Once the search and seizure of Hamsick's house was completed, we ended up having a lot of free time, as there was not as much to investigate in the space beyond the stone door as we expected.
«These are the objects we found in the initial search, and I'm sure they are nothing ordinary. Commander, please entrust us with this task. We will study them and discover all their secrets».
«...We'll leave the library tomorrow, so dig up everything you can before then.»
«¡Understood!»
While the others rested, the wizards of the expedition group gathered and began a series of tests with the objects they took from Hamsick's house. Although I didn't expect them to get anything.
And if they find anything, I'll be able to ask Raven a question about it.
With the interior of the library now converted into a research center, I could see Raven among the other researchers doing all kinds of experiments.
She seemed happy.
Is it really fun...?
As a barbarian warrior, he didn't understand her hobbies at all, but he had to respect her. Plus, it was always good to have people like her around.
Also, perhaps because she is a player, Versyl does not show any interest in academics.
In any case, since we were free to do whatever we wanted until tomorrow, I decided to take it easy and rest.
«The squadron reorganization plan has been finalized. All soldiers, check your new assignments on the poster we created here!».
The redistribution of our forces took effect some time later. Between the seven people who died during our various battles in the library and the twenty-seven who died in the final fight, each squad needed to have members moved and replaced to ensure they were well balanced.
«Squad four doesn't seem to have changed at all».
Since our squadron had few members, there were no changes to our composition, while squadrons one, two and three underwent slight changes.
Squad One, forty-nine people.
Squad Two, forty-nine people.
Squad Three, forty-nine people.
Each squad originally had sixty people, but their numbers had been reduced to this. With Squad Four now at thirty-seven, there was only a ten-person difference between our squad and the others.
«Let's have a meeting! All squad leaders and officers must attend».
Once everyone had their new assignments, we had another meeting. These guys really liked meetings. So after what ended up being a short break, I walked into the store just as it was starting.
«Only with your hard work and loyalty have we been able to safely complete our campaign in this library. Nia Rafdonia».
«¡Nia Rafdonia!»
For some reason, Jerome was leading this meeting instead of leaving it to the deputy commander as usual.
«The wizards are busy with their investigations, but they have not yet been able to find a single clue that will help us escape from this floor. Therefore, we will put that matter on hold until they finish their investigation».
«So this meeting is...»
«It is to discuss what we will do next.»
With that, we got to work. Since we had cleared the library, we needed to decide our next destination. Naturally, all the other leaders' eyes wandered to me. Since I was the one who had been here the longest and the one who had provided the map, they probably highly valued my opinion.
Where would be the best place to go next?
There were three possible candidates.
Uno: Isla Gigante.
There it would be possible to cultivate the essence of Hipramajent, and there also lived that enormous giant monster. In addition, it had the stone portal that connected to Basement Floor Two.
Two: Rainbow Island.
This was the island in the direction of the rainbow that we saw when the rainy season came to an end. It was a completely mysterious island, and my player senses told me that whatever it was, it was the key to Basement One Floor.
Three: Boss's Island.
That option was obvious. If our information was correct, that place had the stone portal that connected back to the first floor, and even if that wasn't the case, I realized that the village chief was hiding some kind of big secret. If we could capture it and figure out what exactly that secret was, that information would probably prove very useful in the future.
Hmm, ¿what hago?
He had been able to see the strength of the expeditionary group fighting alongside them in the library. They weren't perfect, per se, but even I had to admit that they were an impressive work group. Furthermore, considering that the group was made up of knights, wizards, and priests specialized more in man-to-man combat than monster hunting, I predicted that if we went, there was a good chance that we would be able to burn the entire village with the boss still inside before nightfall.
But strangely, something doesn't add up to me...
I decided to listen to my instinct again, unfolding the map I took from Hamsick's house and pointing to an island. «...I think this would be the best place to visit next».
It was the only island, other than Rainbow Island, that we hadn't been to yet.
«We check this island first, and if there is nothing there or if it will take too long to clear it, then we can immediately head to Rainbow Island later», I suggested.
In other words, we could stop by this island to fill out the map on the way to Rainbow Island.
«I see. Thank you for your contribution, Your Honor». Jerome nodded and accepted my contribution without giving any indication of whether he agreed or not. «What are you all doing? I have not summoned you all here to dedicate your thumbs up and listen to the baron's opinion. This is a discussion, so I want to hear your perspectives. Don't hold back».
The other leaders began to share their thoughts, and Jerome listened carefully to each one. Then, finally, he declared what our next destination would be.
«Tomorrow morning, we will head to the island where this supposed boss resides».
I wondered why he had asked our opinion if he was going to do whatever he wanted, but I knew it was a little unfair of me. The only reason we came to Library Island in the first place was because he followed my suggestion.
Hm, I guess not getting anything here in the library was a big factor.
We had been following my advice, but we had not gotten anything out of this trip. In fact, we had ended up losing troops. That's probably why Jerome was making this decision. We could capture the village chief, extract information from him, and then use it to plan our next move more efficiently.
I guess we came to this, then...
Aside from my strange and lingering discomfort, I actually had no reason to argue against this decision, so I kept my mouth shut and accepted it.
Although, of course, I had a question. Actually, it was something I wanted to ask before.
«...Tomorrow?» I asked. «It's rainy season right now, what do you mean by that?».
It wasn't the end of the rainy season either. Since it was only the second day, dangerous monsters were still falling from the sky as we spoke.
However, Jerome dismissed my concerns. «You yourself have said that you have experience traveling during the rainy season, Baron Yandel. There is no reason we can't do the same».
«Hey... but we only got going when the rainy season was about to end...».
«Carrying out an exhaustive reconnaissance of this soil is also one of the missions of this expedition. Shouldn't we experience this 'rainy season' properly at least once?».
I felt it every time I talked to them, but these guys were really tough to beat.
***
Except for the magicians, who were busy with their investigations, everyone went to sleep. The only people who wandered that dark dawn were the chosen few who stood guard at night.
I, on the other hand, was under a blanket and looking at the ceiling in a daze. That afternoon, after the meeting, I had taken a nap, so I wasn't sleepy at all. I sensed that I wasn't going to fall asleep soon even if I forced myself to close my eyes for a while, so I dedicated myself to organizing my scattered thoughts.
Our first encounter and defeat of a rank one monster.
The death of dozens of soldiers.
The missing golden book and Hamsick.
Our next destination.
Many things have happened today, and there are still many to find out.
I'm also interested in what Jerome Saintred said before.
The expedition group commander had made the following statement today: no matter how many people died in the process, as long as this expedition took me back to the city alive, the mission would be considered a success. Thanks to that, my fears about whether this trip would end up being a repeat of Ice Rock's had calmed down a bit.
If he planned to kill me, strategically it would have been better to let Squad Four suffer as many casualties as possible.
However, Jerome instead strove to claim just the opposite. This was something I would never have done if he was scheming against me. Which left me with even more questions than I already had.
Why is the palace trying to save me this time? I'm a thorn in their side, so wouldn't it be better for them if I die here?
I had no way of knowing the answer to that. The more I thought about it, the less sense it made to me.
Uncertainty pushed me to get out of my makeshift bed and get moving in an attempt to clear my mind.
«Lord Baron? Where is he going?»
«I can't sleep, so I'm going to stretch my legs a little».
«Ah, I see. Understood.»
After telling the night guard what I was going to do, I started walking around the large library, thinking I might be lucky enough to meet Hamsick.
And lo and behold, ten minutes later, I heard a familiar sound coming from somewhere nearby.
¡Squeak...!
«(...Hamsick?)» I whispered in the old language.
«(Here! Over here! Upload here...!)»
After looking around for a bit to see if anyone was looking in my direction, I walked up the ladder to the second bookshelf as quietly as possible. Hamsick was hiding in one of the empty spaces from which they had taken a book.
«(Why did it take you so long to come?)», he asked.
«(Oh, I was waiting for nightfall)».
«(You... are you okay? It seemed like you had hurt yourself a lot...)».
I didn't expect him to ask me that right away. «(...I'm already cured, so don't worry.)»
«(How can I not worry? After so long, I have finally found someone qualified!)».
I bowed my head. «(By qualified... you mean for the golden book?)». Hamsick had once told me that he couldn't give me the golden book because that item was something I had to keep for the right person.
«That is! The moment you defeated Kashan, you became qualified!»
So, as I thought, cleaning the library was the accomplishment I needed.
The joy of seeing my theory confirmed took over me, but I had a question. «(Wait, so they're all qualified?)»
«(Hey? Not at all! You are the only one who got the grade!)»
«(Hmm, really?)» So what was the condition that had to be met? Was it contributing more to the battle? If that was the case, it still didn't make sense for them to choose me.
Well, none of that mattered now.
«So now that I have the right qualifications, what's next?»
When I made it clear that I was expecting my reward, Hamsick was quick to say: «(Here, take it! This book is already yours)».
He handed me the golden book with the boring story written inside. Wondering if I would be able to see some kind of hidden text now that I had the right achievement under my belt, I opened it. «(...The writing is the same as last time)».
«(In series?)»
«(What do you really mean? If I'm qualified, shouldn't you tell me how this book works or something? What, does your work finish after you hand it to me?)»
«(Eh... ¿si?)»
I sighed. From the look on his face, Hamsick also didn't seem to have any idea how to use the book.
To be honest, that wasn't a big surprise to me. That's how cruel the game Dungeon and Stone was. He never explained anything, so his players had to try all kinds of solutions to figure out how something worked.
...I think something might happen if I put this book on the altar.
I had already come up with a few potential use cases, but I couldn't test them right now. If it worked and something appeared, all the loot would go to the palace. In the end, I only had one option.
«Anyway, thanks for giving me this». I took the golden book from Hamsick and hid it in my subspace to store it. «(So, is there anything else?)»
«(¿Eh?)»
«(You know, a blessing or unique piece of equipment you want to give me or something)».
«(You've already taken everything! My fountain pen and all those precious books I've been protecting!)»
Oh sure.
A moment of awkward silence settled between us, and I quickly changed the subject. «Already. Well, I don't know if you've heard, but we're leaving tomorrow morning.)»
«(¿Os ... vais ...?) »
«(We still have things to do. I don't know when, but I'm sure I'll come back one day, so don't feel too alone in the meantime.)»
«(Who said I'll feel alone? Don't be so cocky... That you leave is better for me, hmph! Now I can relax in my own house)».
I swallowed. Judging by the way he spoke, Hamsick still didn't know what had happened to his house.
«(...Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?)»
«(It's nothing. I'm leaving. I'm hungry!)» With a very casual excuse, I reserved myself to return to camp.
The next morning, all members of the expedition group picked up camp and prepared to leave the library.
«Excuse me... Lord Baron...?»
And the Paladin Goblin, Sven Parav, approached me in those first hours with surprising news.
«Last night... showed me the future again.»
"¿Who visits?"
«Well...» Parav hesitated for a long time before closing his eyes and explaining what he saw in his dreams. «You were surrounded on all sides by the expeditionary group... and they were in the process of brutally executing you...».
The goddess had shown him my death sentence.