Chapter 11
After dinner, I was searching through herbology-related books one by one in Silveryn's study.
Silveryn's study was larger than several rooms combined. It was even bigger than the archives of the Akates Temple that I had seen while staying at Loreil Hall.
It was awe-inspiring that an individual possessed such a vast collection of books and that I enjoyed the enormous privilege of being able to freely use such a mage's study.
Mages and alchemists were exclusive and monopolistic when it came to knowledge. This was because knowledge directly translated to power and authority. Therefore, unless one was in a trusted relationship, they couldn't enter these studies.
I had heard that it was extremely difficult to obtain books on magic and alchemy unless one was an insider.
I didn't understand why she let me in so easily when I could have bad intentions and remove or misuse research materials.
If she saw me as a half-wit who wouldn't know how to use them even if given, I had nothing to say.
I walked through the bookshelves. The area where herbology and alchemy books were gathered was dusty. It hadn't been touched for quite some time.
I still lacked a comprehensive understanding of herbs. Advanced stages like herb refinement, potion making, or recipe development were still beyond my dreams.
While searching through the books, I discovered one that had been particularly well-used.
Encyclopedia of Herbs
I opened the book and skimmed through it. It contained information on types of herbs, their characteristics, effects, and illustrations. It contained exactly the knowledge I needed.
On some pages, there were traces of someone's notes or memos.
Are these Silveryn's traces?
As I flipped through the book quickly, it suddenly stopped at a certain point. Something was inserted in the middle of the book like a bookmark.
It was a small piece of parchment. I picked it up and turned it over. On the palm-sized paper was a portrait of someone.
Who is this?
At a glance, it seemed to be the face of a boy slightly younger than me. The boy's hair caught my attention. It was the same dark red color as Silveryn's hair.
And in the bottom right corner of the parchment, there was a small writing.
Janus
It seemed to be the name of the boy in the portrait.
Silveryn's words flashed through my mind like a kaleidoscope.
Her only blood relative. Her younger brother.
This was likely a portrait of the deceased brother Silveryn had mentioned.
I felt like I had touched upon something I shouldn't have.
I wondered why this portrait was inserted in the herbology encyclopedia.
I checked the page where the picture had been inserted. There might be some connection.
...!
The page where the picture was inserted contained information about Benemaril. The herb that Lisa and I had tried to find together, the one said to allow one to look into the future. I checked the author of this book again, which I had carelessly overlooked before.
Lutavis de Mardalos.
This was the book by the Great Sage Lutavis that Lisa had mentioned when we were looking for Benemaril in the past.
It was a strange feeling. I never dreamed that this would end up in my hands like this.
But is Silveryn also interested in Benemaril?
I started reading the description of Benemaril written in the book.
[...It grows by consuming the cosmic chaos energy that governs time and space. Such an organic substance is unique to Benemaril alone. By accepting Benemaril's chaotic energy, we can briefly glimpse the other side of time and space. However...]
There was no further content. The rest of the explanation about Benemaril had been completely torn out.
I thought for a moment about why the page had been torn out. Looking at other pages of the book, only the Benemaril entry had been torn out.
Perhaps they had taken that page to read it over and over again.
Maybe Silveryn had also tried to solve some problem through Benemaril. Could it be related to the brother in the picture?
My questions grew, but I couldn't probe any further. This could be a sensitive issue. It was Silveryn's personal matter, and unless she willingly told me directly, it was something I shouldn't know about.
I inserted the picture back into the page where it had been. I couldn't just leave this book as it contained the knowledge I immediately needed.
If I read it and put it back as if nothing had happened, there shouldn't be any problem.
***
That night, I had a dream.
I was in a village I had never seen before. The snow-capped mountains I had seen when I first came to Wiesel were spread out like a backdrop. If so, this place wasn't too far from there.
I moved through walls as if only my soul had escaped. I stopped in front of a two-story mansion made of red bricks. Ivy vines covered most of the wall surface. The house seemed abandoned, with the iron gate rusted and the windows so dusty that the interior wasn't visible.
I was drawn inside as if being sucked in. I couldn't control it. I passed through the door and along the corridor. The interior was full of dust and cobwebs everywhere. I entered what looked like a study. There were quite a lot of books there, too, though not as many as in Silveryn's study.
There was a desk near the window. I approached it.
In the middle of the desk was a bundle of papers tied together with string. This bundle of papers was fluttering, and its pages were turning rapidly as if caught in a strong wind, even though there was no wind blowing.
And then I woke up.
My eyes opened at the same early dawn as every day to match the training schedule. Looking out the window, the sun hadn't fully risen yet.
The image was too clear and vivid to be a meaningless dream. Silveryn had told me to write down such dreams before.
But today, unlike usual, I heard disorderly sounds from beyond the window. It was the sound of people.
Silveryn didn't particularly like visitors, so this mansion was always quiet. It was unusual to hear the sound of visitors at this hour.
I went out to the balcony to check what was happening outside.
In front of the mansion were five unfamiliar visitors. Silveryn, a few maids, and the butler were facing them.
And in the arms of one of the visitors was a blood-covered woman.
Silveryn's expression was also seriously hardened. She was saying something to the visitors, but I couldn't hear the words clearly.
I left the room and went down the stairs. The central entrance door of the mansion was wide open, so I could roughly overhear the conversation from there.
"This way, quickly."
A maid hurriedly guided someone. The man carrying the blood-covered woman urgently followed the maid. As the blood-covered woman passed by, I saw that she was a young girl about my age.
Silveryn, standing at the entrance, had a deeply furrowed brow as if an annoying situation had arisen.
I approached them and eavesdropped on their conversation.
Silveryn said, "You have no idea where it came from?"
"It came and went in the blink of an eye last night. It was too dark to see clearly. Afterward, no matter how much the villagers searched, they couldn't find where it had fled to."
Silveryn roughly brushed her messy hair and sighed.
"Alright. I'll check it out today, so you can go for now. The girl's wounds aren't too deep, so her life shouldn't be in danger. We'll keep her here until she stabilizes."
"Thank you. Thank you, Mage."
The visitors repeatedly bowed to Silveryn, concluding the conversation, and left.
Silveryn heaved a deep sigh, turned around to enter the mansion, and encountered me.
"What, you're up?"
"Yes. What's all this commotion about?"
"A ghoul appeared in the village. Seems it caused havoc by entering a house in the middle of the night."
A ghoul? I couldn't believe my ears.
Silveryn had mentioned before that magic creatures appeared once or twice a year. But I didn't think it would be a ghoul.
"Ghouls appear here too...?"
"No. This is the first time a ghoul has appeared. They always move in groups, so if there's one, it means there are dozens in the vicinity. This has become extremely troublesome."
Dozens of ghouls whose location couldn't be determined. With that number, it wouldn't even take a full night to turn a village into a sea of blood.
"This seems more serious than I thought."
"A ghoul in this peaceful Wiesel, it's giving me a headache. For now, today's training is canceled. I need to go to the village right away."
This was a rare opportunity for me to gain practical experience. I couldn't just sit idly by.
Having even one more person with experience of ghouls would be more helpful than having none at all.
"I'd like to come along."
"No."
She cut me off firmly without even a hint of consideration, leaving me momentarily speechless. She moved on with hurried steps.
"I've dealt with ghouls before."
She paused briefly at my words. Then, after a moment of consideration, she sighed and said, "Fine. But don't take out that sword in front of people. Only bring it out if you really think you're going to die."
"Understood."
"Get ready to leave immediately. If we're unlucky, we might see blood from the morning, so be prepared."