[V15C4] Taking Off a Ring During Cleaning is Annoying

A short while after joining the Seven Sages, Monica entered the Forbidden Archives. There was a certain book she needed for her research.

However, access to the Forbidden Archives required complicated procedures, including the involvement of several people. That was too difficult for her to do alone.

And so, she waited for Louis to enter the Forbidden Archives, and had him handle the procedures for both of them.

As a result, the two entered the Forbidden Archives together.

Louis walked in followed by a thin girl with scruffy braids, head facing down. The monsters snickered at the sight.

—— “A human. A human.”

—— “What a fleshless little girl.”

—— “She must be a virgin. Her blood will taste sweet.”

—— “Give me a bite.”

Their malice rushed over her the moment she passed through the door. It was like being engulfed in a gust of stale air.

Though unpleasant, the malice of the monsters was not the same as that of humans. Monica found it more bearable.

After walking a few steps ahead, Louis noticed that Monica had stopped at the entrance. He turned around to see her absentmindedly staring at the lantern light reflecting off his monocle.

“Do you find them frightening, my fellow sage?”

“…I don’t care.”

Monica let out an emotionless mutter and resumed walking. She displayed a complete lack of interest in the monsters.

To her, the man in front of her was far scarier than a bunch of creatures sealed long ago.

＊　＊　＊

The morning after the tea party with Princess Cecilia, Monica put on the proper attire of a Sage, staff included, and visited the Ascard Grand Library.

She stepped into a small private room deep in the library, reserved for authorized personnel. Raul was already there, having arrived before her. He also wore his Sage robes, and his staff was propped against the sofa.

“Hey Monica! Good morning!”

Raul waved his hand with a cheerful greeting, visibly excited.

Monica shared the sentiment, as they would be holding a sleepover at Raul’s place after their work in the library.

“Isaac has already arrived at my place,” Raul continued. “And he brought your black cat too.”

“Eh? Already?”

“Actually, Thule and Pikeh were the first to arrive. We went out and gathered vegetables first thing in the morning. Then, Isaac showed up and said he’ll be cooking while waiting for us to finish.”

Today, Monica and Raul had been assigned the task of inspecting the seals on the Forbidden Archives.

Since Isaac did not have permission to enter the Forbidden Archives, they decided to meet up with him afterwards.

In addition, Nero had only been told about their sleepover at Raul’s place. No one actually invited him, but apparently, he tagged along with Isaac.

In any case, a meal made by Isaac was sure to be a feast.

“Oh wait,” Monica said in realization. “Are Thule and Pikeh not coming with Cyril-sama?”

“I’ve left them home today,” answered a voice from the doorway.

They turned to see Cyril stepping into the room, and Monica widened her eyes at his outfit.

Cyril was wearing a well-tailored shirt and vest. That was fine, but he also wore a thick apron on top, with a triangular bandanna covering his head.

Moreover, he was carrying a bundle of cleaning tools, including a mop, a duster, and even a bucket.

Monica had to ask, even before giving her greeting.

“Um, Cyril-sama, our job today is seal inspection, right?”

“Correct. While you and Raul are inspecting the seals, I will spend my time cleaning.”

Since the procedures to enter the Forbidden Archives were so restrictive, it could only be cleaned once per year during the annual cleaning.

Thus, Cyril volunteered to perform a secondary cleaning during the seal inspection.

He clenched his mop and puffed out his chest, declaring his resolve.

“This cleaning effort will be the first step toward smoothing out relations with the monsters, and easing the access restrictions of the Forbidden Archives.”

Come to think of it, during their time on the student council at Serendia Academy, Cyril had always taken the initiative in cleaning the student council room and archives.

Cleaning could usually be left to the janitors, but organizing important documents was something they had to do themselves.

In fact, Cyril was constantly scolding the messy Monica and Elliott with, “Once you’re finished using something, put it back where it belongs!”

“Ah, um, in that case, I’ll help with the cleaning too!”

“Me too! It’ll be faster if we split the work.”

Monica and Raul volunteered to help, which left Cyril blinking in surprise. However, he eventually put on a smile and said, “Thank you, that will be a great help.”

Their relationship had been a bit awkward when they first started the joint research project, but lately, Cyril was showing less reservation around Monica and Raul.

Happy to be relied on, Monica secretly tapped her feet under the desk.

Raul probably felt the same way. He jumped up with a bright smile.

“Well then, let’s get started right away! Operation Cleanup!”

“That name seems a bit inaccurate to our goal. How about ‘Operation Cleanup In Preparation For Easing Access to the Forbidden Archives’?”

Meanwhile, the jet-black ring on Cyril’s finger—the Key of Knowledge, Sophocles—gleamed in a bright yellow light.

“Ahem. Cleaning is certainly an upstanding method of showing respect to books of knowledge, but I ask that you remove me from your finger before doing so. Especially do not dip me into the bucket along with the cleaning rag.”

“Oh yeah,” Raul muttered. “You sometimes did that when cleaning at my place, Cyril…”

“…”

Cyril awkwardly averted his eyes.

This was a new discovery to Monica.

It seems even the ever meticulous Cyril found some things too annoying to do.

＊　＊　＊

Three people walked down the hallway of the Great Ascard Library.

The young man leading with a dignified stride was Cyril Ashley, a member of the Library Society famed as the Library Lord.

Behind him were two of the most powerful mages in Ridill: the Silent Witch and the Thorn Witch, both members of the Seven Sages.

All three became national heroes after resolving the Black Dragon of Sazandol incident.

Everyone who caught a glimpse of these young heroes had to stop and stare in disbelief.

After all, the Library Lord was wearing an apron and a triangular bandanna, carrying a mop and a bucket. Similarly, the two Sages held cleaning tools in addition to their staffs.

A considerate member of the library staff offered to put the tools away for them, but the Library Lord shook his head with a stern look.

“We will be using them later, so please do not mind us. The application to bring them into the Forbidden Archives has already been accepted.”

Behind him, the Silent Witch nodded repeatedly with a duster in hand. Meanwhile, the Thorn Witch continued humming to himself while waving his broom and staff.

And so, the three heroes stepped into the restricted section with everyone in the library staring at them.

＊　＊　＊

They walked down a hallway restricted to authorized personnel and descended the staircase at the very end of it.

Cyril stopped in front of double iron doors covered with a magical circle painted in gold.

The Forbidden Archives were beyond this door. Monica swallowed nervously.

As a member of the Seven Sages, she had entered the Forbidden Archives a few times for research materials.

Monica feared humans more than monsters, so the malice of the monsters was more tolerable than that of humans. That said, being subject to their constant whispers was by no means enjoyable.

“I, Cyril Ashley, contractor to the Key of Knowledge Sophocles, command you. Grant us access to the wisdom dormant on your bookshelves.”

Cyril raised his right hand. The jet-black ring on his finger glowed white, drawing a complex magical formula in the air.

Eventually, that light was absorbed into the pattern on the door and disappeared.

The double doors started creaking open.

“Let’s go!”

Cyril raised his lantern and stepped inside, with Monica and Raul following suit.

They found themselves in a short corridor with another door at the end.

The door they just passed through was the First Seal, and the next door was the Second Seal. Once they opened that one, all of the monsters would notice their arrival, unleashing a torrent of malice.

Cyril opened the door of the Second Seal.

Monica clenched her staff and duster, bracing for impact… but the chill she expected did not come.

The next moment, she noticed tiny particles of light fluttering through the Forbidden Archives, beyond the range of Cyril’s lantern.

Monica blinked a few times in surprise.

—— “Read me, read me!”

—— “Read me, read me!”

—— “Read me, read me!”

The sudden swell of voices caused Monica to flinch.

On the other hand, Cyril did not seem particularly surprised. He replied to the bookshelves as if this was completely expected.

“Sorry, but we’re only here to inspect the seals today. Also, we’ll be doing some cleaning.”

—— “Cleaning! Cleaning!”

—— “Oh my, how thoughtful of you.”

—— “Make me nice and clean.”

—— “Can you air me out a bit?”

“Our plan is to dust the bookshelves and clean the floors. You’ll have to wait another day for maintenance on individual books.”

The scene of Cyril answering the monsters reminded Monica of his time as Student Council Vice President at Serendia Academy.

The reliable Cyril had always listened to the concerns of his juniors. It was a strangely nostalgic sight.

—— “Thorn Witch, step on me today.”

—— “Thorn Witch, I want to see your roses draw blood.”

“Like I keep telling you, that’s my ancestor you’re talking about… Also, cleaning up the roses would be a huge pain.”

Raul responded to the monsters with a weary, yet casual, tone.

Meanwhile, Monica remained standing at the entrance. She glanced around the Forbidden Archives and tilted her head.

(…Were the Forbidden Archives always like this?)

During her previous visits, there were no spirits illuminating the room, and the monsters made no attempt at conversation.

In addition, Cyril and Raul seemed oddly casual about the whole ordeal.

—— “That girl. I’ve seen her a few times.”

—— “She is the Silent Witch. One of the Seven Sages.”

—— “I remember. I remember her.”

—— “She looked down on us like we were insects.”

Upon hearing that last remark, Monica couldn’t help but exclaim, “Eh!?”

While it’s true that she didn’t care about the monsters, she did not remember going that far.

—— “I remember now. Her cold, indifferent stare.”

—— “I thought she’d become a promising witch.”

—— “It seems she is still short and stubby…”

Monica turned to see Cyril and Raul giving her strange looks. She quickly changed the subject while waving her duster.

“Um, w-we should start cleaning! Operation Cleanup!”

“You mean, Operation Cleanup In Preparation For Easing Access…”

“Yeah,” Raul interjected. “Let’s get started already! Operation Cleanup!”

“Operation Cleanup In Preparation For…”

“Woohoo!”

Raul cheered and raised his broom, drowning out Cyril’s attempted correction.

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