Is this really just an RPG? !

"Why do you suddenly want to see the manager?"

When I was in the carriage, Lilith who was sitting opposite me suddenly asked.

Originally, they decided to go to the mansion of the manager, but now there is a patient like me who has not fully recovered in the team, so Lilith directly asked the person in charge of the hotel to get a carriage as a means of transportation, and went to the The Warren Mansion on the outskirts of Yvette City.

I still don't understand how these rich people like to build their mansions in the suburbs.

But the environment is quite good.

"Hey, don't I look like the type to visit managers?"

I asked in this way.

Then Lilith and Emily looked at each other, closed their eyes and spread their hands.

"It's not like that at all. After all, Neil, you hate troublesome things. You even spent a long time changing into an outfit that conforms to noble etiquette."

"Aha... don't mention this matter."

I subconsciously turned my head away.

Since I was visiting the manager, it was a bit impolite to wear my usual attire, so I was repackaged. As for the cloak that Emily evaluated as "too rustic", I probably won't see it again in the future. Not just me, even Emily, Lilith, and Qiuqiu, whom no one can see, also changed into a new outfit.

There is an inexplicable feeling of deja vu.

As if they were back at the academy, everyone was wearing clothes of the same style.

"So! Brave, why do you want to go all of a sudden!"

"...Why are you so fierce?"

I think it's really not normal to visit the manager, but you shouldn't be angry, right? No matter how I put it, it would be a little unexpected. For example, now, I need to go to the manager's mansion to find something... I may not be able to find it, but it is always a good thing to hold hope.

"Probably because I made a bet with Emily yesterday?"

"oh……"

Poker face.

It turned out to be such a thing.

But Lilith, you also got involved, and you still acted like you suggested it!

"So! Brave, you must give me a reason!"

"If it's the manager's mansion, will there be books that the city library doesn't have? It's about the history of the city."

"Eh? There will indeed be, and it will be more detailed. Neil, are you just going to read the book?"

"Cushu...don't say it so strangely, although it is true."

I was going to rub my recently adopted cat, but Roger jumped off my lap and lay down next to Ron, one black and one white together, looking like two-color fur balls , especially there is a Qiuqiu lying in the middle, that picture is really kind.

"Lilith, can you tell me, allow me to read something..."

"sure."

"Thank you so much."

"I'm just helping you. Who knows if Mr. Warren will agree, but there's probably no problem, right?"

"Well, after all, the history of Yvette's city is not a secret, for humans except the brave."

"..."

"Neil just doesn't want to study history properly."

"After all, the brave man can't even learn the language well. Speaking of which, those books were written in the ancient language of the Alexander Empire, not the common language that is commonly used today. Can you understand it, the brave man?"

"should be no problem."

My gaze rests on the window on the right.

There is still no task refreshed on the taskbar, but somehow an "online translation" function has been unlocked for me. I really want to complain that the design of this function is a bit crude, and it feels like a temporary addition, but with this function, at least I have no problem reading books with strange words.

The mansion of Yvette manager Hornby Warren was built on the outskirts quite far from Yvette City, even if it takes more than an hour by horse-drawn carriage, it is said that such a setting has a certain tactical purpose, specifically I can't figure out what kind of thoughts.

All I know is that the scope of this mansion is really huge.

"How long will it be?"

"It has entered the scope of Mr. Warren's mansion."

"……Eh?!"

Frightened by the driver's answer, I let out an uncontrollable cry of surprise.

When I just walked through the iron gate, thoughts such as "entering a certain area" and "probably arriving at the mansion in a while" appeared in my mind, but I didn't think that the iron gate was the Warren Mansion The gates, large forests, rocks, and flowing water all belong to Valen, which refreshed my understanding of rich people.

It turns out that they are not reflected in the clothes and supplies, and even the size of the residence is different from ordinary people.

Tsk.

"Roger, it's coming."

"Meow."

The black cat raised its head and let out a cry, then rubbed against the white cat next to it a few times before leaving, and jumped back onto my lap. After the white cat woke up a lazy elf who was obsessed with sleeping and refused to get up with its tail, it jumped back to Lilith with her in its mouth. At this moment, the carriage stopped.

"Your Highness, Miss, Sir, we have arrived."

The driver said so, and opened the door of the carriage.

As soon as I got out of the carriage, I saw a huge building with intricate patterns carved everywhere. It was more like a work of art for viewing than a residence. Living in such a place would really make me happy. It can also make every guest who comes have a sense of shock. However, I still don't understand the thinking of those rich people.

Besides, Lilith told me that this mansion has existed for hundreds of years, and it was built here by Warren's ancestors.

At that time, there was no Yvette city, only a small Yvette village.

When I was still struggling with how such a large house was built, the door was pushed open a little bit, and a maid came out from inside. She folded her arms in front of her body, walked towards Lilith quickly and saluted, and then retreated a few steps slightly. Bending down and waving his right hand, he made a gesture of "please come in" before speaking.

"Nice meeting, Your Highness, Mr. Warren has already told me that I will take you and your friends to the living room."

"Then it will be troublesome."

Follow the maid through the gate and into a spacious hall. The walls of the hall are covered with portraits. These portraits are not only painted in different styles, but also the characters painted in them are different. The maid said that they are the owners of the past generations, but there are more than 30 copies in total, because they were replaced too quickly. , or is it a long time ago?

Not only the portraits are conspicuous in the hall, but also the artworks arranged together. Those golden and silver objects with strange shapes, the stone pillars erected in the hall that obviously block the way, the strangely shaped chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and even the tiles under the feet are works of a certain style.

Even more incomprehensible than runes, it is said to be art.

I feel a little headache.

"Neil?"

"Um?"

"You don't look well."

"...It's just that I don't think it's suitable for me to meet with that manager."

Looking at Lilith who was walking in front and talking softly with the maid, I explained this to Emily.

Probably because of their status as princesses, the two cats, Roger and Ron, were not required to stay in the hall, but we were allowed to bring them into the living room. Even so, I feel very uncomfortable. For some reason, this mansion always makes me feel a biting chill, as if someone has been following me and staring at me when I walked in.

But behind me there was only a half-asleep Chuchu.

Nothing strange exists.

Not even Roger could tell.

"Even if it's not suitable, it's all here."

"Um."

"When Lilith makes the request, the other party will probably agree. If you don't stay with us, you will be much more relaxed."

"Um."

"Roger can also take it with him, but remember not to run around. After all, it is a noble mansion, and there will still be many secrets."

"Um."

"It's probably okay to allow you to see... oh, here we are."

Emily's voice suddenly stopped.

I looked up and saw a door that was ajar. Through the gap, I could see a middle-aged man sitting inside. He seemed to be busy with official documents, and there were papers and books on the desk. The maid stepped forward and knocked on the door, and then shouted to the inside, "Her Royal Highness and her friends are here to visit." After waiting for "Please come in", she opened the door and took us in before leaving.

This room, and the layout of the hall are completely two styles.

Except for a few decorations that make people feel warm and comfortable, most of them are practical things. For example, the rune engraved on the wall lamp is used to keep the indoor temperature constant, neither feeling hot nor cold; there are two rows of bookshelves on the left side of the room, which are filled with all kinds of books, from The name seems to be some books related to philosophy; there is a photo frame on the desk, but it is buckled on the desk.

Important things you don't want to see.

Maybe so?

"Long time no see, Mr. Warren, it's really impolite to interrupt you when you're busy."

"I haven't seen you for a long time. It's just a pity that I have too many official duties recently. I can't show His Highness and your friends a good look at Yvette City."

"Maybe not?"

"That's right, Your Highness, you grew up in Yvette City. Sit down first."

Varun stood up, rang the bell at hand, gave some instructions to the attendant, and sat opposite Lilith.

Born in an aristocratic family, he is a mature and stable manager. It can be said that the development of Yvette City relies heavily on the assistance of the Warren family. In front of me is the current manager, Hornby Warren, a gentleman who is nearly fifty years old. He is talking with Lilith, and the content of the conversation is about what happened at George College this time.

"Mr. Warren, let me introduce you. This is the brave man, Neil the brave man."

"Hello."

Suddenly the topic was shifted to me, my body froze, and I responded immediately.

"The current brave man, this is the first time we meet, I am Hornby Warren, the manager of Yvette City."

I don't know why, but I can feel the curiosity in Warren's eyes looking at me.

"And, this is Emily, Emily Berkeley."

Eh? When did Emily change her last name?

Isn't her last name Thomas?

"Emily...Berkeley...Berkeley? Could it be?"

"Yes, she is my father's youngest daughter."

ha?

Can you just say something like this? !

In order not to cause embarrassment, I resisted the mood of making complaints and asking questions, and just rolled my eyes back and forth on the faces of Lilith and Emily, without noticing any surprised expressions on their faces, as if this statement was an agreement As good as it is, I think everyone will believe it as long as it defaults.

The problem is that I don't believe it!

Although the face is a bit similar, but the difference in hair color is too big, okay? !

Although they are indeed sisters in appearance, that blue-haired guy is actually a mysterious woman of unknown age!

"Oh! Sure enough, I said that this little princess is so similar to you, Your Highness."

what what?

Don't really just believe that!

What does the phrase "similar" mean? In fact, what you want to say is "No matter what, there is no way to find similarities in appearance", so you can only "look alike"!

"Mr. Warren, hello."

"Hello, Your Royal Highness, it seems that the king is still young, unlike us who are already old."

Watching the serious conversation of these three people.

I always feel that I am really not very suitable to deal with these nobles.

While giving Roger a haircut, I listened to the conversation of the three people, until Lilith finally helped me with a suggestion such as "Neil would like to visit your study", and got the reply "No problem, I will let the waiter take him there" Finally, I breathed a sigh of relief, greeted Emily who was sitting next to me, and followed the waiter to leave the living room.

"call……"

The moment I walked out the door, I let out a breath.

"Meow?"

"Barely force it."

"Meow."

"Yeah, go to the study, I want to check something."

"Meow?"

"What did you check?"

I repeated Roger's question in a low voice, but didn't answer immediately. After the waiter left in the study, I casually walked to a bookshelf, stretched out my left hand and rested my index finger on the spine of a book.

"I want to find out, there is a history about this city, there is a history about that clock tower."

I explained this and pulled out the book.

"The Legacy of the Bell Tower".

Maybe, I can find the answer I need here.

"The Leftover Bell Tower", the name of the author who created this book is unknown. It is only known that he used to be a member of a certain sect. He was expelled from the sect after violating the religious regulations. In Yvette City, for some reason, he decided to live in Yvette City as an ordinary person, and his whole life was so ordinary, without doing any big things, until he died of old age.

I think it is estimated that Warren himself collected this autobiographical book only by accident.

Or did he not know it himself?

"Meow."

"Don't comment on a dead person like this... Besides, what is a salted fish? I always feel like I have encountered this kind of creature before?"

Roger, like Qiuqiu, will always spit out some incomprehensible grooves.

I don't know if it was born or was brought up by Qiuqiu.

I opened the book and quickly browsed through the table of contents and a few places of interest to me to get a little idea of ​​what the whole book is about. The recorded content can be roughly divided into two parts, one of which is the emotion of the wandering period, and the other part is a few strange things discovered when they settled in Yvette City.

"found it."

I opened the book to the page with the illustration of the clock tower, and I was talking to myself with some excitement.

The bell tower has no name, and I don’t know when it was built. The author conducted a series of investigations on the bell tower, and then he discovered a very important thing—this bell tower is not who or what organization it is What remained, it appeared suddenly and without arousing anyone's suspicions.

The concept of "ambiguous concept" has been added to the clock tower, so that everyone who sees the clock tower will mistakenly think that it is a clock tower "built by a certain sect to pray for the peace of Yvette City", but this did not deceive the author, he Even tracked down the source of the clock tower.

It was a magic weapon.

Unfinished, purely theoretical magical armament.

This magic weapon refers to the entire building, not just the ancient clock.

In other words, walls, gates, wooden chairs, stairs, railings, and even small hammers specially used to beat ancient clocks are all part of this magic weapon. The designer himself planned to make a magic weapon similar to a fortress, but the materials were scarce, time was insufficient and manpower was scarce, so he could barely make a clock tower, and it was only an unfinished product.

However, even though this is an unfinished product, it is still a magical weapon with certain abilities.

The name of this bell tower is "Back in Time".

The ability is to "determine how many hours ago you go back by the number of times you ring the ancient clock", and the maximum time you can go back is "12 hours".

No one knows how such a clock tower was placed in Yvette.

The author doesn't know either.

He just thought of a possibility.

In any case, the creator must have wanted to complete the magic weapon, but it was not completed because the magic circle engraved on it was not detailed enough to fully meet the creator's needs. The only way to put such a clock tower in the city of Yvette is space magic.

Appear directly by means of transmission.

Cooperating with the "concept fuzzy" that comes with it, no one can notice it.

The superimposition of several conditions can roughly infer the time when the bell tower appeared, which should be 400 years from now, about the period from 1534 to 1577. At that time, Yvette had not yet developed into the second largest city of the Alexander Empire, and the "Century of Destruction" was from 1800 to 1900. Space magic was in a state of development, and it had not yet disappeared from the eyes of the Lindsay Continent because of that disaster. .

"The book was created in 1921, after the century of destruction... In other words, the survivors of the century of destruction?"

I closed the book and glanced at the introduction of the book part, talking to myself.

Surprisingly, Roger responded.

"Meow."

"Hey, Roger, do you know about Doom Century?"

"Meow meow meow."

"I haven't experienced it, but I've seen it... I don't quite understand what kind of place supports the familiar's life."

I shook my head with some regret, and put the book in my hand back on the shelf.

"This book is nearly a hundred years old now, and it is a bit troublesome to find similarities, but I can be sure of one thing."

"Meow?"

"Roy lied to me."

I started walking between the bookshelves.

"Meow meow?"

"Ah, it turns out that I'm not the only one who finds that time is constantly rewinding. It's great."

Holding Roger on my shoulders in my arms, I rub his head.

"No, I probably know why Roy said that."

Yes.

As Roy said, the hammer and the ancient clock go together.

But instead of asking me to just put it back, he walked the streets with a hammer.

——"Of course not, I just need you to walk around the streets with this hammer, sir."

——"Everything is set, but in order to make the event happen earlier or later, then a little bit of small steps must be changed."

——"Take this hammer and walk on the street, maybe Mr. Neil can encounter things that others will never encounter in their lifetime."

It was just an ordinary-looking hammer.

Even because it is too small, it may be mistaken for a toy hammer for children.

Holding such a hammer, there is only one type of people you meet when you walk on the street—people who want to use this hammer to ring the ancient clock.

They intend to go back in time.

I don't know exactly what to do, but their purpose is nothing more than to go back in time so as to achieve their own goals.

So I met that girl.

In the future, even if I didn't follow, I can still think about the problem of the clock tower if I can sense that the time is wrong, and I will go to that place to investigate after all. again? I started to investigate the clock tower, wondering if there would be books related to Yvette City in the mansion of the manager Warren, relying on Lilith's identity to enter the study of Warren's mansion without pressure, and found something when looking for books.

"Meow."

"This one."

Prompted by Roger, I pull a heavy-looking book sitting in a corner.

Accompanied by the sound of "creaking" mechanism, an entrance leading to the bottom appeared beside me. The study is on the second floor of the mansion, directly below is the hall, but it is a part larger than the hall, but from the outside, the mansion is indeed square, which means that the hall has a rather thick wall.

There is a good chance that this wall is empty inside.

It's a tunnel leading somewhere.

Just like the entrance I see now.

"Roger, stay on my shoulder."

"Meow!"

In order to prevent accidents, I must keep my hands free.

Since I changed clothes and didn't have a hood, I could only let Roger lie on my shoulders.

I don't know if this will affect my future height.

The only light source in the entire tunnel is the dagger in my hand, but this faint red light makes the airtight tunnel look even more weird, and when I just entered, I used to hear the sound of closing the door, so I don’t need to look back It can be guessed that it is the sound of the mechanism door at the entrance. Fortunately, before entering, I listened to Roger's reminder and left a magic mark outside the entrance. If there is an accident, I can use [Flash] to leave instantly.

After confirming that the spell can be used normally, I quickened my pace.

Speaking of tunnels.

The last time I entered the tunnel was in Ingrid. I walked all the way to the bottom of the prison and encountered a lot of mutants.

Although I met a zombie and refreshed my new understanding of zombies, and it didn't take much effort to deal with the incident in the end, it was not a good impression. This time, it probably won't be any better. At most, Roger will be with him, unlike that time when Qiuqiu fell asleep directly because of Mana's low activity level.

"Meow."

"Is it almost the end?"

Roger suddenly reminded me, making me subconsciously stop.

The tunnel is far from as long as I imagined. According to the speed and time of walking, the place where I am currently is probably below the ground, which means that there will be an existence similar to a basement in front of me. But there is no light ahead, and it is too reckless to release magic like [Illumination].

Besides, I don't know [Lighting].

This question is a bit worrying.

"Meow meow!"

"Ah, I see."

Proceed cautiously and come to a spacious place.

The moment I walked in, all the torches on the walls on both sides were ignited, and the recombined light made me see clearly what kind of place it was.

It was a bedroom, and from the dolls scattered on the floor and the dresses in the closet, it could be inferred that the occupant was a woman... maybe even a girl? On the opposite side of the closet is a bookshelf, which is filled with all kinds of fairy tale books, and there are several small clocks of different shapes. The innermost one is a large bed with a teddy bear holding a hammer sitting on it.

I can't figure out why a child would live in this place.

From the decorations placed in the room, it can be seen that the owner of this room is not poor, so why did he live underground?

There is a desk next to the bed. There are several pieces of drawing paper and a diary on the desk. Unfortunately, the diary is locked. I don’t have a key and dare not release magic casually. I have no way to get this diary.

Roger was going to try to pick the lock with his claws, but it fell apart before he even touched it.

"Meow."

"Been enchanted?!"

No matter how important the diary is, it will reach the point of casting magic.

Besides, judging from the decoration of this room, the girl living here should be young. How did she release the magic that could stop Roger from moving?

"Meow!"

"The key? Even if you say that... it seems to be possible."

Anyway, it was strange enough to find the key to open the chain in the bell tower at that time, so it is not surprising to find the key to the diary in such a room! So I did what Roger suggested, and I actually found the key to the diary in the hand of a teddy bear.

The enchantment did not block the key, and I opened the journal with ease.

But the result was beyond my expectation.

The seemingly important diary was blank, and I didn't see any handwriting from the beginning to the end, as if it was a brand new diary that hadn't been used yet. In this way, I can't understand the reason why this diary is locked and protected by magic. Is it because it is very important to the owner?

"Meow."

Roger thought I should investigate some other things, and finally look at this diary.

But I can't find anything worth noting either.

If you want to say something strange... probably the teddy bear holding the hammer.

"Is it this hammer?"

I stepped forward and pulled the hammer out of the teddy bear's arms.

"Meow?"

"It should be the hammer that Roy gave me, but because of different time points and different development directions, this hammer was placed in this place... But what is the use of this hammer? I only know that it is related to the ancient clock tower. The clock is matching and can be used to go back in time, to a few hours ago."

"Meow..."

"Oh yes, Roger knows as much as I do."

I have some regrets.

Just as he was about to take the hammer away, the teddy bear on the bed suddenly stood up.

"give me back!"

The teddy bear made weird noises.

What's even more strange is that I actually understood what it was saying?

"Give it back to me!"

The teddy bear wriggled and walked towards me.

Then, suddenly, it hit me.

Before I could react, I was hit in the stomach. The severe pain made me let go of my hand subconsciously, and the hammer fell directly to the ground.

"Thief!"

The teddy bear picked up the hammer and hit it hard on my head.

At this time, Roger rushed out from the side and slammed it to the side. The hammer flew towards the desk and hit the diary directly, making a piercing sound. It may be caused by the protective magic applied to the diary. Although the key can open the lock, it cannot dispel the magic. It just allows me to turn the pages of the book. When the hammer hits it, the temporarily stopped magic is reactivated. noise.

It was like the sound made by Lilith's magic weapon cutting some kind of metal, which made people feel uncomfortable.

"Meow!"

Roger seemed to be calling my attention to something.

But the disturbing sound kept echoing in the small room, and it was impossible to tell what Roger was talking about.

"Pfft..."

Suddenly a very subtle sound was heard, and then the noise died away.

It was quiet all around.

Except for the teddy bear standing in front of me waving a knife and laughing "puff puff puff".

The knife was still dripping with red liquid.

"It's resolved, and then give it to Little Nancy."

Saying so, the teddy bear turned around as if preparing for something.

But I can't see clearly.

Vision blurred.

My chest hurts.

It hurts.

It hurts.

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts...

"It hurts."

"Hey! I just hit you casually like a joke, does it really hurt so much?"

"It really hurts."

"real?"

"Yes, yes, it hurts, so I activate the prop card [Swinging Hammer], go back to the previous round, take back the prop card [Contract Talisman of the Forest] that I used before, and activate the character card [Wandering in Time The inherent ability of the girl outside], causing 3 points of damage to all characters on the field except yourself, and then chain-activating the magic card [Pity of the Unfortunate], so that the target of the damage this time includes yourself, and at the same time the damage value Double, and finally activate the inherent ability of the character card [Girl Wandering Beyond Time], discard all the cards in my hand when I receive fatal damage, and be immune to this damage, because I will use the item card in my hand [Forest Contract Talisman] ] Discarded, so the special effect of this card is activated, at the cost of causing 1 point of damage to yourself, and causing 1 point of damage to all players present."

"Have you finished the book?"

"It's over."

"Come to a real duel, brave man!"

Emily threw the cards in her hand to the ground, and then swung the hammer as if she was about to hit them.

After all, just now I dealt 7 points of damage in a burst, it seems that she should not have enough blood to withstand such a high damage, so she made the behavior of throwing cards. Not only Emily, but even Qiuqiu and Lilith spread out their cards, and then threw them into the card pile together with the character cards.

In other words, I won this game.

What a beautiful game.

Let's keep fighting happily.

"When did the luck of the brave man get so good!"

"Well... maybe it's a coincidence?"

I explained this to Emily.

It looks like a powerful process, but in fact a lot of it needs the support of luck. After all, although the character card [Girl Wandering Beyond Time] has excellent abilities, it must obtain the item card [Swinging Hammer] to play it out. What's more, she only has 3 HP in total, which can be said to be the character with the least HP in the entire game.

Of course, part of the reason may be that she is still a girl of about ten years old.

Dressed luxuriously, she looks like a nobleman, but because her hair covers her face, she can't see her face. With the crooked clock in the background, the whole picture is filled with a weird atmosphere.

Maybe it's in response to the introduction of "Wandering outside of time".

Moreover, I don't know if it's my illusion, but this girl looks a little familiar?

"Qiuqiu, do you know the characters in this character card?"

"Nancy? Neil, why are you suddenly curious about this?"

Surprisingly, it wasn't Qiuqiu who answered me, but Lilith.

"I'm curious, can you tell me something?"

"It's not impossible..."

Lilith looked a little hard to speak.

I wanted to say, "It's okay to be embarrassed", but Lilith suddenly seemed to make up her mind, and began to tell a story about a noble girl and a homeless person.

In this story, I finally found the key to solve this incident.