The Record Library
The vision flipped. From the surface of the transparent barrier I had been staring at moments ago, it plunged inside. The Record Library hidden within the barrier filled my eyes. While chaos and commotion raged outside, this place was eerily silent, a completely different space. The Record Library itself, the first thing that caught my eye, glowed snow-white without a single smudge of soot, its form on full display. Not even a small scar marred its outer walls. But amid that silence, the only oddity I could sense was the thick, foul scent of blood that seeped into the ground and spread upward. The blood scent was so intense, it hung heavily in the air, much like the one I had caught on the Sky Island. Following that blood scent toward its still-dripping source, my gaze slowly shifted. What I saw was Idea's playful smile as she held up her staff and greeted me. "Welcome, inside my barrier." "Come in, come in~" Idea smiled brightly, staff raised. That image of her greeting was nothing like the one I remembered from the Sky Island, yet it was worlds apart from the Idea I knew back then. I couldn't say for sure about her inner self, but at least on the surface, she had changed. Her signature playful grin was gone. "What's this… scary." That playful laugh had always been Idea's core charm. Thinking of Idea, I pictured the psycho-killer grin that made her so memorable. Now that it was wiped away, I felt a chill run down my spine without realizing it. Even Mu, beside me, didn't show the same reaction as me, but I could tell she sensed the difference too. She rubbed her head, which still twitched slightly. But Mu didn't seem scared in the slightest. She kept her usual flat expression and simply stared at Idea. "Idea…." "You were waiting for us." Following Mu's carefree tone, I placed my hand on my waist and spoke. She had set the trap in the museum, caused the explosion, and sealed the Library with that barrier. The moment she saw us inside, she reacted immediately. No matter how I looked at it, she had clearly laid the bait and waited. When I asked about that, Idea nodded in confirmation. Then, "No need for long words, right?" She finished with that one line, lifted her staff, and I leaped aside sharply. Mu used short-range teleportation to slide right next to me. The moment the space was clear, a massive lightning sword dropped from the sky, exactly where I and Mu had been. Kwoosh—kaaaang—kyiiiiing!!! The power was so overwhelming that even after the sword vanished, faint electricity still crackled and jumped across the ground. "That looks pretty dangerous…" In the game, I always killed Idea before she could cast her barrier, so I never knew. The spellcasting power inside this barrier was far beyond my expectations. I'd die, but it looked like it would hurt like hell, draining at least ten percent of my HP. So I decided to keep fighting while avoiding it as much as possible. I asked Mu, "Meiel, how much time do you need to destroy this barrier?" The barrier was essential for Idea, her job as a spellcaster, to unleash her true power. I hadn't trained a spellcaster before, but from countless PVP and dungeon fights, I knew the basics. Spellcasters' combat strength inside their own domain was almost twice as powerful as outside it. If possible, I wanted to capture Idea like Morgan and Isolde. For me, breaking the barrier was the fastest way. I asked Mu if she could destroy it, but her answer was no. "Impossible… the barrier is too sturdy. It needs at least ten seconds… but I don't think she'll give us that time…" "Then there's no choice." She didn't say anything about blocking all attacks in ten seconds. No matter how strong Aria's body was, that was impossible. Even if I could block hundreds or thousands of attacks coming straight at me, I couldn't handle even a few hundred attacks surging around Mu. And if I destroyed the barrier myself, it would take me fifteen seconds at least. Of course Idea wouldn't give us that time, so I abandoned the plan to break it cleanly. I drew my twin swords from their sheaths, and Mu gripped her staff tighter, pulling up the mana inside her. Since we couldn't break the barrier, there was only one other option left. "Then let's knock her out as fast as we can." "Yes……!" Just like on the Sky Island, we would force her unconscious and put her in a state where she couldn't fight. This time, since Mu was right beside me and also ready to fight, knocking out Idea should take less than a minute. "Hmm~ hum hum~ huuung~" Kwoong—kaaang—kyiiiiing────!!! I didn't know where the leisure came from, but Idea hummed a tune as she flicked her staff. From the barrier, boulders, ice, and saw blades rained down like a storm. All of them were packed with mana. These were dangerous attacks unlike anything I had seen from spellcasters before. This had to be the spellcaster's combat style after creating the barrier. Every single attack matched the lightning sword in power, so I ran toward Idea without loosening my guard, using my reinforced strength. "Meiel!" "Ready……!" Mu answered my shout at the top of her lungs while running. Glancing aside, I saw that Mu's staff already had a huge magic circle engraved on it. The magic inside was temporary handcuffs and shackles that sealed mana and magic power. Once I confirmed the preparation was complete, I ran forward without hesitation, raising my swords to attack Idea. "……!" Seeing me rush at her, Idea swung her staff faster, but no matter how hard the attacks came, they couldn't match my speed. Kugu-gugugung──── The ground-shaking attacks became my footsteps as I reached right in front of Idea. Without hesitation, I swung both swords. "But you know… the students of yours inside the Library. Is it okay if I don't save them?" I couldn't swing. "What are you talking about?" "Oh, you really didn't know? Kyahaha!" The instant the blades touched her, I pulled them back and asked. Idea blinked, then burst into loud laughter. It was clear she was looking down on me, which made my blood boil. But more than that, my head spun with suspicion about her words. I started thinking about whether her confident smile was hiding the truth or not. But I quickly dropped the pointless worry. It was impossible for students to be inside the Library. All of them were in the museum. How could they have entered the Library faster than us using teleportation magic? No matter how hard I thought, her words could only be nonsense. I was about to mock her when she spoke again and I froze. "You don't believe me? I've been guarding this place since earlier. And T- drop, you wouldn't understand, right? So there's no forced teleportation magic even inside your subordinate's barrier in the museum." "……." Could it be a lie? Or the truth? I tried to read Idea's eyes, but her cloudy pupils wouldn't let me. The only clues I had were what I already knew. In the game, Idea had actually entered the Library, so her claim that she could check inside wasn't a lie. And there was definitely no forced teleportation magic inside the barrier. On the contrary, I had been separated from my party by that magic more than once. Because of that, Idea's words were probably true. Even if they weren't, if students were inside, I had to save them. "……You've done something idiotic." "Sometimes idiots work on the right people." "Tsk……." Following her teasing tone, I sheathed my swords and grabbed her neck, slamming her to the ground. "Kyaa?!" "Meiel, cast the spell." Though it felt a little rough, I couldn't stand being mocked. This was fine. It wouldn't even crack a bone. I suppressed Idea in an instant and ordered Mu, who was standing behind. She stepped forward and struck Idea's arm with her staff. "『Seal』." Purple mana handcuffs and shackles bound both her arms and legs. Her mana and magic power were completely sealed. Idea thrashed desperately, but the spell took hold. I checked once more, then stood up and walked toward the door that looked like the entrance to the Library. "I'll go inside to check the Library. Meiel, you keep an eye on Idea." "Yes…… I'll be fine anyway since she's restrained……." "Good, I'll be back soon." Even though it was unlikely, I left Mu in charge of watching Idea in case she broke free. The only thing left was to save the students who might or might not be inside the Library. Taking Mu's salute, I opened the Library door and stepped inside. If they really were inside, I'd show these kids a bit of hell. * * * "You're reading a book?" "Yes, I was reading a book." "What was the title just now……." "'The Tale of Inspector Aria,'" she answered. "It's not a misunderstanding or a namesake. It's the inspector Aria who's teaching you." Arin gripped her head in confusion. She had been surprised when Shaty's teleportation magic overshot and we entered the Record Library, which no one had ever entered before. To top it off, we met a woman who introduced herself as the librarian, and now she was going to read us a story from what looked like the legendary book. It wasn't some ordinary tale either. It was a story about Aria-sensei, the professor I knew well. Of course, one unbelievable thing after another happened in quick succession, so the shock had worn off. But still, Arin couldn't help grabbing her aching head. She looked at the four people beside her and whispered, "What do we do……? Should we just follow what that librarian says?" "But the instructors are probably waiting at the museum……." "Still……." "Huh?" As Arin hesitated, Kana gave the same reaction. Right after, Riana raised her hand slightly and spoke. Every eye turned to her. Riana flinched for a second, then cleared her throat and carefully voiced her opinion. "We came into the Record Library, which no one has ever entered before. Isn't it a shame to just leave?" "There probably won't be another chance to read the book that has only been passed down through history……." "Of course, there's a little problem with Aria-sensei's story, but reading it wouldn't be bad." Riana added that, and her suggestion to read the book according to the librarian's words made Shaty and Pina, who had been quietly standing, light up and nod vigorously. "I agree with Riana! This kind of opportunity might never come again!" "Shaty is right. Once we leave here, we might never be able to enter again." This Library was a lucky accident caused by Shaty's overshot teleportation. Since the coordinates inside couldn't be read, we couldn't teleport back on purpose. We couldn't guarantee that such a lucky mistake would happen again. This was probably the first and last chance. Shaking from Shaty and Pina's sweet words, Arin nearly changed her mind. But thinking of Isolde and Morgan fighting demons at the museum made it hard to decide. "Still, the instructors worry me…… Of course, even if I worry, I can't do anything. They told me to wait outside the museum……." "They can't help fighting demons, but at least we can call for reinforcements." As Arin hesitated, the librarian, who had been standing quietly without hearing the five whispers, ended her worry. "You don't need to worry. Time inside the book and real time flows differently. Even if it's summarized, reading an entire person's life story in real time would turn you into an old man in no time." "What do you mean?" "Even after reading every story in the book, real time will barely pass—less than a minute." The moment those words came out, Arin's earlier worries became completely useless. Arin was interested in the Record Library and the book in the librarian's hand. There was no need to worry if real time was less than a minute. Kana, who had been hesitating like Arin, sparkled with interest as she looked at the book. The other three had already decided, so Arin finished her worry and answered the librarian. "Then I'll read the book." "Excellent choice." The librarian smiled satisfiedly and stroked the pages of the book she was unfolding with her fingers. Fwaaah—! The letters on the page she stroked glowed and began to illuminate the surroundings. "Ugh…!" "Ah, my eyes again……." "It's blinding……!" The glowing book pages lit up like floodlights. Far brighter than the white space of the Library, the five of them covered their eyes without even deciding who went first. But the librarian faced the book so brightly that she opened her mouth slowly. "As I said earlier, the story you're going to read is 'The Tale of Inspector Aria.' I'll send you into the story now, so please close your eyes and wait." "Wait just a moment! I heard something like that before—what does it mean to go into the story?!" The phrase I heard before—'even after reading the entire story.' Arin frowned, eyes squinted as she opened them slightly and asked the blurry librarian. Unfortunately, the librarian simply smiled and turned the glowing book toward Arin. "You can check it yourself." Don't worry. I'll definitely enter as the narrator. The librarian's voice grew distant as she was swallowed by the book's light, her last words ringing in my ears. With that voice, Arin and the others' consciousnesses sank into the book. And when they opened their eyes again. In a blue space as vast as the deep sea, a woman with familiar red hair appeared before them. 〈This place……〉 She looked around the blue space with a familiar face, familiar voice, and familiar body. It was Aria. But if I had to describe her slightly differently. 〈Father! What is my name?! Aria? Is this my name?! I'm happy, Father! I'll work hard for you!!!〉 For some reason, the Aria with an entirely different personality from her usual one shouted brightly into the void.