The stone doors opened wide.
It was different from when we used it to summon monsters. Normally, the only thing we could see beyond the door was darkness. Our vision did not improve even as we approached the entrance, and a kind of mysterious force prevented us from passing through it.
Shaaaa!
But this time, a white light shone through the open door, although we still couldn't see what was inside through the blinding rays.
«Alright, follow me!»
However, judging by how Hamsick confidently led the way, it seemed like we could get in now.
«For some reason... I'm getting a little nervous.»
«Can we really trust a monster like that...?»
«You are worried about nothing. We have the baron with us».
Despite seeming insecure and nervous, everyone followed me with an anxious light in their eyes as I followed Hamsick.
«I'll go in first. See you there!»
Hamsick entered the light first, and I took a brief moment to psych myself up before quickly following him.
Flash!
As in a portal, the light swallowed my body when I entered.
[You have entered the First Record Files].
When I opened my eyes, I was in an unknown place. The circular space was filled with shelves full of books of all colors.
«(C-Be careful! You're going to dent the ceiling!)»
The first thing to note was that the space was very small. Although I wasn't in gigantization mode, I needed to squat down and bend my neck at an awkward angle just to walk. At least it gave me the impression of being inside a miniature library. A quick glance around me told me that there was only one other person who seemed to be as uncomfortable as me.
«Uwah! What is this? It's so narrow it looks like I'm going to die. And it's also full of books». Ainar shouted uncomfortably.
It wasn't the first time I wondered how society cared so little about barbarians. The world would be a beautiful place if the height of all the ceilings could be raised an inch.
However, despite my complaints, I made sure to study my surroundings carefully.
«This is where I usually stay... You are my first guest, what do you think?». Hamsick asked me.
«(It's great.)»
«(Really...?)»
«(Probably)» I said absentmindedly as I glanced around, but a shallow step only told me one thing.
There are only books here.
Books on shelves, books stacked on the floor like towers; the only distinguishing factor was its placement, but all I could see were books in this space.
However, it was too early to give up.
«(Hamsick.)»
«(...E-Eh?)»
I didn't know how nervous Hamsick sounded when I called him and instead I stepped forward and pulled a book out from under a stack of other books. «(What is this book? Looks like you quickly hid it before it came in here)».
«(Don't you realize? It's just a normal book!)»
Wow, he kept acting like that even though we were friends now.
The gold cover of the book immediately told me that it was no ordinary book. «(Oh well, so it's just an ordinary book. I'll take it as a housewarming gift, then.)»
«(An opening gift? Who do you take me for? Guests are supposed to give the housewarming gift to the host)»
Tsk, did you know? That made things a little more difficult, but in the end, it didn't end up being a big obstacle.
«(Hamsick, that's how it was done before)», I warned him. What could he do if I told him otherwise?
«(Hey?)
«(Nowadays, the guests are the ones who receive the gifts... Maybe you don't know because you've been here for so long?)».
«(O-Oh! Right! Yep! I just confused that tradition with something else!)»
«(Huh...)»
«(Really! Don't be wrong! It was just a mistake!)»
No, that wasn't the point here. I didn't expect that to work so well, so I had surprised even myself.
Hamsick cleared his throat when I didn't answer. «(I-Seriously!)»
The obvious lie left me a little confused. «(Understood, I'll trust you)», I said. «(Because we are friends)».
«(Yes! Because we are friends! Trust is important in a relationship between friends)».
...Why did this hamster suddenly look so cute? He was nothing more than a monster from whom he planned to steal everything he had.
I held back from any affection I might feel for him and instead said: «(So you give me this? The book?)».
«(Not that one! I'll give you something else!)»
«(Why? Didn't you say it's a normal book?)»
Hamsick fell silent, having cornered himself. Was he one of those who avoid conflicts? He had a habit of keeping quiet whenever he was perplexed.
«Mr. Baron, here is something written in the ancient language. Would you mind translating it for us?»
Just when I was thinking about how to get this golden book out of this place, a member of the Armin Adventure Group's trio of wizards approached me with another book in his hand. At a glance I could tell that it was one of the ones on the shelves.
«Uncivilized brutes! How dare you touch other people's property without their permission?».
Only then did Hamsick look around and realize the situation he was in. To be honest, his anger was justified. Even I realized that this was too much.
«Check everything here!»
«Ah! Sorry! I tore the book as I took it out.»
«Don't worry about minor things like that. We should push the shelves! There may be something hidden behind».
The other adventurers immediately set out to explore as soon as they entered and at that moment they were turning the place upside down. They reminded me, not for the first time, that adventurers as a species were practically embodiments of destruction and greed.
«(Small-!)» Hamsick let out a noise of wordless rage, but no one in the group seemed to care.
«I think the monster has gone crazy again».
«What a horrible screech...»
«Is it really okay?»
«Hey, we'll be fine! Why are you all worried? Haven't you seen it before? When the baron subdued and restrained him, he was so overwhelmed by his greatness that he rushed to open the door for us!»
«Ha ha! No one will believe us if we tell this story when we leave here: a presence so great as to make such a monster obey him? This is the kind of thing people make fun of in old legends».
«Truly, the baron is no ordinary man...»
Ah, I assumed the last few minutes could look like this from the outside. But in reality, he was simply scamming a naive hamster who knew nothing about how the world worked.
It's... better if you don't know.
There was a reason why the tales of Jumong and Bak Hyeokgeose and other myths about ancient lords existed. It was because they were useful in establishing government over the people.
«(Hamsick, calm down.)»
«(What? Are you really telling me to calm down after watching all this?)»
«(Isn't that cleaning things you were born to do anyway? Or do you really hate cleaning?)»
«(Um... Not that...)»
«(Then it's okay. Everyone is doing their best to help you do the work you love to do, so why are you angry?)»
«(Uh, is that... Is that how it works...?)»
Alright, it seemed like that convinced him.
«(Can I open this?)» I asked.
«(Hey? Ah... Yes... If you just open it...)»
I also managed to get Hamsick's permit while he was still stunned, so I quickly opened the golden book. Honestly, I had high expectations. This golden book looked like one of the summoning books.
What kind of monster would be inside? Maybe a super weird monster like a Mime? Or a Rift Guardian like Milayel?
It may work like this: if I kill a specific monster, a reward will appear.
The first passage stopped me in my tracks.
A long, long time ago, there was a brother and sister who lived happily in a rural village.
...What is this?
The story was written in an ancient language and looked like an entry in a child's diary with shaky handwriting. It didn't take me long to read everything. Although the book was thick, the writing ended on the first page.
«Lord Baron, could we perhaps hear what you say?»
Everyone, not just the trio of magicians, seemed interested in what I was reading, so I gave them a quick summary.
«Once upon a time, a brother and sister lived happily in a rural town. However, when the older brother decided to leave the village to become a wizard, the little sister became very sad.»
«AND?»
«Well that.»
«...What?»
Well, that was all that was written here, so yeah. That's why I hadn't even considered hiding the knowledge and had simply told everyone what to say without further ado. The story wasn't long enough to tell us anything, much less decide if it was worth hiding. I turned to the last pages, but there was nothing else written in the book.
Although this story is probably nothing.
The importance of the story I had just read went up one step further. Basement One Plant contained all kinds of mysteries and unknowns, and this mysterious monster he had known, Hamsick, had been guarding this book in its hiding place for thousands of years. It was impossible for its content to be mere nonsense.
I got everyone together to brainstorm. «Does anyone know who the brothers in the story are?»
«Hmm... A brother and a sister... The first thing that comes to mind is the Kailaje brothers».
The Kailaje brothers were a famous group of adventurers that had been active a few hundred years ago, so no.
«Is this perhaps related to mythology? Some time ago, when I was studying theology, I read the thesis of a theologian who maintained that Lord Reatlas and Lord Heindel were born to the same parents.»
But this didn't seem like the story of a god either.
«Well, my first thought was the Immortal King. Before ascending the throne, he had many younger brothers».
Well, since he had a large family, he would have had a younger sister, but the fact that the story mentioned a rural village contradicted that theory. Even if Rafdonia was located on the edge of the continent, it was still said that it had made a lot of money through trade in its day.
«Emily, what about you? Can you think of something?»
He took a moment to think before answering. «More than the brothers part, I'm more obsessed with the part where the brother went to learn magic».
«Ah, that».
«Is there a possibility that this is perhaps a story about the Last Great Sage, Gabrielius?»
Hmm, that was a possibility too. The problem was that even if one of these guesses was correct, we had no way of deducing which one.
Hmm... I guess that's not entirely accurate, actually.
«(Hamsick, do you know who this story is about?)»
«(...No?)»
I asked just in case, but Hamsick didn't seem to know anything either.
«(Are you telling me you've been keeping this story for years and don't even know who it belongs to?)». I asked accusingly, clearly warning the hamster not to lie.
Hamsick made a gesture of innocence with his hands. «(I really don't know! It's just that... I felt like I needed to do it... That's why I've been keeping it safe)».
«(Hmm, really? Then I can take it, right?)»
«(But you... No! I'm supposed to give that book to someone someday!)»
«(Give it to someone...? To whom?)»
«(Someone qualified to have it)»
«(What are the requirements?)»
«(I... don't know yet... but I'll know when I see it. Or rather, I have a strong feeling that I will know)».
The more we talked, the more curious I became about Hamsick. What was that? Who created it and why did she have to spend so much time alone here, in a place no one visited?
«A-Goodbye! You're not qualified, so don't even dream about it! I need to save this book until the time comes...!»
«(Hamsick, friends share everything with each other-)»
Squeak! «(It doesn't matter, you still can't stand it!)»
Tsk, so that wasn't going to work?
I put aside my interest in the golden book for now. Although I hadn't abandoned him completely, his rank on my priority list had fallen after seeing that he only had a passage of information inside him.
«Versyl! Have you found anything?»
«Something»? Come here! There are so many things I have to teach you».
Furthermore, the golden book was not the only thing in this secret room.
***
Our process to investigate this secret area was quite simple. We take all the books off the shelves, push the empty shelves to the sides, and then physically hit or use magic to destroy the walls. It might seem a bit barbaric, but this was the official method used by adventurers facing the unknown. Something had to show up whenever you did all this.
In fact, I also had the habit of breaking everything I could when I played, and that habit helped me find many hidden secrets.
«(You... idiots...!)»
Well, the only downside was that this method was going to piss off the homeowner. In any case, thanks to the thorough research of my adventure companions, I was able to confirm one thing.
«(There is nothing hidden here)», I murmured. There was nothing hidden behind the walls, under the floorboards, on the ceiling... nothing.
«(That's what I said! There's nothing here!)».
Ah, but it wasn't like I had known before. «(I would have trusted you if you hadn't lied so much).»
«(...When have I lied to you?)»
«(At first you said this room didn't even exist)».
Hamsick remained silent.
In any case, just because there was nothing hidden here didn't mean we didn't get anything out of this experience.
«Your Honor! Look at this book! I think it's a map of Basement One Plant».
«I think it's a book of invocation. There are more than ten Mimics in this book.»
«This is a fountain pen that was on the table, and we have detected inexplicable mana inside. I think we should investigate further...»
«This is an ordinary photo frame. It looked pretty out of place, so I did some physical damage to it, but it broke...»
When my group began reporting the results of their research, I nodded with a satisfied smile.
Yes, this is what the adventure was about.