Reward

This time, I didn't feel astonished, taken aback, shocked, or anything like that.

Whether it was due to the subconscious influence of Professionalism or the 'development' of my own self's psyche, I didn't think the reason particularly mattered. And, perhaps worse, I didn't even know if that indifference was my own.

At the end of the day, I was here to get a job done, and well.

I did it.

Even if I thought about it for a little while longer, that was the extent of the emotions in my heart.

[Congratulations once again, Enki! Hihi, I was certain the plan would succeed!]

The Librarian's enthusiastic voice echoed, accompanied by a brief giggle.

"Thanks for the help. It would've taken me a lot longer otherwise."

[Your gratitude is most welcome! I suppose we truly are a magnificent team! Then, would you like to return to the Library right away?]

I pondered for a moment at the Librarian's question.

Though this was a magic academy, I hadn't really learned anything about magic. I never heard anything about some crazy magical item, either.

Naturally, I witnessed magic being cast both in and outside of class, though its use was indeed scarce, and it didn't actually help me understand anything about it, either. In the first place, nothing I saw was particularly flashy or interesting compared to a grand term like 'magic'.

"...No loot there, either."

Glancing down at the Protagonist's fresh corpse, I couldn't spot anything valuable. In fact, for the whole past two days, I never caught a glimpse of anything that might be worth taking at all.

He wore the same uniform I did, except the colouring of the emblem on his was gold rather than silver, and his wand seemed to be of the same quality, too. Though, to be fair, it's not like I could tell the difference just by looking.

Anyway, if I couldn't use magic, then there was no point taking it when I already had my own.

Giving a soft sigh, I let out a voice that felt strangely low.

"Just take me back. I don't think there's anything valuable here, and I should probably get going before anyone arrives."

[Certainly! Returning you to the Library now~!]

The world shifted, and a few seconds later, she appeared before me, a beaming, almost lambent smile plastered on her face. Every time I saw her she wore an expression like that, and though it certainly wasn't a trait I could call bad, it really was as if she had such gaiety engraved into her very being.

It only became a little unsettling when the topic revolved around murder.

"Welcome back!"

Like that, it was a sharp juxtaposition when considering the sort of work she was involved in, and thinking of that while looking at the innocent face which called out and welcomed me so gleefully, it all came together to form an image of something truly twisted.

At that moment, I felt it deeper than ever before.

Something really was wrong with this situation I found myself involved with.

As I watched her perform a miniature twirl on the stool, such a concern was swiftly placed aside in my mind, and my mouth opened subconsciously.

"How much World Stability did I get for that one?"

"Certainly! Your balance is currently 1,650 World Stability Units!"

Receiving an unexpected answer, my eyebrows jumped up.

"Oh. It's quite a bit more than the first Contract."

"Certainly! It appears the Difficulty can be rather misleading―as there are no half-star ratings, certain Contracts of seemingly equal Difficulty turn out to have quite the disparity in reality."

''It appears'...?'

"So, that Contract could be considered 1.5 star Difficulty?"

"Certainly, I suppose! That seems to be the case!"

That was strange.

I had no doubt that the additional Difficulty came from nowhere else but the excessive, frankly off-putting level of friendship between those three, as well as the foreboding threat of magic, but still.

'The Hero was a hell of a lot more dangerous than that guy, wasn't he...?'

Well, since I spent practically the same amount of time there, I certainly wasn't going to complain for a 65% increase in reward. I guess the primary reason behind such a big boost in reward is the fact that the Protagonist syphoned that much more World Stability, right?

After all, rather than the Difficulty, it would make more sense for that to be the deciding factor in how much I receive.

In any case, fortunately, I didn't have to look through every single category in the Shop this time to see what was good. Without hesitation, I opened up the Assistance Menu.

There were a whole load of different things I 'wanted'.

But I could effectively narrow what I 'needed' down to two things.

Item - [APS Black Wisp (S1-Stealth Series)]

Tactical pistol with a high-quality suppressor attachment, coated black. Accepts various ammunition types.

*Possesses Anti-Protagonist properties

*Magic Bullet Enhancement

Grade : Standard

Price : 800 U

Firstly, this gun, the 'Black Wisp', which is what I was originally going to purchase before Librarian persuaded me to buy the Villainous Blade instead.

And, second on the list.

Trait - [Charismatic]

You are an individual whom others cannot seem to take their eyes or mind off. 

With actions so captivating like feats of magic and a voice so silvery smooth it could be likened to sweet treats, you are naturally viewed with considerable favourability.

(All aspects of your character appear more charming)

Price : 1,600 U

This Trait, which I placed a higher priority on acquiring than any other Skill or Trait available in the Shop. Ah, a stipulation―It's actually the only Trait I had an eye on that I could afford right now. I was poor, so let's leave it at that.

To get things into order, I'd probably end up taking that arena fighter Contract next rather than the harem one, so I should consider which of these two would be most useful for that.

Again, a one versus one was infinitely more preferable than a one versus anything else, so that's what I based my decision on.

Whichever options I didn't purchase now, I'd just buy it after I complete the next Contract, so that's the most important point.

As a side note, the price of everything in the Shop didn't really seem to reflect well on its usefulness or practicality. 

For example, it seems that Items generally cost less than Skills and Traits, but that obviously didn't mean that all Items were worse than all Skills and Traits.

I've seen some Skills and Traits that were exorbitantly expensive but seem like utter trash, such as a Trait called Aromatic, which only had the effect of making the user smell nice, and was available for 1,400 World Stability.

On the other hand, Charismatic for only 1,600 appeared, at least to me, as a steal; if I could charm all the Protagonists into letting their guard down, that alone will make most Contracts a piece of cake, right?

That's essentially all I did for the first two, after all, and reinforcing the strategy that works seems like a good idea to me.

...Well, considering the next one is something along the lines of a slave fighter in an arena, it's probably not the case that a Casanova approach would be nearly as effective.

After all, when the objective is to kill someone, there isn't much that can do a better job than a gun.

No matter how charming I become, I don't think I'm stopping anyone's heart with a smile any time soon. Or ever, in fact.

Anyway, the choice was simple, and for that reason―

Item purchased

[APS Black Wisp (S1-Stealth Series)] added to Storage

―I'm taking the gun.