Establishing the Pecking Order
Establishing the Pecking Order
I returned to my seat holding the grimoire.
Renoa and Elody had already taken their spots at the spacious reading room desk.
While only a single thick volume on high-level magic theory lay in front of Renoa,
books were piled up like towers around Elody, looking as if they might collapse at any moment.
"Elody-yang, what are all those books?"
"Ah, well! There were so many things I wanted to read that I couldn't decide what to pick, and before I knew it, I'd brought them all!"
Elody chuckled, scratching the back of her head. Renoa glanced at the tower of books and let out a sigh.
"If you bring them all recklessly when you can't even read them all, other people won't be able to see them in the meantime. Put everything back except for what you're going to read right now."
"But if someone else takes them while I'm..."
"Now."
"Yes..."
A dejected Elody grunted as she picked up the pile of books and walked away.
Her retreating figure looked exactly like a daughter who had been scolded by her mother for sweeping up snacks at the supermarket.
"What did you bring? Take it out."
Was it my turn now?
I placed the book I had tucked under my arm onto the desk.
After staring at the book for a moment, Renoa's suspicious gaze returned to me.
"What is this?"
"It's an incredible book."
"Haa, of course. I wondered why on earth you wanted to come to the library."
"No, I'm telling you, this is a truly incredible book."
"Put it back. And go grab a textbook on the fundamentals of magic."
Renoa narrowed her eyes and stared intently. It was an extension of that motherly gaze she used when scolding Elody earlier.
In the meantime, Elody returned to her seat. She couldn't take her eyes off the book I had brought.
"Wow, what is this book? Did you bring it, Irion-nim? It has such a mysterious feeling!"
"What?"
"I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's just that kind of feeling. And I can feel it around you too, Irion-nim!"
A light sparkled in Elody's opal-colored eyes. She was looking at me, but her gaze was fixed on something beyond me.
[Ho-oh, she's no ordinary child. The one next to her also has considerable magical talent, though not as much as this one.]
'Right?'
[With two such children here, why on earth did a sweaty swordsman have to...]
To think the Great Sage would be a simp for girls.
I like women too, but this old man has no conscience at his age.
I felt like just burning him, but his existence would be a great help to the two mages.
And I could pick up some scraps on the side.
"Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times. You two, try infusing some mana into the book."
"Why?"
"You'll see if you try."
Elody placed her hand on the book without hesitation, while Renoa watched with suspicious eyes before reluctantly touching just the corner of the book with her finger.
Soon, the two of them infused mana into the book in turn.
Then, just like when I did it, the book vibrated bureureu.
[Ooh! What pure and beautiful mana!]
"Hik?"
"Wha-what is this?"
Startled by the Sage's loud voice, Elody flinched.
Renoa reflexively pulled her body back, distancing herself from the book.
[As expected, the mana is on a different level compared to that ignorant swordsman... It's like I can smell the scent of flowers in the mana.]
"The-the book is talking?!"
Elody shouted as she jumped up. Under the stinging glares directed at her, she sat back down quietly in her chair.
And then, in a whispering voice:
"The book is talking...!"
"A grimoire...?"
[Keo-heum, if I were to speak of myself, I am the Great Sage who has existed since the age of myth, the Guardian of Truth who weaves the trajectories of the stars, the teacher of arrogant dragons, and the eternal wisdom who has mastered all the knowledge in the world—Iskalon.]
"...Who did you say you were?"
[It seems you didn't hear me, so I shall introduce myself once more. If I were to speak of myself...]
Renoa sent a gaze toward me as I let the long-winded self-introduction go in one ear and out the other.
"What is this?"
"It's a grimoire. I picked it up from a corner of the bookshelf. I could tell at a glance it wasn't an ordinary item."
"Don't you know how dangerous grimoires are? If it happened to be a forbidden book, an unexpected accident could occur."
"It's fine. It's not as dangerous as you think, Agassi."
"How can you be sure?"
"Hmm... Intuition?"
"It's not even worth listening to anymore."
Renoa stood up. She picked up the grimoire and began walking somewhere.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to return it to the Academy. It might be a dangerous object."
"Wait a moment, Agassi. Calm down."
I hurried to block Renoa's path.
If I handed over the grimoire here, I'd just be doing someone else a favor.
"It's really okay. I can bet my life on it."
"That's sophistry. I am your master, and your life is mine. It's not something you can bet just because you want to."
"That may be true, but..."
"Move."
While I was at a loss due to Renoa's firm attitude, Iskalon let out a lion's roar.
[You dare treat the great Iskalon as a forbidden book and try to hand me over?]
"Unverifiable bluffs are the specialty of third-rate mages. And if you were as great a mage as you say, there's no way you'd be stuck in a book like this."
[Ho-ho, calling this Iskalon a third-rate mage. What a bold young lady. So, you say it is an unverifiable bluff?]
It was at that moment.
A current flowing from the gaps in the grimoire instantly seized the space.
The surrounding air sank heavily, and a suffocating pressure weighed down on the skin.
"Ugh...!"
Renoa let out a short groan. Clutching her chest, she dropped the grimoire she was holding onto the floor.
It wasn't just her. Even the other people in the reading room cried out in pain from the intangible pressure.
Crushed by the weight, they choked keok-keok and collapsed onto the desks. They fell to the floor, gasping for breath.
[How is it? Do I still look like some third-rate nobody to you?]
There was a sense of smugness in Iskalon's voice as he spoke.
For a Sage to be showing off his strength and boasting against a girl young enough to be his granddaughter.
"This crazy old man."
I swung my hand and swept away his energy. Then, the pressure that had dominated the area vanished as if it had been washed away.
"Haa, haa...!"
Renoa, freed from the pressure, panted heavily and staggered.
I supported Renoa and helped her sit in a chair. Then, I picked up the grimoire that had fallen on the floor.
"That's enough. At this rate, it won't be a matter of proof, you'll become firewood."
[Kid, how did you just...?]
"It's not about 'how,' it's about what you're going to do about this now."
I gestured toward the reading room with my chin.
"Kollok! Kollok, kollok!"
"Wha-what was that just now? Suddenly my breath..."
"Is it an attack?"
The sound of coughing didn't stop. Students who had been walking around tumbled to the floor.
The scene, filled with groans and confusion, was absolute chaos.
"What's going on!"
"What was that spirit just now!"
Sure enough, librarians and staff who noticed the commotion came rushing in ureureu and began checking on the students.
The librarian, checking the students' conditions with a pale face, came toward us this time.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Why?"
"Pardon?"
"All the other students are in pain, so why are you the only one who's fine? Could it be that you're the one who did this?"
Ugh, damn old man.
I'm the only one suffering again.
"I didn't do it. My master is right here next to me, so how could I cause any harm?"
"Master? Gasp, Lady Renoa!"
The librarian, discovering Renoa, tossed me aside and immediately ran to her.
"Are you alright?"
"...I'm fine."
"Please go to the infirmary. I will escort you."
"I said I'm fine. Don't touch me."
"I-I apologize."
Flustered by Renoa's cold dismissal, the librarian gave a clumsy bow and headed toward another student.
"Are you really okay?"
"How many times do I have to tell you I'm fine?"
"Understood. How about you, Elody-yang?"
Elody straightened her back and sat with her hands on her hips.
It was a posture meant to look confident, but since it felt like she was just striking a pose, it was more cute than anything.
"Ehem! I'm fine! ...is what I want to say, but my stomach feels a bit nauseous."
However, she too hadn't escaped the damage from Iskalon's rampage, as her complexion was dark.
"Don't push yourself and let's go to the infirmary. I'll support you."
"Thank youuu..."
"Agassi. I'm going to take Elody-yang to the infirmary for a moment, so could you wait here for a bit?"
Just as I was about to take Elody to the infirmary...
"...A little."
"Pardon?"
"My chest feels a bit tight too. It's hard to breathe."
Renoa complained of late-onset aftereffects.
"Are you feeling very unwell?"
"...Yes."
"Understood. Let's go together. I will escort you."
I offered my arms to the two of them, standing between Renoa and Elody.
"Woo-ooo, the floor is swaying..."
Elody, her legs having lost all strength, was practically hanging onto my arm.
Renoa wasn't quite at that level, but her weight was leaning slightly toward me.
She was likely just not showing it because of her habit of acting tough, but she was clearly struggling.
Because it was a level of pressure that an ordinary person would find hard to endure.
"Aren't you taking the grimoire?"
"Library books cannot be taken out. If you try to take it, the security magic will sound an alarm."
"Then what about the old man?"
[Don't worry. A mere security magic like that is something this great Sage Iskalon—]
"Eut-cha."
Avoiding the eyes of others, I tossed the grimoire under a bookshelf with a hwik.
"Well, is there a need to take it right now? We can just come back for it later."
[What do you mean by that, kid! Are you telling me, the great Sage, to stay in a dark and dusty place like this? Stop talking nonsense and take me with you!]
"Now, let's go."
You old geezer.
Who told you to act so thoughtlessly?
No matter how much of a slave I am, I'm strictly a living being. I'm a higher rank than an inanimate object.
I should take this opportunity to establish the pecking order once and for all.