Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The World We Meet Again
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I was curious, but I never intended to make contact.
Really, I'm serious.
But how on earth did things turn out like this?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In front of the Wolverine Guild's artifact vault.
The Little Saintess was admiring the artifacts the guild cherished and kept under tight security.
Due to their guild master's inclinations, the Wolverine Guild had grown primarily through artifact research and tower studies rather than direct assaults on the tower.
Even for Iru Ri, unrestricted access to the artifact vault was no easy feat, so to commemorate obtaining special permission, she was touring the place like a museum.
"Ooh, this is Undine's Tear! So pretty."
A blue gem reminiscent of the sea. An artifact discovered in the tower, it was the most popular earring item around.
"An item like this being single-use."
It tripled the effects of any water-attribute skills—an utterly insane boost—but the one-time-use drawback had doomed it to storage.
I can see why So Seori insisted she'd never use it and made a fuss in the media.
It's a design that drives women wild. Look at those perfect curves. That shimmering blue glow is enough to make your eyes glaze over.
The one and only gem of its kind on Earth.
"Hehe, I want it."
Even Iru Ri, who had zero water-related skills, found herself staring blankly at it.
"Fwing fwing."
Wisph tugged at her dazed locks.
"Ack, got it, you think I'd steal it? I'm just looking."
And so the artifact vault tour continued.
"This is Prometheus's Flame? Looks just like a gas burner."
An eternal flame discovered as a hidden piece on the 55th floor.
"This thorn armor... wonder if it's even usable with how heavy it is?"
"Fwing fwing."
"Right? Would be tough."
Iru Ri passed the time admiring each artifact one by one with Wisph.
And at the very end.
"Pretty nice looking, isn't it? Right, Wisph?"
"Fwing fwing."
A cover that seemed to capture the movements of the heavens in a book. The stars were still shifting even now.
"Really beautiful."
Words slipped out as if entranced by something.
Clap clap!
"Don't get entranced! Snap out of it, Iru Ri!"
She slapped her cheeks to pull herself together. Who knew if the Grimoire held some power to bewitch people?
Touching it by accident would mean instant death.
"Wisph, what do you think?"
"Fwing fwing."
"Right? That's what I think too."
It just looked like any other Grimoire. Though the cover was a bit different from the rest.
Iru Ri had laid eyes on three Grimoires in person so far.
The Grimoire of Crimson Flame, the Grimoire of Storm, and her own Grimoire of Light.
None of them writhed on the cover like it was alive.
No mana was leaking out, no spells activating. It was just a slightly odd-looking book.
"Fwing fwing!"
As she observed the book, Wisph suddenly darted about in a panic.
The kind of flight it only did when sensing danger inside the tower. But now? Why all of a sudden?
Iru Ri hurriedly flipped open her Grimoire and assumed a battle stance. No enemies in sight, but she reacted the same way she always did whenever Wisph acted like this.
'What is it? I don't sense anything...'
Anxiety washed over her. Wisph wouldn't pull something like that for no reason.
The only possible danger here was that Grimoire, but she had no idea what was going on.
"Fwing fwing!"
Her gaze followed Wisph. Naturally, toward the Grimoire.
"!"
Come to think of it, the cover was off. The stars had been tracing circular celestial paths before, but now they moved by a different rule.
The stars on the cover slowly shifted, soon forming the lines of a square.
"What, what is it, why? Holy Guard!"
Terrified, Iru Ri cast a defensive spell in case something came flying at her.
At that moment, something round popped out from the center of the square.
It was an eye. An eye as black as the pitch-dark night sky.
"I didn't see it! I didn't make eye contact!"
Fearing she might go mad, she squeezed her eyes shut tight, paralyzed by terror.
'God, Buddha, any gods out there, please, I didn't see it.'
Then came a deep, resonant male voice. Unfathomable, yet it carried a weight that made it seem less than fully human.
🌌 COSMIC GRIMOIRE 🌌 "Is someone there?" "...?"
The Cosmic Grimoire had spoken.
🌌 COSMIC GRIMOIRE 🌌 "If someone is there, please respond." Iru Ri's mind raced with a thousand thoughts. Should she answer that voice? What would happen if she did? What if she didn't?
'What do I do? What do I do? Answer? No? Go insane? Damn it, all the guild master's fault! Should I run now?'
The silence was broken by Wisph yanking her hair.
"Fwing fwing!"
"Ah!"
🌌 COSMIC GRIMOIRE 🌌 "So there is someone. Perhaps you cannot speak?" She'd been caught.
Moreover, the Grimoire's voice carried mana. Wait—was it even mana to begin with?
🌌 COSMIC GRIMOIRE 🌌 "Then, could you come closer, please?" From the 40th floor onward, there were monsters that wielded magic through language like this.
They imposed rules, and the penalties for breaking them were steep.
If it forced a rule like that on her now, the situation would be far more dangerous than she imagined.
"Whew."
Not even in the tower had a mere voice exuded such overwhelming presence. Logically speaking, this put the Grimoire's threat level at a minimum 60th-floor boss tier.
'No way I can handle this alone.'
Having made up her mind, Iru Ri decided to play along with the voice from the Grimoire for now. Defying it might lead to even bigger problems.
"N-no, I can speak..."
She bit her tongue from the tension. Seemed safer to just answer from afar than approach that book.
🌌 COSMIC GRIMOIRE 🌌 "You don't seem well. Allow me to heal you—would you come closer?" 'I have to get close anyway!'
A bitter metallic tang filled her mouth. She'd bitten down harder than she thought.
For now, she followed the Grimoire's instructions. But she walked slowly, dragging it out while searching for a way out of this mess.
🌌 COSMIC GRIMOIRE 🌌 "Would you touch the book?" The dark temptation had arrived. This must be how it had ensnared people before.
Step... step...
Slow steps, but somehow she'd closed the distance to arm's reach. Still no escape plan in sight.
"What... if I refuse?"
🌌 COSMIC GRIMOIRE 🌌 "Is there any need? Listening to me will only benefit you." Any need? On top of that, wasn't it implying no benefit—or worse—if she didn't?
'This is bad. Real bad.'
She was a supporter type. Low attack, low defense, but high skill potency.
Was there an easier mark than a lone supporter?
'Fight or flee incurs penalty. Touch it and go mad...'
In the end, it was either defy the rule and eat a penalty or touch the book and lose her mind.
With her abilities, maybe she could recover before fully breaking? With Wisph's help, the odds were good. No S-rank climber had ever gone mad yet, after all.
And that judgment proved correct.
Following the Grimoire's words, she reached out her hand. Just a little more and she'd make contact.
Iru Ri froze in place.
Truth be told, she was on the verge of bursting into tears. It was terrifying. A whole new breed of fear.
If she survived this, she'd unload every curse and insult imaginable on the guild master.
'Touch it? Don't? Run now? But that breaks the rule? What do I do? Save me, sis, Mom, Dad—I'm still...!'
"Fwing!"
The moment she hesitated, Wisph batted her hand—and she ended up touching the Cosmic Grimoire.
"Ah, it's over."
She was done for. A vegetable now. Everything finished.
Swoosh.
As expected, a burst of light poured from the Grimoire, enveloping Iru Ri.
'So Seori, you bitch! Even in death—kuh!'
But the outcome was a bit different from what she'd imagined.
🌌 COSMIC GRIMOIRE 🌌 "Are you alright?" "Y-yes? Huh?"
Her tongue was perfectly healed. The metallic blood taste in her mouth was gone. Even her back felt refreshed...
🌌 COSMIC GRIMOIRE 🌌 "...What did you do?" "I healed your pain. I suspected a speech impediment and considered fixing your brain, but thankfully that wasn't the issue." What? Why was it being so nice?
Iru Ri was flustered. For all its heavy presence, the Grimoire was surprisingly gentlemanly.
But she quickly stiffened. That meant it had scanned her brain in the blink of an eye.
To do that with just a fingertip touch... only a god could manage it.
She revised her assessment of the Grimoire.
This was an object rivaling divine power.
"Th-thank... you. Um... what should I call you? Grimoire-nim?"
First, ease its guard and fish for some info.
🌌 COSMIC GRIMOIRE 🌌 "I forgot to introduce myself in my excitement. Feel free to call me Byul." Byul. A name as dizzying as one might expect from the Cosmic Grimoire.
"I am..."
She paused just as she started to give her name. Was it wise to reveal her true identity to a being like this?
The power that voice had demonstrated already rivaled a god's. Only an idiot would hand over their real name to something like that—she knew better.
"Please call me the Little Saintess."
🌌 COSMIC GRIMOIRE 🌌 "An interesting moniker." Iru Ri flinched. In her panic, she'd blurted out her nickname—and it'd seen right through it.
Of course no one would have a name like that. Idiot!
🌌 COSMIC GRIMOIRE 🌌 "Then I'll call you Saintess. Saintess, where is that place?" Trials on top of trials. Just answering was exhausting. Truth or lie? How much to reveal?
In the end, she opted for truth—flexibly worded to avoid harm.
"It's Daehanming Cook SOUL. Prime spot."
🌌 COSMIC GRIMOIRE 🌌 "...I see." Did it get it? Anyway, she'd dodged that one. Not a lie—just a little tongue-twisting.
🌌 COSMIC GRIMOIRE 🌌 "A job, then you'll be here tomorrow as well. A pity—shall we meet again then?" 'It even got the "prime spot" bit—truly a massive entity!'
It was her own little trick, but so crude even Wisph could've seen through it—she remained blissfully unaware.
🌌 COSMIC GRIMOIRE 🌌 "As a memento, allow me to give you a gift." The eye vanished from the Grimoire as light poured forth.
The light flowed gracefully toward her hand.
And just like that, a few leaves appeared in her palm.
🌌 COSMIC GRIMOIRE 🌌 "Tea leaves. They taste quite good. Until then." With that, the Grimoire returned to its original state. Having handed over the tea leaves.
"...Tomorrow? It's open?"
"Fwing fwing?"
She had to walk this tightrope again?
She whipped out her phone and immediately called her boss, guild master So Seori.
"Hello? Ruri, what's up this late..."
"Sis! You bitch, I'm frea—"
It was the first curse word So Seori had ever heard from her.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In front of Etoile's colonnade, nicknamed the "Window."
Moon Byul withdrew his power and headed to the dining hall for some tea.
"Ah, I forgot about the remote magic experiment."
Forgetting something like that—a mistake not made in fifty years.
He was that emotionally stirred up.
"Little Saintess... What an interesting person."
He replayed their conversation. Nothing special, just basic chit-chat—but it held special meaning for him.
Warmth. The chest-warming warmth he'd longed for all this time.
'Thank... you...'
In his memory, she seemed awkward dealing with him. The window was unstable, the view beyond hazy, but her voice came through clearly. She sounded young. Teens? Early twenties maybe.
"The thanks should be mine."
For the first time in ages, Moon Byul felt truly alive.