Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 296

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Chapter 296 – Contents of the Book

The sheer cliff that separated the upper and lower plateaus now contained several rooms.

One room was a food storage area, accessible directly from the lower plateau and primarily used by Zeo and Alicia.

This space receives no direct sunlight and was gradually expanded using Earth Magic and Spatial Magic. I also generate large amounts of ice as needed, so the interior maintains a temperature similar to that of a refrigerator.

The former armory, where we once stored recovered equipment, was now inexplicably littered with logs and had become Zeo’s mushroom cultivation site.

He seemed to be sorting through the logs, but I couldn’t understand it, so I left it entirely up to Zeo.

This covers the lower area, which hasn’t seen much active expansion. The distance from Zeo’s home to the cliff is several kilometers, and the newly built material warehouse has contributed to this as well.

Behind the waterfall, in an area I call the middle section, there’s a secret room that only I can access right now, though the goddesses probably know about it.

It’s a small room, about ten square meters, with most of the entrance blocked off, leaving only a small air vent.

Inside, there’s a handmade stone chair and desk, as well as a recently replaced, high-quality bed. On the desk lay my crumpled underwear.

Fluffy fur rugs covered the floor, and there was a magic tool for drying things. It was definitely a pretty comfortable personal space.

“Alright, time to get serious.”

It had been almost a year since I arrived in this other world.

I’ve gotten pretty used to it, so it’s probably time to gradually expand my hobbies.

With that thought in mind, I created a narrow passageway and spawned two new rooms beyond it.

The first is an equipment room.

I have a lot of leftover furniture, such as water-resistant armor that has already been superseded, armor with holes, and the first and second generation short swords. I gather suitable items from the material warehouse, set them up, and arrange them on shelves.

I salvaged and arranged a few costume racks, too.

But, honestly, I’m either flying through the skies or hunting.

I don’t feel the need to buy clothes. Since Carla is digging up clothes close to my size, I can get similar ones from him once things settle down, since we have similar builds.

It’s unclear when it’ll be ready, but Alicia was eager to make me clothes, too.

The other room connected to the original living quarters is a study.

With the books I bought this time, I finally have 20.

Since I plan to keep adding to my collection, I set up a few shelves that could serve as bookcases.

However, I’ll only put books here that I probably won’t need to refer back to often.

I want to be able to check books like dictionaries immediately in an emergency, so I’ll keep them stored away until I can make spare copies. I sorted through them, flipping through the pages to check the contents.

“Magical Tools Catalog, Volume 3”

True to its name, it’s an encyclopedia of magical tools, like a modern-day catalog.

Each volume introduces twenty numbered magical tools and their effects. It’s incredibly useful for finding excellent tools that I don’t yet own.

Ria absolutely loves magical tools, so she’d probably be quietly thrilled if I showed her this, even if she didn’t show it on her face.

I bought Volume 2 last time, so I wonder why Altrico-san didn’t finish Volume 1 first.

“How to Use Slave Trading Houses: Key Points to Look For.”

Seems to summarize the characteristics of slave trading houses in various countries. However, I’ve never been interested in them, so I don’t know how to react.

However, since the old lady seems to have found and raised Keira-chan, this might be the kind of place she’d look.

Apparently, some countries don’t recognize slavery, but that seems quite limited.

I don’t know what era this book was written in. Since slave trading houses seem to exist in most countries, though, it might be worth visiting one for the experience.

“Tactical Theory: Formation Tactics, Volume 4.”

This book is clearly meant for Ril.

There’s no situation in which learning this would be useful. Even after reading it, I don’t grasp its meaning, so skimming is sufficient.

A guy whose specialty is solo action could never understand group behavior psychology.

“Madame Ozes, Queen of Beauty.”

It seems like a story, but it’s an odd book.

It’s about a universally acknowledged beautiful woman who fears aging. She eventually overcomes her fear, but she loses so much in the process that she becomes a monster.

Since our base has a beautiful-looking boy and a handsome older man who has overcome aging, thinking about it that way makes it seem like a true story.

“Various Characteristics: Mounted Creatures Used for Practical Purposes.”

This topic is fascinating, both as knowledge and as reading material.

It lists numerous mounted creatures with practical uses throughout history, ranging from common horses, camels, and elephants—whose presence on Earth is easily imagined—to giant birds and serpentine monsters depicted in illustrations.

The text states that with the Taming and Monster Summoning skills, one can ride various creatures.

The creatures are ranked by broad categories, including capture difficulty (based on rarity and strength), movement speed, stamina, estimated load capacity (including how many people it can carry), and special skills, such as aerial movement or breath attacks. This makes it easy to understand.

The king of mounts, naturally, is the dragon species—specifically, the super-large ancient species known as Hans-san’s pet.

“The Allsroy War”

This book is a dud.

I can tell it’s a summary of a war, but I have no idea what era it’s from. The contents are just what you’d expect from a war—nothing particularly noteworthy.

“Juroy Kingdom: Local Specialties and Folk Crafts.”

I think it was the country to the west, adjacent to Lagreath.

It shows various items along with their locations, and you can immediately tell that it was written by someone with a high Drawing skill.

The only thing that caught my interest was “Incense.”

Then, I saw a picture of someone smoking something that looked like a tube. I quietly closed the book, thinking that smoking was bad for my health.

I don’t want to smoke now, but just in case.

“Let’s Change Jobs: Revised Edition of Occupation List.”

This is the book that lists various occupations that I saw with the old woman at the beginning.

Even though I can’t get a job myself, looking through it again, I’m overwhelmed by the sheer volume and depth of its content—it’s practically a strategy guide!

I don’t have any plans for it right now, but if Zeo or Carla ever shows interest in jobs, I’ll show them this book.

“Top Three Noble Academies to Send Your Kids to in the Central Continent.”

I thought, “Oh, there are school-like ones.”

They’re called noble academies, but it’s all about money. Pay the required sum, and even commoners can enroll. The age requirements are pretty lax, too. It’s basically “up to age 15,” with nothing else clearly defined.

Come to think of it, since this world doesn’t seem to have official registries, age is probably based on appearance and self-reporting.

If I were to start school now, I’d rather hunt monsters, but I’d like to visit Cruces High Noble Academy since it has one of the largest book collections on the continent.

Hmm…

While arranging things, I ended up reading more and more, but first and foremost, this room needs a desk and chair!

With that in mind, I set up a high-class-looking desk and chair.

Wow, it looks impressive!

Sitting in the chair alone and looking around, I suddenly feel like a capable man.

“I might as well take a look.”

Tomorrow, I’ll enter a new country: the Kingdom of Ortran.

I’ll be busy traveling and exploring my first dungeon once that happens, so if I’m going to read, I should do it now.

I brew some coffee, put the magic tool that emits warm air at my feet to use, and cover my entire body with magic power as part of my training. Then, I pick up The History and Prospects of the Kingdom of Lagreath.

(…)

This is bad.

Just like the “Allsroy War” I saw earlier, it’s boring.

I want to learn useful knowledge, but I have zero interest in the past kings.

I guess it’s okay.

With that thought in mind, I skimmed through the pages. Suddenly, my finger stopped turning the pages on one of the later pages.

“The only unidentifiable: a mysterious sphere, estimated to be of the first grade…”

Out of curiosity, I skimmed the preceding and following pages and learned that Lagreath had collected ancient artifacts from the surrounding lands formed by the blast for many years, including those from the Bayles Sea of Trees.

As expected, however, most of the artifacts were fragments of parts damaged beyond use. Without the technology to repair them, the fragments were unusable.

Additionally, even if the damage was minor, many items had an unknown purpose or method of activation, so they simply lay dormant in the national treasury as “ancient relics.”

At one point, however, the situation changed completely.

An ancient “appraisal magic tool” that functioned perfectly was unearthed, as this book states.

Apparently, using this magic tool allowed them to determine whether the many dormant relics could function.

Furthermore, it seems they could discern the effects the relics would produce if functional. Consequently, while most were broken, some are apparently still used today as magic tools with extraordinary capabilities.

These items weren’t particularly dangerous. The book lists distinctive magic tools, such as the “Rain-Summoning Magic Tool,” the “Magic Tool Covering an Ultra-Wide Area with a Barrier,” and the “Magic Tool Enabling Communication with Distant Locations,” each with its specific capabilities detailed.

I wonder if it’s wise to share this information with me…

But, precisely because I declared that I belong nowhere, they might be trying to earn my trust rather than risk information leakage.

However, there was one ancient magical tool whose capabilities couldn’t be determined even with appraisal magic: the “mysterious sphere” mentioned earlier.

It was described as a black, spherical object about three meters in size. While it could be rolled, it was impossible to lift. It is currently sealed away underground under strict security.

“A black object that can’t be lifted…but is that actually a disc?”

I suddenly recalled the disc at the center of the Palmera Great Forest, though I suspected it was probably not the same.

Even Alicia couldn’t determine its purpose, meaning that, while it’s possible, it likely failed God’s Appraisal.

That’s why there are suspicions that Felza-sama created it.

If that’s the case, then no matter how advanced the ancient people were, they were still “human” in the end. Therefore, it must be something separate from That Thing.

I think it means they created the pinnacle of something that could be made within the scope of human capability.

I can’t handle the solution, so the only option is for the Goddess to see the object.

I’ve already warned the old lady, though, so if it’s sealed underground, it shouldn’t be a problem.

I doubt she’d tell me exactly where, though.

(I should report this to Ria. Wait, no. Ria’s probably already reading this book.)

Come to think of it, I remember seeing her reading a book in Waltz’s Lowenfort.

Is that why she started investigating troublemakers and analyzing magic tools?

I don’t know, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

Even if I looked at it, I wouldn’t understand anything at this level of analysis. There’s no point in getting involved in what seems like state secrets when I haven’t done anything yet.

If I get too involved, I’ll be treated like a Lagreath citizen, which would be problematic.

I’m on friendly terms with the old lady and the people of Bezart. Ultimately, though, Lagreath is just a trading partner from which I purchase books.

I’m free to visit other countries because of that, and I’ll do business with foreign countries if the deal is good.

(So please, old lady.)

I don’t think so.

Still, I suddenly imagined the royal capital of Falmenta, the old lady, and the palace where Enny and Altrico-san were.

I pictured “the scene where I carry out the execution” and immediately shook my head vigorously from side to side.

“I want to protect them, so cut me some slack.”

Why did I say that out loud?

The words echoed in the small room as if I were trying to convince myself.

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