Chapter 16
Nothing at All
“Another door?”
“Yes? What did you say?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Yan turned back at Liche’s murmuring. Liche shook her head and asked Python.
‘Where to?’
Python peeked out of the pocket and sniffed.
[The third door. There’s something there.]
‘Another great star?’
[No, something more amusing.]
Something amusing.
Though she didn’t grasp it immediately, Liche asked Yan if she could go to the door Python mentioned.
“Well, the third door? It’s the library used by the previous lord’s predecessor. They had a refined hobby of collecting old items, so there might be books you’d find interesting. Are you sure it’s okay?”
“Yes, it’s okay.”
Liche nodded. Perhaps thinking of it as the child’s cute curiosity, Yan willingly took out the keys and opened the door.
Inside was a spacious two-story library bathed in a faint blue light.
It felt calm and dignified.
As suggested by the previous owner’s penchant for collecting old items, besides books, various items were displayed inside the library.
“Let’s see, picture books…”
Yan scanned the interior of the library with her eyes, searching for a place where picture books might be.
Although it seemed she intended to search for picture books together, Liche had entered this library for a different reason.
“Um… Yan, I want to be alone.”
With a cautious request, fearing it might hurt Yan’s feelings, Yan readily nodded.
“Would you like that? Feel free to look around. It’s all allowed for you. Just please don’t damage anything.”
“Yes. I’ll be careful!”
“Thank you. If you need anything, please call me. I’ll always be in the lobby.”
Yan chuckled softly, turned on the lights in the library, then closed the door behind her as she left.
Liche stood alone in the now brighter library.
“Now what should I do?”
But there was no reply coming back.
Liche lowered her head. Her pocket felt empty.
“Python?”
“Over here! Over here!”
It was a voice with a light tone that she hadn’t heard in a while. It came from inside the library, between the bookshelves arranged at regular intervals.
Liche walked over, but all she could see were bookshelves filled with books.
“Where are you?”
“Diagonally below!”
Shifting her gaze to where the voice came from, she saw the torso of a squirrel partially stuck between a bookshelf and the wall.
And its wriggling short legs and tightly held tail.
“…What are you doing there?”
“I’m trying to get something out. A profit. Why won’t this come out? It seems like it’s almost there if I just try a bit harder.”
Python grumbled while trying to retrieve something from the gap.
Next to it, there was a small mirror placed on a shelf, and it looked like it might knock it over.
Liche held the mirror in her arms and then sat down, asking Python.
“Do you want me to take it out? Shall I do it for you?”
“No, I’m the Great Star, so I should handle this… Oh no, I slipped!”
Along with a sound of astonishment, there was also the sound of a solid bead-like object falling and rolling on the floor from the gap.
Python withdrew its stuck body from the gap and then rushed out to the other end of the bookshelf on all fours. Liche followed behind.
After passing about four bookshelves, a roughly square empty space appeared.
Python stuck to the wall of the space and touched the marble floor.
“Did it go under the floor?”
“Yeah… darn it. It seems like there was a hole in the floor that it fell through earlier. Ugh. It went quite deep. Is there a space under the floor?”
Liche went next to Python and examined the floor together.
The solid floor seemed unlikely to be penetrated with mere force.
“What was it? A bead?”
“A star fragment.”
“What’s that?”
Python explained to Liche, who was curious.
“There are stars that occasionally get frustrated with their graves and cross over to the human realm. However, most of them never return and gradually lose their power in the human realm. If they lose even their self-sustaining power, the stars reach the end of their lifespan and petrify.”
“You mean they turn into stones?”
“Yes. They transform into small stones, only about the size of pearls. That’s a star fragment. Did I mention? Whether strong or weak, each star has its own unique ability. Star fragments contain that power. If you possess it, you can use that power.”
Liche chuckled. If there were such remarkable stones, she would have heard of them at least once.
“It’s my first time hearing about it.”
“Of course. Star fragments in the human realm are rare and small, making them difficult to find. It’s possible because I can detect stars. And even if you find one, do you think humans would recognize what it is?”
Since the former owner here was unknown, they probably just let it roll around anywhere.
Muttering, Python pondered while looking at the floor.
Then it raised its head towards Liche. Its black eyes, like sunflower seeds, sparkled as if it wanted something.
“Contractor, shall we try out our training results?”
So far, the abilities Python had trained under Liche were destructive.
In other words, it suggested using its ability to break the floor and search for a star fragment.
“No, we can’t.”
Understanding the meaning, Liche shook her head. She held the mirror she had picked up from the shelf in her arms.
“Yan said so. It’ll be troublesome if we leave any marks.”
“That’s very precious in the human realm, you know? Let’s just break one tile. I’ll retrieve it!”
“It must be restorable. If not, then no.”
“That’s unavoidable. Contractor. My abilities are specialized for combat. But, hey? Even if the floor breaks, we can cover it up with other items!”
Unfortunately, although Python had the ability to destroy, it didn’t have the ability to restore.
If it couldn’t be perfectly restored, it was better not to touch it at all.
Even after several attempts at persuasion, when Liche adamantly opposed, Python grumbled in frustration.
“Why is this little contractor so lacking in ambition!”
There was a reason behind his disappointment.
According to the energy he felt from the star, it was a star fragment with the power equivalent to that of a mid-level star in its lifetime.
It should have been a usable ability regardless of what it was.
“There.”
“But still, no.”
“Can you hear me?”
“I heard, but if it’s not allowed, it’s not allowed.”
Liche habitually replied but felt puzzled.
It was a voice heard not in her mind but with her ears, yet Python’s mouth didn’t even twitch.
Who am I conversing with right now?
That question seemed to bother Python as well, as it raised its eyes to meet Liche’s, then opened its mouth.
“…I didn’t say anything?”
A strange atmosphere suddenly pervaded, sending shivers down Liche’s spine.
“Hey there.”
The voice came again, from the mirror.
“Ah, whoa!”
Startled, Liche dropped the mirror she had been holding in her arms.
With a thud on the floor, from the fallen mirror, there came crackling and ominous sounds.
***
“Oh, you’re out early today.”
Yan spoke as she saw Deon emerging from the private library.
Deon usually wouldn’t come out for hours once he entered, but this time, it hadn’t even been an hour.
“Just felt like it.”
Deon glanced around the lobby and asked, “Who’s this?”
“Liche, miss? She’s inside the library.”
“Still?”
Why would it take so long to pick a picture book?
Deon, with an air of an adult, turned his steps towards the second door. Children’s books were usually kept there.
Behind Deon, Yan rose from the lobby desk and said quietly while watching his departing figure.
“He seems to be quite fond of her. Miss Liche.”
“Hey, doggie. There’s nothing for you here, so let’s go so-”
Deon was about to open the library door and speak towards the inside.
Thud.
A small figure dashed out from inside towards the open door.
“Oh, big brother!”
With shiny silver hair and round silver eyes, it was Liche.
Rushing towards him, Liche clung tightly to Deon’s waist, her face full of fear.
Deon’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Hey, what’s wrong?!”
In response to Deon’s urgent question, Liche closed her eyes tightly and cried out with tears streaming down her face.
“G-ghost!”
“What?”
What is she saying? Even if she were a spy, a ghost?
Deon looked at Liche, who was trembling all over, then turned his gaze inward.
He thought she was running after something desperately, but the library was silent.
“There’s nothing here.”
“There is!”
Liche shouted.
‘So noisy.’
It’s probably best to get out of here. Frowning, Deon moved forward, and Liche clung to him like a baby koala as they walked.
“Liche, are you okay?”
At Yan’s approaching voice, Liche lifted her head, which had been buried deeply in Deon’s chest.
“Yan, I’m sorry. I messed up, but I’ll explain to Dad…! But Yan, you shouldn’t touch it! G-ghosts-!”
“What?”
“Hey, just carry her.”
Deon, as if annoyed, lifted Liche, who had started to sob again, from his waist to his back.
“Master, Miss…”
“Let it be. Don’t tell Father. I’ll take care of it.”
Yan nodded silently.
Carrying the frightened Liche, Deon left the library.
***
In a silent corridor of a grand mansion.
A boy around 7 or 8 years old came out into the corridor from a secluded room.
He looked like a noble young master.
Despite his unhealthy complexion, his beautiful features stood out.
The boy walked through the corridor, coughing lightly.
“Young master!”
A woman with a shrill voice called out to the boy.
She was a maid working in the mansion.
“You didn’t take your medicine.”
With steps that could seem somewhat threatening, the maid stood in front of the boy.
Under well-arched eyebrows, golden eyes looked up at her.
“Today, I feel fine…”
“The Duke asked you to take medicine every day.”
The maid cut off the boy’s words with a firm tone.
Then she extended the hand holding the medicine bottle towards the boy.
“Take it. It’s today’s dose.”
“…”
Though a familiar scent wafted from the opened medicine bottle, the boy hesitated to take it.
He had been weak since he was a child. Despite being told that it would cure his chronic illness, he felt worse every time he took the medicine.
“I don’t want to take it today…”
“Take it.”
Her tone was firm, indicating she wouldn’t listen to his words.
Reluctantly, the boy accepted the medicine bottle.
As the liquid flowed down his throat, trying to forget the bitterness of the medicine, the boy thought of something else.
‘Who was it.’
One of his mother’s keepsakes was a mirror, but nothing was reflected in it.
Occasionally, the boy would enter the room where the keepsakes were placed and stare quietly at the mirror.
And then today.
“Why does this little contractor have so little ambition!”
The moment he touched the mirror, a squirrel appeared, kicking his feet and raising both arms in frustration, accompanied by a light-toned voice.
Startled, the boy swallowed hard for a moment, then cautiously spoke to the mirror.
This time, a girl’s voice could be heard. But the only thing visible was still the squirrel.
‘Who’s talking?’
Curious about the owner of the voice, but it suddenly fell silent after a few times.
Is that it? Anxious, the boy spoke to the mirror again.
“Hey.”
“Ah!”
A startled cry from a girl, a small silhouette looking down from below, and then, with a thud, a sound of something breaking.
And then the mirror showed nothing again.
‘Will I hear it again?’
Perhaps the owner of the silhouette didn’t even know who the owner of the voice was.
The boy returned the empty medicine bottle to the maid.
