#095

Stay calm.

The person who first posed this problem was certainly a ‘player,’ but that doesn’t necessarily mean Fabio is a ‘player.’

‘Fabio might have just written down a problem he heard from somewhere!’

I specifically wrote that it was a problem I had been preoccupied with lately. It wouldn’t be unnatural for him to have happened upon a problem posed by someone else.

‘Right, the player must be someone else Fabio met!’

Doesn’t Fabio look like an extra just at a glance?

If there’s anything notable about him, it’s…

‘…the fact that he’s dating Athanas?’

Hmm…

It seems like I’m screwed, but not yet.

There’s still room for an excuse.

‘…What if Fabio is an NPC who just happened to end up dating Athanas?’

A ‘player’ who heard that shocking news would naturally become curious about ‘Fabio.’

Is ‘Fabio’ some shameless player bastard who thinks about dating game characters as soon as they possess a body? Or is he an extra NPC who never appeared in the original work?

‘That’s why they threw this question at him.’

Of course, they would have asked other things as well.

If not being able to answer this problem meant you weren’t from Earth, the global population would be measured at under a billion.

‘But Fabio was a truly naive NPC.’

That’s why he couldn’t give a proper answer to the question.

The player must have judged him to be an NPC and left, but Fabio continued to ponder the answer even after that.

In such a scenario, it’s not strange at all that Fabio was trying to figure out the answer to this problem.

‘Then do I need to set up who that player was?’

There was no need to be specific. Adding detailed settings would only increase the number of contradictions.

Since the player might have used a Sacred Relic that blurs Fabio’s perception, it wouldn’t be strange if he didn’t remember anything clearly.

If so…

‘…No, that’s not what’s important right now.’

I pressed my brow firmly.

‘Let’s remember why I started looking for other players in the first place.’

My goal is, above all, an exchange of information.

I started this whole thing to ask sane players if they think the current state of the Church of Order is acceptable.

Of course, I can’t go around revealing my identity as a player while someone like the ‘Distorted One’ is boldly strolling through the Capital Church…

‘I mustn’t forget that the risk of disclosing information exists for the other party as well.’

If I try to keep my own information tightly hidden while only trying to uncover the other’s, I won’t be able to gain their trust.

‘If the other person seems like a decent player… I’ll try to start a conversation.’

With that thought, I carefully read the contents of the wax tablet again.

There wasn’t a single letter of a clue as to who had provided the answer.

‘…Still, the fact that they wrote an answer suggests a willingness to communicate.’

At the very least, they would have left a means of contact.

I decided to find out how this answer was obtained.

First, I tried to question the children, but I had just boasted yesterday that I would never ask who wrote whatever was written here.

‘I have to go back on my word…’

When I went to play with the children, I intentionally brought the wax tablet.

Then, I made a fuss in front of the children, explaining how amazing the content was.

“This is completely new mathematics! It’s a revolution in math!”

I excitedly proclaimed that I hadn’t thought it was possible to arrive at an answer this way, and that I shuddered the moment I saw the solution, and that I would preserve this wax tablet forever.

Then, I suddenly became melancholy and hugged the wax tablet tightly.

“Ah, to think I cannot know who wrote such a wonderful solution! I really want to ask, but since I promised yesterday that I wouldn’t ask who wrote it…”

As I let out deep sighs, the children looked at each other and finally confessed to me who had written the answer.

“Actually, we asked the math teacher.”

The children had put their heads together, but since they couldn’t find the answer, they asked the teacher, and the teacher later brought the wax tablet with the answer written on it.

‘A math teacher would likely be a priest who came for educational volunteering…’

Could that priest be a player?

Or a genius on the level of Euler?

‘If they’re a player, why would they bother volunteering at an orphanage?’

While I was lost in thought, a child with remarkable initiative dragged the math teacher right over.

I was very flustered, but I didn’t let it show on the outside.

I spoke in an excited voice.

“By any chance, did you write this answer…?”

“No, I didn’t write this.”

The priest cleared his throat and replied that he also couldn’t solve the problem, so he had asked someone else.

“Who is that person? I’d like to express my gratitude…”

“I don’t know exactly who it is.”

“What? What do you mean…?”

“I took this problem to the library. Goodness, you can’t imagine how many people rushed in to try and solve it.”

‘…There are a lot of people in the library?’

Isn’t it usually completely empty?

After a brief moment of doubt, I remembered that when people say “the library,” they usually mean the ‘Main Hall.’

‘They said it’s the largest library in the Empire.’

“One person tried boldly and struggled for a while, then someone else jumped in and struggled… then everyone who claimed to have a knowledge of mathematics piled on and started solving the problem. My goodness, it was the first time in my life I’d seen so many people in the Room of Mathematics.

I had given up on solving it with my own strength early on, so I left the room. I also had an original purpose for going to the library. Anyway, when I went back to the Room of Mathematics later, the answer was written on the wall. This is just a transcription of that.”

‘Then one of the people in that room is a player?’

Suddenly, the number of candidates jumped.

I frowned. In that situation, it seemed possible that the player who actually found the answer passed the credit to someone else.

‘Identifying them will be impossible.’

“More than that, it’s truly surprising. Even looking at the solution, I didn’t know what it meant and only barely understood after hearing the explanation three times, yet you understood it immediately just by looking at this…”

The priest suggested that since I had mathematical talent, I should go to university and study further. He said it takes six years at shortest and ten years at longest to graduate, and that he thinks I could graduate in six.

For a moment, I almost failed to control my expression. I gave a stiff smile and said.

“…So, what should I do to find out who solved this?”

“If you visit the Room of Mathematics, someone there will probably know.”

“Where is the Room of Mathematics?”

“Oh, surely you’ve never been to the library?”

“W-well, it hasn’t been long since I came to the Capital Church…”

“The library is a place that anyone who conducts research must visit at least once in their life. There is a saying that if a problem cannot be solved in the Empire’s library, no one in this land knows the answer.”

The priest began to talk excitedly about the library. When the topic started to shift back to the benefits of graduating from university, I quickly cut the conversation short.

“Thank you! Since it’s such a wonderful place, it would be great as a date spot!”

“Eh? Didn’t you say your partner is a Holy Knight? I don’t think they would know much about the library. Rather, I could guide you…”

“No, the most important thing in a date is each other’s presence! My partner said that the place where I am is the most enjoyable place.”

I added in a small voice, pretending to be shy.

“…Of course, I feel the same way.”

The priest, seemingly unsure of how to react to talk of romance, gave an awkward smile and quickly left.

I let out a sigh of relief.

‘I have to be careful about appealing to a passion for academics.’

I rubbed my arms, which had gotten goosebumps.

‘More importantly, now I have to go to the Main Hall.’

Elamin had warned me not to think about going to the Main Hall alone.

He said it’s swarming with people whose purpose isn’t books—people who suddenly grab you to proselytize, or those who give you a Blessing first and then force you to donate.

I didn’t know what would happen if I went alone without the Blessing of Order.

‘…I have no choice but to go with Athanas.’

I just made it up as an excuse, but it looks like I’m actually going on a library date.

* * *

“When we arrive at the Main Hall, do not let go of my hand.”

‘…Why?’

Because it has to look like a date?

‘He’s really committing to the team project.’

I was disgusted inwardly, but I nodded obediently.

The thought of two sturdy men walking around holding hands already made my stomach churn.

‘Of course, it wouldn’t look strange for two men to do that here.’

Since same-sex love is natural here, they’ll just see us as an ordinary couple.

‘…I hate that too, damn it.’

This was supposed to be ‘Operation: Press the Player’s Trigger Button,’ but it feels like only my buttons are being pressed.

‘Well, I am a player too, for now…’

But once we actually arrived at the Main Hall, I no longer felt any aversion to holding hands.

To be precise, I didn’t have time to feel it.

‘Wow, holy shit.’

There are so many people.

And it was filthy loud.

Would it sound like this if ten teams were busking at the same time?

“Athanas, is the library always this…?”

The moment I was about to ask if it was always this noisy, Athanas pulled me close by the shoulder.

“…If you see a turtle, do not pity it; just pass by.”

‘Turtle?’

What turtle?

And why shouldn’t I pity it…?

‘Is it some kind of slang? Like calling beggars turtles…?’

“In the name of the Lord, I rebuke you, thou foul and cursed beast!”

At that moment, a booming voice rang in my ears.

My gaze naturally drifted in that direction.

‘Ah.’

It really was a turtle.

A land turtle with a shell about 40cm wide had its neck stretched out, looking up at a monk.

“…To pay for your sins, lead me to the records belonging to the Lord. Guide me to where the ‘Book of Small Creatures Living on the Coast’ is. Otherwise, your body and soul shall fall into eternal pain and despair!”

As soon as the monk finished speaking, he kicked the land turtle’s head.

I gasped, catching my breath.

‘Isn’t that guy crazy?’

At that moment, Athanas’s hand covered my head.

“…The God of Records rebelled against the Lord. Those turtles were the sacred animals of the God of Records. They are receiving the punishment they deserve. Do not stop; keep walking.”

‘No, but…’

That’s animal abuse.

Even if the god they served rebelled, still.

Is it okay to kick a pitiful animal like that?

‘…Of course, if it were a human, they’d be burned at the stake.’

Compared to that, working while being kicked is a very light punishment.

Sacred animals aren’t usually ordinary animals, either.

I understood it in my head, but it felt strange.

‘…I was the only one who showed a surprised reaction just now.’

My heart pounded.

I found it absurd that I was so shocked by something like this.

‘If I see a person die, my mind will probably collapse instantly.’

I decided to think about other things as much as possible.

“Athanas, why did the God of Records rebel?”

‘Judging by the name, he seems like a god who would fit perfectly with Order…’

“The God of Records was a greedy being who believed that anything recorded, even once, unconditionally belonged to him.”

“And so?”

“He was executed for secretly keeping records that were meant to be deleted, claiming that no record should ever be erased.”

‘…Is that rebellion?’

Isn’t that just a purge?

I had doubts, but I didn’t voice them.

It was because I didn’t want to commit a crime of impiety in front of Athanas.

‘I can’t let it show that I’m a goblin.’

But the thoughts wouldn’t stop.

‘…Ter could use Oblivion.’

That meant the God of Oblivion lived as a subordinate deity under Order.

‘Choosing Oblivion over Records…’

I clamped my mouth shut to avoid uttering impious words.

My head was spinning.

‘If records can be fabricated, what’s the point of maintaining Order?’

If someone commits a crime and then erases the record of it, can’t they avoid punishment?

In the first place, how can Oblivion coexist with Order?

“Athanas…”

Athanas turned his gaze toward me.

Looking into those deep blue eyes, a scene from the game suddenly came to mind.

The Heretic Slayer Athanas, who believed in Order without wavering even when Order had completely collapsed.

The Sword of Order, the Guardian of Order, the Servant of Order…

‘Would asking be meaningful?’

I swallowed hard.

It felt as if something was stuck in my throat.

“…Thank you for warning me just now. I almost looked strange.”

Those were the only words I could bring myself to say.

Chapter 96