Red Contract

On Monday morning, the time came for the scheduled appointment regarding my attendance.

In short, I conveyed my desire to drop out.

I would have to wait for this first semester to end before doing it since there was only about a month left, but as I wasn't going to attend any classes in that time, it didn't really make much of a difference.

The point was that I only had to be available at the end of Christmas Break to begin the official process of dropping out at the start of next semester, since they wouldn't do it over Christmas for some reason. Maybe because the staff were also on holiday.

Anyway, all I needed to keep in mind was that until then, on the 20th to 21st of January, I could chill and do more or less whatever I wanted.

"Umm... En-... Enki...?"

"Hm?"

Currently, I was eating dinner―a.k.a. a cup of chicken noodles―in the Library.

"I-I'm just worried... is what you said to that person really okay...?"

Librarian held her hand close to her mouth and spoke in a low, muffled voice, as if concerned that someone might somehow overhear what she was saying. 

I felt like I could clearly see the kind of look in her eyes even when they weren't visible. It was strange, considering that even her mouth was being covered by her robed hands. The faint creases in her forehead above that blindfold were also telling of her worry.

Has she never played a competitive game before? I guess it would be hard with that appearance.

"What, you're still worrying about that? I told you, there's no need to get so worked up over it. It was only in-game."

"B-but what if he really does it...? Will you be responsible for his death...?"

"Wouldn't that be nice. He's not actually going to die just because I told him to."

"Really...?"

"Yeah. Anyway, the bastard got what was coming to him. Listen. If you try to 1v4 when you're already behind, die, do it again, then blame your teammates for not coming to help your dumb ass when they're doing all they can to salvage what little hope the team has of winning the game, you deserve to get flamed. No need to feel bad in the slightest."

It was in the past, long and gone, but even just reflecting on it made my blood pressure spike palpably.

"Mmm. It's not that... I'm only worried that you might get punished for verbal abuse! It's not that I feel bad, particularly!"

"Oh. Well, I might get a temporary chat ban, but that's fine. Also, you're the one who told me to start killing people, so it'd be weird if you did feel bad for something like that."

Pointing a finger at her as I said that, the Librarian waved her short arms around and hopped on the stool as if stomping her feet.

"T-that's not the same! Protagonists are not people, Enki!"

"Woah. People might get the wrong idea if you say it like that."

"They're not, I say!"

Before I realised it, an amused smirk floated onto my face.

'Protagonists aren't people, huh...'

And then, I echoed the Librarian's bold statement in my mind.

Thinking about it again, I still didn't really know anything about the whole situation between Protagonists, Antagonists, and Illusory Worlds... but I'm sure the Librarian was at least mostly right.

Even if she wasn't, then well... it's whatever.

I've already killed three of them―I'm way too far deep into it now to claim innocence, so I might as well go all the way.

If I end up being a villain or something, that in itself might be a fun playthrough... Since they're only fictional, I can think of it like that, right? At the end of the day, even if they appear real, their true identity is that of fictional characters.

Either way, those Protagonists have been pretty cancer to deal with so far, at least the first two, so I can easily see why they'd be a blight on the rest of the world, too. Guess it's fine to call them subhuman trash, then. And in that case, aren't they just like my ranked teammates...? 

And, could you imagine――It's only going to get worse as the Difficulty increases...

"Hhh, how obnoxious..."

Suddenly, I felt a lot more lethargic about the matter.

"...? Is something the matter, Enki? Fret not, for my assistance shall never not be available!"

"I appreciate it, but it's nothing."

In any case, as I planned previously, I'll probably deal with that "Tamer" now before moving up to 2-star Difficulty Contracts. It shouldn't be too hard to get rid of him now that I've got a gun, even if there are other factors to be wary of.

'The only real caution should be the harem mentioned in the title and Tags, but other than that, it'll probably be mostly fine.'

After that last Contract, I had the feeling I'd already outgrown 1-star Difficulty.

Guzzling down the remaining chicken-flavoured broth left within the cup, I put it to the side before rising from my seat at the Librarian's desk. There didn't seem to be anywhere to throw away trash here, but I'm sure she'd deal with it just fine.

Right as I rose to my feet, she perked up, a wide smile painting her face.

"Have you finished eating? Then, would you like the next Contract?"

"You know the one."

Without hesitation, she thus produced a scroll from the sleeve of her robe and unfurled it.

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: ★☆☆☆☆

'Holy fuck. Did it get longer since the last time?'

I had seen it before when choosing between the three Contracts, but even seeing it for a second time I couldn't believe what I was reading.

'Well, whatever. There's not much more preparation I can make. Let's just get started--'

Bang-!

All of a sudden, the Librarian's tiny hands slammed down on the desk, generating a force and reverberation magnitudes above what that thin and scrawny-looking body should be capable of.

It was such an abrupt and seemingly random action that I took a moment to register what happened, upon which my lips slowly parted.

"...Librar--"

"Enki."

Cutting off my words, she called my name in an uncharacteristic, grave voice.

'Hey hey hey, what's going on now?'

Such extreme acts were completely unlike anything she had shown before―as if something had unexpectedly gone very, very wrong.

But nothing had overtly happened, so what...?

"T-this..."

As she "stared" down at the desk from her high standing position atop the stool, her lips trembled, causing a stutter.

"...What happened?"

I repeated what I was going to ask before, this time without her interrupting me. Then, as if having momentarily forgot that I was still there, she finally faced me.

Somehow, that seemed to relieve her a little and, without any explanation, she made a swiping motion in the air with her hand. Perhaps she thought showing me would make me understand faster than an explanation, and to be honest, I was inclined to agree.

"Certainly... The plight, you see..."

Following the motion of her hand, a scroll materialised from thin air―recognising it right away, I knew instinctively that it was a Contract.

"...Is this."

My eyes widened.

'It's red...?'

Unlike all the previous Contracts she had shown, which had been white as snow and of matching hue to the colour palette of the entire Library itself, this one bore a shade of deep crimson, as if stained all over with fresh blood.

Without a word, the Librarian unfurled the scroll.

Just like before, a screen appeared.

Contract Details

[May the Stars Align One Day in Drakon-Rasa]

Video Game

Protagonist: Ayla Tichá | Beloved

Tags: #Romance #Fantasy #Shoujo #FemaleProtagonist #CuteProtagonist #NaiveProtagonist #OtomeGame #RoyalAcademy #HidingTruePower

Difficulty: ★★★☆☆

Overpowering almost every other feeling received from reading the Contract Details, my gaze, as if caught in a mire, was glued to the final line.

Goosebumps arose all across the surface of my skin, and I shuddered.

Meaning to ask 'What the hell is this?', I glanced at the Librarian for any kind of clarification whatsoever, and albeit slowly, which only served to increase the tension in the air, the words I craved to hear soon flowed.

"This... as its appearance might indicate, is a Red Contract." 

Needless to say, I only knew a little bit about the whole Contract system that was going on here, but as far as what little the Librarian has taught me, I more or less knew the very basics.

The only kinds of Contracts I knew were Blank and White.

A Blank Contract was an Illusory World with no current Protagonist―Not a physical variant of Contract, but rather a 'concept' of what existed prior to the generation of a Contract. 

You might say that White Contracts were the initial generation, sure. But, you could also spin it as these hypothetical Blank Contracts having the possibility to turn into a White Contract whenever a Protagonist appears in that world.

In any case, White Contracts were for Illusory Worlds with a currently active Protagonist, and they were the basic style of Contracts I've been challenged with up until now.

In some sense, they could be considered an evolution of Blank Contracts.

Red Contracts, then, must be a result of White Contracts also having evolved due to some unspoken criteria.

"Certainly, that is correct. The criteria in question is..."

In other words, Red Contracts――

"...A direct request from the Antagonist themself."

They were cries for help.