Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: The Missing Forbidden Book
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“First-year Theo Agrit. Rune language assignment. Submission confirmed.”
By the time I’d finished the assignment after poring over the thick stack of materials, it was already deep into the night.
Fortunately, Professor Edmund Clayton’s research lab was still brightly lit even at this late hour.
It was only natural that the one receiving my assignment there wasn’t the professor himself, but his teaching assistant, Clara.
What is a teaching assistant?
It’s… a creature that’s hard to define.
Take Clara right in front of me—she was in a state that was truly difficult to describe.
Her brown hair, braided into round buns, was frizzy and dry. Dark circles hung halfway down her face, making her look more like a panda than a person. And with the desk overflowing with coffee mugs and piles of papers, it was no wonder I was at a loss for words.
“You barely made the deadline. Ahaha….”
Clara laughed weakly.
She’d originally been positioned as a pitiful teaching assistant, a sort of comic relief character… but seeing her like this, I couldn’t find it in me to laugh.
“…Are you okay?”
“Hm? Of course I’m fine. You didn’t miss the deadline, after all. I’ll grade it on time, so don’t worry.”
That wasn’t what I’d meant by asking if she was okay.
How burned out from overtime must she be to not even realize that’s what I was asking?
And amid all this, Professor Edmund was nowhere to be seen.
His large desk by the window and the surrounding bookshelves were neatly organized, so that must be his spot.
Making his TA pull an all-nighter while he heads home.
That wasn’t a person—that was a demon. A demon.
“More than that, it’s surprising to see student Agrit submitting an assignment.”
“…Surprising?”
“Yes, student Agrit is… pretty famous among the professors. Getting zeros in every subject was probably a first in school history….”
Huh? Zeros in every subject?
Was that even possible?
Even if you just guessed randomly on the exams, you’d get at least one right.
“I wondered if you’d done it on purpose, but seeing you submit this diligently, I guess not.”
Clara smiled lightly.
Though the dark circles made her look like she’d collapse any second….
Her guess wasn’t entirely off-base.
One subject could be chalked up to bad luck, but zeros across the board couldn’t be explained that way.
Scoring exactly zero on purpose would mean knowing nearly every correct answer.
Common sense suggested a high chance you’d intentionally tanked every subject.
If that was the case.
Why would Theo Agrit aim for zeros?
It was almost certainly those midterm zeros that got him failed.
Did that mean he’d deliberately tried to fail?
There were no benefits to failing.
In fact, two fails meant expulsion.
My mind froze at the sudden realization.
Could Theo Agrit have been trying to get himself expelled on purpose?
It all fit together if you thought about it that way.
The motive was still unclear, though.
Just graduating from Esterro Academy guaranteed a smooth path ahead.
There was no obvious reason to deliberately get expelled from a place like that….
It wasn’t something I could figure out by pondering right now anyway.
With the library occupation mess and the assignment, my brain wasn’t working right.
I’d look into it later.
“No, it’s not like that. I just… neglected my studies too much before.”
“Looks like you’ve decided to focus on academics now.”
“I don’t want to get expelled. I’ll have to study hard for the finals.”
“That’s the spirit. Good luck!”
Clara stuck out a thumbs-up.
I bowed my head slightly to her, her face still zombie-like and lifeless even when smiling brightly.
I wanted to tell her to hang in there, but it felt like that would be cruel, so I just left the research lab.
Time to go rest.
I had lectures tomorrow too, so I needed a good night’s sleep.
-Go on, get some sleep then.
The magic sword, which had been quiet since the library occupation, suddenly whispered.
What was with the attitude, like it was desperate to make me sleep or something.
-Anyway, you’re my user, so you need to grow properly, right? You don’t seem like you plan to waste time like that idiot Theo, so I’ll personally look after you. Be grateful!
It had such a superior tone….
Well, it was impressive, that much was true.
I wouldn’t have beaten Louis without it.
“Deep sleep is important, yeah.”
If I slept now, I could get a solid eight hours.
I hurried across the main building’s hallway toward the dorm, when flickering light appeared in the distance.
The light approached me like will-o’-the-wisp.
“What’s a student doing wandering the halls at this hour?”
As the light drew closer, a gruff male voice rang out.
Backlit, I couldn’t see the owner, but it was a fairly familiar voice.
He lowered the lantern.
Now I could see the man’s face.
Roughly trimmed black hair, sunken eyes, and patchy stubble from not shaving properly—he looked about thirty or forty.
He wore a uniform, but with his tie half-undone, you couldn’t call it properly dressed even as a compliment.
The name embroidered on the badge at his chest: Jin.
As his outfit suggested, he was an Esterro Academy guard.
“Heading back after submitting an assignment.”
I didn’t want any trouble with the guard.
He yawned lazily and rubbed his eyes.
“At this hour? You’re dedicated. Could’ve turned it in tomorrow.”
“Today was the deadline.”
“That’s what makes it dedicated. Now go get some sleep.”
Jin waved me off irritably.
He probably was annoyed.
Even in Broken World, Jin was infamous for his severe laziness.
How he managed to be a guard while so lazy was a mystery… but he stepped up when needed, so I had no complaints.
“Especially with one of the forbidden books gone missing and the mood all tense….”
“…Pardon? A forbidden book went missing?”
“Huh, you heard? Pretend you didn’t.”
Jin scratched his head and waved dismissively before turning away.
He sauntered off down the hall before I could grab him.
After a quick shower, I lay down on the bed.
My whole body sank into the soft mattress.
If I just closed my eyes like this, I could sleep forever….
But with so much on my mind—from Theo Agrit’s all-zero scores—random thoughts swirled behind my eyelids even with them shut.
The biggest question among them was one.
“A forbidden book went missing.”
Forbidden books.
In Broken World, there were two kinds.
Those banned for knowledge reasons—dangerous ideologies or overly advanced theories.
Or those that, just by reading, spread curses, awakened sealed beings, or summoned otherworldly entities.
Esterro Academy’s collection included both.
The ratio was about 9:1, but with the sheer volume, the latter weren’t negligible.
One of those had gone missing.
The knowledge kind might be whatever, but if it was the curse kind, that spelled serious trouble.
“There wasn’t originally an event where a forbidden book got stolen.”
In Broken World’s main story, Leon steps up and crushes the Impartial Reading Society’s occupation, preventing any forbidden book leaks.
But in reality, one had been stolen.
Who moved the forbidden book?
Even thinking like it was a bestseller title didn’t yield answers.
“The Impartial Reading Society got wiped out entirely, so not them.”
Blaming other villains was iffy too.
Excluding that society, instances of people targeting forbidden books directly at Esterro Academy were rare, and the timelines didn’t match.
Who, for what purpose, leaked which forbidden book?
I racked my brain for a while… but still came up empty.
“Well, I can leave this one alone.”
The academy would search for it, and if something happened, Leon would handle it.
No need for me to get involved, so I buried my head in the pillow.
“This is paradise….”
The bed was plush, the pillow cradled my head perfectly.
The assignment was tough, but handling it ahead of time wasn’t a big deal, and the food was beyond delicious.
If this wasn’t paradise, what was?
The main story was off track with its spirit somewhere else, but that didn’t concern me, so life at Esterro Academy was ideal.
I’d just welcome tomorrow peacefully.
As I closed my eyes toward a bright future… a clattering sound came from my ear.
Rolling my eyes, I saw Choco rummaging in the corner by the bed.
“Choco, what’re you doing?”
More importantly, when did this guy separate from me and return to the dorm?
It was baffling, but he was so smart, he must’ve handled it himself.
“Choco?”
I called again, but no response.
He just kept his back to me, rummaging away.
A bad feeling crept up.
I got out of bed and approached. Dust covered Choco’s brown fur.
“What’d you get into to get so dusty?”
Should I wash him?
Could you even bathe a raccoon…?
Meanwhile, Choco just fiddled with something.
Only when I got close did he turn his head.
That’s when I saw what he held.
A book bound in brown leather.
No visible title, so probably personally written, not published.
But that hardly mattered.
Whether bound or not, the material of the cover, the unknown title—all irrelevant before the chains and lock wrapped around it.
In this world, chaining a book meant one thing.
Designated forbidden book.
The kind that spread curses or broke seals just by opening required physical seals too.
Chains meant it was definitely a forbidden book.
A specifically sealed one.
Jin said a forbidden book went missing.
And the missing one was in my room?
….
….
No, wait. Why the hell was that here?
My mind spun at the absurd reality.
I couldn’t comprehend it, but instinctively, my gaze went to Choco holding the forbidden book.
“…Choco?”
He tilted his head slightly, as if hearing me.
“Did you bring that here?”
No answer.
Considering Choco’s intelligence, he understood but just wasn’t responding.
How he infiltrated a heavily sealed forbidden vault was a mystery.
Bringing a sealed forbidden book all the way to my room was even more baffling.
One thing mattered.
I absolutely couldn’t let that book be opened, even by accident.
“For now… can you put that down?”
Choco just tilted his head.
His tiny front paw fiddled with the lock, unlike his puzzled posture.
It’s fine.
That’s a special lock for sealed books.
No way a raccoon could open it just by—
Click!
The lock dropped from Choco’s paw.
No key, so it couldn’t have been picked.
It must’ve malfunctioned at the worst possible time.
Clatter—the chains fell to the floor.
At the same time, Choco slowly opened the book.
I lunged toward him.