Library Date (2)
As soon as practical training ended, I hurriedly activated the crystal orb linked to my lady.
This damn princess seemed determined to kill me, so I figured I ought to leave a will before I died.
"What are you doing?"
But that attempt was thwarted by Princess Irene.
"I was trying to leave a will before I die."
"Who's dying? And isn't this crystal orb ridiculously expensive?"
"I'm from a branch family of a ducal house. Expensive is relative."
Actually, I'd blown my entire year's salary on it. Even my lady didn't know this crystal was linked to hers.
"Who were you trying to contact?"
"Someone I like."
"...Lady Katram?"
"Yes."
"Hmmm."
For some reason, Irene looked at me with open contempt. What? What was that about?
"Stop with the useless nonsense and get ready to go to the library after class."
"Just because I lost one bet, you're dragging me to my death?!"
"If you're going to bet with a princess, you have to be prepared for that much."
"Uh, is that so?"
When she put it that way, it kind of made sense. In the end, I resigned myself and waited for classes to end.
"Alright, let's go."
"Hwaaaah."
The moment seventh period finished, Irene grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and dragged me straight to the library.
"Do you even know where the library is?"
"You're attending the Academy and you don't know where the library is?"
"I make it a point never to set foot in ominous places."
"...Yeah, you did."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing. And don't worry."
"Please don't try to reassure me."
"I'm not just saying it."
Irene smiled sweetly.
"The library is a fun place if you just meet the criteria."
"Criteria?"
Was there something only the imperial family knew about? With those cryptic words hanging in the air, we eventually arrived at the library.
The Academy's overall impression was best described as bright and cheerful. After all, the empire's future was studying here—it couldn't very well be gloomy, could it? The library was the complete opposite. It couldn't possibly be any gloomier. No, at a glance, it was downright terrifying.
An eerie black aura seeped out from the cracks of the unopened door, and the doorknob was caked with mysterious bloodstains. To top it off, the door was decorated with a statue of the Grim Reaper himself—death incarnate. It was hard to tell whether this was a library or the gates of hell.
"Alright, let's go."
"Your Highness, upon further reflection, even if this is the result of a bet, casting me into hell seems a bit excessive, so I was wondering if I might request permission to leave this place by asking whether it would be possible for you to grant me leave to depart..."
"I said let's go."
"Uwaaagh!"
Irene flung the door open without hesitation. Surely there would be students who'd wandered in by chance and lost their minds, rolling around everywhere. But since we were already inside, I had no choice but to burn that sight into my retinas.
"Huh?"
"See? I told you it wasn't a scary place."
What met my eyes was a surprisingly ordinary library scene. A librarian flipping through pages at her desk. Students studying at tables, or people using books as pillows and dozing off. For a place with such a notorious reputation even outside the Academy, it looked perfectly normal.
"This is...?"
"I told you. Why don't you trust me?"
"I've only known Your Highness for a few days. How could I trust you completely?"
"Hmm, fair point."
"But may I ask one thing?"
"What now?"
I pointed at the librarian and the students. Strangely enough, they were all women.
"Why isn't there a single male student?"
"It's a kind of rule."
"A rule?"
"I don't know the details myself, but I heard the First Emperor set it up so men and women enter separately to prevent any unforeseen accidents."
"It's a library. Why on earth?"
"Who knows. Maybe because of the grimoires?"
"Then how am I inside right now?"
"Because you came in with me, a princess. The imperial family can ignore the rules."
Wasn't that tyranny? But considering the First Emperor had deliberately separated them, there might be a deeper meaning... Still, I had no idea.
"Anyway, let's go sit down."
Led by Irene's hand, I sat in an empty seat. Once seated, I shifted my chair about fifty centimeters to the side. Irene then moved her chair the exact same way. She pressed right up against me.
"Um, Your Highness?"
"What is it?"
"Why are you sitting so close?"
"It's the library."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Irene never did this in the classroom. But because it was the library? This was no different from declaring she was deliberately trying to seduce me! As if my heart didn't already start pounding strangely just from looking at her face. For someone who'd sworn to keep only my lady in his heart, this was far too great a trial.
"Since we're at the library, we should study. You brought your textbooks, right?"
"I did."
"Then teach me."
"Pardon?"
"You've got this habit of saying 'Pardon?' all the time. Don't pretend you didn't hear me."
"No, it's not that. What am I supposed to teach Your Highness?"
The princess was skilled enough to compete with me for rankings. She answered every professor's question without hesitation and even frequently asked advanced questions that flustered the professors themselves. It made no sense for her not to know first-year textbook material.
"Just answer what I ask. You're smart, so why can't you put it to use?"
"I was just thinking common-sensically."
"Whatever. I'm curious about this part."
I looked at the section Irene pointed to. It was in the fundamentals of magic, listing the necessity of incantations.
"Once you reach a certain level, you can cast magic with Unvoiced Casting, right? So why emphasize incantations so much?"
"It's true Your Highness can already use Unvoiced Casting."
"So can you."
For reference, among the current first-years, only Irene and I could use Unvoiced Casting.
"In terms of practicality, Unvoiced Casting is superior to voiced magic. Casting an incantation is basically announcing your attack method to the opponent. So why stress the need for incantations and spells so heavily?"
"That's simple. Even Unvoiced Casting involves memorizing the spell."
"Do you not know what Unvoiced Casting means?"
"It's called Unvoiced Casting simply because you don't speak it aloud. What's the basic definition of magic?"
"Communing with the world to manifest miracles?"
"More precisely, resonating the mana within your body with the world to manifest miracles. In that process, the language humans created to communicate with the world is the incantation—that is, the chant."
I opened a blank notebook and drew a large circle. Inside it, I sketched a tiny person.
"A mage chants to clearly state their request. But it's strange, isn't it? Why do they have to do that?"
"What do you mean?"
"There's a person inside the world. A person is nothing more than a part of the world. But put another way, a person is no different from an organ that makes up the world."
"Oh, that's a perspective I hadn't considered."
"Think about the organs in our bodies. Do they make sounds out loud to perform their functions?"
"No. They just quietly do their jobs."
"Unvoiced Casting is exactly that."
"Wait, I don't get it. Doesn't that conclude that incantations are even more unnecessary?"
"You have to think differently. What a mage desires and prays for inwardly—that is the true incantation."
"Ah?"
"Think of people who show through actions rather than words. Someone who goes around claiming they're perfect doesn't earn recognition. But when you see someone who accomplishes everything perfectly through their actions, everyone around them acknowledges them."
An incantation is, simply put, a language for communicating with the world, but because it was created by humans, it's incomplete. That's why a person must embody the language itself within their body to commune with the world. That is where a true mage begins.
"Then why bother chanting for grand magic?"
"Because there's a limit to what you can show through actions. It's similar to persuading the world of the legitimacy of the action you must take."
"Chanting for grand magic is to persuade the world... An interesting analogy."
"It's a theory proposed by the great mage Siegfried two hundred years ago. The book is called Understanding and Fundamentals of Magic. I recommend Your Highness read it as well."
"I'm surprised. You really know a lot, don't you?"
"It's the basics for survival."
"Is that so...? I feel kind of sorry."
"Why are you suddenly apologizing, Your Highness?"
"It's nothing. And about this other part..."
Surprisingly, I spent a rather productive time with Irene. The things she claimed not to know were quite profound, and by explaining them, I was able to reorganize the theories I already knew.
"Ah, I should look this up in a book."
Irene stood up to find a book and headed to a nearby bookshelf. As if she'd marked it from the start, she immediately reached out. But...
"Nnngh."
"Pfft."
"Are you laughing?"
"N-no. Pffft."
Even on her tiptoes, her hand couldn't reach the book at all. The princess might be a multi-talented beauty, but height was something she couldn't help. Irene made a frustrated face and even hopped up and down. Still no luck. Her small stature and the ample chest proportional to it bounced—blasphemy. Don't think about it.
I stood up from my seat and positioned myself behind Irene.
"Really now. Just a moment."
"Uh, F-Frey?"
The book was pretty high up. Even I could barely reach it.
"It's really high up."
"Wait, waiiit."
Irene said something, but since I could get the book with just a little more effort, I ignored her. Rising onto my tiptoes, I finally pulled out the book and showed it to Irene.
"This one, right?"
"..."
"Your Highness?"
For some reason, Irene was silent. Her ears had turned bright red, and she was trembling as she turned her head away.
"Y-you..."
"What's wrong?"
"Did you do that on purpose?"
"Do what? You couldn't reach the book."
"M-my back."
"Your back?"
Irene faced forward again and lowered her head. Then she muttered quietly.
"I-it's touching."
Touching? What is? I lowered my gaze. And I realized our bodies were pressed very closely together. And the part of my body corresponding to her back was—
"Uheok!"
This could get me executed for lèse-majesté!
"Your Highness, this was a coincidence born of good intentions, so I can swear to the heavens that I absolutely did not do it on purpose with not a shred of falsehood!"
"N-no. I-it's fine...?"
Irene's gaze suddenly fixed on the floor. Naturally, I followed her line of sight. On the floor lay the book I'd dropped in my fluster, open. And it was accompanied by a very ominous aura. Irene's face, which had been flushed red, turned deathly pale.
"Ah, damn."
"Y-Your Highness?"
"I should've told you not to make a mistake."
The moment the princess finished speaking, the darkness pouring from the book swallowed us both whole.