The Library's Secrets (2)
The sunlight streaming through the window behind her momentarily dyed Mir's beautiful black hair with a golden glow. She approached me slowly, a faint smirk playing on her lips.
“How did you... Mir, what are you...”
“What, am I not allowed to come to the library?”
“No, it’s just that the light behind you was so bright it made my eyes sting for a second.”
“Hmm~ Sure, I’ll buy that.”
Had something good happened to her? She seemed brighter than usual, both in expression and aura, to the point where I almost imagined sparkles of light dancing around her. She kept smiling as she walked over, then tilted her head at the stack of books I’d gathered.
“Do you have a hobby of reading ancient texts or something?”
“...No, I was just looking for a specific book.”
“A specific book, huh...”
Mir fell silent for a moment, lost in thought. Then, as if she’d made up her mind, she gave a small nod.
“What book are you looking for? I’ll find it for you.”
“You?”
“I know the layout of this library like the back of my hand.”
“You must really like books, then?”
“...Well, it just kind of happened?”
Oh. This was new information.
“So, what exactly are you looking for?”
“Umm... I’m trying to find books that contain information about someone called the Sword God.”
She froze.
“...The Sword God?”
Mir stopped moving entirely and stared straight into my face. Her gaze was so intense it felt like needles pricking all over my body. I was momentarily flustered, but before I could say anything, she spoke again, so I simply parted my lips for a second before closing them.
“Follow me. All the books about the Sword God are grouped together over there.”
Something feels off about this.
Those eyes don’t belong to a child.
Right? She gives off a vibe kinda similar to you, Contractor.
“The books are over there. Are you just going to stand there?”
At Mir’s words, I immediately started walking in her direction. The library was so vast that it took quite a while to reach the section I was looking for.
“Why are you trying to look up the Sword God?”
“Huh...?”
As we headed toward our destination, Mir casually tossed out the question. Why was I looking for information? Obviously to see what this world had recorded about the Cheonma. But I couldn’t exactly say that outright...
“The Sword God is incredibly famous, you know. As someone who wields a sword, I just wanted to gather some information.”
“That makes sense... Until recently, when traces of the Sword God started appearing in ruins and temples, the figure was shrouded in complete mystery. It’s definitely worth being curious about.”
Mir nodded, seemingly accepting my answer. I watched her quietly for a moment, then decided to ask in case she knew anything about the Cheonma.
“Do you happen to know anything about the Sword God?”
“Hmm... I know she’s a woman so powerful that she could stand alone against the entire world with a sword in hand. Honestly, I don’t know much beyond that.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. There are so many conflicting stories... Oh, we’re here. All the books here are about the Sword God.”
“T-This many?”
I widened my eyes at the spot Mir pointed to and unconsciously took a step back. There were at least a hundred books piled up in that section. At the very top, a cute sticker labeled “Sword God” confirmed that, just as she said, every single one of these books was about the Cheonma.
Oh my god.
Hmm...
So many books dedicated to a single person. How much time would I have to invest to read all of them? A dizzying future of endless suffering flashed before my eyes. I shook my head vigorously, trying to shake off the negative thoughts.
“I’ll be going now. Good luck.”
“Uh... thanks for the help.”
With one hand holding a book and the other waving weakly, Mir left the library. I stared at the spot where she had been standing for a moment, then gazed blankly at the massive pile of homework before me.
“Still, if the three of us work together, we should finish pretty quickly.”
Yeah. At least I had companions who could help. Even if it would take forever alone, gathering information with three people should wrap things up fast. With that thought, I turned to look at the Cheonma—only to find her completely turned away from me, showing me her back as she browsed books that had absolutely nothing to do with our current situation.
Hoo... This book looks quite interesting.
“Master?”
Cooking. Yes, it’s an essential virtue for living life.
“Master, what are you doing over there?”
Hmm. It seems my eyes were naturally drawn to books that caught my interest.
“...Is that so? Then why don’t you help me read the books about you...”
Before I could even finish, the Cheonma turned her head away again. The timing of that turn felt a little too convenient.
“Master, do you perhaps hate reading books?”
...How could that possibly be?
“...Right?”
But her answer came a little too late. As I watched her with slightly suspicious eyes, the Cheonma suddenly shouted as if she’d been caught red-handed.
How dare you look at your master with such eyes!
“......”
......
I quietly picked up one of the books in front of me and said,
“Master, could you please take a look at this book...”
Whoosh.
...Huh?
The moment I held out the book, the Cheonma suddenly vanished right before my eyes. What? Where did she go all of a sudden? I turned my head this way and that, searching for her, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Hmm? W-what is this? It seems I’ve been forcibly moved. This must be inside your weapon, Zeon...
“...Master?”
At that moment, an incredibly artificial voice echoed in my head, so fake it practically screamed “acting.”
It appears I’ve been away from my original place for too long, so I was pulled back by force.
“But you said before that I didn’t have to put you back in the sword.”
My disciple, I think I need to rest here for a while. At the very least... yes, I’ll try to come out when classes begin.
“...Master? Hello?”
And with that, the Cheonma stopped responding. What the hell was going on? The Cheonma was running away? Just because she didn’t want to read books and organize the data inside them?
‘...Wait a minute. Why has Hoya been so quiet since earlier?’
And then the worst possible assumption slowly crept in. No way. There’s no way she ran away too...
“Hoya?”
......
“Hoya? Can you not hear me?”
......
Unbelievable. Were the Great Yokai and the one called the Sword God both ditching me because they didn’t want to do research?
I stared blankly down at the book in my hand. Then I looked up at the shelves packed full of books.
‘So... I have to do all of this by myself?’
Most of the books were thin and would be quick to finish, but a few thick ones that looked like encyclopedias caught my eye. How long would it take to organize all of this alone?
‘Aaaah... I want to run away too.’
For the first time, the anger I felt toward those who had dishonored the Cheonma’s name by calling themselves her successors quietly subsided.
Step. Step.
In this place filled with hair and eyes of every color imaginable, Mir—with her striking black hair and black eyes that actually stood out more than anyone else’s—walked down a quiet hallway empty of students due to ongoing classes.
“Class C, huh...”
She paused for a moment in front of Class C, then slightly turned her gaze to look for her friend who should be inside.
“Pfft. Same as always.”
Her eyes landed on a female student with beautiful hair in a delicate white-to-sky-blue gradient—Aria. Even though class was in full swing, she was distracted and playing with her spirit, Undine. Well, considering Libra’s personality, she’d probably noticed but was pretending not to. Just like right now.
‘I should talk to her separately.’
That bonding with spirits was important, but so was paying attention in class.
“That kid is...”
After watching Aria’s little prank, she was about to turn away when another student caught her eye.
It was Karne—a student wearing the male uniform who didn’t look like a boy at all.
“Karne... Karne...”
The face felt somehow familiar. Mir searched her memories for a moment.
“...Ah, that’s right.”
The memory that surfaced held quite valuable information for her. Yes, it had changed a bit from what she remembered, which was why it took her a while to recall. Since it was still early in the semester, there weren’t any major anomalies yet. It should be fine to leave her be for now.
Whoosh.
“Ugh.”
Just as she reached that conclusion and was about to leave, Mir’s body suddenly swayed. For a split second, she pitched forward, on the verge of falling.
Tap.
But Mir’s body, which possessed far superior physical abilities than most, quickly regained its balance and avoided the embarrassment of falling.
“Hoo... Maybe I should rest a bit today.”
Tap. Tap.
Maybe she’d overused her head. She picked up the book titled Expert Alchemy that had fallen to the floor and lightly dusted it off. Let’s see, the book’s condition... thankfully it was fine.
“Now that I think about it, it’s tomorrow, isn’t it?”
Seeing the alchemy-related book suddenly reminded her of a schedule she had almost forgotten. It was a relief she remembered before tomorrow arrived. Because tomorrow was the day she had to visit the flower shop.