Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Why Not Surrender?
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7
3
"Why not surrender?"
Minenvar Library Lounge.
Surrounded by eleven members of the Discrimination-Free Reading Club, Leon quietly rolled his eyes.
They were armed not with blades but with blunt weapons, and they seemed quite spirited.
Leon grimaced at the sight of their confidence born from numerical superiority, mingled with the satisfaction of doing what they believed was right.
"Why are you doing this?"
There were eleven of them.
Against that, Leon was alone.
No reinforcements would come immediately due to the barrier, nor did he want any.
Even so, Leon Hilfenberg's voice did not waver.
It was eerily calm, posing the question plainly.
"We're doing the right thing."
"Right."
"Yeah. We're resisting the outrage of deeming knowledge taboo and sharing all knowledge without discrimination. Liberating and spreading knowledge is our sacred duty."
"I've heard your justification."
Contrary to his words, Leon's voice grew icy cold.
The encirclement tightened gradually, but he didn't budge an inch and asked again.
"If it's for your cause, does it not matter if others suffer?"
"Sacrifice is necessary for the greater good. If the chief librarian just listens to our demands, this can end without much harm."
In other words, if problems arose, it would be the chief librarian's fault for not complying.
At this classic and perfect shifting of blame, Leon closed his eyes slowly.
"...People like you always say the same thing."
For the greater good, the sacrifice of the few is inevitable.
Leon took a deep breath at those words, spoken as if they were the natural order of the world.
Behind his tightly shut eyelids, a storm of abstract thoughts boiled.
Leon severed all stray thoughts with a single stroke and lifted his eyelids.
His blood-red eyes glared at the enemy without a flicker.
"An act premised on sacrifice can never be right. Because no one wants to be sacrificed."
An indelible stench of blood lingered around Leon.
But no blood flowed anywhere in the lounge.
It was a lingering echo that no longer existed in the present.
A past that should have vanished like a ghost had simply refused to leave the world of the living.
Even so, Leon frowned at the vividly felt afterimage.
'These guys...'
What Leon's eyes fixed on was the afterimage.
On a certain day when he was thirteen, not only his parents but the entire village where he lived had been massacred.
Leon, who had happened to be out of the village, was the sole survivor.
Since then, he had been relentlessly pursuing those who annihilated his parents and hometown.
Were these library occupiers connected to his enemies?
Leon briefly considered the possibility but shook his head inwardly.
'No, probably not. Too sloppy.'
Those who attacked his hometown were extremely skilled.
To the point where not a single decent clue had emerged about the perpetrators even now.
The chances they were allies were infinitesimally low.
Even so, Leon couldn't shake off his disgust.
Because their words, forcing sacrifice in the name of the greater good, were touching a reverse scale that must not be touched.
"We know, but it doesn't change anything. What we're doing is still right."
"That's the wrong way to think."
"Our lines will never meet. No need to hear more."
The black-robed figures exchanged glances.
The encirclement closed completely.
Eleven attacks flew at Leon from all directions at once.
Before them, Leon took a deep breath.
Once the afterimage flared up, it did not fade.
Instead, a blue haze shimmered around Leon's sword.
"That's...!?"
One of the black robes, in the middle of a grand speech, faltered.
Before he could urgently shout for them to fall back, the blue haze left an afterimage.
The afterimage traced the sword's path.
Five trails wrapped around Leon from all sides.
The eleven black robes who had charged simultaneously collapsed in place with thuds.
"How... a first-year... like you......"
Perhaps thanks to hesitating at the deep blue sword aura around Leon's blade.
The black robe whose attack had been shallow clutched his shoulder and spat out a groan mixed with pain.
It wasn't a slash.
The fallen black robes on the floor weren't bleeding either.
Sword aura wrapped around the flat of the blade to strike the enemies.
In a sense, it was a technique worthy of being called a waste of talent.
However, wasting talent is only possible if you have talent to waste.
Freely manipulating sword aura was limited even among upperclassmen.
It was impossible for a first-year to wield so casually.
"......"
Yet Leon Hilfenberg himself had no reaction to this fact.
He simply swung his sword to knock out the black robes.
With a dull thud, the last black robe in the lounge fell.
There were no signs of life around.
Leon quietly withdrew his sword aura and murmured softly.
"I run on a parallel line too."
He was here now because he had been racing along parallel lines with overflowing injustices for so long.
Wrapped in the afterimage, Leon Hilfenberg hurried toward the upper floors.
4
Whoosh!
A thick book whistled past his face.
If he hadn't dodged just in time, it would have smashed right into his head.
Judging by the thickness, it looked like a legal tome.
A hardcover, no less.
Getting hit with that would mean at least a concussion for sure.
Thank goodness his body moved well.
Compared to Leon, Louis's movements were fairly slow.
Of course, the opponent was the boss from the very early main story.
Weakened for difficulty adjustment.
Embarrassingly so compared to Leon at full power.
Though at this point in the story, Leon was hiding his true strength, so on the surface, the balance seemed right.
Thanks to that, he had the leeway to dodge the hardcover attack and draw Deathwise.
Just then, the sky visible beyond the barrier was growing dark.
However, he didn't draw Deathwise.
Taking down Louis Lefercha was Leon Hilfenberg's role.
But for some reason, Louis wasn't where he should be—on the top floor of Minenvar Library—but right in front of him.
The reason was unknown, but it had complicated things.
Just the fact that Louis was swinging books at him wildly meant he wouldn't let him go quietly.
Escaping as if nothing happened, then Leon cleaning up the library and coming down to defeat the waiting Louis? The odds were practically zero.
Having him take down Louis himself would draw unnecessary attention, which he didn't want.
Resolving the Minenvar Library occupation had to be entirely Leon's achievement.
He wanted a peaceful life, not to get tangled in the main story's bizarre events.
"You're dodging pretty nimbly, huh?"
"You're the Reading Club, but is swinging books allowed?"
"Books have many uses."
"True, they can even be pot stands."
"That's not acceptable, though?"
Using books as bludgeons but pot stands are a no-go? Hypocrite much?
Contrary to his languid whispering voice, Louis unleashed a fierce barrage.
Yet he didn't stop talking.
"Do you know what's in the basement of this Minenvar Library, junior?"
"......"
"It's the Forbidden Vault. A tomb sealing all books designated forbidden for some reason. Why they were forbidden is classified, but I know. The kingdom restricts knowledge to maintain their rule. I—we—can't tolerate that tyranny. We're going to liberate the Forbidden Vault and spread knowledge to everyone. So don't interfere."
Without even being asked, Louis started spilling his motives fluently.
Villains and various NPCs monologuing solo was a staple of bad games.
"In the game, I could skip everything but key lines, but now I can't even skip."
How nice it would be if there were skips here too.
He knew the villains' rambling built narrative, but who could've guessed he'd experience collective monologues in real time, with most villains like this.
Anyway, what to do with this group monologue patient.
No sign of Leon coming down.
Time-wise, he was probably still clearing the upper floors.
It would take another ten minutes or so for the chief librarian's forces to arrive after the escaped hostages' reports.
He racked his brain for a solution.
One came to mind immediately.
"Tedious, but no choice."
He kicked off the ground, widening the distance from Louis.
Catching his quickened breath, he placed a hand on Deathwise's hilt.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Louis, regulating his own breath, held a hardcover in one hand and donned leather gloves on the other.
Gloved hand followed by hardcover attack—that was the combo pattern.
Nostalgic memories aside for a moment.
Answering questions is basic courtesy, but instead of words, he drew Deathwise.
Thwack!
Deathwise's hilt dug into his abdomen.
The distance between them had been at least five meters, but he closed it in one step.
He did it, but it wasn't him.
It was purely Deathwise's power.
Not the slash that cut the wooden dummy, but a temporary buff type.
Among physical ability buffs, few were this instantly effective and potent.
The wooden dummy from yesterday proved it—definitely living up to the name of a demon sword.
"Cough! Cough!!"
Properly struck in the guts, Louis dropped to his knees on the spot, coughing repeatedly.
With the sword aimed at his nape to prevent mischief, he finally regained his breath and glared at him with teary eyes.
"A failing student like you... how...?"
In truth, it wasn't him who was strong, but the demon sword.
Same difference, really.
"If anyone asks who took down the senior, say it was Leon Hilfenberg."
Louis frowned at the one-sided declaration.
"Why would I... do that...?"
"Because it'll be trouble for senior otherwise."
Instead of answering, he laughed in disbelief.
Well, suddenly hearing this, anyone would struggle to understand.
He hadn't expected understanding anyway.
Just pushing the credit to Leon was enough.
Louis didn't need to understand, nor did he need to provide solid proof.
Just shove a reason he couldn't refuse.
"I know senior is a spy."
Louis froze instantly.
His pupils trembled faintly, breath forgotten.
"The reason for occupying the library is to use the forbidden books in the vault to sow chaos in the kingdom. The Karmut Federation stands to gain immensely from it."
Louis Lefercha was a spy dispatched from the Karmut Federation, at odds with the Tekat Kingdom.
The bizarre Discrimination-Free Reading Club and the Minenvar Library occupation were all part of the spy operation.
A fact revealed only much later in the main story...
But it came to mind the moment he saw Louis's face.
Use what you can when you can.
"You..."
"If reported, senior gets dragged off by the knights."
The fate of a spy captured by the enemy nation was obvious.
To live, Louis had no choice but to comply.
"You want me to obey or get reported?"
"Just say Leon Hilfenberg did it."
Conditions laid out, time to withdraw.
Lingering would mean running into the chief librarian's people.
He hurried toward the library's main entrance.
"Let's not see each other's faces again, senior."
No reply came.
But sometimes, silence was affirmation.
5
A fluffy-coated shepherd entered Minenvar Library.
Following it, a black-haired man led eight students inside.
The shepherd, sniffing around, approached the black-haired man at the front.
A gold brooch adorned his student robe.
Moreover, all eight accompanying students wore gold book-and-quill brooches on their chests.
Brooches permitted only to Esterro Academy Student Council members.
Student Council Secretary Robert Hunter stroked the head of the shepherd that had stopped by his leg, rolling his pitch-black eyes behind his glasses as he quietly surveyed the surroundings and murmured.
"...What a mess."
The black robes scattered on the floor were all unconscious.
One male student who had removed his robe was conscious but clutching his stomach, unable to move.
Uniform attire.
It screamed a specific organization's doing, with a chain of command.
Testimonies from students who had already fled identified the Discrimination-Free Reading Club, but Robert cautiously verified the facts and approached the only conscious man.
"Third-year Louis Lefercha."
"Student Council Secretary, huh."
Louis looked up at Robert.
Under neatly parted 5:5 bangs, a face so stern it bordered on blunt, framed by angular glasses—that represented Robert Hunter.
Robert silently nodded to direct the council executives.
They swiftly began restraining the unconscious black robes.
"Why did you occupy Minenvar Library?"
"For the liberation of knowledge."
"That's what I asked—your motive."
"Hah... You'd never understand, just blindly following orders."
"...I see."
He had no intention of denying it.
It was just a procedural question, not one he was particularly curious about.
This interrogation was merely processing an incident as a student council executive.
If Louis invoked silence, move to the next question.
"Then who annihilated you all?"
For the first time, Louis let out a groan at Robert's question.
After an uncomfortable silence, he dropped his gaze to the floor and barely moved his lips.
"Leon Hilfenberg."
"...A first-year."
Not a particularly standout student.
Robert remembered the name only because he was the secretary.
If not for that, even Robert wouldn't know it.
A first-year annihilating a third-year group, organized foes at that.
Whatever method, it meant he was hiding considerable skill.
'I'll need to check him out.'
As Robert gave weight to the name Leon Hilfenberg.
The shepherd sniffing at Louis suddenly barked toward the library's main entrance.
Woof! Woof woof!
"Francis."
Robert called the shepherd's name and looked toward the entrance, but no one was there.
Robert soothed Francis by petting its head.
And so, the faint scent of another contributor to resolving the Minenvar Library incident—lingered by Francis—faded away.