Chapter 30 Information Guild (2)
The Information Guild (2)
A door made of walnut wood with an antique design that immediately caught the eye. Even at a glance, it was clearly no ordinary door.
When I lightly touched it, I could feel layers upon layers of security magic and defensive spells imbued within.
Not just the door—even the surrounding walls were completely plastered with magic, to the point of being slightly excessive.
Still as cautious as ever, this one.
As I thought that, the man knocked several times at the door. A clattering sound echoed from inside.
No doubt they were unprepared and are now scrambling to tidy up.
"The Master is waiting for you."
With those words, he stepped aside from the door. Passing by him, I knocked twice.
With a creak of hinges, the door swung open effortlessly.
"...Long time no see, Kain."
A leather sofa and a marble table sat at the center of the dust-filled room.
Among the furnishings that bore the marks of what must have been over a thousand years of wear, the figure of a girl lounging on the sofa came into view.
She held a small wooden cube in her hand and nodded toward me, her platinum blonde hair swaying slightly. Her eyes resembled the sea—a deep, mesmerizing blue. The only unusual feature was her pointed ears, the kind rarely seen on ordinary humans.
They were the kind typically found on elves—those otherworldly beings common in fantasy settings.
"I didn't expect you to disappear for years without a trace. I was hurt, you know."
"Spare me the insincerity, Louie."
Louie—a being who had lived for over a millennium, one of the few elves remaining in this world. In the original work, she had been portrayed as a villain aiding the Emperor.
Though "villain" wasn't quite accurate. She was closer to neutral, simply prioritizing her own survival above all else, which had led her to cooperate with the Emperor.
In fact, in the original story, she had even accepted Adel's deal.
"Still as cold as ever. That's what makes you easy to deal with, though."
Louie chuckled dryly and tossed the wooden cube in her hand onto the table.
Then, she picked up a long pipe resting against the sofa and lit it with a flick of flame magic.
A foul, distinctive tobacco stench filled the air as blue smoke curled up from the pipe. The pungent odor was strong enough to make me grimace in discomfort.
Yet, despite my reaction, she paid no mind and continued puffing away relentlessly.
Well, someone who's lived over a thousand years wouldn't care much about other people's opinions anyway.
"I assume you hate small talk, so let's get straight to the point."
"Go ahead."
"The Magic King's Legacy—that's what you're after, right?"
The Magic King.
A monster who, long ago, single-handedly wiped out half of the imperial army and stood toe-to-toe with the Emperor.
A transcendent being who had reached the pinnacle of magic, far surpassing human limits. The king of a kingdom long since destroyed by the Arieh Empire.
In the original work, Abel and Adel had only managed to seal the Emperor thanks to the legacy left behind by the Magic King.
The problem was that the original story never specified exactly where that legacy was hidden.
"I can't even begin to guess how many years I've wasted tracking just that one thing. Even my own kin didn't know much, so it was quite the ordeal."
She clicked her tongue irritably and set the pipe down on the table with a sharp tap. Then, exhaling a slow stream of blue smoke, she continued.
"I've pinpointed the location."
"Where?"
"The capital of the Prilecha Kingdom—Ark. Ring any bells?"
It did.
Because it was now part of my territory. Having personally fought in the war against the Prilecha Kingdom, there was no way I wouldn't know.
When I gave a slight nod, Louie took another drag before continuing.
"The legacy is somewhere in the mountains surrounding Ark."
"That's far."
"Yeah, real far."
Practically at the edge of the Arieh Empire.
Ark had been the port city where the former Prilecha Kingdom made its last stand, even relocating its capital there in its final days.
Now, even the royal palace had burned to the ground.
"Kain—no, I should say, Duke Hardenberg."
Her voice was different now. Unlike her usual languid self, sprawled on the sofa while puffing away, her expression was uncharacteristically serious.
It was hard to believe this was the same woman who had always seemed half-drowned in lethargy, doing just enough to get by.
"I'm bowing out after this."
"...Why?"
At my question, Louie let out a disbelieving laugh. After a long moment, she sighed and answered.
"Kain—no, Duke Hardenberg."
I'd suspected she knew, but hearing it aloud felt different.
It wasn't like I'd expected to keep my identity hidden when making requests to the Information Guild, anyway.
"You're planning to bring down the Imperial House, aren't you?"
"Your information network is quick."
"If it weren't, I wouldn't have lived this long."
She tapped her own neck as she spoke. It was covered in scars and old wounds—so much so that scratching it had become a habit whenever she was annoyed.
"Unfortunately, my life's motto is to live long and stay out of trouble."
Louie idly swirled the smoke rising from her pipe. The acrid stench of tobacco drifted toward me, but I didn't mind it much this time.
She opened a subspace and rummaged through it before tossing something toward me.
"Here, take it."
"What's this?"
A cylindrical music box. The antique-style handle attached to its side gave it a distinctive appearance.
I touched it, wondering if it might be something special, but it was merely an ordinary antique devoid of any trace of mana.
"It's an item that lets you request the aid of a spirit—just once."
Spirits.
Beings who vanished from this world long ago. Even in the original work, they were scarcely mentioned—little more than a passing lore element.
If my memory served me right, only elves could interact with them, albeit in limited ways.
And the number of elves remaining in this world could be counted on one's fingers. That was how few they were.
Come to think of it, there was one half-elf I had taken in during my childhood, relying on my knowledge from the original work. But she was only a half-elf, with human blood mixed in.
"I hope we never meet again, Mr. Kain."
"Planning to side with the Emperor?"
"Think whatever you like."
Louie said this before roughly biting down on her long pipe—a subtle but clear indication that she had no intention of continuing the conversation.
Knowing I wouldn't get any more information from her in this state, I gave up.
"Thanks for everything, Louie."
With those words, I turned to leave. Just before stepping out the door, a quiet voice reached me.
"...Don't mention it."
§
A place saturated with the scent of aged paper and wood.
Bookshelves so immaculate they might have been cleaned by a mysophobe—not a speck of dust in sight. The old books were arranged with obsessive precision by size.
The rigid, angular alignment of the books was almost exhausting to look at. The same went for the spotless white marble floor, equally free of dust.
I'd heard the Imperial Library was well-kept, but I hadn't expected it to be this pristine.
Even I, who prided myself on being neat, found it excessive. I wondered how others must feel about it.
'History, history, the history section...'
The shelves were organized by category, much like modern libraries.
Why a medieval library would follow a modern structure was beyond me, but at least it made finding books easier.
[Imperial History, Volume 14]
[Imperial History at a Glance: The Unification War Special Edition]
[How the Empire Prospered]
The oddly familiar titles made me cross my arms and scrutinize them carefully.
Even if I knew little about the medieval era, I doubted they would have titled books like this back then.
Was this just how things were in a Romance Fantasy-style medieval setting?
Then again, why would a Romance Fantasy novel bother with historical accuracy?
Most readers of the genre wouldn't care about such details, so why would the author?
It was moments like these that reminded me—this world truly was a Romance Fantasy.
Sigh, focus.
I pulled out the history books centered on the Imperial House. Before I knew it, the stack had grown tall enough to block my line of sight.
They were heavy enough to make me grunt, but I managed to set them down on the table.
Thud. The dust that billowed from the books made me cough.
Just how long had these gone unread for dust to accumulate like this? Even the cleaners must have skipped the books themselves.
'...There's so much.'
I didn't expect to uncover the Imperial House's secrets just by reading these. But there had to be some clue hidden within.
Given that this world was fundamentally a Romance Fantasy, there had to be narrative inconsistencies somewhere.
'Let's start by cross-referencing.'
It was a lot to go through, but I was used to this kind of work. Who knew my college days would come in handy like this?
Before I knew it, hours had passed.
"Damn it..."
No results. No contradictions, no discrepancies.
After combing through hundreds of pages, line by line, my enthusiasm plummeted.
I swallowed back another sigh and stretched.
When I opened my eyes—which I hadn't realized I'd closed—the library had grown dim.
I hadn't thought I'd taken that long, but night had already fallen.
'Lily will worry if I return too late.'
As the thought crossed my mind, the candlelight flickered. A cold draft slipped through the window and snuffed out the flame.
My regressor's instincts rang an alarm bell—something was wrong.
'What is it?'
An ominous feeling made me deploy Shield Magic. Even if it shattered, I needed to assess the situation.
That way, even if I died and regressed, I could act immediately next time.
'...What's the problem?'
Was it the flickering candlelight? Or the wind from beyond the window?
As I racked my brain, a sudden question flashed through my mind.
Had there even been candles in this library to begin with?
Thunk.
"Ghk—?!"
A blade pierced through my chest, obscuring my vision. The searing pain of being impaled wrenched a pained groan from my lips.
The ticking of a clock echoed in my ears.
Before I could even form a single question, my consciousness sank into darkness.