153. Tell Me Your Wish (8)
153. Tell Me Your Wish (8)
"Millia. Get ready to head out."
"Huh? Why?"
"I'm going to show you something fun."
"Mister, is it really okay to bring her?"
Viola glanced at Millia—who had practically no ability to defend herself—with worried eyes and asked me. I shrugged at Viola's question.
"Keeping one non-combatant safe is no problem."
The Secret Archive I knew contained little more than monster illusions placed there for show. To be blunt, I could clear it easily on my own. With a group this large, random volleys of magic would be enough.
The recommended party size for the Secret Archive was two or three at most, but there were eight of us.
We even had three Wizards.
As long as the front line held, Fourth-Class or Third-Class Magic would shatter every illusion. My goal was to strip the Secret Archive bare with overwhelming firepower.
The question was how the job-specific stat bonus +5, which was one of the rewards in the original, would be applied.
Perhaps everyone had an invisible Status Window like mine and would receive the reward as stats. More realistically, the first principal's soul might manifest and provide one-on-one instruction, or the accumulated experience from clearing the Secret Archive might itself become the reward.
Either way, the premise was that the reward did get applied, so there was also the possibility that reality would just turn out to be "nope, nothing like that."
"...Still, the chance to gain practical experience safely would be valuable enough."
"Huh? What did you just say?"
"Nothing."
I stroked Millia's head after she excitedly changed into her outdoor clothes, then looked over the group. Karina was speaking with Elisa behind her veil, while Viola stood against the wall with her arms crossed.
Millia stood beside me, delightedly accepting the head pats.
And the three people who were about to join us.
Moving around as one large group would attract attention, so we planned to travel separately. The four of them and the other three would arrive at the library in sequence at slightly different times.
For cover, we'd decided to actually bring book bags, so to anyone else it would look like we were meeting at the library for a study group.
"Is everyone ready?"
"...R-Ready."
"I'm ready as well."
"I'm ready too. Let's hurry."
"Then let's get moving."
I grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and began to push.
------------------
Sunset had settled over the library. We entered quietly and gathered before the Secret Archive. A party of eight was conspicuous, but fortunately the library was nearly empty at that hour. Few students studied diligently even on a Saturday.
The only person here was the librarian we'd spoken to beforehand.
As expected, there was nothing money could not solve.
I casually stepped forward and swept my gaze over the library as a whole.
Bella was not here after all.
We'd concealed the information as much as possible, so Bella would likely only notice the Secret Archive had been cleaned out after we'd already taken everything from it. Fortunately, it seemed Bella's intuition wasn't all that sharp.
That was only natural. I'd deliberately seized control of the magic device so it could not report that I'd appeared the previous night, but I had still been cautious. In the original story, Bella had pursued the party, stabbed them in the back, and tried to steal the reward.
"Is this it?"
"This is the place. Karina. Do you see a purple book?"
"Yes."
"That is the key that opens the door to the Secret Archive."
"Fascinating..."
I could sense a tone of excitement in Karina's voice. She secretly liked this kind of thing, you know. I imagined Karina's face behind her veil and looked at the group that was beginning to approach from a distance. When the three of them spotted us, they waved quietly and came closer.
"Hello!"
"Good evening."
"An unexpected person has joined us."
"Hi!"
"I didn't know Millia would be joining us too."
Martina looked startled, but her surprise seemed rooted in concern. Millia was a General Studies student with no combat ability, so that was understandable. I shrugged and answered the question written on her face.
"I brought her along. Keeping one person safe is nothing."
"If Lord Quartz says so, I suppose it will be fine."
She accepted it more readily than I thought. Given her nosy personality, I'd expected some nagging, but she let it go so easily that I was the one who felt bewildered instead.
"You've never worked with me before, yet you trust me quite a bit."
"I've heard many stories about you."
After saying that, Martina looked at Lewis, Shuri, and Elisa in turn, then spoke with an elegant smile.
"I look forward to working with you, Lord Quartz."
"Likewise, Martina."
We shook hands lightly and called everyone together.
Seven people besides me.
After checking that there was no one monitoring the surroundings, I quietly took out the purple book. The purple book looked like an ordinary book, but to a few people, it probably wouldn't appear that way. I placed the purple book, which was starting to emit a blue light, into Karina's hand.
"Would you try opening it to page 231?"
"Page 231?"
"Yeah."
Karina quietly opened the book to page 231 as instructed. It was a key with a simple mechanism: the page looked blank to anyone unqualified, but letters appeared when a qualified person held it in the sunset.
"Karina. Would you try reading it?"
"Alright. When it is the hour of the dog and the wolf, the secret hidden in the sunset shall be revealed..."
As Karina's beautiful voice faded, the bookshelf where the purple book had been shelved turned translucent. Everyone stared at it in wonder.
"So this is... the entrance to the Secret Archive..."
"Let's all head inside."
"But won't other people be able to see it too?"
"It'll close once we're in. I'll take the lead. Millia, push the wheelchair in my place."
"Okay!"
Millia eagerly took the wheelchair handles in my place. With both hands free, it was time for me to enter.
"I'll tell you what to be careful of once we enter. Everyone, follow me."
I took a step toward the translucent bookshelf.
--------------------
"Incredible..."
I did not know whose voice it was, but it expressed what everyone felt. I gathered the party members who were staring at the vast archive of countless bookshelves.
"Karina, if anyone is injured, handle the healing."
"Leave it to me."
"Millia. You pull the wheelchair around in my place. If it looks dangerous, take Karina and fall back."
No one was likely to be injured, but it was better to prepare for the unexpected.
"Okay!"
Millia answered with her usual pluck.
"Lewis. I don't need to say it, but you're on point. Rather than actively intercepting enemies, focus on blocking any that approach."
"Understood."
I liked how polite he was.
"Elisa, Martina, Shuri. You three will provide rear support. Focus on Fourth-Class Magic. If a powerful monster appears, use Third-Class Magic one at a time in the order Elisa, Shuri, then Martina. Unless I give different instructions, maintain that sequence."
"Is there a reason for that order?"
"To conserve mana. Even Third-Class Magic is excessive against an ordinary dungeon. Rather than wasting high-powered spells, use only as much force as the situation requires."
"You mean we should conserve mana as much as possible?"
As expected of an honors student, Martina caught on to my meaning immediately.
"Exactly."
"Old man, should I assist Lewis from behind him like last time?"
"Do that. Karina and Millia should stand between the Wizard group and Viola."
That would keep them from being struck from behind if they were positioned too far back.
At my words, Millia stepped forward together with Karina.
"Remember this formation. Whatever happens, the formation must not fall into disarray. Understood?"
"Yes!"
Everyone answered in unison.
"Then from this point on, we will explore the Secret Archive."
I moved to the very rear.
Someone still needed to serve as the Wizards' bodyguard.
"Everyone, remain alert. The first principal created this place as part of his arrangements, but it also serves as a test of skill. I will command this as though it were a real battle."
Seven heads nodded in unison. Finally, I drew my shovel.
It had been a while since I'd held the shovel like this, too.
I planted the shovel against the floor and activated a Skill.
"Craft."
[Whoa, isn't pulling up the ladder behind you a bit much?]
Now the Secret Archive had become a space no one could enter without my permission.
I tapped the wall a couple of times, then turned around and looked at the path we had to advance down. A wall of bookshelves with no end in sight.
The Secret Archive.
'Andras's Arrangement,' which had been one of the popular events in the original.
We had become the first people to discover his archive.