Chapter 92 – What is the nature of this mysterious chill… ? - 

「… Ah, that was terrible…」
「… I didn’t know what was going on because I was dead in an instant…」
「That’s why everyone died… Even with my skill to reduce all damage to 1, I was instantly wiped out, you know?」
「Uwaa… I see, the more attacks you make, the more you receive…」
「Un… But! We’ll defeat it one day!」
「… That’s right! I guess that’s one more goal for me…」
「Hmm? What’s Aya’s goal?」
「One is to see the whole world」
「Funfun… ?」
「And the other is」
「And the other one is… ?」
「Secret☆」
「Eeh!?」
「I’ll let you know when it’s ready」
「So that means you’re making something!」
「Ah…」

We were having a chat at home after Suzu’s respawn and we called it a review meeting. My goal is to take a look around this world and make the Secret Sword of the Dragon God. And to defeat the Shinigami, which had just been added. All of these goals are difficult to achieve, but I definitely want to achieve them someday. I don’t want to give up halfway.

「What are we going to do now… ?」
「Hmm… I think I’ll do a quest for the Blacksmith’s Guild…」
「I see… I think I’ll do a quest for the Magician’s Guild too」
「What is a Magician’s Guild quest like?」
「Hmm~? Let’s see… Here, here! Like this」

Suzu goes to the menu and taps on the part that reads “Quests in progress”.
And then she showed me…

●●●●●●●●●●
【Request】 Defeat Freeze man
【Difficulty】 5
【Achievement Requirements】 Defeat or repel Freeze man
【Reward】 21000G, Icicle Stone x 5
【Description】 Freeze Man is a humanoid monster with ice properties. It was given as a quest by the Magician’s Guild because physical attacks do not work well against it.
●●●●●●●●●●

「It’s like this, okay?」
「I’ve never seen this difficulty level before… ?」
「Ahh. That’s the one that comes with the quests you get at intermediate level. The beginner quests are too easy, so they don’t have a difficulty level」
「Hee… I have to get to the intermediate level as soon as possible…」
「Eh? Why?」
「…… I want to be with Suzu」
「!? W- What a cute creature… !!!」
「Wawa!? Ah, wait! Don’t hug me so hard!? I’m not a child anymore, so don’t pat my head!?」
「Guhehe…」
「Hii… !!!」

After an hour of being on her lap, hugging me from behind and patting me on the head, we finally moved on to do our own thing.

────────────

「「I’m off~」」

───Patan…

We lock the door and part ways immediately. Our destination is the complete opposite.

「… I have to go to the Blacksmith’s Guild first. !!」

───rattle, rattle, rattle…

「… I’m getting chills again… ? That carriage… ?」

I’m getting chills again. That carriage…?

「I don’t know if it’s the same carriage I saw before, though, is it? I felt a chill before, so I wonder if it’s the same carriage… ?」

Should I follow it for a while? No, but that would make me a stalker… But the mysterious chill is bothering me… !

「………. Just a little bit…」

Yes. I gave in to temptation… I wonder if this is what stalkers feel… I feel a little guilty…

Unfortunately, the carriage is moving so slowly through the crowd that I can easily catch up with it if I run a short distance… What a pity! If the carriage had gone by faster here, I might still have been able to put a stop to it, but it was too late.

─────

───

「I- It went into that mansion…」

The mansion is located in an area called the Noble District, near the center of the Royal City. A house dozens of times larger than the one Suzu had bought loomed 50 meters ahead of me. On the road, I followed the carriage farther away from it because the chills got worse when I got too close to it.

「Maybe I should… get closer… ?」

───shiver shiver!

「! I knew there was something…」

But this time, I felt it not from where the carriage was parked, but from a room at the end of the second floor of the mansion.

「… Is it just me?」

I glanced at the others, but the players just glanced at me, and everyone in this world didn’t seem to care.

「Do I have anything… ?」

If it’s not that way, maybe it’s me. That’s what I thought, and I opened the inventory section.

・───────
・─────
・Cursed Doll
・──────
・─────

「Hmm? This is… The one I got during the event… ?」

I take out the Cursed Doll from my inventory. Then…

───Kata… Kata… Katakata

「It’s moving…」

And I think it’s slightly more grotesque than the last time I saw it…

「… I get it」

When I re-read the description of the cursed doll, I understood. Perhaps the owner of this doll is in that room.

「What to do…」

Eventually, before I was able to come up with an answer, I logged out.