Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: People and Spirits Must Be Quiet in the Library (1)
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When I played the game, he acted like he'd rip out his liver and gall bladder for the heroine, so I figured he treasured his own people.
Pippin might've gotten the same treatment if he'd been under the crown prince. Sure enough, that lunatic was staring at Pippin like he recognized him. It was only natural to pay attention to some clueless stranger who wasn't even nobility standing there like an idiot.
"This is my guard knight, Pippin. Pippin, pay your respects to His Highness the Crown Prince."
Pippin stiffly made his greeting with a rigid expression. The crown prince didn't respond and kept staring him down.
It looked just like two wild animals bumping into each other in each other's territory and sizing one another up warily. But my wild animal seemed a bit weaker—hopefully just my imagination.
It was obvious the crown prince wouldn't recognize Pippin as someone who was originally meant to be his guard.
I just hadn't expected such blatant hostility. If this was the treatment he got, I was glad I'd snatched Pippin away myself.
Look at that, Crown Prince Taimus. This guy was supposed to be your guard knight. He's mine now.
I was inwardly smug about it when my idiot guard knight scowled and sniffed back a runny nose.
"Looks like you've found yourself a decent sword."
It seemed like the crown prince's version of praise. But his tone was ice-cold, and his expression was utterly frigid.
What the hell kind of guy is he?
The fastest way to figure out who he was: check the status window.
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Name: Taimus Sequoyah Noamaz
Job: Ruler
Personality: Stingy - It's hard to raise others' favorability, but reward acquisition probability increases.
Trait: Discipline - Can restrict an opponent's skills or power regardless of favorability.
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Fine, his job was unlucky, but the problem was the favorability.
[♥♥]
Favorability in red, not black? Two of them?
I double-checked, unable to believe it. I wasn't seeing things.
That cold, intimidating face was looking at a friend he liked? Did he even think of me as a friend to begin with? Or was it just a bit of high regard?
Unlike his favorability, the crown prince had zero warmth. Deciding he was done with me, he turned back to Desiderium. I followed after him like I was mesmerized.
I wanted to ask, "Are we friends or something?" but obviously I couldn't.
First, I needed to collect compensation for Orchid's screw-up.
"Destruction caused some trouble, huh."
Even without me bringing it up, the crown prince naturally grasped my intent. Looked like it wasn't his first time dealing with this. Well, with Desiderium, it was hardly surprising.
"He made quite the flashy exit."
"Compensation's separate. Get lost."
What kind of friend is this guy?
I wanted to leave too, but I had a goal, so I couldn't. Time to get to the point.
"I have something specific in mind for compensation."
The crown prince idly stroked Desiderium's menacing fangs before turning to glare at me.
For some reason, Desiderium lifted its eyes and shot me a dirty look too. The suffocating atmosphere made me want to bolt, but I couldn't, so I had to spit out something model-student-like.
"I'd like to use the imperial library."
"Why."
"There's something I want to look into."
The crown prince's eyes narrowed to slits. He wrinkled his nose and said,
"So what exactly do you want to look into."
"......"
I couldn't just come out and say I wanted to research necromancy. In the empire, necromancers were worse than traitors.
Plus, the crown prince despised necromancers. Luckily, I had an excuse ready.
"Isn't the beast subjugation coming up soon? I want to check materials related to that. The Susrri Sea is unfamiliar territory for me. I'm worried about what beasts we might run into and how to deal with them..."
"Sierra Gluttony is finally thinking of being useful, huh."
He really knew how to talk nasty. Was there anyone in the world who'd befriend a guy like this?
I was inwardly ripping him to shreds when I noticed his expression looked subtly off. He straightened his posture and looked at me—his face wasn't purely fierce.
It seemed more like concern, though not exactly worry for me. More like he had some other issue weighing on him.
And my instincts were spot on.
"You can't go to the library right now. I'd permit it if I could, but I can't."
"Why not?"
"...A spirit's been appearing in the imperial library."
"A spirit?"
Jackpot.
"What happened? A spirit in the imperial library of all places..."
If it's a strong one, can I catch it? My heart was already pounding!
"A while back, I went to the imperial library for some research and spotted a mysterious spirit. It took the form of a dead person."
The crown prince grimaced like just recalling the scene disgusted him.
"We've kept the library closed since."
"...You're not handling it yourself?"
The crown prince's expression sharpened instantly. Why, when I was just stating facts?
That's when Bishop Orchid, standing off at a distance, slowly and cautiously spoke up to me.
"His Highness the Crown Prince greatly dislikes spirits."
At Orchid's words, the crown prince shot him another fierce glare. It was the kind of look that would've sent Desiderium scampering in fear.
But now it made sense.
So he ran away because he was scared, huh.
He said the spirit took the form of a dead human? Yeah, this guy's never watching a zombie flick.
Orchid helped with the rest of the explanation.
"The spirit's appearance is so gruesome that everyone's too frightened to exorcise it. I couldn't be of much help either... The church said they'd send an exorcist priest, but things are dragging."
"What if I handle it?"
I leaned right in toward the crown prince. He shoved my shoulder away brusquely.
"Arrogant bravado."
"It's not a problem humility solves."
"If you can, then do it."
The crown prince's haughty permission came down.
"Exorcise the spirit and bring me a book called Try Aphos. Do that... and you'll get free access to the library from then on."
"No take-backs."
I nodded at Pippin. Things were going smoothly.
"Let's go, Pippin."
***
Pippin and I were led to the library by an imperial servant. I'd imagined a library as just a big room full of books, but I was wrong.
The imperial library was a massive castle rivaling the duke's residence annex. The grand building exuded a majestic air, almost like ancient ruins.
The entrance was huge and ornate too. Pippin's eyes sparkled—clearly taken with the library's scale.
"There must be tons of books on beasts, right? This is exciting. Could you work while I browse books, Master? Yeah, no, that won't fly."
"Talk sense."
We were the only ones allowed through the main gate. We passed a hall lined with statues and reached the library entrance. A single doorkeeper stood there—one I could spot a mile away as a crown prince lackey with a rotten personality.
"You can't go any further."
The doorkeeper blocked our path. He didn't look like a guard. A librarian? He was short and scrawny, not unlike Orchid. But his eyes were sharpened to piranha-like ferocity.
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Name: Benjamin Camomile
Job: Librarian
Personality: Jealousy - Easily swayed by others' words, but has high achievement rate.
Trait: None
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[♥♥♥]
Black hearts after so long. Three of them? Generous.
He seemed to be the youngest of the Camomile family...
"We're here on His Highness the Crown Prince's orders."
"Ahh. Here for punishment, huh? Guys who need to get roughed up by the spirits."
I eyed the status window, pondering how to get under his skin. Blunt types like this made me want to smack them.
His personality was 'Jealousy.' Reminded me of how I'd handled Bishop Horay. Plus, the Camomile family's youngest son was an extra among extras in the game. His name got a mention, but he was dismissed as 'the family disgrace'—a pitiful fate. A bastard who clung to the crown prince, only for the heroine to give him a stern talking-to in his one and only episode.
So the way to piss him off was obvious.
"No way. I'm Duke Sierra Gluttony. Didn't recognize me? I'm the crown prince's childhood friend and trusted noble who gets direct orders. He personally 'dispatched' me today to solve the problem."
Then I snidely added,
"Seems the doorkeeper doesn't know much about noble houses... Can't be helped. Could you step aside now?"
"What did you say?"
My provocation landed perfectly—Doorkeeper Camomile started fuming.
"I'm a proper son of the Camomile baronetcy. No one can look down on me!"
"Oh dear. I never said I was looking down on you. Sorry for the misunderstanding."
Maybe I'd gone too far, because Pippin nudged me from the side to stop. But the one trying to rein you in always looks more annoying.
Camomile huffed even at Pippin before responding in a much more deflated tone.
"Even so, Your Grace won't accomplish anything. Terrifying things have taken over the library. No one can solve it. Not unless His Highness the Crown Prince steps in himself..."
Camomile trusted the crown prince blindly. A lackey like this was wasted on that weirdo.
Of course, common sense backed Camomile up too.
I still got chills thinking of the crown prince slaying a dragon. He hadn't even flinched as he grabbed its horn and smashed it down.
For someone that strong to leave the library ghost alone all this time, there had to be a reason.
"Doesn't His Highness despise spirits?"
If it was just dislike, he'd have handled it himself.
"Though it's presumptuous, maybe he's scared."
The moment I finished, Camomile's face turned beet red. Anger, obviously. But he seemed to have his suspicions too, dropping his head quickly.
"You might be right, Your Grace. But it's not fear. It's torment."
"What do you mean?"
Camomile glanced around suspiciously, even though no one was nearby.
"Anyway, it's not something I can talk about."
"Then at least tell me what's going on here. His Highness permitted it—no, asked me to come."
Sigh. His little head let out a long, whooshing breath, and he started explaining in a far more dejected tone than before.
"For some time now, spirits have been appearing here."