CH 100

Chapter 100 – Halloween Day 2

Good morning! It’s another nice day…no, isn’t it cloudy? Speaking of horror… the climax is usually during a thunderstorm. It’s a classic situation, but thunderstorms are quite painful in this game. You won’t get struck by lightning, like during the camp, but the rain and wind are nasty enough. There is also the problem of visibility.

Anyway, let’s see what information was found while I was sleeping. Oh, there are more entries. For the time being, the two I saw before going to bed.

Kitty… No new information.

Pumpkin… Also no new information.

The cat is, well… still on the run, but what’s this about the pumpkin having no information. Are the pumpkins running away too? Pumpkins that grow legs… they’d look like Nishiko-kun. Legs growing from a pumpkin… in that case, maybe they’d be orange too.

…let’s stop with this train of thought.

So what’s new.

Eh? How did I get here? Where am I?

Before you know it, you find yourself in a strange place… and can’t get where you’re going!

Oh, this definitely fits a horror story. Is it a loop trap? But even if it’s a strange place, it doesn’t seem to be a loop. If you can’t get out following a single path, it’s a loop… So is this more like getting lost? Is it an illusion? Like a lost forest.

The problem is the cause… The boundary is unstable, so it would usually mean a spatial issue. In this case, I cannot rule out that it is a feature of the area. It is an official event.

If it’s artificial… the action of a Resident. In this case, it is an NPC who plays the role of an enemy, rather than a townsperson. The possibility is not zero at the moment, but the reason is unknown. It is useless to think about it now. I’ll find out while investigating.

Now, let’s get moving.

After giving my thanks and letting them know I’ll be in their care for another two days, I leave the church.

The bonfire in the centre looks like it will be fine for a while longer.

…It’s just Residents. The players are probably asleep. I’ll see if there’s anyone in the union awake.

“Good morning. Is anyone awake?”

『Oh, I’m awake!』

『’Morning, Princess!』

“I don’t see the markers for many players, so are they sleeping?”

『I took a nap at dawn.』

『It looks like a horror setting, so night will be the real thing.』

Is now the right time to go to bed? I’m going to bed at night. I won’t give up on that.

For the time being, I’ll hear about what happened while I was sleeping. It’s important to share information.

『There were some quests exclusive to night time, such as searching for children and checking on bonfires.』

“So there was a search for a child after all. I had a feeling.”

『And… it looks like it’s going to rain in the evening.』

“Oh, you can tell that?”

『I heard there’s a skill to check that, but that the accuracy is not that good?』

『There’s probably something that gives bonuses to it. Wind or storm magic, for example.』

『Probably a race too.』

I see, so magic for forecasting the weather was found. I guess it’s the same skill that has [Contrails], the spell that makes letters fly.

Actually, some towns have things like weather forecasts posted, but that does depend on the town. The answer must be… whether or not there are people in the town who can understand it. Even though it’s a big town, this one doesn’t seem to have such a thing.

However, there are not many players who care about it. At the moment, the weather does not affect the difficulty of the game, so the difference is whether or not to equip a cloak, at most.

The farmer group, including Steiner-san, are probably influenced by it, so I expect they will be concerned.

『People have only seen the back of the cat.』

『Even if you look at a pumpkin, it just looks like a pumpkin.』

The cat doesn’t turn around, so all people can do is chase its back. It runs away not only from the bonfire but also from light emitted by players, so no one has seen it from the front.

Even if you look all over for it, all you’ll see is it’s back…huh. …Very suspicious.

And if you check a pumpkin that seems to have moved, it is just a pumpkin. Not just the one that moved, but even the ones in the surroundings don’t seem particularly strange.

『The flight team also found nothing of note.』

『That about sums it up for now!』

“I see, I see. Thank you very much. …With only four days, isn’t this too little progress?”

『The fourth day is tidying up, so it’s really just today and tomorrow.』

“I thought there would be something more…”

『It’s a horror setting, so won’t it come all at once on the third day? Now is the time to go bit by bit.』

『That’s certainly a possibility…』

“If Cthulhu is irrelevant, that’s fine…”

『What’s the problem if it isn’t?』

『Gather information while you still can, to resist the final problem… that’s how it has always been. In that TRPG.』

“Yes, that’s right. No resistance early on means you’re already in checkmate.”

『In other words, if you don’t do your research now, you’re screwed at the end.』

“Yes.”

Being locked in a mansion, running away from murderers or the like, while looking for information and a means of resistance… That kind of closed in type of setting is easier, in a way.

Because of the large number of participants this time, it is an oversized city event.

『Hey. I was looking at some books on the real side for a little.』

『What’s going on?』

『There’s an incarnation of Nyar-sama called Jack O’Lantern.』

『You can’t be serious…』

『A man with a big mouth and bulging eyes, or a man with a grinning pumpkin head. He has a grinning pumpkin lantern and in some cases a 2D10 entourage.』

『There haven’t been any sightings of such a man so far.』

『If you see the light of the lantern, you are charmed if you fail a POW resistance roll. He will lead you to a forest or a cliff and kill you. Even if you win the charm resistance, if you lose the following POW roll against Jack you’ll be inflicted with fear and try to escape even if it means leaving your friends and equipment behind.』

“In this game, POW is spirit. It seems like a different type of fear to the abnormal condition.”

『It sounds like a special version of it.』

『The other thing that interested me was that he can see and hear through pumpkin lanterns, even aside from the one he is holding. And they can make screaming sounds. It seems like he can control pumpkin vines in the fields, too.』

『I haven’t heard anything about the fields.』

It seems there is no information on the fields yet.

If both the cat and pumpkins are Nyar-sama, I feel like he’s really just messing with us. He has quite a bad personality.

I’m sure I mentioned Hastur and Cyäegha on the BBS, but I didn’t give out any information on the cat, did I? I should share that. It’s not something I should hide.

“I have met a cat in the Medium… It had three burning eyes.”

『Three fiery eyes? Nyar’s incarnation!?』

“I thought it was a cat, so I approached it and it turned around, then when I realised it was Nyar-sama it clicked its tongue at me.”

『Were the three burning eyes a feature of the Haunter of the Dark? It was weak to light.』

『Would it not run away if you used [Nightvision] instead of [Light]?』

『No? It runs away regardless.』

“If it’s that guy, he’s just playing with us. You can’t tell unless you see it from the front, but be careful if it has three eyes.”

『Alright.』

『Okay.』

Now then, I’ll go for a morning walk to collect information. I hope something has changed.

There don’t seem to be any obvious changes. As for the boundary…depending on the size, ‘why is part of the town missing?’ might be possible. The only thing I have heard from Residents is about things coming and going. …Well, the bonfire may actually be meant to counter that.

Without discovering anything in particular, I have returned to the central square.

…I want to eat meat. Let’s make some hamburg steaks.

Well, demi-glace or soy sauce? …Demi-glace is too complicated, so soy sauce is fine.

Considering my party, my sister and Tomo’s group… I should make enough for three parties. Anything left over goes to whoever comes first.

I want to make a large amount, so I should mix multiple types of meat.

Take out the cooking kit and make some minced meat, cut the vegetables, form it all into balls and shape them. Coat them with flour and make a small indent in the centre before putting them into the frying pan.

When the gravy released by pushing on it with chopsticks becomes transparent, its time to change to a new one.

“”Hamburg steak!””

“Oh, good morning.”

“”Morning!””

The twins have woken up. I spent an hour or so walking around looking for changes, so it must be about time for people to start getting up.

“”No rice?””

“Oh? There’s no staple food. Let’s make some bread.”

“”Hamburger!””

That’s right. Let’s sandwich it.

The problem is… that they aren’t formed for sandwiching, but it’s too late. Let’s give it a go.

I’ll evacuate the cooked hamburg steaks into my inventory and bake the bread. Round loaves that are a little bigger than the steaks.

And I’ll put these two on making grated radish. Thorin-san will hold the grater and Ame-san is in charge of the radish.

“”How much?””

“Since there are so many of us, all of it for now.”

“”‘Kaay!””

They are grating it happily. I don’t know what’s fun about it, but it’s okay. As long as the result is a grated radish, there is no problem. Is it possible that your arms don’t get tired while in the game?

Season the grated radish with the seasoning set I got from the event, and cut the bread horizontally. Spread it on the bread, put the hamburg steak on, sprinkle with the sauce, then sandwich it.

“”Bread! Meat! Bread!””

Fumu… a hamburger. That’s exactly what it is. …It’s true, so I won’t say anything.

Rather than that, I’ll eat with the twins. These two can’t eat without using [Magicise] on the food, so I do that first.

After putting away the kit, it’s time to eat. My sister must still be asleep, so I’ll just leave a message.

…I knew it, but this is hard to eat. I knew it would be, because I just sandwiched a steak that was meant to be cut up with knife and fork.

“”Aaah! Mmm””

The twins are struggling too. The gravy is dripping.

It’s better to crush it lightly and let the bread soak it up before eating. The twins have started sucking it up.

While I was struggling with my hamburger, Alf-san and Ske-san have gotten up.

Ske-san has come over and silently bent forward a little with his legs together, before straightening up, stretching his arms in a Y shape.

A nearby player who saw it has come over and done the same thing next to him.

“…What?”

“”Praise the sun!””

These two have hit it off somehow, having a firm handshake… but it’s cloudy today.

“Is that really okay?”

“It’s safe because it’s a greeting!”

I’ll give him some breakfast, anyway. And to the person who got caught up with him. He took the hamburger and left.

“Whoa, meat!”

“There are no vegetables in this burger?”

“Did you make it as a hamburg steak?”

“Mmm… well, it’s fine.”

Well, there are vegetables in the steak. Yes, it’s not zero.

“Yummy, yummy.”

“Come to think of it, I haven’t had a hamburg steak in ages.”

“It’s usually beaten by steak.”

“Right.”

If you don’t make it at home, you’ll have to eat out, but most places that have hamburg steaks also have steak, so they lose to the temptation of steaks…

A group of undead, who don’t need to eat, munching on hamburgers.

“Hmm? They’re looking for people with a Union rank of C or higher, to help with the lord’s move.”

“During the festival?”

“Isn’t it just a coincidence that they need someone? In addition to those with a rank of C or higher, they’re looking for people who will swear ‘I will not steal during this request’, to Stellura-sama”

“Isn’t ‘I will not steal’ enough?”

“A vow to Stellura-sama is quite binding and powerful, so they need to limit it as much as possible. ‘I will not steal’ would last a lifetime.”

“”Why is that a problem?””

“The point of this vow is that it’s not for them to judge.”

This is actually very important.

“For example, the relationship between Ame-san and Thorin-san… that is, that they’re twins. Let’s say they are in different classes at school.”

“”Right.””

“What do you think would happen with the vow if Thorin-san borrowed Ame-san’s dictionary without permission and took it back to another classroom while he was away?”

“”Is it not allowed?””

“Yes. Not allowed.”

“I see. It’s not the people involved who judge…”

“If you only look at the actions, without considering their relationship with each other, it is indeed stealing.”

In this case, if you can persuade the Outer One who has come to condemn you, they will let you off. In this case, you only need to prove the relationship between the two. However, the difficulty of this persuasion varies from person to person, and depending on the individual who comes to condemn you, it may not be possible.

“Basically, you will be punished if you break a vow, so they aren’t used lightly.”

“It looks like the rewards are good because it’s a request from the lord, so it should be a good request for decent people.”

“And the festival is tomorrow, so all the better if they use the reward there, right?”

“That seems like a good thing, from the perspective of the lord.”

While talking with my party members and eating breakfast, it has passed 8am and it seems like Outsiders have started to wake up and begin their activities. More and more player marks are appearing.

“Well, what should we do today?”

“So far we’ve got cats, pumpkins and lost people?”

“Right. And there’s the old lord’s mansion… is that about it? If we take the request, we’ll be able to explore it openly.”

There is still a lot of belongings to move, so I would expect there to be guards. If we were to take the request, we would be able to look around more easily.

…Hmm?

“I don’t think there’s any main information in the old lord’s mansion…”

“”Why?””

“We were told there is no difference in difficulty between the servers, but it will vary somewhat depending on the event chosen. However, carrying the lord’s baggage requires a minimum Union rank of C… Probably for the same reason as escorting.”

“And at most only the second batch would have teams at rank C, huh?”

“Considering the reasons for requiring C or above, I don’t think that would change depending on the server, so don’t you think it seems unlikely there would be any important information there?”

“”I see.””

“Hmm. In a sense, it reduces the difficulty. You can’t find anything superfluous? Then you could also say you’re unlikely to find any small subplots there.”

“It’s easy to break in as a ghost…”

“I don’t think it’s worth the risk.”

It’s trespassing. There’s too little to gain for the risk of becoming ‘red’.

“There’s not much going on in town, so why don’t we explore outside?”

“It’s the abandoned mines in the south that need manpower.”

“Exploring an abandoned mine. If it’s a maze, more help would be better… What about the map?”

“It looks like a dungeon. So a certain number of people are probably necessary.”

“It sounds like the type that is hard to grasp without actually seeing it.”

The way the dungeon mini-map works is different. It might be better to take different paths with multiple parties, then combine the map data.

For ordinary dungeons, it’s normal to only share the map among friends, but it is an official event, so it’s in our best interest to share.

Anyway, looks like they want to explore the abandoned mine. I’m fine either way. I can use the accelerated time for levelling my crafting, or go to the abandoned mine to level combat skills.

『Princess, can you come to the old lord’s mansion for a bit? There’s something I want you to see.』

“The old lord’s mansion? Can I go there without taking the request?”

『It won’t be a problem for you, Princess. See you soon.』

“Got it. …I was called by Cecil-san, so let’s go to the old lord’s mansion for now.”

“”Alright!””

“”Okay!””

With that, we head to the old lord’s mansion, in the south-west part of town.

If he’s asking me, then is it a religious matter, or something to do with the Nether or Medium? I imagine there’s a maid or someone there as a site supervisor, so if they can’t answer, maybe it’s the latter.

<<Information has been shared.>>

There is an incorrect amount of wood for the bonfire left in the storage area.

“Wood…”

“Requests for 『Harvesting wood』 and 『Investigating lost wood』 have appeared.”

“Isn’t wood supposed to be hard to burn right after cutting it down?”

“Yeah, but I guess it’s ignored as part of the game.”

“Well, I haven’t heard anything about raw wood, have you?”

“Well, we don’t have «Logging». Primula-chan will have to do her best.”

If we get involved, it will be the investigation, but first we’ll go to the mansion as planned.

Cecil-san is waiting in front of the mansion. Next to him is a maid.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Yo, Princess. Sorry to bother you. There’s something that’s been bothering me a lot.

“Do you work for the lord?”

“Yes. I’m more or less the person in charge here.”

She has been bowing since I started talking with Cecil-san. I guess he told her who I am. The lord has trusted her enough to put her in charge, so she won’t want to do anything to lower his reputation.

“What is your name?”

“My name is Luana.”

“Then, Luana-san. I haven’t taken the request, is that a problem?”

“No, it shouldn’t be a problem. I am obliged to report to the lord though, so please understand that.”

“Of course. I’ll leave it to you.”

I follow Cecil-san into the house.

“Well, it’s what you can already see there.”

Cecil-san points to a large, old clock, which can be seen as soon as the front door is opened.

“”A big old clock?””

“It’s quite magnificent, isn’t it?”

“It’s absolutely gorgeous.”

“Is it over two metres tall?”

I approach immediately to check it out.

“A…clock?”

“Is this really a clock?”

“”It has four hands?””

“The shape is also unnatural. Normally you’d make the base the wider part.”

It’s well over two metres high and a little over a metre wide at its widest. As Cecil-san says, the shape is a bit unnatural, giving it the image of a vampire’s coffin. In other words, it is not rectangular. Given the shape, it’s not suitable for Japan, with its earthquakes.

Moreover, as the twins say, there are four hands. There is no long hand, short hand or second hand.

It looks gorgeous, with beautiful carvings.

…What is it made from?

“Isn’t it strange?”

“You tried «Appraisal»?”

“I did, but it’s unclear.”

“Then I will try «Appraisal» myself. Is that okay?”

“Just be gentle with it, please.”

“Of course.”

Old Ornament

A very old ornament that has been sitting here for generations.

It has been passed down from generation to generation, with the warning: “Do not touch it carelessly”.

It may look like a clock to Outsiders, but a clock with four hands is unusual.

“These hands don’t match the time at all, and there is no pendulum.”

“It’s not a clock, is it? …that’s all the information I get. And it doesn’t have the usual item marker…”

“Right. So even Princess is unsure?”

I don’t know what this is supposed to be, but if it’s Cthulhu related… or rather, Medium related…

“『Oh?』”

“If the Book of Elder Records is reacting…it’s definite.”

The bookmark hanging from my waist wakes up, and when the automatically opening pages stop, information is displayed above the open book.

Clock of Time

A device capable of transporting passengers to other times, places and dimensions.

If you know the proper method, you can open the front of the clock, enter the interior and use it.

If not used in the proper way, the passenger will be taken to a random time, place or both. In that case, there may be no way to return.

It can be fatal if used without adequate knowledge of the functions. If it malfunctions, there is the possibility of a magical gate forming inside.

Note that this is a flavour item, and cannot be taken out of the event map, nor can its functions be used. In other words, thank you for finding it.

“What was it?”

“What, you ask… the playfulness of the developers?”

“『Huh?』”

“…I’ll send a screenshot.”

Take a SS of the information…and share it.

“This is… not really a good thing, huh?”

“It is definitely dangerous.”

“This clock will need to moved at some point, right?”

“Yes. A place for it has already been decided, but with the warning not to touch it carelessly, we are at a loss as to how to move it…”

Since this is an event map that will be closed in the future, we can leave it alone and not worry about it in the future… well, what to do.

Hmm… I’ll do something to help them out anyway.

“I’ll carry this for you. The question is… will it go into the inventory?”

“I would think so, but isn’t that suspicious considering the owner?”

“I also want to avoid being pegged as a thief, considering my race. It would be better to get permission from the official owner to carry it in spatial storage. Can you get permission?”

“Yes. Right away.”

Well, it’s not like Luana-san is going herself. The person in charge can’t be absent. In other words, another servant… one working under Luana-san, will dash over there. This will reduce my worries by one, so forgive me.

『Onee-chan, food!』

“We’re at the old lord’s mansion at the moment.”

『Okay~』

While we have been busy, the other players have also been active.

According to Ske-san, the abandoned mine group is steadily progressing. The map data is being posted on the BBS, and parties are being recruited to take the unexplored forks in the road. I guess we can say it’s going well.

The 『Harvesting wood』 request is being carried out in the northern forest, by players with «Logging». They’re getting along fine.

I feel like 『Investigating lost wood』 is the main quest. More information is being added, so maybe this is the beginning?

“Onee-cha~n!”

Ah, there you are. Tomo and the others have come too.

After leaving the building I hand over hamburgers to them by the entrance.

“Uwa… meat!”

“Is it fine without vegetables?”

“I don’t mind at all!”

“I made it because I wanted to eat meat, but I didn’t have a staple food, so I just put it in bread. Oh, you have to squish it a little first so the bread can absorb the gravy or it will be a mess.”

“The gravy is overflowing…”

Speaking of which, I’ll also give some to Cecil-san.

“What are you doing now, Onee-chan?”

“Helping with the lords move. That’s all I’ve found so far.”

I point to the clock, of course. The door is open, so we can see it. And I’ll share the SS.

“Uwaa…this is at the same level as the Silver Key… something there is only one of…”

“I guess it couldn’t be implemented because of the nature of the item.”

There is already a furniture item for teleporting, the standing statue. The clock would not see much use.

“There is information being shared from the investigation, so is this the main thing?”

“Maybe.”

“Mumumu…. but I’d like to go to the abandoned mine.”

“『Oh?』”

As a result of the investigation, traces of suspicious people entering and exiting the abandoned mine have been found. Gather people and investigate.

This leads us to the abandoned mine…

“Ske-san, how’s the progress on the abandoned mine?”

“It’s going well. There are a few branches they haven’t gotten to yet.”

The people who take note of the information will go the abandoned mine, so we’ll see what happens.

“It’s too early for the climax… isn’t it?”

“It’s too early. I think it’ll be on the third day.”

“Which means, we’ll find documents or something in the abandoned mine. Then get information from those resources. Leading towards the climax.”

“Maybe. The problem is that with this event, if everything goes too well, it won’t be very exciting, will it?”

“It’s like a Cthulhu scenario, so I don’t want it to get too exciting…”

“We’re aiming for the experience from an S clear. Let’s expect excitement from the other servers.”

As Cecil-san says, an S clear… finishing it in an ideal manner, will not be very exciting. In the case of Cthulhu stories, it’s best if ‘nothing happens’.

Mythical creatures are fundamentally crazy people, so it’s already a bad end when you encounter them. Basically, the goal is ‘prevention’ or ‘escape’, but if you neglect gathering information at the beginning… you’ll be stuck in a checkmate due to not knowing the appropriate measures to take.

I wonder what this is. 『Stop the summoning』, 『Repel the encounter』, or 『Escape from the encounter』.

Since this is a fantasy game, I’d like to think there is also 『Beat the encounter』, but since the mythical beings of this game are all at max level, it will not be possible at this stage.

No, maybe if it is weakened by an incomplete summoning… Well, I don’t know what will happen if we don’t make any progress.

<<Information has been shared.>>

“『The abandoned mine?』”

Someone saw ‘something’ in the depths of the eastern forest.

Well, what is it?

“East… then…?”

“Is ‘something’ a mythical being? Then maybe it’s for later.”

“If it’s really a mythical creature, isn’t the quickest solution for Onee-chan to go and talk to it?”

“If they wandered in, that’s fine, but if they came under contract, that’s impossible.”

In exchange for our (the summoners) lives, ravage the country… might be the case. Of course, they won’t have any interest in the lives of the summoners, but coming to the surface for the first time in a long while is too attractive.

“Right, Tomo. Was there any kind of library in this town?”

“…No? I don’t think so.”

“Well then, where to research things?”

“Right. It’s a question of where to look into the information the abandoned mine group obtains.”

“Then maybe a study or reading room?”

There seems to be some information on the BBS about searching through the old lord’s mansion.

“It’s a noble’s mansion, after all.”

“Materials related to the Outer Ones would be valuable, so maybe here, the new mansion… or the church?”

“That might be the case, if it’s properly managed?”

Let’s hope that it is, then.

The servant has returned. Along with a young man and guards.

“Thank you for waiting.”

“Are you from the Count family?”

“My name is Sten Forsel, the eldest son of the Forsel family. It’s a great honour to meet you.”

Since he came, servants alone must not have been sufficient. The eldest son will be the next Count, unless there is some problem. Though they would not send someone with such a problem to meet with me.

“Is it okay for me to carry it?”

“Yes. Please do.”

“Then let’s get it done quickly.”

Let’s head over to the Clock of Time.

The Count’s son, Sten, is a handsome young man. Well, it goes without saying that aristocrats usually marry based on family, appearance or ability.

Accompanied by the Count’s son, I put the clock into my inventory.

“I can carry it, but what about everyone else?”

“Hmm~… we’ll go with you.”

“Let’s go.”

Let’s head out with the Immortal group then. From the southwest to the northeast.

I’ll bid farewell to my sister and Cecil-san for now.

It’s very easy to move with the lord’s son accompanying us, as everyone gives way. Honestly, if it was just me, I would travel through subspace, but that’s too specialised…

At the new mansion, we are greeted by the lord’s wife, who is leading a group of servants. It’s good to be able to judge people by their clothes.

“This is my mother. Her name is Margret.”

Countess Margret Forsel, is it.

I’ll just give a light greeting. It’s a magnificent sight to see them all lined up at the entrance, but they’re in the way, so I’ll ask them to lead the way so I can set down the clock.

“I recommend that you treat it completely as an ornament. By the way, what about the head of the family?”

“He is currently in a meeting…”

“Have people started going missing?”

“Missing people and the mysterious figure in the eastern woods, along with the theft of wood by suspicious individuals.”

“It’s a lot of problems…”

“It’s a headache… But we are very grateful to all the Outsiders for their cooperation.”

Since we’re here, why not get some information from the lord’s wife. Collect information while having a cup of tea.

According to her, missing people and pumpkins are not uncommon. They’re common enough in this town that they won’t cause much fuss. Even if people are told not to leave their homes, one or two of the well-behaved people inevitably disappear. And finding them is hopeless…

The problem is that there are many people missing this time. Basically, because they are local, people know that they won’t come back. Even if they know that there is not much chance of finding them even if they search, so many people going missing is suspicious.

One of the Residents in charge of searching for missing people in the eastern forest reported seeing ‘the shadow of something’, in the depths, where they do not usually go. The point being that it was not ‘the shadow of someone’, but the ‘shadow of something’.

The suspicious people and the missing wood are under investigation, with the Outsiders mostly in charge, but the lord’s wife has no particular information. We can see as much in the event UI, so we may be more familiar with the matter.

There is no problem with procuring more wood, as we heard before the meeting.

So the priorities of the lord are:

1. Search for the missing people.

2. Secure wood

3. Investigate the suspicious people and the theft of the wood.

That is their current policy…

“Princess, the servants want to know what you’re doing for lunch?”

“It’s already that time. Right then… we’re fine with just a cup of tea. Oh, but these children would be happy if you could bake them some light cookies. I can use [Magicise] on them.”

“Do as she said.”

“Yes.”

As a count family, it’s normal behaviour to serve tea when guests visit, and to serve meals depending on the time.

The problem is that we are not ordinary guests, but an Outer One, armour, bones and ghosts… That’s a problem for the servants. Far from being a cultural difference, the races are so different that they have no choice but to ask.

Rather than speculating and stepping on a landmine, the correct answer would be to simply ask the person in question.

While we are being entertained and relaxing, while gathering information, the head of the family has come to see us. The head of the family and his wife both look young, but considering the age of the eldest child, they must be between 40 and 50. My parents have deceiving appearances too, so I won’t be fooled… is what I’d like to say, but there are people who are immortal in this game.

With his arrival, the main person to talk to changes from the wife to the head of the family, Kurt Forsel. Let’s get the latest information from him. While we are with him, the latest information will come in the form of reports, so we can get it directly from the lord… though I don’t know if it’s okay to say that.

Of course, we will also share information from the Outsiders. This is the time the real thing seems to be starting. The abandoned mine group have found a place that looks to be a base, and after gathering everyone up, they have started to fight with the suspicious people.

<<Information has been shared.>>

“Looks like the situation in the abandoned mine is over.”

“Now then, I wonder what they found.”

“They’re looking around now.”

Investigating a suspicious person led them to the abandoned mine, and when they explored the mine, they found a very lived-in space. The people they found were wearing robes, so they are certainly suspicious. They are not miners by any stretch of the imagination. The adventurers (Outsiders) have overwhelmed the suspicious people and are now searching for anything important.

The information is being updated with a continuous chiming.

What seems to be a document has been found.

It’s written in a lot of unfamiliar and unreadable characters. There are words written at the top, like a note.

It says 『To Summon Our Ladies of Sorrow』.

“It’s in English. Do you understand it, Princess?”

“”I know summon!””

“…Isn’t that Our Ladies of Sorrow?”

“Are they trying to summon them?”

“It’s a female plural and the word ‘sorrow’, so I don’t know anything else it could be.”

<<Information has been shared.>>

What seems to be a document has been found.

It’s written in a lot of unfamiliar and unreadable characters. There are words written at the top, like a note.

It says 『To Summon Shub-Niggurath』.

“”Oi. What a set.””

“Ah, we were told there was misleading information. So this is how it is. I wonder which is right.”

<<Information has been shared.>>

Mathematical formulas have been found in the old lord’s mansion. Can a noble solve such a problem? Even in your world, not many will be able to solve this… now, can you?

The Kruschyta Equation.

“”Equation…?””

“It feels like a bonus because we’re already here… Count Kurt, are you familiar with the Kruschyta Equation?”

“Kruschyta…? Oh, that esoteric one! We’re told to preserve it, but never solve it. Well, I don’t think there are many people who can solve it.”

I don’t expect it would be any kind of normal mathematics, but I wonder what kind of thing it is.

The Kruschyta Equation.

『While looking at this screen』, or 『While this screen is open』, the analysis will proceed.

The speed of the solution is dependent on intelligence, while affected by spirit and equipment.

I see. As long as the UI for the The Kruschyta Equation is open, the analysis will proceed depending on your status and equipment.

As long as you look at it, it doesn’t matter what position you are in, so if you sit down you can be doing something else…

“Don’t solve it, because even if you do it will only call Nyar, right?”

“Is this formula an incarnation?”

“You’re going to become Nyar! It’s that kind of incarnation.”

“That’s not very nice, is it.”

“Judging by the progress, it doesn’t seem possible during our stay.”

It looks like analysing it isn’t possible unless you have a pure magic build. I”ll stop. I don’t want the Book of Elder Records to explode, so let’s leave Nyar alone.

<<Information has been shared.>>

The control and investigation of the abandoned mine base has been completed.

The people who were captured are unlikely to talk, but their reactions suggest they still have friends.

Look into the materials found and discover their associates.

In the meantime, take them to the town and leave the rest to the professionals.

『We have moved onto a new phase, degozaruna. How should we proceed, degozaruka?』

『I don’t think we have any choice but to look for the remnants while investigating countermeasures?』

『No, considering the documents, it’s likely that the remnants are trying to summon something, so we should be able to find the location with some research.』

『Oh, I see.』

On a server with a large number of people, we could use human wave tactics, but… it’s not realistic for our server.

“Our union should look into the information we have. I think we’re going to have to go east.”

『East and south have been mentioned and south is done. So we’re left with the ‘shadow of something’ in the east forest.』

“Is Ertz-san here?”

『Sure, what is it?』

“The quest for harvesting wood seems to be in the northern forest. Has anything happened?”

『I don’t think so? There’s an accompanying escort, but there haven’t been any particular problems. An ordinary forest.』

“The west is just a plain, so it must be the east.”

『Shadows, huh, I’m curious, degozaruna. Do you need reconnaissance, degozaruka?』

『Yeah, shall we send a few parties to scout? The combat teams would be happy with that.』

After speaking with each of the party leaders in the union… we have decided to exclude the north and west from the search area, as they are city-based. The south was the abandoned mine, so after regrouping in town, the union will head east.

More specifically, except for a few parties transporting the suspicious group, they are returning while filling in the map. Some who are in town now, and some of those coming back doing the transporting, will join the reconnaissance of the eastern forest.

Of course, those who are members of our union. But Ske-san is updating our behaviour policy on the BBS, so there are also others who will take that into account.

“We’ll be investigating the documents that the suspicious people had in their possession.”

It turns out that not much was learned from the documents obtained from the suspicious group.

Other materials are required to decipher them. Find information that may be useful.

To Summon Shub-Niggurath

Notes of a suspicious group

The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young

The Black Goddess of Fertility

To Summon Our Ladies of Sorrow

Notes of a suspicious group

Our Lady of Tears

Our Lady of Sighs

Our Lady of Darkness

According the the event UI, there are documents with these titles.

For the time being, it’s best to explain to the lord and share information. It will no doubt be faster to cooperate in searching for the documents.

“…Hmm. I see.”

“We’ll look into the documents and leave it to you to get the information from the suspicious group.”

“Understood.”

“On that note… are there any old documents related to the world of the Outer Ones?”

“I do not know if they are related to Outer Ones, but there are some fairly old materials in the study.”

“Do you have any idea where else we might find them?”

“…if anywhere, it would be the church.”

The study in the lord’s mansion and the church.

In the case of the church, it’s best if I’m in charge. So let’s ask someone else to check the study in the lord’s mansion.

I’ll inform the union and ask a nearby party to come over.

“Then we’ll go to the church, so I’d appreciate if you could cooperate with the other Outsiders that come here.”

“Of course. My thanks to the Outsiders, for what they’re doing for the town.”

“They’re just doing their own thing.”

“And I am just grateful for the results. That’s all.”

That’s how it is, huh. You’re more interested in the result than the motive. Well, as a lord, I suppose that’s how it is.

“We have stayed for quite a while. …you two, aren’t you eating too much?”

“”Delicious!””

“Haha. If you eat that much, the cook will be pleased. Right?”

“Yes. There are always leftovers in these cases, so he was happy to make a second batch.”

According to the servant who was waiting, the cook seems to be happy.

When it comes to aristocrats, the standard might be tea parties led by the wife. In that case, they probably won’t eat much. I don’t mind that the twins are eating, but I’m the one who has to use [Magicise], you know.

Well, it is time for us to leave the lord’s mansion we have been guests at for quite a while. It would normally be about time for a break, but we have had plenty of time to relax while waiting for information.

As we leave the mansion, to head to the church, there is a bear.

“Heyo, Princess.”

“So Ruzebarm-san’s party is the one that came over. I’m sure you already know what you’re looking for, so please ask the Count to guide you. We’ll go to the church as planned.”

“Got it.”

We’ve said our goodbyes to the Count Forsel family, so once again, time to go.

And hello church.

“Good day, Bishop Belies.”

“Nemeseia-sama. How may I help you?

“There is something I want to research, so I’d like to know if the church has anything relevant.”

I’ll explain the situation to Bishop Belies.

“I see. So you’re investigating the documents that were in the possession of the suspicious group witnessed in town. When it comes to something related to the Outer Ones, it is likely to be old… hmm.”

We are asked to follow a priestess who will show us the way, while the Bishop goes to collect the key.

In the corner of the church there is a library, or a resource room… a room where books for children and the hobbies of the clergy are collected.

There is a locked door at the far side of the room. That seems to be our destination.

“This is where we store the books that are quite old or difficult to handle.”

Apparently she has not heard any details, due to her position. Some things are better off not known…

After a short wait, Bishop Belies arrives with the key, replacing the priestess.

“Well, I think the older things are here… along with those that are unreadable…”

A place that is not visited much. There is no point going all the way to see something you can’t read. Even if he did come, it would be for management work, not reading.

“It seems that my memory is correct. If we have it, what you’re looking for should be around here.”

“Thank you, Bishop Belies. Now let’s see what we can find.”

Bishop Belies leaves the keys with me and returns to his work. Myself and the rest of the party will look through the bookshelves. I’ll take the shelves with the unreadable books. The other four will take the shelves for the old ones.

As for skills activating… nothing in particular?

<<Information has been shared.>>

“Oh, I found it.”

“What have you got?”

“『The Black Goddess of Fertility』. …Ugh, pass.”

I receive the thin book from Ske-san after he flips through it.

“….Hm? The characters are garbled.”

“Oh? No good even for Princess?”

What about the item information?

The Black Goddess of Fertility

A book about the The Black Goddess of Fertility.

…There are some mistranslations, so it will take some time to decipher.

“A copy of only the parts related to Niggurath. The problem is not that it’s an incomplete manuscript, but the translation of it. Am I supposed to guess the original text from this…?”

“It’s like a grimoire in another language. Mistranslations included.”

“I guess that’s how it’s treated. And there are not just a few.”

“”What now?””

It would be a waste of time to speculate on the original text. Then…?

“What rules did the suspicious group use to translate it… it would be nice if we knew that.”

“The 『Notes of a suspicious group』 are probably the key.”

“I guess we need to have it all. Identify the rules used by the suspicious group to translate it, then restore the original text… No, do we need to use the original?”

“Can you read the original, Princess?”

“I can… but they can’t read it, so what’s the point?”

“Mu…? Ah…our goal is to secure the remnants of the suspicious people, not accurate information about the Outer Ones. On the other hand, there’s still a chance of coming across them…or rather, isn’t it about the summoning?”

“Even if I read the original text and get the information, the other side can’t read it in the first place, so it’s doubtful that the information we have will match… but isn’t it unlikely that there are multiple places suitable for summoning?”

“”If the conditions are wrong, it won’t work?””

“…That wouldn’t even be close to exciting. It would be safe to just leave them alone. That wouldn’t be much of an event.”

“No, it wouldn’t. Maybe I should try and work with the original text then.”

<<Information has been shared.>>

“Did they find something at the lord’s mansion?”

“『Our Lady of Sighs』 is Mater Suspiriorum.”

“Oh, there it is. 『Our Lady of Tears』.”

“That one is Mater Lachrymarum. Just Mater Tenebrarum left.”

Alf-san, who had continued searching while I was talking to Ske-san, has found something.

After searching for a while, 『The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young』 has been found in the lord’s mansion. That one is Shub-Niggurath.

But after that, we have found nothing else.

“Nothing?”

“”Nothing~””

“Is there nothing else in the church? There were two in the lord’s mansion.”

“Not here either…”

“But where else could we search?”

“…Thinking about it normally, you wouldn’t find the notes of suspicious people in the lord’s study or in the church. Maybe they have a base in the town as well as the abandoned mine?”

“”That makes sense.””

“”Unless they broke in and forgot something~.””

As the twins say, that would be pretty stupid. Going to all the trouble to break into such a place, then leaving behind a note, or forgetting to take the book they came for.

“Then are they using a vacant house without permission?”

“It’s possible they have just openly moved in. Even without permission.”

“Let’s ask the union if they know anything about it. Maybe they came across something while investigating the wood.”

“”Okay.””

“”Okay~””

So, I’ll ask about it in the union channel.

『Ah, there was.』

『There was. But we couldn’t get in, right?』

『My party is heading over now. Give me a minute.』

『Could we ask the lord if he has a key, or maybe the real estate agent?』

『Then the lord would be best. Wouldn’t it be faster to go to the most powerful man in town?』

『I’m here, but it looks like it changed. It looks possible to enter, though it’s locked. Oh, think I can break down the door?』

『Wait a moment, I’m next to the lord.』

『Sure.』

Looks like they also had a hideout in town. If we can find the rest there, we can start the analysis.

“Looks like the search of the abandoned mine is over.”

“So they’re responsible for the missing wood. But the numbers don’t seem to add up, do they?”

“Looks like. You wouldn’t build a fire in a mine, so did they stash it in the town?”

“It’s possible, but…hm…? Why would they take it to the abandoned mine if they weren’t going to use it?”

“No, maybe…”

I ask the union party at the base in town if there is any wood there, but apparently there is not.

“There’s no wood at the town base… which means, they stole it from town and took it to the abandoned mine, then moved it to another location?”

“”The summoning spot!””

“I can’t think of anything else. Oh, they found the documents.”

<<Information has been shared.>>

All the documents have been collected.

Check them to find out what these fanatics are trying to do.

Choose between Shub-Niggurath and Our Ladies of Sorrow and keep the UI window open.

The progress is shared by the server, with the analysis speed depending on the intelligence and spirit of the player.

With all of the documents collected, the analysis speed bonus is the maximum.

※You don’t need to remain where the documents are, nor do you have to take them with you, so you can proceed wherever you like.

“I see, let’s clean up and leave.”

『Princess, we should all regroup. It looks like we’re close to entering the climax. We can sit down and do other things while the UI is open, so let’s have a strategy meeting.』

“Where do you want to meet up?”

『Well, there are a lot of people… so let’s make it the western plains.』

Then, as Cecil-san says, let’s all meet up.

I notify all the party leaders, and after we’re finished cleaning up, lock up the room and leave. After saying goodbye to Bishop Belies and returning the key, we head west.

There are a lot of people here already.

And there are chairs, along with other rough things, like wooden boards, laid out to relax on.

“Onee-chan, here, here!

My friends seem to be gathered in the centre.

My sister jumps at me for a hug.

“Hey, it’s going pretty slowly.

“We’ll have to wait a while for the analysis, huh?”

“I feel like we’ve done all we can do for now, so maybe?”

Cecil-san, don’t worry about my squirming sister, she’s always like this.

“So the information we’ll get from this is where to summon the mythical creatures and how to deal with them?”

“It’s reasonable to think so. But this is a sword-and-sorcery action game, so there’s definitely going to be a difference from the TRPG.”

“Both will be at the level cap, so I expect there is some kind of gimmick. Supposing there is a ritual of expulsion, will there be a requirement of reducing the targets health first?”

“Needing to reduce your opponent’s health before you can use an item or something is a rather basic rule.”

Now that my sister has separated from me, I can sit on the backrest-less wooden bench, like those found in a park. It was probably made by Primula-san.

“Well, which one should we analyse…”

“Able to sit beautifully even with Imouto-chan sticking to you… As expected of the big sister…”

“It’s just the usual. Which one are you doing, Rina?”

“Niggurath.”

Hm… Well, we’re probably going to do both anyway, so it doesn’t matter which. Let’s go with Niggurath.

“Even though it’s a strategy meeting, we can’t decide on a strategy until the information comes out.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ve already exchanged for what you want from the Halloween tickets, so isn’t it fine, degozaruka? We can do the analysis leisurely, degozaruna.”

“Let’s have a friendly chat!”

“About how it’s going to rain soon.”

“Right. It’s going to come down soon, but what about it?”

I wonder what the weather forecast was in the end. I don’t know the details, so I can’t say.

“It will rain in the evening. Tomorrow there will be thunderstorms, but the time is still unknown.”

“Is that magic? How does it work?”

“It checks the weather every hour, like 1pm or 2pm.”

“Oh, it’s Shirabesuki-san. So what about 2:30pm?”

“No, no. It can only tell precisely on the hour. And the further in advance you look, the more doubtful the accuracy.”

“Any idea what gives it bonuses yet?”

“Not yet. Acquiring it needs a level of 30 or higher in «Atmospheric Magic» or «Storm Magic».”

“Wind magic? That has nothing to do with me…”

“You won’t be able to get it because of your race. That’s quite a penalty.”

“Because light and dark are so strong…”

So I can’t learn it. Well, I’m from a race that isn’t really affected by the weather, so I’d like to say it’s fine…

“Rain though. And I guess we wouldn’t get much experience from hunting, so I suppose we should just quietly proceed with the analysis.”

“It’s best to aim for the delicious experience from an S clear, degozarukana.”

“Right.”

“If it’s going to rain, best get a place to sleep while we can.”

“Let’s dig a hole.”

“Don’t do that.”

“I learned that during the camp.”

“The one that flooded.”

“『That was terrible.』”

It was fun, though, the camping event. Now, if it’ just me, I can evacuate to subspace.

“So, what about the cat and the pumpkins?”

“『Who knows…?』”

“Is it something we can hear about from management after the event is over?”

“I’m sure they’ll tell us if we ask.”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Is this situation mainly about Niggurath or Our Ladies? I feel like it should be Shub-Na when I think about it, but in terms of timing, it should be tonight.”

“Maybe. Kru… what was it? Has anyone tried the equation?”

“The Kruschyta Equation. It’s not server-wide, but individual, so no.”

“Even if you do it, you’ll just die.”

“Let’s have Princess do it?”

“Can I do it here?”

“We don’t want any collateral damage.”

“Die while minimising the damage.”

“I think the damage would be enormous if Princess died.”

“Don’t panic, it’s a mortal wound.”

“It’s too late to panic, if it’s already fatal.”

The Kruschyta Equation. In the TRPG, solving the equation turns you into Nyar. It’s not a matter of planting knowledge, but of ‘becoming Nyar’.

“I think your SAN flies away, and the intelligence and knowledge become the numerical values for Nyar. You can get knowledge… or some kind of skill? But… yeah.”

“The individual is dead once the SAN is blown away, so it’s probably an instant death. I don’t think you can escape him.”

“I don’t think it’s possible. I think the only one who stands a chance is Princess, who is the same kind.”

“He’ll probably just click his tongue and leave.”

“That’s lol. I’d like to see that.”

“He would definitely come for us, if we were around…”

“『That’s true.』”

“I don’t think he’s going to leave without doing something.”

The people in the Medium are basically always idle…

“I don’t know much about Cthulhu, what’s Nyar?”

“Nyarlathotep is it’s full name.”

“Huh?”

“It’s possible that it’s more commonly known as the source of Nyaruko. This game is closer to the original though, so of course it’s not that cute.”

“Oh, that”

“Put simply, a nuisance who has top-level strength, but loves to give people knowledge and drive them crazy.”

“It’s sometimes called The Crawling Chaos or the Faceless God. Thousands of different incarnations, each with a different personality, that can exist simultaneously. Sometimes they go as far as battling each other…”

“He’s by far the smartest, but looks down on everything but himself.”

“As far as I can tell, he’s a nasty one.”

“It’s enough to know that.”

If you could understand it perfectly, you’d be just the same.

<<Information has been shared.>>

The documents belonging to the suspicious group have been partially analysed.

Rather than the gods, who do nothing and do not show themselves, they would put their faith in the mythical beings that have been witnessed many times in the past… and so they intend to summon an Outer One.

A ruler should be overwhelmingly strong and should reign supreme.

…And followed blindly.

“Well, who are these prayers for… They want to make them kings? That’s insane. First of all, strength is not the same as political ability.”

“Well, yeah… that’s how fanatics are.”

“Let’s throw them all into the Medium. I’m sure they’ll sob with joy. And the other side will be pleased to have to…ehem, guests, after such a long time.”

“Were you about to say ‘toys’?”

“Well, maybe you’re imagining things?”

“Onee-chan, is this character really okay?”

“Hm… maybe not? Isn’t it a bit of a problem to know about this and leave it alone? Should I seriously send them to the Medium…”

“What’s bothering you?”

“It’s more…fundamentally? I’ve just been assuming from the interactions so far…”

This is basically a fight over the Stellura family.

The Outer Ones are pretty much just followers of the gods. Those based on the Cthulhu mythos especially, as they are taken care of by Stellura-sama.

In the TRPG, Yog-Sothoth, the origin for Stellura-sama, and Tindalos have a hostile relationship, but as we know, this isn’t the case here. Mh’ithrha, the Arch-Lord of Tindalos, is a caring person.

Long ago, the followers of Stellura-sama, the Vice-God, ‘evolved’ into creatures based on Cthulhu. The reason for them evolving into species that match with the Cthulhu mythos is probably because Stellura-sama is based on Yog-Sothoth.

I don’t know if their race before evolving was human, but another world, the Medium, was prepared for them. Humans are very strict with other races. They would be even more creeped out by those who used to be human.

In this case, the god that they worshipped gave them the place called the Medium, and let them meet comrades who were in the same situation.

For the individual, I think it is direct salvation by the gods. That’s why they are so grateful, and even Nyarlathotep follows them without looking down on them.

“So then, they are all individuals who evolved like me, a long time ago… so that’s it.”

“Then… they are not born that way?”

“In the first place, ‘Outer Ones’ refers to those who are immortal in a literal sense, due to being outside the circle of reincarnation. The Cthulhu races, myself included, are rightly called 『The Stellura family of Outer Ones』.”

“Family..”

“You can see it when «Identification» is used, but our object of worship is used as our ‘family’.”

“Ah… the taxonomy meaning of family then.”

“This is mine, umm… and this is King Woofwoof’s.”

“Oh…really. The Stellura family. It’s a scam to say Mh’ithrha is a lower race.”

“I think he’s a King of Tindalos, in terms of race. And then he’s the Arch-Lord, because he’s at the very top of the King of Tindalos race.”

If this supposition is correct, because it’s reversed, they will go berserk when summoned by the fanatics. I doubt that they would be satisfied with killing only the summoners.

“This means we can’t use the easy way, which is to let the summoners destroy themselves, followed by the Outer One going home. There’s no choice but to stop the summoning. It might be possible to persuade Our Ladies of Sorrow, but I haven’t met Shub-Niggurath yet, so it’s a mystery…”

“Our Ladies of Sorrow look like three humans, so there might still be a chance, but with Niggurath… isn’t it impossible?”

“A few dozen fanatics wouldn’t be enough to satisfy it…”

<<Information has been shared.>>

The documents belonging to the fanatics have been partially analysed. (Shub-Niggurath)

Shub-Niggurath has a race of servants called Black Goat’s.

The Black Goats give gifts to Shub-Niggurath, which are then remade through Shub-Niggurath’s blessing.

“Hmm~… It must be the type that gradually gives information as the analysis progresses.”

“So there’s a chance of us getting the minimum information we need with a partial analysis?”

“The more we analyse though, the easier it will be in the end.”

“Lol at suspicious group changing to fanatics.”

“Really.”

“I expected black goats since it’s Niggurath, but blessed by Shub-Niggurath?”

“Gifts… I don’t want to see those…”

“It’s the ones that have a half human form that will be most disturbing…”

“The Blessed were random in appearance, right? As long as the game is all-ages, shouldn’t it be either almost human or completely different?”

“Is this game that kind?”

“Mmm~… there’s not much hope.”

“Of course.”

Well, Shoggoth is like that. If you have no tolerance for it, it’s impossible without a filter.

As predicted, it started to rain in the evening, so I wrap myself in my cloak, which is usually hanging behind me.

It would be okay to use [Waterproof Barrier] instead of a cloak, but… either’s fine.

I can say the analysis is going well, but… are we not getting much information about Our Ladies of Sorrow?

“Our Ladies of Sorrow aren’t being updated that often, huh?”

“Well, let’s see what happens at the 50% mark. Judging by the frequency of information sharing, I’d say this server is probably going the Niggurath route.”

“Right. There’s a big difference in the amount of information we’re getting for Our Ladies and Niggurath. Is that confirmation?”

“We’ve assembled the bonfire for now.”

“Oh, good work.”

We can’t forget the bonfire. The Residents will do it themselves if we don’t, but we should do it while we’re aiming for S, so the non-magic union members took part in the carrying and assembling.

Now that it’s done, they’re back to analysing.

<<Information has been shared.>>

The documents belonging to the fanatics have been partially analysed. (Shub-Niggurath)

A suitable location for summoning was found.

Near the town of Howard, look for a mountain in the depths of the eastern forest.

The summoning is expected to happen around 18:00 on the third day.

Investigate further and find countermeasures, to be used in the case of emergencies.

More time is required for further analysis.

<<Information on the suitable time for summoning has been obtained.>>

<<The countdown to the start of the climax phase has begun.>>

“『Uoooooooo!』”

“If we took too long analysing the Niggurath documents to 50%, isn’t it likely we wouldn’t get this countdown?”

“Right. What happens if the analysis doesn’t reach 50% in time? It could be either a sudden summoning, or a countdown at the last minute…”

“Would it be a defensive battle with Niggurath coming from the east? That’s impossible.”

“There’s no SAN value, so it would be possible to escape safely, but the town would be destroyed, making it a quest failure. That would make me very unhappy.”

<<Information has been shared.>>

The documents belonging to the fanatics have been partially analysed. (Our Ladies of Sorrow)

There does not seem to be any necessary information.

It seems that the fanatics are not attempting to summon Our Ladies of Sorrow.

※There is nothing more to discover from these documents. Analyse other materials.

“Ah, I can’t analyse Our Ladies of Sorrow anymore.”

“In the end, it only told us that there are three of them, and their names.”

“Now we can analyse Niggurath without worrying!”

The problem is that the analysis speed for Niggurath has dropped noticeably. Well, I suppose the speed is based on the assumption that everyone will move to this analysis.

Now that we have a minimum of information we’re looking for ways to deal with the problem, but if we didn’t bring it to this stage early, we wouldn’t be able to get enough information at this speed.

But the more we proceed with this analysis, the easier the climax will be.

“…Let’s break up. The rain is getting heavier, so what should we do about the night patrol?”

“We should continue the analysis, but it’s not like we can skip patrolling, is it?”

“I’d like to do a patrol if possible.”

“The magic types should analyse, and the muscle brains should patrol.”

“I’d also like to put a guard on the wood storage.”

“Oh, a measure against the remnants. Then guards on the empty house, the storage and the entrance of the abandoned mine.”

“That’s good. The guards can sit and chat while analysing. There’s no need to catch them. Two parties should be enough for the entrances of the mine and the house.”

“It would be even better if we could put some in the sky too.”

While we are discussing the guard placement, the rain is not yet a downpour but is steadily levelling up from its light pattering.

“Clementia is doing fine.

“She’s a plant after all, degozarukana…”

“The Éclasídhe’s discharge is dangerous.”

“Uhahaha!”

“Uff!”

Fairellen-san usually has a constant sparking effect, but the rain has made it a little more intense…I’ve never seen this effect before. I wonder what would happen if she was immersed in water.

“Isn’t it a bit early to be playing Revolution?”

“Anyway, was there going to be a thunderstorm a little before the summoning time tomorrow?”

“Rehearsal, a rehearsal.”

“Right. It’s important to check.”

“We were too busy for that during the camp event.”

“But that’s enough. Let’s go look around.”

“Yeah.”

I don’t think we’ll be able to experiment this time either, because we’ll be busy stopping the summoning. If the thunderstorm comes early, we’ll have enough time.

“Well, let’s move.”

“Let’s go!”

This time, the unusual combination of myself, Ske-san and Thorin-san will analyse at the church. Alf-san and Ame-san are going to patrol the town.

“By the way, did you hear what happened last night?”

“No, nothing at all.”

“Because Princess went to bed, [Light] went out, so we surprised a player.”

“Right. And we started chasing the person we scared.”

“That was fun!”

Oh dear…I’m sorry. It’s like a school ghost story…

We say goodbye in front of the church. Have a safe trip. Our analysis group will sit down and continue chatting. I can do alchemy while sitting, so I’ll make something. Doing it outside when it’s raining is no good. Obviously it will get wet.

“How high is your «Alchemycraft» now, Princess?”

“It’s almost maxed out, so I hope it will reach the third tier soon. Resurrection potions are quite difficult to make, so the experience is quite tasty.”

“I haven’t raised it at all. There’s only a slight increase from raising the dead.”

“[Dark Ritual] also gives experience for «Alchemy».”

“Right. I can’t use potions, and my weapons mostly come from woodworking, so «Alchemy» is mostly useless. It’s faster to take the raw materials to Primula-chan.”

“I prefer to hand over the ore as it is too… considering the required materials, it’s hard to do otherwise. I think it would be the same with wood.”

“It hurts that it costs even one more piece.”

“It hurts…but if you don’t do it, it won’t go up…so the resurrection potion is good. How’s your crafting going, Thorin-san?”

“I don’t do it at all. I can’t use potions, and I can only use special equipment!”

“Now you mention it, has nobody developed equipment for spirits yet?”

“Not yet. We can eat food with [Magicise], but there’s still no equipment. Maybe it needs special materials…”

“It’s no good to a spirit if it can’t be assimilated with their body.”

“Because you’d drop the equipment on the spot after using «Spiritualisation».”

At level 30, the spirit races learn «Spiritualisation» and «Materialisation», as well as «Semi-Spirit Body».

«Spiritualisation» makes it impossible to interact with physical objects, but it also grants «Complete Physical Immunity». They also can’t be seen with your eyes. As a disadvantage, magic resistance is halved and anything but special equipment is forcefully unequipped. There is no change to light and holy attributes.

«Materialisation» raises physical stats and allows the use of most equipment. The physical damage reduction is lost. And again, there are no changes to light and holy attributes.

<«Alchemycraft» reached level 60. “2” Skill Points acquired.>

<«Alchemycraft» reached the maximum level, «Alchemist» was unlocked.>

“Ah, it went up. Let’s take the third tier.”

“Oh, that’s good.”

<『Title: Alchemist』 has been upgraded to 『Title: Third-Class Alchemist』.>

<『Title: Third-Class Alchemist』 has been upgraded to 『Title: Second-Class Alchemist』.>

<『Title: Second-Class Alchemist』 has been upgraded to 『Title: First-Class Alchemist』.>

<『Title: First-Class Alchemist』 has been upgraded to 『Title: Special-Class Alchemist』.>

«Alchemist»

[All That Exists]

The required number of materials is equal to that of other production skills.

[Special-Class Alchemist].

A title given to veterans who have produced S-grade items with alchemy.

Reduced MP consumption when using alchemy. Reduced difficulty when using alchemy. Quality bonus when using alchemy.

“Oh…required materials are equal to other skills now… After bringing it up to the third tier, it’s finally here.”

“Oh, so they can be made equal. All the disadvantages can be removed then…but I’m not going to use it…”

“I won’t use it either~.”

“Isn’t it surprisingly good for making money? It’s easier to cook jerky, though.”

“The jerky money plan is dangerous. I heard that cooks who don’t fight lose money on ingredients.”

“I can get the main ingredients by myself, so it doesn’t cost me much. If it’s seafood, I have to buy it, but I’d rather focus on alchemy than cooking.”

“I heard that you’ve been passed in cooking, but is there anyone higher than Princess in alchemy? There’s a chance of making a material shop using alchemy, but it seems to be a painful process.”

“Currently, you can only make up to C if you don’t become a disciple…but I wonder if we can do something about that restriction. I’ve given my master an improved version of the alchemy formation, so maybe it depends on that?”

“I didn’t know you did that.”

“I remodelled the alchemy formation using «Ancient Divine Linguistics» and Eibon. …Speaking of which, it’s the Book of Elder Records now, so can I improve it further…? I’ll take a look now, as I’m not busy.”

Hmm…the [Magic Alchemy] formation can be improved… I should have kept a copy of the one I gave to my master. I’ll go check with master after the event is over…

Let’s work on improving the [Magic Alchemy] formation until bedtime.

“Cool!

“There’s a lot of romance in that.”

I’m improving the alchemy formation that is currently deployed in the air, so it certainly does pull at your heartstrings. Blowing away characters with a flick and using magic power to replace them with another.

…I’m having a very hard time improving the [Magic Alchemy] formation.

“Muuu…? It’s kind of weird.”

“Is it not going well?”

“I’m in the process of improving it from the one I made with Eibon, but it feels fundamentally different…or rather, I feel like I can remodel it into something else…”

“Hoho? Then do it. You should.”

“Hm~…I’ll make a copy.”

“Well, it’s time for Princess to go to bed.”

“Oh…it’s already that time. Then I’ll go to bed…”

“Good night!”

“I’ll sleep too~.”

Good night in the same room as yesterday.