Chapter 550: Secret Room (3)

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 550: Secret Room (3)

The stone gates opened wide.

It was different from when we used it to summon monsters. Usually, the only thing we could see beyond the gate was darkness. Our vision didn't improve even when we approached the entryway, and some sort of mysterious force blocked us from stepping through.

Shaaa!

But this time, white light shined through the open gate, though we still weren't able to see what was inside through the blinding rays.

"All right, follow me!"

Judging by how Hamsick was confidently leading the way, however, it seemed we could now go in.

"For some reason...I'm getting a bit nervous."

"Can we really trust a monster like that...?"

"You're all worried for nothing. We have the baron with us."

Despite looking unsure and nervous, everyone trailed after me with an eager light in their eyes as I followed Hamsick.

"(I'll go in first. See you there!)"

Hamsick walked into the light first, and I took a short moment to steel myself before quickly following it in.

Flash!

Like with a portal, the light swallowed up my body as I stepped inside.

[You have entered the First Records Archives.]

When I opened my eyes, I was in an unfamiliar place. The circular space was lined with bookshelves full of books of all colors.

"(B-Be careful! You'll dent the ceiling!)"

The first thing to note was that the space was very small. Even though I wasn't in Giantization mode, I needed to squat and bend my neck at an uncomfortable angle just to walk. It felt like I was inside a miniature model of a library, at least to me. A quick glance around told me there was only one other person who looked to be as uncomfortable as I was.

"Uwah! What's this? It's so cramped I feel like I'm going to die! And it's full of books too!" Ainar cried out in discomfort.

Not for the first time, I found myself wondering at the way society showed such little care for barbarians. The world would be a beautiful place if the height of every ceiling could be raised by just a foot.

Despite my grousing, however, I made sure to carefully study my surroundings.

"(This is where I usually stay... You're my first guest, so what do you think?)" Hamsick asked me.

"(It's cool.)"

"(R-Really...?)"

"(Probably)" I said absently as I took a look around, but a cursory pass told me only one thing.

The only things here are books.

Books in bookshelves, books stacked on the ground like towers—the only distinguishing factor was their placement, but all I could see were books in this space.

However, it was too early to give up.

"(Hamsick.)"

"(...E-Eh?)"

I ignored how nervous Hamsick sounded when I called out to it and instead stepped forward and pulled a book out from underneath a pile of other books. "(What's this book? It looks like you quickly hid it before I came in here.)"

"(Can't— Can't you tell? It's just an ordinary book!)"

Wow, it was still acting like this even though we were friends now.

The book's gilded cover immediately signaled to me that it was no ordinary book. "(Oh good, so it's just an ordinary book. I'll take this as a housewarming gift, then.)"

"(A h-housewarming gift? What do you take me for? The guests are supposed to give the housewarming gift to the host!)"

Tsk, it knew that? That made things a bit harder, but in the end, it didn't end up being ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all that big a hurdle.

"(Hamsick, that's the old way,)" I admonished. What could it do if I told it otherwise?

"(...Eh?)

"(These days, the guests are the ones who receive the gifts... Maybe you don't know that because you've been stuck in here for so long?)"

"(O-Oh! Right! Yep! I just got that tradition confused with something else!)"

"(Huh...)"

"(Really! Don't get the wrong idea! It was just a mistake!)"

No, that wasn't the issue here. I didn't expect that to work so well, so I had surprised even myself.

Hamsick cleared his throat when I didn't answer. "(R-Really!)"

The obvious lie left me a little off-kilter. "(Got it, I'll trust you,)" I said. "(Because we're friends.)"

"(Yeah! Because we're friends! Trust is important in a relationship between friends!)"

...Why did this hamster seem so cute all of a sudden? It was only a monster, and one I was planning to rob for all it had to boot.

I beat back any fondness I might feel for it and instead said, "(Then are you giving me this? The book?)"

"(N-Not that one! I-I'll give you something else!)"

"(Why? Didn't you say it's an ordinary book?)"

Hamsick went silent, having driven itself into a corner of its own making. Was it the type to avoid conflict? It had a habit of going quiet whenever it was stumped.

"Lord Baron, there's something written here in the ancient language. Would you mind translating it for us?"

Just as I was contemplating how to sneak this golden book out of this place, a member of the Armin Adventuring Group's wizard trio approached me with another book in hand. I could tell at a glance that it was one of the ones from the shelves.

"(You uncivilized brutes! How dare you touch someone else's property without their permission?)"

Only then did Hamsick look around and realize the situation it was in. To be honest, its anger was justified. Even I could tell that this was a little too much.

"Check every single thing here!"

"Ah! Sorry! I ripped the book while pulling it out."

"Don't worry about minor things like that. We should push the bookshelves over! There might be something hidden behind them!"

The other adventurers immediately jumped into exploring as soon as they entered and were currently turning the place upside down. I was reminded, not for the first time, that adventurers as a species were practically incarnations of destruction and greed.

"(You little—!)" Hamsick let out a wordless noise of rage, but no one in the group seemed to care.

"Um...I think the monster's mad again."

"What a frightening shriek..."

"Is this really all right?"

"Eh, we'll be fine! Why are you all worried? Didn't you see for yourselves earlier? When the baron subdued it and held it down, it was so overwhelmed by his greatness that it rushed to open the door for us!"

The book's gilded cover immediately signaled to me that it was no ordinary book. "(Oh good, so it's just an ordinary book. I'll take this as a housewarming gift, then.)"

"(A h-housewarming gift? What do you take me for? The guests are supposed to give the housewarming gift to the host!)"

Tsk, it knew that? That made things a bit harder, but in the end, it didn't end up being all that big a hurdle.

"(Hamsick, that's the old way,)" I admonished. What could it do if I told it otherwise?

"(...Eh?)

"(These days, the guests are the ones who receive the gifts... Maybe you don't know that because you've been stuck in here for so long?)"

"(O-Oh! Right! Yep! I just got that tradition confused with something else!)"

"(Huh...)"

"(Really! Don't get the wrong idea! It was just a mistake!)"

No, that wasn't the issue here. I didn't expect that to work so well, so I had surprised even myself.

Hamsick cleared his throat when I didn't answer. "(R-Really!)"

The obvious lie left me a little off-kilter. "(Got it, I'll trust you,)" I said. "(Because we're friends.)"

"(Yeah! Because we're friends! Trust is important in a relationship between friends!)"

...Why did this hamster seem so cute all of a sudden? It was only a monster, and one I was planning to rob for all it had to boot.

I beat back any fondness I might feel for it and instead said, "(Then are you giving me this? The book?)"

"(N-Not that one! I-I'll give you something else!)"

"(Why? Didn't you say it's an ordinary book?)"

Hamsick went silent, having driven itself into a corner of its own making. Was it the type to avoid conflict? It had a habit of going quiet whenever it was stumped.

"Lord Baron, there's something written here in the ancient language. Would you mind translating it for us?"

Just as I was contemplating how to sneak this golden book out of this place, a member of the Armin Adventuring Group's wizard trio approached me with another book in hand. I could tell at a glance that it was one of the ones from the shelves.

"(You uncivilized brutes! How dare you touch someone else's property without their permission?)"

Only then did Hamsick look around and realize the situation it was in. To be honest, its anger was justified. Even I could tell that this was a little too much.

"Check every single thing here!"

"Ah! Sorry! I ripped the book while pulling it out."

"Don't worry about minor things like that. We should push the bookshelves over! There might be something hidden behind them!"

The other adventurers immediately jumped into exploring as soon as they entered and were currently turning the place upside down. I was reminded, not for the first time, that adventurers as a species were practically incarnations of destruction and greed.

"(You little—!)" Hamsick let out a wordless noise of rage, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no one in the group seemed to care.

"Um...I think the monster's mad again."

"What a frightening shriek..."

"Is this really all right?"

"Eh, we'll be fine! Why are you all worried? Didn't you see for yourselves earlier? When the baron subdued it and held it down, it was so overwhelmed by his greatness that it rushed to open the door for us!"

"Haha! No one will believe us if we tell this story when we leave this place—a presence grand enough to make a monster like that obey him? This is the kind of thing people make fun of in old legends!"

"Truly, the baron is no ordinary man..."

Ah, I supposed the past few minutes could look like that from the outside. But in reality, I was simply scamming a naive hamster who didn't know anything about how the world worked.

It's... better if they don't know.

There was a reason the tales of Jumong and Bak Hyeokgeose and other such myths about old lords existed. It was because they were helpful in establishing rule over the people.

"(Hamsick, calm down.)"

"(What? Are you really telling me to calm down after seeing all this?)"

"(Isn't cleaning things up what you were born to do anyway? Or do you actually hate cleaning?)"

"(Um... That's not it...)"

"(Then it's fine. Everyone's doing their best to help you do the work you like doing, so why are you angry?)"

"(Uh, is that... Is that how that works...?)"

All right, it looked like that convinced it.

"(Could I open this?)" I asked.

"(Huh? Ah... Yeah... If you're just opening it...)"

I also managed to extract permission from Hamsick while it was still in a daze, so I quickly threw open the golden book. Honestly, I had high expectations. This golden book looked like one of the summoning books.

What sort of monster is inside? Maybe a super-rare monster like a Mimic? Or a Guardian of the Rift like Milayel?

Hmm, maybe the way it works is that after I kill a specific monster, a reward will appear—Huh?

The first passage stopped me in my tracks.

A long long time ago, there was a brother and sister who lived happily in a rural village.

...What is this?

The story was written in the ancient language and seemed to be an entry in a child's diary based on shaky handwriting. It didn't take long for me to read through it all. Although the book was thick, the writing ended on the first page.

"Lord Baron, could we perhaps hear what it says?"

Everyone, not just the wizard trio, seemed to be interested in what I was reading, so I gave them a quick summary.

"Once upon a time, a brother and sister lived happily in a rural village. However, when the older brother decided to leave the village to become a wizard, the younger sister was very sad."

"And?"

"That's it."

"...What?"

Well, that was all that was written here, so yeah. That was why I hadn't even considered withholding the knowledge and simply told everyone what it said outright. The story wasn't long enough to tell us anything, let alone long enough to decide whether it was worth hiding. I flipped to the back pages, but there wasn't anything else written in the book.

This story probably isn't nothing, though.

The importance of the tale I just read climbed a notch higher. Basement Floor One contained all sorts of mysteries and unknowns, and this mysterious monster I'd met, Hamsick, had been guarding this book in its hideout for thousands of years. There was no way its contents were mere nonsense.

"Haha! No one will believe us if we tell this story when we leave this place—a presence grand enough to make a monster like that obey him? This is the kind of thing people make fun of in old legends!"

"Truly, the baron is no ordinary man..."

Ah, I supposed the past few minutes could look like that from the outside. But in reality, I was simply scamming a naive hamster who didn't know anything about how the world worked.

It's... better if they don't know.

There was a reason the tales of Jumong and Bak Hyeokgeose and other such myths about old lords existed. It was because they were helpful in establishing rule over the people.

"(Hamsick, calm down.)"

"(What? Are you really telling me to calm down after seeing all this?)"

"(Isn't cleaning things up what you were born to do anyway? Or do you actually hate cleaning?)"

"(Um... That's not it...)"

"(Then it's fine. Everyone's doing their best to help you do the work you like doing, so why are you angry?)"

"(Uh, is that... Is that how that works...?)"

All right, it looked like that convinced it.

"(Could I open this?)" I asked.

"(Huh? Ah... Yeah... If you're just opening it...)"

I also managed to extract permission from Hamsick while it was still in a daze, so I quickly threw open the golden book. Honestly, I had high expectations. This golden book looked like one of the summoning books.

What sort of monster is inside? Maybe a super-rare monster like a Mimic? Or a Guardian of the Rift like Milayel?

Hmm, maybe the way it works is that after I kill a specific monster, a reward will appear—Huh?

The first passage stopped me in my tracks.

A long long time ago, there was a brother and sister who lived happily in a rural village.

...What is this?

The story was written in the ancient language and seemed to be an entry in a child's diary based on shaky handwriting. It didn't take long for me to read through it all. Although the book was thick, the writing ended on the first page.

"Lord Baron, could we perhaps hear what it says?"

Everyone, not just the wizard trio, seemed to be interested in what I was reading, so I gave them a quick summary.

"Once upon a time, a brother and sister lived happily in a rural village. However, when the older brother decided to leave the village to become a wizard, the younger sister was very sad."

"And?"

"That's it."

"...What?"

Well, that was all that was written here, so yeah. That was why I hadn't even considered withholding the knowledge and simply told everyone what it said outright. The story wasn't long enough to tell us anything, let alone long enough to decide whether it was worth hiding. I flipped to the back pages, but there wasn't anything else written in the book.

This story probably isn't nothing, though.

The importance of the tale I just read climbed a notch higher. Basement Floor One contained all sorts of mysteries and unknowns, and this mysterious monster I'd met, Hamsick, had been guarding this book in its hideout for thousands of years. There was no way its contents were mere nonsense.

I called everyone together for a brainstorming session. "Does anyone know who the siblings in the story are?"

"Hmm... A brother and a sister... The first thing that comes to mind is the Kailaje siblings."

The Kailaje siblings were a famous adventuring party that had been active a few hundred years ago, so no.

"Is this perhaps related to mythology? Some time ago when I was studying theology, I read a theologian's thesis arguing that Lord Reatlas and Lord Heindel were born from the same parents."

But this didn't seem like the story of a god, either.

"Well, my first thought was the Immortal King. Before he rose to the throne, he had many younger siblings."

Well, since he had a large family, he would've had a younger sister, but the fact that the tale mentioned a rural village contradicted that theory. Even if Rafdonia was located at the edge of the continent, it was still said to have raked in a lot of money through trade back in the day.

"Emily, what about you? Can you think of anything?"

She took a moment to think before responding. "Rather than the siblings part, I'm more fixated on the part where the brother went off to learn magic."

"Ah, that."

"Is there a possibility that this is maybe a story about the Last Great Sage, Gabrielius?"

Hmm, that was also a possibility. The problem was that even if one of these guesses was right, we had no way of deducing which one.

Hmm...I guess that's not entirely accurate, actually.

"(Hamsick, do you know who this story is about?)"

"(...No?)"

I asked just in case, but Hamsick didn't seem to know anything either.

"(You're saying you've been guarding this story for years and you don't even know whose story it is?)" I asked accusingly, clearly warning the hamster not to lie.

Hamsick waved its hands in a show of innocence. "(I really don't know! I just... felt like I needed to... That's why I've been keeping it safe.)"

"(Hmm, really? Then I can take it, right?)"

"(But you— No! I'm supposed to give that book to someone someday!)"

"(Give it to someone...? Who?)"

"(Someone qualified to have it.)"

"(What are the qualifications?)"

"(I... don't know that yet... but I'll know when I see it. Rather, I have a strong feeling I'll know.)"

The longer we spoke, the more curious I became about Hamsick. What was this thing? Who created it, and why did it have to spend so long by itself here in a place no one ever visited?

"(A-Anyway! You aren't qualified, so don't even dream of it! I need to hold onto this book until the time comes...!)"

"(Hamsick, friends share everything with each—)"

Squeak! "(Doesn't matter, you still can't take it!)"

Tsk, so that wasn't going to work?

I set aside my interest in the golden book for now. Although I hadn't completely given up on it, its ranking on my list of priorities had fallen after seeing that it only had one passage worth of information inside.

"Versyl! Have you found anything?"

"Anything? Come here! There are so many things I need to show you!"

Besides, the golden book wasn't the only thing in this secret room.

***

Our process for investigating this secret area was quite simple. We pulled all the books off the shelves, pushed the empty bookshelves over on their sides, and then either physically hit or used magic to destroy the walls. It might seem a bit barbaric, but this was the official method used by adventurers faced with the unknown. Something was bound to show up as long as you did all this.

In fact, I also had a habit of going around breaking everything I could when I was playing the game, and that habit helped me find a lot of hidden secrets.

"(You... You oafs...!)"

Well, the one downside was that this method was bound to piss the homeowner off. In any case, thanks to the thorough investigation of my fellow adventurers, I was able to confirm one thing.

"(There isn't anything hidden here,)" I mumbled. There wasn't anything hidden behind the walls, below the floorboards, in the ceiling—nothing.

"(That's what I said! There isn't anything here!)"

Ah, but it wasn't like I knew that earlier. "(I would've trusted you if you didn't lie so much.)"

"(...When did I lie to you?)"

"(You said this room didn't even exist at first.)"

Hamsick went quiet.

In any case, just because there was nothing hidden here didn't mean we didn't get anything out of this experience.

"Your Lordship! Look at this book! I think it's a map of Basement Floor One!"

"I think this is a summoning book. There are more than ten Mimics in this book."

"This is a fountain pen that was on the table, and we've detected unexplainable mana inside it. I think we should do further research..."

"This is an ordinary picture frame. It looked pretty out of place, so I did some physical damage to it, but it just broke—"

As my group started reporting the results of their investigation, I nodded with a satisfied smile.

Yeah, this was what adventuring was all about.

I called everyone together for a brainstorming session. "Does anyone know who the siblings in the story are?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Hmm... A brother and a sister... The first thing that comes to mind is the Kailaje siblings."

The Kailaje siblings were a famous adventuring party that had been active a few hundred years ago, so no.

"Is this perhaps related to mythology? Some time ago when I was studying theology, I read a theologian's thesis arguing that Lord Reatlas and Lord Heindel were born from the same parents."

But this didn't seem like the story of a god, either.

"Well, my first thought was the Immortal King. Before he rose to the throne, he had many younger siblings."

Well, since he had a large family, he would've had a younger sister, but the fact that the tale mentioned a rural village contradicted that theory. Even if Rafdonia was located at the edge of the continent, it was still said to have raked in a lot of money through trade back in the day.

"Emily, what about you? Can you think of anything?"

She took a moment to think before responding. "Rather than the siblings part, I'm more fixated on the part where the brother went off to learn magic."

"Ah, that."

"Is there a possibility that this is maybe a story about the Last Great Sage, Gabrielius?"

Hmm, that was also a possibility. The problem was that even if one of these guesses was right, we had no way of deducing which one.

Hmm...I guess that's not entirely accurate, actually.

"(Hamsick, do you know who this story is about?)"

"(...No?)"

I asked just in case, but Hamsick didn't seem to know anything either.

"(You're saying you've been guarding this story for years and you don't even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠know whose story it is?)" I asked accusingly, clearly warning the hamster not to lie.

Hamsick waved its hands in a show of innocence. "(I really don't know! I just... felt like I needed to... That's why I've been keeping it safe.)"

"(Hmm, really? Then I can take it, right?)"

"(But you— No! I'm supposed to give that book to someone someday!)"

"(Give it to someone...? Who?)"

"(Someone qualified to have it.)"

"(What are the qualifications?)"

"(I... don't know that yet... but I'll know when I see it. Rather, I have a strong feeling I'll know.)"

The longer we spoke, the more curious I became about Hamsick. What was this thing? Who created it, and why did it have to spend so long by itself here in a place no one ever visited?

"(A-Anyway! You aren't qualified, so don't even dream of it! I need to hold onto this book until the time comes...!)"

"(Hamsick, friends share everything with each—)"

Squeak! "(Doesn't matter, you still can't take it!)"

Tsk, so that wasn't going to work?

I set aside my interest in the golden book for now. Although I hadn't completely given up on it, its ranking on my list of priorities had fallen after seeing that it only had one passage worth of information inside.

"Versyl! Have you found anything?"

"Anything? Come here! There are so many things I need to show you!"

Besides, the golden book wasn't the only thing in this secret room.

***

Our process for investigating this secret area was quite simple. We pulled all the books off the shelves, pushed the empty bookshelves over on their sides, and then either physically hit or used magic to destroy the walls. It might seem a bit barbaric, but this was the official method used by adventurers faced with the unknown. Something was bound to show up as long as you did all this.

In fact, I also had a habit of going around breaking everything I could when I was playing the game, and that habit helped me find a lot of hidden secrets.

"(You... You oafs...!)"

Well, the one downside was that this method was bound to piss the homeowner off. In any case, thanks to the thorough investigation of my fellow adventurers, I was able to confirm one thing.

"(There isn't anything hidden here,)" I mumbled. There wasn't anything hidden behind the walls, below the floorboards, in the ceiling—nothing.

"(That's what I said! There isn't anything here!)"

Ah, but it wasn't like I knew that earlier. "(I would've trusted you if you didn't lie so much.)"

"(...When did I lie to you?)"

"(You said this room didn't even exist at first.)"

Hamsick went quiet.

In any case, just because there was nothing hidden here didn't mean we didn't get anything out of this experience.

"Your Lordship! Look at this book! I think it's a map of Basement Floor One!"

"I think this is a summoning book. There are more than ten Mimics in this book."

"This is a fountain pen that was on the table, and we've detected unexplainable mana inside it. I think we should do further research..."

"This is an ordinary picture frame. It looked pretty out of place, so I did some physical damage to it, but it just broke—"

As my group started reporting the results of their investigation, I nodded with a satisfied smile.

Yeah, this was what adventuring was all about.