Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Even People and Death Spirits Must Be Quiet in the Library (2)
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A death spirit appeared, she said. My ears perked up.
“It was a really tiny one, and honestly, I didn’t even realize it was a death spirit at first. The library often attracts weak spirits or fairy-like things drawn by the mana, so it’s common enough. I figured I’d just sweep them out during cleaning later, so I didn’t touch them. But then...”
“You realized they were death spirits.”
“Not long after they showed up, the monsters started appearing. Some called them monsters, others said they’d seen corpses. What I saw was a beast. A terrifying beast foaming at the mouth with blood. Just like the one that bit my mother in the hunting grounds... No, never mind.”
“I see...”
Her story had some odd points. I’d assumed there was only one type of death spirit, but she was saying all sorts had swarmed in like it was some festival.
No matter how big the library was, it wasn’t big enough for death spirits to gather and party. And there was no reason for them to congregate there specifically.
Perhaps...
“Illusions...”
“What?”
“Nothing. Please go on.”
“They don’t always show themselves. They only appear when you let your guard down. Everyone’s too scared to fight them. His Highness the Crown Prince has been too busy to come, so all I can do is block the entrance to keep people from coming and going.”
“So they’re not always visible, which makes them harder to catch.”
That wasn’t a problem for me. As a death spirit conjurer, I could use my skills to see as many death spirits as I wanted. Of course, that was another secret...
“Our master could do it.”
Pippin, who’d been quiet, stepped forward confidently. The guy was great in every way except he had no sense. Actually, scratch that—not great in every way.
I subtly stepped on Pippin’s foot. He wasn’t a complete idiot, at least—he caught my glance late and shut his mouth.
“Just a feeling.”
“Hmph. If so, I won’t stop you from trying. It can’t be helped, so I’ll lend a hand.”
Chamomile told us to wait a moment, then fetched a box from far away. He opened it carefully, like it was a treasure chest, revealing a suspicious pouch inside.
“What is this?”
“Powder that repels death spirits.”
Like sprinkling salt, or something?
“Salt?”
“Why would you think salt?”
“Ah.”
I felt relieved for some reason. If it really was just salt, Chamomile and the Crown Prince would’ve looked like total idiots.
“This is a secret powder made personally by the 4th Prince. It has some herbs in it, or whatever—I don’t know the details.”
“The 4th Prince...”
Who was that again? I recalled eventually.
4th Prince Daisy Sequoyah Noamaz. A kid the same age as Dahlia, a talented young mage.
In the original story, he wasn’t much for showing off magic prowess—just mentioned as a mage. Probably because he was the supportive little brother character who comforted the heroine during the Crown Prince route, and his magic wasn’t key to the plot.
He looked much softer and more ethereal than the Crown Prince, with a mysterious personality to match. Even that cold-blooded Crown Prince turned into a gentle big brother around Daisy. Must be the kid’s unique charm.
Still, impressive at just five years old. Already making magic powder to help the imperial family.
Made me compare him a bit to our Dahlia. She seemed to have great magic potential too, but...
All she really knew how to do was eat snacks, play, and sleep.
But that was fine. She was cute.
I snatched the pouch of magic powder. The 4th Prince rubbed me the wrong way—I’d use it all up.
“I’ll solve the problem. But let me do it alone—no one else in.”
“What about me?”
Pippin piped up. I thought for a second and shook my head.
“You stay out too, just in case. If something dangerous happens, grab Chamomile and run.”
Chamomile muttered, “Are you really trying to get yourself killed...?”
He added something that could’ve been concern or sarcasm.
“If it gets too dangerous, knock over a bookshelf. Everyone knows the Duke’s bad at magic, but that you can manage. Just body-slam it.”
I just gave him a smile and headed into the library.
***
“Black Eyes.”
The moment I entered, I activated the skill to scan the surroundings. No death spirits in sight.
“Hiding somewhere, huh? Come on out, death spirit. Where are you? I’ll catch you if you show.”
I searched the library high and low. It was disgustingly huge—I walked so much my legs started to ache.
First things first, maybe I should look for that book the Crown Prince mentioned instead of the death spirits. Even if I didn’t find any, completing the quest might still net me a reward.
“Try Aphos, was it?”
Come to think of it, ‘Try Aphos’... Had a book like that ever appeared? I remembered the Crown Prince giving Desiderium to the heroine, but imperial library death spirits? Him searching for Try Aphos? This was all brand new.
“If it’s a book not in the game, probably nothing important inside.”
I set aside hunting death spirits and started rummaging through the shelves. From the first floor to the top. I checked every corner, flipping open even the ones without covers.
As an imperial library, it had all sorts of fascinating materials. Boring politics, history, diplomacy books, magical beast tomes, even children’s fairy tales—a real variety.
Pippin and Dahlia would love this. As I idly thought that while browsing the kids’ section, something weird caught my eye on the floor. I bent down.
“This is...”
A doll. A very worn one.
It looked like a knight in fancy armor. The armor was just soft cloth, though. It even had a cape that resembled a handkerchief.
The white, soft handkerchief felt old but high-end. The imperial crest was embroidered at the end in gold thread, confirming it belonged to royalty.
Who lost it? Or left it behind?
No idea whose it was, but I pocketed it. Leaving a doll in a library full of death spirits? Its owner must’ve been stomping their feet in panic. Duke Sierra Gluttony—too nice?
I kept hunting for the book. Past the kids’ section, skipping dozens of magical beast guides, to the forbidden section.
Looking for forbidden books made me tense, even with no one watching. If I could dig up dirt on the Crown Prince or the imperial family here...
As I ran my hands along the spines,
Swish.
Something brushed past my feet.
“What?”
A death spirit, no doubt. A faint presence, but I sensed it. Not as huge or aggressive as I’d thought. A small one to greet me?
Swish. Something moved again. Over there. I saw it.
Swish, swish, swish swish swish. Focusing, I could see it luring me, like bait. Still no threat. I knew the perfect death spirit for chasing it down. Time for backup.
“Cosmo.”
I opened the gate of death, and the manhole-cover-sized summon appeared huge—only to get squished against a bookshelf. Then thud. A shrunken Cosmo hit the floor, whimpering.
[What’s this place? It’s super cramped.]
I patted Cosmo’s head, crouched down, and asked.
“Cosmo, there’s a death spirit here. Know what it is?”
[Sniff sniff.]
Cosmo whipped his lizard-like head around, sniffing. His eyes narrowed to slits, then a long tongue licked around his mouth. He pondered deeply, then glared at me, eyes bulging.
[I’ve smelled this before.]
“You have?”
Just as I thought.
Swish—something appeared and vanished again. I shoved Cosmo’s back to send him after it.
“Bite it!”
[I don’t do that rough stuff!]
“Eat it!”
[That I might manage?]
Cosmo darted nimbly through the library, chasing the death spirit. I followed by tracking his tail, taking it easy while calculating his path. As he tired and panted, a “Kyah!” like a dog bark came from his direction.
“My hunch was right!”
I ran over. Sure enough, a familiar death spirit—no, a garden hound from Tenerife—was caught by Cosmo, who shook it by the scruff.
[Can’t eat this one.]
“Tayde... no, Canary?”
Tenerife’s garden hound. Not in wolf form, but small and fluffy like when weakened. Cuter than ours at home, but monstrous to others.
“But it’s small, and not humanoid.”
The death spirits people reported looked different. So this wasn’t what they saw.
“Shape doesn’t matter right now. This guy being here means the culprit behind this mess...”
Is Tenerife. It made sense—him being a death spirit conjurer explained the sightings.
But why would Tenerife send every kind of death spirit to the imperial library, of all places? No magical beasts, and even the Crown Prince rarely visited.
No way. Unless he was an idiot, common sense dictated a simpler method.
Plus, didn’t he have an ace up his sleeve?
“Illusion Dragon Recrophadas. That one alone explains everything.”
Tenerife must’ve sent the illusion dragon here. Simpler that way.
High likelihood. It could mimic multiple death spirits, hide in this cramped library as a single entity, and tie back to Tenerife—perfect fit.
And if Recrophadas really was behind it all... I’d be grateful.
I’d beaten illusions before.
“Where’s Recrophadas hiding? You know?”
I snatched the fluffball from Cosmo. It yipped “Kyang! Kyang kyang!” warily at me. I forced it into my arms and petted furiously; it struggled, then calmed, tail wagging softly.
“Come on, answer. Good wolves can talk—it’s a new rule I just made. Why are you here? Is Master testing me?”
“Heh heh heh...”
The fluffball lolled its tongue, breathing raggedly, then wriggled free. It landed lightly, barked kyang kyang at me, and scampered off.
“I know who the culprit is anyway. Now just find where it might be hiding.”