Chapter 89. Chaos is the Standard (2)
Chapter 89. Chaos is the Standard (2)
3
The moment I regressed to a few days earlier, I spoke before the hunters.
"I'll take command of this stage."
"......."
The hunters became mute as if they'd swallowed honey.
Among them were the Count and Paladin. Originally, the two of them would die while attacking the 25th floor, but I had returned to the time before they entered.
Of course, the people involved had no way of knowing that.
"Hmm......."
Paladin wore a troubled expression.
"I apologize, Death King. I hadn't realized you also had some knowledge of romance."
"No. There's nothing for you to apologize for. I really am a complete layman when it comes to romance."
"...And yet you still wish to take charge of this stage? Are you serious?"
"Yes, I truly want to lead it."
The hunters murmured among themselves.
To avoid losing momentum, I spoke calmly.
"Given the genre, it would be ideal to select a hunter well-versed in romance. But that isn't an absolute standard. I've never read a Wuxia novel either. And yet I cleared the Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon quite well."
"That is true, but......."
"I have a bad feeling about this stage. I think something terrible is going to happen. Please let me take charge."
Flinch.
There were hunters who reacted to the words [bad feeling]. The Witch and the Sword Saint. The two of them believed I had the power of prophecy.
"...Wouldn't it be fine? Death King's skill has been proven several times already."
"I also believe we should lend an ear to Death King's opinion."
With the 2nd-ranked and 1st-ranked hunters backing my opinion, things became easier. The other hunters didn't bother trying to resist us. I seized command as I wished.
"Now, I'll select the raid party that will enter the Apocalypse with me."
I spoke with my mind firmly made up.
"This stage will be tackled only by a true elite squad. Please don't resent me if you aren't chosen."
"Hoh. An elite squad, is it."
The Witch glanced at me with an expressionless face.
"Right. Then I should go. I don't know much about romance, but if someone truly needs me, I should go."
"......."
"This is my first time encountering romance, but. Romantic sensibility, shall we say? The sensibility seemed to suit me. I'm not exactly claiming to be a romance expert, you know. Yes. If an elite squad must go, then shouldn't I be included? That's just my personal thought."
The condition of the person who had introduced herself as a woman who watches dramas was quite seriously bad.
"Romance and romance fantasy are somewhat different. If romance is a macaron, then romance fantasy is a chocolate mousse cake. Death King. I do think an expert should step forward......."
The reclusive master quietly radiating profound depth was Paladin. However, in the previous round, she had a record of failing the raid. Taking Paladin along was burdensome.
"Isn't love ultimately something that can be converted into money? Those who pay money well also love well. Love is power, and power is money. It is the eternal law of the ages. I should be the one employed here."
The Count fanned himself. Who on earth was the person who threw that man into romance?
"Hm."
I calmly looked around. As it happened, one figure entered my field of vision. That figure was sipping orange juice served by the bookmark maid.
"Heretic Questioner."
I called that person's name.
"Yes?"
"Let's have a go at a romance story together."
"Oh-ho?"
The surrounding hunters stared at us with horrified eyes.
Heretic Questioner. The iron-blooded slaughterer. A person who, whenever a religious dispute arose, unconditionally tortured and executed. Even in our Tower, which was full of abnormal people, he was treated as crazy—a truly pure, natural-born psycho.
If you took a survey asking who in the world seemed least suited to romance, that man would have first place locked down. That person smiled brightly like an innocent boy.
"Yes! Understood! Ah-ha, if it is Death King's request, I shall gladly comply!"
To someone who didn't know the truth, it was truly an angelic smile.
"Death King, are you insane......?"
In other words, to someone who did know the truth, it was nothing short of a devil's smile. The Witch quickly approached and whispered into my ear.
"Heretic Questioner can't empathize with others! Objectively he's a psychopath, and subjectively, even if you cheer him on, he's a sociopath. What are you going to do bringing a man like that into a romance Apocalypse?"
"Black Dragon Master."
I answered in a whisper too.
"I don't know the first thing about romance, but I do know what matters most."
"What is it?"
"Looks."
"...Huh?"
"Looks."
"......."
I was serious.
"Uh......."
"First of all, you need to be handsome."
"No, isn't that a bit prejudiced......? There are plenty of people in romance described as plain-looking."
"They're scamming with the cover."
"Ahh, you've gone and said what shouldn't be said... you......."
"Now, look. In our Tower, judged purely by looks alone, who looks the most like an angel? It's Heretic Questioner. Even I thought he was a real angel until I learned his true nature."
We glanced over at Heretic Questioner.
From afar, Heretic Questioner was beaming and smiling.
"You admit it, right?"
"...Yeah. That kid's looks are absolutely brutal. The problem is his personality is inversely brutal too."
"On top of that, Heretic Questioner is competent. He uses holy magic. He could probably handle most incidents that break out, right? He also listens to what I say without question."
Above all, Heretic Questioner has no discrepancy between his outer and inner self.
What he said aloud and what he thought inside were the same.
Unity of inner and outer.
I thought this could also be an advantage in romance.
Because having no difference between your outward appearance and your inner feelings comes across as charming to many people.
"...That might unexpectedly be a clever plan."
Someone who had been eavesdropping on our conversation spoke.
It was Paladin.
She was slowly nodding her head. Her eyes were filled with admiration.
"Romance fantasy becomes a masterpiece the more crazy bastards it has. Heretic Questioner isn't bad by romance-fantasy standards. It's a shame he has no obsession with love, but he has room to develop into a crazy male lead. This could be fun. As expected of Death King... you display ghost-like intuition even in romance......."
The library fell silent.
"Hm? Did I say something strange?"
Again, the library was silent.
Only the Witch was thinking something.
「There's some sense to it, but it's not like he looks a bit young like Death King—Heretic Questioner looks way too young....... Even if he looks young, he should be appropriately boyish. In this field, a completely childlike appearance isn't popular.......」
Fortunately or unfortunately, that expert opinion was never voiced aloud.
Thanks to that, the romance duo of me and Heretic Questioner was safely formed.
Looking at the finalized raid party, the Librarian's eyes sparkled.
"Oh-ho. Attempting the raid with an unusual combination. Excellent! This one is greatly looking forward to what story will unfold this time."
The Librarian reached out and grasped [The Tale of Sormwyn Academy].
"Behold, the season of love! It has become an age where praising love is only natural! To transcend status, bloodline, nationality, and seize love—now that is called beautiful!"
The Constellation's sleeve fluttered.
"Perhaps it is precisely because of that that love has become difficult. Love is not merely an emotion but an attitude and a posture, yet so many people obsess over romance."
The Librarian chuckled.
"Romantic reality, or realistic romance. Gong-ja, you too will find it quite difficult to strike a balance. That is why this Librarian has specially prepared a clear bonus for you!"
A clear bonus?
"In truth, you are no different from having cleared not only the normal stage but also the hidden stage of [Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon]. The normal stage reward was given for the 22nd floor, but you have yet to receive the hidden stage reward. I shall gift it to you now."
"Uh, what is it?"
"Come this way. My protagonist."
I approached.
"I shall give you three cards."
Ta-da, the Librarian handed over the cards.
The cards were inscribed as follows.
+
[Prosopagnosia Card]
[What a Coincidence? Overhearing a Decisive Secret! Card]
[Oops! I Shouldn't Say This! An Accidental Slip of the Tongue! Card]
+
"......."
Great.
The names alone were ominous.
Whatever effects these cards had, they were incredibly suspicious.
"Excuse me. These are......."
"They are all used magnificently in romance stories. These cards will surely become your army of a thousand horses. So worry not!"
Worrying is all I can do.
"The gifts are not limited to this. I have prepared one more. Once you enter the Apocalypse, you will naturally encounter the gift."
"Pardon?"
"Death King. Heretic Questioner."
The Librarian did not answer my question. Instead, he opened the book. Whoooosh! Light burst from the pages of the Apocalypse.
"I designate the above two as characters of [The Tale of Sormwyn Academy]. When you open your eyes, it will be a world seven days before The Tale of Sormwyn Academy meets its unfortunate Serialization Cancellation."
The light enveloped the two of us.
"I shall look forward to seeing a splendid ending! Young lady! And butler!"
Young lady?
Butler?
The moment I tried to ask what that meant, my vision went completely white.
4
I had never been absorbed in romance.
Not only did I have no habit of reading books, I had no friends around me who were into [Romance]. To be a bit more honest, I simply had no friends. Even now, when asked how many people I could call friends, I would rather remain silent.
But if you asked what the [most frequently appearing onomatopoeia] in the romance genre is, even a layman like me could answer easily.
Smack!
It was the sound of a slap across the cheek.
"...You vulgar, insolent thing!"
A ringing voice reached the chandelier on the ceiling. Before the chandelier's swaying had even stopped, smaaack! The all-time number one sound in the romance field rang out once more.
As you can tell from the fact that I was leisurely spectating the sound, the person who got slapped was not me.
"...Ah-ha?"
It was Heretic Questioner.
Heretic Questioner tilted his head. Left cheek and right cheek. Even though both sides had turned red, Heretic Questioner smiled brightly. Toward the person who had slapped his cheeks.
"Have I committed some wrongdoing? Your hand is terribly harsh!"
The other person's expression turned fierce. She must be a young lady of noble status. She wore a dress embroidered with a lily pattern in silver thread.
For convenience in my mind, I labeled her 'Lady Silver Lily.'
"How dare you act so nonchalant......! You vulgar thing! Have you no shame!"
"Ah-ha."
And this was where things started giving me a headache.
Lady Silver Lily was not the only one dressed in a gown.
"If I have done something wrong, please do point it out! I will listen, and if the criticism is reasonable, I will correct it immediately! It is best to avoid violence as much as possible!"
Heretic Questioner was also wearing a dress.
Compared to Lady Silver Lily's dress, it was far plainer. A color resembling the flesh of a lime fruit. Heretic Questioner wore a dress that split evenly between yellow's innocence and green's freshness.
Innocence could easily come off as childishness. Freshness was often mistaken for ignorance. But none of that mattered. His looks carried the whole thing. As expected of a hunter I had chosen almost entirely for his appearance, the natural-born knockout smiled radiantly.
"Now then! Nameless person. Let us converse!"
Smack!
"You truly... truly, mock me to the very end......."
Lady Silver Lily seemed to wring out her entire body when she spoke. The curve of her bent spine transferred directly into her voice.
The one who slapped was Lady Silver Lily and the one who was slapped was Heretic Questioner, yet for some reason, as time passed, Lady Silver Lily's breathing grew more labored.
'Hm.'
I pushed through the confusion immediately following our entry into the Apocalypse and grasped the situation to some extent.
'A social gathering? A ball? Anyway, we're in the middle of an event.'
A ballroom draped with chandeliers.
Not just us, but dozens of people wore dresses and suits. They stood far away, watching this direction with anxious faces. Their flustered and tense expressions were obvious.
That was only natural, since a peaceful ball had turned into chaos.
'Lady Silver Lily is the [villainess].......'
I looked at the young lady.
'Excluding the imperial family, she's the person of highest status.'
She was also the one who would destroy this Apocalypse's world.
"Lo, ok, at, me!"
Lady Silver Lily spoke while staggering. She seemed to chew each syllable with her teeth and spit it out. Just hearing it made your lungs ache.
"Yes, my lady."
Servants dressed in black tailcoats answered.
"Those things... I cannot bear to look at them. Remove them. Quickly... remove them from my sight!"
"Yes."
The servants' answering voices were never loud. They were low. The lower-ranked adjusted the pitch of their voices to suit the constitution of their superior. Anyone could see that Lady Silver Lily was frail. To her ears, a loud voice was poison.
"Oh."
Which was why Heretic Questioner was Lady Silver Lily's natural enemy.
"Are you perhaps unwell? This is serious! I shall support you!"
"Quickly... can you not remove them quickly? Lock up that master and servant... at once......."
Because Heretic Questioner was a natural whose voice was bright & beaming by default.
The tailcoated servants surrounded us like a military unit.
"Excuse us."
"You will need to come with us for a moment."
Their words were refined, but their actions were not. The servants forcibly dragged the two of us out.
Past the ballroom, through the corridor, we were transported to some warehouse pale with moonlight.
"Excuse me?"
I spoke while being transferred to the warehouse.
For reference, I was also wearing a tailcoat identical to the servants'.
"Where are you taking us right now? Yes?"
There was no answer.
"Excuse me? Servants of the ducal house?"
Bang.
"......."
"......."
Heretic Questioner and I looked at each other. Soon after, click! The sound of a key turning rang out. We had been imprisoned in some unknown warehouse.
Unless my common sense was wrong, when a warehouse door is locked with a key, it becomes a prison.
"Ah-ha."
Bathed in moonlight seeping through the iron bars, Heretic Questioner spoke.
"Death King, we have a serious problem!"
Heretic Questioner was smiling brightly as if it were no problem at all.
"It seems I’ve become the heroine—a young noblewoman!"
Indeed.
And I was that young lady's butler.