"―Wooh, oh, wow! This stuff never gets old, huh? Little knight... Little knight! Where are you...?! Little knight...! Bring me another! Another, I tell you! You didn't leave me, did you, little knight?! You didn't leave your gracious Hero all alone, damned incompetent...!?"
"Oi. I'm right here."
"Ah...! Right you are, little knight!"
Pat, pat-!
"Ow."
A few hours had passed, and though it may or may not be evident, the Hero was tipsy.
"You...! You really did a good one this time, little knight! With these drinks, you clever... You clever one, little knight...!"
"Thanks..."
Indeed, he was tipsy... however, that was all.
Let alone having contracted alcohol poisoning, he wasn't even drunk enough to stumble while rising from his seat or walking.
To put it most accurately, I think it was more that the Hero was allowing himself to let loose more so than an influence of the alcohol overpowering him.
Of course, considering that aforementioned divine power, it might well be an achievement in itself for the Hero to stoop to such a level that he was becoming obsessed with a junior, so-called "little knight".
For those seniors of mine, who only wished for the Hero to be a little less abusive towards them during training, this would be a spectacular result. A 10/10. An A+.
For me, on the other hand, it wasn't nearly enough.
"Oh, little knight... You really are, one of the good ones. The only, only one. Good one, that is, of a peasant, you are good. Slightly. Only slightly, good, that is, for a peasant. A scrawny, weak, quiet little obedient peasant... Like a dog. Yes, that's you, little knight, you little dog, scrawny dog little peasant. Peasant dog. Ha. Hahaha."
"..."
'I need more...'
More drinks. More alcohol for the Hero. More vulnerability.
Alas, my wallet...
As it stood, the Hero, who always carried that bizarre sword at his waist, was not someone I could deal with using my own strength. Well, if my strength could be rated a 3 or 4 out of 10, the Hero's could very well be a 5, 6 or even 7, so it wasn't close even a little bit.
I came to that conclusion after watching his actions extensively during afternoon training, so it was only a rough estimate, but I knew nothing would change just by him feeling a little queer like right now.
I also couldn't erase the possibility that the adrenaline from getting into a fight would sober him up immediately; that's yet another reason why I needed to completely wipe him out mentally.
Right... What I needed was a way to ensure the Hero's demise for certain, not to merely make him a little bit easier to deal with.
For that, this level of inebriety simply wasn't enough.
"Little knight!"
"Yes...?"
"I am curious... Will you be present during tomorrow's training, little knight...? Answer me with your words, and do it hastily."
Recalling the events that transpired earlier in the day, the Hero's question made me shudder.
'God, I hope not.'
"...I will."
Of course, I couldn't just wear my heart on my sleeve. Because, the reality was that I couldn't afford to skip training until I knew for sure that I could kill the Hero. If I skipped the training, I might get kicked out of the knight program, and if that happens, I'll lose such easy access to the Hero.
No matter what, even if the training makes me want to kill myself a hundred times over, I couldn't afford to burn that bridge more than anything else.
"Oh, good! I am glad my little knight will be there, certainly..."
'Sorry, who's little knight am I now? Are you crazy?'
In the end, I could only walk the Hero to his private quarters, separate from the rest of the barracks and isolated in its own sense.
"Tomorrow... I will definitely get my revenge on that... That imperious one, the lard. Watch me, little knight. Watch your Hero overcome the goliath with his overwhelming, legendary strength! The divine strength favoured by the Goddess of Light herself...!"
"I'll be sure to tune in."
'It'll be good to see you get railed by that guy a second time. I might even be able to catch his movements if I pay attention, too.'
"Yes, good... 'Tune in'...?"
"Don't worry about it."
Walking beside him and switching my gaze between the grey cobblestone path and the cold, blackened night sky, I made sure to keep my nose out of the way of his revolting breath, responding entirely absent-mindedly.
"I'll beat him, little knight! And then, I'll beat him...! And then I'll beat him again, and again!"
"Will you?"
"Oh yes! And you will watch me, little knight! This great Hero...! And then! We drink!"
Hearing that, I paused for a moment. My eyebrows subtly rose, and as I glanced at the Hero, the ends of my lips faintly curled.
"Oh...? Yeah, let's drink tomorrow. That'll be fun, won't it?"
"Hahahahaha...!! Indeed! We drink...! And then we drink! And, we drink...!"
"I'm looking forward to it."
Eventually, the Hero―whom I had walked home and who promised to go drinking again tomorrow―and I parted ways.
Returning to the quarters in which I 'spawned' this morning, which fortunately wasn't too far, I unhesitatingly collapsed in my bed without even thinking of taking off my clothes.
Lying there in silence for a solid while, sighing periodically, a refreshing voice spoke to me.
[Um... I've been watching, Enki. You must be rather enervated.]
"...Librarian."
'I'm tired.'
Tired was a severe understatement.
It wasn't a physical malady, no, how could it be when the residual effects of that healing magic could still be felt in my bones and muscles?
Rather, it was mental fatigue; a diminishing of sense and of rationale, courtesy of... Well, of the whole day until now.
It felt like even my soul was withering...
[Fret not! You may be weary, but let it be known that you've been making a fantastic effort so far! Don't let one miscalculation lower your spirits! I'm absolutely certain you'll be rewarded with success next time!]
For some reason, I couldn't decide whether her consolation was helping or not.
I somewhat appreciated her effort in making things up, but unfortunately, I wasn't really in the mood to be soothed by the person who was at fault here.
It was all so much effort, but more than that, everything was just too confusing.
I didn't even know why I was here in the first place, and now I've been told I can't go home until I kill someone?
Wasn't I going to celebrate after stumbling across a rare magical creature? Shouldn't I be doing that right now? What even happened for me to end up in this crazy situation?
'What's the point in killing that guy again...? Didn't she say it was something to do with energy...?'
I asked no one in particular but ended up receiving an answer.
[Certainly! By dispatching the Protagonist, all syphoned World Stability shall be returned to the Illusory World! As compensation for providing our assistance, the Library also receives a portion, which we can convert into mana! Using that, we can transport you home!]
'Ah, right, the Protagonist-Antagonist thing... still doesn't make any sense...'
It really was strange. But, to be honest, I didn't have the mental faculties to care at the moment.
This was, by far, the most I've exerted myself in a single day in a long, long time.
In fact, I'm almost certain I was only able to keep going for so long because of that healing prayer I received. Twice, in fact.
So, I won't hear anything about the why or how I'm here, or even where or what this place is.
'It's whatever... I just don't care.'
So long as I could return to the all-encompassing, fluffy covers of my own bed, that's genuinely all that mattered.
Maybe, when it's all over, I'd be in the right mind to listen to her nonsense, but for now, whoever this Librarian is, whatever she claims to be, and whatever her goals are, could wait.
[In any event, let it be known I am praying for an utmost quality night's rest, Enki! After all, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow!]
"Oh, that makes me feel much better."
[Truly? I'm glad to be able to alleviate your frustrations, even if it's only by a minute amount! And I'll still be here if you need any assistance!]
Somehow, I didn't think she picked up on my sarcasm, exclaiming in that jubilant voice.
In fact, something about the Librarian's words gave me the abrupt urge to shove my head into the pillow and empty my lungs, but I didn't even have the energy for that.
Instead, I simply closed my eyes and replied with a faint sigh.
"Thanks..."
It didn't take long for my waning consciousness to slip away fully.