Exploits from Another World Ch. 6 (This Is Going Exactly As Planned... Is A Phrase I’ve Never Heard)

This Is Going Exactly As Planned... Is A Phrase I've Never Heard

The Kingdom of Esseavast, Ingtasia

June 2021

I've always wondered. How does a light novel author decide who to make the main protagonist? Like what does it take to be the "Oh, so great" protagonist of the story? Do you have to be good-looking? Hard-working? Not that I want to be one. I'm just wondering if I have what it takes. Well. I probably wouldn't qualify as one. My moral compass is too... You know, forget it. It doesn't matter. Protagonist or not isn't going to stop me from doing what I want. In fact, I'd rather be the antagonist. Kidding. I'm not edgy. Don't call me edgy.

...

We continued running down the stairs, passing floors every couple of minutes. The amount of stairs between the floors is a large amount. I glanced my eyes behind me slightly to see if anyone else decided to follow us. I couldn't see anyone following, though my ears picked up a couple of footsteps staggering behind us.

"Yooooo. People are coming with us. I think." I turned to Terensu with my eyes, running a bit faster to catch up to him.

He cached his head forward, not slowing down.

"Ugh, more mouths to feed... But that doesn't matter right now. Just keep on running." Terensu rolled his eyes in disgust. I silently questioned his reaction, considering he was the one who told us to scream in the first place.

Ah shit. This is why I wanted to wait till tomorrow. I gradually began to slow down.

Hah... I'm getting tired~. Tired as in, I'm going to fall down the stairs due to fatigue~.

I bit my lip, screeching a bit. My eyes widened and I caught back up to my original pace. Antoniusu and Sorabu looked behind at me hesitantly confused.

"This is why I wanted to wait a bit before we escape," I grumbled to myself as they rolled their eyes and turned back ahead speeding up.

"Bro, it's not our fault you sleep at 3 in the fucking morning every day," Neisunu said as the other three nodded in sync in agreement.

"Would it kill you to put your phone down and sleep at a reasonable time?" Sorabu asked sarcastically. I opened my mouth then closed it, hesitating on what to say.

"Well to be fair... I was going to sleep early today-" I began.

"Uh-huh, 12 AM isn't fucking early Riamu. What the hell is your definition of early?" Terensu shot at me laughing a bit.

"Ok ok. Whatever. Just keep on running." I said, stopping their shots.

Is 12 a clock' not early? No... It is. Isn't it? I mean. Is it really? Come on. Some people don't sleep at all. They should be happy I'm getting even a little sleep.

Damn these stairs are long. Props to the architect who designed this. How long did it take to even build this damn castle? Considering how they have magic. A couple of years maybe. If this was done on Earth, it probably would've taken... A while.

"Hey. Do ya think we can make a stop before we go to the school?" Antoniusu asked us. Terensu turned his head behind him and looked at Antoniusu.

"Look. We're all tired here. Just wait a bit." Terensu replied turning back ahead.

"What? No. I meant I remember seeing something on the third floor." He said back.

"...Ok...? And... What is it?" Terensu asked with a perplexed look on his face. We looked at Antoniusu in the midst of still running.

"Well, it's something like... Hmm, I don't know. A royal treasury. Lets just say... We could maybe skip past the guards and take a few things. Antoniusu revealed laughing a bit. My eyes widened, I turned to Terensu to see his reaction. Eh? No reaction...

"Are you dumb? It's probably fake. Who the hell would put a treasure on the third floor...? Such an odd place..." Terensu affirmed shivering, quietly mouthing his doubts.

"No no. It might be real. I mean just think about it. From what I've seen. The people in this castle are pretty odd themselves." Sorabu said to Terensu, who abruptly stopped in his tracks.

We all halted. I turned behind me to check if there was anyone following still. Hmm. Look's like the people who were following got a bit behind.

I turned back to Terensu, holding my knees. Geez. I need to catch my breath.

"What's up?" I raised my eyebrows over to Terensu, who appeared to be in deep thought.

He looked up at us for a split second before looking back down, presumably back to thinking.

"... Hmm... Should we go to the treasury?" He turned to the four of us, scratching his neck a little. We all looked at each other, then shrugged.

"Well... We don't know if the place is legitimate... But, I'm willing to take that risk. Think about the type of shit they might have in there." Neisunu looked at Terensu smiling.

"Take the risk or lose the chance." I shrugged, cracking my neck. Just for a little insider info. I hate gambling. Fuck gambling. Like who in their right mind would gamble. Ay. But. If the gamble was for something good... Let's just say... I don't not believe in chance.

"I'm with whatever. Though speaking of which. What floor are we even on? Fucking stairs..." Antoniusu asked, looking around the stairs.

"All that you need to know is that we're close... I can feel it. Let's go then." Terensu responded as he began to walk down the stairs again.

"Nice source." I laughed following behind him.

"Well let's hurry before the people who were following us catch up..." Terensu told us, speeding up a bit. We looked at each other confused. Terensu turned around and looked at us for a second, also confused.

"It's so we don't have to share the loot... Duh." He turned around rolling his eyes.

Dick move. But to be honest, I'm more of a quality over quantity type of guy. I'd much rather have the power of 1,000 men than literally have 1,000 men. I don't swing that way.

"Wow..." Sorabu leaked, with a "yikes" kind of expression on his face.

--------

After another five or so minutes of speed walking, we reached the third floor. And yes. We were speedwalking. We don't have unlimited damn stamina. Hell, I was surprised we kept running for as long as we did.

"Hey hey. I think we're on the third floor." Antoniusu said, stopping his legs as he pointed to a giant three on the wall.

"We see the three dumbass." Neisunu followed behind. I put my hands behind my head and began walking around to catch my breath.

Looking around. It was quite a nice floor. Completely different from all the floors we zoomed by. This one was well... Extravagant?

The stairs leading to the floor were greeted by a huge white open space. In the open space were chandeliers, pillars, and pretty much everything that fits along the lines of extravagant and royal. At the end of the space, a long hallway, leading into who knows what.

"I truly pity the taxpayers," I said putting my arms down.

"I'm sure they pity you just as much," Terensu said bluntly, aiming his finger at what seemed like an endless hallway.

"There. That's where the treasure is." He pointed his finger sharply.

We all looked over to the hallway, then nodded in agreement. It made sense honestly. But it leads to the question "Is overthinking about something good or bad?" Because come on. Though it seemed like the obvious choice. Just a hallway leading to treasure was too good to be true. So what should we do. Decide on if it's a trap... Or just fuck it and go anyways. The answer is...

"Whatcha waiting for? Let's go." Sorabu said waving at me. They already started walking to the hallway while I was thinking. Looks like that's the answer. Dumb or smart choice? We'll find out soon.

"I'll laugh if this is a trap," I said catching up to them. Am I being paranoid? Yes. Is being paranoid in a situation like this okay? Who knows? All I know is that it's not worth worrying over right now. Lets just get our goodies and dip.

"Relax. We just got here today. It's not like they set a trap SPECIFICALLY designed to catch us. We're dead men to them, remember?" Terensu prompted us.

"STOP JINXING IT, YOU BASTARD...!" I yelled quietly to him. I don't know how thick these walls are, but I still don't want to go around screaming. Not a good idea. Screaming could be costly for literally no reason. There was this one time I ended up getting suspended from a school for screaming. Yeah, I know. Fucking stupid. Learned the hard way not to scream.

"Whatever. Can we just hurry up? I'm sure the people following us are close by. Do you want the loot all to yourself or not?" Antoniusu sped up, looking behind him every couple of seconds.

"Good idea," Terensu replied, facing away from me, to proceed to walk faster down the hallway.

I sighed, before matching up to their pace. So much damn walking in this castle. This shit hallway itself is bigger than my damn house was. I once again, pity the damn taxpayers. All of their money was spent on this shit? On Earth, if a government did this and the public found out. Let's just say... COUP DE ETAT. Or something along those lines.

I looked around the hallway. Paintings, paintings, and more paintings. Rich stereotype? Yep. Cliche...

Though to be fair, I took a look around the kingdom while we were on our way to the castle. And well, they do definitely spend a good amount of tax money on the citizens. I'll give them that at least. But still...

I peered behind me in the hallway again.

Really overkill...

"Oh. We're here." Terensu said halting in front of a huge pair of closed doors. He quietly examined it thoroughly, looking around as if he was checking for something.

"Well, it's not like it'll open haha," Antoniusu said walking up and pulling at the door rigorously. He stopped after a few attempts and looked back at us

"See? I was thinking it'd be too good to be true. Obviously, they wouldn't leave the damn door to their treasures unclocke-."

"Push, not pull," Terensu said pushing the door open. Our faces widened as the doors opened inwards.

"You're joking," Antoniusu said with a straight face. I snickered a bit as we all walked forward.

"Well, let's see what the hell is in here," Sorabu said entering the room to where the door led to. We followed him soon after.

The room felt huge. I couldn't tell. The ceiling was high, but it was pitch dark and was litten up with nothing but a few lanterns that we found by our feet and the additional light from the hallway that still beamed into the room. But even then... Those lanterns barely dimmed the room.

We picked up the lanterns steadily, and held them up around us, brightening the few surrounding feet. Inchmeal, we began to walk forwards, following Terensu's lead.

I glanced around with my lantern. Nothing came in sight. Where the fuck is this treasure? Assuming there's treasure at all, we need to find it quick... I don't wanna be caught by some damn guards just yet.

"So... Where's the treasure?" Neisunu asked peering behind him. By then, the light from the hallway had already faded. The only light visible was the ones coming from our lanterns.

"No idea." Terensu responded nonchalantly speeding up a bit. I turned back forwards sighing. This seems like it'll be a drag. Best hope the treasures worth it.

I'm not THAT into materialistic things. But things you can sell for money? Well everyone loves money rights? Especially people who just got transported into some unknown world with an X on their head and no money to top it all off.

"Go faster." I said to Terensu.

"No." He replied holding his lantern out farther.

"Why?" I said trying to annoy him.

"Shut the hell Up!" He yelled behind him. I laughed a bit as I waved him off, signaling it was a joke.

"Who's there...?" A masculine voice calmy echoed from ahead of us. We halted in surprise.

My eyes widened, but I quickly calmed down. I looked at the others earingly. I'll be honesty. I should be panicking now, but right now I'm more disturbed than anything. Usaully you'd scream, "Who's there!?" when you feel someone is walking towards you in a place they shouldn't be in. But this guy... I don't know. But it feels off more than frightening.

"Riamu look what you did. Yeah, no." Terensu said turning back and walking to where we came from. I nodded and started to follow the others when.

"Relax."

A young adult man dressed in delicate attire appeared in front of us. The man towered all of us, though wasn't exceedingly tall. He smiled and looked at the five of us. We stared at him for a couple of seconds in silence.

"Uh… Well this is awkward… We got lost... Or something." Antoniusu said to him completely ignoring the fact he quite literally teleported in front of us. I sighed and looked up at the man. He was quite good looking, and that's coming from me. He was blonde and looked wealthy from the clothes he wore. But he didn't emit the aura a rich person had... If you know what I mean.

"...I wasn't born yesterday..." The man replied to Antoniusu. I snickered a bit hitting Antoniusu.

"You guys are apart of the new heroes that were summoned a bit ago, are you not?" He continued yawning. We nodded looking at each other suspiciously.

"So putting aside the fact that you suddenly appeared in front of us... Yes, we're some of the heroes. And you are...?" I asked him, observing his expressions. He looked at me and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Ah that's right. I haven't introduced myself... I'm Sin. Sin the uh... The janitor?" He replied to my question. Unbelievingly trying to convince us. Is this guy a dumbass? WE ALSO weren't born yesterday either. Just saying.

"Uh huh... So, what are you doing in the treasury Sid?" Terensu asked peering at his clothes.

"I don't know." Sin replied instantly. We all sighed. Is he not even going to try to back himself up. Whatever. I honestly couldn't care if this guys the damn prince of bel air. I'mma take my shit then I'm out.

Sin laughed for a moment before staring back to us. He sighed with a faint smile covering his face. I flinched and backed up a little.

"You guy remind me a lot about this one story. You know the one with that group of villains. The villains that took over the world, but for good?" Sin said.

We wouldn't know. After all we're not even from here. And taking over the world for good? Don't make me laugh. I'd take over the world just cause I was bored.

"Uh. We're heroes though…? Summoned and all." Sorabu said.

"I know. So what are you five doing here?" Sin asked observing our faces. I backed up a little then looked at Terensu. Urging him to reply.

"Uh. Lost. And… Yeah…" Terensu looked to the corner of his eyes. Looks like an excuse for this wasn't so easy to come up with.

Sin squinted his eyes then snickered a bit.

"You guys came here to steal some royal shit, am I right...?" He asked beginning to walk back from where he teleported. Teleported? I don't really know.

"Busted." Sorabu jokingly said glancing at the four of us. I got what he was trying to say. Are we gonna run this? He didn't seem like a bad person, but running away did seem like the better option.

"Don't try to run, just… Just follow me." Sin said beckoning us with his hands to follow him. We stared at each other, before looking at Terensu to make the decision.

What was the better choice…? In one hand, Sin did seem like a trustworthy man, and even in a way. Following him could reward us. Say, he gave us something. But on the other hand, we could be walking right into our own deaths.

"Uh, sure." Terensu said nodding his head over to him. Well… Looks like we're following him after all. I really don't care at this point. And from what it seems. Sin here doesn't seem to know we're wanted. So maybe it is the better choice to follow him.

We followed Sin, keeping a small distance while walking. We were all quite obviously still a bit suspicious of him. But we decided to trust him a bit, just until we know where he's trying to bring us. Hopefully not to guards.

I really hope it's not guards.

What surprised me most of all though was Terensu putting his trust into this guy. It was unlike him to trust someone so easily, even more in a situation where it could be leading to our deaths. And even more so a person we just met. But I get why he trusted him. Sin had an aura around him. That of an aura that said he wouldn't lie or put someone in danger intentionally. He looked and seemed smart. Like a real hero. Despite the actions we've seen of him so far.

This guy was obviously much more than a janitor.

"Here." Sin said coming to a halt in front of a lectern type podium. A deteriated book resided on top of the podium. Sin picked it up and stared at us menacingly.

Oh God. Did we just walk into some cult type shit. Damn it. Why... Why did we trust someone with the fucking name Sin.

"Uh. So what's that for?" Neisunu asked backing up a bit. We followed, backing from Sin as he inhaled and exhaled a deep breath.

"It's a encyclopedia... An encyclopedia of this world... To be more precise. The only encyclopedia of this world. For the other worlds. I couldn't help you." He said seriously staring at us. We all looked at him like he was crazy. This guy… He's got some problems that's for sure. This is very sudden. I hope he knows that.

"You guys should have this. This little group of five... I don't know what. But I won't say some cringeworthy speech about friendship. I'll be straightforward. You five... You guys seem like you can bring an end to this corrupt kingdom." Sin continued looking down. We stared at each other confused.

"I want you five to bring an end to this kingdom once and for all…!" Sin said menacingly staring at us.

"Kinda cheesy to ask... But that aside, you literally just met the five of us. Putting such a huge task on us… And for such a blatant reason too…" Sorabu said staring at the book.

"Yes yes. I know. Though. In all my years, I have never once seen… Some summoned idiots try to break into the royal treasury…" Sin said staring at his own hands.

"Oh… Are you like actually serious? You really want us to bring down this kingdom?" I asked, remembering the beauty of the village outside the castle. Eh… It could look better in flames I guess. You never know.

"I'm all for bringing down this kingdom and whatever. Since you know... Nevermind that. We'd gladly love to crush this kingdom. But well…" Terensu said glancing at the encyclopedia.

Damn it. We just activated an event in this game called life. We completely just changed our route. There's no way we're risking our lives for this… Right…? I glanced at Terensu then brought my attention back to Sin.

"Crushing huh... His kingdom..." Sin whispered to the ground with a frown on his face.

"What was that?" Sorabu asked lifting his left hand to his ear. We heard him. That cliche whispering shit won't work on us. It seems best not to let him know we heard that though. "His kingdom" sounds kinda dangerous if you asked me.

"So... What's the problem?" Sin raised his head with a smile. He held the encyclopedia with one hand and began handing it over.

"Really dude…? An encyclopedia? If you really do expect us to destroy this kingdom for whatever your reason is… At least give us a better choice of weaponry. I know knowledge is power and everything, and don't kill me over it. But it may come to a surprise when you find out we actually can't use magic. Or something along those lines." I said taking the encyclopedia and staring at it. Shit…Was telling Sin we were "Faulties" bad? He does want us to destroy whatever kingdom this is, so he probably would care. But… Everyone from this world so far hasn't reacted nicely to the thought of people not being able to use magic.

"Yeah, I could tell just by glancing at your sorry asses. Why do you think I gave you an encyclopedia? It's simply because as non-magic users, you guys wouldn't be able to use any weapon in this treasury at all. You're just not built for it, you know what I mean?" He replied walking to where we originally came from.

"Ouch." We all said, following behind him.

"So... You're not disgusted by us lowly faulties?" Neisunu asked sarcastically. I held the encyclopedia in my hand. This thing was too big to fit in any pocket. So thick… How am I supposed to carry this thing around...?

"I honestly couldn't give a shit. The people here do though, so you'd better watch out. Also, tap the book a couple of times to shrinken it. That book is way more in value than you could possibly imagine. You'll see soon enough once you find out how large the world you stand in truly is. It's yours. No one else can use it but you five. Thank my daughter for that magic." Sin said to me as we approached the light peering from the hallway.

We know a thing or two about living in a big world. Well I guess. I tapped the book a couple of times until it shrinked into the size of a pocket watch. Woah. Talk about convenient. I just keep on jynxing myself hahaha. I slipped it into my pocket and continued walking towards the opened doors. The sudden light from the hallway stung my eyes for a second. But I quickly adjusted to it and cleared the blurry image that was waiting through the doors.

"Ah shit." Antoniusu said as what stood outside became more clear.

Just to our luck huh…? Well can't really blame them. We practically did just break into their treasury or some shit.

The three princesses and a pile of guards waited outside of the door. We gawked at Sin, but he just persisted on walking.

"Uh. You do know that as faulties, those three princesses want our heads?" I said slowing down a bit and chuckling.

"I'm aware. So I'll leave you with these words before we part ways. Also forgive me, but I'd rather not help you get out of this. It'd raise suspicion on my part haha." Sin said closing his eyes.

So he's like not gonna help us escape or something? So much for wanting us to do a task for him. We'll literally be killed if we're caught right? But… Does it matter anymore...? We have the power of an encyclopedia now after all...! The five of us stared at each other disappointed.

"Listen carefully. Only you five will and can know about this." Sin said with the most serious look I've seen on his face all night. We listened with our eyes glued on him. It made me kind of nervous not going to lie.

"That book may seem stupid. But that book contains the most powerful knowledge in this kingdoms history... This entire world's history, map, and details on every location recorded by the former king of this kingdom....." Sin looked down as we approached the entrance of the door.

"Time has ran out. You all need to know, there's not a single human in this country other than the former king, his companions, the current queen and me who knows about the existence of other races. They all live in the delusion that monsters are the enemy of humans and that humans are the one and only intelligent life out there." My mouth widened.

Only intelligent life… Wait what. Are you serious...? How could someone keep such a huge secret like other races...? I skimmed through the first couple pages of the book... Demons, Elves, Dwarfs... You're telling me they kept all of this a secret. How the hell do you keep those kinds of races a secret in a fucking fantasy world.

"Sound's a bit like the humans on earth to me." Antoniusu nudging our way as we all snickered a bit.

"I couldn't destroy this kingdom. But if it's you guys... Cast aways... Ruthless cast aways... Literally emotionless, ruthless cast away-"

"We get it." Terensu said stopping Sin from continuing. We walked towards the princesses who were staring at us intensely. The first princess stared bullets through our eyes, the second who looked like she was looking at some trash. And the third princess staring down at our legs with her hands to her chest.

"We won't ask why you want to destroy this kingdom. Or who you are at that, but we'll destroy it on our own consent." I said grinning, pushing my glasses up.

"Excellent," He said smiling faintly.

I don't know if that sounded cringe or cool. But hey. We got let in on a big secret for being assholes. Win Win situation am I right? More than that. We're pretty much being asked to cause destruction. Sounds like fun does it not…?

"Oh, by the way, let me know your guy's names." Sin asked walking out with us.

"Guess we'll never know why you were in the treasury in the first place... But looks like it worked out just fine after all... Terensu's the name." Terensu replied scratching his head softly.

"Mhm. Neisunu" Neisunu nodded lightly.

"Antoniusuuuu~~" Antoniusu yawned.

"Sorabu." Sorabu bowed towards Sin.

"Fuck you. Riamu, by the way." I said pushing my glasses up from the side.

"Alright then. Good luck you five. Oh, you should know that there's more than one-"

"F-Father!"

The first princess ran forward raising her dress as she did, resting in front of Sin. She pouted and pointed at him.

"Father...! What are you doing with these filthy faulties...!?" She yelled pointing at us. I held back from laughing as Terensu hit me at the side to stop. Sin look at the third princess with his eyes closed and his mouth shut.

My face dropped when I realized... I sighed and slowly lowered my face into my hand.

"So... Sin was the king huh...? Why does he look so fucking young again?" I yelled quietly to the other four. They shrugged as they shifted their attention back to the monarches.

"That Riamu, is something you'll learn eventually." Sin winked at us. My eye twitched.

"As for you my dear Ellie, I had no idea these five were faulties! They merely told me they got lost in the castle!" Sin spoke to Eleth with horribly performed acting.

"Scoundrels...! They dear trick father...! Throw them into the dungeon... Now!" The princess yelled as guards grabbed us.

"Hold on sister! Why can't we just talk about this? I'm sure even though they can't use magic, they mean no harm." The third princess stopped the guards. What a nice soul... But unfourtanetly for her.

"No no. That's fine thank you. Please guide us the dungeon if you would," I asked the guard next to me who hesitated for a second before lightly grabbing my arm and dragging me to the dungeon.

"B-but!" The third princess tried to say.

"Just leave it Lucy." Sin said throwing us a peace sign. And just like that. It's goodbye for now. I don't have a clear analysis on his personality. But he seems trustworthy.

"What are you planning Riamu?" Terensu requested as the guards dragged us dropping down the stairs.

"Just wait and see..." I said with a large sinister grin on my expression.

"Let's just say, I always come prepared for these sorts of things." I continued, pulling my airpods out of my pocket.