Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: The Book Switcheroo
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On a weekend morning with clear sunlight streaming down, I grabbed Tureina's book and stepped outside.
I'd been thinking of researching Tureina's unique ability, but jutsu was a field I was all but clueless about—nothing I could touch.
The wound from the poison dart still ached and throbbed, but now I had to deliver this book to Karen.
'Guess that guy's about to get busy...'
He'd have to forge a borrowing slip and stamp a new library seal on the book.
As I hurried out the dormitory's main gate, something suddenly darted out, and I collided with it, dropping the book.
"Oof..."
Normally, I'd have just been pushed back a bit, but thanks to the injury from <Ledacabel>, I ended up sprawled on my butt in an unseemly heap.
"You okay?"
My opponent asked politely, offering a hand. I took it without thinking and stood—then my heart and breath stopped dead.
It was the student council president, Valensidis.
As Valensidis helped me up, he picked up the dust-covered book and brushed it off with a few pats. Tension flooded me, my palms slick with cold sweat.
"『The Life and Achievements of Tureina, the Ashen Shrine Maiden and Disciple of Lin and Fride』, huh...?"
Oh, shit...
Come to think of it, this guy's a black mage too. Was he waiting for me? To take the book back? No, that couldn't be.
'Revenge for his comrades?'
That didn't fit either. Not all black mages were in the same faction... And since I'd taken down both of them, my info shouldn't have leaked.
"You read stuff like this, even though you look like a smug prick?"
A strange glint flickered in Valensidis's eyes.
I had to stay calm.
If he really was one of them, showing my hand first would mean defeat.
"No reason I can't."
I brushed it off with a cocky expression, even as my mouth went bone-dry.
In my current state, fighting this guy—who was definitely several times stronger than Libeni—would get me killed in five seconds flat, no exaggeration.
Valensidis smirked in disbelief.
"Amazing. You didn't know this is a forbidden book?"
"Forbidden?"
"All books on Tureina are forbidden right now. Borrowed from the library?"
"Yeah."
"Then you're in deep shit. The 'Golden Children' are at the central library."
This was what being between a rock and a hard place felt like.
My breath caught in my throat. A black mage in front, heresy inquisitors behind... that's the setup?
My pupils shook wildly, but unexpectedly, Valensidis turned and walked away without a fuss.
'Phew...'
I started to exhale in relief when he glanced back over his shoulder.
"Not coming?"
"...?"
"Why so flustered? Do I look like the type to turn a junior over to the inquisitors?"
He wasn't that type, no. If anything, getting interrogated would be happier than facing the brutal death he'd dish out.
Staring into those hollow, pitch-black eyes made my heart pound.
But I couldn't let it show, so I shot back with a mischievous grin.
"You wouldn't. Unless you plan to squeeze me harder now that you've got leverage."
Valensidis snorted and turned his steps elsewhere.
"I was gonna show you the back way to the library's rear entrance. Whatever, if you don't need it."
At that, Rain urgently grabbed Valensidis's sleeve.
"You know I admire you a ton, right, President? I was just teasing a bit 'cause I wanted to chat longer."
This was high-stakes mind games. I absolutely couldn't reveal I was wary of him—of the black mage.
Turning down an offer he had no reason to refuse would make him suspicious for sure.
Assuming he was in cahoots with Libeni, I had to play it that way...
"..."
Valensidis eyed Rain appraisingly, then sighed, shook his head, and beckoned him to follow.
As they crossed the campus, cadets out for weekend strolls greeted Valensidis warmly.
One asked about homework, another griped about club funding being too short, but he answered them all earnestly.
'Really can't pin this guy down.'
Watching him like this, it was impossible to imagine him allied with Libeni. Their factions had to be different...
"Seeing me do good deeds—does that make me look like a nice guy?"
They'd passed the quad and entered the garden looping behind the library, where foot traffic thinned out, when Valensidis asked out of the blue.
"Nope."
"Good. Don't judge people rashly. Speech, expressions, actions... it's easy to fake being a good person. The scariest ones are those who hide their true intentions."
My heart raced at his words—I could barely stand it. What was he getting at? Why say that?
"That about Tureina?"
I played dumb.
But Valensidis's voice dropped ominously, tossing back a vague reply.
"Maybe."
My eyes wavered. Did this guy know about Tureina? If she'd truly turned to black magic, it wasn't impossible.
Should I ask?
Wouldn't that make him suspect I knew his identity?
Maybe this was bait. As I racked my brain in desperate mental warfare—
"You vanished over break. Took a nice trip somewhere?"
Valensidis struck right at the core, softly. I started to blurt something out but clamped my mouth shut.
'S strike first?'
A chill wind brushed the garden, grazing my neck.
The crunch of dirt underfoot grated harshly in my ears. Cold sweat beaded on my back.
I had to attack first. No holding back. Capture impossible—lethal force only... but how to explain later?
"—No, I told you, I didn't borrow it?"
A voice rang out from the rustling thicket. It was at the garden maze's end—turn the corner, and you'd hit the library's back door.
"But the borrowing slip has Professor Elin Ludwig's name on it."
"Ugh, I said it's not me!"
That was definitely Aunt Elin's voice.
What the...?
Brushing past Valensidis, I dashed forward. There she was, arguing in front of the back door: Elin Ludwig.
"Auntie, uh..."
Ahead of her stood a pair—a man and woman—in plate armor emblazoned with the pure-gold emblem of the Light Dragon Haraderiman, bearing shield and mace.
The Papal Court's direct heresy inquisitors: the 'Golden Children.'
The man turned to Rain with a stern expression. The woman, who'd been politely speaking with Elin, whistled.
"..."
Sudden nephew appearance. The dismay plain on his face... and the forbidden book in his hand.
In that split second, Elin Ludwig took it all in, crossed her arms, and struck a haughty pose, playing it cool.
"See? I was gonna return it today, so it wasn't me who borrowed it."
"?"
"That dimwit nephew of mine—if he'd just followed my orders a bit faster, I wouldn't be the one listed as borrowing it right now, would I?"
She strode over and snatched the book from Rain roughly. *Don't say a word,* she mouthed.
The inquisitors exchanged glances, baffled by Elin's antics. Rain was the most baffled...
The woman inquisitor sighed without dropping her smile.
"Got it. So you're not borrowing it now, but you admit you did borrow it?"
"Yeah, yeah. But why's it forbidden?"
It'd be a hassle for a while, but Elin wouldn't suffer much from the inquisitors' hassle.
She hadn't broken taboos with black magic or become a Tureina follower—just read a biography.
Same for Rain, but he was a cadet.
These were precious years where every minute counted... Better to shield him, she figured.
"It's a bit delicate to discuss here. Could you spare some time?"
"Of course. But you know I'm busy, right? I'm the genius professor from <Delaiten>."
"We know. And could you hand over that book? We've already submitted the seizure warrant to the central library."
Even as the inquisitors led her away, Elin stood ramrod straight, still haughty...
Staring blankly at the scene, I bolted inside the library, dragged out the librarian Karen through the back door.
Karen, who'd been fretting over the inquisitors' arrival, looked pale.
"I just found out about this too... Things have been so hectic lately, I really have no excuse."
Karen explained how, somehow, Elin had ended up listed as borrowing Tureina's book in my place.
Oh man...
Yeah, they must've both been out of it then. Forgot a first-year borrowed it in the first semester and slapped my name on the record instead. I had no face to show Aunt Elin after dragging her into this.
"You're the librarian—you know all about forbidden books, right?"
"Yes?"
"You know the penalties for reading them?"
Forbidden books are classified into three grades.
Type 1: Ang (殃)—ones everyone knows are forbidden, like books on the Abyss Lords, the 'Forgotten Kings.'
"Type 2: Gui (鬼)... Books compiling black magic. No official publications—mostly manuscripts or ancient copies."
Type 3: Heum (玁)—books that could be dangerous.
In these cases, the Papal Court moves quietly, confiscating copies across the continent instead of announcing them.
Most owners don't even know they're forbidden until a bookseller or librarian tells them.
"Tureina's book is Heum. Unless you have priors or are suspicious, it's just a quick investigation and done."
Hearing that eased my mind a bit. I hated troubling others, and Elin was family.
"But how'd you get it? <Ledacabel> was a total mess, from what I heard..."
I shrugged like it was trade secret instead of saying I got it right from <Ledacabel>. As I turned to leave, Karen suddenly bowed deeply.
"Thank you, young master. I'll never forget this favor."
I hesitated.
The trip had brought me huge gains... black mages targeting me aside.
No big deal to me, but apparently massive to her.
"Skip the thanks. It was just convenient timing."
"You know how many won't even do that much 'convenience'?"
"Whatever... Manage the books better from now on."
A warm feeling spread inside, but I didn't show it. Waving it off awkwardly to hide my embarrassment, I quickly left.
* * *
'His expressions are too damn honest...'
Valensidis narrowed his eyes, watching the whole thing from the garden shadows.
'Talented as a mage, but zero talent as a spy, huh.'
Rain Ludwig—I was sure when he raised his mana against my killing intent.
The musty sewer stench clinging to the cover alone confirmed it came from <Ledacabel>.
'He really took out Libeni and Milrek...'
Valensidis let out a sigh near a groan. A jet-black flame rose from his hand, incinerating the book he carried without a trace.
The charred leather cover, turning to ash, bore these words:
[The Life and Achievements of Tureina, the Ashen Shrine Maiden and Disciple of Lin and Fride]
He'd switched it during that deliberate collision earlier.
The book the inquisitors took would have the proper library stamp. No issues there—it was the one Valensidis had taken from the central library before.
Watching Tureina's biography scatter as ashes without remorse, Valensidis's form vanished silently into the darkness the next instant.