Chapter 63
I came back to my seat carrying the grimoire.
Lenoa and Elody were already seated at the large reading-room table.
In front of Lenoa sat only a single thick book on advanced magical theory,
whereas books were piled around Elody like a tower that looked ready to collapse at any moment.
“Miss Elody, what are all those books?”
“Ah, well! There were so many things I wanted to read that I was debating what to choose, and before I knew it, I’d brought them all!”
Elody scratched the back of her head with a heh-heh laugh. Lenoa glanced sideways at the book tower and sighed.
“If you bring back everything without even knowing whether you’ll actually read it, other people won’t be able to use them in the meantime. Put back everything except what you’re going to read right now.”
“But what if other people take them in the meantime....”
“Hurry up.”
“Yeees....”
Pouting, Elody hugged the pile of books to her chest and trudged off.
Her back looked exactly like a daughter being scolded by her mother after grabbing a bunch of snacks at the supermarket.
“What did you bring? Take it out.”
Now it was my turn.
I placed the book tucked under my arm on the desk.
After staring at the book for a moment, Lenoa’s dubious gaze returned to me.
“What is this?”
“An incredible book.”
“Ha, of course. I wondered why you suddenly wanted to come to the library.”
“No, seriously, it really is an incredible book.”
“Put it back where you found it. And go fetch a basic textbook on the fundamentals of magic.”
Lenoa narrowed her eyes and stared at me intently. It was the same look she’d given Elody earlier.
In the meantime, Elody had returned to her seat. She couldn’t take her eyes off the book I’d brought.
“Wow, what is this book? Did Sir Rion bring it? It feels incredibly mysterious!”
“What?”
“I don’t know how to describe it, but that’s just the feeling it gives off. And I can feel it around Sir Rion too.”
A glimmer flashed in Elody’s opal eyes. She was looking at me, yet her gaze seemed to pass through me to something beyond.
[Oh-ho. This child is no ordinary one. The one beside her doesn’t quite compare, but her magical talent is still considerable.]
‘Right?’
[With two children like these, why did it have to be a sweaty sword-swinger....]
So the great sage was a woman-chaser after all.
I like women too, but this old geezer has no shame at his age.
As much as I’d like to burn him to ash, his existence will be a great help to the two of them, since they’re both mages.
And maybe I can get a few crumbs out of it myself while I’m at it.
“Seeing it once is better than hearing about it a hundred times. You two, try putting mana into the book.”
“Why?”
“Try it and you’ll see.”
Elody placed her hand on the book without hesitation, while Lenoa eyed it suspiciously before reluctantly touching only the corner with a fingertip.
Soon, the two of them in turn poured mana into the book.
Then, just as when I did it, the book began to tremble violently.
[Oho! What incredibly pure and beautiful mana!]
“Eek?”
“Wh-what?”
The startled Elody flinched at the sage’s shout.
Lenoa reflexively drew back, putting distance between herself and the book.
[As expected, even their mana is on a completely different level from some crude swordsman.... It almost feels like the mana smells of flowers.]
“Th-the book is talking?!”
Elody sprang to her feet and shouted, then sat back down obediently under the sharp glares that followed.
And then, in a whisper,
“The book is talking...!”
“A grimoire...?”
[Ahem. Speaking of myself, I am the great archsage Iscalon, the guardian of truth who has existed since the age of myth, the one who weaves the trajectories of the stars, the master of arrogant dragons, and the eternal wisdom who has mastered all knowledge in the world.]
“...Who did you say you were?”
[It seems you didn’t hear me, so I’ll introduce myself again. As for me, I am....]
I half listened to the sage’s long-winded self-introduction and let the rest go in one ear and out the other, while Lenoa shot me a look.
“What is this?”
“It’s a grimoire. I picked it up from a corner of the bookshelf. At a glance, I could tell it wasn’t an ordinary item.”
“Don’t you know how dangerous a grimoire is? If it got classified as a forbidden book, an accident could happen.”
“It’s fine. It isn’t as dangerous as you think.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Mm.... A hunch?”
“Not even worth listening to any further.”
Lenoa stood up. She picked up the grimoire and started walking off with it.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to return it to the academy. It might be a dangerous item.”
“Wait a moment, young lady. Please calm down.”
I hurriedly blocked Lenoa’s way.
If I handed over the grimoire here, I’d only be doing someone else a favor.
“It’s really fine. I can stake my life on it.”
“That’s just sophistry. I’m your master, and your life is mine too. You don’t get to wager it as you please.”
“That’s true, but....”
“Move.”
At Lenoa’s firm stance, I didn’t know what to do before Iscalon let out a lion’s roar.
[How dare you treat the great Iscalon as a forbidden book and try to hand me over?]
“Boasts you can’t prove are a third-rate mage’s specialty. And if you were really as great as you say, you wouldn’t be stuck inside a book like this.”
[Ho-ho, to call this Iscalon a third-rate mage. What a bold young lady. Very well, then—you’re saying it’s unprovable boasting?]
That was when it happened.
A surge of power leaked from the gaps in the grimoire and instantly took over the space.
The surrounding air sank heavily, and the suffocating pressure weighed down on my skin.
“Ghk...!”
Lenoa let out a small gasp. Clutching her chest, she dropped the grimoire she was holding onto the floor.
She wasn’t the only one. Even the other people in the reading room cried out in pain under the invisible pressure.
Crushed by the weight, they wheezed and slumped over their desks, then collapsed to the floor, complaining that they couldn’t breathe.
[How is that? Do I still look like some third-rate nobody?]
There was unmistakable smugness in Iscalon’s voice.
So a sage would flex his power like this in front of someone young enough to be his granddaughter.
“That crazy old man.”
I waved my hand and swept away his aura. The pressure dominating the area scattered like it had been washed away.
“Hah, hah...!”
Freed from the pressure, Lenoa staggered as she panted harshly.
I supported Lenoa and helped her into a chair. Then I picked up the grimoire that had fallen to the floor.
“Enough already. At this rate, instead of proving yourself, you’ll end up as kindling.”
[Brat, how did you just...?]
“It’s not how—what are you going to do about this now?”
I jerked my chin toward the reading room.
“Cough! Cough, cough!”
“Wh-what was that just now? I suddenly couldn’t breathe....”
“A raid?”
Coughs kept erupting without end. The students who had been walking around toppled over onto the floor.
The scene of groans and confusion was utter chaos.
“What’s going on!”
“What was that burst of presence just now!”
Sure enough, the librarian and staff, having noticed the commotion, rushed over in a group and started checking on the students.
The librarian, pale-faced as she checked the students’ condition, then came over to us.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Why?”
“Huh?”
“The other students are all suffering, so why are you the only one who’s fine? Don’t tell me you were the one who did this?”
“Damn it, that crazy old man.”
“I’m the only one getting dragged into this.”
“I didn’t do it. My master is right here beside me—how could I possibly harm anyone?”
“My master? Oh, Young Lady!”
Spotting Lenoa, the librarian abandoned me and rushed straight over to her.
“Are you all right?”
“...I’m fine.”
“Please go to the infirmary. I’ll escort you.”
“I’m fine, I said. Don’t touch me.”
“S-sorry.”
Flustered by Lenoa’s cold refusal, the librarian awkwardly bowed and turned to another student.
“Are you really all right?”
“I said I’m fine.”
“Understood. Miss Elody, how are you?”
Elody straightened her back and planted both hands on her hips.
It was a pose meant to look dignified, but because she was trying so hard, it came off as even cuter.
“Ahem! I’m fine! ...Or rather, I’d like to say that, but my stomach feels a little queasy.”
However, she too had apparently been affected by Iscalon’s tantrum, and her face had gone pale.
“Then let’s not push it and get you to the infirmary. I’ll help you there.”
“Th-thank you....”
“Miss, I’ll take Miss Elody to the infirmary for a bit, so could you wait here for a moment?”
As I was about to take Elody to the infirmary,
“...A little.”
“Yes?”
“I’m feeling a little overwhelmed too. Breathing feels hard.”
Lenoa voiced her delayed aftereffects.
“Are you feeling that bad?”
“...Yes.”
“Understood. Let’s go together. I’ll escort you.”
I offered both of them my arms, standing between Lenoa and Elody.
“Whoa, the floor feels all wobblyyyy....”
Elody had lost all strength in her legs and was practically hanging off my arm.
Lenoa wasn’t quite that bad, but her weight was leaning slightly toward me.
She was probably just hiding it behind her usual tough front, but she was definitely having a hard time.
After all, it had been pressure at a level ordinary people would struggle to endure.
“Aren’t you taking the grimoire with you?”
“Library books can’t be taken out. If we try to take it, the security magic will set off an alarm.”
“Then what about the old man?”
[Don’t worry. Something like that security magic is nothing to this great archsage Iscalon—]
“Hup.”
I secretly tossed the grimoire under the bookshelf, out of sight.
“Well, do we really need to take it with us? We can come back for it next time.”
[What are you talking about, brat! Are you telling this great archsage to stay in such a dark, dusty place? Enough nonsense—take me with you!]
“All right, let’s go.”
“Old geezer.”
Serves you right for acting all high and mighty.
Even if I’m a slave, I’m still a living being. That puts me above an inanimate object.
Now’s my chance to settle the pecking order once and for all.