Antagonist Protection Service-Chapter 100: Back To Work

After letting Ella use my hand as her personal coolant for a while, she eventually recovered enough to the point where she claimed she was fine.

Lowering my arm, which ached and throbbed after being held up in one position for so long, I inwardly felt relieved, but I also worried if she was going to be alright.

In my case, I had already grown used to the perpetual chill within me; even if it was unbearable sometimes, there wasn't much I could do about it and I didn't think much more about it than that.

However, since Ella had only recently awoken to such an affliction, I was worried that she might not be able to handle it very well.

Extreme heat could also be even more insufferable than cold sometimes.

In response to my concern, she smiled and explained.

"Yes, I'll be fine. I've been taking consistent cold showers, which has helped a little. It's only temporary, but it's better than nothing."

I could only nod my head to such an answer. I had also made the discovery that taking hot showers would alleviate the frigidity that lay within, but it was something I stopped doing after the first few times.

Although my entire body was affected by the chill, its source dwells in the depths of my heart. Thus, even if my body was warmed up on a surface level, that was all.

It was the sort of itch that couldn't be reached no matter what you tried; the sort that, the closer to its source you scratched, if you couldn't get the exact spot that was itching, it would only bring about further frustration and exacerbate the issue.

Taking a hot shower for me was exactly that sort of futile, unsatisfying scratch.

I didn't think anything would be able to reach it unless my heart itself was pierced through.

"Alright. I guess I'll catch you later then and talk about my side of things next time. I might be busy for a while, so don't worry if you can't contact me."

When she said she was going to try and rest for a while, I saw her off to her room, giving a half-hearted excuse like so. Thereafter, finding myself alone in my room for the first time in a while, I cracked my fingers.

Finally―

"Librarian."

―It was time.

Stepping into the Library without hesitation, I called a certain individual.

"Certainly~! Librarian reporting for duty~! What shall it be, Commander Enki!"

Facing the small-statured her, who saluted and yelled like so, I raised an eyebrow.

'What's she doing this time? Anyway.'

"You know the one. It's time."

"Yessir~! Beast Tamer comin' right up~!"

Picking up a white scroll from her desk that appeared to have already been prepared, she unfurled it with vigour.

At that moment, a screen appeared.

Contract Details

[I Got Caught Up In Something Unexpected! ~ Now Allergen-Free, I Want To Enjoy My Isekai 'NEW LIFE' With My Unique Skill [Beast Taming] To Gather A Harem Of Overpowered Monster Girls! ~ ]

Light Novel Publication

Protagonist: Itou Touya | Reincarnator

Tags: #Fantasy #Action #Adventure #MaleProtagonist #KindProtagonist #CarefreeProtagonist #Reincarnation #Isekai #Harem

Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆

"Ah. It's been so long that I forgot how damn long that title was... wait."

As I read the Contract Details with a welling of something similar to nostalgia rising within me, that feeling evaporated in an instant upon reaching the final line.

No matter how many times I blinked, wiped my eyes, and rechecked, what shouldn't be―remained.

"The Difficulty... changed...?"

It was definitely 1-star last time I checked, and I absolutely wasn't mistaken.

Though, the last time I checked was all the way back when I was choosing my second Contract, so it's certainly been a while. Still, I wouldn't have forgotten. In the first place, it was selected as an option by the Librarian back then purely for the reason that it was doable―because it was 1-star.

The ratio of time difference between Earth and that Illusory World was unknown, but it was undoubtedly real.

'...Of course.'

The plots of all these Contracts were progressing in real time, even as I stood here in the Library thinking to myself. Back then, the Drakon-Rasa Contract also turned red all of a sudden, so it's not like I didn't have any experience with this concept.

No, something like this should have been more than expected, and yet the possibility somehow didn't even occur to me until this moment.

'Time is always passing... That means the plots of all these worlds are always progressing, and that means the Difficulty can shoot up at any time...'

Really, it should have been obvious...

"Enki, fret not! You have conquered even Contracts of prevailing Difficulty; this time's Protagonist may have pulled something unexpected, but nevertheless, I am confident in your inevitable triumph! We~ will~ win~!"

Met with Librarian's abrupt, overenthusiastic attempt at rousing me up, I couldn't help but smile.

"It's not that I was worried about failing..."

The reason I faltered was only out of a shock that I missed something so blatantly obvious, that's really all there was to it... mostly. Either way, now that I've realised it, I'll make sure to keep the possibility in mind.

I suppose, in a similar fashion, it may very well be possible for the Difficulty to increase while I'm already inside the Illusory World...

No, something like that would only be natural, as the plot is always advancing in any case.

"Still, I think, for my first 2-star Difficulty Contract, shouldn't I choose something a little easier? Just to make sure I can handle it..."

I wasn't scared, I promise, really.

After all, although it had indeed taken a while, I did manage to clear a 3-star Difficulty Contract without too many issues. Why should I now be frightned of a mere 2-star?

The only issue was――that 3-star Contract didn't have an #Action tag.

This one, on the other hand...

'It could be taking an unnecessary risk...'

So, although it's only 2-star Difficulty, and should technically be "easier" than Drakon-Rasa was, I still think it might be dangerous.

"Hmmm~ Certainly, if you would prefer to play it safe, I think I would concur! In fact, shall I find an alternative 2-star Contract for you now?"

"Ah, if you could do that, please. I'm only a bit concerned because I'm still quite weak, and since I've never taken on 2-star Difficulty before, I'm not sure what to expect. Especially from #Action."

"Certainly! Rather, I do believe the cautious choice is the wise one! Fret not! I'll be sure to select a Contract with noooo~ combat! No fighting! None at all, indeed!"

Hearing the Librarian's outspoken unanimity regarding the decision, I nodded and heaved a small sigh, watching as she carelessly leapt off her stool and dashed through the seemingly endless aisle of the white Library all of a sudden.

"Found one...!"

Soon enough, she rushed back, hopped like a rabbit onto the stool behind her desk, and waved her hand in the empty air.

'Huh? She's never done that before...'

Subsequently, a white scroll materialised in her grasp; as she unfurled it, a screen appeared.

Contract Details

[Consecrated Hell: Decalogue Trial]

Visual Novel

Protagonist: Lilliana Weiss | Detective

Tags: #Mystery #Psychological #Drama #FemaleProtagonist #NarcissisticProtagonist #CuteProtagonist #Religion #DeathGame #MultipleTimelines

Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆

Laying my eyes upon the newly-produced Contract, I took in all the information.

This one really did seem like something unique compared to everything I've taken on so far. Regardless, I would undoubtedly complete it.

'Right... Well, just to be safe, I should probably know what I'm dealing with.'

"Is there anything special I need to know about a 'Detective' Protagonist? There isn't gonna be some outrageous rule like 'Detectives can't be murdered, so killing the Protagonist is impossible', right?"

That was the very first thing that needed to be identified, at least from my perspective.

It was only in the last Contract that I fully realised each type of Protagonist was likely to come with their own sort of quirk, such as the Hero's divinity or the Beloved's affection system.

So then, figuring out the deal of this brand new type, the Detective, was imperative.

Needless to say, I didn't actually think the idea I suggested was actually how it would work, because that would be just absurd and, frankly, a plain bullshit Contract to clear without pulling some shenanigans to bend the rules...

But, naturally, I still had to ask.

You know, just in case.

"Certainly! Hmmm, well, to be honest, I haven't read much of the #Mystery genre, so I'm not too sure! Ah, fret not, however! For there shall always be a method to dispatch the Protagonist, even if they appear unkillable at first! I believe in you to locate a swift path to victory, Enki!"

Declaring that with sheer enthusiasm as she waved her short arms around, the Librarian bore the same whopping grin on her face as usual.

Alas, such jubilance was not something that would serve to make me feel any better, by any means.

Conversely, I only experienced a bad, foreboding sort of feeling infiltrate my chest.

"Haa, right..."

In any case, I suppose the only thing I could do was figure it out on-site...

'Of course―because nothing can just ever be that simple, can it?'

With that more or less sorted, it only left those genre tags―#Mystery, #Psychological, and #Drama. Just as I requested, they were not #Action, and seeing as there was also no #Fantasy tag, I could likewise trust that no incomprehensible magic would be involved.

However, that was as far as the good news went.

Skipping over the Protagonist tags which didn't seem to indicate much of anything and moving directly onto the subgenre tags, a slight frown naturally decorated my face.

#Religion.

#DeathGame.

And #MultipleTimelines.

This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.

None of them―and I mean, absolutely none of the above three―were what I would at all consider to be 'ideal'.

Well, depending on the circumstances, #Religion might be a nonfactor. I could only hope that there would be no divine being who would stand in my way, though if I considered it optimistically, perhaps that wasn't something I should worry about since the Difficulty was only 2-star.

#MultipleTimelines could also be considered something I don't need to worry about since, after all, no matter how many alternate timelines there were, shouldn't I only need to kill the Protagonist once?

Or well, the only timeline the Protagonist needs to be dead in, is this one.

At least, I bloody hoped so――if it wasn't like that, then I really was screwed.

But, in the end, it should be like that because, well, it was only 2-star Difficulty. So, in a sense, those two tags could be comfortably disregarded, and that was definitely not cope.

On the other hand, that remaining tag was...

"Librarian. Does that mean what I think it means?"

"Certainly! Ummm... I suppose it depends on what you think it means!"

"...Well. I'm not sure, but I'm thinking it can't be good."

#DeathGame.

In the end, it really couldn't mean anything good, could it?