Chapter 63: The Five-Star Librarian
Chapter 63: The Five-Star Librarian
The Library Guardian disappears once the book-donation Hidden Piece is fully completed.
— …Freedom.
The book knight that had been relentlessly pressing Bartimir and Pendrick melted into the ground and vanished.
The demon black mage and the genius warrior immediately collapsed onto the floor.
When I quietly approached, both of them glared at me with resentful eyes.
“You….”
“…Captain.”
“What are you staring at like that? Did the exploration contest look easy to you?”
Still, I decided to provide potions.
Not the superior vitality recovery potion—just three bottles that only restored vitality.
I placed the vials beside the demon expedition leader’s face. Astrimia, lying beside its partner, shook its blade.
— Sir Bartimir, now you understand what kind of person Mr. Kar is, right? He could trap people like us in an instant!
“…True.”
Bartimir nodded obediently.
At that moment—
“Kar!”
Marlin’s voice shouted from afar.
“We finished the strategy! It looks like a draw!”
It was the news I had been waiting for.
“Looks like Red tied with the little ones….”
Bartimir clicked his tongue.
True to his innocent appearance, he didn’t resent Rosalia and merely sounded regretful.
“For reference, we also obtained another Hidden Piece. So we win.”
“…Hmm, three hours really made the difference!”
Unless it was a C-Rank labyrinth or higher, three hours was a significant advantage in a D-Rank labyrinth like the Library of Sin.
Still, the presence of Rosalia, a Level-6 explorer, could have narrowed the gap considerably.
It was just that my existence was too broken.
— …Why did you insist on such unfavorable conditions? Without the time difference, we could have easily won.
At Astrimia’s muttering, Bartimir smiled.
“Winning isn’t important. What matters is how enjoyable the exploration is.”
Clap. Clap. Clap.
I couldn’t help applauding such a splendid explorer’s spirit.
The youngest member of the Le Family had grown remarkably well.
His brother Ymir, who was probably burning in hell by now, would surely be watching with a satisfied smile.
“Stand up.”
I extended a hand to my worthy opponent.
Bartimir immediately grabbed it and stood.
“I lost.”
While rewrapping the bandages around his loosened hands, Bartimir slowly shook his head.
There was no sign of frustration.
Rather, his movements were light, as if relieved.
“You’re acknowledging defeat so readily?”
“Yeah. A complete loss.”
“Since you’ve accepted it, I’ll at least give you the chance to become vice expedition leader.”
“Wow, thanks.”
Bartimir, a commendable demon explorer who could humbly accept the results of exploration, laughed softly.
“Will you join our Moon Expedition?”
“Yeah. The members are generally skilled, and their personalities are good too. I like it. The expedition name is a bit strange, though….”
What exactly was strange about it?
If we entered a contest for sophisticated expedition names, it would probably win easily.
“To be honest, it is a bit ambiguous.”
Even you too, Pendrick….
“Anyway. Sir Bartimir, I look forward to working with you.”
“Same here.”
I shook his petrified hand—the effect of the disease Petrifying Body—and turned toward the direction where Marlin’s voice had come from.
— Kraaak!
“Good work.”
The Blind Crow had also returned, so we all climbed up to the mountainside together.
The waiting siblings waved their hands at me with slightly proud expressions.
“Hmph! Kar, don’t you have something to say?”
“….”
Marlin openly demanded something, while Abel silently conveyed the same with his eyes.
So I gave them exactly what they wanted.
“Well done. I trusted you two.”
Appropriate praise and encouragement were the duties of an expedition leader.
When I slowly stroked their heads, their tails swished happily.
“A draw, huh. That’s unfortunate, Assassin. It couldn’t be helped. We couldn’t stop Captain Kar from sending the crow because of the Library Guardian.”
Pendrick’s thoughtful consolation didn’t produce much effect.
“….”
Perhaps the shock of tying with children who were only Level-2 and Level-1 was too much.
The Level-6 assassin with twenty-two years of experience silently stared at the blue ceiling that crudely imitated the sky of the snowfield.
“Sister inserted the book, but Abel held the bottom part. If my eyes hadn’t been covered, you would have noticed the trick immediately. Luckily!”
Kind Marlin, who had kindly tried to preserve Rosalia’s dignity, pointed at the door rising from the ridge.
An old—or perhaps simply worn-out—door.
At the top were the words:
[Archive of Ancient Manuscripts]
Below it, a small paper note was crudely attached.
[We will count it as inserted simultaneously.]
Bartimir, who had been examining the door closely with his hand, turned to me.
“Want to go in first?”
“No. The competition is over, so let’s all enter together. Abel, you inserted the book, so do you want to open it?”
“Yes.”
Abel pushed open the door leading to the Archive of Ancient Manuscripts with all his strength.
The moment we stepped inside, the door behind us vanished, revealing a narrow rectangular space.
Bookshelves carved into the walls were packed with old and shabby books.
“Greetings….”
A demon sitting at a desk greeted us with a drowsy expression and voice.
《Kiji Kirili (Demon, 27). Looks like a weak demon who simply sleeps a lot and enjoys slacking off, but unexpectedly, information cannot be read. Caution is advised.》
The librarian required for clearing the Library of Sin.
More precisely, the second hidden one.
Just like my senior Ermentaz whom I met in the Grave of the Earth Elf, he was a wraith connected to the Hidden Labyrinth.
“Greetings, Librarian.”
“Yees….”
With a voice mixed half with sleepiness and half with reason, Librarian Kiji slowly stood and began explaining.
“Since you donated three books, you are granted the benefit of using the Archive of Ancient Manuscripts. Please take only one book from here….”
The basic rules weren’t different from the characteristics of the Library of Sin.
All the ancient books here were Mystery Tomes.
Mysterious books born from the malice carefully infused by ancient demons.
Because they had aged for so long, their fraudulent effects had become even stronger. Touching them carelessly could result in instant death or mental collapse.
“One thing to remember.”
Suddenly speaking clearly, the demon librarian said calmly,
“Our library does not take responsibility for deaths or mental breakdowns caused by ancient books. Guests must be careful themselves.”
“….”
While the group flinched and exchanged nervous glances, I offered my thanks.
“Thank you for the kind warning. I will definitely write in the user review that the librarian’s advice was very helpful. I will also give five stars.”
“…Huh?”
“Sir Bartimir, let’s choose one each.”
Bartimir, the only one not frozen like me, scratched his head.
“Could you recommend one ancient book that suits each of us? There are too many, it’s hard to choose.”
“Certainly.”
It wasn’t a difficult request.
I had already thought about it beforehand.
I quickly selected two ancient books.
《Fourth-Tier Mystery Tome — Reclusive Prey》
《Can make one’s presence extremely faint, but body weight decreases.》
《Fourth-Tier Mystery Tome — Assault Predator》
《Temporarily increases strength, but body weight increases.》
A Mystery set that could arguably be considered free of defects depending on perspective.
I gave Reclusive Prey to Marlin and Assault Predator to Bartimir.
“You chose quickly….”
Librarian Kiji yawned indifferently.
“Refunds are not possible, and we take no responsibility for side effects. Please also take these souvenirs from your visit….”
The librarian handed me three small flat metal plates.
《Artifact — Ancient Bookmark》
《If inserted into a Mystery Tome, the Mystery can be learned without reading it. However, it takes a long time.》
An artifact that allowed learning multiple Mysteries simultaneously and was especially useful for difficult ones like Avatar of the Earth.
After placing the Ancient Bookmark into subspace storage, the librarian scratched his arm.
“Now please leave….”
“Understood. Librarian, I hope to see you again.”
“I hope I never see you again…!”
As I shook hands with the librarian, an exit gate appeared in the middle of the archive.
“Then let’s leave peacefully.”
D-Rank Labyrinth.
Library of Sin.
The strategy was perfectly successful, along with the friendly competition.
We exited through a gate that appeared slightly away from the bookshelf entrance of the Library of Sin.
“Huh?”
The labyrinth management priest ran over with wide eyes and asked,
“Cultist Kar? Why are you coming out from that side? Don’t tell me….”
“That guess is correct.”
I reported that we had discovered the Hidden Piece and immediately sold the information.
Since it counted as two Hidden Pieces, I received a rather generous advance payment.
“Marlin, take this. It’s pocket money.”
“Really…?”
Two hundred gold.
A rather large sum to hand to a child.
But I remembered feeling envious when hearing that children born into wealthy families received large allowances from a young age, so I decided to give it boldly.
If it was clever Marlin, she would surely learn the thrill of impulsive purchases that even careful planning could never surpass.
“Thank you…!”
“Thank you very much.”
After lightly tapping the cheeks of the siblings who rushed toward me with bright smiles, I reported the exploration results to the young master through the Twin Link Fragment.
“Young Master. Your adorable Kar speaking. After fierce competition between the ‘Cultist Team’ and the ‘Black Mage Team’ in the Library of Sin, I will continue serving as expedition leader. Sir Bartimir has also decided to join our Moon Expedition.”
— As expected.
“Then we will return now. I’m tired, so please prepare something delicious.”
— I’ll speak to Charlotte.
Fatigue had piled up heavily, so we returned straight to Odilon’s mansion without detours.
Sergius greeted us with a gentle smile.
“Sir Kar, welcome back. You won safely.”
“That’s right.”
“And Sir Bartimir. Welcome as an official expedition member.”
The demon with bandages wrapped around his entire upper body lifted the corner of his mouth.
“Ah, thanks.”
Talking casually even to an old man.
An open mindset unconstrained by age was good, but if he spoke like that to royalty someday, it could cause trouble.
Just in case, I decided he should receive etiquette training together with the siblings, who were also from the slums.
“Sir Kar, Charlotte is preparing the meal. Please wait about thirty minutes.”
“Understood.”
Since there was some time, we decided to socialize as members of the same Le Family.
“Sir Bartimir, follow me. We have much to discuss.”
“Yeah… I wanted that too.”
Together with the demon black mage, I climbed to the rooftop of the mansion.
A fairly large space overlooking the wealthy district.
The young master’s relaxation area, complete with long seaside lounge chairs and parasols.
“Comfortable and nice. The atmosphere is quiet too.”
I collapsed onto the young master’s chair with my tired body, while Bartimir lay down on the rooftop floor beside me.
“Alright, start talking. What do you want to say?”
The demon rested his chin comfortably and gazed at me with an enigmatic expression.
There was no malicious intent.
He looked like a child expecting some mischief.
Stretching my body lazily, I casually spoke.
“I will establish it for you. A marvelous future plan—designed specifically for Sir Bartimir.”