Chapter 72
Chapter 72
Chapter 72
DLC [Professor of the Heroic Tale] : Mid-Term Summary (5)
One side was full of life, an unknown figure.
One side was completely devoid of life, a clearly defined figure.
Such a two-shot was ironic.
At the same time, I was puzzled. I couldn't grasp why Adele's expression, which I'd glimpsed for a moment, had been strange.
I wondered if it was because her monopoly as an assistant professor, which we'd discussed yesterday, had been broken.
If so, wasn't she unexpectedly a pure assistant professor who just wanted to do well? Why was that dangerous?
"It's because the Professor is dense."
Then, a thought occurred to me, something Adele had told me once.
I didn't know when or where she'd said it, but Adele had described me as dense when it came to human relationships.
Was that so…?
At any rate, I was pleased by that brief change in expression. It felt like I had caught a glimpse of the 'face behind the mask,' which hadn't been revealed even when she was drunk.
Ran's presence might be a stimulus. I decided to observe for a while.
"Assistant Professor Ran, come with me for a moment."
"Yes."
Adele aside for now.
I decided to learn about the new person who had joined us.
I took Ran to my room on the second floor.
"Name?"
"Ran. I have no surname."
"Age."
"The setting is 25."
"...You're the same age as Adele. I'm curious about your journey to becoming my assistant professor. Were you perhaps sent by [Systematicity⧉]?"
"I don't know about that."
"You don't know?"
"I was asleep for a very long time. And when I opened my eyes, I felt like I had to come to Hiaka."
"Why."
"I don't know."
"……."
"My departure point was the outskirts of the Hattengrad Empire. When I arrived in Hiaka, the Chairman greeted me. That's all."
"When did you wake up?"
"20 days, 5 hours, and 37 minutes ago."
It was around the time I came out of [Offline].
It was certain. A person sent by [Systematicity⧉].
"But why did it take 20 days? If you had gone through a Warp Station, you would have arrived in a day."
"I had no status, so both were unavailable. The Chairman has created one for me now."
Then how did you get here?
You must have traveled hard.
Ran's words were quite interesting.
I, too, was a person sent by [Systematicity⧉].
I was a parachute professor appointed through the Chairman.
In other words, Ran was likely a person who had approached the world in the same way I had.
Surely she wasn't a player, was she?
"What's the masterpiece of BBQ?"
"……."
Ran blinked her pitch-black eyes, then placed her index finger on her temple and closed her eyes.
"What am I doing?"
"Thinking……."
"Thinking is informal speech."
"That's right. ……I'm sorry. I didn't understand what you meant. What is the masterpiece of BBQ?"
It wasn't the Hot Golden Olive Crispy… but.
I asked about other things like Elon Musk and the Pyramids, but she seemed to know nothing. She wasn't a modern person, I presumed.
"Then, do you know about [Error Space]?"
"I don't know well."
"...Isn't that your role?"
"Is it?"
"……."
She was a peculiar person.
"Can you drive?"
"I can't right now, but one of my auxiliary devices might be compatible."
"Auxiliary device?"
"Yes."
So I took her to the Mana Car in the parking lot.
Ran took out a gear from her pocket and placed it on her head. Then, she began to drive skillfully.
It was amazing.
There were no such people before the [DLC].
"How interesting. Is it a method where you gain abilities by placing something on your head?"
"It's similar."
"What else can you place on your head?"
"I can place an apple."
"Then what happens?"
"I become good at apples."
"...Anything else?"
"If I place a bamboo helicopter, I can fly."
"Show me."
Then Ran took out a bamboo helicopter from her pocket, placed it on her head, and actually began to float in the air.
"Oh."
It's fun.
She could also generate wind by placing a pinwheel on her head (for coolness), swim by placing a rubber duck (which normally sinks), and eat by placing a steamed bun (useless).
In other words, Ran was Doraemon.
"Can I place that on my head too?"
"No."
I wasn't Nobita.
Since she could drive, I took Ran to Zone 0. I was curious about what the [Error Space] on Star Gazing Mountain was.
"Can you see that?"
At this moment, Ran took out a bead with the Systematicity symbol "⧉" drawn on it from her pocket.
"...Didn't you say you weren't sent by [Systematicity⧉]?"
"No. I said I didn't know. But among the auxiliary devices I possessed, there was this symbol."
Regardless, as she placed the symbol on her head, the symbol (⧉) also appeared in her eyes.
"If you're referring to the black sphere, I can see it now. Professor, what are you curious about?"
"Tell me all the information regarding that [Error Space]."
"...The list only has one line for now."
"For now?"
"……It seems there will be two or more errors in the final count."
She said it was unknown when the new list would be updated.
"So, there's one line for now. What is it?"
It was something I had been curious about for a long time.
Jinxite suddenly popped out of a 50m scale [Error Space], but what would come out of a 1,000m scale [Error Space]?
What kind of bug could it be?
"……."
Ran paused for a moment, then said.
"……Something that absolutely had to die within the order of the world is forcibly alive inside."