117. Office Workers Have No Summer Vacation (1)
117. Office Workers Have No Summer Vacation (1)
"Huh. You forcibly stole the contract... That was reckless."
"I couldn't just leave it as it was."
"You did well. Had someone incapable of resisting entered into that contract, a catastrophe would have followed."
Though I wasn't sure that pitiful little thing had the power for it. Even now, she was trying to swat Merlin's hand away with her tentacles, but she was so weak that she only managed to make his hand wobble slightly.
[If only my Contractor weren't such a mana runt, I could've swatted a hand like this away in an instant! Hmph!]
She had started chattering again.
That was the problem. It was pointlessly noisy. I wanted to hurry up and finish this examination, go back, and give this loudmouth a proper read, but who knew how long he was going to drag this out. Still, I supposed I should be grateful Principal Merlin was ignoring all its resistance and proceeding with the investigation.
While I waited for the results with those pointless thoughts running through my head, Principal Merlin stopped examining the book, withdrew his hand, and addressed me with an unreadable expression.
"I'm not sure. What's inside this Grimoire is unknown knowledge. Its mana pattern is of a sort I've never encountered before. It's cut from a different cloth than other Grimoires... The only thing that's certain is that it contains magic that exerts a detrimental influence on the mind."
Was he talking about the hypnotic beam the thing shot from its eye?
"A Grimoire of this breed can lead to catastrophe with one misstep, so exercise caution in handling it. Well, that said, knowing you, I'm not worried... besides, with so little mana, you'd have a hard time tapping its full potential anyway."
"Is that so."
"I'm not insulting you. I mean that it's lucky such a dangerous object has become bound to someone like you—don't take it to heart. I like to think I've laid eyes on a great many Grimoires, but this is a first for me... After all, is there anything more terrifying than the unknown?"
So it was a type he'd never seen. Considering that even I, who had cleared the game through the Wizard route several times, had never encountered a Grimoire like this, it was only natural that the people of this world knew nothing about it either. I would have preferred a Grimoire with clearer synergy with my Skills, though.
But a Grimoire I could make any real use of was at least a year away, so I figured I should count myself lucky to have obtained one at this juncture. Buying a single Grimoire would have cost something like a solid chunk of mithril, after all.
"I'll bear that in mind."
"If anything out of the ordinary happens, come find me."
[Ugh, I don't wanna go...]
And what exactly were you gonna do about it when you 'didn't wanna go'?
"I'll be off, then."
"Take care."
I grabbed the doorknob and turned it. The old hinges groaned, revealing a brown-toned hallway. There were few signs of anyone nearby.
The first semester had ended and summer vacation had begun, so that was only natural.
[When we get home, that redhead's going to treat me like a dog again!]
Those returning to their hometowns had left, while those staying behind prepared for the next semester. It was time for me to become even busier.
In the game, summer vacation had also been the time to grind through accumulated side quests and power up.
If possible, I intended to find a way to remove the curse embedded in Karina's body. The broad course of events seemed to be unfolding similarly, and whether Karina was healthy would greatly affect what happened next.
Healing magic that could make someone on the brink of death healthy again was kind of a huge deal.
[Contractor! You're not going to leave me with her again, are you?]
"Give it up. Even if I don't take you, she'll find you on her own."
[Nooooooooooooo!]
Ugh, my head. To tell it to be quiet, I smacked the book with the flat of my palm.
"Shut it. My head's ringing. If you keep that up, I might accidentally lose you."
[What?]
"If I accidentally lose you, Millia, who follows me around everywhere, will pick you up. I intend to play dumb for twenty-four hours."
[...]
"Watch yourself. Got it?"
[...Yep.]
Of course, even if she stayed quiet, that didn't mean Millia would not take her away anyway.
I swallowed the rest of my words and headed for Dawn Hall.
-------------
I'd lit a single candle in the dark study and was poring over Rue when I sensed someone approaching and heard a husky voice. It was familiar. I turned and looked up at the speaker.
"Still awake? What're you doing?"
"Was reading a book."
"Yeah?"
The brown skin visible beneath Reni's loosely worn shirt gleamed alluringly in the candlelight. Perhaps she found her usual clothes uncomfortable, because she wore only that light shirt. She strode over with her usual easygoing gait and dropped into the chair beside me.
I pulled my gaze from her and shifted it back to Rue.
"What're you so into reading?"
"A Grimoire."
"Ah, the Grimoire Millia had tied up and was taking for walks... That thing's really okay, right?"
"Turned out to have no particular issues."
"Glad to hear it. Wait, or should I say congratulations? Making a contract with a Grimoire's a seriously hard thing to do."
"Though, with my mana so low, I can only manage simple spells."
"Still, at least you've got it. Mana grows a little as you use it. Having some beats having none, right?"
As she said that, Reni sprawled forward across the table. The exhaustion in the movement only made her look more sensual. Before I knew it, I'd taken my eyes off the Grimoire and was looking down at her.
"Ugh, I'm beat..."
She insisted she had no feminine charm, but she was a woman any man would have a hard time taking his eyes off. People averted their eyes not because she wasn't attractive, but because she was terrifying.
Reni the Mad Dog.
To hear some tell it, the Saintess's loyal hound.
A knight infinitely gentle to the Saintess, and infinitely merciless to the Saintess's enemies.
I'd never dreamed I'd end up as comrades with a knight like her.
To think I had become allies from the very beginning with a boss I had cursed with every vile swear I knew in the game. If this had been the game, I'd have celebrated being able to cheese the entire run. Even an absurd meme build could probably have reached an ending.
...Though even now, I was more or less stuck with a meme build against my will.
"How's Karina?"
"Same as always. She gets up, takes a walk, studies, eats, studies, washes up, goes to bed..."
It was an exceedingly simple cycle. Then again, a patient's daily routine could hardly be complicated.
"I'm relieved her condition doesn't seem to be worsening."
"Elisa checks the curse once a day. She's not as capable as Professor Lennon, but she's quite good—both at her work and at examining the curse."
Reni sat across from me and stretched as she straightened. Her large breasts stood out beneath the loosely worn shirt. She looked slender overall, but from this angle, she had the sort of figure expected of a game character, with curves in all the right places.
"Ah... I'm beat."
"You've been working hard."
"If you can see I'm working hard, then take some of my shifts. Yaaawn..."
"Sorry. I'll keep the dawn watch, so why don't you grab some shut-eye?"
"Nah. You said you had something to do tomorrow, too."
"I'm used to pulling all-nighters."
Early in my life on the uninhabited island, I'd worked mostly during the relatively cool evenings and nights rather than beneath the scorching daytime sun. The fact that I had been unable to sleep while struggling to survive alone there was another major reason, but...
"Nah. Just do me a favor in the morning or something. At least now I get a little more time to sleep during the day, so it's better. Sigh, I really gotta find someone to hand off guard duty to..."
If the strongest knight protecting Karina collapsed, the jackals would swarm in. They'd poke their noses in from all over, using the excuse that we needed to expand the guard detail. For all that Karina was the Saintess, her power wasn't absolute. There was even the possibility of the imperial house or the Church of Kalon's upper echelons reaching their hands in.
For now, the continent was in too much chaos for them to stretch their reach, but... it'd be better to stay on guard.
Whatever the case with the Church of Kalon, the imperial house was... Those troll bastards couldn't be trusted. No matter which route you went, they did nothing but trip you up—how were you supposed to trust people like that? Though the rewards themselves were pretty sweet, so they were good for milking here and there.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
"Protecting Lady Karina is my mission. Something I have to give my all to, as much as I'm able."
Reni's voice was completely serious. That was only natural. She had been betrayed, and a young Karina had saved her when she was dying. That was why Reni would never betray Karina, no matter what happened.
And that was the bedrock on which I could make bold moves.
As long as the last bastion stood, I could afford to push myself a little and still hold the line.
"What good is any of that if you collapse? If you collapse, there'll be no one to guard her."
"I've got you."
"You're the shield, I'm the sword. No matter how hard I try to block, I can't do it better than a shield."
"...Aren't you praising me a little too much? I'm only an Escort Knight."
The moonlight reflecting off Reni's cheeks picked up a faint rosy glow. Had I said something too embarrassing?
"Who knows."
"You say a lot of cringeworthy stuff. Quit trying to pick up women."
"No idea what you're talking about."
"Wow, no self-awareness. Though I guess if you had any, women wouldn't be clinging to you like that. Keep it up, and you might really get blindsided one day."
"...From now on, I ought to walk around in armor."
At my words, Reni snickered and rose from her seat. It looked like she was about to head back.
I quietly closed Rue. I could read the rest the next day.
The tentacled book was quiet, probably because Millia had tormented her before we came to the study. I was glad she did not interrupt me while I read, but... I still couldn't make sense of it. I had a vague idea of how to use her, yet something about it remained unclear.
I didn't know if it was because my mana was too low, or if my compatibility with it was just bad.
"Well, I should get going. I've got a lot to do, and those bastards who've been bothering me lately... Never mind. Read a reasonable amount, then get some sleep."
"Good night."
Watching Reni's back as she left the study, I tucked Rue under my arm.
As Reni said, I had things to do tomorrow. It was about time I got some sleep.
[How many women do you live with, anyway?]
I let Rue's grumbling slide, and made my way to my room.