The Forbidden Library – Part 06
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Translator: Kell
According to Zero, the librarian was a Mage. Only she and the Director could venture out of the fort safely. What a Mage was doing in this fort and why they were serving a demon was a mystery, however.
“I wanted to spend more time with her. When she went outside, the Director came to me. He said that if I bore a child with someone, she wouldn’t have to go far away anymore.”
“What does you bearing a child have anything to do with her retiring from her job?”
“I don’t know, but that’s what the Director said.” Despite looking calm, tears streamed down Mina’s face. She hurriedly wiped her eyes.
Unable to stand the sight of such an innocent girl crying, Gemma hugged Mina. “It’s okay, don’t cry. You don’t have to marry someone you don’t like. Come with us. The Knights Templar will protect you, and you won’t have to worry about being attacked by demons if you go to Wenias. It’s much safer than here.”
Mina’s eyes widened. “There’s a safe place besides Fort Niedra? Really?”
“I swear to God. If you don’t like it here, you can come with us. With your sister, of course.”
Hope filled Mina’s face. But it lasted only for a moment. She shook her head once more. “I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“The Director knows everything. I’m sure he’s watching me even now. He knows what I told you. If I said I was going to Wenias, my sister would be punished by the Director. I don’t want that.”
If you ran away, someone you cared about would be punished—the same argument that the knight gave.
Zero stroked her chin. “The Director loves humans… It gathers people who have nowhere to go into the fort to keep them safe, and yet it does not want them to leave. It is not love. It is more like…”
“It’s like a lord and his subjects,” Barcel said. “And an outdated system at that.”
We all expressed our gloom in different ways; some stared at the ceiling, some sighed, and some pinched the bridge of their nose.
Manpower was necessary to run a territory—farmers to plow fields, merchants to collect money, carpenters to build and maintain castles, servants to take care of the lord’s personal needs, and townspeople to pay taxes.
The lord wouldn’t mind people coming in, but he wouldn’t want people to leave. So he would use all kinds of methods to force them to stay, just like what was happening in Fort Niedra.
“Fortunately, the people don’t seem to be mistreated,” Barcel said. “If the Director is trying to manage his territory, we should all send these people to Wenias. But I highly doubt he’ll say yes.”
“I doubt he’ll let us leave even,” I added.
Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Barcel clapped his hands and stood up. “Thinking about it will get us nowhere. Mina, you can stay in my room for now. You can’t go back to your own place, right?”
“But the Director knows everything,” Mina said, trembling from fear.
“All the more reason to stay here. The Knights Templar can’t let you leave like this. I’m fine with sharing a room with the Captain. Right?”
“I’ve been a soldier for a long time,” Gemma said. “Sleeping in the same room with a man is nothing to me.”
Gemma’s words brought a little smile back to Mina’s face. She clung to the captain’s neck and whispered, “Thank you.”
“It seems the captain is the right person to look after the girl,” Zero said. “Take the girl to the attendant’s room. Hold her hand until she falls asleep.”
“Very well.” Gemma pulled Mina’s hand and stood up.
After they had left the room and the sound of their footsteps began to fade, Zero opened her mouth to speak. “I am a little surprised. I did not expect the Director would force people to marry, disregarding their feelings.”
“I was horrified too, to be honest,” Barcel said. “We’re not animals.”
“Animals, huh? Your analogy might be right on target.”
“Well, that’s a target I wish I missed.”
I get it. An archer joke. Under any other circumstances, I would have laughed.
“The Director loves humans,” Zero continued. “That is most likely true. It treats humans with care and seems to be protecting them from other demons. I think he intends to gather living humans into this fort, and make them breed to increase the population.”
“What for?” I asked. “For dinner?”
“To care for them like pets. Like fish in a pond.”
“Shit. I get it now!” Barcel exclaimed, ruffling his hair. “The Captain’s father loved deer. He said their antlers were works of art. He displayed the heads of the deer he killed in the hall, and ate their meat. He also raised them in his garden. That’s what humans are to that demon, isn’t it?”
Because it loved humans, it used humans in its creations. It made me sick, how it had a similar way of thinking as humans.
“That demon is clearly imitating humans,” Zero said. “It gathers humans under the guise of protection, claims to be a lord and keeps them at hand, and sends us invitations, welcoming us as guests. It may seem contradictory, but it makes sense if we consider that it is imitating human beings.” She nodded to herself and rose to her feet. “I think we need to talk to the librarian. From what we heard from her sister, she does not seem to be a witch who worships demons. I highly doubt she would talk in front of the Director, but I think we can use her sister to gain a little bit of advantage.” Zero flashed a wicked smile.
“Please don’t do anything inhumane,” Barcel pleaded.
“Hmm?” The moment I stepped out into the hallway, I froze in place. Something felt off. I wrinkled my nose, and the odd feeling became stronger.
“What is wrong, Mercenary?”
“The captain and the girl’s scent…”
Wearing a frown, I opened the door to the room where they were supposed to be. “They’re not here. In fact, they didn’t even come inside.”
“What?!” Barcel bolted out of the inn.
The falling ashes hampered both vision and sense of smell. Did they go out for a relaxing walk? In that case, we were worried for nothing, but that seemed unlikely. If that wasn’t the case, there was only one place for us to go.
“To the tower.”
We rushed to the tower, where the librarian was waiting for us at the door.
“Stop,” she said. “The Director ordered me not to let you through.”
Barcel stopped in his tracks, readied his bow, and nocked an arrow. “Master Mercenary! I’ll cover you!”
I’m doing it? But I wasn’t stupid enough to let an archer take the front. Sorry about this, librarian, but I’ll have to knock you out a bit. If only she would stay still after that.
However, the librarian didn’t seem concerned about a Beastfallen charging straight at her. Instead she raised her arm to the air.
“Kutor, Zaf, Hecht.”
I stopped dead in my tracks, shocked. “Shit. She can use Magic!”
By the time I remembered, it was too late; the librarian had already finished chanting.
“O’ remnants of thunder, come together and strike the fools! Grant me power, for my name is Madia!”
A blue light flashed through the air, passed by me, and hit Barcel, knocking him away.
I quickly rushed to him and lifted his body up. “Underling! Are you all right?”
Pained groans spilled from his lips.
Thank goodness. The shock knocked him unconscious, but he was still breathing.
The librarian aimed for Barcel because she judged that her spell would not be as effective against me. I would probably only stagger for a moment. Barcel, however, would not be able to walk for a while.
“Hey, Witch!” I yelled. “She’s gotta be a part of Cestum!”
“No,” Zero said, taking a step forward.
It looked like she had no intention to fight. The librarian—I’m guessing her name is Madia, since she proudly declared it—saw Zero’s calm demeanor and relaxed her guard.
“The Magic the librarian used was from the Chapter of Capture, Page Five. She cannot be that proficient with only smattering knowledge. She was born and raised in the fort. She would not have been able to stay outside for years. So unless she had the book in her possession, she would not have been able to learn Magic.”
“What? I thought the book was in Wenias.”
“Yes. And Sanare copied it, releasing the four chapters as separate books. The saint has one, another was burned by the Church, and the last one we recovered from Sanare. So where is the remaining chapter?”
“Oh.”
“Yes. She has a copy of the Chapter of Capture. Sanare sold it to the market. The last of the lost copies—it is only fitting that it would be here in the Forbidden Library.”
It made more sense than her being a member of Cestum or the Coven of Zero.
The Chapter of Protection was in the hands of the saint. The Church burned the Chapter of Hunting. We retrieved the Chapter of Harvest.
The Forbidden Library, which produced Niedra gold coins, bought the Chapter of Capture at a huge sum.
“Am I right, Librarian?”
“Five years ago, I heard a rumor that a magical book had hit the market, so I immediately collected it. I knew it was real. I didn’t care how much I would pay for it.”
“I see.”
“This way, please. You want to see the real thing, yes?”
“Wait,” groaned Barcel. “I don’t care about the book! Where’s the Captain?!”
He grabbed my shoulders and tried to get up, but he still couldn’t move properly.
Madia shot Barcel a glance and shook her head. “The Director would never hurt anyone beautiful. He really wants Lady Gemma too. He would probably entertain her kindly.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“The Director does not like using pressure. He prefers making deals, and he offered Lady Gemma one. If she refuses, then that’s it.”
“A deal?” Zero’s eyebrow arched.
Madia hesitated for a moment before speaking. “The Director has always wanted a mate of his own. If Lady Gemma demanded something from him, he would want her in return.”
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Comment (0)