Chapter 158
“Ta-da! Filled with the happiest memories from Earth…….”
The Librarian’s voice, which had been shouting excitedly as soon as we arrived at the waiting room, gradually grew quieter as he looked around the room.
“Filled……? But this is a waiting room……?”
“Pfft, puhuhut!”
Watching the Librarian’s eyes wander so pitifully, as if he didn’t know where on earth to find happiness here, I burst into laughter without realizing it.
“Puhahaha! This is truly epic!”
I had been doubtful from the moment I heard that the waiting room was a space containing the happiest moments from Earth.
Because no matter how much I thought about it, picking my happiest moment wasn’t easy.
‘When I got two pieces of kelp in my ramen? When the egg I cracked had a double yolk? When a 500ml cola was delivered as a 1.25-liter bottle due to a seller’s mistake?’
They were candidates hard to rank, recalled after deep thought, but unfortunately, the winner wasn’t among them.
“Really, this is the space where you were happiest?”
“Ah, that’s correct. If I had to pick, this is the happiest space.”
After answering in a refreshing voice to the Librarian, who seemed unable to believe it, I inhaled the air deep into my lungs.
The familiar smell stained with self-loathing and hope, the damp and stuffy scent unique to studio apartments, a half-mix of mold and body odor.
“Where is this……? A prison? An underground dungeon?”
Smirking at the Librarian’s still trembling words, I welcomed him with exaggerated gestures.
“Welcome to my room.”
“This is, Human, your room?”
Ian’s room was reflected in the Librarian’s aimlessly wavering eyes.
A desk and two monitors placed in a small room where one couldn’t move even five steps, and a cheap microphone bought for fun after being told to communicate a bit.
And traces of all kinds of delivery food scattered around it, along with dishes I hadn’t managed to clean up yet.
The Librarian, his tail stiffly raised, shook his head fiercely and said,
“No, no, wait a minute. Something is wrong here. There’s no way a human could feel happiness in a space that even an Orc would be appalled by.”
Only after nonchalantly spitting out a remark attacking both Orcs and Ian did the Librarian’s gaze turn to Ian, having realized whose room this was.
“Are you saying my room is on the same level as guys who hang severed heads as decorations?”
At that moment, the Librarian’s eyes turned to the pitifully small bed placed in one corner of the room.
Pizza boxes stacked like a tower on top of it, a half-eaten pizza, and fried chicken pieces and chicken bones occupying the desk.
Even with the eye of a Dragon who had lived for thousands of years, answering ‘which is more barbaric as decoration: chicken bones or Orc heads’ must not have been easy, as the Librarian remained silent for a while before shouting belatedly.
“That’s not what I meant! The waiting room is supposed to be a place where you feel the greatest happiness your memory can imagine!”
This is the waiting room.
It is a space designed to fulfill the will to return of a human from another dimension.
Literally, a place where you miss Earth just by breathing.
Scanning Ian’s room with sharp eyes unique to reptiles, the Librarian shouted as if making a declaration.
“There’s no way there’s a human who would want to return after seeing a Goblin den like this!”
“…….”
Only then could Ian understand the Librarian’s words.
‘He said the mirror, the only entrance to the Community, and the waiting room were both meant to evoke nostalgia for Earth.’
Although I did feel a bit of coziness and nostalgia, unfortunately, that was all I could feel in this room.
Unless this was a device to show what a lonely life the King of Strategy of Earth lived, considering the waiting room’s original purpose, it was a massive failure.
‘Don’t tell me this is also because of the system?’
The only thing Ian could suspect was the system, which was currently out of service.
Since showing Ian’s reflection in the mirror that was supposed to show Earth seemed certain to be a system issue.
‘Hmm… But no matter how much I think about it, even if the system is restored, I don’t think there would be a space better than this.’
It was half conviction.
The conviction that every moment I felt happiness as the King of Strategy happened inside this room.
This cramped studio was a sanctuary found by chance after repeated escapes by a human who had been defeated and left behind in every aspect of life.
A space that allowed me to escape from family, jobs, lovers, and all human relationships to live a new life as the ‘King of Strategy,’ and the place where I was acknowledged for the first time.
Spinning in the chair while wondering what to do, Ian smirked and said,
“Well… I don’t mind this room.”
“No! I’m not okay with it! I’ll go check on it, so just wait here for a moment!”
“No, I said I’m fine…….”
Before Ian could say anything else, the Librarian, engulfed in a brilliant golden light like his own skin, disappeared before my eyes.
* * *
After the Librarian disappeared, Ian stood blankly and faced the familiar yet awkward space once again.
Even though I wanted to lie down for a bit because I was tired, there was no space to lie down.
“When on earth did I order that?”
Because a giant tower of pizza boxes, ordered at some unknown time, was occupying the bed.
On top of that, there was no place to sit because of all kinds of snacks and empty energy drink cans scattered on the floor.
“I lived this filthily?”
I swear, I had never lived this filthily.
If this were Earth, I would have at least reported that a thief had broken in.
“Wait, do thieves break into dimensions created in the mental world?”
As Ian, babbling nonsense at the unbelievable sight, approached the desk while avoiding the trash scattered like traps, a familiar message window appeared on the screen.
* * *
【Would you like to start a new game?】
【YES / NO】
* * *
The last game screen I saw before coming to this world.
“Ah, I wondered when this was from; was it during the Last Try?”
Certainly, if I had to pick the happiest moment, it was this one.
The moment I was about to give up cleanly after finally finding the last Bad Ending, a chance was given once more.
Because the excitement I felt at the words ‘new game’ was still vivid.
“I wondered why it was so messy, but back then, I really didn’t have the energy to clean.”
To make an excuse, during the Last Try, I barely slept, determined to conquer it no matter what.
Since my broadcast time exceeded 19 hours on average.
“Then, first, cleaning…….”
Thinking I should clean since I’d be visiting every month, Ian looked around and suddenly stopped.
“No. I should ask the Librarian before cleaning.”
If the space changes, wouldn’t I be the only one losing out?
Besides, even if I clean, ‘my happiest moment’ won’t change, so no matter how much I tidy up, I might be summoned to a dirty waiting room every month.
Plus, since he said CP is needed to stay in the waiting room, I don’t know when I’ll be kicked out.
Spinning in the chair while wondering what to do, Ian’s gaze fell upon a notepad file on the desktop.
“Oh? This is here too?”
The notepad where I recorded all the information obtained while playing 『Lost Chronicle』.
“Did they really bring my computer exactly as it was? Even the strategy guide I wrote?”
Thinking I had nothing better to do, I moved the mouse and opened the notepad labeled 《Strategy.txt》, my eyes scanning quickly.
* * *
Scroll, scroll.
As I read down the strategy guide, the speed of the wheel moving became faster and faster.
It was natural, if one could call it that.
“As expected, it’s only information I know.”
Because I had memorized all the contents of the strategy guide.
The occasional unfamiliar details were mostly useless or information I couldn’t use right now.
Scroll, scroll.
Ian, who had been moving the wheel out of habit, stopped after discovering some unfamiliar content.
- Death by poisoning , poison presumed to be in the cookie handed by Sara.
“Hmm……? Did I write something like this?”
Even tracing back my memory, I couldn’t recall writing such content.
The format was different from the strategy guide above, which recorded only accurate information, and I didn’t even know who Sara, the only clue, was.
‘It didn’t even write who died or how they died?’
If it was important enough to be written in the strategy guide, I would have found out by any means necessary.
This is definitely not my style.
“Hmm…….”
Scroll.
Ian’s face grew increasingly serious as he read down the sentences.
* * *
- Death by poisoning , poison presumed to be in the cookie handed by Sara.
- Suspicious death , upon questioning Sara, she said her family had disappeared. Suspicious death on the day Guardian Knights were sent to track the culprit. Considering nothing was felt, it might be an assassin.
- Accidental death , accidental death due to carriage malfunction. It would be better to avoid carriages that are easily accessible to others.
- Accidental death , accidental death due to falling from a horse. Cause suspected to be a stimulant.
* * *
From assassination by killers or poisoning by unknown figures, to accidental deaths with unknown causes. The records of death continued endlessly.
“What on earth did I write?”
It was certain that deaths were recorded.
Even at a glance, thousands of deaths.
“Seeing that Empire place names are used, it seems to be something that happened somewhere in the Empire…….”
Even if secret poisons and killing arts were used, if the death toll exceeded three digits, it was bound to be discovered, yet the contents of the notepad continued endlessly.
Scroll, scroll.
While Ian was poring over the notepad to find even a small hint about the culprit who had tampered with the strategy guide,
“…Sorry I’m late.”
The Librarian, who had returned with a drooping voice, called out to Ian.
“Huh? What are you doing there?”
Unaware that a sharp reptilian gaze was fixed on him, Ian continued reading the notepad.
‘This person named Sara is a maid, and she was the culprit? Is the culprit different for every incident?’
‘An assassination involving an Imperial Knight? Who on earth was the target? Is the Emperor really okay with an underground force of this scale?’
Information he didn’t know continued endlessly.
Even if it was information written down by some unidentified intruder, it was invaluable information.
More important than anything else was the sense of incongruity I felt from the written content.
‘It’s strange. The more I read, the more it feels like someone recording their own deaths.’
Even knowing that no one could die thousands of times, I couldn't shake that feeling.
That the person who recorded all these deaths was merely struggling desperately to survive.
“How long do you plan to ignore me!”
Only after the Librarian shouted, unable to stand Ian’s lack of response despite being called several times, did Ian answer half-heartedly without even looking at him.
“Ah, I’m sorry. Just a moment longer…….”
“Moment or whatever, no! It’s time to attend the meeting now!”
“Huh? If we just skip today…….”
“If you don’t attend, you won’t be able to come here, you know? I won’t help you next time either!”
Ian, pausing at the Librarian’s sharp voice, finally turned his head to apologize.
“I’m sorry. When do I need to move by? I’ll just read until then.”
“Hmm… In the next 10…….”
Thinking ten minutes would be enough, just as Ian was about to read the notepad again.
“9, 8, 7…….”
‘It wasn’t minutes, but seconds?!’
Grabbing the mouse in a hurry, Ian moved the scroll at a desperate speed.
‘Anything else? There must be useful information among the info this person left!’
Just as I was scrolling frantically, a sentence written in the notepad caught my eye.
* * *
- Murder . Now it is certain. There are no allies among the players.
- Stored the hat to use in the Community in the closet.
* * *
“5, 4, 3…….”
At the Librarian’s mischievous voice, I kicked the chair back and stood up, flinging the closet open as if to break it.
‘Anything that can hide my face!’
And the moment I grabbed the first mask I saw and pulled it over my face, the Librarian shouted.
“0! Have a safe trip!”