Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Three-Person Party Strategy Meeting
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"Ah, welcome. Come on in. What would you like to drink? We only have plain water on hand, but with Illusion Magic, I can change the flavor to anything, so it's practically like having everything. Please, make yourselves comfortable."
As I greeted them with a bright smile, two of the three trackers grimaced. The saintess—in her skimpy outfit—and the swordsman, whose face was half-covered in bandages. Only the short-haired girl, who seemed to have a generous heart, accepted my goodwill at face value.
The short-haired girl cheerfully held up her whiteboard.
[Hello!]
"Hello. You have such pretty short hair. It looks like you take good care of it... Let me guess. Silk Whale Oil from that shop three blocks from the commercial district entrance, right at the intersection lined with trees?"
Her expression shifted to one of pure shock, like How did he know?
"Haha, I've got a good nose for these things. And I pay attention to hair care myself."
Not true, actually. I'd never once noticed when my girlfriend switched perfumes back in my old life, and I figured washing your hair with soap was all it took. The only hair care I'd ever received was the occasional pat from the Magic Tower Master.
It was info from the report I'd gotten after asking Pingbalrez to background-check the three applicants. Figured it might help us bond—nothing breaks the ice like a shared interest.
I guided the trio to the table. The saintess looked perpetually pissed, like the Hulk on a rampage, and I could feel the swordsman's wariness. He seemed ready to draw his blade at the slightest suspicious move.
I got it. Students always worry professors have some sinister agenda. I'd been the same back in school.
The short-haired girl plopped right down on the sofa without hesitation. The saintess sat a bit further away beside her. The swordsman hesitated over where to sit, then opted to just stand.
Made sense. With two women and him as the lone guy, any seat would've felt awkward.
The mood was stiff as a board. I wanted to loosen things up. I licked my lower lip, cleared my throat, sat across from them, and spoke.
"We... got tangled up in that mess before, right? It was just a silly misunderstanding, so let's put it behind us. That's not why we're here."
I bolted because my paper wasn't ready, but you skipped class too without reading it. So let's forget that day and focus on having fun with TRPG.
"I respect your curiosity. Must've been a tough call. I didn't expect students to sign up until the class was well underway. Happy to be wrong."
Who signs up for a weird elective like that? I'd planned to bait them during main lectures and lure them in for fun, but players were assembling already. Thrilled.
"So, what do you think this is?"
What the hell is this thing?
I clapped my hands lightly. Sticky slime oozed between my palms, rapidly reshaping into a picture frame. The saintess replied dryly.
"An empty frame."
"Right, but not just any frame. One that reflects many things."
A trailer.
I played the trailer I'd prepped in my spare time. Verdant, electric-blue forests. A hellscape under a blood-red moon. Machine guns blazing in modern cities. Space colonies. Martial artists clashing atop sheer cliffs. An old man stargazing.
No medium packs as much info into a short span as video. The trailer's goal: spark curiosity. Amid the feast for the eyes, the trio seemed hooked.
I asked in a subtle tone.
"Don't you want to experience other worlds?"
"......"
The lone guy, face set hard, finally spoke.
"Is this the point?"
"Yep."
"What do you want?"
"For as many people as possible to know about it. We always lack players."
Not many did it in my past life either, and here it's basically just me and the Magic Tower Master. More folks knowing about TRPG would be great. If it's not their thing, fine—but they gotta know first.
Now's the time. I slid the session intro doc I'd meticulously prepared toward the trio.
"A collaborator helped compile this report. Give it a read, and if it appeals, please join us."
"We'll discuss and decide."
"Could you... step out, Professor?"
The swordsman and saintess tag-teamed me. Watching players react to the pitch is prime GM joy, but the saintess crossed her arms like she wouldn't utter a word with me there.
Aw.
I got booted from my own office.
After kicking the mad wizard out, Bennett glanced at the other two for their thoughts. The saintess looked lost in contemplation, but Niore seemed unbothered.
Bennett let out a shallow sigh and summed up.
"...If I got this right, the wizard's talking about dimension-travel magic."
"Agreed. That's what I heard too."
[Me too!]
The frame's visions were too varied for personal Illusion Magic. One or two, maybe imagination—but dozens, each with distinct details?
And that wizard's constant grin. He looked genuinely thrilled, like mages lost in their research.
The incidents swirling around this nutjob at the academy seemed bigger than Bennett suspected. Dimension magic from fairy tales, lost to history.
"...Maybe there's a deal between the Second Prince and the wizard."
Bennett sketched it with mana. Second Prince backs wizard's research; wizard aids prince's politics. A quid pro quo.
"The black mages he's exposed... those feats go to the prince who issued the warrant. Not minor."
"...In return, the prince supports—or ignores—the wizard's academy antics?"
"Yeah."
Using academy students as otherworld explorers. Top-tier talent pool, proven elites.
The saintess furrowed her brows, pondered, then concluded.
"No matter how I spin it, too risky. We signed up to investigate him, but jumping to an unknown dimension? Come on."
[But it says survival is guaranteed here?]
"What if that's a lie?"
[......]
As Niore doodled worms on her board, lost for words.
Flip. Flip.
Bennett sped through the report, mentally tallying key points and rough estimates. Then said.
"...Actually, the risk might not be as high as I thought."
"What?"
"Per the report, most otherworld civilians can't use mana. There's this Silver Twilight cult antagonist, but basic body-reinforcing spells handle their magic."
"If the report's lying..."
"No omissions or edits. Look at the goal. Wizard wants a 'glowing irregular tetrahedron' artifact from the other world."
He'd downplayed it, but why mention it otherwise? Recruiting explorers for powerful otherworld artifacts.
"To retrieve it, he'd have to send us back. So no getting stranded forever. And."
Bennett tapped the report.
The abrupt end to the combat log hinted at the agent's death. But the next paragraph stated: even if you die, it's not the end—you'll return unharmed to your world.
Academy admits had pull. Saintess had clout as a church icon.
"Head's cracked, but he prepped that magic sword paper and warrant. He knows the backlash if he dumps the saintess elsewhere and it goes south."
Blowback would be fierce. A meticulous plotter like him wouldn't overlook it.
"All speculation so far. But there's a surefire safety check."
"What?"
"Ask if the agent's alive."
The saintess whistled softly.
"Not bad, brainiac. You don't look it."
"Says the girl with no fashion sense."
"Shut up...!"
And the real payoff. If they went along with the wizard's plan, what could they gain? A report line flashed in Bennett's mind.
A mysterious relic said to summon evil beings—or grant infinite wisdom...
Might aid black mages' Nightmare Summon. If infinite wisdom was real, maybe... a way to purge the Fear-Eating Corpse Flower from his sister's body.
Saintess Tara seemed to think similarly. No discussion needed—they saw the greed in each other's eyes.
The trio aligned and called back the wizard.
Makes sense. Princes and princesses can think, This guy's not suicidal enough to kill me. But normies get cold feet. Fair point.
A random wizard pitching "Wanna hop dimensions?" spooks folks. When they asked about the agent's survival, I pointed to Pingbalrez standing blankly nearby.
"This is the agent."
"Yes, I'm the agent."
Pingbalrez fired off a double peace sign. Thought she only teased me, but seeing her hit near-strangers with it was refreshingly consistent. Probably pull it on the prince too.
Safety net, huh. To prove even lava jumps were safe, I offered to spill the beans—but swordsman-saintess duo intervened.
"We want to verify the agent."
"Mind stepping out again... Wizard?"
Booted again...
They vetted from all angles. Quizzed Pingbalrez to confirm authorship. Saintess slapped on a lie-detection spell.
So paranoid—just die in sim once to test, I suggested. Skeptical Bennett even hopped in, died, and respawned.
For Second Prince, it was death effect then vanish. But this trio? Cautious as tapping every stone. Direct death felt too dicey—might scare 'em off.
Tweaked it: fatal damage spawns shield, blocks hits, then teleports home. Safer vibe.
Not a hassle. Exciting, even.
These suspicious, probing types? Perfect for Cthulhu!
Heart racing. Cosmic horror thrives on relentless doubt and scrutiny.
We synced understanding, set a date. Tomorrow—Thursday—for the first session.