Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 61 - D-Rank Labyrinth – Library of Sin (4)

Chapter 61: D-Rank Labyrinth – Library of Sin (4)

 

Caw!

The Blind Crow’s specialty was reconnaissance and searching.

Thanks to that, I was able to reunite with the siblings after we had briefly been separated.

“Karr!”

Inside a relatively safe area enclosed by bookshelves.

As soon as I stepped inside, Marlin came running over and threw herself into my arms.

She buried her face against my body, her shoulders trembling.

“Were you worried?”

“……”

“It’s okay now.”

As I gently patted her shoulder, Abel also walked over and let out a relieved sigh.

“…Patron, you really scared me half to death.”

“Don’t worry so much from now on. Unless it’s at least an A-rank labyrinth, I’m not going to die during an expedition.”

“I know you aren’t an explorer so unskilled that you’d collapse in a mere D-rank labyrinth. But even so, you fight far too recklessly. Please don’t do that again.”

…Was I seriously being scolded by a twelve-year-old?

Oddly enough, it didn’t feel bad at all.

It made me think that having an unusual experience like this at least once in life wasn’t so bad.

Still… The kids had been so upset that I really ought to restrain myself from now on.

Not that I intended to stop throwing myself into danger altogether…

“I’m glad you made it back safely.”

The bald expedition leader, who had fled together with the siblings and protected them along the way, smiled faintly and handed me a Mysteries Tome.

 

[3rd-Hierarchy Mysteries Tome – The Bewildered Tongue]

[Allows the tongue to stretch like a whip, at the cost of a slight reduction in one’s sense of taste.]

 

“This Mystery’s drawback isn’t all that severe, so it’s actually quite useful.”

“You’re right. Thank you.”

It did have the disadvantage of looking disgusting whenever you used it.

On the other hand, it also let you temporarily experience what it felt like to become one of the rare Frogfolk.

“We’re going to rest here a little longer before moving on. We’ll definitely make it out alive and tell Valentin all about your heroic deeds, Cultist Karr!”

“Thank you for looking after the children.”

After politely thanking him, I continued onward together with the siblings.

Marlin, who still had her face buried against me as we walked, quietly muttered,

“…If you do that again, you’re going to die.”

“Sorry. I won’t do it again.”

Honestly… I couldn’t promise that.

If the same situation happened again, I would make exactly the same choice.

But there was no point saying that in front of a child who was already crying.

So I simply continued stroking her back in silence.

Caw!

The Blind Crow, which had gone scouting again, cried loudly somewhere in the distance.

It was the signal that it had found the terrain I asked it to locate.

Not long afterward, it returned to my eye socket and displayed a message before me.

[Just as you predicted, I found terrain that doesn’t resemble a library at all.]

[Route: Go straight → then head ↑.]

Thanks to such wonderfully simple and intuitive directions, finding my way was easy.

[↑ It’s over there!]

The point where [Eye That Perceives Truth] stopped giving directions… Contained a forest.

A woodland formed by tightly packed bookshelves.

Brown below. Green above.

The detailed coloring of the floor made it look as though grass and flowers were flourishing there.

“Kids, look carefully.”

I continued speaking as we entered the forest together.

“There should be exactly one bookshelf with an empty space. Placing one of the books we prepared into it as a ‘donation’ is the second hidden piece.”

“So we just put it in?”

“Exactly. Simple, right?”

Bartimir’s expedition had probably donated about two books by now.

The difference in our progress still wasn’t impossible to overcome.

After all…

I had the Blind Crow, which specialized in searching.

I was greedy.

I intended to monopolize both hidden pieces and claim an overwhelming victory.

So I had absolutely no intention of taking my time.

“Leave the library…!”

As we searched throughout the forest, an armored knight made entirely of books rose up from the ground.

 

[Library Guardian (Level 7)]

[This one hardly needs further explanation either. Run.]

 

I intended to.

“This way!”

The instant our eyes met the monster knight’s, I immediately sprinted away with the children.

It was incredibly sturdy.

But its massive body made it slow enough that even a frail cultist and two children could outrun it.

“Leave the library….”

“Yes, we’re leaving immediately!”

“Leave…?”

“I said we’re leaving!”

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Even though I was clearly complying with its demand… it continued chasing us.

I naturally guided the siblings off to either side.

The Library Guardian immediately fixated on pursuing only me.

The reason was obvious.

“Arsonist…!”

Setting the place ablaze so spectacularly had come back to bite me.

Sir Book Knight was remarkably persistent.

Unless I completely shook him off, he’d continue chasing me even after we left the forest.

Time to change strategies.

Crackle!

I transformed my right hand into lightning and electrocuted the Library Guardian.

Naturally, it wasn’t particularly effective against a body made of books.

“The arsonist must be punished!”

Shaking its body to disperse the black current, the book knight unleashed a sword aura.

Slash!

My left shoulder was severed.

At this point…

That barely counted as more than a scratch.

With my remaining right hand, I created a sphere of lightning… and swallowed it whole.

Crackle—!

As a sharp pain traveled down my esophagus… my entire body began trembling violently.

Slowly…

My body itself was turning into black lightning.

 

[Due to [Sin: Gluttony], your body has now assumed the same nature as the filthy power you just consumed – the Black Lightning of Su’eje.]

 

The effect of [Sin: Gluttony], the Mystery obtained by releasing the Nameless Demon King.

It allowed me to alter the nature of my body to match whatever substance or energy I consumed.

At this moment…

My body was composed of the exact same substance as the Exalted One’s Black Lightning.

Naturally… It hurt beyond belief.

But I wouldn’t die.

Because [Fragment of the Colossus] prevented damage caused by status effects that altered the body.

[Please stop abusing your body so much!]

I’d rather fight with less pain too.

But I didn’t have much choice.

If a cultist the weakest class fought normally… they were nothing more than a walking scarecrow for worshipping Evil Gods.

Crackle…

The lightning settled within me.

My entire body shuddered violently.

Blood. Muscles. Nerves. Organs. Bones.

A large portion of my body was transforming into lightning.

“Hng… Haa…”

[Sin: Gluttony] didn’t reduce pain.

The agony was enough to make my consciousness blur.

Lightning surged out from every opening in my body. It felt as though every limb was being torn apart.

I ignored all of it. It was only a temporary guest passing through my body.

“Stay still.”

Grinding my teeth to avoid blacking out, I used [Black Lightning Blossom] to suppress the lightning rampaging wildly after taking after the Exalted One.

“Whatever you’re trying to do, disappear already!”

The Library Guardian strode toward me and swung its sword.

The book greatsword sliced straight through my neck… and continued out the other side.

Since my body had already become complete lightning… the impact was greatly reduced.

Crackle…

My body rapidly reconstructed itself.

It hurt tremendously.

But compared to being read by the Large Grimoires… I found it surprisingly bearable.

“Arsonist!”

Apparently shocked that decapitating me hadn’t killed me, the Library Guardian began swinging its sword over and over.

As my entire body experienced the impossible sensation of being chopped into countless pieces… the lightning flowing through me struck the Guardian in return.

“This much is nothing…!”

Undeterred, it grabbed my small and precious head in one enormous hand.

Just as its grip began crushing my skull…

CRAAAAACKLE!!

Lightning incomparably stronger than before engulfed its entire body.

“……!”

For the first time, the Library Guardian… which had ignored every previous electric shock… actually flinched.

[Not exactly congratulations: The growth-type Mystery [Black Lightning Blossom] has advanced to the 3rd Hierarchy.]

The Third-Hierarchy effect of [Black Lightning Blossom], which grew whenever I controlled overwhelming electrical currents.

The power of its lightning became even greater.

Crackle!

Su’eje sent down feelings of relief and jubilation.

It seemed They had been terribly worried that the half-elf’s one redeeming feature his face might end up scarred.

“Please do not worry. Even if my entire body is torn into tiny fragments, I shall protect my face above all else. Continuing my life as an explorer with nothing but my head remaining might not be such a terrible experience either.”

Every inch of my body ached from experiencing what was essentially being roasted alive.

Even so, I endured it and immediately ran forward.

There was no time to stand around catching my breath.

“Excuse me.”

With my body completely transformed into lightning… I passed straight through the Guardian’s armor and entered its body.

“You…!”

“Please rest for a while.”

Fwoosh!

I unleashed flames from my left hand.

Fire erupted from inside the book knight itself.

It probably wouldn’t be enough to kill a Level 7 monster.

But it would buy me plenty of time.

“GRAAAAH!!”

As the Library Guardian staggered in agony… I emerged from its body, fled immediately, and pulled a vial of blood from my subspace.

[You really kept carrying around the blood collected in the [Graveyard of the Earth Elves] instead of throwing it away!]

I tended to be practical.

Even things that looked like useless junk, I carefully stored them away just in case.

I removed the cork and took a sip of the pleasantly fragrant blood that carried the scent of nature.

[[Sin: Gluttony] activates. Your body’s characteristics return to their original state.]

If I consumed my own blood or flesh… my transformed body returned to normal.

If I explained that I’d deliberately kept it all this time for exactly this purpose… I’d come across as an incredibly meticulous and farsighted smart half-elf.

So let’s just go with that.

“Karr!”

Running toward the voice, I found Marlin nearly lying flat on the ground as she examined something.

Her tail shot straight upward.

“It’s under this tree!”

Near the roots of a gigantic tree… was an empty space exactly large enough for one book.

“Well done.”

I patted Marlin proudly on the back as she puffed out her chest.

Then I pulled out a blood-red book from my subspace.

Volume One of Odilon’s favorite novel series…

Filled to the brim with collapse and ruin.

I quickly inserted the emotionally unhealthy novel into the empty space.

‘Kiiiiik…’

A strange sound echoed. A hole opened in midair. A single sheet of paper drifted down.

This one… was murky green.

 

[Donation Points: ■□□]

—Donate two more books in the future to receive a special benefit!

 

“Did it work?”

“Yes.”

Two more donations until the hidden piece activated.

“Let’s hurry and donate the rest as well.”

 

***

 

Grimoires.

Monsters created by the demons during their golden age using books as their foundation.

They could be found absolutely everywhere inside the [Library of Sin].

Fortunately… They all went to sleep once morning arrived.

The safest way to deal with them was simply not to move around at night.

Kiiiririk!

But we were currently competing in an exploration contest.

Which meant…

We didn’t have the luxury of waiting until dawn.

“…Karr, they’re here again!”

Two hours had passed since we started tackling the second hidden piece.

We had already successfully donated two books.

It hadn’t been an easy journey.

Grrrr…!

Kirik!

Swarms of Small Grimoires kept appearing endlessly.

I’d already lost count of how many times we’d encountered them.

“These damn books!”

Grinding her teeth, Marlin wildly swung [First Breath], cutting down every Small Grimoire around her.

Was it because she’d been fighting them nonstop for two straight hours?

Now… She was cutting every single one down in a single strike.

As expected, the greatest training method was real combat.

Caw!

“I think we’ve arrived!”

A new type of terrain appeared ahead.

Countless snow-white bookshelves covered the ground.

The area meticulously recreated snowy plains and snow-covered mountains.

This time… It was a snowfield.

Kururuk…

The cold noticeably slowed the Grimoires that had been relentlessly pursuing us.

This… was exactly what I’d been aiming for.

Fwoosh!

Flames engulfed the paper monsters all at once.

But it wasn’t a complete wipeout.

A handful of elite Small Grimoires, unaffected by the cold, continued targeting us.

“So we do the same thing as before, right?”

I blocked a Grimoire lunging for Marlin’s shoulder with my back before replying,

“Yes. There’s only one book left now, so hurry.”

“Patron, we’ll focus on searching. Please keep the Grimoires occupied until then.”

“Take it.”

I handed over the final sensational blood-soaked incestuous tragedy novel that perfectly suited Odilon’s tastes.

“Let’s go, Abel!”

Taking the book, Marlin immediately lowered her stance and ran off together with her little brother.

I watched their backs for a moment.

Then I intercepted the incoming Grimoires using [Death · Flame · Transformation].

“Do your best.”

One quality every expedition leader absolutely had to possess:

Trusting your party members… and giving them orders.

“You can do it.”

By the end of today… The siblings would truly become explorers in their own right.