[V13C24] The Library Lord's Struggle

The Royal Institute of Magic was a large three-story building, resembling a hospital at first glance. However, the very first room in the corridor was a research lab far more disorderly than any hospital.

The back of this lab had another door, and the corridor behind it led to the Special Management Room where the ancient artifact, Gluttonous Zoe, was securely stored.

Unlike many of the institute’s labs, the Special Management Room was practically empty. It contained only a glass case housing Gluttonous Zoe, and a few magical tools for sealing the case.

Cyril Ashley visited this room on the day after the tea party with Prince Felix, for his newly appointed job of Artifact Management Officer.

He took a certain item out of his bag and faced the glass case with a tense expression.

“Once upon a time, there was a rabbit and a cat who were both very hungry.”

Cyril was reading a picture book out loud.

Standing behind him was the director of the Royal Institute of Magic, three researchers, and two other Artifact Management Officers responsible for taking notes.

The education of an ancient artifact was an unprecedented undertaking.

If successful, they might be able to unravel the inner workings of an artifact still incomprehensible to modern magic theory. On the other hand, there was also the risk of a malicious actor taming Gluttonous Zoe, leading to a repeat of the incident with Theodore.

Thus, the education process needed to be overseen by multiple researchers, with other Artifact Management Officers present to keep records.

“As the two grew hungrier, they eventually found wild strawberries on the other side of a river. However, the currents were too strong for them to cross safely.”

Cyril carefully adjusted the angle he held the picture book, ensuring that the pictures were visible to Gluttonous Zoe.

The story went on to describe the rabbit and cat’s many attempts at crossing the river. Once they finally succeeded, the two shared the strawberries with each other.

Everyone else in the room watched Cyril read the picture book with awkward faces. Though they did not dare to say it out loud, they all shared the same thought: What is the point of this?

“And so, the two filled their bellies with strawberries and lived happily ever after.”

“HUNGRY! HUNGRY!”

“As you can see, the rabbit and the cat understood the benefits of sharing. This allowed both of them to satiate their hunger and…”

“HUNGRY! HUNGRY!”

“Do not interrupt people while they are speaking!”

Gluttonous Zoe had been partially unsealed to listen to Cyril’s reading, but the lid of the box was still firmly shut. Even so, the artifact let out a child-like tantrum though the sealed lid, with a volume comparable to Cyril’s shouting.

“HATE, HATE, HATE!”

“Feel free to hate me all you want!” Cyril retorted. “You are sorely mistaken if you think everyone cares about what you think!”

Gluttonous Zoe fell silent again.

This was the only first session of their tentative approach, so they had already reached the limit of the allocated time.

Cyril closed the picture book and turned toward the spectators lined up against the wall.

“Director, could you please prepare a chair for the next session?”

Upon hearing Cyril’s request, the middle-aged director looked apologetic. No one had expected him to read a picture book, so they didn’t think chairs would be necessary.

“My deepest apologies, Officer Ashley. We have failed to offer you something as basic as a chair…”

“No, the chair is for Zoe, not me.”

“…Huh?”

“I had forgotten the basics,” Cyril continued. “A child needs to be properly seated before they can listen to a book reading… For the next session, we should add a section about teaching listening attitude.”

Cyril glared at Gluttonous Zoe and returned to his usual booming voice.

“When listening to someone, you sit down, close your mouth, and place your hands on your knees! These are the basics! I will enforce these rules next time, so remember them well!”

“Officer Ashley. I’m sure you are aware, but Gluttonous Zoe does not have hands…”

“HUNGRY! HUNGRY! HUNGRY!”

At this point, Gluttonous Zoe refused to stop shouting, so the researchers began the resealing process without waiting for it. Once the artifact was resealed, its high-pitched voice became completely inaudible.

Cyril stared at the jet-black box within the glass case and contemplated its identity.

This was what remained of a boy king driven by insatiable desires.

He had been elevated to the throne by selfish adults and used his privilege to steal whatever caught his eye. Ultimately, he died suffering from intense hunger.

Even after being turned into an artifact, he continued to complain of hunger. His gluttony knew no bounds.

(…But is that truly hunger?)

Cyril knew that hunger was similar to loneliness.

Hopefully, the boy king would one day realize the true nature of the pain tormenting him.

And when that time comes, he would also realize his true desire, as well as the weight of his crimes.

In the second book reading session held a few days later, Officer Cyril Ashley sat in a chair with Gluttonous Zoe on his lap, demonstrating the correct posture for sitting while reading a picture book.

The recorders apparently struggled with how much of this bizarre scene needed to be documented.

＊　＊　＊

After completing the initial session with Gluttonous Zoe, Cyril rushed to the Royal Institute of Magic’s second archive room.

He had asked a certain person for a meeting and managed to make an appointment. That person was waiting for him there, so he couldn’t afford to be late.

Cyril strode through the corridor at a pace just barely below running, when two weasels jumped onto his shoulders from a nearby window. They were Thule and Pikeh.

From his right shoulder, the golden weasel Pikeh asked, “Are you done talking to Gluttonous Zoe?”

“Yeah, but I have another appointment after this. You two stay hidden.”

“Okay.”

“We’ll hide in your bag then.”

The two weasels scurried across Cyril and slipped into the bag hanging from his shoulder. He had made sure to bring a bag big enough to hide both weasels and the picture book with room to spare.

Eventually, Cyril reached the door to the second archive room. He checked his clothes for disarray before knocking.

“Come on in,” said the woman inside.

Cyril opened the door and stepped inside. The second archive room was crammed with so many bookshelves that there was barely enough space for an adult to comfortably walk in between them.

Only the tiny area in front of the door seemed fit for human use. There was a small desk with a map spread across it, and the woman was seated there.

She was wearing a lab coat over casual outdoors attire, and her reddish-brown hair was haphazardly tied at the back of her neck.

The woman turned her attention from the map to Cyril.

“Thank you for coming,” Cyril said, offering a polite bow. “I am sorry to take so much time out of your busy schedule… Carla Maxwell-dono.”

“Nah, I should be apologizing to you. I’m leaving the capital tomorrow, you see.”

Cyril’s meeting was with Carla Maxwell the Starseer Witch, a former member of the Seven Sages.

He took the seat opposite Carla and placed his bag at his feet.

“You’re leaving the capital tomorrow…? Does that mean you won’t be attending the ceremony?”

Three days from now, they will hold the formal induction of the Dragon Slayer Mage into the Seven Sages. Also included were the awards for everyone who contributed to resolving the Gluttonous Zoe incident, such as Cyril’s new title of viscount.

Cyril had been recognized for his prediction of the large-scale dragon disaster due to mana contamination, which allowed them to minimize casualties.

However, his investigation was only possible thanks to Carla’s extensive records on mana concentration. Even ignoring that, Carla had saved the town of Rainfield from a particular nasty dragon disaster.

She clearly deserved recognition for these accomplishments, but it seemed she had no intention of attending the award ceremony.

This realization left Cyril with a stern face, but Carla answered in the same casual tone.

“The young lord of Rainfield was very kind to me during my stay. That’s a good enough reward for me.”

“I am a firm believer that evaluations should be fair and just. You deserve more recognition.”

Carla simply chuckled. It was a laugh reminiscent of an adult explaining things to a child.

“Praise, honor, renown… That stuff is just too heavy for a traveler. I want to keep my luggage light.”

Apparently, she did not need or even care about the recognition she should be getting.

This was frustrating to Cyril, but there was something else that frustrated him even more. After much hesitation about whether or not to say it out loud, Cyril ultimately decided to speak.

“Maxwell-dono, I… I only know a little about your brother.”

Cyril had never met the real Theodore Maxwell. All he knew was the few fragments mentioned by Black Dragon Theodore.

Carla remained silent, only nodding and gesturing for Cyril to continue.

“I deeply regret that we were unable to preserve his honor.”

Eight years ago, the ancient artifact Gluttonous Zoe was stolen by the black dragon who devoured and transformed into Theodore Maxwell.

However, this truth was concealed to prevent unnecessary chaos, so the perpetrator of the theft ended up as Theodore Maxwell.

The fact that dragons could devour humans to assume their form would undoubtedly lead to suspicion and paranoia. It might intensify fear and hatred towards dragons, potentially even sparking a movement for hunting down and exterminating greater dragons.

Regardless, Cyril was extremely frustrated about sacrificing the dignity of the deceased. Especially considering how Theodore was Carla’s brother.

Cyril clenched his fists above his lap.

“My brother was a magical creature biologist,” Carla said in a quiet tone. “Yet he harbored a First-Class Dangerous Species by falsifying its identity. It’s only natural that he would be held accountable.”

“Even so, he is not responsible for stealing Gluttonous Zoe.”

Carla casually pulled a cigarette from her pocket, before remembering that they were in an archive room. Rather than lighting it, she simply twirled it between her fingers.

Cyril followed the twirling cigarette with his eyes for a few seconds, until Carla opened her mouth again.

“If my brother were still alive… I’m sure he would choose to be executed in place of the black dragon. In order to preserve the future of dragonkind, or something like that. He’s the kind of guy who couldn’t bear the thought of dragons dying because of his mistakes.”

Cyril looked at Carla again. It was hard to read her face, the emotions of loneliness and pity seemed to be there.

“My brother made a lot of mistakes. But still, I want to respect his wishes.”

Her tone was both stern and gentle at the same time, and her determination was clear. She did not want the truth about her brother revealed to the public.

“…After the situation with your brother,” Cyril muttered. “I hope you can receive the recognition you deserve.”

“Being called the sister of a criminal doesn’t bother me one bit. I really don’t care.”

“Any recognition you receive will also bring attention to the Society of Mana in Geography, allowing them to advance the field of mana-mapping. For the sake of future research, you should accept your award.”

In response to Cyril’s plea, Carla only shrugged and returned the cigarette she had been playing back to her pocket.

“In that case, just send the reward money directly to them. Honestly, rewards and such are just a burden to travelers like me. I don’t want to deal with the responsibility that comes with them. Feel free to disdain me for doing so.”

Some might call Carla’s aversion to rewards and responsibility cowardly, but not Cyril.

She was not traveling to escape her responsibilities. She was giving up on these honors because she wanted to travel.

“…It seems you really enjoy traveling,” Cyril said.

“Yeah. That’s just how I’ve always been. I can go anywhere I want, but I can never stay in one place.”

“I see. In that case, I shall respect your wishes. But if you will forgive my impertinence, I have to ask…”

The question that came to his mind sounded rather childish. Even so, Cyril got the feeling that if he didn’t ask now, he would never get the chance again.

“Don’t you feel lonely?”

“Not at all.”

Carla replied instantly in her usual tone.

Being unable to stay in one place sounded lonely to Cyril, but to Carla, it came as naturally as breathing.

Carla reached into her collar and pulled out a necklace, or rather, a house key hanging from a piece of string.

“Well, I do have a home to come back to. And a cute maid keeping the place clean too. Can you imagine such a luxury?”

She smiled as happily as a cat bathing in the sun. At this point, Cyril could no longer bring up the topic of her reward.

Carla returned the key to her clothes and looked Cyril in the eyes.

“Alright, shall we move on to the main topic now? I imagine you have a question for me, likely on the subject of magical creatures.”

“Right. The changes in mana concentration throughout Ridill will affect the ecology of the magical creatures living here. I would like to hear your thoughts on this matter.”

Magical creatures like spirits and dragons preferred areas with high mana concentration, so Carla must have encountered them frequently during her surveys into mana-rich regions.

Ridill managed to prevent a large-scale dragon disaster this time, but magical creatures will continue to relocate in the future. The underlying problem had not been fully solved.

“Well, it’s not just mana concentration,” Carla replied. “Factors like temperature, humidity, and the availability of food play a role in migration as well. Continuous investigation is the only way forward.”

“Currently, the Dragon Knights are proposing stricter regulations on the inclusion of magical creature biologists fluent in the spirit language when investigating greater dragons.”

During the recent large-scale dragon disaster, a red dragon had apparently flown in from the Dalsmore mountain range and drove a flock of rampaging wyverns back to the Dragon Peaks.

This event sparked a movement for stronger regulations in investigations involving greater dragons.

While the Gluttonous Zoe incident was caused by a black dragon, there were also dragons who worked to save humans. This brought Cyril to his next question.

“Starspear Witch-dono. Do you believe that coexistence between humans and magical creatures is possible?”

Cyril wanted an affirmation. Carla was a former Sage knowledgeable about magical creatures, so he wanted to see her nod and say it could be achieved.

“Ashley-dono.”

“Yes?”

“It’s best not to romanticize the word ‘coexistence.’”

Her tone of voice was not stern, nor was her expression. She spoke not as a senior trying to advise her junior, but like someone having a casual conversation on the road.

“Coexistence often comes with concession, compromise, and patience. Those in authority tend to glorify coexistence as a wonderful ideal, in order to divert attention from the dissatisfaction that comes from those compromises.”

Carla rested her chin above her interlocked fingers, watching Cyril’s reaction like a cat observing a human.

Cyril remained silent, unable to find a response, so Carla continued speaking.

“Why do those in authority try to promote coexistence in the first place? Well, because there’s profit in it, of course. Eventually, there will be someone seeking to weaponize dragons under the banner of coexistence… Such individuals are unavoidable, Ashley-dono.”

Her words had the weight of someone who had personally witnessed such disputes.

Carla looked down at the map on the desk and tapped the nearby countries with her fingertips.

“For example… ‘The neighboring countries are invading us. We will never be able to achieve coexistence at this rate. Humans and dragons must work together to drive out the invaders’ …Sounds like something that might actually happen, right?”

To tell the truth, that example hit very close to home. Cyril had borrowed the power of Thule and Pikeh during the battle in Sazandol.

“There are many people who would exploit others under the guise of coexistence, Ashley-dono. Can you say that you won’t do the same thing?”

Cyril clenched his trembling fists under the desk. A cold sweat formed on his back.

The legendary white dragon Thule and the mythical ice spirit Ashelpikeh held immense power.

(Am I exploiting Thule and Pikeh when I ask for their help?)

Cyril knew he was prone to making the wrong choices after getting worked up. He was especially aware of his narrow field of view.

That’s why he could not answer Carla’s question. He lacked the confidence.

“Don’t worry,” said a calm voice from the top of the desk.

Cyril raised his head to see two weasels perched on the table.

“Cyril won’t exploit anyone,” Thule continued.

“He should just rely on us in the first place,” Pikeh followed. “But he won’t. Too stubborn.”

“I told you two to hide…!”

In contrast to Cyril’s panic, Carla seemed somewhat amused. She glanced first at the weasels, then the brooch at Cyril’s collar, then the bracelet peeking from his cuff.

Carla had obviously realized that Thule and Pikeh were magical creatures, but she had no way of figuring out their true identities.

Ignoring Cyril, Thule walked over to Carla. Then, the White Dragon of Mount Kalug stared up at the Starspear Witch with his golden eyes.

“At least, I don’t see our pact as exploitation. Cyril is always helping me, and my contract with him is full of good things.”

“For example?” Carla asked.

“Humans come up with a lot of fun items and tasty food,” Thule answered, wagging his tail from side to side.

Carla blinked a few times before leaning back in her chair and bursting in laughter. This was a true laugh from the heart, devoid of any sarcasm or malice.

“It seems I have to apologize for underestimating you. I should have expected as much from the Library Lord.”

“L-Library Lord?” Cyril asked.

This was an unfamiliar term to him.

After another short laugh, Carla answered the confused Cyril.

“That’s what they call the Library Society officer who saved our country from the large-scale dragon disaster. As long as people like you are around, this country still has hope for the future, or so they say.”

Thule and Pikeh were always eager to repeat newly learned words, so they started chanting, “Library Lord, Library Lord.”

With his face turning red, Cyril let out a faint, “I see…”

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