The “that sound” that reached my ears was, of course,
*Clang, clang…*
The chiming of an old clock, out of place in an underwater dungeon.
“Where is this coming from…?”
Mitsuki, now revived, twitched her ears at the sound of the clock, the source of which was invisible.
I was about to say something to Mitsuki, but before I could, my vision went dark.
I felt like I was being cast out of the world, like I was disappearing.
And then…
“Wh-what is this!”
When I opened my eyes at Sahzan’s shaken voice, I saw a space filled with clocks before me.
In a spacious room, unnaturally composed of pure white, dozens, perhaps hundreds, of clocks of various sizes floated in the air.
Just that told me this was no ordinary space.
“Th-the underwater city!? Why are we in a room full of clocks…?”
As if in response to Sahzan, who was on the verge of panic,
“—Your souls are trapped in the eternal loop of dreams and illusions.”
A “voice” echoed from nowhere.
“Wh-who are you!”
Sahzan cried out in further panic, but the “voice” seemed unfazed.
Of course.
That “voice” was the being that ruled this world. It wouldn’t be shaken by Sahzan’s cries.
“I am the master of this world. I who govern time, yet live in reverse time.”
“Reverse… time?”
Sahzan muttered blankly and then looked at me as if remembering something. Her gaze through the mask held a light of desperation.
Sensing that this was going to be troublesome, I took a step forward.
“Adventurer, find me!! The only way for you to escape this eternal loop of time is…”
“W-well, let’s just go home.”
For now, I swung Fire of Sh at the old clock in front of me, silencing the “voice.” The clock, shifted diagonally, split perfectly in two.
“Wh-what, ah, hey…! W-whaaaat!!”
And with Sahzan’s utterly flustered cry, and the “voice’s” final words, “Well done, Adventurer…”, my vision darkened again. Accompanied by a sensation that was becoming familiar, the third time today,
“Ah. I’m finally back…”
The next moment, we were standing in the living room of our familiar Cat Ear Mansion.
Looking around, the same members who had departed were all present. For some reason, Sahzan was frozen with her mouth slightly agape, but knowing Sahzan, she’d be fine.
After confirming my companions were unharmed, I looked back. Lying on the ground, split in two, was the “Cursed Old Clock,” an event item I had taken out of my bag just before departing for the underwater city. The clock face showed two minutes past two and had stopped.
(It was a tougher fight than I expected, but in terms of results, it’s still within plan.)
However, if we were to defeat the Demon Lord within ten days, we would have to spend even more grueling days starting tomorrow. To that end,
“Alright, let’s call it a night. Good work everyone today. Rest well and prepare for tomorrow.”
It was important to rest both our bodies and minds. I also wanted to think carefully on my own about what to do next, so I decided to end today’s activities. But that brought up a slight issue regarding accommodation.
“Well, Maki, you’ll head back to the castle. Sahzan, what about you? There are plenty of rooms, so you’re welcome to stay here…”
As I was thinking this, and out of courtesy I asked Sahzan,
“—Wait, just a minute!”
Sahzan let out a loud voice that seemed to echo throughout the room. Still unable to contain her excitement, she bombarded me with rapid-fire words, gesticulating wildly.
“Y-you! After experiencing such a bizarre situation, how can you talk about sleeping arrangements as if everything is over! Before that, explain it to me, explain! First, what was that room full of clocks?! Why did we come back here when you cut that clock!?”
“Huh? Ah, right. I haven’t explained the puzzle yet.”
Sahzan, being a magician who prioritized the pursuit of knowledge, was clearly bothered by such things.
“What I cut was the ‘Cursed Old Clock’ that lures people who hear its chime into a nightmare world. ‘Find me,’ it said, which is a common clock-guessing quiz. To be more specific, ‘govern time’ means clocks, and ‘live in reverse time’ means the clock hands are moving backward. The biggest hint was in a memo found in a hidden door of a grandfather clock: ‘Demons walk with the same stride.’ This means the clock that returns to the same time every time you enter the next room is the correct one. However, in that room, no matter which clock you look at, the hands’ movement was irregular. But among them, only the ‘clock always pointing to twelve’ that I cut might have been returning time regularly. After all, if it rewound twelve hours each time, wouldn’t it look like the hands weren’t moving at all?”
“I see, so that was the correct one… wait, no! That’s not the kind of puzzle explanation I want!”
Despite my thorough explanation, Sahzan suddenly clutched her head and screamed. I’ve thought this since our Game days, she’s quite emotionally unstable.
“You’re probably just tired. If you sleep soundly for one night, you’ll feel better, so just rest today…”
I said, reaching out, but she brushed my hand away dismissively.
“I-it’s your fault I’m tired! …Ah, whatever! I don’t care about the clock room anymore, just tell me about the underwater city!”
“Huh…? Underwater city?”
As I tilted my head, she pushed closer, her excitement escalating.
“That’s right! What about the underwater city! We haven’t defeated that guy Poseidon yet, and we haven’t even gone to the treasure vault! Are we just going to give up like this?!”
Her intensity finally made me understand Sahzan’s intention.
“Ah, maybe you want to go to the underwater city? Look, I understand it’s unsatisfying to end things midway, but this is a crucial time for defeating the Demon Lord. Let’s not dive into a dungeon we have no particular business with again, okay?”
I tried to reason with her in the most gentlemanly manner, but Sahzan reacted as if she’d been profoundly shocked.
“Wh-what, eh…?! Why am I sounding like I’m making a selfish demand?! Th-that’s not it, aren’t things strange?!”
“No, I can’t say anything other than… you’re the strange one.”
“D-during our travel, you said it yourself! You said that in the treasure vault past the boss ‘Poseidon,’ there’s an ‘Aquatic Aptitude’ item called the ‘Water Dragon’s Necklace’!! Aren’t we going to get it?”
Certainly, we had discussed how to proceed with the underwater city quest as we walked…
“No, I already told you we’re not going to the treasure vault. Even if it grants Aquatic Aptitude, the ‘Water Dragon’s Necklace’ is a unique item, so it’s only for one person, and its performance isn’t that great, so there’s not much point in getting it.”
“N-not much point, then, the Aquatic Aptitude item…”
Sighing at Sahzan’s strange remark, I pointed at her finger.
“What, you didn’t notice? You already have an Aquatic Aptitude item on your finger.”
“………Huh?”
On Sahzan’s finger, which let out such an absentminded sound, the “Water Dragon Ring,” an underwater city exclusive equipment, gleamed.
To reveal the truth, it’s not that big of a deal.
The “Water Dragon Ring” was an item created as area-exclusive equipment, but it wasn’t systemically unusable outside the underwater city. It would simply be lost upon escaping the outer wall. Conversely, if one could leave the underwater city by means other than the official routes, the ring would naturally remain. However, within the underwater city, transfer or escape items and magic were invalid. Even for the “Nekoneko,” whose systems were all flimsy, there was no ordinary way to leave.
—That’s where I used a semi-exploit, a trick between a bug and a feature: the “Big Tall Old Clock Teleport.”
Do you recall how, shortly after I acquired the mansion, I completed numerous quests?
“Michael’s Blue Bird,” “Shocking! Noble’s Serial Murder Case,” “The Alchemist’s Vow,” “The Clock Mansion’s Anomaly,” “Lost Child’s Signpost.”
I had cleared and completed most of these quests. However, among them, there was one that, despite resolving the trouble, had not yet been deemed complete.
The “Clock Mansion’s Anomaly” quest. I only retrieved the “Cursed Old Clock,” the source of the problem, and didn’t delve any deeper. This was because the “Cursed Old Clock” event within the “Clock Mansion’s Anomaly” quest had a very convenient property.
The “Cursed Old Clock” event is triggered when the Player or their companions hear the clock’s chime. The outline of the event is that on the evening of the day the chime is heard, at precisely 2 AM, they are forcibly dragged into the clock’s dream. This is unavoidable; if one hears the chime of the Cursed Old Clock, they will inevitably be caught up in the Old Clock event at the next 2 AM. However, in return, if they overcome the clock’s nightmare, the players are freed and can return to the clock. This, in turn, implies the fact that “if one has heard the chime of the Old Clock beforehand, they will inevitably return to the Old Clock at 2 AM.” Although it can only be used once, as there is no other way to return other than clearing it, this property can be used to move from a place one would otherwise be unable to return from.
Now, let’s return to the topic. The only prospect of obtaining enough Aquatic Aptitude items for everyone in a short time was the “Water Dragon’s Blessing” from the underwater city. Furthermore, we would likely have to pass through the blood pond in the Demon Lord’s Castle. For that, not just any Aquatic Aptitude equipment, but the “Water Dragon Ring’s” effect of “ensuring visibility even in murky water” was necessary.
Therefore, just before departing, I took the Cursed Old Clock out of my bag, made everyone listen to its chime, and then entered the underwater city. Originally, I had planned to retrieve the treasure from the vault before 2 AM, but since there were no particularly necessary items, there was no need to regret it. As a result, we successfully obtained the rings for everyone and safely returned to the mansion using the Old Clock teleport…
(Damn. How am I going to explain this to Sahzan?)
I hit an unexpected snag. Lately, Mitsuki and the others have been accepting Bug Skills pretty naturally, so my senses have become dulled, but from an outsider’s perspective, what I did might seem a bit unnatural. In fact, Sahzan was confused, “Huh? What? Why am I still wearing this ring? This is equipment that can only be used in the underwater city… Huh?” But explaining Bug Skills, especially the fact that the Water Dragon Ring could be used outside the underwater city, was difficult. It was the result of exploiting a loophole in the game’s data processing, and from a purely setting-based perspective, it didn’t make sense. In hindsight, I should have just vaguely brushed it off without telling the whole truth, but the time limit for the Old Clock teleport and the urgency to defeat the Demon Lord might have narrowed my vision. So, I decided to just make something up now.
“Uh, Sahzan. It seems my understanding that the ring could only be used in the underwater city was a mistake. So, this is fine. You have nothing to worry about.”
Fortunately, Sahzan was exhausted from all the commotion. So, as if to slip into that mental gap, I gently tried to persuade her.
“Eh, ah, I see, is that right? Yes, if that’s the case, then it’s fine. Haha, I lost my composure… You think I’d fall for that?!”
“Woah!?”
However, even for Sahzan, it seemed this wasn’t enough to fool him. His comeback showed signs of character breakdown, but his eyes behind the mask gleamed fiercely.
“More importantly, don’t you guys find anything strange?! Everything is clearly not right!!”
Sahzan turned to my companions, seeking agreement. But…
“…I will simply follow Soma.”
Ringo doesn’t care about the details.
“Lately, I’ve come to believe that thinking is losing.” Mitsuki is starting to give up on everything.
“Um. Did something strange happen?” Maki is in a state of mind where anything can happen in a Game.
—*Nitaaa*. Kuma is, in the first place, the biggest mysterious creature.
No one gave Sahzan the answer he was looking for.
“Wh-what is this. Am I… am I the one who’s strange? No, th-that can’t be. I am Sahzan. A descendent of the great magician, Sahzan!”
Sahzan staggered backward, but managed to hold his ground. Then, with tears clearly visible through his mask, he shouted.
“Y-you guys are definitely out of your minds!! I-I will absolutely not be fooled!”
With that, I watched the back of his black robe as he sped away, and thought,
(No, I don’t want to be told I’m strange, especially by you.)
Afterward. Sahzan eventually returned, saying, “I can’t stand being with such crazy people! I’m going back to my room alone!” and ended up staying at the mansion. Still, it’s better than him going out and spreading rumors. However, the problem wasn’t solved yet. The thought of having to persuade him later gave me a headache.
The next morning, feeling gloomy as I got out of bed, I heard,
“Whoa!”
By the side of the bed, huddled in a ball, was Sahzan in his familiar robe, trembling. He had slept in a different room. He was muttering something in a small voice as he shivered, so I listened closely.
“Help me, forgive me, I’m sorry, please stop, I’ll apologize, please don’t chase me…”
He seemed incredibly scared. Frankly, this was more horrifying. As I sighed at the morning’s troubles, the room door opened slightly. Seeing the figure that seemed to be the cause of Sahzan’s fear, I called out both in exasperation and amusement.
“Kuma, you’re overworking.”
To my words, the culprit, the small stuffed toy, scratched its head sheepishly. Strangely enough, from then on, Sahzan became as good as a different person, abnormally obedient and rarely complaining. However, if anything yellow caught his eye, he’d let out a frightened yelp, but that was a minor issue.
—And so, the Sahzan problem was resolved thanks to the efforts of the my mansion’s yellow demon.
