I decided to stop overthinking too hard and just buy it.
The idea of having a weapon that would grow stronger over time resonated with me too much to ignore, just as it evidently did with the Librarian. I only had to work a little bit harder for one or two more Contracts, but after that, I'd be golden.
Just think of it as an investment for the future, right...?
To be honest, if I didn't also possess the Hero's Holy Sword, I might not have been tempted as much. Well, it's also not like I had to wait long before being able to afford the Black Wisp.
Like that, my entire reward from two full days of hard work, planning, and violent struggle―
Item Purchased
[Villainous Blade] added to Storage
―It vanished in the blink of an eye.
'Just ignore it. If you don't look at it, you won't know that anything's missing.'
After purchasing the Villainous Blade, I had some boring things to sort out. Most of all, I was hungry and needed some rest; I still hadn't slept at all since waking up in that world 19 or so hours ago, after all, and while the lingering effects of the healing magic definitely made staying up easier, it wasn't perfect.
I also hadn't eaten since that lunch break before afternoon training.
The possibility of going to bed and waking up at human hours floated through my mind momentarily, giving me mixed feelings.
Naturally, however, that hope instantly evaporated upon returning from the Library.
I sort of clocked it whenever I first came back, but it seems the time spent with the Librarian caused me to forget.
It was currently the middle of the afternoon.
I suppose, as usual, there was no hope for a normal sleep schedule.
Rest in peace once again, my brother, my circadian rhythm... Well, I probably wouldn't be able to sleep right away anyway, with all these disorderly thoughts and chaotic emotions running rampant, so I might be able to delay things enough to sleep normally.
'Wait... Isn't it a bit off...?'
For some reason, something didn't feel right when I thought twice about it being the afternoon, but figuring that was just me not used to being awake during daylight, I disregarded it.
First thing's first, I decided to sort out a few bothersome matters.
Switching on my phone...
"Fucking what?"
I immediately blurted out curses.
There was certainly an error here, but I wondered if the problem lied with my phone, my eyes, or my brain. After thoroughly rubbing my eyes a few times, refreshing my phone, and checking the date it displayed, I came to a conclusion.
"...Librarian? I think there's something you forgot to mention."
Although I had spent a total of two days inside the Illusory World, it seems that not quite the same length of time had passed on Earth.
On the morning I was transported, it was roughly what, 02:40, 45 on Thursday?
Yet, now, when I checked the phone...
[14:01 | Sunday]
I don't know what the time was in the Illusory World, but assuming I arrived there at around six o'clock for the start of breakfast and morning training... I spent the rest of that first day essentially information gathering before going to sleep in the evening. Then, I woke up―again around six o'clock―and, after killing the Hero at night, returned to Earth.
Assuming for simplicity's sake that I killed the Hero and returned at exactly midnight, then unless the days in that world were longer, which I am certain they were not, it's impossible for me to have spent any more than forty-two hours total in that Illusory World.
In other words, if the time was 1:1, it should currently be around Friday, at forty-five minutes past eight in the evening.
Yet, somehow, three-and-a-half days have passed, and it was Sunday afternoon.
'...No. Since I had my phone in my bag the whole time, it would've experienced the same amount of time passing as I did, right? So then, how...'
Even if time somehow paused for only my phone when I was in the other world, it wouldn't make sense.
"Librarian? An explanation?"
[Certainly! Ah! Oh no, did I make a blunder again?!]
Hearing the sheer panic in her voice, I couldn't help but sigh.
For someone who seemed to be in quite the important role of helping to save all these Illusory Worlds, Librarian was quite the klutz, wasn't she? Or was she just an idiot?
I was curious about who she exactly was, or where she came from. After all, there's no way she was human... Well, so long as she was good to me, and not something totally evil, I didn't really care what or who she was, but since I had already come to the firm conclusion that she wasn't human in a variety of ways, it really made me wonder.
[Ahem! So, erm, as you have just discovered, the time that passes during your stay in an Illusory World is not equal to the time that passes on Earth... A-as I recall, was there not a specific phrase for this phenomenon...? I only know it as 'Illusory Chrono-Dilation' something-or-other...]
"Oh, time dilation? Or wait, maybe it's special relativity... Uh, I don't know exactly, but it's probably one of those two."
At least, I thought it must have been. I wasn't that good at science, so who knows.
[Yes, that, certainly! Or, er, well, I'm sure it's something along those lines...! Anyway! This asynchronous time phenomenon is not the same across all Illusory Worlds―Particularly, some will have time that passes slower than on Earth, some faster such as this one, and some more or less equal! I suppose you could amount it to simple luck of the draw!]
"Ahh... Right."
Well, I already knew that now, didn't I? Of course, it didn't explain why my phone was unaffected by it... but, if that's how it was, then what could I do.
[Erm, pardon me. I really should have mentioned it beforehand, but it slipped my mind. Sincerely, I apologise...]
Watching the Librarian bow her head atop the stool, I shook my head.
"No, it's fine. It doesn't really matter this time, so as long as I keep it in mind for the future, there won't be a problem. It was definitely unexpected, though..."
It wasn't a difficult concept to grasp, so I was able to understand it even without the Librarian's additional info.
Still, wasn't something about it strange?
I was under the impression that I was just going into a fictional world to kill the Protagonist that existed there, but if that truly was the case, then what need would there be for a physical phenomenon like this...?
'Really, the deeper into the rabbit hole I fall, the more stuff that doesn't make sense.'
"Is there any way to find out what the time difference is before I actually take the Contract?"
[Certainly! Er, rather, as it involves examining the details of the Illusory World itself, I'm afraid it'll be a burdensome task until we increase your Authority...]
"Ah, don't mind it then."
'I don't really get it, but if it's not possible, it's not possible. No point in whining. I also still don't understand how the time on my phone is synced with Earth, though... unless, that's just how it works? In that case, maybe I can use my phone to tell what the time on Earth is until my Authority increases.'
With that more or less cleared up, back to what I was originally going to do.
Opening my email inbox, I swiftly scanned over the things that required my attention and ignored everything else.
Glimpsing one email in particular, I hesitated.