57 – 3-Person Party Operation Meeting
From Noble mtl dot com
“Ah, welcome. Please come in. What would you like to drink? All we have is plain water, but with illusion magic, it can taste like anything. Make yourselves comfortable.”
As I greeted them with a wide smile, the expressions of two out of the three trackers soured. The Paladin (improperly dressed) and the Inspector (half of the face in pain). Only the short-haired female student, who seemed broad-minded, accepted the hospitality with kindness.
Short Hair raised the whiteboard.
[Hello!]
“Hello. Short Hair, you’re cute. It seems like you take care of your hair… Let me guess. Is it the fragrance of silk whale oil sold at a store in front of a distinctive intersection, three blocks away from the entrance, in the commercial district?”
Short Hair’s expression changed to ‘Wow, how did you know.’
“hahahaha, I have a good nose. And I also pay attention to hair care.”
Not really. I’ve never noticed when my girlfriend changed her perfume, and I think shampoo is enough for hair care. The only hair care I’ve received is from the demonic Nadenade of the Demon Worshipper.
It was information obtained by asking Ping Ballez to investigate the three applicants. I wanted to get to know them better if possible. It’s easier to become friends if there’s a common topic.
I guided the three to the table. The Paladin seemed to be in a continuing state of anger like the Hulk, and there was a sense of caution from the Inspector. It felt like if I did something suspicious, she would draw her sword.
I understand. Students are always worried if their professor has some sinister secret. I was like that in my student days too.
Short Hair sat comfortably on the sofa, the Paladin kept a slight distance and sat next to her. The Inspector hesitated about where to sit, then decided to just stand.
Well, it’s understandable. Except for herself, there are only two other women, so no matter where she sits, it might seem awkward.
The atmosphere was really tense and stiff. I wanted to lighten the mood. I licked my lower lip with the tip of my tongue, loosened my throat, and then spoke, sitting opposite them.
“We… had a little misunderstanding, didn’t we? It was all from a trivial misunderstanding, so let’s put that aside. That’s not why we’re gathered here, right?”
Back then, I ran away because the paper wasn’t published, but didn’t you guys also avoid looking at the paper during class? So, let’s forget about that day and focus on having an interesting TRPG session together.
“Respecting your curiosity, I understand it must have been a tough choice. Personally, I thought students would show interest only after the class had progressed to some extent. It’s a delightful surprise.”
Thank you for enrolling in what must have been a rather unfamiliar course. I was planning to sprinkle some plot hints during the main class and invite everyone to play along. However, I never expected participants to gather this quickly. I’m pleased.
“Now, what do you think this object is?”
What on earth?
I lightly clapped my hands together. Between the overlapping palms, the sticky substance stretched and, in an instant, transformed into the shape of a frame. The priestess responded dryly.
“An empty frame.”
“Yes, but it’s not just a frame. It’s a frame that reflects many things.”
A teaser.
Whenever I had some free time, I played the prepared trailer video. A forest with sepia and azure tones, a hell where a red moon rises, a modern civilization with machine guns spewing fire, a space colony, automatons dueling on the shaved mountaintop, an old man observing the stars.
There’s no medium that can deliver as much information in such a short time as a video. The purpose of this trailer is to arouse curiosity. In the feast of visuals, the trio seemed immersed in the video.
In a subtle tone, I asked, “Don’t you want to experience a different world?”
“…?”
The silent zero-point, with a firm expression, spoke.
“Was this the purpose?”
“Yes.”
“What do you hope to achieve?”
“I hope as many people as possible will know about it. This… is always in short supply of people.”
In my past life, not many people were doing it, and now, practically, only Matopju and I are doing it. I hope more people get to know about TRPG. Even if it’s not to their liking, they should at least know about it.
Now is the time. I presented the carefully prepared session introduction to the trio.
“This is a report I’ve written seeking the assistance of a collaborator. Please read it and if you liked it, I hope you’ll join me.”
“Let’s discuss and decide.”
“Could you make way? Professor…”
The investigator and the saint launched a double attack. When players read the introduction, it was one of GM’s pleasures to see their reaction. But the saint, as if she had nothing to say, just crossed her arms.
Hmph.
I was chased out of my office.
—–
After sending the crazy wizard out of the room, Venet turned his gaze to the other two as if asking for their opinions. The saint seemed lost in thought, as if she had something on her mind, but Niorre seemed to have no thoughts at all.
Venet let out a shallow sigh and summarized the situation.
“…If I understood correctly, the wizard is talking about dimensional teleportation magic.”
“I agree. That’s what I heard too.”
[Me too!]
The images reflected in the frame were too diverse to be attributed to individual illusion magic. If there had been just one, it could have been considered within the realm of imagination, but there were dozens of worlds that passed by, each with its own details.
And the expression on the wizard’s face, consistently joyful. It seemed like he was genuinely enjoying himself. Occasionally, the wizards who were captivated by their own research would have that expression.
The events happening at the academy, centered around that crazy wizard, seemed to be a bigger stage than Venet had suspected. Dimensional magic that had been put into practice in the distant past, as mentioned in fairy tales.
“…I wonder if there was such a deal between the Second Prince and the wizard.”
Venet quickly drew a picture using magic. The Second Prince supports the wizard’s research, and the wizard assists the Second Prince in his political maneuvers. They are bound by a kind of trade relationship.
“The dark wizards that the wizard has uncovered… they will go to the Second Prince who issued the orders. It won’t be a small favor.”
“…And in return, the Second Prince supports or overlooks the wizard’s activities at the academy?”
“That’s right.”
They intended to use the Academy students as personnel for interdimensional exploration. Since only those who have proven their abilities and talents can enter the Academy, the quality of the talent pool was close to being top-notch.
The Saint furrowed her eyebrows and pondered, eventually coming to a conclusion.
“No matter how I think about it, it’s too dangerous. I applied for the investigation of the sorcerer’s background, but jumping into a completely unknown dimension, you know?”
[But it says here that survival is guaranteed.]
“What if that’s a lie?”
[…]
Curious about what Niole wanted to say, while drawing three worms on the whiteboard.
Flutter, flutter.
Bennett quickly passed the report. As he summarized the main points in his mind, he made a rough estimate. And he said,
“…No, the risk might not be as high as I thought.”
“What?”
“According to the report, most people in this other world cannot use magic. There is a faction called the Twilight Order of Silver, but they can only cast magic at a level that can be countered by using magic to protect their bodies.”
“So, if the report is lying…”
“There were no signs of missing or modified content. And look at the objective. The sorcerer wants to secure the artifact called the Shining Isosceles Triangle from another world.”
Although the sorcerer wrote as if he wasn’t interested, there was no reason to write it down. It seemed that the purpose of recruiting explorers from the Academy was to obtain a powerful artifact from a different dimension.
“To retrieve the artifact, they would have to send us back. So, it’s unlikely that we’ll be abandoned in a different dimension forever. And…”
Bennett pointed at the report with his finger.
The last, abruptly cut-off battle record in the report hinted at the death of the investigator. However, in the second paragraph of the report, it explicitly stated that “even if we face death, it is not the end, and we will return to our original world without a single scratch.”
The people who enter the Academy have their own power and influence. The Saint herself is not insignificant. Isn’t she a symbol representing a certain faction?
“The sorcerer may be a little broken in the head, but he’s preparing a thesis and orders regarding the Demon Sword. He’s thinking about what comes after. If he were to put the Saint into a different dimension and things went wrong, he knows well what kind of situation he’d be in.”
The headwind is blowing. There was no way someone meticulously preparing wouldn’t consider that level.
“To this point… Of course, it’s just a speculation. But there’s a way to confirm safety for sure.”
“What is it?”
“Ask this investigator… if he’s alive.”
The saint sighed quietly.
“You have quite a sharp mind. Even though you don’t look like it…”
“Your lack of insight is as evident as your skill in choosing clothes.”
“It’s too noisy…!”
And, the most crucial return. When entering this world as the sorcerer intended, what could be gained? A certain sentence from the report flashed through Venet’s mind.
A mysterious artifact known to summon malevolent beings and, on the other hand, offer infinite wisdom…
It might assist in the casting of “Nightmare Summon” by dark sorcerers, and if the infinite wisdom is true, perhaps. A way to expel “Corpse-Eating Nightmare Flowers” from his brother’s body… could be obtained.
Saint Tara seemed to have a similar thought. Though they didn’t discuss it explicitly, both saw greed in each other’s eyes.
The trio organized their thoughts and summoned the sorcerer.
—–
I see, the prince and princess must think, ‘This guy would only kill me if he’s insane,’ but usually, it becomes a corporation like this. It made sense.
If a not-so-close sorcerer suggests, “Why not try going to another dimension?” it would be unsettling. In response to the question about the investigator’s survival, I pointed at the potbellied Pingvalez standing awkwardly beside me.
“This is the investigator.”
“Yes, I am the investigator.”
Pingvalez threw a double peace sign. It seemed a bit playful towards me, but seeing someone he barely knew throwing double peace signs at them was oddly consistent. He probably would have done the same in front of the prince.
Safety measure. When I was about to prove that it’s safe to jump into the lava, the detective-saint duo intervened.
“I want to investigate and verify.”
“It would be nice if you could vacate the seat… Sorcerer?”
Chased away again…
—–
They took time to verify from various angles. Ping Ballez asked multiple questions to confirm if the person who wrote the report was genuine, and the saint simply turned on the lie detection spell.
Thinking it might be a good idea to go in and test if there were suspicions, one member suggested testing one person fervently. Benedict, who was often skeptical, entered the simulation himself, faced death, and came out.
In the case of the second prince, the implementation didn’t include the disappearing effect after facing death. However, these three seemed to be cautious, as if testing the waters before crossing a stone bridge. Maybe because directly facing death felt a bit risky. Afraid they’d get scared and not participate in the session…
If they suffered fatal damage, a shield would appear around them, blocking the attack, followed by a teleportation effect returning them to the original world. This change was made to provide more reassurance.
It wasn’t bothersome. Rather, it was exciting.
Anyone who questions and overturns things… that’s exactly what Cthulhu was perfect for!
My heart was pounding. This is the genre of living by questioning, probing, and doubting so persistently. It’s called cosmic horror.
They had time to understand and agree, and a date was set. They unanimously decided to start the first session tomorrow, Thursday.
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