VIP Chapter 325: “Quest System” (3k)
Nov.
Unlike the first floor, which had been reduced to a mess, the second floor of the “Shining Star” cabin was neat and clean, covered in dust. Snowflakes had even drifted in through an open window, melting and leaving damp spots on the ground.
Finally, the three of them remembered.
There had always been a forgotten mystery about Will, whom they loved…
The red leather notebook he never let go of, the one he was so worried they would see, filled with his own handwriting.
“Iaar remembers, the young master would meticulously flip through that book every night and seemed to write new things in it daily,” Iaar said.
“When he was in class, that book was basically by his side. Or rather, he’d usually hold his textbook in one hand and cover that book with the other.”
“…Mm, even when visiting the Royal Family, he didn’t abandon that book every afternoon.”
The three discussed it.
In their memories, that red book, which Will even guarded the name of so carefully from them, seemed to be present at all times.
But…
It was as if the book wasn’t that important. He never mentioned its contents in front of them, and besides organizing it himself at night, they never heard him speak of it or describe it to them.
So unimportant…
That he didn’t even bring the book with him when he left to see Shuna this time.
The three walked very slowly.
They didn’t know why, but even though it was just a short flight of stairs, the three of them walked very, very slowly.
Despite recalling this exceptionally important clue, the three seemed to have an emotion of reluctance to open it.
It was as if there was a spell; certain things within the book that Will so diligently protected would, once they saw them, “change” something important.
Second floor.
Outside Will’s room.
This was the only room with a clean door. The “Will” sign pasted on it was also wiped clean by Iaar.
Yet, the door seemed as if it hadn’t been opened. Looking through the crack from below, a thin layer of dust was visible.
As Iaar was about to open the door, Liya grabbed her wrist and stopped her.
“Before we go in, let’s… unify the information we currently have. You need to answer a question…”
“What?”
Iaar’s hand left the doorknob.
“Honestly, have you seen that book? To what extent? Now… we’ve already fought, there’s no need to hide anything.”
The three fell into a brief silence.
“That book… Iaar saw it, but didn’t read the middle part. She only saw the last few pages it was open to. Because… because the young master didn’t seem to want Iaar to see it, so she didn’t dare to flip more pages.”
“I only remember flipping to the last page. That page was filled with… ‘Heroine’. That’s very strange.”
“…I haven’t seen it. Because I felt it was okay to open the book he wrote… until now.”
Except for Treya, the other two indicated they had flipped through the book.
The three fell silent again at the door.
But no one opened the door.
Under the silent moonlight, they were actually contemplating one thing…
Did they perhaps not understand Will as much as they thought they did?
Had they only ever seen one side of Will?
Did they perhaps not care that much about Will’s own thoughts?
Even until now…
They, who had been “changed” by Will and developed deep affection for him, only now realized…
Behind their madness, selfishness, and demands for attention, what were the reasons behind Will’s persistence, foresight, and calmness that made them this way.
He was overly devoted, overly farsighted, yet seemed to ask for nothing.
He was honest and straightforward, yet seemed to hold deep secrets he told no one.
All the mysteries seemed to be hidden within this room of his, and within that small book.
Liya, the most direct and active, broke the silence. She placed her hand back on the doorknob, turned to the other two, and said:
“Alright, at least none of us knew the contents beforehand to deceive us into reading it. We… are equal.”
“The secret of the book the young master wrote will be… revealed by us equally.”
“Open the door.”
They simultaneously reached out and opened Will’s room door.
Will’s room seemed to be maintained as it was before he left. It was evident that he had opened the wardrobe before leaving, but he hadn’t taken out all his clothes to choose carefully. Instead, he had directly taken the summer clothes they had chosen for him at the time.
Speaking of which…
It seemed to be summer when he left.
As for other areas, Will’s room could not be described as “neat,” but it was definitely “simple.” His weapon had been taken by Liya, and besides that, there were no other equipment or unnecessary trinkets left here.
The bedding maintained the state in which Iaar had folded it after he woke up.
The window was closed and hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. After experiencing autumn rain and winter snow, there were thin traces of rain left on it.
If not for the thick layer of dust on the ground, they might have thought this room was as if Will had just left.
Of course…
There was also the most important thing…
They simultaneously looked at the book placed in the center of the table.
The book they had placed all their hopes on, which they were sure would hide some unspoken “secret” of Will’s.
“The book is there,” Iaar said calmly, walking towards it.
“We can all see it. Now let’s hope it can tell us what it needs to.”
Liya followed her, walking over slowly.
Iaar stopped before the book, then took out gloves from her pocket and put them on naturally. She adjusted them, as if opening the book required special ceremony and respect.
“Wait, don’t open it yet,” Treya called out, stopping her outstretched hand.
“What is it?”
“What’s the title of the book?”
“Hmm. I also remember that he seemed to have written a name on the book, and he didn’t hide it, frequently seeing a corner of it… The only problem is…”
“Quest System…”
While the two were discussing, Iaar had already taken the initiative, flipping the book that was upside down on the table and reading its name.
“…Is that the name? Iaar… didn’t read it wrong, did she?”
The front of the book on the table bore this name.
“‘Quest’… does it refer to tasks issued by the Adventurer’s Guild? That’s understandable. And ‘System’? Empress with a better grasp of history, what do you think?”
“‘System’… a kind of organized whole? Does it mean… the entirety of all quests?”
“I don’t understand! Say something Iaar can understand better… Besides, that word at the end… isn’t it the Hysterm family surname?”
For the three of them, the words were understandable when separated, but together, it seemed like a name they had never heard before.
The first time they analyzed this name properly, it seemed to add another layer of dense fog to Will’s identity and the mysteries surrounding him.
“Don’t think too much about it, we’ll know when we open it.”
Treya was very decisive. She rushed to the table, touched the silver cover, wiped away some of the dust with her finger, and opened it rather roughly.
Upon opening it, she saw a line of text that was all too familiar.
On the first page, filling the entire page—the font indicated it was handwritten by Will. However, he was likely not very old when he wrote it, as the letters were slightly crooked.
[Maid Iaar’s Chapter.]
“Huh?”
“Wait, wait, wait—! This, this, this… isn’t this Iaar’s name!”
Iaar, who was watching from the side, pressed down on that page with her gloved hand.
“Since young master wrote it specifically for Iaar… then only Iaar can read it!”
As Treya was about to say something, Iaar, seemingly overly sensitive, reached out, and a faint coldness pressed directly against Treya’s neck.
“Iaar, we’re on the same side now. You should let us see what it is.”
“No!”
“Calm down,” Treya said in her coldest voice. “This might not be written only for you. Since the first page describes a ‘chapter’…”
She paused, then moved Iaar’s hand away from the wrist—as someone also from the Proponent of Force faction, her grip was not weak.
Then, she flipped to a page that looked somewhat special, as if it had been intentionally marked with a sticker on the side for quick access.
That page, similarly, filled the entire page.
[Witch Liya’s Chapter.]
“…See, it’s my part. I told you, he’s just like that, he… he definitely…”
Liya was about to say “He definitely won’t forget any of us,” but as the words formed, she felt a surge of jealousy. She… she certainly wished that guy only had her in his mind… So she stopped mid-sentence, as if choked.
However, Treya’s fair fingers lightly skimmed across the yellowed paper, naturally finding the next spot that Will had marked with a sticker.
“He won’t forget any of us.”
[Princess Treya’s Chapter.]
Treya gazed at the word “Princess,” and for the rare time, a hint of relief appeared on her usually emotionless face.
“So… why is this book named chapters after the three of us, and… related to our professions?”
Iaar lowered her ears, but seemed somewhat surprised that the book had started with her.
“I don’t know. However, we agreed, our own chapters…”
“Our own chapters, only we can read them. This book is loose-leaf, no problem.”
“Can’t you talk without snatching someone else’s words?”
“Iaar agrees!”
“But it’s not just us…”
Treya’s eyes darkened, and her finger moved slightly towards the end of the “Quest System.”
After Treya’s chapter, only a few pages remained, so thin it looked like less than ten sheets of paper.
But this book seemed to indeed hide a “fourth chapter.”
She flipped over.
And then…
Before the three of them, they saw—
[Cannon Fodder (crossed out)
Young Master (crossed out)
Magic Academy Outstanding Student (crossed out)
Strategist (crossed out)
Captain
Will’s Chapter]
