Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Apprentice Mage: Lua Polaris (2)
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Lua Polaris.
And Creighton Lukebart.
The two uninvited guests who had come to my library both returned home safely in the end.
Perhaps because, unlike me, they still had intact physical bodies.
They were able to go back to where they originally lived without getting trapped in the Phantasmal Archive Celestia.
With those two gone, only I remained in the now-silent library.
"......"
I gazed at the library landscape, empty except for myself.
The sight of Celestia at nightfall.
The library bathed in moonlight held a strange allure.
Was it because I'd always lived here alone?
Even though the library had been noisy just moments ago and was now quiet again, no sudden change in my mood came over me.
I was apparently still more accustomed to solitude.
The fact that I was fine even after seeing off those visitors who had come after so long proved it.
"The tea's gone cold."
Clink.
I quietly set down the teacup that had cooled sometime earlier.
Then I lifted my head to look up at the upper levels of the empty library.
A massive magical library with unfathomable power, its location unknown.
A mental space existing without a clear entrance or exit.
For outsiders to enter such a library was surely a stroke of luck.
—Luck.
What else could describe what had happened other than that one word?
The scene I had witnessed tonight was undoubtedly pure luck.
"Luck, huh... Even if I don't know when it might come again, it can't hurt to prepare in advance."
Luck comes to everyone at least once.
However, only the prepared can seize it.
Only those who are always ready for luck to arrive have the right to grasp the opportunity that comes their way.
And I had no intention of letting this miraculous first encounter slip away.
Preparation was needed.
Preparation to turn the chance that had come my way into a solid opportunity—
To that end, I levitated several grimoires into the air.
"At most, it'll happen once or twice more from now on. Even that many chances would be enough."
Rustle—
Pens dipped in ink began moving over the rapidly turning pages.
The magic pens filled the blank pages with dense script.
What I was newly inscribing into the grimoires was an observation spell to analyze the Phantasmal Archive Celestia.
A grand magic to observe, track, and analyze the flow of mana across all of Celestia.
How the guests who came here escaped the library.
And where they returned to after leaving.
A great spell to monitor all those flows was being written anew.
"After that, I'll take control of the situation myself."
Scratch, scratch—
Amid the busy sound of pens filling my ears,
My gaze took in the incantations they were producing.
Even if it started as coincidence, it would eventually become inevitability.
I would make sure of it.
* * * * * *
Phantasmal Archive Celestia.
The day after Lua Polaris first set foot in that massive library.
She found herself facing the familiar library scenery once more.
"In the end, I've come back to this library today too......"
Lua's eyes reflected the library's dazzlingly ornate landscape.
Perhaps because this was her second time here instead of the first,
She was starting to get a vague sense of the rules for visiting this vast library.
Evenings when she fell into a deep sleep—
In other words, when morning arrived in Celestia, she seemed able to visit this place.
"......"
Of course, deep down, she had hoped to return here herself.
After all, Celestia held vast magical knowledge and precious spells.
Just steadily reading the books here would be enough for her to grow into a full-fledged mage.
The fact that she could study even in her dreams was a precious opportunity not everyone could have.
However, separate from that, there was something a bit burdensome.
A terrifying archmage sealed in the library for hundreds of years—
Facing such an existence required considerable courage.
"H-He wouldn't... turn people into frogs if they upset him or anything, right...?"
Worrying visions began unfolding in Lua's mind.
Her opponent was a transcendent being who could subdue even the chief mage of the Magic Corps with a single gesture.
If she upset such an existence, wouldn't he eventually turn her into a frog?
That was the kind of worry starting to creep in.
As Lua wandered anxiously between the densely packed bookshelves,
"Did I ever say I was going to turn anyone into a frog?"
"Eek...!"
A familiar voice came from behind her.
Creak—
Her head slowly turned toward the source of the voice.
Soon, Lua's gaze landed on Johan, who was sitting at a nearby desk having breakfast.
It seemed she had muttered that soliloquy right near Johan, of all places.
Right in front of the powerful archmage and library master, no less.
"Lua Polaris. You were saying something quite amusing just now. If possible, I'd like to hear it again."
Moreover, Johan was asking her with a mischievous smile.
Swoosh.
Lua's eyes slowly drifted away from the archmage's gaze.
It was quite burdensome to meet those interrogating eyes head-on.
She tried her best to avoid Johan's gaze, speaking in a voice trembling even more than before.
"Th-That... was just... nothing, really... a soliloquy..."
"Yes, I suppose so."
"No matter what, a spell to turn people into frogs... couldn't exist anywhere in the world, right? R-Right?"
That line slipped out as if to excuse the current situation.
Johan's gaze turned thoughtful as he listened to Lua.
He looked at her seriously for a moment.
Then, shocking words came from his mouth.
"If I gather just a bit more data, it doesn't seem impossible."
"......"
Hearing Johan's words that it seemed possible, Lua regretted bringing it up.
Slump.
Her head bowed even lower.
As her lowered gaze drifted down, something wafting an appetizing aroma caught her eye.
"Ah—."
A golden-brown grilled steak.
Rye bread placed beside it.
And even mashed potatoes on one side.
All of them looked neatly prepared dishes.
For Lua, who usually ate crude meals, this was an unimaginable breakfast.
It was inevitable that a small sigh escaped her lips as she looked at it.
"Apprentice mage."
"......"
"You seem awfully interested in someone else's meal."
Even as Johan's voice reached her, Lua for some reason couldn't tear her eyes from the plate in front of her.
She thought eating in a dream wouldn't fill her belly much anyway.
Yet the sweet taste of the cookies from last night lingered, keeping her gaze fixed on the plate.
Perhaps bothered by Lua's persistent stare at the plate,
Johan pushed the plate aside and quietly stood from his seat.
"You don't have to stop eating on my account......"
"Come with me."
"Pardon?"
Johan, now standing, beckoned to Lua, who had been watching him.
Lua looked at him questioningly for a moment.
Soon, Johan pointed to a corner of the library and said,
"I'll show you to the cafeteria on the first floor myself."
"A cafeteria?!"
Lua couldn't help but be startled by his words.
Yesterday and today too,
She had wondered where all that abundant food came from, and it seemed there was a cafeteria in the library after all.
Moreover, Johan was offering to escort her there personally.
"I-I'm coming!"
Lua hesitated a bit at Johan's offer but followed him.
If it was the cafeteria, that must be where yesterday's cookies were stored.
Then maybe she could eat a whole pile of those delicious cookies.
Such anticipation filled her chest.
Right after arriving at the cafeteria under Johan's guidance,
"This is the cafeteria."
"Wow......!"
Lua beheld a cafeteria lined with all sorts of lavish foods.
Sweet cakes.
Colorful, fancy pastries.
All sorts of fruits and pies of every kind.
Foods that looked like they belonged in a dessert shop in the capital's bustling streets were displayed everywhere.
Moreover, in one corner of the cafeteria stood a dessert tower piled high with countless sweets.
Lua's eyes sparkled with expectation at the sight of the luxurious dessert tower.
"Can I... eat anything here I want?"
"Help yourself. Even if someone threw a party, I wouldn't mind."
After Johan gave permission to take as much food as she wanted,
Lua headed straight for the nearest dessert tower.
She picked one up and moved it to the closest desk.
She planned to check her research journal while eating the desserts.
"......"
Moreover, Lua's extravagance didn't stop there.
She decided to fully enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, uncertain when it might come again.
She had no intention of stopping at just one dessert tower.
Three dessert towers.
Only that many would satisfy her.
Thud, thud, thud—
After Lua's hands placed three dessert towers in succession on the desk,
Johan watched her with a wry smile.
"You must really like this place."
But Lua paid no attention to Johan's gaze.
Instead, she was planning to set her research journal next to the splendid lineup of dessert towers.
'I hope I can come here every day from now on.'
Precious grimoires.
And lavish desserts.
True paradise might be in the dreams that came every night.
With such thoughts, Lua sat down at the table.
Along with the ambition to go to bed on time every night from now on.
* * * * * *
The next morning.
Lua arrived at the Blue Tower's lab, recalling the pleasant dream from the night before.
Eating sweet desserts while perusing valuable magical knowledge had been delightful, but reality was always harsh.
Lua Polaris was still just an apprentice mage who hadn't gone independent.
Her daily routine was running errands for her master while writing her promotion thesis.
"......I need to quickly organize what I remember first."
The only way to escape her master's shadow was to pass the promotion exam as soon as possible.
To do that, she still had much to work on.
But Lua firmly believed she would succeed in her promotion someday.
After all, she had access to a dream library no one else could enter.
With just a little more effort, becoming a full-fledged mage wouldn't be a dream.
"......"
Just as Lua Polaris was about to open the lab door early in the morning as usual,
Creeeak—
She flung the door open and froze at the unfamiliar sight.
Her master, holding a familiar document, was sitting inside the lab.
"My apprentice. Let's talk for a moment."
"Y-Yes."
Repel Kreit, a full-fledged mage of the Blue Tower.
Lua Polaris's long-time master was waiting for her.