I want to see Bear soon…
“So, you see. First, I went behind the library, right?
That’s when I used a transfer bug to enter the basement, grabbed the Necronomicon, and then used Illusionary Mirage again to enter the library.”
When I parted ways with everyone and went around the back of the library, I said, “It’s a hundred times faster to go around the back and use my skill,” but that wasn’t necessarily an exaggeration.
Entering from the back with Illusionary Mirage significantly saves time by allowing me to bypass the ‘Chiru Mono’ quest.
The basement is located at the very back of the library.
This means it’s very close to the rear of the library.
Skills cannot be used inside the library, but if I use Illusionary Mirage from the outside, from the back of the library, I can just barely reach the basement.
Hypothetically, if one of my companions had seen me use Illusionary Mirage, they wouldn’t have made such a mistake.
Before I used Illusionary Mirage behind the library, I had “recited a spell” and “adjusted the distance to the library.”
There’s no need to chant the Petit Explosion spell to enter a skill-nullifying library, and to enter the library, adjusting the distance isn’t necessary; simply getting as close as possible to the library wall is sufficient.
I needed to chant the Petit Explosion because I intended to enter the basement where skills are usable, and I needed to measure the distance to avoid mistakenly entering the library.
“So, does that mean Soma already had the Necronomicon before we started ‘Chiru Mono’!?”
“Mm, yeah. That’s right.”
As I affirmed, Maki slumped her shoulders in disappointment.
Mitsuki patted her drooping shoulders to comfort her and added,
“When we met up at the library, he put the book he was reading into his bag.
Books here can’t be put into bags, so I guess that must have been the Necronomicon.
I should have realized then that he had already obtained what he was after.”
Mitsuki continued, her cat ears drooping sadly, looking embarrassed.
“Ringo and I realized this a little later, while you were solving the Riddle.
He was reading the Necronomicon so calmly behind you all working so hard.
I was truly surprised then, thinking ‘What kind of nerve does he have?'”
“…I was surprised, too,” Ringo added, not sounding surprised at all.
Nodding in agreement and twitching her cat ears, Mitsuki concluded,
“As long as we’re traveling with him, we’ll likely encounter such situations again.
I thought it would be better to let you experience it early, so I kept quiet, but I never imagined it would become such a big deal…
I am truly sorry.”
“…I’m sorry,” the two of them said in unison, bowing their heads.
Maki quickly stopped them.
“It’s… it’s okay. It’s not your fault.
More importantly, I want to know why Soma kept quiet about it.”
Maki pressed me. Despite her relaxed tone, her gaze was sharp.
“No, I didn’t really intend to hide it from the start, you know?
In fact, I was going to tell you when we came here.”
I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I found myself speaking defensively due to her intensity. However, it was true that I hadn’t intended to hide it.
If Serie hadn’t shown up and started talking about the admission fee, I would have told you from the beginning.
“Then why did you stay silent until now?!
You could have told us at any time you wanted to!”
However, Maki’s anger didn’t subside. She tried to corner me with relentless words.
“…It’s because I saw you all earnestly tackling that Riddle.”
When I told them that this quest had a false answer, Layla and the others still didn’t give up on the quest.
At that time, Layla and the others seemed to be purely enjoying the puzzle-solving, without caring about the Necronomicon or any unfair tricks.
That is the most correct stance for a Gamer.
It’s what I, and we Players of ‘Nekoneko,’ had lost.
So—
“—I couldn’t do it.
I couldn’t possibly dampen everyone’s spirits by telling you unnecessary things.”
Her words, filled with all her emotions, moved everyone present, and they fell silent.
“…Soma.”
Maki, who recovered the fastest among them, approached me.
“Because you’re like that, Soma, I always, always!”
“Whoa, hey, Maki, stop!”
She grabbed the front of my shirt and shook me violently. Perhaps due to the brute strength of a game character, my body swayed helplessly like a leaf.
“Calm, calm down! We can talk it out…!!”
“You’re the one who isn’t talking things out, Soma!”
As I desperately tried to calm Maki amidst my shaking vision, I felt a faint sense of nostalgia about the situation.
Even back in Japan, Maki would suddenly get angry or throw a tantrum for inexplicable reasons, and I was always the one being dragged around by her.
Before I lived alone, she would suddenly show up on my days off and drag me to parks, amusement parks, movies, or shopping. Even when I was home, she would sit on my back while I was gaming, lie on my lap, drink my drinks without permission, or pretend to give me a massage while nearly dislocating my shoulder joint. She was utterly inconsiderate.
I’ve cleaned up trouble she caused more times than I can count on both hands. Yet, she’d act like a guardian, saying, “Soma, if someone sensible like me isn’t around, you never know what you’ll do.” Now that she’s become a princess in another world, I wish she’d gain a little common sense, but it seems unlikely.
“…So this is a Hero. It means reaching a height that cannot be attained by thinking like an ordinary person.”
When I finally managed to pry Maki off me, Serie, with her glasses glinting, said something from behind.
I think she was praising me, but I felt strangely uncomfortable.
Incidentally, I turned my head to see what the last person, Layla, was doing.
“Soma! That you would think that much for me…!”
She looked up at me with teary eyes. While being suddenly angered like Maki was troublesome, this was equally difficult to handle. I looked to Mitsuki for help, but
“…I thought it would be a good learning experience, but it’s not going as well as I expected.”
Her cat ears were drooping listlessly, and she didn’t look like she could offer any support.
“W-Wait a minute!!”
However, at that moment, a voice called out from an unexpected direction.
“…Ena?”
“Then, Soma, why did you need to clear that ‘Chiru Mono’?”
Ena, who had been racking her brain to keep up with the conversation, timidly asked, looking directly at me.
“Eh? Ah, yeah. That’s…”
I caught Serie’s figure in my peripheral vision. Serie blinked blankly from behind her glasses, as if she didn’t understand why I was looking at her.
“Um, Soma…?”
Ena hesitantly pressed on. …This is troubling.
As I was contemplating how to answer, Ringo muttered,
“…Mole person?”
At first glance, it was an absurd word. But Mitsuki, who was quick to catch on, understood. She understood.
“…I see. Come to think of it, you mentioned two ways to steal books from this library when we first met. ‘Shun Soku Manbiki Dash,’ and the other one. I believe it was… ‘Mogura Shiki Ten’i Jutsu’ (Mole Transfer Technique), wasn’t it?”
My shoulders involuntarily twitched. I hurried to cover it up, but Mitsuki’s eyes had already caught it.
“N-No way, Soma! You wanted us to open the basement so you could steal books from it!?”
“Is that true, Soma!?”
Maki and Ena’s gazes were painful. I looked away, unable to bear it, and my eyes landed on the masked Oni.
“Um, Serie-san? Just now…”
“…Soma-sama? May I have a moment of your time?”
Serie said in a stifled voice from between clenched teeth. I could feel an aura of anger far surpassing when I tried to skip the admission fee.
…Ah, this is bad.
This is not good. Remembering the previous lecture like a reel of film, just as I was bracing myself for doom,
—Waaaaaaan!
Unexpected help came from an unexpected direction.
“…What was that?”
An unusual sound echoed from upstairs, from the library. It was a disturbing sound, like the growl of a beast or the cry of a baby.
Serie, considering it a matter that needed her attention more than me, released me for the moment and said,
“It might be a lost child. …I’ll go check it out.”
She quickly ascended the stairs leading to the ground floor.
“…Don’t think this is over.”
She didn’t forget to warn me on her way out.
But for now, I was grateful that Serie was a diligent professional. I breathed a sigh of relief, but I couldn’t relax too much.
“…Mitsuki.”
“Yes. Understood.”
It wasn’t certain that the library was safe yet. Even though magic couldn’t be used inside the library, combat wasn’t entirely impossible. I was about to ask Mitsuki to guard Serie, but it wasn’t necessary.
“—Layla! Hide the book!”
Serie, who had gone to check the situation upstairs, ran back and shouted. Serie, who never lost her composure even in desperate situations, revealed her distress and issued a full-force warning.
“The Magician’s Guild hasn’t given up on that book yet! A suspicious Magician is right behind you—Ah!”
However, her desperate warning was too late. A pitch-black wind dashed past Serie and into the basement.
“What!?”
No one could react to the unexpected development. Or rather, we didn’t know how to react. By the time I came to my senses, it was already upon me.
“Stop—”
My words of restraint were meaningless. The pitch-black shadow charged at me with reckless abandon, pushing me down along with itself.
“Soma!!”
Someone screamed. But before the sound reached my ears, the Magician who had fallen on top of me launched an incredible attack.
…An attack that ruined the front of my chest with tears and snot that leaked from the gaps in their mask—the worst possible attack.
“H-How cruel, how cruel, Soma! Hiding here with everyone else and keeping me out…!! I looked for you, I really, really, really looked!”
Sobbing on my chest was Sahzan, this suspicious Magician clad in black, wearing a creepy mask.
***
Bonus
Easy ‘Mole Transfer Technique’ Course Even Sahzan Can Do!
1. First, clear ‘Chiru Mono’ and unlock the library’s basement.
For strategies on clearing ‘Chiru Mono,’ please refer to a separate wiki entry. If you have the funds, the fortune lottery method is recommended.
If you are accompanied by companions, for safety, have them act separately or disband the party and do not bring them. There’s a chance you might be considered a criminal if they witness the process.
2. Toss the book into the basement.
Do not hold the book in your hand at this time!! If you take the book outside the library while holding it, you will be judged as a thief and become a criminal, regardless of whether there are witnesses.
Even if thrown, the judgment may remain, so kicking is the only option here. Kick the desired book repeatedly and shoot it into the basement! This completes the preparation.
3. Retrieve the book.
Retrieve the book that fell into the basement. If it’s a consumable book, it’s fine to read it here.
4. Exit using the transfer bug.
Use Illusionary Mirage to leave. Be careful, as returning to the library will reset the process!
5. Operation successful!
You have obtained your desired item. Whether you boil it, burn it, or lick it, it’s now entirely up to you.
Nice one!
