Just a Passing Rabbit Mask

Golems are nothing more than magical constructs that move according to predetermined commands. They're no different from robots.

"Wait. Let's talk this out."

"Intruder!"

"Die!"

Naturally, conversation was useless against them. They existed solely to kill X. Their sword swings were crude, but they were unmistakably lethal. Even a crude blade becomes a problem when there are two of them — and right now, one sword was aiming for his neck while the other came for his legs, both at once.

Weapons had been forbidden in the mansion, so he hadn't been able to bring one in the first place. Should I buy even a rusty sword from the shop...!?

Just as the two blades were about to butcher his body—

"How long do you plan on lingering in a place like this?"

The golems froze. They didn't so much as twitch, as if someone had flipped a switch.

"Struggling against these cheap golems, of all things."

Then each piece of the golems lost its power and clattered to the floor. It was a disassembly so perfect it deserved a round of applause.

"And you didn't even know they were transmitting information to the surrounding area."

Someone walked out, waving a hand through the air. A wave of mana swept through the corridor. X finally got a look at whoever it was.

A rabbit mask...?

The rabbit mask made it impossible to identify her. There was no short woman with this voice and blonde hair anywhere in X's knowledge.

The rabbit mask sighed.

"You didn't even know you were walking around with something like this attached."

She held out her hand, showing what she'd grabbed. A crow. But it wasn't an ordinary crow.

"...A familiar?"

"You didn't even realize you were being watched?"

The rabbit mask squeezed, crushing the crow familiar. It crumbled like stone, turned to powder, and vanished. As X stared blankly, the rabbit mask snapped at him.

"Are you going to keep standing there like an idiot?"

"No, wait..."

"If you've got nothing to say, get out of the way."

The rabbit mask brushed past X and pushed open the basement door. The massive door swung wide. An ominous aura billowed through the gap, but she paid it no mind and walked inside. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Then she glanced back at him.

"You're really not coming?"

"...I am. But first."

X picked up a golem's sword as he spoke. He needed a weapon if he was going into this basement. And he had a question he had to ask.

"Who are you?"

The rabbit mask fell silent for a moment. She touched the chin of her mask as if considering, then answered in a small voice.

"Just a passing... rabbit mask."

"I... see. A rabbit mask, then."

"..."

The rabbit mask glared at him once, then spun around and headed down into the basement. She seemed offended. X sighed and followed after her.

Who is she? Was there a scenario like this?

An unexpected companion had appeared for a basement trip he'd planned to take alone. The problem was that he had no idea who she was. Her motives for helping him were completely unclear.

This mansion is crawling with villains of every stripe. She might be after some kind of treasure.

He considered striking while her back was turned, but given how easily she'd dismantled the golems, making an enemy of her would be dangerous.

I'm out of sleeping pills now... What do I do...

"If you're thinking of pulling something, do it now. I don't have much patience."

X quickly gave up. She was clearly stronger than him. That didn't mean he could just let her waltz into the basement.

"Excuse me, miss. This is a private area, so you can't just—"

"But you, disguised as a servant, are allowed in?"

"..."

"Go on. Keep running that smart mouth of yours."

"No... Please, continue..."

He hadn't even considered that she'd already figured out his identity. He had no idea from what point he'd been found out. X followed behind her as if being dragged along.

Yeah. I shouldn't pick a fight.

The rabbit mask's combat prowess was overwhelming. Dozens of golems stood guard in the basement, but a few gestures from her reduced them all to scrap.

So the way to deal with golems is to cut off their mana connection signals. Most mages wouldn't even attempt that...

After traveling with this unknown companion, they arrived at the deepest level of the basement. The lighting was so dim it was hard to see.

"The owner of this place has truly wretched taste..."

Apparently she didn't like it, because the rabbit mask created orbs of light with magic and scattered them. The entire space lit up. She looked around, examining whatever her hands found.

The first thing she inspected was a row of dozens of iron cages lining one wall of the basement. All of them were empty.

"What's this? There's a formula here that blocks energy..."

So these were used to hide demons.

Just as he'd expected, evidence of the academy's large-scale raid had been confirmed. That meant there might be documents nearby detailing the locations of their attacks.

Damn it... Am I already too late?

Scanning the area, X found a pile of documents that had been burned in a brazier. It was exactly what he'd been looking for.

They're burned. I can't read them. I guess I'll have to extract the information from the princess herself...

"What's that?"

While he was lost in thought, the rabbit mask took the pile of burnt documents. She examined the ashes too, but found nothing. As if venting her irritation, she pointed at the iron ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cages and scolded him.

"You. You know what those are, don't you?"

"I have no idea."

"Don't play dumb. I know that's why you came here."

"I don't kno— AAAAGH! Fine! I'll talk!"

He surrendered to the pain of her pinching the flesh of his inner forearm. X confessed with a grim, resigned expression.

"They're cages for holding slaves. Naturally, not ordinary slaves. Demon slaves, no less."

"...Hmm."

It was a lie, of course. Judging by her reaction, she seemed to believe him. X's answer naturally led to another question.

"Why did you come to a place with demon slaves?"

"Well, actually, a long time ago..."

"I don't want to hear a boring story. Summarize."

"I came to rescue the demon slaves."

The idea of using demons as slaves was already a widely known story, so there was no room for doubt. Most demon slaves were used to satisfy the perverted tastes of nobles. Obviously illegal.

"That's your cover story, is it?"

Apparently some suspicion remained.

She's completely seized the initiative.

It was only natural, given that his identity had been unilaterally exposed. He raised his guard against the rabbit mask even further.

After that, the two of them continued exploring the basement. After searching everything, X found it.

I knew it was here.

Over a hundred small potion bottles sat arranged on a table. Inside them, a nauseatingly colored liquid glowed with a bizarre aura.

It really is the Demonification Accelerator.

The Demonification Accelerator — one of the items from a discarded scenario. This potion had an absurd setting that instantly advanced the demonification of anyone who drank it. In fact, this very potion was one of the reasons the scenario had been scrapped.

If you can mass-produce something like this, why sneak around among the nobles? Just dump it in a well and turn everyone into demons.

The problem was that it was sitting right in front of him. The grim reality of it made his head throb so badly his vision went dark.

I specifically told her that dumping settings like this would be impossible to handle later...

At that moment, a status window suddenly appeared before his eyes.

It was an outrageous message.

"What? What?! D-don't you fucking dare! You son of a bitch status window!!"

After ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠coming all this way, was this going to be some ridiculous Probability Penalty? Had Elysia planned all of this? Had this entire process been nothing more than dancing on Elysia's palm?

Just as he was about to despair at the absurd unfairness of it—

"Wh-what...?"

Wh-what is this...

For a moment he'd been ready to feel cheated, thinking he was getting a Probability Penalty — but reading it again, it wasn't a penalty.

An Advantage?

This was something he'd never seen before. Not a penalty, but an advantage. X knew exactly what that meant.

...So that's how it is!

It was the same as when Author Points went up after he received a Probability Penalty. It just worked in reverse.

In that case!

He'd suspected as much, but the Author Points had actually been removed. The 50,500 points that had been sitting there were now at zero.

"I knew it! Serves you right, you damn bitch!!"

He couldn't help but cheer. This was the moment it was proven that he could directly penalize Elysia. And that wasn't all he'd learned. This might be the most important information he'd obtained so far.

Elysia doesn't have complete control over the system. She's receiving penalties of her own.

In other words, Elysia was not an omnipotent, perfect god of this world. The information and points he'd gained so far made all this fumbling around worth it.

"Have you lost your mind?"

As he trembled, on the verge of tears from sheer joy, the rabbit mask looked at him like he was a lunatic. X remembered her presence belatedly and hurriedly offered an excuse.

"I finally found what I was looking for. It would be a lie to say I'm not happy."

"Ah, right. So what is this? What are you planning to do with it?"

"This is..."

X wasn't the type to blurt out the truth just because he was excited. He barely suppressed his elation and answered.

"This is evidence that can prove the host of this banquet has ties to the demon race. If I bring this to the Empire, my long-held wish and my friend's revenge..."

"Yeah, yeah. So I just smash all of them except one as evidence, right?"

"Ah, w-wait, wait a minute! The more evidence the better! Smashing them is not a good method!"

X hurriedly stopped the rabbit mask. She squinted at him, then sighed. Then she asked a sudden, unexpected question.

"Hey. Do you prefer the right, or the left?"

"Pardon? Why are you suddenly..."

"Just pick one."

"...The left?"

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rabbit mask pointed a finger at X's left arm and flicked it once. Then—

"AAAAAARGH...!"

X's vision flooded with light. Thunder roared, scraping at his eardrums. Before he could even process the situation, the searing agony surging from his left arm fried his brain as if it would cook it from the inside.

All of it could be expressed in a single fact.

The rabbit mask had just attacked him.