Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: The Story Left by the Witch☆ (2)
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A silly exchange of questions and answers through a memo on the door.
After about twenty trivial questions had been passed back and forth.
I was finally able to enter the Inquiry Faction’s base, a place that had never even appeared in the game.
The first thing I felt upon entering was the presence of countless individuals.
Dozens… no, hundreds of beastkin girls were watching us.
Every single one of them was slumped over with their necks craned forward, and all of them wore glasses.
In the dark library, their gazes momentarily focused on us.
*Fwish—!*
“…?!”
Lotha flinched, startled by the sudden flood of stares.
Overwhelmed by a pressure different from that of the Aristocratic Faction students, she moved closer to my side and clutched my sleeve. In response to her movement, the numerous beastkin girls ducked back behind their respective hiding spots.
*Rustle—!*
But even then, their observation continued.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
*Twitch*
*Twitch*
*Twitch*
*Twitch*
Hundreds of pairs of animal ears twitched incessantly.
The number of presences watching us grew by the moment… but they all just watched in silence. Eventually, I gave up trying to count them.
‘This is like an ant colony. They’re all hiding behind partitions…’
From between the gaps in their partitions and from behind bookshelves, they continued to watch us warily, their cat, fox, and rabbit ears twitching.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
*Twitch*
*Twitch*
*Twitch*
*Twitch*
It looked as if a refugee camp had been set up in the library.
Some students must have been in the middle of a meal, as their mouths were smeared with jam or breadcrumbs. Others were huddled under dusty blankets beneath tables or bookshelves.
‘This isn’t some cramped boarding house… Why are they all crammed together in this old building…? What’s even creepier is that within a hundred-meter radius, this is the only place I can hear any conversation.’
The Inquiry Faction’s base was incomprehensible.
Hundreds of pairs of eyes were still on me.
The longer I looked, the more suffocating this place became.
Countless questions arose.
Why would hundreds of people live together if they weren’t even going to talk to each other? And why on earth would they block out every bit of sunlight in an already gloomy building?
‘I’d like to ask the stray cat about it sometime.’
With that thought.
I looked at Freyja, who was walking ahead.
Freyja was trying to flick the forehead of the second-year rabbit-kin girl who had been holding the memo for our twenty-questions game at the back door.
“Y-You crazy bitch…”
“Awooo…!”
The rabbit-eared girl with glasses whimpered and ran away.
*Trot, trot, trot…*
*Plod, plod, plod…*
Her legs were so hopelessly slow that it seemed she’d be caught in an instant. But Freyja’s legs were also hopelessly slow, and she failed to catch her.
*Trot, trot, trot…*
*Plod, plod, plod…*
Was this what it would look like if Zhuge Liang fought Sima Yi?
It was truly so pathetic that it drained the energy of anyone watching.
It was hard to imagine these two unleashing a barrage of countless armaments.
‘This is hand-to-hand combat between magic skill users…! That girl, Milla, is a [Wave Ether] user too… It’s amazing that she seems stronger than most of the snake-tattooed thugs.’
The physical brawl between one of the top five powerhouses in the Academy City and a top 1% fighter was truly a grand spectacle. This was the fatal flaw of magic skill users.
*Trot, trot, trot…*
*Plod, plod, plod…*
In the end, the flick missed by a hair's breadth.
*Whoosh—!*
Freyja spoke in a timid but furious voice.
“S-Stop right there… M-Milla, you crazy bitch…!”
“Hah…?!”
Startled by her voice, the girl froze, and Freyja finally succeeded in hitting her.
*Thump—!*
Her brown rabbit ears drooped.
Tears welled up in her large eyes.
Milla spoke, her mouth moving in an aggrieved pout.
“Uuuu… Th-That hurts, Head Librarian…”
“C-Crazy bitch… Th-There’s no way those arrogant bitches from the Aristocratic Faction would i-imitate the way I talk…! A-As a librarian… c-can’t you even make such a simple deduction…?”
Milla adjusted the glasses that had been knocked askew by the flick and offered a timid rebuttal. It was impressive how she absolutely refused to look in my or Lotha’s direction, despite being aware of our presence.
“B-But… y-you were the one who told me to think outside the box when researching, Head Librarian… I-I was just following your instructions… B-Besides, I’m the one who kept the library safe while you were wandering around for the past few months…”
“B-Be quiet… Shut up… Th-That was for research… A-And the Inquiry Faction’s library has been sealed for generations anyway… s-so no one can enter freely except authorized personnel… Wh-What do you mean, you kept it safe…”
“Hiee…”
Her excuse instantly refuted, Milla glanced toward me and Lotha as she spoke.
“Uuuu… An e-extrovert like you, Head Librarian, who made friends so quickly, wouldn’t understand… b-but you have no idea how stressful it is to… t-take a phone call or talk to someone with your voice… instead of writing…”
“Th-They’re not my friends… And y-you just have to state your business… I-It’s not that scary… i-if you just don’t make eye contact…”
“B-But even that’s not easy… E-Even talking on the phone is stressful, and you can’t even see their face…”
“J-Just be quiet…”
“Hiee… B-But I did hide and protect the ‘First Grimoire’ well…”
“Th-That’s what you’re supposed to do!”
“Hieee…”
Ultimately, Freyja’s timid outburst silenced Milla the librarian, who shrank back and stopped arguing. Still, the words she mumbled under her breath were incoherent.
‘So the stray cat is actually one of the more eloquent students in the Inquiry Faction.’
The more I learned… the more I realized that Freyja possessed the qualities befitting the leader of the Inquiry Faction. And so, under the gazes of the timid Inquiry Faction students, we proceeded toward our destination.
“…”
“…”
A dim hallway filled with bookshelves and clutter.
The path to the room in the spire, our reason for coming here. Only the sound of our four sets of footsteps and the twitching of hundreds of pairs of animal ears echoed through the space.
*Tap, tap, tap—*
*Twitch, twitch, twitch—*
The underground library was surprisingly vast and grand.
Even if this was the oldest and most dilapidated building in the school, it boasted a massive scale that couldn't be compared to a destitute school like Central Prism Academy. Contrary to its exterior, which resembled a spooky rural church, all sorts of facilities were nestled within the labyrinthine underground passages, like an ant colony.
‘This is like Kowloon Walled City…’
I looked around, taking in the sight of the complex and bizarre library. Then, I saw a statue and flinched in surprise.
What is this…?
“…”
The statue was even taller than Hilde, who was quite tall herself.
It depicted a beastkin woman. But the statue’s appearance was… exceedingly lewd and provocative to be placed in the Inquiry Faction’s library.
‘If *Yggdrasil Gate* were an adult mobile fantasy game instead of an academy-style one… would the beastkin girls look like this?’
I found myself slowly scanning the statue from top to bottom.
“…”
Lush cat ears.
Eyes as large as lakes.
Alluringly pursed lips.
A chest so full it looked ready to burst.
A slender, cinched waist.
A magnificently curved hip line.
The shapely form of long, slender legs.
Aside from using lewd metaphors, there weren’t many other ways to describe the female statue. A torrent of vulgar words momentarily plagued my mind.
“…”
Honestly, no matter how I looked at it, it was just plain obscene.
It seemed to have been crafted from the dreams of someone lonely at night.
‘The average appearance in this world is already on another level, but… that’s a bit much, isn’t it…?’
A statue of a woman who should be called ‘madam’ or ‘lady,’ not a girl. Her appearance brought to mind certain keywords from my past life.
Clara’s girlish sensibilities found the visuals shocking.
A beastkin with a crazy figure I had never seen before in this world. Her explosive body, revealed beneath thin, short, and embarrassing clothes, was so explicit that it even stimulated the sensibilities of my former male self.
‘Ugh… I was quite the otaku in my past life, but this is a bit too much.’
I couldn’t stop my face from flushing.
As I stood there, frozen in shock.
Lotha came to my side, tugged on the sleeve of my coat, and said.
“Senior, is something wrong? Are you hurt?”
“Hm…? It’s just that this statue is a little…♪ Ahaha…☆”
“…?”
Lotha tilted her head at my words, then spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“That’s the likeness of the [Golden Witch], isn’t it? This statue has been passed down since the school was founded. The Aristocratic Faction students kept trying to gild it with gold, so it was brought to the library.”
“…?”
“The [Golden Witch] is a great figure from 1,500 years ago, the progenitor of the ancient beastkin nobles, and the greatest magician… She is one of the great [Three Heroes] who created the Golden Armament incantations and the method for operating magical ether. It’s because of the [Golden Witch] that the beastkin race was able to achieve the high status it has today.”
“…?”
“After hearing the stories my sister told me about the [Golden Witch], I wanted to become a great magician like her… Hehe. I think all beastkin respect her story.”
“…?”
“Oh, you’re a pure human, so you might not know…? I guess other races prefer the stories left by the [Standard-Bearer of Rebellion] or the [Hero of the Flash].”
“…?”
No, I know about the Golden Witch,
I just didn’t expect her to have such a shocking appearance…
Based on the game’s description, I thought she would be a bit more petite and cute.
‘…Because.’
According to the original story, though it happens a bit later in the future.
The next person to use the magic of the [Golden Witch] would be—
*Tug, tug—!*
Lotha pulled on my sleeve, urging me on.
“More importantly, Senior Freyja is telling us to hurry up from that room over there. She said if we don’t get a move on, she’s going to lie to the [Azure-White Lightning Spear] and say you got hurt…”
“…?!”
Lotha’s finger pointed upward.
While I was blankly staring at the statue, Freyja and Milla had already gone up the stairs to the spire. My presence detection only judges simple distance, so it was hard to gauge in such a complex terrain.
‘It’d be a piece of cake to catch up to them anyway.’
Still, if Freyja told a lie like that, even as a joke…
This time, I had a feeling… a sense of crisis that I might be locked up somewhere.
‘Hilde wouldn’t do something like that… would she?’
But it was true that I was worried.
I composed myself from the internal shock and started walking.
“…Okay☆ Let’s go~♪ The atmosphere is so different… I couldn’t help but look around―☆”
I was talking about the statue.
But Lotha seemed to take it a different way.
She sighed heavily and looked around the Inquiry Faction’s library.
“Haa… I know… If I’d known the Inquiry Faction had such a quiet atmosphere, I wouldn’t have even glanced at the Aristocratic Faction clubs from the start—Ah?! B-But that doesn’t mean I regret coming to Central Prism Academy!”
“Fufu, I know―☆”
“It’s strange that you’re close with the [Azure-White Lightning Spear] and the other Five Colors, and I still don’t really know what kind of situation you’re in, but…”
Lotha smiled brightly and took my hand.
“Still, I’m glad I got to meet you and my other friends… I’ve learned so much thanks to that.”
“A good opportunity… you mean―☆”
“Yeah, that’s right!”
Lotha nodded vigorously at my words.
“Oh shoot… We’re going to be late. Let’s hurry up to the spire!”
“Okay~♪”
Just before leaving.
I read the inscription written at the base of the [Golden Witch]’s statue one last time.
“…”
[He who realizes the ‘story’ left by the Golden Witch shall know the truth.]
[He who finds the ‘banner’ left by the Standard-Bearer of Rebellion shall raise the waves.]
[He who draws the ‘sword’ left by the Hero of the Flash shall gain shining wings.]
And beneath that, another sentence was written in truly minuscule letters.
[He who inherits the ‘heart’ left by the Saintess of Sacrifice shall devote himself to the world.]
“…”
[The Saintess of Sacrifice]
It was a title I didn’t know.
An inscription written so small that no one without my extreme cognitive abilities could have read it. It was something… that seemed different from the story I knew.
“Senior~!”
I heard Lotha’s voice.
‘For now… I’ll just keep this sense of unease to myself.’
If I was any later, I might really be imprisoned by Hilde.
And so, we walked toward the ‘Sage’s Room’ in the spire.
***
We finally arrived at the ‘Sage’s Room.’
At the top of the spire was a room that looked like an airport control tower… filled with dozens of devices and complex magic circles displaying the outside environment.
‘They’ve meticulously blocked the windows, but they use magic circles to see outside…’
As Freyja explained, the ‘Sage’s Room’ at the top of this spire was a kind of magic skill amplifier. If one holed up in the designated spot and spammed magic, they could disrupt magic skills not only in Public Vana Boarding School… but in the northern part of the Golden Street.
Essentially, a pseudo-missile interception system…
‘Why is something like that here…? And why was it never used once in the main story?’
I casually asked the dozens of Inquiry Faction students who were sitting and tending to various materials. They, too, were surprisingly higher-level ether users than the snake-tattooed students.
“B-But… why would a means to attack fellow students and the Golden Street… be here―☆”
*Freeze—!*
The hunched-over, bespectacled beastkin girls stopped.
But soon, their ears twitched again as they focused on their work.
They ultimately did not answer my question.
“…”
“…”
“…”
It was Freyja who answered instead.
“I-It’s fucking annoying.”
“…?”
“Th-Those Aristocratic Faction bitches outside… who treat us like i-idiots… They’re fucking annoying… So just in case… we thought about launching… It’s a room passed down for generations… from our seniors…”
The quiet blade of generations of timid souls.
I felt that murky emotion and let out a dry laugh.
“Ahaha…☆”
“O-Of course, we hid it because those Aristocratic Faction bitches would obviously throw a fit if they knew… b-but this time, they’ve really crossed the line… T-Talking about rebellion… and …”
*Nod, nod.*
The Inquiry Faction students nodded their heads vigorously.
‘So while they were cooped up in here, they prepared a way to go down fighting together…’
Presumably, since the Aristocratic Faction’s uprising was quickly suppressed in the main story, this place was either forgotten or abandoned.
As I was quietly accepting this, it happened.
The room in the spire, protected by various barriers, shook with an impact.
The magic circles and skills that were being prepared were disrupted.
*CRASH—!*
“Kyaa?!”
“Hngh?!”
“Wh-What was that?!”
The Inquiry Faction students panicked. Among them, Milla the librarian adjusted her glasses and reactivated the magic circle that showed the outside.
“…?”
“Wh-What is it? Don’t tell me that idiot Frau came back?”
“N-No… I can’t see outside very well… At this rate, we can’t launch or do a-anything…”
I felt countless waves of killing intent.
*Zing—!*
In that moment, I felt a shiver run down my entire body.
A cold sweat broke out as I sensed the magnitude of the numerous presences outside.
‘A Priest with this kind of feeling… It must be him.’
I looked at Freyja and said.
“Looks like he’s come over here―☆ …the Priest.”
“I-Is that so. They must have stuck something to the outside, like c-cockroaches…”
Freyja sighed deeply and said.
“N-No wonder it was so quiet even after I arrived… To think they’d send a big shot this way…”
***
Below the spire of the Inquiry Faction’s library.
The area was swarming with countless black figures. To be precise… they all resembled the humanoid form of the robed [Priest of Conflict]. They were truly clinging to the tower like cockroaches, obscuring the magic circles that had been activated to see outside.
The authority possessed by the [Priest of Conflict]… was to become a legion unto himself.
Watching this from afar, a giant green dragon clicked its mantis-like forelegs.
“Kukuk, [The Violet Spindle]… and [The Crimson Trajectory].”
The [Priest of Conflict], Ófnir, recalled the prophecy of someone he disliked. The prophecy had said that only two members of the Five Colors could break through the apostles he had placed at the gate and reach this place from Mimir Industrial High School.
“He said both of those inferior species are weak in prolonged battles, didn’t he? And [The Crimson Trajectory] is the one who killed the old man…”
Ófnir muttered the advice of the prophet he disliked and steeled himself. No matter how much he disliked him, now was the time to use every means at his disposal.
This situation was truly detestable.
But it was also unavoidable.
That guy had used a strange, incomprehensible analogy for times like this.
“Liu Bei joining hands with Cao Cao…!”