SSS-Class Revival Hunter-Chapter 151: The Prologue (4)

The great library suddenly became brighter. A stream of white light constantly flowed out from ■■■■■, moving as if it was alive. It soon turned into waves, sweeping around us and floating through the bookshelves.

[The stage has been cleared.]

The apocalyptic book didn’t stop its deluge of light.

Whoosh!

Light instantly drowned the great library, sinking its towering bookshelves. The light reached even the areas of banned books that had not been touched in thousands of years. The “pond” was getting flooded with light, and we were right in the middle of it.

[Announcement.]

[The thirtieth floor has been cleared today.]

I could hear the Hunters' screams from afar.

“Aaaah!”

“W-what’s going on?”

They were probably taken aback by the sudden flood of light. Fortunately, I had trustworthy colleagues at the library. A lot of them.

While some Hunters were shocked, others comforted them. Even though I couldn’t see their faces because the bookshelves blocked my view, I recognized each and every one of their voices.

“Oh my gosh! I’m dying! My eyesight is already bad enough, but this light is going to blind me for good! Uuuuugh. Girl, you’re young, so the least you can do is give some health tonic to the elderly!” the Medicine King complained.

“Eh? B-but medicine has to be distributed to those who need it first. I’m sorry to say this, but you don’t really need one, Mr. Medicine King. How about getting a new pair of glasses instead?” the Chemist offered.

“Ah, don’t act rashly. This is what happens when you clear a stage. You may not have experienced anything like this before, but I’ve already seen it several times. Wonder is... what becomes ordinary the more you get used to it,” the Viper boasted, impressing his students.

“Ooooooh! Teacher!”

“I admire you so much...!”

The Inquisitor asked, “Huh? Does the thirtieth floor get cleared automatically? Ah. I’m glad we can save time. Everyone from the Pantheon, please prepare for transfer! As soon as we return to Babylon, we’ll start taking care of the backlog!”

“This is a problem. I don’t have experience working as a librarian,” the Constellation Murderer muttered.

“Mr. Kim Yul, I’ll help you. I roughly know what we have to do,” the orphanage director said.

“Okay. I trust you.”

There were more people around. The Black Witch, the Countess, and the Paladin were there too. I could hear some voices from afar, others from quite nearby. Beyond the shelves filled with heavy hardcover books, I could hear all the mutterings and whisperings in the library as if the flood of light carried sound.

Next to me, the small Indoor Librarian was trembling.

[Announcement.]

[The thirtieth floor has been cleared today...]

Bzzzzzzzz—!

Static mixed in with the Tower’s voice. The Indoor Librarian, who was already shaking, flinched and cowered.

[Warning!]

[An abnormal stage clear has been detected.]

[A warning has been given to the Indoor Librarian.]

The Indoor Librarian grabbed my sleeve. “I-it doesn’t matter. The stage for the thirtieth floor has been decided as ■■■■■. As the manager in charge of stages from the twenty-first floor to the thirtieth floor, I approve this. Also, I’m the Constellation that rules ■■■■■, so I acknowledge that the stage has been cleared—”

[Warning.]

[A severe penalty will be given to the Indoor Librarian upon the stage clear declaration.]

[Confirming whether the Indoor Librarian still wishes to proceed with the stage clear declaration.]

He gripped my sleeve a little tighter, his shoulders hunched. Due to his loose-fitting clothes, he looked bigger than he actually was, but not anymore. The space he occupied in this world was insignificant. He looked up at me while leaning against my arm. “It doesn’t matter.”

He was telling this to the Tower, and to himself as well.

Hamustra said. “I... I’ll live in this Tower. Please... Please acknowledge my fall, Master of All Life.”

After a moment of silence, the Tower’s voice became clear.

[Announcement.]

[The thirtieth floor has been cleared today.]

Cheers erupted. The library was still submerged in light, but the Hunters also heard the announcement that the stage had been cleared, so they were happy that they finally succeeded. But there was also a voice that only Hamustra and I could hear.

[The Indoor Librarian is no longer able to maintain authorization level.]

[Adjusting authorization level.]

I had heard this before. It was just like the time Preta lost her power as the Demon King of Autumn Rain.

[The Indoor Librarian’s title has been revoked.]

She screamed “No!” at that time, despairing over losing her status as a Constellation despite struggling not to fall from grace. Hamustra’s reaction was different. Without saying a word, he closed his eyes.

[The Indoor Librarian’s title has been revoked.]

[The Indoor Librarian’s authorization level has decreased.]

The apocalyptic book in the hands of Hamustra and I vanished. Maybe “melted” was a better description.

Drip, drip.

The book cover turned into what resembled a squishy slime. Each piece of paper turned into wax and dripped on the floor.

[May luck be with you.]

And, just like that, the apocalyptic book dispersed into particles of light. Hamustra said nothing for a while. He just inhaled and exhaled quietly. As his chest rose and fell, he slowly stopped shaking with fear and calmed down.

“Haha...” Hamustra jumped up and down. “Look at this, Death King.”

His sleeves fluttered, but they were long enough to mope the floor even when he jumped. He jumped up ever so slightly only to land back on the floor.

“I can’t fly,” Hamustra said, looking back at me with a smile. “I can’t fly anymore. My hobby was to look down and see worlds from up high all day long. Sometimes, I would quietly look out at the horizon for days on end. I lost my hobby...”

“I see.”

“I lost a lot of things.”

“You did.”

“I achieved my dream of appearing in a story myself, and I’m happy. But that’s not all. I’m afraid. I love you all. I’m afraid that you won’t like me. I want to be loved by everyone...”

I placed my hand on his shoulder. “Hamustra, that’s impossible, so wake up.”

He stared at me.

“Let’s take this step by step. Since you lost your hobby, let’s start with finding a new one. How does that sound? Is there anything you want to do to commemorate your fall?”

“Actually, I have two wishes.”

“Tell me. I’ll grant them if I can.”

“First of all, please treat me more like I’m your friend...”

That was a wish I could grant him.

“Okay, Hamustra, I will. What about the other one?”

“My second wish is a little expensive... It’s such an incredible luxury, that when you hear it, you’ll shudder...”

“What is it?”

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

Hamustra wiped his eyes with his sleeves, soaking them with tears. After he lowered them, he revealed a smile. “I want to try the white mocha frappuccino venti-sized with four shots, half java chips, and half chocolate drizzle... ”

It was truly an incredible luxury, but fortunately, it was also a wish I was able to grant.

***

Wearing a school uniform, Raviel brought down the can of soda from her lips and said, “I see. So that’s why you died.”

Now, anyone would be able to notice what a miraculous collaboration was achieved in just one sentence. Raviel in a school uniform drinking soda. Even an epic about the birth and destruction of the universe wouldn’t be able to match the sublimity of this single sentence.

As if I had witnessed the creation of heaven and earth, I...

“Gong-Ja, you’re trembling.”

“I-I’m not.”

“Is that so?” Raviel, whom I was holding in my arms as if she was my princess, tilted her head to look at me.

It had already been over three hours since I have been in this position. Using my aura or Skills was prohibited. I had to maintain this position using only my strength.

“No matter how I look at it, it seems that you’re shaking,” Raviel said with a smile. “Oh, am I heavy?”

“No, you aren’t. You’re as light as a feather!”

“Which feather? Is it a dinosaur feather? Or a feather of an archaeopteryx?”

“You’re lighter than a feather of a chick that has just hatched from an egg.”

“That’s a relief. I almost felt so sorry and threw myself out of my love’s arms. Since you say there are no issues, I’ll continue to relax and enjoy this wonderful ride,” Raviel said, bringing her soda can back to her lips.

A drop of clear soda was on her lips.

Ah, I hate that drop. Evaporate and return to nature...

We were on the twenty-ninth floor, the world of The Story of the City of Ascension: Side Story.

As Hamustra had said beforehand, the side story didn’t change the history of the outside world since it wasn’t incorporated into the official history. Instead, this city, centered around Shinseo Middle and High Schools, was separated like a remote island.

Strangely enough, the residents here don’t notice anything is off.

When someone from outside this world entered the twenty-ninth floor, they automatically became middle or high school students, living school life as if we were students who had been living in this world all along. There was a university nearby, but that was all.

It was literally a city of education. Except for being able to go to school, it was completely useless—

“Public education is beautiful,” Raviel murmured.

Surprisingly, it seemed to be helpful to some extent.

“Even people with little wealth can learn to their hearts’ content here. Isn’t this system a dream? In the future, I plan to select talented people from the empire and send them to study here. I knew it. My love deserves to be called the moon of Ivansia.”

“Well, they probably won’t learn anything that useful...”

“It doesn’t matter. The purpose of education is to share common knowledge. A nation is an abstract concept that degenerates into a delusion if even one small thing goes awry. Measures should be taken to ensure that the people of a nation will always share the same dream.”

“Same dream...”

“How to naturally integrate the people of the Tower and the empire has been on my mind for a while. But I think the people of the empire educated here will be able to connect the two in the future.”

Raviel sometimes talked about difficult topics. It was cool.

But one may wonder why I had been holding Raviel for over three hours.

“Well, I’ll save the political talk for later. Right now, I want to savor the moment of punishing you.”

Right. I was being punished... The reason was clear.

“I was truly surprised, Gong-Ja. While working in my office, I was suddenly sent back to twenty-four hours ago. I froze for a moment but immediately realized that my consort died somewhere.”

Raviel took out the golden card.

A Certain Returner’s Love

Class: EX

Effect: Love is like poison to a returner. No matter how hard you struggle, you cannot share the same time with the one you love, so a certain returner made a wish. “Please protect my lover’s memories.” The wish reached the Tower and came true.

You share your lover’s time. When your lover goes back a day, you also go back a day. If you go back a day, your lover will also go back a day.

This is the oath of eternal regression and marriage of time.

May luck be with you both.

※It is only active when you and your lover love each other.

Right. Due to A Certain Returner’s Love, Raviel also went back twenty-four hours if I died. She had also regressed after the Constellation Murderer killed me, meaning she could always know when I died.

Goldencup, who was working as a maid at the Ivansia family, had given the testimony that as soon as Raviel regressed, she quietly muttered, “I don’t know which son of a bitch did it, but somebody hurt my consort.”

Raviel had been completely expressionless at the time. Goldencup had added that she felt cosmic fear that day.

“Sorry...”

“No, you don’t have to be sorry,” Raviel said calmly. “You told me the story, and it sounds like you tried hard enough to stay alive. There is nothing you can do now since you have already died.”

“R-right?”

“You just managed to clear the twenty-ninth floor but went out of your way to skip to the fiftieth floor. Even on the fiftieth floor, you dueled the strongest fighter there and ended up provoking everyone on the floor, but that was inevitable, my love. Everything you did was perfectly reasonable. I can’t find any reckless bravado in any of your actions. I understand.”

“I’m truly sorry...”

“Are you? Do you even know what you did wrong?” Raviel asked, pinching and pulling my cheeks like freshly made rice cakes.

I was touched.

Ah, Raviel is pinching my cheeks.

Raviel was wearing a school uniform in my arms. Was this really punishment? Wasn’t it a prize instead? Raviel, my goddess, was maybe praising me for doing a good job under the pretense of punishment...

“This won’t work...” Raviel lamented. “Your focus is elsewhere. Your madness is your charm, but return to reality now, my love.”

“I love you, Raviel.”

“I love you, Gong-Ja.”

Ah, soda smelled so good...

I’m happy...

An uninvited guest interrupted our moment.

—Fuck, dude. Do I seriously have to see this shit every time you two meet? Isn’t this a bit much? People say love is an effect of hormones, but you two are nuts with your hormonal levels. What have I done wrong in my past life to endure this hell of a karma?

[Shiny points out that the Sword Emperor has probably committed a lot of sins in his past life.]

—Fu... ck...

A true man was able to ignore someone’s yapping.

I told Raviel everything that happened since we last saw each other—who killed me, what kind of past that person had, how he regained his memories; I told her everything. While listening to my story, Raviel looked back at Shinseo Middle and High Schools and took in the classrooms and the rooftop.

Raviel nodded. “Well done, Gong-Ja. It’s something worth devoting your time to accomplish.”

She was convinced that my arms had been through hell while my brain had been in paradise for over three hours, but considering what was more important, I considered this was a win for me. A huge win.

“Then I shall see the bastard who killed you.”

“Raviel, as I mentioned earlier, that guy is probably your ancestor...”

“That makes me even angrier. If he’s my ancestor, he should have left his work to his descendants. How dare he mess with the moon of the family? Ivansia is mine right now. I’ll punish him according to the family laws.”

I’m sorry, Kim Yul. You are dead meat, Constellation Murderer.

Raviel smiled. Sunset shone down on the rooftop of Shinseo Middle and High School, washing her in a red light. “And I would also like to say hello to the person who raised you. Would you please take me to him, Gong-Ja?”

“Okay.” I nodded. Holding Raviel in my arms, I whispered, “Send me back.”

Light surrounded us. The next moment, we were standing in the library on the thirtieth floor. It had been just a few days, but the place already looked different.

First, the open and off-limit areas were strictly divided. In the open area, the shelves had ordinary books, so Hunters sat at the tables and leisurely enjoyed reading, surrounded by coffee and beverage cups.

Hamustra, who had been walking between the tables, spotted us and quickly approached us. Instead of loose-fitting clothes, he was wearing a neat employee’s uniform.

“Ah. Welcome, Death King. I see that the Silver-Plated Heart came with you too. I’m glad to see both of you together here!”

Hamustra had decided to get a job in the library cafe for now. Although he didn’t have the confidence to go down to the first-floor city and live there, he decided to slowly adjust himself to interacting with Hunters and get used to life as a human.

“Um, is Kim Yul here? Raviel wants to see him.”

“Yes, I would like to see his mug, my consort.”

“She says she would like to see Kim Yul’s mug.”

Hamustra smiled brightly. “He’s worth coming all the way here to see him. I understand. He’s probably sorting through children’s books right now. I’ll bring him here.”

There was still a lot to talk about. Who was the new person in charge of the great library after Hamustra’s fall? Why did the Medicine King generously pay for the cost of creating a cafe to the point that he basically funded the whole thing? Even right now, the Medicine King was brewing coffee at the cafe counter, dressed as a bartender.

There was a lot to talk about, but there would always be other opportunities for that.

“I’ll show you both to your seats!”

The story would continue just as it had so far, only on a stage a little higher than now.