Transmigrated to a Dark Fantasy World of SSS-Rank: King of the Void-Chapter 42: Herald in the Library

He finished his coffee and decided to leave the house. Before taking his coat from the rack, he looked toward the top of the stairs, as if expecting Aslan to notice that he was about to go.

’He trusted me enough to leave me alone in his house. He really is a strange man...’

He had forgotten to ask him many things, like why he hadn’t shown up or visited Jeanne and Ellegaard in the past few days. He still didn’t know exactly what this old man was to those two girls, but he had heard several things during the trip that gave him a rough idea.

’But I guess that’s just how he is. He talks about men, about trust, and about the place you can belong to. Then you see him talking to horses or staring at the sky in silence. Really, with age comes experience.’

He opened the door and finally stepped outside. Once again, he was met with crowded streets, the voices of vendors echoing among people moving back and forth.

Nervous, he took a step onto the street, keeping his gaze fixed on the ground the entire time. Without further delay, he returned to the inn, but from one of the upper-floor windows of the house, Aslan watched Mitsuki with a cup of coffee in his hands.

"He reminds me of when we were young," he said. He stood near a desk, and on that desk, aside from books and candles, was a small framed painting of a beautiful young woman—the same one Mitsuki had seen earlier on the first floor.

Back with Mitsuki, he moved through the crowd in silence. He no longer had anything to think about regarding what he had discussed with Aslan, but it was nice to see him again because, between him and the girls, he was the most normal one. Their reunion had been a relief, but also very uncomfortable. It was as if the old man could read his mind or something.

But putting that aside, after several minutes he managed to return to the city center, noticing that the library was now open to the public.

’I wanted to go there, but now I just want to head back to the inn. Still, it’d be a waste to come out and not at least check out a few books.’

He walked toward the building and entered hesitantly. Once inside, he was greeted by the librarian, who, upon seeing him, gave an awkward smile.

"Good morning, Mr. Kirishima."

Mitsuki simply nodded without meeting his eyes, showed his badge, and continued toward the shelves.

’He called me sir... Looks like he already found out I’m a man.’

He made his way to the map section and, while browsing through the books, found an interesting title. ’The Travels of Alphonse...’ He opened the cover and read a bit of its contents. As expected, it was about a person’s travels across the seas of Galilea toward the continent of the Time God. Mitsuki raised an eyebrow, puzzled. ’Ellegaard already told me about that...’

Curious to learn more, he took the book and headed to the reading area. He sat upright on the bench and prepared to read. Immediately, everything that had happened earlier with the blond guy and Aslan vanished from his mind.

The introduction read: Alphonse R. Mortys was a historian and world traveler whose feats paved many paths for modern-day adventurers. Regardless of being a "spawn of the night," he achieved what no one believed possible.

At the bottom of the page, there was a message:

For Moira, wherever you are, and in memory of all my friends who were lost along the way. The stars of the Galilean ocean will never forget them, and our adventures across the world will never fade, because I am here to immortalize them in history.

’This is basically a historical record rather than a map book. Did they put it in the wrong section?’

Whatever the case, the premise was interesting. A few minutes reading this wouldn’t hurt. Mitsuki read with enthusiasm, believing that all travel stories in this world would be epic, filled with giant monsters and ridiculous magic—but he quickly realized something different.

’Oh... The whole group is made up of normal people. They only have a healing mage for emergencies, but aside from that, they’re all weak. Alphonse uses a sword, but he’s not very good at fighting. Erika is a dwarf who uses a war hammer, but she’s too small to fight quickly. There’s Rober and Lotus, along with the crew assistants who are more of the same...’

A group like this wouldn’t survive long in the hostile waters of Galilea.

Suddenly, he heard a soft knock on the table in front of him, interrupting his reading, followed by a deep and eloquent male voice.

"How wonderful. That’s my favorite book."

Mitsuki looked up and immediately felt nervous. In front of him, the man who seemed to be the leader of the Heralds of the Shadow that had appeared in the plaza had set down a couple of books to read. He smiled beneath his hood, and his mysterious eyes sent a chill down Mitsuki’s spine.

"Alphonse’s story is very moving. In the end, after his crew achieved what they were looking for, he was left completely alone. It’s a bitter story with an even more bitter ending."

’This guy... he...’ Mitsuki trembled. ’You spoiled the ending, you bastard! What am I supposed to do now that I know how it ends?!’

"Oh... I told you the ending. Sorry. I tend to have a loose tongue. When I see something I like, I just can’t help talking about it."

"Okay..." he replied, looking away. ’Who the hell do you think you are?! And why the hell are you talking to me?! Get away! Nobody called you! Ahhhh!’

"I’m currently waiting for news from my companions. Would you mind if I waited here with you? It’s boring being alone with nothing to do."

"Well, I—"

"Thank you. I won’t bother you. I’ll read in silence," the man said without waiting for Mitsuki to finish.

’What the hell is wrong with you?! You didn’t even let me talk! More importantly, I don’t want to talk to you! Go to hell!’

The annoyance of having to share the space with this strange man was unbearable, and it wasn’t even necessary to share—after all, the place was empty. There were plenty of other benches and tables he could have used, but he chose to bother the only person there.

’I think I’ll leave before this gets even weirder,’ he thought, about to stand up, but the man looked at him with a gentle smile.

"Many people think the Heralds are to be feared, but we’ve often said that we never seek to harm anyone or do anything wrong. I’m sure you think that too."

Mitsuki tightened his grip on the book.

’You said you wouldn’t bother me...’