[V15C21] Goodbye Vacation

They passed through a tunnel formed from overlapped tree branches bent into an arch.

With each step forward, the sensation beneath their shoes began to change.

Monica could tell. They were no longer walking on soil, but something harder.

(This is probably… solidified mana. We aren’t in the forest anymore.)

The scent of the trees and soil faded, and the air brushing her skin turned into the damp air of a basement.

Monica looked down to see a tiled floor rather than dirt. The cleaning utensils and their Sage staffs lay scattered across the ground.

(We’re back…)

She lifted her head to see the glass bookcase housing twelve tomes… and the moment she saw it, she moved into action.

Monica pointed her fingers at the bookshelf and constructed a magic formula without incantation.

That bookshelf had deliberately trapped them inside ‘The Botanical Specimen Garden’.

Thus, it needed to be sealed to ensure it could never harm them again.

(Sealing barrier, activate.)

The magic formula at Monica’s fingertips turned into chains that wrapped themselves around the bookshelf.

Immediately, the bookshelf sent a pulse of unadulterated malice.

It was as though an enormous creature many times her size was licking its lips in front of her, opening its maws wide enough to swallow a human whole. Its malice was so powerful that it created this illusion.

—— “Come now, tremble in fear. Let me see the tears in those round eyes as you plea for mercy.”

Was that a whisper from the monster, or just her imagination?

Either way, such a thing would never reach Monica’s heart.

Monica had no interest in monsters. She simply didn’t care about them at all.

But if one threatened to hurt those precious to her… then she had no reason to show mercy.

The light of the sealing barrier reflected in her emotionless eyes, turning them into a glimmering green.

The merciless eyes of the witch overwhelmed the monsters of the bookshelf, forcing them all into silence.

The next moment, the voices of Raul, Cyril, and Sophocles came from behind Monica.

“Waaah, we really made it back…!”

“Everyone is here, right?”

“…Indeed we are.”

Monica turned around to see Raul and Cyril clutching their chests with expressions of relief.

Apparently, they didn’t notice her confrontation with the monster in the bookshelf. In reality, it could hardly be called a confrontation when it lasted only a few seconds.

Monica took a deep breath to dispel the tension in her shoulders.

They had returned safely to the Fifth Forbidden Section, and she applied a temporary seal to the bookshelf.

The realization that they still needed to inspect the seals on the rest of the Forbidden Archives was a painful truth, but at least they were no longer in immediate danger.

How long had they been wandering that forest? Monica wondered, glancing down at her robes.

The dirt and leaves from the forest should have left their mark, but all of it had vanished. Only the fatigue of walking remained. Monica felt like collapsing into bed and going to sleep.

And she wasn’t the only one tired.

Even the ever-energetic Raul was crouched on the ground with an expression of deep fatigue. Cyril was frowning and holding a hand to his forehead.

When Monica noticed the sweat on Cyril’s face, she found herself calling his name.

“Um, Cyril-sama… you look a bit pale.”

Cyril slowly lifted his face to say something. Most likely, he wanted to say, “I’m fine.”

Before he could, Sophocles interrupted while blinking in a white light.

“The Restoration Chamber puts a strain on the body. You didn’t use it long enough to cut into your lifespan, but you should rest early today.”

Now it was Monica’s turn to go pale.

It’s easy to forget, but the Key of Knowledge Sophocles was an ancient artifact. Using his powers placed a heavy burden on the wielder.

“T-Then, we should go back up and rest…!”

Monica tried to make a suggestion, but Raul raised his head in realization and interrupted.

“Oh, but before that…!”

Though still crouching, Raul stared intently at Cyril, or rather, the pitch-black ring on his hand. His usually cheerful face was glaring at Sophocles.

“Sophocles, you need to give a proper apology.”

“…What do you mean?” Cyril asked, furrowing his brow as he glanced between Raul and the ring.

Meanwhile, the gem of the black ring pulsed awkwardly, just off-center from its core.

“In ‘The Botanical Specimen Garden’,” Raul continued, “Sophocles took over your body and moved around on his own. On top of that, he was mean to Monica.”

“W-What…?”

Next, Cyril shifted his gaze between Monica and the ring.

After examining Monica’s eyes, he suddenly widened his own.

“Don’t tell me, you were crying because of…”

Monica almost went into a panic.

While it was true that Sophocles made her cry, that was because his words came from Cyril’s mouth, giving her the illusion that Cyril himself had said them. But she did not want to admit that.

Monica did not know why, but it somehow felt incredibly embarrassing.

“Um! D-Don’t worry, it doesn’t matter anymore…”

Cyril and Raul both looked at Monica with “No, it does matter” written on their faces.

Monica fidgeted her fingers nervously as she did her best to come up with an excuse.

“Uh, what I mean to say is… it’s like the substitution method!”

Her voice echoed through the quiet underground chamber.

Noticing their confusion, Monica continued her explanation at a breakneck speed.

“I tried to solve a problem without applying the substitution method, so I ended up going the long way around and reaching a completely off-base answer to something that was actually very simple. It was just a minor issue with my perception. When I calmed down and thought about it logically, it really wasn’t a big deal at all!”

“I’m sorry, Monica,” Cyril replied. “I don’t quite follow…”

“In other words…”

The more complicated a formula seems, the simpler and more beautiful its solution tends to be.

This also applied to the problem Monica was experiencing.

(I love Cyril-sama very much.)

Monica smiled, satisfied with that answer.

“I’ve found the solution to the problem, so I’m okay now.”

＊　＊　＊

Cyril’s heart skipped a beat when he saw Monica’s smile.

There was a box in Cyril’s chest, securely locked to prevent his emotions from overflowing. And yet, there were times where it almost burst open. Lately, this phenomenon seemed to be happening far more often.

At those times, Cyril felt the urge to clutch his chest and groan. This was one of those moments.

Monica had smiled and said she was okay, but Cyril himself was not okay.

“Um, Cyril-sama, are you sure you’re not feeling unwell…?”

Noticing Cyril clutching his chest and lowering his head, Monica grew more concerned.

Cyril hastily lifted his head back up. He felt dizzy and his vision was hazier than usual, but he straightened his back and replied, “I’m fine.”

More importantly, what Sophocles did was truly unforgivable. The ring needed to be interrogated about his transgressions and given a stern reprimand.

(But wait, perhaps I am at fault as well. Could it be that Sophocles saw me, his contractor, treating Monica lightly, so he thought to do the same…?)

His line of thinking was so sincere that it was almost stupid.

Cyril realized that he had yet to show Sophocles how much he appreciated Monica.

“Hey Cyril,” Raul interjected. “Your face is getting seriously pale. Let’s head back upstairs. I’ll lend you my shoulder.”

“Wait, give me a moment.”

Cyril declined Raul’s offer and turned to Monica once again.

“Monica.”

“Y-Yes!”

Cyril wanted a chance to revise what he was about to say. If only he had a pen and paper.

When writing the impression essay for the Lorelei’s songs or a report praising Isaac’s achievements, the words came so easily. Why was it so hard to find the right words when he stood in front of the girl he liked?

Even so, he didn’t want to cling to the comfort of letting things stay the way they are.

“I have great respect for you,” Cyril continued. “You constantly do your very best, which I find very admirable. Also, seeing you smile makes me very happ—”

Cyril suddenly paused and slapped his own cheeks. The loud and sudden gesture made Monica let out a startled gasp.

“Uh… Why did you just slap yourself?” Raul asked.

“Sorry. It leaked out.”

“L-Leaked out…? What leaked out?”

His earthly desires. This was why Cyril wanted a chance to revise his words. Otherwise, all of those base desires would continue to bubble up.

Cyril cleared his throat and faced Monica again.

“You are very important to me, both as a colleague and in personal matters. If Sophocles ever troubles you again, please don’t hesitate to tell me. I’ll make him take back his words. And also…”

What he was about to say seemed unnecessary. Should he really say it now? At this timing?

However, this might be his last chance to say it. Cyril didn’t want to lose the opportunity forever.

Say it, Cyril Ashley. Do not fear change. Do not be complacent with the present!

“That detachable collar you wore the other day… it really suited you… you looked c-c-cu…”

He was too tense, so the word came out weird.

But Cyril had no time to get flustered over that, as his vision got even hazier.

“…te.”

And then, everything went dark.

All the blood that had rushed to his head suddenly drained to his feet. His body tipped forward, and his hearing grew distant.

The emergency restoration had taken a greater toll on Cyril’s body than he expected.

The voice of the girl he liked calling his name was the last thing he heard… until Sophocles’s shout of “I told you so!!” drowned it out, followed by the loud thunk of his face striking the ground.

＊　＊　＊

One of the Seven Sages, Louis Miller, was finally enjoying a peaceful vacation for once.

Recent events had been terrible to him, with the nationwide dragon disaster, the Gluttonous Zoe incident, getting his hair cut off, and being made a guinea pig for inhumane experiments. But at long last, he could spend some relaxing time with his beloved family.

That day, they took their time eating breakfast, went shopping as a family, and had lunch at a restaurant. Then, they met up with Ryn, who had just finished cleaning Carla’s house, and headed to the library.

Louis was a bookworm who read whenever he had free time, and his wife Rosalie was a dedicated learner, particularly in the field of medicine.

Their contracted spirit Ryn often read books to learn more about humans, and little Leonora loved being read picture books.

Thus, it was not unusual for the Miller family to visit libraries or bookstores.

Today, they went to the largest library in the area, the Ascard Library, and Louis was having a wonderfully fulfilling time browsing the magical theory section.

His eyes landed on a book compiling various articles, including those by the Silent Witch, Monica Everett.

Louis was not particularly interested in reading it, because he had already read everything written by Monica.

But seeing the book did remind him that Monica and Raul were currently underneath this very building, performing seal inspections in the Forbidden Archives.

By his calculations, Monica was probably already done with the inspections. After all, she could cast sealing barriers without incantation.

“L-L-Louis-san…!”

Just as that thought crossed his mind, he heard a panicked voice from the very witch he was thinking about, and Louis turned to the source.

He saw Raul and Monica rushing toward him from a staff-restricted corridor deep in the library, and they were carrying something.

He thought the object was a rolled-up rug at first, but upon closer inspection, it was a person with their head tightly wrapped in a robe. Raul held up the upper body, while Monica struggled with the legs, which she was practically dragging across the floor.

The robe wrapped around the head looked like it belonged to Raul. It was then that Louis noticed the bloodstains on it. He groaned.

“…Why do I have to bump into my coworkers disposing of a corpse during my vacation?”

“Louis-san!” Raul shouted. “Please help my friend! He collapsed and hit his head on a staff lying on the floor… There’s so much blood…!”

“Cyril-sama…! P-Please don’t die… Hng… ngh…”

Louis flipped the robe to find the bloodied face of a limp young man with silver hair. It was Cyril Ashley, the Library Lord.

(Of all the people…! Why did it have to be the Library Lord…!)

Library Lord Murdered by the Seven Sages!—the image of an awful news headline flashed through his head.

Since the victim was a high-profile member of the Library Society, it was practically impossible to cover it up.

His only option was to ignore them and pretend to be a stranger. There was no other way out. Louis silently resolved himself.

“Is there a doctor here?!” Raul shouted. “Someone?! Anyone?!”

“Right here,” came a calm voice from behind Louis.

A woman with dark brown hair strode over. She was Louis’s wife, Rosalie Miller.

“Rosalie, w-wait just a moment!”

Louis hurriedly tried to stop his wife, but it was too late.

Rosalie glanced at the young man in Raul and Monica’s arms, then immediately began issuing instructions.

“First, that is not how you carry a patient. Lay him down on the floor and bring a stretcher. You stop the bleeding like this, by applying pressure directly to the wound.”

“Um, Rosalie, Rosalie…?”

Louis called out to his wife, but Rosalie continued giving first aid while offhandedly saying, “I’ve left Leonora with Ryn. You can go home ahead of me.”

Her sense of duty as a doctor took priority over her husband. She didn’t even glance at him.

As Louis stood there dejectedly, a middle-aged man in a library uniform hesitantly approached him.

“Excuse me… I take it you are the Barrier Mage, Louis Miller-sama?”

“…Yes, that would be me. What is it?”

“Since the Library Lord has collapsed, we would like to ask you to handle the sealing of the Forbidden Archives…”

He wanted to say, “Have those two idiots do it,” but Monica and Raul were both clinging to the Library Lord and bawling uncontrollably. Clearly, they were in no condition to be of any use.

Louis pushed up his monocle as he mourned the brutal murder of his vacation.

View the latest chapters at seeker142.github.io