Decoding the Hillbilly Grimoire
"No way, you mean that ancient document from the Hillbilly Cult?"
Senior Scarlett, who'd been keeping silent, suddenly spoke up. No surprise there. The Hillbilly Cult's ancient document wasn't something you saw every day.
The Hillbilly Cult was one of the villainous organizations from the novel. A cult religion that performed human sacrifices like it was dinnertime, committing murder, kidnapping, torture, smuggling, terrorism—every antisocial crime under the sun.
Their ancient document was one of the cult's treasured relics, a grimoire infused with sinister power. To villains who did anything for strength, it was more precious than gold.
"That's right. If you can decipher the fragment our guild acquired, we'll give you the Black Adder Berry. Not a tough deal, right?"
"I heard even the Golden Cult's heresy inquisitors couldn't crack it..."
"The Hillbilly Grimoire is an incredibly ancient tome of magic. Parts have been deciphered, but plenty remains unsolved. Especially this fragment we got—it's confirmed to be a unique copy with no duplicates."
The cult's heresy inquisitors were experts in decoding grimoires. Magic tomes were their specialty.
Asking us to decode something even they couldn't? No way that was academy student level.
And the reward was a Black Adder Berry? It almost felt too cheap for the labor.
"Got it. I'll decipher it for you."
Senior Scarlett stared at me in shock after my instant reply.
"You can decipher a grimoire!? For real?"
"It's not that hard. What's the big deal? Unless there's some academy rule saying students can't touch magic tomes?"
"No such rule. Hell, the school teaches grimoire deciphering. But Hillbilly ones are grad-level stuff. And an unknown copy? Forget about it."
"The pretty lady's right. Plenty tried and failed spectacularly. We won't stop you, but if you're thinking of leaking the contents, rethink it. We'll wipe your memories with a Forgetfulness Potion after you see it."
Her face darkened again at the mention of the Forgetfulness Potion. She leaned in and whispered,
"What if they slip us sleeping pills or poison?"
"Don't worry. These guys are surprisingly trustworthy. To clients, anyway."
The Red Scorpion Guild had grown this big in Truf's blood-soaked back alleys thanks to their reputation.
Funny thing. In a place where betrayal was as natural as breathing, they stuck to their word like glue.
"I have no idea how this world works..."
Senior Scarlett muttered with a sigh. I turned to the masked man.
"Then show us the grimoire."
"Understood. One moment."
He went into the back room and returned with a weathered fragment preserved in a glass case.
It was just one page. Covered in geometric shapes. At a glance, they seemed patterned, but up close, utter chaos. Hard to believe this "recorded" anything.
Senior Scarlett stared, deep in thought. Even the novel's heroine and academy prodigy couldn't crack the Hillbilly Grimoire.
"It's nothing like what we learned in class. You sure you can do this?"
I didn't answer right away, just studied the fragment. I knew the answer, but playing dumb, it looked baffling.
I could've blurted it out, but pretending to struggle made success sweeter. And tough jobs fetch higher value.
"Hmm..."
"No shame if you can't. Even the Golden Cult inquisitors failed."
The man chuckled.
"Did a Golden Cult inquisitor come here?"
"Haha. Corruption's everywhere."
The masked man laughed low, brazen as ever.
For about an hour, I slowly examined the grimoire. Or rather, stole glances at Senior Scarlett poring over it beside me.
Focused on the page, her guard was down. Her slender neckline stirred my lust.
Even hooded, that allure. Unwrap the full package later, and it'd be delicious.
The masked man waited patiently, assassin-level endurance.
"Got it."
An hour was plenty to kill time—and ogle defenseless Scarlett. I spoke up just as it got boring.
Both the masked man and Senior Scarlett looked up. She beat him to it.
"Really!?"
"Yeah. Pretty interesting."
I pointed at the glass case and began explaining.
"Check these circular symbols. They mark the lunar glow cycles. Arrow up in the circle is the heavenly moon Shin, down is the demonic moon Tot, no arrow is the human moon Selene."
"Shin's cycle is 30 days, Selene's 15. Tot doesn't glow, so 0?"
"Right. Decode the top line that way. Most of this page records celestial movements."
"Wait... then...!"
Senior Scarlett had a knack for grimoires. One nudge, and she started decoding the Hillbilly fragment solo.
"Where Shin, Selene, and Tot overlap... Binary glow cycles... Oh! It matches what we learned—the answer's clear!"
The Red Scorpion's Hillbilly fragment mostly logged celestial events. Simple with the hint. The hard part was spotting it.
"So the last line... 'At the end of the deluge, in darkness untouched by heaven's light, XX slumbers.' Still no clue on XX. Can't crack it from this page alone."
"One page limits us."
Senior Scarlett nailed it in seconds. The masked man, who'd watched with interest, nodded at her read.
He knew something. And I knew what he knew.
"Indeed. The end of the deluge..."
"You know what it means?"
Senior Scarlett tilted her head. He smirked, eyes narrowing.
"Rough guess. We can verify. Anyway, impressive. Never thought kids like you would crack it. Wait here."
He returned from the back room fast, holding a small wooden box.
Inside, a fist-sized black berry on a vine. Senior Scarlett's eyes went wide.
"The Black Adder Berry."
"You're really giving it?"
She sounded dazed.
"Credit's our lifeblood. No scamming on this."
I took the box. Mission accomplished.
"We'd usually dose you with Forgetfulness Potion, but you've piqued my interest. I'd like friendly ties. Grimoire experts are rare."
Senior Scarlett's face was complicated. Buddying up with assassins? Sketchy. But I answered for her.
"Works for us. Call if you need us later. No hits, though."
"Naturally. We handle more than kills. Antiquities galore. We'll send word to the academy via black pigeon if needed."
"Then we're off."
I grabbed Senior Scarlett's hand and headed for the entrance. She shot me a freaked look.
"What if hanging with assassins blows up later?"
"Client-contractor level, not buddies. No need to fear them unless you've pissed off a killer."
Me, maybe. But Scarlett? Nah. Though as the novel's heroine, she had enemies galore from plot fate.
"Not that, but... it's creepy."
"Fair. Don't sweat it, Senior. I'll handle any fallout. Here—the Black Adder Berry."
I handed her the box. Her grumbling face softened instantly.
She snatched it like it'd vanish, peeked inside, eyes still disbelieving.
"This... real?"
"Trust me. They're not pranksters."
"...Thanks. Never dreamed I'd owe a freshman, but I do."
"No sweat."
Scored big with Senior Scarlett. Still miles from banging her.
But steady points like this? Opportunity's coming.