Tower of Tarros.
Adventurers gather around the enormous tower, forming a city naturally.
In the game, it was a dungeon-like tower used by the protagonist Emily and her companions as a grinding spot to level up.
And after gaining some abilities, they would leave the tower for just regular training.
That’s why, much like the mansion event, the clearing of the Tower of Tarros wasn’t programmatically pre-designed.
‘In the game, … But now that it’s reality, it’s different.’
Just like the mansion event, now there is a possibility to clear a tower that was deemed impossible to breach in the program.
Now it’s just up to what I choose to do.
And most importantly, there’s a reason I have to clear the tower.
That would be the anticipated clearing reward.
Just like how the reward for clearing the mansion is ownership of the mansion, there’s an anticipated clearing reward for the tower as well.
The townsfolk in the city with the Tower of Tarros often spoke of this legend.
Whoever clears the tower can obtain an ancient artifact.
And that artifact possesses the power of the gods and can change the past.
It’s a legend that no citizen of the Kingdom of Lilias could possibly not know.
Because of that, Adrian dismissed my words as nonsense.
“You’re talking crazy. That tower has been around for 400 years, but no one has ever reached the top.”
His response was natural.
The setting says that you can obtain a legendary artifact, but it also says that clearing it is blocked.
So naturally, no one would have reached the end of the tower.
But that’s the history of this world.
As a player who has played the game, I…
━ have reached the final floor of that tower.
So I confidently replied to the negative Adrian.
“Just because no one has reached it doesn’t mean it’s impossible.”
“…Even if it’s said that you can reach the top of the tower, how are you so sure you can do it?”
“I understand that you find it hard to believe. But remember this.”
Even though I’m not that strong in this less-than-reliable body.
“I’m someone who has died and come back to life.”
“……”
He knows that the Demon King’s army has recently infiltrated here.
And he likely knows that I died in that incident.
After all, it was he who informed Emily of my death.
He confirmed it himself. My cold, lifeless body.
It wasn’t an illusion or magic; it was the actual body of me that existed.
But I came back to life.
That, I couldn’t deny.
“…Is it really possible to reach it? …To the top of the tower?”
Adrian asked, still unable to believe it.
Though he couldn’t believe it, he surely wanted to.
Humans are creatures naturally drawn to miracles.
He wants to protect this country.
If he could reach the top of the tower, clear the maze, and change the past…
There would be no safer way to protect the kingdom from the demon king.
So I nodded with a serious face.
“Just trust me once. I’ll show you a miracle.”
Adrian kept silent, unable to read my mind.
He folded his arms and closed his eyes.
And after a moment.
“So, how do you plan to organize the party? You aren’t thinking of going alone, are you?”
“Of course not. …While you’re the first one I’ve told, I plan to bring Raphne along.”
I can’t leave Raphne here in case the Demon King’s army decides to invade the academy while I’m gone.
Above all, she’s someone I must protect and one of the strongest at the academy.
She must accompany us to conquer the tower.
At that, Adrian nodded.
“Understood. Then I’ll come along too.”
“……Huh?”
“What are you so surprised about? I have a mission to protect Raphne from the Demon King. If she goes, I go too.”
Thinking about it, that makes sense.
After all, if something goes wrong during our travels, Raphne could be taken away. Even though I died and came back, that aspect would still be a concern.
So this is an even better proposal.
Adrian is quite capable, so having him along would make the tower conquest much easier.
“Then we’ll set off in a month.”
“Why a month?”
“I’ll send a letter to the royal palace to get approval. I’ll also explain my absence to the academy. You gather the members and let me know.”
“Understood.”
Thus, Adrian joined my plan.
Now there’s a month left until our journey to the tower.
“Uh, w-what? A journey? In a month?”
“Is this suddenly out of the blue?”
The next day after talking to Adrian, I informed the people I’ve built rapport with that I was going on a trip.
The ones most surprised by this were Emily and Mary.
Raphne, who was next to me, remained quiet since I had told her earlier.
“What’s going on?”
Ziegfried, who had been listening blankly, asked that.
The people gathered here were the same ones I had assembled when we conquered the mansion not long ago.
In response to Ziegfried’s question, I explained the challenge of the tower.
Only, I excluded the fact that Raphne is the Child of Prophecy. I simply said that we need to conquer the tower and are going on a journey for that.
After the explanation, there was a brief silence.
“I want to go too…”
Emily quietly declared, her fists clenched.
“If you want to join, you just heard where we’re going. It’s a dangerous place.”
“No, that’s exactly why I should go with you! I can’t let Ken be in danger all alone!”
“Yes, I feel the same way. I’ll go with you too.”
Mary then quietly declared seriously.
Both of them showed strong will and didn’t seem willing to back down at all.
And Ziegfried, who had been quietly listening with his arms crossed, spoke up.
“I heard that no one has conquered that tower yet. There must be plenty of dangerous monsters.”
“…Yes.”
It’s true, the higher you go in the tower, the stronger the monsters become.
Above all, at the top of the tower lies the ancient dragon Tarlos.
I’ve considered options, but he’s definitely a dangerous opponent.
“Then I’ll join too.”
“Ziegfried-senpai too?”
“Zi, Zieg?”
His words surprised not only me but also Elise, who was next to me.
It seemed they didn’t expect him to suggest joining.
“Zig…! Why would you want to go to such a dangerous place…!”
“Precisely because it’s dangerous, you can’t just send Ken alone. I’ll go with him.”
He said with a smile.
“You said a month, right? …During that time, I’ll make sure to train you, Ken.”
“…Okay!”
These three looked like they would insist on going no matter how much I resisted.
At first, I thought about trying to persuade them, but since it really is a risky tower, I initially only considered taking Raphne with me.
However, if they choose to accompany me for my sake, it honestly feels reassuring.
With Emily and Mary, and now Ziegfried too.
If they join as companions, it would surely speed up our conquest of the tower more than I had planned.
“Then I should study the recovery magic I learned a few days ago.”
“Ken, do you need any help for the trip? I’m here to assist you with anything I can.”
With the trip being confirmed, Emily and Mary began to firm up their resolutions and gradually started planning.
In the end, the occasion meant to inform everyone about my journey turned into a planning session.
“Wow~ This is really touching. I’ll be praying for your safety from afar!”
Alisha, who had been blankly listening, playfully waved her hand.
This little girl could also be of great help if I took her along.
But it seems she’s not interested in challenges like the tower.
“Alright, I’ll pray hard for your safe return.”
As I wasn’t planning to drag her along, I lightly patted Alisha’s head.
Now that we had decided on the members, we had a month for preparation.
The people who decided to join the journey seemed to be making their own preparations.
In that case, I can’t just sit around either.
“What are you planning to make this time?”
Raphne approached me as I sat at the workbench and asked that.
She casually draped her arm around my neck, leaning against my back.
Since I honestly shared my feelings a few days ago, it feels like the level of skinship has somehow increased.
I was pretty sure I had asked her not to overdo it.
Feeling her warm body against my back and her head leaning on my shoulder, Raphne gazed at the workbench.
Swoosh, her red hair flows down, giving off a pleasant scent.
‘No, calm down and focus.’
I’ll have to get used to this.
Right now, I need to concentrate on making stuff.
I began placing various tools back on the workbench to prepare.
The destination for this journey is a dungeon-like tower.
Engagement in battles inside the tower is natural, and we can’t avoid fighting during the trip either.
Of course, with Ziegfried, Raphne, Mary, and Adrian, ordinary field monsters would be easy prey.
But I still want to be of help.
We have a month left.
The only thing I can prepare during this time is one thing.
“I’m going to make equipment for Raphne and the others.”
Thanks to the large amount of magic power, gathering materials has become easier.
Anything lacking could be compensated for with magic.
“Oh? Are you making equipment for me too, Ken?”
Raphne appeared strangely happy at the mention of making equipment.
“Do you want something specific? A weapon you prefer?”
“Hmmm… I can use all kinds of weapons well… Hehe, just think of something for me. I’m looking forward to it.”
She seems to want to enjoy the thrill of waiting without knowing the outcome.
I see. First, I suppose it’ll be Raphne’s weapon.
In truth, I’ve rarely seen her wield a weapon in battles.
When she did, it was mostly when she imprisoned me; she brandished a wand while exchanging blows with Ziegfried a few times.
In the game, she primarily used a training sword, and otherwise relied on hand-to-hand combat.
As I pondered for a moment about a weapon that would suit her, it suddenly hit me.
“…Ah.”
A material and corresponding weapon suddenly popped into my mind.
“Alright, let’s get started. Raphne, could you light a fire?”
“Okay!”
And for a while, the sound of a hammer pounding iron echoed throughout the tower.
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