Otherworld TRPG Game Master

Chapter 3: Just Good At Being A Honey Trap

༺ Just Good At Being A Honey Trap ༻

 It was the way of the world that if you had given something, you must receive something in return…

 And that gaining something meant losing something else.

 I still didn’t know why the Royal Family increased the grant, but anyway, thanks to my hard carry, I was able to receive the blessing of a ‘30x Grant Increase’.

 Basically, what I was trying to say was that, of this, 95% should rightfully be returned to the person who earned it. Right? However, it seemed like the Purple Magic Tower Master had some objections to this fair distribution of the grant.

 “I-It’s m-my Magic Tower…….! T-The Purple M-Magic Tower is MY Magic Tower, you hear me!”

 “It’s the grant I earned, though.”

 “B-But to say that you’ll gobble it all up j-just because t-that’s the case is……!”

 “Even the remaining 5% is an increase of 1.5 times compared to last year, though.”

 “IT! MAY! HAVE! INCREASED! BUT!”

 Like a child who received $10,000 as New Year’s money only to be left with $50 due to a parent’s ruthless remark to ‘return it when you’re an adult’, the Purple Magic Tower Master threw a tantrum, rolling around on the floor. 

 “I-I’m telling you o-our disciples……won’t have to r-recycle the worn-out mana stones……..T-They were really looking forward to being able to use Low-Grade oNES INSTEADOFTHELOWEST-GRADEONESSSSS-!”

 As the Purple Magic Tower Master cried out with a spoonful of sentiment that seemed to make her out to be ‘a head of a household desperate to feed her family’, even my well-trained conscience started to hurt a bit. After all, the seniors who had joined the Purple Magic Tower first all looked far too shabby.

 The day when each and every Magic Tower gathered to scout me, all the other Tower Masters had a huge entourage following them in droves. Moreover, they all wore robes with fancy, cool symbols representing their respective Tower. 

 However, there was no entourage behind the Purple Magic Tower Master. I thought it was because the Purple Magic Tower wizards were all outsiders, losers, or introverts, but later I found out they didn’t come simply because they didn’t have group uniforms to go out in.

 Okay, sure, the Purple Magic Tower was struggling so much that they didn’t even have uniforms. I even saw a senior licking bread crumbs off a plate to save research funds.

 It was indeed pitiful to see wizards, a high-income profession, living so miserably.

 But If I gave in here…….my research would be delayed; my thrilling, heart-pounding, and ambitious research that was Virtual Reality Implementation for TRPG. 

 ‘I’ll create a super strong dragon for the players to defeat with swag at the end of a heroic battle.’

 The whispers of my inner voice moistly permeated my heart. Perhaps the pain and tears of my Magic Tower seniors were an inevitable sacrifice.

 Having read the spite that briefly filled my pupils, the Purple Magic Tower Master entered Tantrum Phase 2. She crawled on her knees, clinging to my trouser legs, and started to whine. 

 “Give me grant pweaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeheheuk…Sob……..!”

 “Hm.”

 My heart started to waver. Should I really donate my(tentatively) research funds to the Magic Tower?

 At that moment, a flash of inspiration swept through my mind like lightning.

 “The seniors need the grant, right?”

“…….Yeah?”

 “Then, if every single senior thought ‘I don’t need the grant’, I wouldn’t have to feel guilty, right?”

 How could you think that was even possible?

 Was what the Purple Magic Tower Master mouthed with just the shape of her lips.

 Wizards were, after all, people who were crazy for research funds. No matter how much they were relatively struggling, even the Purple Magic Tower received grants from the Royal Family. So, wasn’t it strange that they were doing dishes with their tongues and couldn’t even participate in external activities because they didn’t have uniforms? 

 They were poor because all that money for uniforms and delicious food was poured into research. People who wanted to devote their lives to creating something had such persistent aspects.

 Though not as much as me, it was still a level of spite and obsession worth respecting. In most cases, they would never want to give up their research funds. However, I had a trick up my sleeve.

 “Let’s try to persuade the seniors. If I fail, I’ll only eat-I mean, take a clean 50%.”

 “Y-YAY……….! WE GOT 50%…….!”

 As if she didn’t believe in the slightest that I would succeed in persuading them, the Purple Magic Tower Master already started celebrating. She seemed so happy that soap bubble illusions floated around her.

 Looking closely at the floating bubbles, I saw images pass by of me being cursed by seniors which included, ‘YOUCRAZYFUCKERYOUDARETOCOVETMYRESEARCHFUNDS!!’ and ‘Leave immediately or I’ll confess to you.’.

 The Tower Master sometimes leaked what she imagined in her head when she was happy.

 Okay, then. You see, I couldn’t bluntly say, ‘My research is more important, so I’ll use 95% of the research funds,’ since it was obvious that I would end up like the illusions I had just seen.

 However, there was a universal truth that beautiful people were more persuasive. Wasn’t there even a saying that you couldn’t spit in the face of a handsome and beautiful face, bright with laughter? As such, there was only one answer.

 “Use Honey Trap.”

 “?”

 Clap clap.

 With my will and mana, Heart-chan appeared behind me with a bizarre pose. After all, it was common etiquette among otakus to strike a weird pose when summoning something humanoid in their rear. 

 The weakness of those who were holed up in the Tower, focused only on their research, was clear. It was a Honey Trap. Compared to social butterflies who went out, interacted with others, and built resistance to seduction, the resistance to seduction of these self-canned researchers would be akin to a thin piece of paper……

 As such, the one to be deployed here was a femme fatale that had stirred the hearts of men across the continent; the 3rd modified version of NPC Heart-chan created by Illusion Magic.

 The Purple Magic Tower Master’s face turned bright red.

 “Y-You mean, to get r-research funds, you’ll use Illusion Magic to disguise yourself…….and s-seduce seniors who are m-males like you……..!!”

 “Players and characters are separate, you know.”

 “B-But half of the Magic Tower are……women! T-They won’t be swayed…….”

 “If it were only Heart-chan, that might be the case.”

 If there were female characters, there must be male ones as well. It was only natural. There were some weirdos who would rather die than have any male characters in a TRPG, but I seeked the harmony of yin and yang inherent in humans. So, why wouldn’t I use male characters?

 Clap.

 A courteous and generous middle-aged butler with slick-backed hair and monocles. 

  Clap.

 A shota butler that was like a haraguro – seemingly innocent but devilish inside – wearing short pants.

 Clap.

 A slightly delinquent-looking, yet beautiful and young butler with magpie hair who was actually caring and diligent at work despite grumbling.

 Clap.

 A suspiciously suspicious narrow-eyed butler with a sexy voice and a style of speech straight out of a romance fantasy.

 “Master, coffee from the Northern Continent, suitable for autumn weather, is prepared.”

 “Master, Master! Try mine, not Joseph’s! The jasmine tea is well brewed!”

 “Hey, look here, Master! You said it was bitter last time…….so I paid more attention to it this time.”

 “Hohoho……My Lady. This is a black tea filled with my own kind of love. Will you accept it?”

 “EEEEEEEEEEEK…….!!”

 When the four butlers tag teamed the Purple Magic Tower Master, surrounding her with a ‘Would you like some tea?’ formation, she trembled and shrunk like a trapped capybara.

 Looking down at her face, it was red in a fluster, but the trembling corners of her mouth were turned up. Even if embarrassed, it must have felt good.

 It seemed one of the four basic butler archetypes ABCD had a character that worked on her.

 “Is there any discomfort? Please tell this Joseph.”

 “Master, your face is red! You might have a fever, so let me check briefly…….”

 “Uh, what was that again. Yeah, I mean, if you have a cold, I have a scarf I made this time. I’ll give it to you, Master.”

 “They say a cold can be quickly cured when passed to someone else. If it’s not too forward of me, may I take the Lady’s cold with my mout──”

 Seeing the Tower Master’s expression that seemed to say ‘Wow, I hate that.’ the last narrow-eyed butler immediately withdrew. Maybe the problem was that the character was too buttery. It seemed like the rest of the butlers passed since her expression brightened once again.

 After 10 minutes of relentless butler bombardment and mindless petting, the Purple Magic Tower Master completely melted.

 “Test run complete.”

 I gained certainty. Although the Purple Magic Tower Master was particularly easy to conquer, even after considering that, I thought I could ‘persuade’ the seniors quite sufficiently.

 As I snapped my fingers, Heart and the butler troops began to march in line. Onwards! Let us set sail to extract the answer ‘I will not covet the research grants’ from everyone in the Magic Tower.

 “Eugh, n-n……nO…….!”

 The limp Tower Master stretched out her hand with the last of her strength. She also sensed it. If it continued like this, my NPC army would conquer the tower. 

 But what could she possibly do with her already melted expression and trembling legs?

 All that was allowed for the Tower Master was to savor this current happiness like Bambi while watching the moment when her Magic Tower fell. I casually laid on the sofa, pulling the hood over my head.

 It took two days and two hours to seize the Magic Tower.

===============================================================

 Two years had passed since I started my research after gobbling up all the grants by myself.

 It was truly a pastoral day, as I cleverly used Illusion Magic to overcome the Purple Magic Tower Master’s evil schemes to snatch away my grant.

 I struggled to implement automatic operation of NPCs. To present a realistic world, at least 10 NPCs were necessary. And of course, the more, the better. 

 I couldn’t manually operate them forever. I vividly felt this on the day I manually controlled the butler troops. It felt like my head was going to burst.

 They should move automatically according to the personality set. And yet, I should be able to take control of them in emergencies. Yes, that’s right…..I needed AI technology. 

 Could I implement that with Illusion Magic as the only tool? Maybe I needed to look into collaboration with other schools of magic. As I was lost in thought, the Purple Magic Tower Master plonked down beside me.

 In the Republic of Korea, there was a type of chair that compelled those who sat on it to spill all their family secrets. It was the unique ambiance of the chair that relaxed people’s minds.

 Yes, that’s right, the ambiance. I felt that very ambiance.

 After a moment of silence, the Purple Magic Tower Master cautiously started to speak.

 “…..What kind of magic does – – – want to create?”

 As the always fawning person unexpectedly threw a serious question, it created that sort of ambiance. I’m talking about a mood where one ended up revealing their innermost thoughts as if it were the early hours of the morning.

 I answered succinctly.

 “A world.”

 “Is it because…….the world we’re standing in now…..is not enough for you?”

 “If you beat around the bush, I won’t understand.”

 “Y-You smart punk…….”

 The Tower Master hesitated for a moment, then seemed to decide to throw a direct pitch. Determination flickered in her round eyes, a resolve that seemed unbreakable.

 “Do you know you’ve never called me by my name?”

 “You’re the Magic Tower Master.”

 “Then, what about the others?”

 “⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

 I had never.

 In fact, I didn’t even remember their names.

 It was a kind of mental illness. I couldn’t hear other people’s names. I thought I could hear them, but then at some point in time, I would forget.

 I wondered if this was a curse given for my reincarnation privileges, so I had various tests done after joining the Magic Tower. My body and soul were clean and there were no traces of a curse. Basically, it meant that it was purely a mental illness.

 I observed the expression of the girl who I could only remember as the ‘Purple Magic Tower Master’. That was an expression called sorrow and worry.

 “……Sometimes, just sometimes, – – -…….doesn’t feel alive. It feels like your heart is somewhere else.”

 “⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

 The Magic Tower Master was right. It was an unwanted reincarnation. Or a reincarnation full of defects.

 It would have been better if I had no memories of my previous life. I remembered far too many things; air that could be called clear, the smell of pine trees in the mountain behind, the soybean paste soup my mother made, crisp fried flatfish, ripped pieces of fresh kimchi.

 Trash bags torn open on the side of the road to school, streetlights that only came on after blinking four times in the middle of the night. A photo of my ex-girlfriend that still remained in a corner of my phone album. Records of the TRPGs I had played until now.

 Yeah.

 My soul still lingered in 21st century South Korea.

 “If it’s a problem I can help with……..”

 “Should I show you?”

 “……..Huh?”

 “The world I came from. Should I show it to you?”

 I blurted it out impulsively and the Purple Magic Tower Master nodded.

 That was how my first mastering¹a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device, the source from which all copies will be produced. since reincarnation began.

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  a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device, the source from which all copies will be /genesisforsaken