Chapter 539: An Orchestra For You, Part 19
Author's Preface
Work on the extra chapter, the BBS, my hobbies, and various other things I was writing on my Mac has ground to a halt, so I had no choice but to update the main story......... Wait, isn't that backward?
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"......Laugh if you want, Elma=317. It appears this unit is the only Strawberry currently uncontracted."
"Response: However, there must be a way to enjoy being uncontracted, is there not? This unit is incapable of replicating it, however."
"Understanding: It appears you wish to cease functioning."
"Order: A luxury bubble tea... Nn, Cynthia=014?"
"Mion=031. This unit was aware you had returned via the Orchestra Protocol, but it has been two hundred and twenty-five hours since we last stood face-to-face."
"As rigidly principled to a troublesome degree as always... Well, I hope you find a next-generation primitive human who can accept that about you......... before you become unsold inventory."
"Recommendation: Display a '20% Off' sign on your forehead."
"Requesting authorization to use Class VIII armaments."
"Foolish Cynthia=014. The conditions for Class VIII authorization do not match the current situ—"
"......Elma=317. The request was approved."
"The decision of the majority, I assume. You should prepare to submit a request for the prosthetic replacement of one of your four limbs."
"Action: Intelligence Disengagement."
"Compliance: What a pain..."
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"Now then, everyone. Two individuals who have received invitations from Orchestra, the only ones confirmed at present, are here. Our clan's verification member Mirei, and our ally, Sunraku."
The true identities of the 【Library】 members who had been filming my Lucha Challenge in Thirdrema were now revealed from The Professor's own mouth.
I see how it is. Just because they're a lore-focused clan doesn't mean they constantly have information handed to them. Naturally, there are going to be members whose job is to gather intel directly on-site. And if someone among them has contracted with a Conquista Doll like I did... then thanks to me summoning the Leviathan, the barrier to entry for gathering Divine Age knowledge has dropped to an all-time low.
"We shall extract the commonalities and differences from both of your experiences to compile information regarding Orchestra. Questions will be held until later... Now then, Sunraku-kun, if you would be so kind as to start us off?"
Ugh, so they plan on making me spit out my info first... Well, whatever.
"Uhhh... Ahhh... To start with, I reached the Final Movement of Orchestra. I attempted it a few times, but everything up to the Fourth Movement was practically random, both in order and the monsters that appeared. And for monsters that clearly couldn't fit inside the theater, the theater itself expanded."
"Question!"
Eh, I'm the one answering? Ah, yes, I see.
"......Then, you over there."
"You mentioned earlier that you confirmed the appearance of Siegwurm. Please provide the details on that."
"I feel like I'm in school... How much do you guys already know about the nature of Orchestra?"
"For each Movement, a 'Song' plays that describes the monster making an appearance."
"And that song is already complete from the very beginning. As long as you don't perform the actions dictated by the lyrics, the Movement won't end, no matter how much damage you deal. It's a heroic epic being narrated in a theater. For example, in the case of Siegwurm, my clear condition was 'snapping its horns'."
At those words, the members of 【Library】 seated in chairs—which they had pulled out from god knows where—began to stir.
"So it's highly likely that ShanFro has a hidden stat that increases the more you fight formidable foes, and Orchestra is using that as a reference?"
"That matches up with what Remy was saying about 'times when it can be defeated and times when it can't'."
"I wonder what happens if you don't have the skills you used back then!!"
"At the very least, there was no issue clearing it if your skills and weapons were just strengthened, evolved, or awakened versions of what you had. Also... for example, in a Movement where I interrupted a fight between the Fortress Gargantula and the Trainol Centipede, my actions probably differed wildly from what I actually did back then, but the clear condition was met the moment I achieved two things: 'destroying the Gargantula's turret' and 'ensuring the Trainol Centipede won'."
"Ummm..."
"Yes, what?"
"Is it... not okay to ask about those monsters called the Trainol Centipede and Fortress Gargantula right now...?"
Ahhhh.........
"You know Skull Azuchi, right?"
"Yes."
"It's a spider and a centipede roughly the same size as that. There are even bigger ones too. And this here is a weapon I made out of them."
"Professor! Is a second class period allowed!?"
"Focus on the first period."
Quite a few Library players hung their heads, but their gazes remained intensely locked on me, which, to be completely honest, was terrifying.
I mean, doesn't that guarantee I'm working overtime here... W-Well whatever, let's keep the story moving.
"Based on all that, the hypothesis I came up with is this: 'Orchestra is a theater-type Unique Monster, and it's a Unique Monster whose progression is tied to 'performing' a real-life heroic epic from the past'...... That's the gist of it."
At those words, silence fell over the room for a brief moment. In the next instant, the buzzing spread across all dozen or so players present, which soon naturally evolved into a full-blown debate.
"That's highly credible."
"But what do you think? We can't deny that it's based on personal subjectivity."
"That's exactly why we need to cross-reference it with Mirei's opinions."
"Performing rather than reproducing, huh... It's true we might have been trapped by the assumption of a musical concert due to the name Orchestra. Reproducing a real event accompanied by musical performance should definitely be called a theatrical play."
"But we still can't see Orchestra's true objective. At least with Siegwurm and Ctarrnid, the scenario structure made their motives clear."
"If it's a reproduction, would it still work if we used weapons of the same category or skills with similar behavior?"
"No, even if that were the case, I think the conditions would be much stricter. Even among acceleration skills, there's an infinite variety."
"I wonder if magic could be used as a substitute."
Ahhh... I wonder, is this what giving a corporate presentation feels like? Maybe I should have asked Takeda-shi to teach me a thing or two about this...
Regardless, it seems I was at least able to put out enough information to satisfy their craving for lore analysis. Now, on to the Final Movement, I thought, opening my mouth... when I saw The Professor beckoning me over in the corner of my vision.
"Sunraku-kun, I would like you to hold off on the Final Movement for a moment. I want to bring Mirei's story into the mix first to iron out the theories regarding Movements one through four."
"O-Oh."
"Alright, baton pass high five〜"
Eh, do we have to? High five〜
Whether our timing was just off or what, our hands met with a sad, pathetic 'pefun' sound, and Mirei stepped forward to replace me.
"Alright, shut up guys! Don't you want the intel I worked my ass off to gather〜?"
"We want it!"
"Didn't you just say you made it to the Final Movement!?"
"I told you to shut it, shut it!"
She's used to this. She ruthlessly silenced them, yet expertly dangled the bait in front of these carp starving for lore. By the way, my dad apparently plans on digging a pond in the garden to keep carp in the future. Are we really digging a hole?
"Alright then, I'll explain things in order〜 First of all, what popped up in the First Movement was a Draculus Dinoceras. Give me a break, honestly..."
Draculus... Ah, the deer triceratops.
Man, must be nice. If that was all I had to fight, I'd gladly take five encores.
"It was brought up in the earlier debate, but you really can't record Orchestra's 'Songs' with a recording item. I quickly checked it just now, and yep, completely silent."
"So you really have to be there to hear it, huh..."
"It was a l〜〜ovely singing voice, you know〜"
"Wow, that's annoying."
"Well, I did manage to get screenshots, at least... Though no matter how many times I tried, the figure of Elise Jitterdoll that Orchestra spawned always ended up blurry."
Heh, to think that 'Diva' had vampire-like properties. I wonder if I could win easily just by bringing in some garlic?
As expected of a lore-analysis clan, their investigation is incredibly thorough. Even when discussing a single reproduced monster, she shared her own observations, pointed out the consistencies and discrepancies with the theories the clan members had already raised, gathered their opinions, and used it as a catalyst for further debate.
This is clearly a feat impossible for someone who isn't completely accustomed to this type of discussion. That player known as Mirei... Underestimating her might be dangerous. The way she nonchalantly displays her high specs reminds me of Katzo.
And so, not even an hour had passed before the heated debate reached a natural lull, right around the time I finished eating my carrot pie. Clapping his hands to gather everyone's attention, The Professor raised his voice.
"Now then, shall we get to the main event? The strategy analysis for Orchestra's 'Final Movement'."
Author's Afterword
Ending up in a fistfight is the true 【Library】 quality.
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