It looked like my foot had lightly brushed the toe of his shoe.

“Ah, sorry.”

“Ahhh, sorry? Sorryyy?”

Haben Abellus seized on the way I said it and dragged it out mockingly.

“You step on a noble’s foot and think just saying sorry is enough? Do you even know how much these shoes cost?!”

“...Huh? Then saying sorry should be enough. What else am I supposed to say?”

I asked because I genuinely wanted to know. Besides, I had not even stepped on his foot, so why was he acting so oversensitive?

“Wow. Unbelievable.”

“This doesn’t exactly make much sense to me either....”

“You little—!”

At last, Haben Abellus snapped and flung his hand up.

I jerked back, tangled my step, and lightly bumped into the wall.

“Ugh....”

My back stung....

“Puhat, serves you right.”

That little brat, seriously.

“Ah, seriously!”

Right then, Boyd’s voice rang out from very close by.

“Hurry up and check out the book. I’m not the type to ditch swordsmanship class!”

“Eep.”

They were getting closer!

My shoulders jumped.

Wall behind me, Haben Abellus in front of me, and right beside me the gap by the pillar!

I flattened myself into the gap like a squashed pancake.

“What are you doing?”

“Well, uh, wh-what was it again? Anyway, rather than saying I stepped on your foot, it was more like I only brushed it, but if that felt like a shock to your glass-like foot, then I’m truly sorry! Happy now? So could you please go away already!”

Even though it was a perfectly solid apology that clearly stated the objective facts, Haben Abellus’s face somehow turned all sorts of colors.

Aagh! What is his problem?!

“Boyd, as your older brother, let me give you some advice. If you are going to hold something in your hand anyway, hold a pen.”

“No thanks! Anyway, what happened to that sword you got? I haven’t seen it around lately.” 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

“Who knows, what did happen to it?”

At that moment, Liam slowly lifted his head from the book he had been buried in.

“But since earlier....”

Snap. He closed the book and started striding forward.

Haben turned his head slightly at the ominous feeling coming from the side.

Now!

I did not miss that moment and slipped right into the gap.

“Wh-what? Huh? Young master of House of Zebbert....”

It was exactly as Liam grabbed Haben Abellus by the shoulder and turned him around.

“No....”

Those deep violet eyes swept thoroughly behind the pillar.

“Brother, what’s wrong?”

“Why am I suddenly this... irritated?”

Liam tilted his head.

“...There’s nothing here. Strange.”

The space beneath the ornament was empty.

“Hey. You weren’t, by any chance, in the middle of enthusiastically bullying or bothering someone, were you?”

Liam gripped the boy’s shoulder hard. For a boy who looked ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ as though he had only ever held pens his whole life, his grip was surprisingly strong.

“O-ow! I-I didn’t do anything! I wasn’t doing anyth—! Huh? But where did she—”

“What?”

It seemed Haben had remembered me only then. He looked around the empty area in confusion, but the dark-haired boy standing in front of him frightened him enough that he quickly shook his head.

“N-no! I wasn’t!”

“...Something’s odd.”

Liam tilted his head and reluctantly let go.

Just then, Boyd, who had been darting his gaze all around, suddenly cut in with an excited face.

“Hey, are you a camp participant?”

“Huh? Y-yes, yes....”

“Then have you seen my little sister?”

“Huh? Your little sister?”

Blinking, Haben Abellus shook his head.

“Wasn’t the young lady not coming?”

At that, Liam and Boyd’s expressions froze blankly in exactly the same way.

“Huh?”

“That can’t be right....”

“W-well, if she had come, I would have kindly looked after her! I-I’m the second son of House of Abellus, after all...!”

Haben Abellus blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

He had only meant to get himself out of the situation somehow, but for some reason, the atmosphere around them turned cold.

“What are you talking about?”

Surrounding him, Liam and Boyd stepped closer. Startled, the boy let out a little hiccup.

“Who are you to look after our Ruby?”

“I-I’m the second son of House of Abellus....”

“Worry about your own clothes.”

Liam carefully pushed up his glasses and jerked his chin.

“Don’t take an interest in someone else’s fairy.”

“Exactly. Looking after Ruby is a privilege reserved for her brothers. Got it?”

“Ah, yes.... I said I understand....”

Even though she had not come in the first place.

Haben Abellus answered hesitantly. By now, a few of the other children nearby had started watching with curious eyes.

“Don’t even look at our fairy, much less talk to her. Got it? There’s something about you that irritates people for some reason.”

“I told you, she didn’t come....”

“I don’t care. Nod first. And stop picking fights with people. There’s something about you that really seems like it needs to be told that.”

“...Fine. I get it.... So please just go away....”

Who did they think they were...?

But Haben Abellus felt like thorns were being driven into his ears, so all he could do was nod frantically.

.......

And I heard all of it while crawling along behind the pillar.

*****

Yikes.

I almost got caught.

I had ducked into whichever collection room I saw first. Dusting the dirt off my clothes, I thought,

Not that I’d actually done anything wrong, though.

It was more that seeing my brothers now made me hide on instinct.... That was the downside of hide-and-seek.

Wait, but isn’t it class time right now?

What on earth were those two doing wandering around?

I made up my mind that I absolutely, definitely had to report this situation to Mom and Dad.

They needed to know about the progress of my brothers’ studies, obviously.

“But... where am I?”

Phew. I let out a short breath and looked around.

Unlike the children’s collection room, this place was utterly quiet.

Shelves that reached all the way to the ceiling stretched on without end.

Book dust floating in the sunlight from the windows. The smell of old paper. Air so still it felt as though time itself had stopped.

“This is the largest library in the Empire. In terms of location as well, this is the exact center of our Academy, its very heart.”

I suddenly felt the full weight of what the professor had said.

There might really be something in this library.

Then I felt a little deflated.

But no, having some big secret about magic hidden in an Academy library in Babilon would be ridiculous too, wouldn’t it...?

In a country so lacking in magic?

Still, it’s not like I have any other clues.

I rolled up my sleeves.

Thinking about it would not get me anywhere, so I planned to move first.

I needed to figure out what kind of collection room this was.

Just then—

“Is someone in there?”

The door opened, and the sound of footsteps approached. It seemed to be the collection-room keeper.

Gasp.

I could not get caught yet!

I was panicking and looking for somewhere to hide when a hand suddenly appeared from somewhere among the complicated rows of shelves.

“......!”

“Shh.”

A finger lightly pressed against my lips.

My breathing stopped on its own.

Slightly disheveled dark blue-black hair, and eyes that sharply scanned the surroundings. The two marks under his eyes were suddenly far too close.

At the same time, squeak squeak—a squirrel darted out.

“Oh dear. It must have come in from outside.”

Come here, come here. The keeper took the squirrel along, shut the open window, and left the collection room.

For a moment, silence.

I tucked in my lips and bit them lightly.

Tap tap. When I patted Khalid on the shoulder, he finally turned to me.

“Whew, I almost got caught....”

Save... me....

“Ah.”

Startled, he quickly took his hand away.

“Why are you holding your breath?”

“Ghk. Hah, hah.”

Bracing a hand on the floor, I sucked in the air I had been holding.

“You told me to shush!”

“No, I meant... be quiet. I didn’t mean stop breathing....”

But somehow it had suddenly gotten hard to breathe!

I could not quite bring myself to say that part, so I just slumped over. Khalid made a slightly aggrieved face, then shifted back a little.

“But what are you doing here?”

I asked, curled up small behind the bookshelf.

“Investigating.”

“Huh? Doesn’t your class have afternoon activities too?”

“Ah, I said I was sick and skipped out.”

What, that was an option?

He’s sneakily good at this kind of thing.

I looked at Khalid with fresh admiration.

In the Academy uniform, Khalid looked exactly like a student his age, not a mercenary kid or a little knight.

Come to think of it, I never would have imagined something like this.

Who would have thought that the two of us, who had wandered battlefields and roads, would one day be sitting side by side in a school library wearing uniforms like this?

Of course, we were not actually here to study, but still....

Life really was impossible to predict.

“But Ruby, how did you end up here? You startled me.”

At that moment, the boy leaning against the bookshelf met my eyes.

For some reason, I flinched like someone who had been caught stealing glances.

“Huh? Ah...! I was looking around the library, spotted my brothers, and ran away.”

“Ah.”

Khalid nodded as if he understood.

“So? Did you find out anything?”

“No. It doesn’t look like there’s anything special in this collection room. It was all history books.”

I see....

Thinking it over, I suddenly remembered something and spoke up.

“Hey, Khalid. They say there’s a specially authorized area in this library.”

“A specially authorized area?”

“Yeah. Doesn’t that sound like there might be something there?”

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then slowly nodded.

“Let’s go.”