Antagonist Protection Service-Chapter 155 - New Responsibility

155: New Responsibility

155: New Responsibility

“―I will be relying on you to ensure the Tower is well-protected, Enki.”

As if reading my mind, Leinth abruptly spoke, her gentle voice firming just enough for me to tell how serious she was.

“…I understand.

I’ll try my best– no, I’ll make sure it doesn’t fall.”

Giving her my honest response, the same otherworldly smile lit up her face.

“Thank you.

I believe you.”

After that, she took another elegant sip of her coffee, and I couldn’t help but see the small, slightly chubby face of the Librarian overlap at that moment.

“…”

“…My time is almost up.

It was lovely meeting you after all this time, Enki.

Truly.”

Following a period of peaceful silence, feeling a tad awkward that I couldn’t think of anything to say, she eventually broke it with those words.

“Please take care of the little one while I’m away.”

“Ah…

the Librarian?

Is she…”

“Certainly.

She is a clone of myself, although I admit I see her more as an adorable little sister…

Ahem, in any case, it gladdens me like nothing else to see how cheerful she has been recently.

Thank you for that as well, and I hope you’ll continue to look after her just the same.”

“Oh, of course.

She doesn’t really cause any trouble, so that’s no problem…

Um, I’ll see you next time…?”

Covering her mouth with the sleeve of her robe, she softly giggled at what I presumed to be my awkwardness, making me feel even more strange.

“Yes, certainly.

I’ll see you next time as well.

Don’t feel pressured to wake me up, it wastes far too much World Stability to do willy-nilly.

Make sure to save it up for when the need arises, alright?

Then, farewell…”

Her voice echoed in my ears for a while, and before I knew it, I opened my eyes.

“…”

All of a sudden, I was standing back in that dilapidated stone room, just before the massive mana crystal.

Within it, Leinth was again wholly encased.

‘…When did I even close my eyes?’

Confused, I scratched my head, eventually chalking it up to her magic.

‘Ah, wait, should I have asked her about that?

Wasn’t she a super genius mage or something…

Tsk, whatever.’

Turning around, I walked to the Chamber’s door, giving her one final glance before walking through, closing it behind me.

“Enki!

That was fast!”

Immediately, the Librarian called out, swaying endearingly atop the stool in a way that was exceedingly familiar, and yet something I couldn’t help but see in a new light, now knowing what the adult version of her was like.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of my mind, I approached the desk casually.

“Was it?

It didn’t feel fast at all when I was in there.”

“I was joking!

Time stopped when you were speaking to the Spirit, so I actually didn’t wait at all!”

“Did it now?

I see…”

Pausing for a moment, I quickly thought about something and asked.

“By the way, I found out your real name was Leinth.

Do you want me to call you that, or–”

“Librarian!”

Not even giving me the chance to finish my sentence, she exclaimed.

“Sorry?”

“I want to be the Librarian!

Big si– uhm, the Spirit told me my job was veeeery important, so I have to do a good job!

Librarian is professional, so Enki can call me that!”

“Oh, is that how it is?

Alright then.

You’ll keep being the Librarian, is that okay?”

“Certainly!”

Reactively smiling at her enthusiastic jump, even though it was the same as how she normally acted, part of the grown-up Leinth’s words affected me still, and I felt like I was beginning to see the Librarian in the same way she mentioned―something more along the lines of a little sister.

Even though I never had a little sister, I did have a little brother to compare her to, and I must admit…

It probably wasn’t too far off.

Anyway, I had a couple of things I had to do now that I was back, and somehow, the meeting with Leinth only lengthened the list.

The first thing was…

“God damn, I’m tired…”

――Going to sleep.

I had been awake for far too long as it was, and although those health potions and the new armour set certainly helped with the recovery, my body still ached like hell from where I had been scratched, bitten, and pierced by a feather.

Fortunately, sleep was even good for recovering from injury, and whenever I woke up around twelve hours later, I felt as good as new.

Secondly, I was already planning on checking it before, but now that I had discovered a whole new responsibility on my plate, I thought there was no good in wasting any time.

“How far have those bastards gotten…

What?!”

Checking my phone as I laid in bed, I abruptly exclaimed, almost jumping out of bed fully after confirming what I saw.

[!

Limit Broken Once Again !

World’s First Ninth Floor Clear | Who is John Pierce?]

Reflected in my eyes, there it was.

World’s First, the Ninth Floor had been cleared.

And not only that, but it was that same fucker, John Pierce.

“…I need to stop him soon.”

The absurd rate of clearing wasn’t as concerning before, but now I knew that I had to compete against it, or worse, clear it even faster so that I could catch up and put a stop to it before it was too late, it was really starting to seem like a royal pain in the arse.

“Damn it…

It’s already Spring Break, so Ella’s probably in the middle of waiting for her Awakening evaluation results…”

For a few moments I considered contacting her and asking her where the centre was located so that I could go and quickly get myself registered too, but eventually dismissed the idea.

“No, I should just stick with my original plan.

I’ll need to get stronger to clear the Tower fast anyway, and the most efficient way to do that is through clearing Contracts.”

‘Right.

World Stability is a far more potent source of growth than whatever items or other nonsense I’d find in the Tower itself, especially in the lower Floors.’

Besides, once I acquire Mana Corruption and the ability to utilise mana, everything from that point on would lend itself to me.

My growth until now was relatively sluggish, but because mana was the foundation of everything from physical strength and body enhancement to casting pure magic, the moment I attained it, my strength would surely grow rapidly.

‘Alright, I shouldn’t waste any time.

I feel bad for ignoring everyone else for so long, but this is–‘

[Enkiiiiii…!

Emergency, emergency!]

All of a sudden, the Librarian’s voice exclaimed loudly in my mind, calling my name with blatant panic.

“Woah woah woah, calm down, what’s wrong?

Librarian, what’s going o–?”

Immediately rushing to enter the Library, I abruptly froze.

“Look!

It’s bad news!”

In her hands was a red scroll.

“A Red Contract?

That’s fine, I’ll take care of it.

Just send me in right now, it’s alright.”

“No no no no, you don’t understand!

Look, look!”

Feeling something off at her consistent worry, I frowned, waiting for the Contract Details screen to appear before me.

And the moment it did, I realised.

Contract Details

[Once Again, I Shall Rule!]

Manga Serialisation

Protagonist: Evarius | Reincarnator

Tags: #Fantasy #Sci-fi #Action #MaleProtagonist #EvilProtagonist #OverpoweredProtagonist #Magic #ModernDay #Dragons

Difficulty: ★★★★★

“…”

This was utterly fucked.