The Grand Library
“Princess Isabel?”
“Lord Lowell, you came to read books as well?”
From Isabel’s first impression alone, one would imagine a princess lost in the social whirl of the aristocracy—spending her entire day fussing with dresses, adjusting hairstyles, and hosting tea parties with noble daughters. Yet this grand library, along with the sheer volume of books in her hands, bore no resemblance to the image I had formed.
“Lord Lowell? Are you not worried that my image here doesn’t suit you?”
“......”
“Lord Lowell!”
I forced my face into an expression as neutral as possible, hiding every trace of emotion. Isabel, however, read it perfectly. She pouted and glared at me with lips pursed in a huff.
“Ah… no. Of course not. How could I have thought that?”
“I’m excellent at reading people’s inner thoughts from their expressions. Right now, your face is practically screaming the same thing.”
The ability to read another’s inner thoughts…
It wasn’t quite mind-reading. More like gauging a person’s mood from their face and body language. Still, among royalty, such an intuitive grasp of emotions was an indispensable survival skill. A royal who had to manipulate countless others, predict assassinations or rebellions, and protect themselves at all costs.
“By the way, what brings you here? Looking for a specific book?”
“Ah… yes. I’m searching for a book on the Holy Sword.”
“Then it’s fortunate you arrived at the perfect time! Come with me.”
The library was vast, so a newcomer like me might easily get lost. Isabel, however, led me confidently, guiding me through the shelves as though she knew the exact location of what I needed.
“Here we are. The books on this shelf are all historical texts about the Holy Sword.”
Deeper in the library, the ancient-looking volumes stood out. According to her, every title on this shelf was indeed related to the Holy Sword. The tallest ones reached well above my head, forcing me to use a ladder just to reach the top.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Thank me for what? Now I get to read with someone. It’s a good day.”
With that, Isabel set down the book she was carrying and settled beside me, beginning to read. She arranged the hem of her dress neatly on the floor, then crouched down. I scanned the room, wondering if anyone would notice, but the librarians simply passed by as if nothing unusual was happening.
“It’s fine. No one comes here at this hour anyway.”
“Ah… yes…”
Again, she had read my thoughts. Isabel urged me to keep searching while she continued to read, her eyes never leaving the pages.
The reason I had come was to learn the material of the Holy Sword from this world, in case something similar existed elsewhere. I hadn’t truly expected it, but I at least wanted to know the material to replicate it here. Even if I could forge a blade from it, the divine power woven into the original would be impossible to replicate. Still, its durability was something I wanted to understand.
When would I ever find a mention of the material among all these books…? It was hopeless…
“If it’s too difficult, may I help?”
Isabel rose from her spot and approached the shelf I was scanning. “I have a talent for speed-reading. Just tell me what you’re looking for.”
“Ah… then could you perhaps find a book about the material of the Holy Sword?”
“Just a moment.”
Before I could finish, Isabel stacked the books nearby and began flipping through them one by one at blinding speed. Without pausing, she scanned page after page. I hadn’t even looked at a single one, yet beside her lay two finished volumes.
“Lord Lowell, look at this.”
After reading roughly ten books on her own, she suddenly stood, book in hand, and thrust it toward me.
This one detailed the repair of the Holy Sword used by the current hero centuries ago. During that time, the hero had felled the Demon King’s final weapon, the Diamond Golem, with the sword. A minor crack had appeared, and the hero had traveled to the current Dwarf Kingdom to request repairs.
But the record only mentioned that it had been repaired. Nothing was said about the material or the method.
“Oh dear… if only they had recorded the material too…”
Unable to find the material, Isabel pouted and returned to the shelf. I marked the page I had read and set it aside with a half-finished feeling. In my opinion, the material had been deliberately omitted because it was too dangerous for the Demon King’s forces to obtain. Still, I hoped someone had recorded it somewhere. I continued browsing.
****
In the village before the Kubera Dungeon…
Rumors that the hero’s party had escaped the dungeon unscathed spread across the entire continent. Nearby, the priests of the Grocus Kingdom had been dispatched to focus solely on the hero’s treatment.
The hero was both the savior of the continent and a prince to Grocus Kingdom. They treated him with utmost care, hoping he would wake soon. But he showed no sign of awakening.
For Adelia, the Saintess, the leg injury had been severe. She had been on the brink of amputation if treatment had been delayed by even a moment. Thankfully, recovery was rapid now.
“Adelia… how are you feeling?”
“Yes… I’m fine…”
Since arriving in the village, Selina had had almost no chance to speak with Adelia. Adelia had been too occupied with concentrated treatment, and the only one who had been truly uninjured—Selina herself—was forced to investigate the events of the Kubera Dungeon.
“Selina, you must have suffered terribly from all those investigations…”
“Worse than the one who got injured…”
Selina sat on the edge of Adelia’s bed, the first time she had spoken to her since the dungeon.
“About the dungeon… did you tell me everything?”
“......No…”
During the interrogation, Selina had been unable to recount everything that happened in the Kubera Dungeon. Revealing it would only bring punishment to the hero. Moreover, mentioning their encounter with the Four Heavenly Kings during the escape would doom the party’s survival as it stood.
Slaying monsters, defeating the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings, and then the Demon King himself in the castle were the true trials of a hero.
Yet Selina could not bring herself to speak of the days they had spent hiding from monster attacks, nor of how they had barely escaped with the help of the Four Heavenly Kings, whom they had mistaken for adventurers.
Even if the lie was later exposed and she was punished, the moment this story reached the outside world, the fate of the hero’s party hung in the balance.
“Hero-nim…?”
“He’s still… still unconscious.”
The hero, starved and sleepless from endless monster ambushes day and night, had yet to open his eyes. Had Lowell been there…
If the two women had taken turns in battle, or if Lowell had stayed with the party from the beginning, none of this would have happened.
“The world is filled with nothing but Lowell’s stories…”
“What stories?”
“The one about killing the Four Heavenly Kings’ captain… the one about him single-handedly defeating countless Demon King forces… the one about stopping a rebellion in an entire kingdom…”
“.....”
While being questioned, Selina recounted the stories she had heard about Lowell to Adelia. Instead of answering, Adelia turned her head toward the window and gazed at a landscape entirely different from the Kubera Dungeon.
The hellish days…
Only days earlier, Adelia still shuddered at the memory. Selina, who knew those events better than anyone, took her hand, easing a little of the dread.
“Selina…”
“Hm?”
“So where is Lowell now?”
“I heard she headed toward the empire… she should have arrived by now.”
At those words, Adelia suddenly tried to sit up and reach for the pen and paper on the table. Her legs, however, refused to obey.
“I’ll get it. Stay still.”
Seeing what Adelia needed, Selina rose quickly and brought the pen and paper.
“But why paper and pen?”
“To send Lowell a letter…”
“What?”
“Didn’t you feel it in the dungeon? That we three alone weren’t enough…”
“I know… but would the hero just sit there?”
Adelia, unable to move, had sent the letter to try and turn Lowell’s heart around. Selina already worried that the hero might learn of it later and react badly.