We moved forward as quietly as we could. Khalid led the way, and I followed behind him.

For some reason, it felt like we had gone back to the old days. There had been times before when the two of us had moved around in secret like this too....

Of course, back then, the situation had been much harsher than this.

Just then—

From outside the door came the keeper’s deliberate little throat-clear. “Ahem!”

Khalid, who had been walking silently between the bookshelves, stopped short, and I, lost in my own thoughts, walked straight into his back with my forehead.

“Ow.”

“You okay? Sorry.”

Khalid hurriedly turned around and checked my forehead. I rubbed the spot I had hit and smiled.

“I’m fine! Hurry up and go.”

Ah, my forehead. Did I hit bone? It was really hard.

I waved it off like it was nothing, but the boy only stood there in silence, looking at me.

“Why aren’t you going?”

“Take it.”

“Huh?”

I stared blankly at the hand that appeared in front of me.

“So you don’t run into me again.”

.......

My head tilted a little.

Uh....

What is this.

The late afternoon sunlight had pooled faintly at Khalid’s fingertips.

I mean... it was not as if holding hands was anything all that strange for us.

We had overlapped hands pretty often because of the magic issue, and when we were running away together too, sometimes....

But come to think of it... haven’t I grabbed onto him without thinking or pressed right up against him to tell him secrets loads of times?

For some reason, the top of my head suddenly felt like it had burst into flames.

What is this? Wh-why is this suddenly so awkward?!

Was it because Khalid, neatly dressed in his Academy uniform, felt unfamiliar? Or was it... because this place was so absurdly peaceful?

“What are Rubian and Khalid... to each other?”

“You’re not constantly stuck to Khalid like that.”

No, why!

Why was Titi’s voice coming back to me right now of all times?!

I shook my head hard. Khalid’s shoulders drooped just a little.

“...My hand’s clean. Don’t you want to?”

“Huh?”

“You just shook your head.”

“No, that’s not what that was....”

In a clumsy rush, I grabbed Khalid’s hand just as he was starting to pull it back. It was almost an act of stubborn pride.

“I don’t mind at all! Why would I mind? We hold hands all the time!”

.......

“L-let’s go!”

“......Are you sick? Your face looks kind of....”

“C-could you not look at me? I told you I have a complex about my face!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nonsense!”

Khalid made a dubious face and closed his mouth. Then he clasped my hand tightly.

“Fine, just calm down and let’s go. I’ll hold on tight, so you can relax.”

“O-okay....”

I could feel the slightly cool temperature of him at my fingertips. We carefully started walking behind the bookshelves again.

Looking at the back of him in that gray knit sweater, I thought to myself. That nice scent that always came when the wind blew was coming from Khalid again.

But do close friends walk around holding hands too?

Titi probably... does that sometimes with that childhood friend she said she was not constantly attached to, right?

At moments like °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° this, I found myself resenting the fact that in my previous life I had never managed to make even one proper friend.

For some reason, I could not lift my burning face.

Step, step.

In a place that seemed to have gathered all the quiet in the world, the sound of our footsteps echoed.

When the autumn breeze drifted in through the half-shut window the keeper had failed to close, the boy’s fine hair rustled lightly.

It’s hot.

I swallowed a short breath and looked away again.

Summer definitely isn’t over yet.

Yes, that had to be it.

Because... look at that.

The back of his neck was a little red too.

*****

“There.”

I peeked out from behind a decoration.

A long corridor stretched on behind the central staircase. When we reached the very end of it, we found one enormous door.

“......It says ‘Rare Books Archive,’” Khalid whispered softly from just behind me.

A collection room set at the exact center of the library. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

A lock larger than both my fists put together hung on the firmly closed dark brown door.

No Entry Without Authorization

The sign hammered onto the front of the door caught my eye at once.

I tilted my head.

“Why would it be off-limits? Because they’re old books? Maybe they’re difficult to preserve?”

“Maybe. But if that were the reason, the sign looks way too new.”

“Oh, you’re right....”

When I looked again after hearing Khalid say that, the sign was shiny, as if it had only just been put up.

As though some reason to protect this rare-books archive had only appeared recently.

“Hmm. What should we do?”

I narrowed my eyes and stared at the lock. I had just started thinking maybe we would have to wait for someone to go in when—

“...Huh?”

As if possessed, I straightened from the crouch I had been in.

“Ruby?”

My feet moved on their own. Khalid reached for me awkwardly from behind, but that was not what mattered right now.

There was something I had to check immediately.

I stopped right in front of the archive door.

“......Look at this, Khalid.”

My hand toyed with the large lock.

“This is incredibly old compared to the sign.”

“Yeah, it is, but more than that....”

I lifted my head. I had not imagined it. The energy clinging to this lock was—

“Magic.”

“What?”

“There’s magic on the lock.”

Khalid’s eyes met mine exactly.

Just then—

“Who is there?”

We heard the keeper’s footsteps approaching.

“Oh dear, camp participants. Did you get lost? This is a restricted area, so come this way.”

Smiling kindly, the keeper escorted me back to the children’s collection room.

It looked as though the professor leading us had already been searching for me, because the moment I appeared, the relief on his face was obvious.

Just then, it seemed all the children had already finished touring the library and gone outside.

“I told you not to wander off on your own.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

I apologized politely.

“Come along, then. The other children have already finished the library tour, so let’s head out together. But... that student?”

“Ah, it seems he got lost with her.”

The keeper added that briefly while looking at Khalid.

“From the look of it, you’re a Class A student. How did you end up all the way here?”

“I got lost while trying to find the infirmary.”

When Khalid answered shortly, the professor made an awkward face.

“Oh dear. Mrs. Elaine, would you mind?”

“Of course. I’ll take him there, so follow me.”

The keeper gestured to Khalid.

Without hesitating, Khalid followed after her. For a final moment, our eyes met slightly.

At the same time, a tiny squirrel darted out in a blur. It happened so fast that nobody noticed.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

I left the library with the professor.

After that, we toured various parts of the Academy, but my mind remained fixed on only one place.

Why would there be a magic lock in the Imperial library of Babilon?

Then my steps stopped in front of a huge lake.

“Now then, for our final activity, we’ll ride boats across Lake Reim, another one of our Academy’s prides, and return to the dormitories!”

The professor spoke proudly as he paired the children off in twos.

Since we were heading back to the dormitories, we naturally ended up riding the little boats with our roommates.

“Rubiaaan. You vanished all of a sudden earlier and scared me.”

Sortie whispered softly.

Lake Reim was one of the Academy’s famous scenic spots. I remembered hearing that Boyd had gotten scolded several times after sneaking out in a boat to catch fish.

“Mhm.... I sort of got lost.”

“Come to think of it, I think your brothers showed up at the library earlier. Did you run off because of that?”

“Ah, y-yeah....”

I answered vaguely and sank back into thought.

The magic lock....

The moment I looked at the blue rippling water, the thought came back again.

Who on earth had installed something like that?

It wasn’t some simple magic tool that even ordinary people could use....

It had been the form of a very complicated magic circle woven together. Which meant—

The person who installed it was a mage.

What kind of mage would come all the way to an Academy in the capital of Babilon and use magic there?

“Titi, say... have you ever heard of a mage... enrolling in the Academy?”

“Huh? Wouldn’t that be the kind of thing that would go down in history books forever?”

“...Right?”

I drew my knees in again. Sortie, completely absorbed in admiring the autumn leaves around the lake, brushed off my question without much thought.

Of course, no mage had ever been a student or professor here. And naturally, none would have been part of the staff either.

In the first place, Babiles, the capital here, was not even a place where stationed mages were dispatched.

Then one of the runaway mages...?

But if they were on the run, why would they bother? For what reason?

Besides, that place was only for storing old books. It was not a forbidden archive, so what on earth was there that needed to be sealed away so tightly?

Whatever it is, there’s definitely something there.

I bit down hard on my lip. The truth was, more than anything, I wanted there to be something.

Without thinking, my hand went to the small of my back.

Whatever it is, please let there be some way to escape this mark!

I want to become a complete member of the Zebbert family.

“Rubian, I think we have to go all the way over there! The lake is huge, right?”

Sortie said with a cheerful smile.

I was just about to smile and nod back when my eyes flew open wide and my waist bent on its own.

“Ugh....”