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T/N: For those who missed it, I’m dropping to one chapter a week. There are more details in the announcement post.
I’m curious, but is the boundary between worlds different from space-time and subspace? I won’t bother asking though, because I doubt a normal person can recognise it in the first place. So far, I don’t feel any concern about it.
Well, after leaving the church we head back towards the central square.
“It seems that you can exchange for fashion items from the event NPC near the statue”.
Apparently it is possible to exchange for men’s items from the male NPC and women’s items from the female NPC. Well, you can do so through the UI when you are nearby.
Vampires, mummies, jiangshi, ghosts, witches, etc. …The typical Halloween costumes.
“This one is Medjed, not a ghost.”
“Certainly!”
I can’t help but notice that other players nearby are laughing, so I’ll preview the ghost myself.
…Fufu. Well, that’s what you get when you wear a white cloth. It’s up to you whether you take it as a ghost or Medjed-sama.
“Uwa, Shoggo-tan is creepy!”
“Who would want this!”
…Shoggo-tan? Oh, this one? Instead of the white cloth of the ghost, it is a blackish iridescent cloth with a lot of eyes painted on it. There’s also a hat item called Jack O’Head…
There are also pumpkin pie, stew dishes and recipes. There are also pumpkin cookie moulds.
The Halloween tickets used for the exchange seem to be obtained alongside the information when doing quests for Residents and the like.
“I don’t need the fashion items, but I do want the recipes and moulds.”
“If I have extra tickets, I’ll just exchange them and fertilize the warehouse.”
“It’s like we’re always dressed up anyway.”
“”Ghosts!””
Seeing as we’re inhuman races…
“Buildings to the north-east and south-west. The Unions on the east side of the central square, church on the west. The plain we started on is to the west, the south is the mountains, the rest is forest.”
A video of someone who can fly looking around from above the central square has been shared. I can fly too, but my vision doesn’t cover the whole town, so I’ll watch the video.
“Did you hear where the lord’s mansion is?”
“He said it’s in the north-east.”
“Then the south-west mansion is a mystery.”
Mountains from south to east. So the eastern forest meets the mountains a little further in.
“Is the mountain to the south a mine?”
“It’s possible. There’s smoke coming from a lot of houses.”
The black smoke from a blacksmith’s forge. The better the equipment, the more magical it is, until the smoke almost disappears. Higher levels of equipment have far better performance and work using mana, without the need for external fuel such as firewood. In that case, the chimney is for bringing air in, not expelling the smoke.
In other words, when the chimney is letting out black smoke, the equipment being used is of a relatively low level. It is a blacksmith’s shop that is not suitable for processing magical goods. It’s fine for processing ordinary ore though.
Well, that’s not the important point.
“To the south is the craftsmen’s quarter?”
“Yes, apparently. West seems to be the commercial district.”
So says Alf-san while looking at the UI, as it looks like there is some information posted on the BBS. The basics have been found out already, so it is time to start searching for quests.
“It’s probably fine to work alone at this stage, what do you think?”
“It’s better to split up in terms of searching…”
“There are many other players out there.”
“Sure… but I think the problem is that it will be hard to get quests with me here.”
“You need courage to ask the king!”
I haven’t been doing errand quests. It’s a disadvantage of my position. I suppose it’s a bit hit and miss as other types of quest occur… but there is a big difference in how often. But for private matters? They rarely come my way.
So let’s act separately until we discover a party quest. Even if we act alone though, all four of them are Immortals, so it is not their strong point either, is it?
Let’s take a look at the Adventurers’ Union quests…
The Union is the standard template building, so there’s nothing new here. It’s a remote area, so the number of Resident adventurers is not that large.
Oh, Cecil-san is hitting a wooden practice dummy. With an unfamiliar weapon… Through subspace I go, to the training ground where Cecil-san is.
The weapon Cecil-san is holding is not a light sword, but that… a weapon with a strong enhancement. In other words, the weapon is shining.
“Oh? Hello, Princess.”
“Good day. Did enhancements cause weapons to shine in this game too?”
“No, this is something else.”
“Watch” he says, as he throws the shining sword at the practice dummy. ….he missed, but that’s not the point, as the thrown sword has shattered and disappeared. “I think I should take throwing”, says Cecil-san, turning back to me.
“[Divine Call] then… [Double Call]”
“Ah…. is it weapon summoning?”
With [Divine Call] the space in front of Cecil-san’s right hand glows, and after reaching into it he pulls out a sword identical to the one thrown earlier.
Then, with [Double Call], the sword in his right hand is duplicated, becoming dual swords.
“I got a blessing from Sigrdrífa-sama a while ago.”
“And that’s how you got the skill?”
“I don’t know the conditions because it’s a rare skill, but probably.”
“I haven’t unlocked any new skills due to my blessing… They have seemed more related to my race…”
Blessings unlocking rare skills… that’s good. Sigrdrífa-sama is the goddess of battle. Cecil-san is a pure combat type and also a guildmaster, so there was a chance she would like him.
“The problem is that this is classified as a race skill.”
“…Human?”
“Yeah, human.”
A human racial skill. So it is specific to that race then.
“It’s a skill that summons a copy of a sacred treasure. The summoner is called a surrogate.”
“«Summoner», is it. So you have a special ability then?”
“Right now it’s just a flashy looking sword. Maybe I don’t have a high enough skill level. By the way, this sword is The Answerer. It’s apparently another name for Fragarach.”
“Fragarach. The name of a mythical weapon that shows up rather often.”
There were other options, like Mistilteinn or Bryunak, but the skills don’t fit.”
It seems that he could only choose one sacred treasure. Cecil-san has always used a sword, so he has «One-Handed Swordsmanship». It would be a problem to copy a weapon he does not have the skill for.
“By the way, even though I’m a human, it feels like I’m coming to understand how some of the hidden adjustments work.”
“Are there any?”
“It seems like the judgement process is a bit more relaxed than for other races? To the extent that it is possible to see through some testing.”
“So they lean more towards performance than stats.”
It can be seen as aimed at beginners, but having the system make more relaxed judgements is generally strong. If their forms do not need to be as precise, it can even be possible to do more damage than others.
If you want to fight with combat arts, humans might be best, while if you want to fight with stats, you should be another race. It’s the inhumans who win in the field of high stats.
“It looks like there’s nothing much happening at the Union, so should we go exploring?”
“I think it’s better to move in the daytime and wait at night.”
“Did you hear something about this, Princess?”
“I asked the priest when I went to say hello. There was an Archbishop there too.”
“I heard it’s mainly a church thing, but is Halloween a religious festival in this world?”
“Yes, it is. It’s a harvest festival, so it’s a celebration for Harvenshis-sama.”
Helping out is fine, but since Stellura-sama is not the main focus, I won’t actively interfere. At most, the level of a collaborator.
I go back to the lobby of the Union to check the request board for the time being, along with Cecil-san, who had been hitting the practice dummy to familiarise himself with his summoned weapon.
“The request’s are normal, and you can get tickets for completing subjugation requests, but… it doesn’t seem like they will contribute much towards the event”
“On the other hand, if you want tickets, why not do them now?”
“While I could afford to do them now… I did not see anything I particularly wanted.”
“All that interested me was the cooking related items…”
The event fashion items are the main focus, so it is not particularly needed for RP’ers.
“No, are there any vampires?”
“If you are wondering if you can get the fashion items for free… maybe?”
“Going that direction might be fine.”
The subjugation requests are for monsters in the surrounding area, in the forest and in the mine. The Union is not much different from the others, I guess. The only change is the addition of Halloween tickets to the rewards.
“There’s a lot of information on the BBS, but it’s not key information…”
“Unlike the camp, it’s only 4 days, with the climax on the 3rd day… yet, this lack of information.”
“What can we do?”
It’s time to start doing something about it. First then… party chat.
“Have you found anything?”
『No?』
『Not really.』
『『Everyone’s so busy!』』
“I’ve looked at the request board, but the enemies are of a lower level.”
It seems to be matched to the later batches. They’re trying to get them caught up with the first batch as much as possible. It means there’s little point to us hunting.
『Then I’m still walking around.』
『Are they lower than the twins?』
“They’re about the same level and lower.”
『『Then it’s fine! We’ll go around town!』』
There are a few simple things I want, so I’d like to earn some tickets.
In that case… maybe the bonfire in the central square. It seems that you can get tickets for carrying wood.
“Have you decided what you’re going to do?”
“Carrying wood for the bonfire, I guess. Apparently, due to their position, the Immortals are weak to city settings…”
“Too high a position is not always a good thing.”
“In other games, even warriors and heroes are used by people passing by…”
“That’s the part of games you’re not supposed to dig into…”
Is it sane to say ‘My husband forgot his lunch, go deliver it’, to a hero? Of course not.
In the sense of them being strong and trustworthy, the choice of ‘asking a hero’ may be correct… but not for something like delivering a lunch box.
If you think of it as ‘husband > hero’ in the eyes of the wife, she is probably a good wife. But the player is on the hero side.
You’ll get money and experience as a reward for the quest, but when I consider it’s the wife paying for the delivery, I can only think ‘How could she pay this much for delivering a lunch box?’. The fee for asking a hero…
In this game, if you don’t receive a reward from the client, the system will give you a quest reward. The reward is received when the UI shows that the quest is cleared.
For example, I was rewarded with the blessing from Stellura-sama after doing a quest from Lucianna-san.
“Well, putting aside the passersby, I’ll be going to the bonfire.”
“Okay. I think I’ll go look around outside the town.”
I part with Cecil-san in front of the Adventurers’ Union.
I’ll participate in carrying and assembling the wood. We’ll build it in the central square, but the wood for the bonfire is stored elsewhere, so it is carried from there and stacked up.
So, I will head to the storage place on the north side of town.
…I passed a man in a penguin costume carrying wood. It’s very surreal… I think he had a two-handed sword, so he must have high strength.
Let’s see, the Resident managing the wood is… that person.
“Do you have any more wood?”
“There is still a lot!”
“Then I’ll carry it.”
“…It’s heavy? This is a festival for Harvenshis-sama, so no spatial storage related to Stellura-sama, please.”
I can lift it, but it’s impossible to carry it alone. No matter how high my racial strength might be, a single strength passive isn’t enough.
“Don’t overdo it, because it will also put people around you in danger, okay? Just do what you can, okay?”
“There’s no problem as long as I can lift it.”
I did not intend to carry it anyway.
And so, I lift both ends of the wood with my tentacles.
The incarnation, which has lower strength than my main body, is not strong enough to lift the wood at the centre, but is strong enough to lift the end. In that case, if I hold both ends with tentacles, which take their strength value from the main body, I can make it float, so three tentacles should be enough to carry it.
Or that is what I was originally thinking, but I will summon #1 as a floating fortress. Doing it this way is smarter. Have him bring out the tentacles and load the wood onto them. Considering what I want… I should carry five.
After loading up the tentacles with four, the last was batted away, so I’ll take that one myself… No, I’ll summon skeletons to carry it. It’s too much trouble to control the tentacles.
“Then I’ll be taking it.”
“A-ah… I’ll leave it to you.”
I’ll ride the fortress… though I’m holding onto it from the side, so I can help it levitate a bit. Skeleton’s #2 and #3 are carrying the last piece between them.
So like this, we’ll move from the storage area in the north to the bonfire in the central square.
“O-oh… that’s a hell of a way to carry them…”
“I even feel like it doesn’t matter if I put it in the spatial storage at this point.”
It is a festival for Harvenshis-sama, so the space related storage of Stellura-sama, or in other words, inventory, is not allowed… but, I wonder if it’s fine for me, who is so clearly connected to Stellura-sama, to carry it like this.
Well, if inventory was allowed, it could all be done by a single player, so I guess it is a reason given to prevent that. The four pillars are supposedly very close, so I don’t think they would be angry. As long as I have not been punished by the gods, it is a matter of humanity’s feelings. …That’s how festivals are from the beginning.
Five tickets for carrying five pieces of wood. Follow the instructions to place them on the bonfire for another five. Move them one at a time from #1 and I’m done. With the right stats or means, this is an easy way to collect tickets.
The reward is a thank you from the Residents and Halloween tickets from the system.
Then, from the event NPC, I’ll exchange 8 tickets for the pumpkin pie and stew recipes and 2 for the pumpkin cookie moulds.
Dealing with the wood took longer than expected. Transporting it aside, the assembling took a lot of time.
The event started in the morning, but it’s already past noon and time for a break. I’m worried about the fact that there is still no useful information available.
『There’s still nothing?』
『If there’s nothing so far, do you think it’ll start at night?』
『『We found nothing!”』
“I wonder how a horror story would begin.”
『The real thing usually starts after something happens.』
『We need some kind of clue.』
“We’ve got a little longer before it gets dark. I’ve already exchanged for the recipes, so maybe I’ll kill some time with crafting?”
『『We’ll go hunting!』』
“Be back by dark.”
『『’Kaay.』』
With this many people moving around and nothing to show for it, it must just be a matter of waiting. I’ll stop near the church at the central square. It would be nice if «Alchemycraft» goes up.
While I’m crafting, Alf-san and Ske-san have joined me. They seem to have stopped walking around.
“In our case, I think it’s better to know where you are than to move around.”
“We’ve decided to just be on standby.”
Looks like they decided to act as my bodyguards.
It might have been better to go and see the lord straight away, but… no, surely it’s better to stay in the town during the first day. That would make it more likely to become directly involved in what happens.
Time passes quickly when I get caught up in crafting.
“Yo! Crafting, is it.”
“Our races seem to be rather weak to city events.”
“Immortals and an Outer One… not surprising.”
Tomo showed up.
“Did anything happen on your end?”
“No, not at all.”
“Of course not.”
“I didn’t get any notifications, and I’m sure the others are no better…”
Ske-san and Tomo are talking.
“For the time being, we’re writing down landmarks on the map, so we can move more efficiently after the event starts progressing.”
“Speaking of which, do you know what the south-west mansion is?”
“Apparently the old lord’s mansion.”
“So they moved.”
“I heard they’re moving bit by bit.”
When you say they’re still moving, that means they moved only recently. So it’s not abandoned, but someone is still there.
It’s not a classic haunted house.
“What about Sugu?”
“Carrying wood. It looks important for the event.”
“The bonfire. I carried enough to get my tickets, but I could help out more depending on the progress.”
“Even if we leave it, I think the Residents will gather to finish it at the last minute. They say it’s essential.”
It’s a festival that was originally held by the Residents. But thinking of it as a game, it will probably have some effect, so it’s better for the players to build it than to leave it alone.
Should I gather the union to assemble the bonfire?
“Calling all captains. Is there any progress?”
『Not a thing.』
『I can’t even find anything that looks like it.』
『Really.』
There isn’t a huge number of us, so they must be working hard searching, but nothing. Anyway, let’s talk about the bonfire.
『That’s the only thing that might be involved in the event at the moment.』
『It’s just that it’s useless if you’re not strong.』
『Can’t we use [Telekinesis] in town?』
“Oh, there was such a thing.”
There was a spell to carry things with magic stats. It consumes MP, but seeing as we’re in town it should recover quickly, making it work for carrying wood without problems. However, assembly requires some control, so those not confident in that area should only carry things.
『We seem to have a small number of people, so it might be better to decide properly…』
『The problem is that we don’t have a clue what we’re doing, so we can’t plan.』
『The town is huge too, probably because it’s designed for a large number of people. Should we decide on an area and stick to it?』
『We’ve got people who can fly, so they should patrol in the sky!』
Not everyone is in the union, of course. In terms of the total number of people, it’s not even on the larger side.
“I’m sure there are many players wandering around the town, so it’s probably just wood that is important. How about the hunting grounds?”
『The hunting grounds are empty.』
『I saw twins. They are in the second batch, right? The enemies are a little too far from our level though.』
In this server that is populated by the first batch, the hunting grounds are not very popular due to the difference in level. That means there are not many people there. If there are few people, there is a high possibility that something will be overlooked.
So, what to do.
“Players outside the union will explore the town without us saying anything. Then the bonfire that becomes useless after you get the tickets you need, the hunting ground that is not much use to us, or the area around the town will all be lacking people.”
『If we put our policy on the board, we should get some cooperation.』
“Should those of us with night-vision check out the surroundings?”
『No, that’s no good.』
『Isn’t it better for Princess’ party to stay in town?』
『Yes, degozaruna.』
『If we need to make contact with the lord or the Archbishop, it’s fastest if Princess can move.』
Ruzebarm-san, Kotatsu-san, Musasabi-san, and Cecil-san have all rejected the idea!
“So we’ll put those who can fly outside, and the rest on the bonfire. As soon as that’s done, we’ll move to patrolling the town… I guess.”
『What about the forest~? We can’t see into it from above.』
“Can you spare a few people for the forest?”
『Hmm~….』
『Is it tough because the town is so big?』
『I think so.』
“In that case, I think it’s better to have the flying crew watching people entering and leaving the town.”
The area around the town is more or less open, so it should be enough to have them watching from the sky.
『They say the bonfire will be lit just before it gets dark.』
『People from the church light the bonfire, then the Residents light torches from it and take them home to light bonfires near their houses.』
『It’s… about dinner time. We don’t have much time, do we?』
『It seems to be a ritual ignition, so maybe it starts even earlier?』
Ritual igniting. I wonder what would happen if it rains, but I guess it would keep burning.
Shall I go and ask a few questions about the ritual? In the church, behind me.
And so, I caught a priestess who was nearby to ask her about it.
She told me that they perform a ritual using holy water and wood as a catalyst, to light a holy flame… The fire is then transferred to torches, which are used to light bonfires in the town, defining the boundaries.
In other words, there is no need to look around in the area lit by the fire…? If that’s the case, we can narrow down the area to some extent. Considering the information given by Bishop Belies, it seems to me that the fire is a safe place.
And the ritual itself does not take long.
I thank the priestess and return to my crafting, sharing the information with the union.
『I see, it can certainly be taken that way. Then we can somewhat decide on placements.』
『Hey, isn’t that bad for us?』
『Certainly, the sky would be dangerous?』
『It’s only the first day, so now might be the only time it’s possible, right?』
“The boundaries will intersect on the third day, according to Bishop Belies.”
『Then it’s best to go on the first night.』
At least the gates will be guarded, and there will be bonfires there. Which means the people in the sky will be looking over the plains in areas other than that.
The people in the town don’t need to worry about the central square or the main streets. The bonfires have been placed, so they don’t need to be watching those areas.
“Oh, Tomo.”
“What is it?”
“You said that you’re drawing a map of possible landmarks?”
“Yeah. In this case, was it right to map the areas with bonfires?”
“Marking each bonfire is useless, so maybe just draw a line on the streets where there are bonfires.”
“There’s not enough time to do it now. Can we get help from the whole union?”
“Right…let’s ask”
If they agree, they’ll do it. After that, I’ll compile the map data and send it to the leaders, so they can distribute it to everyone.
『Hmm… mark the streets with bonfires. What colour should we use?』
『I think we should match the colours. Since they’re bonfires, red or orange?』
『Maybe green for a safe zone.』
“It’s a bonfire area, so let’s make it orange.”
『That’s it, then.』
Once we have a plan, they are people who are quick to move.
The town is roughly divided into areas and sorted by the numbers on the union list, meaning my role is over for the time being. Tomo also left to go around the town again.
The duration of the bonfire mapping operations is up until the start of the ceremony… or even before the Residents have finished assembling the bonfires. Rather than leaving it to the Residents, our aim is to finish that up ourselves.
Ske-san is in charge of posting our union’s action plan on the BBS. Alf-san is still escorting me. The twins… are still good.
I will ask Ske-san and Alf-san about the position of the sun, and compare it to the clock on the UI, so we can move to the bonfire before the evening.
“It’s time, everyone. It’s almost evening, so let’s move on to transporting wood.”
『It’s that time already. I’ll send you the map data.』
『Looks like there are some places that don’t have them, huh?』
『It wouldn’t be an event if they were all over the place, would it?』
『That’s true.』
Well, yes. I don’t think it’s in the back alleys. Speaking of the promises of city based horror tales, it’s the back alleys. Or in a forest, on animal trails.
Let’s stop crafting for now and integrate the map data sent by the leaders. In the meantime, the union members will be moving and assembling wood for the bonfire.
The main street stretching from the central square is naturally lit with bonfires, but there don’t seem to be many paths leading off from that. It seems safe to assume… that there are bonfires in places where the roads are of a certain width.
I do my best to sort out the overlapping lines, then send them back to the leaders. Of course, I also distribute it to my party members.
…It is already evening. I wonder how the progress is. It got much bigger.
“Is it still not finished even though it’s that size?”
『No, I heard they’re working on it more than usual.』
“…Is that really alright?”
『Oh, we’re finished transporting wood.』
『Is this the last one?』
『Yeah. I think we’re done with the one I just brought.』
Apparently they’re building it up more than usual, while taking into consideration the amount of wood available and problems with assembling it.
If the Outsiders are not enough, the Residents will come to help assemble it, but that would just result in it being normal. If it is only the Outsiders, there is a good chance that they can make it even more impressive.
I continue my crafting, while keeping in sight the combination of machos and magic users assembling the bonfire. The church behind me seems to have started to move. It must be about to start. Did the bonfire get done in time?
“Hm? …Ah.”
“”What is it?””
I got distracted by something and the resurrection potion came out with an A grade.
“Looks like the distortion of the boundary has begun.”
“Oh?”
“It seems to be treated the same as subspace.”
The grid displayed by «Space-Time Awareness Expansion» is wavering. Neither the location nor the width of the fluctuation are constant, so it’s probably random. If there is a rule to it, it can be predicted, but it seems impossible to find such a rule. It is too much trouble.
“Oh? That’s very impressive.”
“The Outsiders have been working on it.”
“I see, so it was them. Then we’ll have to do better than usual too.”
The Archbishop and Bishop have come out. Along with priests with various other types of embroidery. We heard they were going to use it, so that is probably the holy water they are carrying.
The group of priests bow in my direction, then head for the bonfire.
“It’s time to call the twins back.”
“Will the twins join the sky group?”
“Ah… what should we do.”
A group of Residents with torches have also arrived. The torches are used to carry the fire to the smaller bonfires.
Residents gather in the central square. The union members move away from the central square. We need to act fast to aim for an S rank.
“Amethorin-san, it’s about time to come back.”
『『’Kaay!』』
“If you want to meet Fairellen-san and the others on your way back, that’s fine too.”
『『Okay!』』
That should do it.
Now, it’s about to start. The main part of the event.
『In case you’ve forgotten, sleep is necessary again.』
『…….』
『…What should we do?』
“…What indeed. I’m sure me, the twins, and Primula-san will sleep.”
『Primula-chan is okay, she’s a woodworker and we can wait for her to wake up to ask for it…』
『It’s a bit of a pain to have less people with night-vision.』
It’s probably a horror event, so good players sleep at night. …I wonder. To be frank, I feel like there are the two possibilities of 『Nothing happens』 or 『Die while sleeping』.
I think it would be 『Nothing happens』 in this event, but nothing happening would not be a happy end here.
Nothing happening = not being able to recognize the problem = something is happening that you are not aware of.
In other words, it’s already too late when you notice it.
That should be it. Because it’s an event, something is supposed to happen. A city event where you are knocked off in your sleep… probably won’t happen. Yeah, probably. It would be interesting if there was such an event, though.
Well, I’ll go to bed when it is time!
“It’s still early evening, so hopefully something will happen before bedtime…”
『For horror, it’s usually late night, right?』
“That’s usually how it is.”
『Well, whatever will be, will be.』
『Que sera sera.』
The ritual is solemnly progressing.
Jars containing holy water have been placed around the the bonfire and the priests have made a circle around it, praying while the Archbishop is casting a spell.
With the spells and actions of Archbishop Edward, the holy water rises from the jars and sprinkles the wood. I cannot see any magic power moving with magic vision, meaning it must be ‘the power of the ritual itself’.
When all the jars have been emptied of holy water and a final prayer is said, a pale green light is lit. Nothing was thrown in to light the fire, but it suddenly lit up. The holy water, perhaps.
Very fantasy. Green flames, beautiful.
I’m sure there was green fire in real life, but as I recall, you had to burn a metal. That is, you don’t usually see it. A brief moment in fireworks, at best.
The green flames of the bonfire are used to light the torches of the Residents, which they will then use to light the smaller fires.
“…I see, it’s certainly not wavering. If you think about it, the Residents don’t feel safe, and this is the wisdom of their ancestors. Well, it’s possible that it’s a means of self-defence given by the gods.”
“A ritual developed by their ancestors, or maybe delivered by a Miko”
“Why don’t we also light some torches for when we walk around?”
“…That seems like a good safety measure, but would it mean missing the event?”
“Maybe so.”
There may be events like searching for a child who left the house, in which case it would be useful, but that’s about it.
『『We found Fairellen-san~』』
“Then ask to be included over there, please.”
『『’Kaay!』』
The twins will be joining the sky group. I’ll leave it to them.
“It’s getting dark.”
“Night is coming! It’s our time!”
After lighting the fire, the Archbishop’s group is withdrawing. Of course, after transferring the fire to torches. Maybe they’ll light a fireplace or something with it, to protect the inside of the building.
“Oh, Nemeseia-sama. I will have a room prepared for you, so please use it if needed. Someone will be awake, so please ask them.”
“Thank you, Archbishop Edward.”
I didn’t arrange accommodations, did I. Even though the first batch is small, not everyone will be able to get a room. I will use it gratefully.
And so night has fallen.
While listening to the crackling of the flames and the wood popping, and watching the flickering green fire.
“Mm, it’s really peaceful.”
“I think bones illuminated by the fire fits the horror setting.”
“How’d you like that.”
“It’s the same as on the inside.”
“You love it really~”
“Please stop talking”
….Yeah, it really is peaceful. One of them has no head, the other is just bones.
“Well… there’s no point staying here by the fire, so let’s go for a walk.”
“”Let’s go.””
We will walk around the town while looking at the map.
Buildings in this world are generally made of stone. Maybe intended as a defence against monsters. It will also be more resistant to fire.
The problem is just securing the stone… because there is spatial storage in this world. There are no cars or heavy machinery, but individuals can use magic and there are also summons and servants, so there are enough alternatives.
If you were to describe the world view in this game simply, it would be ‘medieval Europe’.
However, this is just our image of ‘a world where there are royal families, castles and mansions with castle towns surrounded by forests, with horse-drawn carriages for transport’.
Compared to the real medieval Europe, this world is much more developed.
Well, with the situation being what it is, we are not seeing anyone but us Outsiders walking around outside. It’s very lonely.
Because it’s a game, there are usually quite a few Residents walking around at night. ‘It’s night time and everyone is asleep!’ would mean we could not use shops or facilities.
“Hm, it looks like there is a group of Residents patrolling there.”
Apparently not all the Residents are shut away at home, but there are patrols. There will be gatekeeper’s, too. It would be a problem if monsters came from outside.
“””Uoo!?”””
“Good day. Thank you for the hard work.”
“A-ah… It was Nemeseia-sama’s group. That was surprising…”
Ah.. we’ve all got night vision. And we don’t have torches, because we’re here for the event. So from their point of view, we suddenly appeared from the darkness.
I’m good and Alf-san maybe, but Ske-san is out for sure. Well, certainly? I can’t deny that I’m on the side of scaring people with horror.
“Fumu… It’s bad for others, so I’ll just use [Light]. I’m sorry for surprising you… Even though we did get attacked.”
“I’m sorry, but thank you.”
Alf-san and Ske-san don’t know any light magic, so I’ll use [Light] from «Light Magic» to make a ball of light float above us.
And then we say goodbye to the three Residents.
Of course, it’s not our problem that we were attacked. Even though the situation was unavoidable, it was still ‘Nemeseia’ that the Residents attacked. They almost died of shock. That’s not my intention. It’s beyond embarrassing.
Regardless of whether or not the attack hit, it is already no good as soon as the attack is made. No matter the reason, attacking the royal family is bad. High treason awaits.
The only way around it is for all witnesses to keep their mouths shut. Pretend you didn’t see it, pretend it never happened. In this case, with three Residents and three of us, that’s possible. However, if the person who attacked cannot bear the guilt and breaks down…
And suicide won’t help. Since Nemeseia is the royal family of the afterlife, and you’ll be dead… you know. It’s a no-win situation.
It’s not for ourselves, but for the other party, that we make our existence known with [Light]. A normal member of a royal family would probably avoid it though, since it would make them a target. …But they probably wouldn’t go outside in this situation in the first place.
Let’s get back on track and resume our search. I hope to find something.
There’s nothing, we have just been walking through the town for several hours.
“It’s good to know that the restaurants are open… to make money from us.”
“If you buy something during the day, you don’t need to get it after dark. From the restaurant’s point of view, there’s no problem with customers coming.”
The cooks have not been too busy thanks to this.
But still, I think they’re staggering the times because they can’t fit everyone in.
The map that Tomo had made was very useful. The shops had been marked down. By default, the shops blend in, so it’s hard to see them without a close-up.
<<Information has been shared.>>
“”Ohh.””
“Let’s see…”
I saw the back of what looked like a black cat walking down the dark street.
It ran when I chased after it, until I lost it.
“A kitty~. Come to think of it, I’ve yet to see one in this world.”
“A black cat. Speaking of black cats on Halloween, is it a witch’s familiar?”
“But witches in this world are apothecaries? I wonder if they have familiars.”
“I wonder. And what type of magic would it even be?”
I think it’s just a difference in wording. Servant or familiar, they both have the same meaning. If it’s «Summoning Magic», it would be a summoner.
I have seen a black cat in this world. Right, in the old castle in the Medium. Nyarlathotep, right? If it’s his incarnation with three fiery eyes, he’s definitely messing with us.
Even if you can peek through, is it possible for them to come over here… is what I’m wondering now. Given their power, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s possible.
“I only saw the back of it.”
“I think it ran away after we saw its back and started to chase?”
“I hope it doesn’t have three eyes…”
“Three?”
“Three flaming eyes. It’s an incarnation of Nyar-sama. It’s a lovely cat, except for the three eyes and what’s inside.”
“…That’s almost a total denial.”
“Even if it looks like a cat, Nyar-sama can’t be cute…”
“Uu~! Nya~!”
Ske-san is referring to.. Ah, that Nyar-sama, huh.
“That’s allowed…I think. If we collaborate, will we see Nyar-sama in that form?”
“Wouldn’t it be a bother if that one came alone?”
“The main character is definitely necessary. Then Kuko and Has would come too.”
“But that one, that’s a robot all of a sudden.”
“There are Machinery in this world, so it’s safe.”
I haven’t seen a robot of that size yet, though…
We’re walking along, chatting, but nothing in particular is happening. The grid is wavering, but there’s nothing that seems connected to the event.
Well, hopefully someone else gets a hit.
“There’s a cat search team on the board.”
“Well, is it a clue?”
“I’ll just pray it doesn’t have three eyes.”
It looks like it will be over with us just walking and chatting.
After all, it’s time for me to go to bed without incident. According to Ske-san, who is watching the BBS, the cat has not been caught yet.
I’m going to the church to sleep for now. Ske-san and Alf-san are going to continue searching, so we part ways.
The chapel, which is open to the public, is usually lively with Residents, but it is very quiet at the moment, enhancing the sense of sacredness.
Since I am here, I pray for a good night and then ask the waiting priestess to show me to my room.
“Right here. Please use it freely.”
“Thank you very much.”
For the general public, the main part of the church is the chapel, but it is also a residence for the clergy. Naturally, buildings for living and buildings for church operations are necessary.
In other words, there is a small number of rooms for receiving guests. This is probably the best room among them. …In terms of my position, it should be.
I use [Washing] then get into the big (though smaller than the one in my palace) bed… Oh?
<<Information has been shared.>>
Did I imagine it? The jack-o’-lantern has moved!
…Pumpkin.
Good night.
Sponsored Content
T/N: For those who missed it, I’m dropping to one chapter a week. There are more details in the announcement post.
I’m curious, but is the boundary between worlds different from space-time and subspace? I won’t bother asking though, because I doubt a normal person can recognise it in the first place. So far, I don’t feel any concern about it.
Well, after leaving the church we head back towards the central square.
“It seems that you can exchange for fashion items from the event NPC near the statue”.
Apparently it is possible to exchange for men’s items from the male NPC and women’s items from the female NPC. Well, you can do so through the UI when you are nearby.
Vampires, mummies, jiangshi, ghosts, witches, etc. …The typical Halloween costumes.
“This one is Medjed, not a ghost.”
“Certainly!”
I can’t help but notice that other players nearby are laughing, so I’ll preview the ghost myself.
…Fufu. Well, that’s what you get when you wear a white cloth. It’s up to you whether you take it as a ghost or Medjed-sama.
“Uwa, Shoggo-tan is creepy!”
“Who would want this!”
…Shoggo-tan? Oh, this one? Instead of the white cloth of the ghost, it is a blackish iridescent cloth with a lot of eyes painted on it. There’s also a hat item called Jack O’Head…
There are also pumpkin pie, stew dishes and recipes. There are also pumpkin cookie moulds.
The Halloween tickets used for the exchange seem to be obtained alongside the information when doing quests for Residents and the like.
“I don’t need the fashion items, but I do want the recipes and moulds.”
“If I have extra tickets, I’ll just exchange them and fertilize the warehouse.”
“It’s like we’re always dressed up anyway.”
“”Ghosts!””
Seeing as we’re inhuman races…
“Buildings to the north-east and south-west. The Unions on the east side of the central square, church on the west. The plain we started on is to the west, the south is the mountains, the rest is forest.”
A video of someone who can fly looking around from above the central square has been shared. I can fly too, but my vision doesn’t cover the whole town, so I’ll watch the video.
“Did you hear where the lord’s mansion is?”
“He said it’s in the north-east.”
“Then the south-west mansion is a mystery.”
Mountains from south to east. So the eastern forest meets the mountains a little further in.
“Is the mountain to the south a mine?”
“It’s possible. There’s smoke coming from a lot of houses.”
The black smoke from a blacksmith’s forge. The better the equipment, the more magical it is, until the smoke almost disappears. Higher levels of equipment have far better performance and work using mana, without the need for external fuel such as firewood. In that case, the chimney is for bringing air in, not expelling the smoke.
In other words, when the chimney is letting out black smoke, the equipment being used is of a relatively low level. It is a blacksmith’s shop that is not suitable for processing magical goods. It’s fine for processing ordinary ore though.
Well, that’s not the important point.
“To the south is the craftsmen’s quarter?”
“Yes, apparently. West seems to be the commercial district.”
So says Alf-san while looking at the UI, as it looks like there is some information posted on the BBS. The basics have been found out already, so it is time to start searching for quests.
“It’s probably fine to work alone at this stage, what do you think?”
“It’s better to split up in terms of searching…”
“There are many other players out there.”
“Sure… but I think the problem is that it will be hard to get quests with me here.”
“You need courage to ask the king!”
I haven’t been doing errand quests. It’s a disadvantage of my position. I suppose it’s a bit hit and miss as other types of quest occur… but there is a big difference in how often. But for private matters? They rarely come my way.
So let’s act separately until we discover a party quest. Even if we act alone though, all four of them are Immortals, so it is not their strong point either, is it?
Let’s take a look at the Adventurers’ Union quests…
The Union is the standard template building, so there’s nothing new here. It’s a remote area, so the number of Resident adventurers is not that large.
Oh, Cecil-san is hitting a wooden practice dummy. With an unfamiliar weapon… Through subspace I go, to the training ground where Cecil-san is.
The weapon Cecil-san is holding is not a light sword, but that… a weapon with a strong enhancement. In other words, the weapon is shining.
“Oh? Hello, Princess.”
“Good day. Did enhancements cause weapons to shine in this game too?”
“No, this is something else.”
“Watch” he says, as he throws the shining sword at the practice dummy. ….he missed, but that’s not the point, as the thrown sword has shattered and disappeared. “I think I should take throwing”, says Cecil-san, turning back to me.
“[Divine Call] then… [Double Call]”
“Ah…. is it weapon summoning?”
With [Divine Call] the space in front of Cecil-san’s right hand glows, and after reaching into it he pulls out a sword identical to the one thrown earlier.
Then, with [Double Call], the sword in his right hand is duplicated, becoming dual swords.
“I got a blessing from Sigrdrífa-sama a while ago.”
“And that’s how you got the skill?”
“I don’t know the conditions because it’s a rare skill, but probably.”
“I haven’t unlocked any new skills due to my blessing… They have seemed more related to my race…”
Blessings unlocking rare skills… that’s good. Sigrdrífa-sama is the goddess of battle. Cecil-san is a pure combat type and also a guildmaster, so there was a chance she would like him.
“The problem is that this is classified as a race skill.”
“…Human?”
“Yeah, human.”
A human racial skill. So it is specific to that race then.
“It’s a skill that summons a copy of a sacred treasure. The summoner is called a surrogate.”
“«Summoner», is it. So you have a special ability then?”
“Right now it’s just a flashy looking sword. Maybe I don’t have a high enough skill level. By the way, this sword is The Answerer. It’s apparently another name for Fragarach.”
“Fragarach. The name of a mythical weapon that shows up rather often.”
There were other options, like Mistilteinn or Bryunak, but the skills don’t fit.”
It seems that he could only choose one sacred treasure. Cecil-san has always used a sword, so he has «One-Handed Swordsmanship». It would be a problem to copy a weapon he does not have the skill for.
“By the way, even though I’m a human, it feels like I’m coming to understand how some of the hidden adjustments work.”
“Are there any?”
“It seems like the judgement process is a bit more relaxed than for other races? To the extent that it is possible to see through some testing.”
“So they lean more towards performance than stats.”
It can be seen as aimed at beginners, but having the system make more relaxed judgements is generally strong. If their forms do not need to be as precise, it can even be possible to do more damage than others.
If you want to fight with combat arts, humans might be best, while if you want to fight with stats, you should be another race. It’s the inhumans who win in the field of high stats.
“It looks like there’s nothing much happening at the Union, so should we go exploring?”
“I think it’s better to move in the daytime and wait at night.”
“Did you hear something about this, Princess?”
“I asked the priest when I went to say hello. There was an Archbishop there too.”
“I heard it’s mainly a church thing, but is Halloween a religious festival in this world?”
“Yes, it is. It’s a harvest festival, so it’s a celebration for Harvenshis-sama.”
Helping out is fine, but since Stellura-sama is not the main focus, I won’t actively interfere. At most, the level of a collaborator.
I go back to the lobby of the Union to check the request board for the time being, along with Cecil-san, who had been hitting the practice dummy to familiarise himself with his summoned weapon.
“The request’s are normal, and you can get tickets for completing subjugation requests, but… it doesn’t seem like they will contribute much towards the event”
“On the other hand, if you want tickets, why not do them now?”
“While I could afford to do them now… I did not see anything I particularly wanted.”
“All that interested me was the cooking related items…”
The event fashion items are the main focus, so it is not particularly needed for RP’ers.
“No, are there any vampires?”
“If you are wondering if you can get the fashion items for free… maybe?”
“Going that direction might be fine.”
The subjugation requests are for monsters in the surrounding area, in the forest and in the mine. The Union is not much different from the others, I guess. The only change is the addition of Halloween tickets to the rewards.
“There’s a lot of information on the BBS, but it’s not key information…”
“Unlike the camp, it’s only 4 days, with the climax on the 3rd day… yet, this lack of information.”
“What can we do?”
It’s time to start doing something about it. First then… party chat.
“Have you found anything?”
『No?』
『Not really.』
『『Everyone’s so busy!』』
“I’ve looked at the request board, but the enemies are of a lower level.”
It seems to be matched to the later batches. They’re trying to get them caught up with the first batch as much as possible. It means there’s little point to us hunting.
『Then I’m still walking around.』
『Are they lower than the twins?』
“They’re about the same level and lower.”
『『Then it’s fine! We’ll go around town!』』
There are a few simple things I want, so I’d like to earn some tickets.
In that case… maybe the bonfire in the central square. It seems that you can get tickets for carrying wood.
“Have you decided what you’re going to do?”
“Carrying wood for the bonfire, I guess. Apparently, due to their position, the Immortals are weak to city settings…”
“Too high a position is not always a good thing.”
“In other games, even warriors and heroes are used by people passing by…”
“That’s the part of games you’re not supposed to dig into…”
Is it sane to say ‘My husband forgot his lunch, go deliver it’, to a hero? Of course not.
In the sense of them being strong and trustworthy, the choice of ‘asking a hero’ may be correct… but not for something like delivering a lunch box.
If you think of it as ‘husband > hero’ in the eyes of the wife, she is probably a good wife. But the player is on the hero side.
You’ll get money and experience as a reward for the quest, but when I consider it’s the wife paying for the delivery, I can only think ‘How could she pay this much for delivering a lunch box?’. The fee for asking a hero…
In this game, if you don’t receive a reward from the client, the system will give you a quest reward. The reward is received when the UI shows that the quest is cleared.
For example, I was rewarded with the blessing from Stellura-sama after doing a quest from Lucianna-san.
“Well, putting aside the passersby, I’ll be going to the bonfire.”
“Okay. I think I’ll go look around outside the town.”
I part with Cecil-san in front of the Adventurers’ Union.
I’ll participate in carrying and assembling the wood. We’ll build it in the central square, but the wood for the bonfire is stored elsewhere, so it is carried from there and stacked up.
So, I will head to the storage place on the north side of town.
…I passed a man in a penguin costume carrying wood. It’s very surreal… I think he had a two-handed sword, so he must have high strength.
Let’s see, the Resident managing the wood is… that person.
“Do you have any more wood?”
“There is still a lot!”
“Then I’ll carry it.”
“…It’s heavy? This is a festival for Harvenshis-sama, so no spatial storage related to Stellura-sama, please.”
I can lift it, but it’s impossible to carry it alone. No matter how high my racial strength might be, a single strength passive isn’t enough.
“Don’t overdo it, because it will also put people around you in danger, okay? Just do what you can, okay?”
“There’s no problem as long as I can lift it.”
I did not intend to carry it anyway.
And so, I lift both ends of the wood with my tentacles.
The incarnation, which has lower strength than my main body, is not strong enough to lift the wood at the centre, but is strong enough to lift the end. In that case, if I hold both ends with tentacles, which take their strength value from the main body, I can make it float, so three tentacles should be enough to carry it.
Or that is what I was originally thinking, but I will summon #1 as a floating fortress. Doing it this way is smarter. Have him bring out the tentacles and load the wood onto them. Considering what I want… I should carry five.
After loading up the tentacles with four, the last was batted away, so I’ll take that one myself… No, I’ll summon skeletons to carry it. It’s too much trouble to control the tentacles.
“Then I’ll be taking it.”
“A-ah… I’ll leave it to you.”
I’ll ride the fortress… though I’m holding onto it from the side, so I can help it levitate a bit. Skeleton’s #2 and #3 are carrying the last piece between them.
So like this, we’ll move from the storage area in the north to the bonfire in the central square.
“O-oh… that’s a hell of a way to carry them…”
“I even feel like it doesn’t matter if I put it in the spatial storage at this point.”
It is a festival for Harvenshis-sama, so the space related storage of Stellura-sama, or in other words, inventory, is not allowed… but, I wonder if it’s fine for me, who is so clearly connected to Stellura-sama, to carry it like this.
Well, if inventory was allowed, it could all be done by a single player, so I guess it is a reason given to prevent that. The four pillars are supposedly very close, so I don’t think they would be angry. As long as I have not been punished by the gods, it is a matter of humanity’s feelings. …That’s how festivals are from the beginning.
Five tickets for carrying five pieces of wood. Follow the instructions to place them on the bonfire for another five. Move them one at a time from #1 and I’m done. With the right stats or means, this is an easy way to collect tickets.
The reward is a thank you from the Residents and Halloween tickets from the system.
Then, from the event NPC, I’ll exchange 8 tickets for the pumpkin pie and stew recipes and 2 for the pumpkin cookie moulds.
Dealing with the wood took longer than expected. Transporting it aside, the assembling took a lot of time.
The event started in the morning, but it’s already past noon and time for a break. I’m worried about the fact that there is still no useful information available.
『There’s still nothing?』
『If there’s nothing so far, do you think it’ll start at night?』
『『We found nothing!”』
“I wonder how a horror story would begin.”
『The real thing usually starts after something happens.』
『We need some kind of clue.』
“We’ve got a little longer before it gets dark. I’ve already exchanged for the recipes, so maybe I’ll kill some time with crafting?”
『『We’ll go hunting!』』
“Be back by dark.”
『『’Kaay.』』
With this many people moving around and nothing to show for it, it must just be a matter of waiting. I’ll stop near the church at the central square. It would be nice if «Alchemycraft» goes up.
While I’m crafting, Alf-san and Ske-san have joined me. They seem to have stopped walking around.
“In our case, I think it’s better to know where you are than to move around.”
“We’ve decided to just be on standby.”
Looks like they decided to act as my bodyguards.
It might have been better to go and see the lord straight away, but… no, surely it’s better to stay in the town during the first day. That would make it more likely to become directly involved in what happens.
Time passes quickly when I get caught up in crafting.
“Yo! Crafting, is it.”
“Our races seem to be rather weak to city events.”
“Immortals and an Outer One… not surprising.”
Tomo showed up.
“Did anything happen on your end?”
“No, not at all.”
“Of course not.”
“I didn’t get any notifications, and I’m sure the others are no better…”
Ske-san and Tomo are talking.
“For the time being, we’re writing down landmarks on the map, so we can move more efficiently after the event starts progressing.”
“Speaking of which, do you know what the south-west mansion is?”
“Apparently the old lord’s mansion.”
“So they moved.”
“I heard they’re moving bit by bit.”
When you say they’re still moving, that means they moved only recently. So it’s not abandoned, but someone is still there.
It’s not a classic haunted house.
“What about Sugu?”
“Carrying wood. It looks important for the event.”
“The bonfire. I carried enough to get my tickets, but I could help out more depending on the progress.”
“Even if we leave it, I think the Residents will gather to finish it at the last minute. They say it’s essential.”
It’s a festival that was originally held by the Residents. But thinking of it as a game, it will probably have some effect, so it’s better for the players to build it than to leave it alone.
Should I gather the union to assemble the bonfire?
“Calling all captains. Is there any progress?”
『Not a thing.』
『I can’t even find anything that looks like it.』
『Really.』
There isn’t a huge number of us, so they must be working hard searching, but nothing. Anyway, let’s talk about the bonfire.
『That’s the only thing that might be involved in the event at the moment.』
『It’s just that it’s useless if you’re not strong.』
『Can’t we use [Telekinesis] in town?』
“Oh, there was such a thing.”
There was a spell to carry things with magic stats. It consumes MP, but seeing as we’re in town it should recover quickly, making it work for carrying wood without problems. However, assembly requires some control, so those not confident in that area should only carry things.
『We seem to have a small number of people, so it might be better to decide properly…』
『The problem is that we don’t have a clue what we’re doing, so we can’t plan.』
『The town is huge too, probably because it’s designed for a large number of people. Should we decide on an area and stick to it?』
『We’ve got people who can fly, so they should patrol in the sky!』
Not everyone is in the union, of course. In terms of the total number of people, it’s not even on the larger side.
“I’m sure there are many players wandering around the town, so it’s probably just wood that is important. How about the hunting grounds?”
『The hunting grounds are empty.』
『I saw twins. They are in the second batch, right? The enemies are a little too far from our level though.』
In this server that is populated by the first batch, the hunting grounds are not very popular due to the difference in level. That means there are not many people there. If there are few people, there is a high possibility that something will be overlooked.
So, what to do.
“Players outside the union will explore the town without us saying anything. Then the bonfire that becomes useless after you get the tickets you need, the hunting ground that is not much use to us, or the area around the town will all be lacking people.”
『If we put our policy on the board, we should get some cooperation.』
“Should those of us with night-vision check out the surroundings?”
『No, that’s no good.』
『Isn’t it better for Princess’ party to stay in town?』
『Yes, degozaruna.』
『If we need to make contact with the lord or the Archbishop, it’s fastest if Princess can move.』
Ruzebarm-san, Kotatsu-san, Musasabi-san, and Cecil-san have all rejected the idea!
“So we’ll put those who can fly outside, and the rest on the bonfire. As soon as that’s done, we’ll move to patrolling the town… I guess.”
『What about the forest~? We can’t see into it from above.』
“Can you spare a few people for the forest?”
『Hmm~….』
『Is it tough because the town is so big?』
『I think so.』
“In that case, I think it’s better to have the flying crew watching people entering and leaving the town.”
The area around the town is more or less open, so it should be enough to have them watching from the sky.
『They say the bonfire will be lit just before it gets dark.』
『People from the church light the bonfire, then the Residents light torches from it and take them home to light bonfires near their houses.』
『It’s… about dinner time. We don’t have much time, do we?』
『It seems to be a ritual ignition, so maybe it starts even earlier?』
Ritual igniting. I wonder what would happen if it rains, but I guess it would keep burning.
Shall I go and ask a few questions about the ritual? In the church, behind me.
And so, I caught a priestess who was nearby to ask her about it.
She told me that they perform a ritual using holy water and wood as a catalyst, to light a holy flame… The fire is then transferred to torches, which are used to light bonfires in the town, defining the boundaries.
In other words, there is no need to look around in the area lit by the fire…? If that’s the case, we can narrow down the area to some extent. Considering the information given by Bishop Belies, it seems to me that the fire is a safe place.
And the ritual itself does not take long.
I thank the priestess and return to my crafting, sharing the information with the union.
『I see, it can certainly be taken that way. Then we can somewhat decide on placements.』
『Hey, isn’t that bad for us?』
『Certainly, the sky would be dangerous?』
『It’s only the first day, so now might be the only time it’s possible, right?』
“The boundaries will intersect on the third day, according to Bishop Belies.”
『Then it’s best to go on the first night.』
At least the gates will be guarded, and there will be bonfires there. Which means the people in the sky will be looking over the plains in areas other than that.
The people in the town don’t need to worry about the central square or the main streets. The bonfires have been placed, so they don’t need to be watching those areas.
“Oh, Tomo.”
“What is it?”
“You said that you’re drawing a map of possible landmarks?”
“Yeah. In this case, was it right to map the areas with bonfires?”
“Marking each bonfire is useless, so maybe just draw a line on the streets where there are bonfires.”
“There’s not enough time to do it now. Can we get help from the whole union?”
“Right…let’s ask”
If they agree, they’ll do it. After that, I’ll compile the map data and send it to the leaders, so they can distribute it to everyone.
『Hmm… mark the streets with bonfires. What colour should we use?』
『I think we should match the colours. Since they’re bonfires, red or orange?』
『Maybe green for a safe zone.』
“It’s a bonfire area, so let’s make it orange.”
『That’s it, then.』
Once we have a plan, they are people who are quick to move.
The town is roughly divided into areas and sorted by the numbers on the union list, meaning my role is over for the time being. Tomo also left to go around the town again.
The duration of the bonfire mapping operations is up until the start of the ceremony… or even before the Residents have finished assembling the bonfires. Rather than leaving it to the Residents, our aim is to finish that up ourselves.
Ske-san is in charge of posting our union’s action plan on the BBS. Alf-san is still escorting me. The twins… are still good.
I will ask Ske-san and Alf-san about the position of the sun, and compare it to the clock on the UI, so we can move to the bonfire before the evening.
“It’s time, everyone. It’s almost evening, so let’s move on to transporting wood.”
『It’s that time already. I’ll send you the map data.』
『Looks like there are some places that don’t have them, huh?』
『It wouldn’t be an event if they were all over the place, would it?』
『That’s true.』
Well, yes. I don’t think it’s in the back alleys. Speaking of the promises of city based horror tales, it’s the back alleys. Or in a forest, on animal trails.
Let’s stop crafting for now and integrate the map data sent by the leaders. In the meantime, the union members will be moving and assembling wood for the bonfire.
The main street stretching from the central square is naturally lit with bonfires, but there don’t seem to be many paths leading off from that. It seems safe to assume… that there are bonfires in places where the roads are of a certain width.
I do my best to sort out the overlapping lines, then send them back to the leaders. Of course, I also distribute it to my party members.
…It is already evening. I wonder how the progress is. It got much bigger.
“Is it still not finished even though it’s that size?”
『No, I heard they’re working on it more than usual.』
“…Is that really alright?”
『Oh, we’re finished transporting wood.』
『Is this the last one?』
『Yeah. I think we’re done with the one I just brought.』
Apparently they’re building it up more than usual, while taking into consideration the amount of wood available and problems with assembling it.
If the Outsiders are not enough, the Residents will come to help assemble it, but that would just result in it being normal. If it is only the Outsiders, there is a good chance that they can make it even more impressive.
I continue my crafting, while keeping in sight the combination of machos and magic users assembling the bonfire. The church behind me seems to have started to move. It must be about to start. Did the bonfire get done in time?
“Hm? …Ah.”
“”What is it?””
I got distracted by something and the resurrection potion came out with an A grade.
“Looks like the distortion of the boundary has begun.”
“Oh?”
“It seems to be treated the same as subspace.”
The grid displayed by «Space-Time Awareness Expansion» is wavering. Neither the location nor the width of the fluctuation are constant, so it’s probably random. If there is a rule to it, it can be predicted, but it seems impossible to find such a rule. It is too much trouble.
“Oh? That’s very impressive.”
“The Outsiders have been working on it.”
“I see, so it was them. Then we’ll have to do better than usual too.”
The Archbishop and Bishop have come out. Along with priests with various other types of embroidery. We heard they were going to use it, so that is probably the holy water they are carrying.
The group of priests bow in my direction, then head for the bonfire.
“It’s time to call the twins back.”
“Will the twins join the sky group?”
“Ah… what should we do.”
A group of Residents with torches have also arrived. The torches are used to carry the fire to the smaller bonfires.
Residents gather in the central square. The union members move away from the central square. We need to act fast to aim for an S rank.
“Amethorin-san, it’s about time to come back.”
『『’Kaay!』』
“If you want to meet Fairellen-san and the others on your way back, that’s fine too.”
『『Okay!』』
That should do it.
Now, it’s about to start. The main part of the event.
『In case you’ve forgotten, sleep is necessary again.』
『…….』
『…What should we do?』
“…What indeed. I’m sure me, the twins, and Primula-san will sleep.”
『Primula-chan is okay, she’s a woodworker and we can wait for her to wake up to ask for it…』
『It’s a bit of a pain to have less people with night-vision.』
It’s probably a horror event, so good players sleep at night. …I wonder. To be frank, I feel like there are the two possibilities of 『Nothing happens』 or 『Die while sleeping』.
I think it would be 『Nothing happens』 in this event, but nothing happening would not be a happy end here.
Nothing happening = not being able to recognize the problem = something is happening that you are not aware of.
In other words, it’s already too late when you notice it.
That should be it. Because it’s an event, something is supposed to happen. A city event where you are knocked off in your sleep… probably won’t happen. Yeah, probably. It would be interesting if there was such an event, though.
Well, I’ll go to bed when it is time!
“It’s still early evening, so hopefully something will happen before bedtime…”
『For horror, it’s usually late night, right?』
“That’s usually how it is.”
『Well, whatever will be, will be.』
『Que sera sera.』
The ritual is solemnly progressing.
Jars containing holy water have been placed around the the bonfire and the priests have made a circle around it, praying while the Archbishop is casting a spell.
With the spells and actions of Archbishop Edward, the holy water rises from the jars and sprinkles the wood. I cannot see any magic power moving with magic vision, meaning it must be ‘the power of the ritual itself’.
When all the jars have been emptied of holy water and a final prayer is said, a pale green light is lit. Nothing was thrown in to light the fire, but it suddenly lit up. The holy water, perhaps.
Very fantasy. Green flames, beautiful.
I’m sure there was green fire in real life, but as I recall, you had to burn a metal. That is, you don’t usually see it. A brief moment in fireworks, at best.
The green flames of the bonfire are used to light the torches of the Residents, which they will then use to light the smaller fires.
“…I see, it’s certainly not wavering. If you think about it, the Residents don’t feel safe, and this is the wisdom of their ancestors. Well, it’s possible that it’s a means of self-defence given by the gods.”
“A ritual developed by their ancestors, or maybe delivered by a Miko”
“Why don’t we also light some torches for when we walk around?”
“…That seems like a good safety measure, but would it mean missing the event?”
“Maybe so.”
There may be events like searching for a child who left the house, in which case it would be useful, but that’s about it.
『『We found Fairellen-san~』』
“Then ask to be included over there, please.”
『『’Kaay!』』
The twins will be joining the sky group. I’ll leave it to them.
“It’s getting dark.”
“Night is coming! It’s our time!”
After lighting the fire, the Archbishop’s group is withdrawing. Of course, after transferring the fire to torches. Maybe they’ll light a fireplace or something with it, to protect the inside of the building.
“Oh, Nemeseia-sama. I will have a room prepared for you, so please use it if needed. Someone will be awake, so please ask them.”
“Thank you, Archbishop Edward.”
I didn’t arrange accommodations, did I. Even though the first batch is small, not everyone will be able to get a room. I will use it gratefully.
And so night has fallen.
While listening to the crackling of the flames and the wood popping, and watching the flickering green fire.
“Mm, it’s really peaceful.”
“I think bones illuminated by the fire fits the horror setting.”
“How’d you like that.”
“It’s the same as on the inside.”
“You love it really~”
“Please stop talking”
….Yeah, it really is peaceful. One of them has no head, the other is just bones.
“Well… there’s no point staying here by the fire, so let’s go for a walk.”
“”Let’s go.””
We will walk around the town while looking at the map.
Buildings in this world are generally made of stone. Maybe intended as a defence against monsters. It will also be more resistant to fire.
The problem is just securing the stone… because there is spatial storage in this world. There are no cars or heavy machinery, but individuals can use magic and there are also summons and servants, so there are enough alternatives.
If you were to describe the world view in this game simply, it would be ‘medieval Europe’.
However, this is just our image of ‘a world where there are royal families, castles and mansions with castle towns surrounded by forests, with horse-drawn carriages for transport’.
Compared to the real medieval Europe, this world is much more developed.
Well, with the situation being what it is, we are not seeing anyone but us Outsiders walking around outside. It’s very lonely.
Because it’s a game, there are usually quite a few Residents walking around at night. ‘It’s night time and everyone is asleep!’ would mean we could not use shops or facilities.
“Hm, it looks like there is a group of Residents patrolling there.”
Apparently not all the Residents are shut away at home, but there are patrols. There will be gatekeeper’s, too. It would be a problem if monsters came from outside.
“””Uoo!?”””
“Good day. Thank you for the hard work.”
“A-ah… It was Nemeseia-sama’s group. That was surprising…”
Ah.. we’ve all got night vision. And we don’t have torches, because we’re here for the event. So from their point of view, we suddenly appeared from the darkness.
I’m good and Alf-san maybe, but Ske-san is out for sure. Well, certainly? I can’t deny that I’m on the side of scaring people with horror.
“Fumu… It’s bad for others, so I’ll just use [Light]. I’m sorry for surprising you… Even though we did get attacked.”
“I’m sorry, but thank you.”
Alf-san and Ske-san don’t know any light magic, so I’ll use [Light] from «Light Magic» to make a ball of light float above us.
And then we say goodbye to the three Residents.
Of course, it’s not our problem that we were attacked. Even though the situation was unavoidable, it was still ‘Nemeseia’ that the Residents attacked. They almost died of shock. That’s not my intention. It’s beyond embarrassing.
Regardless of whether or not the attack hit, it is already no good as soon as the attack is made. No matter the reason, attacking the royal family is bad. High treason awaits.
The only way around it is for all witnesses to keep their mouths shut. Pretend you didn’t see it, pretend it never happened. In this case, with three Residents and three of us, that’s possible. However, if the person who attacked cannot bear the guilt and breaks down…
And suicide won’t help. Since Nemeseia is the royal family of the afterlife, and you’ll be dead… you know. It’s a no-win situation.
It’s not for ourselves, but for the other party, that we make our existence known with [Light]. A normal member of a royal family would probably avoid it though, since it would make them a target. …But they probably wouldn’t go outside in this situation in the first place.
Let’s get back on track and resume our search. I hope to find something.
There’s nothing, we have just been walking through the town for several hours.
“It’s good to know that the restaurants are open… to make money from us.”
“If you buy something during the day, you don’t need to get it after dark. From the restaurant’s point of view, there’s no problem with customers coming.”
The cooks have not been too busy thanks to this.
But still, I think they’re staggering the times because they can’t fit everyone in.
The map that Tomo had made was very useful. The shops had been marked down. By default, the shops blend in, so it’s hard to see them without a close-up.
<<Information has been shared.>>
“”Ohh.””
“Let’s see…”
I saw the back of what looked like a black cat walking down the dark street.
It ran when I chased after it, until I lost it.
“A kitty~. Come to think of it, I’ve yet to see one in this world.”
“A black cat. Speaking of black cats on Halloween, is it a witch’s familiar?”
“But witches in this world are apothecaries? I wonder if they have familiars.”
“I wonder. And what type of magic would it even be?”
I think it’s just a difference in wording. Servant or familiar, they both have the same meaning. If it’s «Summoning Magic», it would be a summoner.
I have seen a black cat in this world. Right, in the old castle in the Medium. Nyarlathotep, right? If it’s his incarnation with three fiery eyes, he’s definitely messing with us.
Even if you can peek through, is it possible for them to come over here… is what I’m wondering now. Given their power, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s possible.
“I only saw the back of it.”
“I think it ran away after we saw its back and started to chase?”
“I hope it doesn’t have three eyes…”
“Three?”
“Three flaming eyes. It’s an incarnation of Nyar-sama. It’s a lovely cat, except for the three eyes and what’s inside.”
“…That’s almost a total denial.”
“Even if it looks like a cat, Nyar-sama can’t be cute…”
“Uu~! Nya~!”
Ske-san is referring to.. Ah, that Nyar-sama, huh.
“That’s allowed…I think. If we collaborate, will we see Nyar-sama in that form?”
“Wouldn’t it be a bother if that one came alone?”
“The main character is definitely necessary. Then Kuko and Has would come too.”
“But that one, that’s a robot all of a sudden.”
“There are Machinery in this world, so it’s safe.”
I haven’t seen a robot of that size yet, though…
We’re walking along, chatting, but nothing in particular is happening. The grid is wavering, but there’s nothing that seems connected to the event.
Well, hopefully someone else gets a hit.
“There’s a cat search team on the board.”
“Well, is it a clue?”
“I’ll just pray it doesn’t have three eyes.”
It looks like it will be over with us just walking and chatting.
After all, it’s time for me to go to bed without incident. According to Ske-san, who is watching the BBS, the cat has not been caught yet.
I’m going to the church to sleep for now. Ske-san and Alf-san are going to continue searching, so we part ways.
The chapel, which is open to the public, is usually lively with Residents, but it is very quiet at the moment, enhancing the sense of sacredness.
Since I am here, I pray for a good night and then ask the waiting priestess to show me to my room.
“Right here. Please use it freely.”
“Thank you very much.”
For the general public, the main part of the church is the chapel, but it is also a residence for the clergy. Naturally, buildings for living and buildings for church operations are necessary.
In other words, there is a small number of rooms for receiving guests. This is probably the best room among them. …In terms of my position, it should be.
I use [Washing] then get into the big (though smaller than the one in my palace) bed… Oh?
<<Information has been shared.>>
Did I imagine it? The jack-o’-lantern has moved!
…Pumpkin.
Good night.
