༺ Three-Person Party Strategy Meeting ༻
“Ah, nice to meet you. Welcome. Please, come in. What would you like to drink? All we have is plain water, but with Illusion Magic, I can change its flavor, so it’s as if we have everything. Please, make yourself comfortable.”
As I greeted them with a bright smile, the expressions on two of the three pursuers soured. By that, I meant the Saintess (dressed lewdly) and the Swordsman (half of his face seemed in pain). Only the bob-haired female student, who seemed broad-minded, accepted my hospitality with grace.
The bob-haired girl lifted a whiteboard high.
[Hello!]
“Hello. Your bob cut is pretty. It looks like you take good care of your hair…… Let me guess. Is it the whale oil perfume sold at the store located three blocks from the entrance of the commercial district, right in front of the intersection known for its row of trees?”
Bob Cut’s expression turned to one that seemed to say, ‘Oh my god, how did he know’.
“Haha, I have a good nose. And I do take care of my hair as well.”
That wasn’t true, though. I had never noticed when my girlfriend changed her perfume and I was someone who thought washing my hair with soap was more than enough. The only hair care I had ever received was from the Tower Master’s Nadenade.
This was written in the report I received after asking Pink-Haired Lesbian for a background check on the three applicants. Since it had come to this anyway, I wanted to become friends, after all. Having common topics to talk about made it easier to get along.I led the trio to a table. The Saintess seemed to be in a constantly irritated state, as if she was the Hulk, and I could feel the Swordsman’s wariness. It felt like they would draw their swords at any sign of trouble from me.
It was understandable. Students were practically built to always be worried that their professor might be cooking up something wicked. They literally agonize over it all day long. I was like that during my school days too.
Bob Cut sat down on the sofa without hesitation and the Saintess sat a bit away from her. The Swordsman seemed to fall into a dilemma on where to sit before deciding to just stand.
Well, makes sense. After all, being the only male among two females, he probably worried that it would become weird wherever he sat.
The atmosphere was quite stiff and tense. I wanted to ease it a little. I licked my lower lip with my tongue, cleared my throat, and then sat across from them to start the conversation.
“We’ve been…… swept up in a situation together, haven’t we? It started from a minor misunderstanding, so let’s put that side. We aren’t here for that, after all.”
I fled because the thesis wasn’t read at that time, but you guys didn’t look at the paper during class either, right? So, let’s forget about that day and think about playing a fun TRPG.
“I respect your curiosity, that spirit of inquiry. It must have been a very tough choice. I thought……it would take some time for the course to progress before students would take an interest. But it seems I was pleasantly mistaken.”
I’m quite grateful you signed up for this rather unusual course name. I planned to sprinkle some hints during the main class and entice you to play along, but I never expected participants to gather so soon. I’m so happy.
“Now then, what do you think this object is?”
Guess what this is?
I clapped my hands lightly. A stick mucus stretched between my palms, quickly transforming into the shape of a picture frame. The Saintess replied dryly.
“An empty picture frame.”
“That’s right, but it’s not just any frame. It’s a frame that reflects many things.”
It was a trailer.
I played the trailer video that I had worked on whenever I had the time to. The video showcased a forest with vibrant green and blue hues, a hell under a red moon, a modern civilization with machine guns blazing, a space colony, martial artists exchanging sword techniques atop sheer cliffs, and an old man observing the stars.
There was no medium that could pack as much information in such a short time as a video. The purpose of this trailer was to spark curiosity. And just as I wanted, the trio seemed immersed in the visual feast that was the trailer.
I asked in a soft voice, as if to urge them.
“Haven’t you ever wished to experience another world?”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
The sole man who had been silent all this time finally spoke with a stern expression.
“Was this your goal?”
“That’s right.”
“What do you want?”
“I wish for as many people as possible to know about it. There’s always a…….shortage of people for this, you see.”
In my previous life, not many people played, and now, it seemed like only the Tower Master and I did. I wished more people knew about TRPG. It was fine if it wasn’t to their taste, but they should at least know about its existence, right?
It’s time. I presented the Session Introduction I had prepared with great care to the trio.
“This report was prepared with the help of a collaborator. Please read through it and if you like it. I hope you will join me.”
“We’ll discuss amongst ourselves and decide.”
“Could you give us some space? Mr…….. Professor.”
The Swordsman and the Saintess launched a double attack. Was this the so-called pincer-attack? Seeing the player’s reaction while reading an introduction was one of the joys of being a GM… But the Saintess even crossed her arms, as if to say she wouldn’t do anything as long as I was here.
Hiiiing…
I got chased out of my own office.
===============================================================
After expelling the Crazy Wizard from the room, Bennett turned his gaze to the other two as if to ask for their opinions. The Saintess appeared to be deep in thought, as if she had something on her mind, but Niolle seemed to be indifferent.
Bennett let out a shallow sigh and summarized the situation.
“…….If I understand correctly, it seems like the wizard is talking about Dimensional Travel Magic.”
“I agree. I heard it that way too.”
[Me too!]
The images reflected in the frame were too varied to be dismissed as mere personal Illusion Magic. If it had been just one, it might have been suspected as a figment of imagination, but the worlds that flashed by in the video each maintained their own details, numbering in the dozens.
And then, there was the expression of the wizard, who seemed to be smiling enjoyably the whole time. It looked like he was truly having fun. Wizards often wore such expressions when engrossed in their research.
The incidents occurring around the Academy with this Crazy Wizard at the center seemed to be on a larger scale than Bennett had previously suspected. To think Dimensional Magic was involved, a concept only mentioned in fairy tales and belonging to a distant past.
“……I suspect that there may have been some sort of deal between the Second Prince and the wizard.”
Bennett used his mana to draw a simple picture. The Second Prince supported the wizard’s research and the wizard assisted the Second Prince’s political machinations. They were bound by a sort of transactional relationship.
“The Black Wizards exposed by that wizard…….That achievement would go to the Second Prince who issued such a directive. And it wouldn’t be any small feat.”
“…….And in return, the Second Prince would either support or turn a blind eye to what the wizard is doing at the Academy?”
“Exactly.”
They planned to use the Academy students as explorers of Otherworlds. Since only those who had proven their skills and capabilities could enroll in the Academy, the quality of the talent pool was as near to the top as possible.
The Saintess frowned, pondered over something, and came to a conclusion.
“No matter how I think about it, it’s too dangerous. I did register in order to conduct a background check on the wizard, but jumping into an unknown dimension is…you know?”
[However, it says here that survival is guaranteed?]
“What if that’s a lie?”
[⋯⋯]
Right as Niolle ran out of things to say and started drawing three worms on the whiteboard…
Flap. Flap.
Bennett quickly flipped through the report. While summarizing the key points in his head, he made a rough estimate.
And then, he spoke.
“……No, the risk might not be as high as we think.”
“What?”
“According to the report, most ordinary people in the Otherworld can’t use mana. There’s an enemy faction called the Order of the Silver Twilight, but it says if you protect your body with mana, you can counter their level of magic.”
“No, but as I said, if the report is a lie……”
“There were no signs of missing or altered content. And look at the goal. The wizard wants to secure an Artifact from another world…….this Shining Trapezohedron.”
Although the wizard noted it with an air of disinterest, there would be no reason to mention it unless it was significant. The aim of recruiting explorers in the Academy seemed to be for obtaining powerful Artifacts from different dimensions.
“To retrieve the Artifact, he’d have to make sure we return safely. So, I concluded there’s no risk of being abandoned in another dimension forever. And…”
Bennett pointed to the report with his finger.
The last part of the report, an abruptly cut off combat record, hinted at the investigator’s death. However, the second paragraph stated, ‘Even if you face death, it is not the end and you will return to the original world without a scratch’.
Many who entered the Academy came from influential backgrounds. After all, wasn’t the Saintess no exception, carrying significant symbolic value as a representative of a holy order?
“The wizard may seem to have a few screws loose, but seeing as how he prepared a dissertation on Demonic Swords, as well as a directive, he has clearly thought about any aftermaths that may occur. He knows what would happen if something went wrong after sending the Saintess to another dimension.”
There would be backlash. Someone so meticulously prepared would not overlook such a detail.
“Of course, this is all…….just speculation. But there is a way to confirm safety.”
“What is it?”
“We just need to ask if this investigator…….is still alive.”
The Saintess expressed slight admiration.
“You’re quite sharp, huh. You didn’t look the part, though…….”
“Your eye for such things seems as lacking as your tastes in clothes.”
“Quiet……!”
And then, there was the most important part. The returns. When entering an Otherworld as the wizard intended, what could they truly gain? A sentence from the report flashed through Bennett’s mind.
A mystical relic known to summon evil beings and, on the other hand, provide infinite wisdom……..
It could help with the 『Nightmare Summon』 that would be casted by the Black Wizards and if the infinite wisdom wasn’t a lie, perhaps… Perhaps a way to drive out 『Corpse Flower that Consumes Fear』 from his little sister’s body…….could be obtained.
Saintess Tara, too, seemed to have similar thoughts. Though they did not discuss exactly what could be gained… The two saw greed in each other’s eyes.
The trio organized their thoughts and summoned back the wizard.
===============================================================
I see…Sure, Imperial Princes and Princesses might think, ‘This fucker wouldn’t kill me unless he’s batshit insane’, but was this how it usually went for the commonfolk? There was some logic to it.
If a wizard who wasn’t even that closer to them asked, ‘Would you like to enter another dimension?’, it would be rather unsettling. In response to their inquiry about the investigator’s survival, I pointed to Pink-Haired Lebsian, who was standing idly by.
“That’s the investigator.”
“Yes, I am the investigator.”
Pink-Haired Lesbian threw a double peace sign. I thought she was only playful towards me, but seeing her do it to people who were practically strangers made me appreciate her consistent nature. I imagined she would do the same in front of an Imperial Prince.
A safety measure, huh. Right as I was about to blabber away to prove it was safe even to actually jump in lava, the Knight-Saintess duo intervened.
“We would like to verify with the investigator.”
“Could you please leave the room…… Mr. Wizard?”
I was chased out once again……
===============================================================
They spent time verifying from multiple angles. They asked Pink-Haired Lesbian various questions to confirm she was the person who wrote the report and the Saintess even turned on a Lie Detector Spell.
Since they seemed so doubtful, I even told them to try going in and die once to test it out. Bennett, full of suspicion, went into the simulation, died, and then came back.
For the Second Prince, death was followed by => an effect of disappearing forever, right? But for this trio, let’s say there was a…How should I put it? They had this caution to them, as if they always tested the waters before crossing a bridge. So, in case directly facing death felt too dangerous to them… In case they might back out of the session in fear…….
I changed it so that if they suffered fatal damage, a shield would appear around them to block the attack, then- They would return back to the original world through Teleportation. This might make them feel more at ease, wouldn’t it?
It wasn’t bothersome. Rather, it was thrilling.
A person who doubted and scrutinized everything……..Cthulhu was perfect for those types!
My heart raced. This genre thrived on such persistent doubt and investigation. That was how cosmic horror should be pursued, after all.
We had some time to understand and accept each other, even setting a date. We agreed to start the first session tomorrow, Thursday.
***
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