"But aren't you going to ask?"
"What?"
The scarf covered his mouth, slurring his pronunciation.
Still, communication wasn't a problem.
Giles Smore hesitated for a moment.
His face seemed to redden again, and he mumbled, covering his lips.
"Why I was crying here..."
"Ah."
I closed my mouth.
Why aren't I asking?
Well.
'Because I know.'
That he was stripped of his librarian position and could no longer stay in the library he loved so much.
Pretending not to know and not asking why was a consideration in its own way.
I didn't really want to pry.
But Giles Smore seemed to have found his voice and poured out his story.
"They said that with the library being enchanted, a librarian is no longer needed."
That makes sense.
If magic perfectly manages the building and books, there's no need for a person.
Giles Smore's eyes reddened again.
He couldn't seem to shake off the heartbreak.
It was unfortunate, but reality was harsh.
'I can't stop Lordbell's decision.'
But there was something that neither Giles Smore nor Duke Ego Lordbell knew.
That is-
'The library's enchantment will fail.'
The library's enchantment will fail.
They had no idea.
'No one could have predicted that the first head of the family's magic would remain in the library.'
The person who built the library was Lucrecia Lordbell, the first head of the family.
That fact was so well-known that anyone with even a little interest in Lordbell knew it.
However, no one knew about the magic of the first head of the family that had been dormant in the library for nearly 1000 years.
So.
'A major accident happened.'
The magic of the first head of the family did not allow the magic of later generations to encroach on its territory.
When was it?
Around the time the library's enchantment was almost complete, a huge explosion suddenly occurred in the library.
It was late at night, and I was on my way back from Aen's tomb.
Kwaaaaang-!
The earth shook with a deafening roar.
'Kyaaa!'
I screamed and collapsed in shock.
As the shaking subsided and the surroundings became quiet, I slowly raised my head.
And I admired without realizing it.
There.
'Wow... beautiful...'
A purple aurora was shimmering like a thin curtain.
As if possessed, I walked in the direction of the aurora.
And I saw it there.
'No wayyy-!!'
The sight of Giles Smore screaming in front of the tall building engulfed in a purple storm.
'No, no, no wayyy-!!'
Giles Smore, who was sitting down, howled like a beast.
The scene felt very surreal.
The beautifully shimmering aurora, the tall building engulfed in a purple storm, someone screaming so miserably beneath it, and the fact that the person was Giles Smore, who had chased me away so fiercely.
But the most unreal thing of all was the sight of the library engulfed in the brilliant purple storm.
The building hadn't collapsed or been damaged, but I could instinctively tell.
That the storm would definitely destroy the building and what was inside it.
Soon after, the Lordbell's magic division and knight division, as well as key figures, rushed over.
Among them were Duke Ego Lordbell and Ligrin Pedlan.
As soon as I found the duke, I reflexively hid in the bushes.
Normally, I would have been discovered quickly no matter how quietly I hid, but the situation was so urgent that no one noticed my presence.
Coincidentally, they stopped in front of the bushes where I was hiding.
Ligrin, who had already grasped the situation, reported to the duke.
'It has been confirmed as a collision between huge magical powers. One is our magic, and the other is...'
Gulp.
Ligrin trailed off.
The hand holding the paper with the report status tightened.
He finished his words in a voice that was hard to believe.
'It is presumed to be the magic of ancient Lordbell.'
It was truly shocking content.
Even I, who had no education, vaguely knew how enormous the 'magic of ancient Lordbell' that Lordbell distinguished was, encompassing the magic before the 3rd generation Lordbell head of the family.
That was when.
Koo-oong-!
The Lordbell's wizards tried to enter the interior, but were bounced back as they were.
Someone ran over from afar with a pale face and panting breath.
'That person is...'
I recognized him without difficulty.
Elbert Baden, the head of the Lordbell magic division.
He was called the magician of the century next to the magic tower lord and was also Miracle's teacher.
But there was another reason why I recognized him.
'Tsk, though she has at least half the same blood as Miss Miracle, her innate talent is a mess. This is trash.'
He was someone who believed that magic was the most perfect and greatest product that humans had realized.
Therefore, while he revered Miracle, who was born with magical talent, he despised me, who was not born with it.
But thinking about it again, it didn't seem like the only reason was that I wasn't born with magic power.
He couldn't do anything in front of Estio, who wasn't born with magical talent either.
Elbert, looking distressed, reported to the duke.
'The identity of the magic power is judged to be the magic power of ancient Lordbell. Among them, the person who can hide such a huge magic power is...'
Elbert couldn't bring himself to say the words and swallowed hard.
That name was too difficult to even mention.
'The first head of the family, Lucrecia Lordbell's.'
The duke spat it out so easily.
Elbert trembled with his shoulders at the name that was heard unexpectedly.
His face was full of admiration and respect that he couldn't hide.
To magicians, the first head of the family was a divine being.
He suppressed his excited voice and explained.
'It seems that the magic power left by the first head of the family collided with our magic power and created a magic power storm. If it goes on like this, all the books in the library, no, the building...'
Elbert couldn't finish his words and let out a heavy moan.
'Lord...'
Ligrin also looked at the duke, at a loss for what to do.
Even in the face of an urgent crisis that could wipe out a thousand years of Lordbell's history in an instant, the duke did not waver.
He asked.
'What's the solution?'
Elbert's face turned dramatically dark at the question that flew over indifferently.
'There is no way at the moment... There must be a medium that activated the magic power of the first head of the family inside the library. We have to find it and take it out, but that's...'
Elbert looked at the building with a troubled face.
There were Lordbell's magicians and knights who were trying to enter the interior by force and were being helplessly bounced out.
'No one can enter.'
'So.'
Even in the face of the bleak reality, there was no change in the duke's expression.
I hid in the bushes and looked at his face.
It was a face that didn't feel any agitation at all.
The crisis was at hand where Lordbell's greatest legacy could disappear in his generation, but not at all...
'So you're saying that we have no choice but to stand by and watch, is that what you're saying?'
He didn't shake at all.
As if he didn't care if the library disappeared right now.
Elbert hesitated and answered his cold question.
'Unless we enter inside, there's no way...'
'I see.'
In contrast to Elbert's difficult words, the duke accepted the fact too easily.
'Then there's nothing we can do. We have no choice but to watch this legacy disappear like this.'
'Yes, yes...?'
'Lord...!'
Elbert and Ligrin were shocked and looked at him at the duke's indifferent bombshell statement.
The duke's indifferent attitude remained even after receiving their shocked gaze.
'The library is one of Lordbell's main legacies. If that is lost, Lordbell's fame will-'
'If it's a fame that will fall just because one legacy disappears, it's better to just disappear.'
The duke cut off Ligrin's words and coldly dismissed them.
There was a strange weariness melting in the eyes that were watching the swirling storm.
'But, but...'
Ligrin couldn't let go of his regrets even at the duke's attitude.
That being said, there was no way he could solve what even the great magician Elbert couldn't.
'Kuhk...'
Ligrin let out a frustrated sigh.
Elbert was no different. Rather, he seemed to feel humiliation and a deep sense of helplessness at his appearance, where he couldn't do anything despite the title of a great magician.
That was when they were helplessly looking at the library.
'I, I can't just let it go like this...!!'
Giles Smore, who had become a mess, broke into them.
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