Kono Sekai ga Game da to, Ore dake ga Shitte Iru (WN) – Chapter 178

“You see, this is a magic circle, so if you shift one part, that’s all there is to it,”

“Uh, no, I understand the logic! But…”

Sazahn continued to grumble even after we returned to the library, so I explained things to her.

Magic circles are delicate things, and changing even one or two parts can alter their effects.
Therefore, if they peel off the mithril from the library’s roof, the Magician’s Guild will no longer be able to use the magic circles in this city.
The MP drain should stop, and once that happens, everyone who fainted from MP depletion will eventually wake up.

“But you, you just asked for our help so desperately…”

“Huh? Didn’t I say I just need a little bit of everyone’s power?”

“Th-that’s… grrr!”

Sazahn throws an inexplicable tantrum, but I can’t spend all my time dealing with her.

The immediate crisis has been averted.
However, this time, it won’t end with just that.

“Maki, I’m sorry, but could you go to the King and explain the situation?
If possible, it would be a great help if you could have the castle soldiers apprehend the Guild Master of the Magician’s Guild.”
“Mmm, understood!”

Even if the people who collapsed recover, they’d still be anxious if they didn’t understand what happened.
If the King were to explain, the resulting confusion should be kept to a minimum.

“Serie, I believe the people in the library will be waking up soon, so I’ll leave their care to you.
I’ll give you a few MP Potions just in case.”
“Understood.”

Of course, we’re not the only ones who have lost consciousness.
How to deal with those people…

“What if I take charge of explaining and treating the townsfolk?”

As I lost myself in thought, Myus stepped forward.

“Is that alright?”
“Yes. I don’t think I can help everyone, but I believe I can be of some assistance.”
“No, but…”

Maki will explain to the King, but the more people we have to quell the confusion, the better.
However, honestly, based on her past actions, I can’t imagine she has that kind of ability.
Perhaps sensing my apprehension, she spoke to me as if to reassure me.

“Soma-sama. It’s true that I am just a humble sister on my own.
However, as long as people are alive, they are never alone.
I believe that relying on others and seeking their cooperation is never a cause for shame.
And around me, there is Father Gratier and his capable companions.”
“Myus…”

I couldn’t quite say her name, which made my response less impactful, but her words resonated deeply with me.
I am aware that when problems arise, I tend to try and solve them all by myself.
This was particularly hard to hear right now.

However, her expression as she spoke carried no hint of blame for me, nor was there any sign of embarrassment for her own seemingly exaggerated words.
I could honestly believe that the woman who had seemed so frivolous moments ago was, in fact, a devout and sincere believer.

“I apologize. I…”

Recalling how I had dismissed her and treated her as an oddity, I felt ashamed.
But she simply smiled as if to say, “It’s alright,” and declared resolutely.

“—Therefore, I’m leaving this matter entirely to Father Gratier!
After all, he’s much more capable than I am, so he’ll surely handle it perfectly!!”
“…Oh, right. Well then, that’s fine.”

I realized she was utterly hopeless and ended the conversation there.
If she actually relays the message to the priest, he would surely use his many connections to help quell the city’s chaos.

“Hn, hnn…? Where… am I?”

While we were talking, one of the people who had collapsed in the library woke up.
I exchanged glances with my companions.

There would be individual differences in MP recovery speed, but everyone would wake up soon.
The Magician’s Guild’s MP drain had been stopped successfully.

We parted ways with Serie, who remained at the library, Maki, who was heading to the castle, and Myus, who was returning to the church. We then headed home.

Gradually, people began to wake up, and the city was regaining its usual bustle.
As expected of the residents of Nekoneko.
They seemed accustomed to oddities, as most showed no signs of distress upon realizing they had lost consciousness.

“Speaking of which, I’m hungry.”

Ena muttered absentmindedly.
Along with the sounds of daily life, the scent of food wafted through the city.
We had spent quite a bit of time at the library.
It must be around dinnertime in the outside world.

“R-right! When we get home, I’ll make you my special dish!
How about some sashimi of Killing Glove Fish and a salad with Bird Helm…?”
“Rejected. Are you trying to kill us?”

From ahead, I could hear the idyllic conversations of my companions.
And then, about halfway down the road,

“Ah, shoot!”

I suddenly stopped, and all eyes turned to me.

“My bad. I think I left something behind at the library.
I’ll go get it, so you all go on ahead.”
“Oh, then I will too!”

Leyla immediately jumped at the chance, but I shook my head.

“No, I’ll be faster alone, and it’s almost dinner time.
Leyla, you go home first and start dinner for us, okay?”
“Soma’s cooking? …Okay! I’ll do my best!!”

I was puzzled by her unusually spirited comment but let out a sigh of relief. Sazahn then approached, looking remarkably cheerful.

“The library, hm? Heh. Then I, Sazahn, the omniscient magician who knows all there is to know in this world, shall accompany you.
Of course, since it’s for your errand, you’ll be paying my entrance fee…”
“More importantly, give me back your glove. Here.”
“Gya! Wh-what’s wrong! It’s sweaty! No!
…F-fine. I’ll wash it properly at the guild hall, so stop pulling!”

After repelling Sazahn, who was trying to tag along with me to the library, I turned and ran back the way we came before she could say anything else.

“W-wait! Soma-san, let’s all go together—”
“Then, I’ll be right back, so you all head home first!
Step, High Step, Shukuchi!”

Ignoring Ena’s voice calling out from behind me, I accelerated with my skills.
With the final Shukuchi, I rounded the corner.
Then, confirming that their figures had disappeared from sight,

“…Alright, let’s go.”

Turning my back on the road to the library, I started walking in a completely different direction.
My destination, of course, was the source of this incident: the Magician’s Guild.

—The immediate crisis has been averted.
—However, this time, it won’t end with just that.

If Maki could handle it well, King Licht would likely mobilize his soldiers to capture the Guild Master of the Magician’s Guild.
However, the chances of actually apprehending the Guild Master were slim.
Especially if they used the magic circle in their office to escape into the tower, capturing them with the castle’s forces would be hopeless.

What’s more, there was something that bothered me.
The method used by the Magician’s Guild was undeniably something presented in the Game.
Their goal and means were indeed in line with the Game’s settings.
However, an incident like “all the people in the city experiencing MP drain” never happened in the Game.

(The divergence between the Game and this world is growing.)

NPCs have become humans with free will, and their range of action has greatly expanded.
This difference will only grow with time. In a year or two, my Game knowledge will gradually become less useful.
In that sense, this is the opportune moment.

“…This might be my last job in this world.”

The immediate dangers had been too numerous, so I hadn’t been able to focus on returning to my original world.
But once this incident is resolved, surely the world-threatening crises will finally come to an end.

This means the end of my duty as a “Player” in this world.
With a little cooperation from Sazahn, I would soon obtain the “means of return” that I had initially planned for.

Ringo, who worries about me, and Ena, whom I married by chance.
Mitsuki, who has always been helping me, and Cat-eared girl, who always lightens my mood.
Of course, Bear and Leyla are also my precious companions.
It’s not that I have no hesitation about parting with them.

However, when the decision to return is made, I want to sever as many lingering issues as possible, so that those who remain in this world can live in peace, and so that I have fewer regrets.

Indeed, my Game knowledge will gradually become less useful.
Even so, or rather, precisely because of that, I will solve the problem of the Magician’s Guild using my Game knowledge, within the framework of the Game.

—This will surely be my final role as the “Protagonist” in this world.

So I walked towards the Magician’s Guild without hesitation,

“—As I thought, so it was.”

I froze at the voice from behind me.
Turning around, I saw two people who shouldn’t have been there.

“Mitsuki! And Ringo too! Why…?”
In response to my question, Mitsuki smiled faintly as if to say, “What a foolish question,” her cat ears swaying as she opened her mouth.

“It’s the most foolish question in the world. Who do you think I am?”
Mitsuki’s arrogant words were spoken with a gentle tone, like a lullaby, and I couldn’t help but smile too.

“I see. So Mitsuki, you could see through that little act with ease.”
“Yes. …Because I have been watching you, always and always, since we met.”

For some reason, Mitsuki’s words brought back memories, and my heart felt heavy.
I hastily shook off the sentimentality and averted my gaze to Ringo.
When I asked her with my eyes if she was the same as Mitsuki, she nodded without hesitation.

“…Mm. For now, I followed you.”

…Yeah.
Well, “no particular reason” is the strongest reason, isn’t it?
As I tried to brush off her unexpected words with a wry smile,

“…Because I wanted to be with Soma.”

Ringo, too, said something that surprised me.
Then, prompted by Mitsuki beside her, Ringo timidly stepped forward and showed me her hands.

“These…!”

On Ringo’s fingers, two on her left hand and two on her right, a total of four rings were worn.
Even though Ringo, a native of this world, should only be able to wear two rings…

“Could it be that her acting strange at the library was…?”

I finally realized that the reason Ringo had seemed unwell lately was because she had been training to wear more rings.
Of course, being able to wear more rings would increase what she could do.
However, breaking such mental restrictions must have been accompanied by intense pain.

As I stood there, unable to say anything with her hands presented before me,

“…I’ll try my best.”
“Huh?”
“…So I can help Soma, I’ll do my best at anything.”

Ringo clenched her outstretched hands tightly and looked up at me as if pleading.

“—So, please don’t leave me behind.”

Does that mean… don’t leave me behind to go to the Magician’s Guild?
Or perhaps…?

“Lin-go…”

But no matter what she meant, I couldn’t utter a word in reply.
The air between us became as tense as fragile glass, where even a sigh could shatter something.

“Then, shall we go?”

It was cat ears slicing through the air that shattered that tension so carelessly.
Mitsuki, with a light tone, stepped between us and, with a casual motion, took my hand and Ringo’s, pulling us along.

“Mi-Mitsuki!?”
“Mitsuki…?”

My and Ringo’s voices overlapped.
However, Mitsuki showed no sign of being flustered by the dual tones of accusation.

“There’s no point in talking here.
Rather than standing still and thinking, let’s do what we can now.”
“Uh, but…”

It’s not like I went off on my own without any thought.
I separated from everyone because I judged it would be better to move alone to strike the Magician’s Guild…

“Then, are you going to abandon Ms. Ringo here, who showed such courage to come this far?”

However, upon being told that, I had no words to retort.

“Let’s go.”

Mitsuki moved forward without hesitation, still holding our hands.
I felt a twinge of envy for her unwavering attitude, her unshakeable resolve.

…But then.
A soft whisper escaped Mitsuki, who was walking ahead.

“If this is to be the last…”

If it were to be the last, what would happen?
Mitsuki never finished her sentence.
However, the fingers pulling my hand felt as if they were trembling slightly.

“…Right.”

I made up my mind.
Mitsuki and Ringo were the two people I had spent the longest time with, one way or another, since coming to this world.
So if, if this were to be my last incident in this world.

—At least, let it be with these three.

I felt a voiceless sentiment, and I tightly grasped Mitsuki’s trembling hand.
Mitsuki turned around in surprise, and I answered her clearly.

“…Let’s go. The three of us.”

Mitsuki’s breath hitched for a moment, and then she nodded with a composed expression.

“—Naturally.”

And then, immediately turning forward, she began to stride ahead, pulling me and Ringo along.
Mitsuki must also have feelings about me returning to my original world.
But for now, she was putting those feelings aside and doing what she could.
I believe that’s a strength neither I nor Ringo possess.

The city, now free from the MP drain, was beginning to regain its vitality.
Some people who knew us, seeing us walking hand-in-hand, looked at us with a peculiar gaze.

But Mitsuki was unfazed.
Not even sparing a glance for the surrounding noise, uninterested, she raised her head with a confident, expressionless face, puffed out her chest, and simply moved forward.
Looking only ahead, she advanced.

“…Mit-suki.”

My voice caught in my throat.
The hoarse voice was swallowed by the city’s clamor, and Mitsuki didn’t hear me.
I hesitated many times, but finally, I spoke.

“…Mitsuki. Um, I’m sorry.”

At my voice, Mitsuki finally turned.
However, on her still composed face, I didn’t sense the prickliness I first felt.

“Is something wrong? Surely you’re not saying you’ve gotten scared now, are you?”
Her provocative, yet soft, words, seemingly containing a smile, made me smile as well, and I shook my head.
I simply pointed behind me and said,

“—Turn left at the last corner.”

Instantly, Mitsuki’s cheeks turned rosy, and her cat ears drooped as if to say, “Sorry, nya.”

Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Ena was caught by Leyla raiding the dinner and being scolded.

Announcement:
Today, the second volume has officially passed proofreading.
This brings us some peace of mind, and the probability of it appearing on store shelves on its release date has significantly increased.

The second volume will also include a frontispiece manga and the Nekoneko Wiki, and despite being a whopping 480 pages, the price remains the same, making it a great value.

Furthermore, I am already working on revising the third volume. So, I’m sure the third volume will be out someday.
As a result, the update interval for the web version will be longer than before, so please understand.

Also, the next update will be the day after tomorrow.