Chapter 17: The Belated Tuner

“Damn trash!”

Norius angrily swung his fist at Siloque.

Useless.

The transparent barrier, formed by hexagons, neutralized Norius’s attack every time.

He couldn’t even touch a single flake of Siloque’s dandruff.

“Releasing Magic in public, attacking innocent civilians, destroying public property, disturbing official order, committing another crime in front of law enforcement… and causing noise pollution by shouting loudly in a public place. Sir, please come with us.”

“Wait, I’m innocent! He did it! That girly Siloque, look, he’s still laughing! Arrest him!”

“Ow, it hurts, my waist is about to break… Look at this, my sister’s so scared she can’t move. I demand Spirit Damage Compensation.”

“You stinking trash, holding your head and whining about your waist, could you be any more fake?!”

Norius raged in powerless fury, while on the other side of the barrier, Siloque calmly picked his ear.

A Tuner glanced at Siloque, then asked Norius:

“You made the first move, didn’t you? You can’t deny that.”

“So what if I did.”

“Did he release Magic at you, or use any special tools to affect your mind?”

“…No.”

“Correct. My colleague’s instruments only detected your Magic waveforms and a brief residue from the young lady. Finally, did anyone order you to attack?”

“No….”

“So you had a dispute with this young man, then attacked. Is that right?”

“……..Yeah.”

Siloque, Lv2, provoked him, and he punched out of impulse.

So humiliating.

“Tch…”

Norius turned away, silent.

The Tuner, wearing black gloves, placed a hand on Norius’s shoulder:

“You should know, no matter the reason, you can’t cause trouble in a government-managed Library. Your parents are Explorers. If they knew their son made a scene in a Library, they’d be very disappointed. I’ll summon them, not pay them a visit at home. But only if you cooperate with us. We’ll explain everything to them.”

“Ugh…”

He knew very well what it meant for a Tuner to visit his house.

Once someone is deemed problematic, people instinctively think you’re related to the Evil Demon Society, and your family won’t give you a good look either…

The other two Tuners took Norius away.

Norius kept his head down, but his resentful gaze never left Siloque until he disappeared from view.

If Siloque remembered right, fighting in a Library in the game meant paying a fine and a week in jail. Looking at Norius, he’d probably get two weeks.

He’d originally planned to deal with Norius in the Dungeon.

This unexpected encounter failed to fully achieve Siloque’s goal.

Now Norius was just locked up and would be released when the time came.

Next time, he must get rid of him completely.

Siloque opened the notepad on his ring and recorded—

‘Norius, arrested April 8, may appear again in two weeks.’

“Are you okay, Siloque-san? Can you stand?”

A Tuner approached, casting the [Healing Minor] skill.

For the first time, Siloque felt the power of Magic. A warm, healing light enveloped his body, comfortable and light.

Siloque wasn’t surprised she knew about him and Norius.

The cameras could capture both their faces, and the Tuner’s Supercomputer would pull up their data with facial recognition.

“Thank you, thank you! I’m fine now, thanks for your hard work! Good thing you arrived in time.”

The power of Magic was absurd—even the damage to Siloque’s clothes was repaired.

Despite his verbal gratitude, what Siloque really thought was:

Aren’t these Tuners cutting it close?

It’s like when Pain destroyed the village and Naruto arrived dramatically, or in some other story when the MC shows up just after the team is wiped out.

Norius’s fist nearly wiped me out just now!

“I’m glad you’re okay. It’s our duty.”

The Tuner smiled kindly.

After a routine exchange, the Tuner quickly left.

“Rare.”

He remembered the Tuners in the game being cold.

This Tuner onee-san was rather kind.

“Hill, get up. You’ve been pinning me down, and your brother can’t move.”

He’d wanted to show off in front of his sister, but ended up in this embarrassing, beaten-up state.

He’d done his best—being able to protect his family was worth any shame, no matter if Hill laughed.

“Eh? Oh…”

Hill lifted her head, her blue-green eyes hazy, cheeks flushed.

“Brother’s hand is so soft and small…”

“Hill.”

“Eh?! What’s going on? Sorry! Brother, Hill inhaled too much of your scent and got dizzy.”

What’s with ‘brother’s scent’?

How could you even think like that at a life-or-death moment?

Is my sister so far gone she’s lost her mind?

Hill looked around.

The bystanders had long left.

Library staff were picking up books and reorganizing shelves.

“It’s over. The Tuners saw the chaos and took him away.”

“Right, that dog-faced middle-part! Brother, is your stomach okay? Ambulance, ambulance…”

“How much do you want to send your brother to the hospital? No need.”

Siloque took two rectangular objects from inside his shirt—

“Books?”

Two thick books, combined thicker than Siloque’s waist.

“Thanks to these, I blocked his attack.”

“Brother used books as a shield? Amazing!”

“Um, please don’t treat books so roughly.”

That was from a staff member.

It was awkward holding Hill in front of busy people.

Siloque returned the books, wiped his nosebleed, and left the Library with Hill.

“But, can books really do that? I thought you’d be punched through…”

Hill recalled the moment and shivered.

She was right. Norius was over five levels higher than Siloque.

A couple of books shouldn’t have been able to block it.

Siloque waved a finger.

“They’re not ordinary books, Hill. That Dungeon Library is government property, so it has defensive measures.”

“?”

“Don’t get it… Anyway, it’s good the Tuners arrived and Norius was taken away. That’s why.”

“You mean… ah! Are those books protected by Magic?”

“Exactly. Hill is so smart.”

Siloque smiled smugly.

Those books were government-protected property.

Each one had [Magical Protection] cast on it. Not only fists, but even a Katjusha Rocket Launcher couldn’t stain them.

Siloque hadn’t been hurt at all.

The Tuner’s [Healing Minor] just made his skin smoother.

“Did brother provoke middle-part to take advantage of the environment from the start?”

“No, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing. Who knew it would actually work?”

Siloque recalled a game side quest about stealing books from the Library.

If you failed, you’d be arrested by the Tuners.

He trusted the experts’ efficiency and just gambled by accident.

“Brother, amazing. Like a strategist character in a manga!”

“Hahaha…”

Siloque forced a smile.

He’d been forced to use his brain to fight.

If possible, he’d have just fired a big attack or, if rich, hired a killer.

In reality, he couldn’t do any of those.

In the end, he was just too weak.

Siloque wanted to hurry into the Dungeon and get stronger.

“By the way, Hill, you’ve been following me, right? You just happened to bring me a towel when I got home, and now you showed up in time when there was danger. This time, you have to explain—don’t dodge the question. Don’t you usually play games at home on weekends?”

“Brother, you drove away the bad guy…”

Siloque realized the voice was distant. He turned and saw Hill had moved away.

She looked frustrated, even a bit regretful.

“Um… Hill? No need to cry if you don’t want to explain. I’m not angry.”

“Hill couldn’t protect brother. Couldn’t make middle-part apologize. Couldn’t do anything…”

“Sorry, Hill, what did you say?”

Hill looked up, tears in her eyes, making Siloque’s heart ache.

“What’s wrong, Hill? Are you feeling unwell?”

Is it her time of the month?

He glanced at her pants. They were clean. No stains.

His sister was suddenly tearful, and Siloque had no idea why.

He was about to pat her shoulder, but Hill pushed his hand away.

“Hill has decided.”

She wiped away her tears, determination in her eyes.

“Hill doesn’t want brother to get hurt. Hill wants to become an Explorer. Brother, Hill will protect you.”