Yeah, leave it to me. I have this book Soma gave me, so I’m okay.”
As she spoke, she affectionately stroked the open page of the diary. I had only entrusted it to Layla as their representative so they could use it together; I never intended to give it to her permanently, but it seems she had mentally reclassified it that way. Thinking back, it seemed like the three of them were reading the diary together amicably, but Layla was always the one holding it.
“…Well, it’s fine, I guess.” If she cherishes it this much, she probably won’t lose it, and unlike Sahzan, Layla would likely return it immediately if I asked.
In any case, clearing this quest is now just a matter of time. I thought about helping out to hasten that moment, but Maki said, “Soma, your watching everyone makes them distracted, so you should wait over there.” Reluctantly, I handed them the paper with the answers to the false statement questions and returned to the reading room with the rest of the group.
The reading room was, as always, a mess. Bathed in a languid, lethargic atmosphere, we all felt a sense of listlessness.
“Fwaaah. For some reason, I’m starting to feel dazed and sleepy too,” Ena yawned widely, resting her cheek on the table. Honestly, she’s so easily influenced. Looking at the others, Mitsuki was sitting upright with perfect posture, as usual. Ringo, who I was worried about due to her condition, seemed quite well now, munching on something… “Ringo, what exactly are you eating?”
“…Manju. Grandma gave it to me.”
No, that’s not what I was asking. Grandma, I wonder. Was it the old woman we helped on the way to the shrine earlier? Ringo had already escorted her home by the time we returned to the library. Fortunately, the old woman’s condition wasn’t severe and reportedly healed with a random splash of a potion. Apparently, she was so grateful that she gave Ringo some manju from her home as a souvenir.
Is it a rule that grandmothers everywhere give traditional Japanese sweets? Or rather, wasn’t eating and drinking prohibited in here?
“…Soma, want some?”
“Ah, ah.”
As I was about to accept a manju out of habit and the flow of things, I noticed something. “Huh? Ringo, were you wearing a ring on your right hand?” I don’t usually pay attention to other people’s rings, but Ringo sometimes looks at the rings she’s wearing, so I vaguely remember. I thought Ringo always wore both her rings on her left hand.
“…I’m not.”
However, Ringo pulled her right hand away as if I had asked something I shouldn’t have. I didn’t understand, but her behavior was suspicious. As I was tilting my head in confusion, Mitsuki, unusually amused, chimed in. “Why don’t you give Ringo-san some rings as gifts next time? If you gave her about seven, no, eight suitable ones, I’m sure she’d be delighted.”
“…M-Mitsuki!” Ringo exclaimed again. It seemed there was some kind of understanding between them that I was unaware of. I wondered if there was something only the women understood, so I looked at Ena next to me.
“Fwe?” Ena looked up at me sleepily.
…Yeah. If there was something like that, it certainly wasn’t getting through to Ena. Seeing Ringo’s obvious anxiety, I hesitated to press the matter further. I averted my gaze from the two of them and observed my surroundings. The inertia of the library patrons remained unchanged. Only two people seemed to be actively engaged in anything. I turned my attention to one of them, the woman dressed in a priestess’s attire. She was in the process of toppling a line of dominoes made from thick books.
“–Hah!” She gave a victory pose after watching the books fall, but upon noticing my gaze, she suddenly put on a thoughtful expression and nodded as if she had a realization. Seriously, what could she possibly learn from the way books fall? With a sigh, I looked at the other survivor, the man dressed as a magician. Perhaps as a final push, he was downing a potion as a nutritional supplement. When our eyes met, he returned a rough, smirking grin. ……Really, where did the no-eating-or-drinking rule go? While the universality of Potions in this world and the decline of morals within the library were things to consider, I had another concern. That was Serie, who was presumably still working hard on the quest.
In “Nekoneko,” characters who run out of MP don’t die like those who run out of HP, but they do become incapacitated. Although it’s rare, if by chance a spell perfectly expends all MP, or if MP damage reduces MP to zero, they become stunned and uncontrollable until their MP recovers to 1 or more through natural regeneration or healing items. For instance, utilizing this mechanic could allow you to trap and defeat a certain monster in the Floating City… but that’s irrelevant to the current situation, so let’s set it aside. The risk of insufficient MP is a very real one.
I don’t know the mechanics of this world, but it’s a world where sore muscles can be healed by HP Potions. Therefore, it wouldn’t be strange if sleep deprivation were treated as an MP damage-type status ailment.
“I hope Serie-san hasn’t collapsed again,” I muttered unintentionally.
“Thank you for your concern, but there is no need to worry.” “Waaah?!” I jumped as a voice came from behind me.
Furthermore, “M-Moo! Serie-san, it’s unfair to take the lead!” “You just told me not to run in the library…” Maki and a breathless Layla arrived from behind. In response to their complaints, Serie declared, “I pride myself on being the most knowledgeable person in the world when it comes to the fastest way to move through this library,” her glasses glinting, though whether it looked cool was debatable. However, the arrival of these three meant…
“Could it be…” As I started to say, the three of them spoke in unison. “Yep! We solved all fifty riddles for ‘Chiru Mono’!” “We’ve stopped right after entering the answer for the last question, so all that’s left is to press the confirm button to clear it!” “We wanted Soma and everyone else to witness that moment, so we came to call you.” Fueled by the triumph of their accomplishment, their voices were lighter than usual. Layla, in particular, seemed overjoyed.
“S-Soma! I-I worked hard, right?” Layla asked, looking a bit insecure. I nodded greatly.
“Yeah. Layla, Maki, and Serie-san, you all did a great job.” As I said this, Layla, still hugging the diary, writhed her body. “It-It’s not that much. After all, it’s thanks to the hints in this diary you gave me…”
“We didn’t use that book even once this time, you know,” Maki said coolly, but Layla wasn’t listening. I looked to Serie, thinking she might stop Layla, but “No, I don’t deserve such praise. It’s something I’m doing to atone for my sins, and compared to Prince Suimetsu’s achievements, it’s a mere speck, so… it’s not that I’m not happy, but…” Serie muttered something at a pace of about three times per second, constantly adjusting her glasses. It was a little frightening.
“A-Anyway, you two, let’s calm down. It’s probably disturbing the other people around…” As I said this, Maki, looking around, made a strange face. “Disturbing others? It looks like no one is seriously studying!” “I-I mean, yes, but, well, that magician guy over there…” Saying that, I tried to point to the last bastion of conscience in this library, the man who looked like a magician, but “Huh? He’s not here…?” The table where the male magician had been was now empty. Naturally, the man was nowhere to be seen.
“There’s no one here!” “No, just a moment ago…” Just as I was about to say that. “E-Earthquake!?” The ground shook with a rumbling sound. “No, it’s not different! This is—” I recognized this vibration and sound. It was an exaggeration, so I remembered it well. “—This is the vibration when the entrance to the underground opens!” My shout made everyone’s eyes widen in astonishment. Amidst this, Ringo, unfazed, tugged at the hem of my clothes. “Just now, that person, went…to the back…” Ringo’s gaze briefly swept over the spot where the magician had been and then immediately directed towards the entrance to the underground room. That was enough.
“Blast it!!” “So that’s what it is!” Mitsuki and I shouted simultaneously, looking at each other, and then ran at the exact same moment. (I let my guard down!) After all, the information that a grimoire was here was obtainable from the Magician’s Guild. It wasn’t strange for them to have figured that out. I shouldn’t have let my guard down just because I confirmed the Necronomicon was safe. That magician was probably from the Magician’s Guild. Perhaps he thought he couldn’t get the Necronomicon through normal means, or maybe he was simply looking for the Necronomicon in the library. Whatever the reason, his target was the Necronomicon. And he must have overheard our conversation and acted on it. (Damn it! If I had been suspicious from the start, I could have caught him!) Regret welled up, but there was no use complaining now. It might still be possible. Mitsuki and I sprinted at full speed through the narrow library. The ground vibration had already stopped. By the time we reached the Beckoning Sphinx, the entrance to the underground room was already wide open.
“Just as I thought!” The magician was nowhere to be seen. He seemed to have already entered the underground room. But there was no need to rush. The underground room was a dead end. There was no escape. “Let’s charge in!” Together with our friends who had caught up, we stormed into the underground room.
As we burst into the underground room, what came into view was the pedestal where the Necronomicon had been placed. Naturally, there was nothing on the pedestal anymore. And standing next to it was that magician.
“Don’t move!” I shouted, and Mitsuki moved to act, but he was faster. “Tsk!” With a click of his tongue, he pulled a small, glowing stone from his waist pouch. “A Transfer Stone!? Mitsuki!” Before my voice could reach her, Mitsuki had already moved. It was textbook offense, moving like a crawling shadow in the darkness, with a speed that was hard to track. But a moment later, as Mitsuki approached the pedestal, “…Did I get away?” the man’s figure was already gone from the spot.
A heavy atmosphere filled the dimly lit underground room, illuminated only by the torches on the walls. “I thought transfer-type items weren’t usable inside the library…” Serie said regretfully, but I denied it. “No. Unfortunately, this isn’t considered part of the library anymore. Transfer items should be usable normally.” “Th-That…” Serie bit her lip, showing an uncharacteristic expression of regret. However, I didn’t have the composure to offer words of comfort. I had missed a golden opportunity to capture the enemy due to my own mistake. The realization gnawed at me. But I wasn’t the only one feeling responsible.
“…It’s my fault.” Layla murmured softly. With unsteady steps, Layla approached the pedestal, which now held nothing, and slumped down in despair. “It’s because I… because I wanted to be praised… If I hadn’t said I wanted to go call Soma, this wouldn’t have happened…” Tears dripped one by one onto the cold floor of the underground room. And Layla wasn’t alone.
“That’s not true, that’s not true! Me too! I was the one who said we should call Soma, so I… so I also…” As Maki stepped forward, saying this, “Then, I am also guilty, no, worse. I started this as atonement, but I was so caught up in solving the puzzles that I didn’t even think to post a guard. In terms of the weight of sin, I am the worst…” Even Serie hung her head, confessing her own transgressions. Their sobs echoed in the narrow underground room. I never imagined they would all get so worked up. I hurried to offer words of comfort.
“W-Wait! Everyone, don’t feel so—” However, “—I am truly sorry!!” With a strength that overwhelmed my words, Mitsuki declared. “M-Mitsuki…?” Mitsuki, who should not have made any mistakes in this matter, bowed deeply, deeply. Naturally, the cat ears attached to her head also drooped low. Just by that, I understood she was genuinely apologizing.
“…I’m sorry.” “Ringo!?” Then, standing next to Mitsuki, Ringo also bowed deeply. I couldn’t comprehend what was happening. Still bowing deeply, Mitsuki spoke. “This time, Ringo and I are also equally guilty. I swear, we never imagined it would escalate to such a major incident. But in any case… it is a fact that we betrayed you all.” To this sudden confession, everyone present, except Mitsuki and Ringo, wore expressions of surprise. Though confused, I asked Mitsuki, “Betrayed? What do you mean? Don’t tell me you two realized he was an agent of the Magician’s Guild…” At this point, Mitsuki finally looked up. With a gaze that seemed to see me as something pathetic rather than sad, she turned back to Layla and the others. “Rather than me saying much, it would be faster for you to see. Layla-san. Could you please turn over what you are holding so preciously and look closely?” With a puzzled expression, Layla did as she was told. She rotated and examined what she held to her chest, which she hadn’t let go of even when she collapsed on the ground. Maki and Serie, standing beside her, also peered at it. Then, “…Eh?” “…Huh?” “…Ah, this pattern, huh.” Layla and Serie let out dazed sounds, while Maki uttered a sound of resigned acceptance.
“W-What does this mean?! What happened to the diary Layla-san is holding?!” Ena, who was left out of the loop both in terms of position and location, shook my arm. “Ah, well, yes. That diary, you see—” Yes. It was a diary. A diary created by one of the game’s developers as a personal amusement, detailing his own life. To elaborate, it was a self-deprecating diary filled to the brim with the sorrow and complaints of a shy, gloomy, single man. —Its title was, ‘Gloomy Unmarried Man.’ The things that are important are right by your side!
