A Chance Meeting in the Library
"Oh my, El. What a coincidence running into you here."
I was browsing the shelves when a familiar voice called out to me.
"Ah, Seli. Didn't expect to see you here."
The place where I ran into Seli was the academy library. As befitting the finest academy on the continent, it stocked everything from straightforward major textbooks to dense academic papers packed with language so impenetrable you gave up reading on the first page.
The Swordsmanship Department rarely had reason to visit outside of exam periods, but for the other departments—especially Magic—it was supposedly a place you ended up deeply indebted to throughout your entire enrollment.
Rumors among the students even claimed there had once been a graduate who lived and ate in the library for all four years of their studies, so further explanation was hardly necessary.
That said, multiple reports of people mistaking them for a homeless person had poured in, so apparently no one went quite that far anymore.
For the record, that particular student had gone on after graduation to start life as a slave—no, a teaching assistant—under their supervising professor. I still couldn't understand why anyone would do something so foolish. Well, the world was full of all sorts of people.
Anyway, even though the library had been built for educational purposes, it wasn't an entirely stuffy place. It also held a generous collection of books for students' general cultivation. Though they made up only a small portion of the total holdings, the sheer scale of the library meant there were still far too many to finish reading before graduation.
Naturally, my purpose here wasn't to dig through various reference books in preparation for midterms—it was to hunt for novels.
"The novel you lent me last time was so fun. I figured I'd come check out some others."
Raised as an assassin, I had never had the leisure to read books. Any free time had to be spent refining my stealth techniques or swinging a blade one more time.
"Oh, you've already finished it? That was quick."
So falling headfirst into the novel Seli had lent me—the first one I'd ever read—had been only natural. I'd stayed up all night finishing it the day she lent it to me, then dozed off in class the next day and gotten called out for it.
"Yeah. But I have no idea what to pick next. Just looking at the titles, I can't get a sense of what any of them are about..."
As I'd said, the academy library's collection was vast. Faced with so many novels, I was seriously stuck on which one to choose.
I couldn't leave the novel that would carry me through the weekend to a moment's impulse. Sure, even a random pick would probably be entertaining in its own way, but I wanted the best weekend possible.
"Then would it be all right if I chose one for you?"
"Ah, didn't you come to the library for your own reasons, Seli? Are you sure that's okay?"
As a model student and top of the class, Seli had almost certainly come here to prepare for midterms, unlike me with my far less wholesome motives. Taking up her time would inevitably prick my conscience.
"No. I've already accomplished what I came for. You don't need to refuse on my account."
Yet contrary to her words, Seli held nothing book-like in her hands. If she had simply come to return something she'd borrowed, she could have used the desk at the entrance. Her claim that she'd already finished her business was probably just a kind lie so I wouldn't feel bad.
When Seli got like this, she was stubborn. Even if I declined, she would keep offering that considerate lie and insist on helping to the end.
In that case, simply accepting her help would actually take less of her time.
"Then I guess I'll take you up on it. The one you lent me last time was great, so I can trust your taste."
At my words, Seli immediately reached out and pulled a single volume from the shelf. Whether she visited the library often or not, standing before the towering bookcases that stretched all the way to the ceiling, she plucked out exactly the book she wanted without so much as pretending to search.
The book she handed me was about the same thickness as the last one. It didn't look like it would be too much of a burden to read.
Just from the title, I still had no idea what it was about. But there was no way a book Seli had chosen would be boring.
"Do you need another?"
"No, one should be enough for now. So, Seli—what was the real reason you came to the library? Studying for midterms after all?"
"Huh? No, uh... um... yes. Midterms! I came to prepare for midterms."
"I knew it. You even lied for my sake. Honestly, Seli, you're too kind for your own good."
Apparently hit right on the mark, Seli gave an awkward little laugh.
"Then how about we study together? Ah, but I might just end up distracting you..."
"No! Let's do it! Study!"
"Shh, shh!"
Dodging the librarian's glare, I led Seli to an empty study room.
Since we were going to study together anyway, I considered calling Anne and Yuri as well, but Seli pointed out that just gathering everyone might eat up the entire evening, so we decided to put a full group session off until next time.
"Skull Wolves share thoughts among the pack, which makes them tricky to handle in a group fight. But if you can take down the leader, they fall into chaos—so that's the point you should exploit."
Unlike the other departments, the Swordsmanship Department was strongly practical in nature. Strategies for dealing with monsters and demonkin were part of that.
In that regard, Seli made an excellent teacher.
"Wraiths are spirit-type monsters, so ordinary attacks won't work on them. But if you use magic or Aura, you shouldn't have much trouble handling them."
Demon Eyes—, Succubi—...
From common monsters you might run into any day to high-ranking demonkin whose names were barely known, Cielian had memorized the countermeasures for every single one—unlike me. She even knew strategies you could only learn by facing them yourself, and weaknesses of monsters so obscure that we hadn't even covered their names in class, startling me again and again.
"How do you even know all this, Seli? Is it because you're from a hero's family—they start teaching you from childhood?"
"Haha... Well, something like that."
Apparently heroes didn't just drop out of the sky. Looking at Seli on an ordinary day, you could already guess how much effort she had poured in. She, too, must have sweated blood to become a hero.
"Here—this part could show up on the exam, so it'd be good to remember it carefully."
We had started out intending to study together, but before I knew it Seli had stuck right up against my side and was teaching me.
Feeling bad, I told her she didn't have to, but she insisted she was fine—that teaching was a way for her to study too—and made sure I wouldn't feel uncomfortable.
Seli really was kind.
Late Saturday morning. The night before, I had stayed up reading the novel until dawn was breaking before I finally managed a short nap. I ended up sleeping in, but today was the weekend—no classes.
The book I had stayed up all night reading hadn't been recommended by Seli for nothing; it was definitely entertaining. Entertaining, at least.
Still, it wasn't the kind of story I wanted to reread the way I had with the previous one, so I returned it first thing and headed to the library first thing in the morning to find a new novel.
"Oh my, El. What a coincidence running into you here."
After returning the book I'd finished overnight and browsing for a new novel, I ran into Seli again by pure chance. Same spot as yesterday, same appearance. Coincidence didn't get more coincidental than this.
"You've already finished the one I recommended yesterday, I see?"
"Yeah. It was more fun than I expected, so I ended up reading through the night."
"And? Did you like the story?"
"It was fun, but honestly it wasn't really my taste. The male lead was such a piece of trash."
The man in the novel was trash through and through. A scumbag who only ever deceived and exploited women. He stayed consistently trash right up to the final page, leaving no room for sympathy. In the end the woman, thoroughly disgusted, left him, and his miserable end at least spared me from dying of frustration. When he finally got his judgment at the close, I even felt a cathartic rush.
"Hmm... Then how about this one?"
Once again without the slightest hesitation, Seli pulled a volume from the shelf and held it out.
The title was When the Lilies Bloom.
As usual, the title alone gave me zero sense of the contents. But Seli's hit rate was one hundred percent. There was no way it would be boring.
"If it's your recommendation, I can trust it. All right—novel secured. Want to study for midterms together again today?"
"Yes!"
"Then wait for me in yesterday's study room. I'll go grab Anne and Yuri."
Unlike yesterday, I brought Anne and Yuri along, and we spent the entire day studying for midterms. Though it ended up more like Anne tutoring Yuri while Seli tutored me.
And that night.
As always, I lay in bed and pulled out the novel I'd borrowed that day. The pages turned effortlessly—one after another in a flash.
"Whoa..."
The story was an ordinary romance novel. But unlike yesterday's, the emotional threads weaving between the two women were quite delicate.
Love between women. If I flipped it and imagined men with men, I'd feel nauseous—maybe because I used to be a man—but the idea of love between women didn't particularly bother me. The fact that it was just a novel probably helped. In the end a novel was a novel. As long as it was fun, that was enough.
In that sense, it really was a book Seli had recommended. Next time I should ask her for another recommendation. She would surely pick something that suited my tastes.
That said, this book was getting a little steamy. Whoa...