Disclaimer: I own nothing, this is purely a fanfic for enjoyment.
Cross-over from various games, books, anime, manga, and movies.
The familiar characters you see here belong to their respected authors and owners.
"Speech"
Arc 5: Break - Chapter 14
I didn't say anything to the crowd for the next half hour, letting the girls handle the explanation for Sora and Shiro.
Octavia took the lead; her calm and composed nature made her the best choice for explaining things thoroughly. Plus, she has more knowledge than the rest of us because she was taught at a younger age by people with more knowledge and experience.
Being too new to all of this, Molly could only contribute by expressing her enthusiasm about having them as party members, effectively turning them into semi-Gamers.
Meanwhile, Ruby and Weiss were preoccupied with damage control, taking turns restraining Aqua—who, unsurprisingly, was on the verge of ruining everything for Molly. At the moment, they had her pinned to the ground, Weiss keeping her arms locked behind her back while Ruby covered her mouth to prevent any unnecessary outbursts.
The lingering presence of the crowd, while still somewhat unnerving, had yet to escalate into anything problematic. Perhaps dealing with them earlier during the first lunch period helped establish some unspoken boundaries, discouraging anyone from stepping too close or trying anything reckless. For now, they remained at a cautious distance, silently watching and listening to the ongoing conversation behind me.
"Jin, we're all good." Octavia called out, signaling that everything was settled.
Before turning around, I quickly checked through the River of Time, ensuring there were no unexpected changes or disturbances. Satisfied, I finally turned to face Sora and Shiro. The two of them were staring at Molly in pure awe, their wide eyes shifting between her and, I assumed, their own newly manifested gaming interface—something only they and Molly could see.
"So, everything is good, and we can relocate somewhere else, or does anyone need to handle anything before we do?" I ask, keeping the River of Time active. I don't want to take any chances with my back turned to the crowd.
"Ah, yes. If you don't mind a small request from someone as small as myself and my little sister, Shiro, here."
Sora steps in front of me, his usual carefree grin in place, but I don't miss the cunning glint in his eyes. A nervous smile on the surface, yet underneath, he's already scheming. Typical.
"I'm willing to listen, at least." I say, raising an eyebrow.
At the same time, I remain on high alert, ready to manipulate the River of Time at a moment's notice. If Sora tries anything unexpected, I can distort time itself—altering the present time flow for everyone except myself and the girls. I want to specify this to you guys, not including Shiro, since she's also a girl, crazy voices. In addition, I've discovered that with Molly just now, it seems I can't touch her time. I bet this is because she is the Gamer of the Eldritch pantheon.
"Is it possible to give us a starter gear set? Unlike Molly, who's the leader of the party and the actual Gamer, my sister and I are just semi-Gamers in comparison." Sora explains.
I stare at him blankly for a few seconds, letting the silence hang between us before crouching down and touching my shadow. From within, I retrieve a handful of stored items, pulling out a dozen Senzu Beans. Then, for the first time since acquiring it, I bring out the godlike item known as the Infinite Treasure Chest from my mindscape.
I hand Sora the Senzu Beans first before opening the Infinite Treasure Chest.
The moment I do, I find it completely filled with sexy female lingerie.
Without missing a beat, I shut the chest immediately. Then, after taking a deep breath, I reopen it—this time, its contents are different, thankfully no longer resembling the inventory of an adult boutique.
I have a strong suspicion Lucky Pervert is behind this. And given the way I can feel its presence giggling like a degenerate, I'm almost certain of it.
Regardless, I shift my focus back to the chest's new contents, spotting a wooden crate inside. Odd. I reach in, pull it out, and open it, only to find a guidebook along with multiple seed packets.
The guidebook's title? Plants vs. Zombies.
Okay. Now I feel like someone is playing a major joke on me.
With no energy left to question this, I just shoved the entire wooden crate into Sora's arms, causing him to drop it as it was too heavy for him to lift. He looks at it, then at me—completely lost for words, given that the crate is more than half his size.
"Do you not have an inventory or something similar?" I ask Sora, watching as he suddenly resembles a frozen statue. I sigh. "I'll take that as a no. Hey, Molly, could you store this wooden crate in your inventory for now? Hold onto it until they get something resembling an inventory of their own later."
Molly nods without hesitation and steps forward. She places a hand on the crate, and in an instant, it vanishes before everyone's eyes as if it had never existed.
With that handled, I return the Infinite Treasure Chest to my mindscape, ensuring no further unexpected surprises decide to manifest. Then, with a snap of my fingers, I activate Boundary Manipulation.
Without warning, the entire group is transported away from the hallway. We've lingered here for far too long—long enough that I'm sure plenty of people have already concocted plans to deal with us. Or, more specifically, to deal with Sora and Shiro.
Honestly, I have no idea why the crowd hates those two so much. A few among them, sure, I get it—they loathe Sora and Shiro with a passion. But then there are others who don't seem to know whether they hate them or want to fuck them. And frankly, I'm not sure which reaction is more unsettling.
Now, we're back in the library. The familiar scent of aged paper and polished wood surrounds us, and the quiet atmosphere is a stark contrast to the chaos outside.
"By the way, are you two students here as well, or are you two just tag along with Molly?" I ask, glancing at Sora and Shiro.
"We just won a match against some online chess player." Sora replies, his tone is casual, though I catch the underlying curiosity in his eyes. "Then we got an email—an invitation to a high school literally named just 'High School.' By the time we finished reading it, we suddenly found ourselves here. And, well... you know the rest of the story."
I narrow my eyes slightly. That is suspicious. An email that forcibly teleports them here? That smells like the kind of reality-warping nonsense I've been dealing with pretty much since I took this job as a caretaker.
I fold my arms. "And you didn't think that was weird?"
"Oh, extremely weird." Sora admits with a shrug. "But, you know, when life throws you into a mysterious setting where people have insane powers, and the local population either wants you dead or—uh, something else—you just kinda roll with it."
Shiro, still silent, nods in agreement, her red eyes scanning me with keen interest.
"Ain't that the truth." I nod in agreement. "So, I don't know if you two technically count as full members of the Eldritch pantheon through Molly, but either way, I welcome you both."
The moment the words leave my mouth, Sora and Shiro go instantly pale.
"What's the matter?" Ruby asks, still keeping a firm hand over Aqua's mouth to prevent her from saying something catastrophically stupid.
Sora swallows hard. "You guys are part of the Eldritch Pantheon... as in Cthulhu Mythos? Like, the kind of stuff created by H.P. Lovecraft...?" His voice is noticeably more nervous now.
Weiss tilts her head. "I dunno about the second part, but yeah. We're part of the Eldritch Pantheon."
Octavia, ever the composed one, simply shrugs. "I'm part of the Hell Pantheon."
"And the one currently being restrained over there is from the Heaven Pantheon." Weiss adds dryly, jerking her head toward Aqua, who is still struggling against Ruby's hold.
Sora's nervous smile twitches. "S-So… what you're telling me… is that we've somehow joined an organization consisting of cosmic horrors, demons, and literal angels?"
"That about sums it up." I say casually. "But, Aqua here is actually a goddess, not an angel." Aqua cheerfully nods at that, even with her mouth covered.
Shiro tugs at Sora's sleeve. He leans down as she whispers something to him. Whatever she says only makes him more tense.
"Shiro says we are so screwed if we make one wrong move." Sora mutters.
"Smart girl." Octavia remarks with a smirk.
"Eh, you'll get used to it—as long as you know the cautious steps to deal with things." I say with a reassuring smile.
Sora and Shiro exchange glances before slowly relaxing. Their smiles grow as if they're starting to believe that maybe—just maybe—everything will be fine.
Then Ruby opens her mouth.
"Didn't you tell us before that you literally died within a week into your time as a temporary member before becoming an official member of the Eldritch pantheon, Jin?" she asks, blinking innocently.
And just like that, Sora and Shiro's faces drain of all color.
"Hold up! How are you alive then?!" Sora practically yells, staring at me with wide eyes.
I shrug. "I used to have the ability to go back in time to a specific point upon death. Think of it like a save point, or just saving before progressing further into a storyline—like in video games."
I answer calmly, completely unfazed by the absolute horror now overtaking their expressions. Meanwhile, Ruby looks far too pleased with herself for scaring them.
"Do I have a save point?" Molly asks out of curiosity, entirely unfazed by the idea of dying at some point.
"No idea." I shrug. "Do your powers as The Gamer come with a guide manual or at least a help tips system?"
"...No." Molly's shoulders slump, looking genuinely disappointed.
"Hm..." I rub my chin, momentarily ignoring the visibly shaken Sora and Shiro, then reach into my shadow. As I pull out Fragarach, then I hand it over to Molly. "Here, see if you can equip this."
Molly tilts her head, hesitating for a moment before carefully taking Fragarach from my hand. The blade shimmers subtly upon contact, a faint pulse of recognition running along its surface.
Molly blinks. "Huh. It let me take it, but everything else is question marks."
I nod, crossing my arms. "Figures. Your Gamer abilities might require you to identify it first or meet some kind of requirement before you can use it properly."
Meanwhile, in the background, Sora and Shiro remain frozen in place, still processing the casual conversation about save points and mortality.
Ruby leans over Molly's shoulder. "So you get no guide manual? That sucks."
Weiss sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "That is unfortunate. No help system means you have to figure everything out through trial and error."
Molly hums in thought, tapping at the floating window in an attempt to interact with it further, or at least that's what almost everyone else is thinking, I would guess. "Well, I did get a tutorial window when I first got my powers, but... I kinda clicked through it too fast."
I stare at her. "...You skipped the tutorial?"
Molly coughs awkwardly, looking away. "I-I was excited, okay?"
Weiss groans. "Unbelievable."
Sora, finally regaining some color, mutters under his breath. "Gamer instincts and skipping tutorials… Yep, she's the real deal."