“Millia. Get ready to go out.”
“Yeah? Why?”
“I’m going to show you something fun.”
“Uncle, is it okay to take her along?”
Viola looked at Millia with worried eyes, as she had practically no ability to protect herself. I shrugged at Viola’s words.
“I can protect at least one non-combatant without issue.”
As far as I knew, the secret archive only had monster illusions for show. To be honest, I could clear it alone with no problem. With this many people coming along, I could simply cast some magic and clear the archive.
The recommended number of people for the secret archive is at most two or three, but we have eight.
Even better, we had three witches.
If we just held out in the front and used level 4 or 3 magic, all the illusions would be shattered. My goal was to sweep through the secret archive with overwhelming firepower.
The question was how the job-specific stat bonus of +5, one of the rewards in the original work, would apply.
It could be that there’s an invisible status window system like mine that applies to stats, or realistically, the spirit of the first principal could descend and give 1:1 personal lessons, or the rewards could come from the experience accumulated while clearing the secret archive.
Either way, assuming that rewards would apply meant that there was also a possibility that reality was the opposite.
“…Still, the fact that we can safely accumulate experience is a significant merit.”
“Huh? What did you just say?”
“Nothing.”
I looked at my party while petting Millia, who had excitedly changed into her outing clothes. Karina was talking to Elisa while wearing a veil. Viola was standing with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall.
Millia, who was enthusiastically getting her head petted next to me.
And the three others who would join in.
It was a number that would attract attention if we walked around together, so we planned to split up on purpose. The four of us and the three on that side were all set to meet up at the library in staggered timings.
To camouflage, we decided to carry a backpack, so from the perspective of others, we’d look like a study group gathering at the library.
“Is everyone ready?”
“…Y-Yeah, I’m ready.”
“I’m ready too.”
“I’m ready. Let’s get going quickly.”
“Then let’s head out.”
I grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and started pushing.
——————
The library, bathed in sunset. We quietly entered the library and stood in front of the secret archive. With eight people in our party, it was somewhat concerning, but luckily, the library was quite empty at this time. It was rare to see students studying hard on Saturdays.
The only one there was the librarian I had informed beforehand.
Truly, nothing is impossible with money.
I stepped forward and scanned the library as a whole.
No sign of Bella.
I had hidden the information as much as possible, so Bella wouldn’t realize that the secret archive had been raided until after we cleared it all. Thankfully, Bella didn’t seem to be particularly sharp.
I had deliberately stripped the magical tools of authority so they couldn’t convey the information that I had shown up yesterday, so that was to be expected. Still, just in case. In the original, she chased us down and knocked us out to take the rewards.
“Is this it?”
“Yes, this is the right place. Karina, do you see the purple book?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s the key to opening the secret archive.”
“How fascinating…”
I could sense Karina’s excitement in her voice. She secretly loved this kind of thing. I watched as the three of them approached quietly, waving their hands when they saw us.
“Hello!”
“Good evening.”
“It’s unexpected to see someone here.”
“Hey!”
“I didn’t expect Millia to be here as well.”
Martina looked a bit flustered, but her panic seemed closer to worry. Given Millia had no combat ability and was from the liberal arts department, it made sense. I shrugged and cleared up her doubts.
“I brought her along. Protecting one person is no problem.”
“If Sir Johann says it’s okay, then it should be fine.”
They accepted it easier than expected. I thought Martina would lecture me, but she accepted it so smoothly that I felt more flustered.
“You haven’t worked with me before, yet you seem to trust me quite a bit.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you.”
As she said this, Martina looked at Lewis, Shuri, and Elisa in order and smiled gracefully before speaking.
“I look forward to working with you, Sir Johann.”
“I hope you take care of me, Martina.”
We shook hands lightly and gathered everyone together.
There were a total of seven people.
After confirming there were no surveillance personnel around, I quietly pulled out the purple book. While the purple book looked ordinary, it wouldn’t appear the same to some people. I handed the progressively glowing purple book to Karina.
“Could you turn to page 231 for me?”
“Page 231?”
“Yes.”
Karina quietly followed my instructions and opened page 231. To those without qualifications, it would appear blank, but when a qualified person shines it under the sunset, the text begins to reveal itself.
“Karina, could you read it for me?”
“Got it. When the time of dogs and wolves arrives, the secret hidden in the sunset shall be revealed…”
Just as Karina’s beautiful voice faded in our ears, the bookshelf that the purple book had been on turned translucent. We admired the sight.
“This is…the entrance to the secret archive…”
“Everyone, let’s go in.”
“But won’t it be visible to other people?”
“It will close once we enter. I’ll take the lead. Millia, push the wheelchair for me.”
“Okay!”
Millia grabbed the wheelchair’s handles with an excited expression. This gave me free hands… should we enter?
“I’ll tell you to be careful once we’re inside. Everyone, follow me.”
I stepped toward the translucent bookshelf.
——————–
“Wow…”
Whose voice was that? One thing was certain; that voice echoed everyone’s sentiments. I called the party who was gazing at the vast archive filled with numerous bookshelves.
“Karina. If there are any potential injuries, please take care of it.”
“Leave it to me.”
“Millia. You’ll push the wheelchair for me. If it seems dangerous, pull Karina back and retreat.”
We probably wouldn’t get injured, but just in case.
“Okay!”
Millia responded cheerfully as always.
“Lewis, even without saying, take the lead. Focus more on blocking incoming enemies than actively intercepting them.”
“Understood.”
I appreciate the politeness.
“Elisa, Martina, Shuri. You’ll be the rear support. Focus on using level 4 magic as much as possible, but if a powerful monster appears, use level 3 magic one by one. The order will be Elisa, Shuri, then Martina. Use level 3 magic in that order unless I give different orders.”
“Is there a reason for the order?”
“To conserve magical energy. In most dungeons, level 3 magic is already excessive. It’s more important to use the precise amount of magic that’s necessary rather than using high-firepower spells while wandering around.”
“You mean to conserve as much magic as possible?”
As expected of a top student, Martina quickly caught on to my meaning.
“Exactly.”
“Uncle, I can still support Lewis from behind like before, right?”
“Sounds good. And Karina and Millia should fit between the witch and Viola.”
I didn’t want them too far back and risk getting blindsided.
Millia stepped forward along with Karina at my words.
“Remember the formation now. No matter what happens, we mustn’t break formation. Got it?”
“Yeah!”
Everyone’s voices overlapped together.
“Then from now on, we will explore the secret archive.”
I moved to the back.
The bodyguard role to protect the witches is necessary.
“Everyone, stay alert from now on. This place was created by the first principal as a precaution, but it also serves as a skill test, so I’ll treat it like a real situation.”
At my words, the seven heads nodded in unison. I finally pulled out the shovel.
It’s been a while since I wielded a shovel.
I stuck the shovel into the ground and activated the skill.
“Crafting.”
[Wow, setting up a ladder is a bit much, don’t you think?]
Now, the secret archive became a place where no one could enter without my permission.
After knocking on the wall a couple of times, I turned my body and looked at the path we had to take. The endless wall of bookshelves.
The secret archive.
One of the popular events from the original work: “Andras’s Precaution.”
We were about to become the first discoverers of his archive.
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