—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
This changed things.
I hadn’t expected to be able to enter the hidden archive.
Frankly, my abilities weren’t exactly once-in-a-millennium level.
My Crafting skill was rare, but…
[Contractor, are you going in? It’s practically begging you to enter—]
“…I’m not sure.”
Compared to the dungeons I had cleared, the hidden archive was trivial. I could clear it in a couple of hours if I wanted to.
But the fact that I couldn’t take the rewards outside bothered me. Or rather, I could only take my rewards.
My priority was strengthening Elisa and Shuri, not myself, so it was a bit of a dilemma.
I didn’t even know what my reward would be.
Hopefully, it wasn’t something like “Shovel Mastery Fundamentals.”
“…Rue, are there any artifacts nearby?”
[There’s something on the bookshelf next to the one with the purple book.]
I looked at the top of the bookshelf Rue had indicated. A small, purple orb, about the size of a marble, shimmered faintly. I would have missed it if Rue hadn’t pointed it out.
I picked it up.
“Rue, is it active?”
[Very active.]
“Rue, can you corrupt it?”
[Child’s play.]
As expected of a grimoire.
A confident response, befitting a member of the ultimate magical tools.
A tentacle from Rue, which was attached to my belt, wrapped around the orb. When the tentacle retreated, the orb was now glowing red.
Infused with Rue’s magic, I could now control it.
I placed the artifact back in its original location. I wasn’t sure if Bella was watching, but with Rue’s unique magic now controlling the artifact, I could feed her false information.
“Rue, erase all information about me.”
[You’re working me too hard…]
“I’m letting you see the world, aren’t I? And I promised to set you free when I die.”
[Fine, fine.]
“I won’t be able to monitor it directly…”
With Rue controlling the artifact, it was essentially mine. I could just take it, but I would do that after the incident.
I glanced at Rue, which was manipulating the artifact with my meager mana, and opened the purple book.
Hmm.
What page was it again?
231? It was meaningless to open it now, as the door wouldn’t open at this hour, but I couldn’t resist taking a peek, now that I was here.
As expected, the page was blank. I placed the book back on the shelf and turned to leave.
I needed to get enough sleep for tomorrow.
“I should gather them and send them in soon.”
We would move when the students’ curiosity died down a bit.
I entered the tunnel.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Is everyone here?”
I had gathered everyone involved in this operation after classes.
“It’s been a while since we’ve all been together!”
“Mister Johann, it’s been a while.”
Lewis greeted me with an almost overly respectful bow. Even Shuri seemed a bit surprised by his formality.
Don’t do that.
It made me feel old.
Though, mentally, I was quite old.
“Mister, why did you call us here?”
“I-It must be s-something important…”
“Correct, Elisa.”
“Hee hee…”
Elisa, beaming at my praise, quickly covered her face with her hands as the others looked at her. Her ears were red.
Was she embarrassed?
I turned my gaze away from Elisa and looked at the group.
Karina, Elisa, Viola, Lewis, Shuri, and…
“…Why did you call me as well?”
Martina.
“I have something to discuss. A very tempting offer.”
“A tempting offer…?”
Martina seemed puzzled.
The others, however, seemed to understand.
This was the difference between those who knew me and those who didn’t.
I looked at Martina and said,
“We’re raiding the hidden archive.”
“Excuse me?”
“Huh?”
“What?”
“Johann, you’re raiding what?”
They all stared at me with wide eyes. Were they surprised by the idea of raiding the hidden archive?
I thought they were getting used to my antics.
It seemed I still had a long way to go.
“Raiding the hidden archive… is that even possible? I thought it was just a rumor…”
“The hidden archive exists. I know its location and how to enter.”
Technically, I was just recalling information from ten years ago, but there was no need to explain that.
“But to enter the hidden archive…”
“Yes, you need to meet certain requirements. Only those with once-in-a-millennium talent can enter.”
“Then how do we know if we can even enter?”
I met Martina’s gaze. She wanted proof. I confidently provided it.
“We’ll enter with someone who possesses that talent.”
“That kind of loophole wouldn’t work…”
It worked in the game.
Of course, I couldn’t say that, so I gave a different answer.
“The secret of the hidden archive has been kept for a very long time. Very few people know the truth. Principal Merlin, myself, and a few professors.”
“Principal Merlin… knows?”
“I’m not sure if he’s heard the rumors, but I’m close to Principal Merlin. He told me about the hidden archive.”
That was a lie.
While I knew about it from the game, he had never told me anything about it.
“Well, he did agree to help with the prosthetic arm development without any hesitation…”
Viola, who had worked with Principal Merlin on the prosthetic arm project, added her support to my claim.
“He’s even more remarkable than I thought.”
…I had done a lot of things in this world.
Anyway, they seemed to be buying my story, so it was time to get to the main point.
“I’m planning to take all of you into the hidden archive.”
“Why me?”
“As a reward for taking care of Elisa.”
“Isn’t that a bit excessive for a small favor?”
Martina still seemed skeptical. It was understandable.
Considering the rumors surrounding the hidden archive, it didn’t make sense to offer such a significant reward for simply looking after a student. But increasing the number of competent allies was never a bad thing.
‘Survival Academy’ wasn’t a game where you could solo everything.
No matter which route you chose, you needed a party. So I planned to build a party in this world as well. A party stronger than the one in the original story.
…And it was also a way to get back at Bella for her scheming.
She would regret messing with the people around me.
“I decide the value of favors.”
I was grateful for her taking care of Elisa.
As a man, I couldn’t help her with certain things, and she had been a great support.
There were things I couldn’t do within the Magic department.
Martina reluctantly nodded.
“I see…”
“Mister Johann, when are we going?”
I answered Lewis’s question succinctly.
“Tomorrow evening.”
“Saturday evening… that’s a good time.”
“Indeed.”
“But I’m a swordsman… Will I be of any use? I heard the hidden archive is designed for mages.”
“Don’t worry. The first headmaster didn’t only care about mages.”
It was an event that could be completed regardless of your class, so even non-mages could benefit from it.
“Tomorrow evening… where should we meet?”
“Here.”
“I-It’s amazing that we’re actually going to enter the hidden archive…”
Shuri, the heterochromic beastkin mage, muttered excitedly.
Yes, she should be excited.
This was an opportunity that couldn’t be bought with money.
Martina, Lewis, and Viola were also clearly excited, though they were trying to hide it.
Only Elisa’s reaction was strange.
“Elisa, is something bothering you?”
“Um… well… I-I heard there’s a w-wish-granting artifact in the hidden archive…”
“It exists, but don’t touch it. It’s very dangerous—”
There was no such thing as a wish-granting artifact without a catch.
Elisa nodded dejectedly.
I wasn’t sure why she was so concerned, but I patted her head reassuringly and said to the group,
“Then let’s disband.”
Tomorrow evening.
We dispersed as if nothing had happened.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[Your Text Here]
