[ Chapter 43 ]
“What about the watcher?”
At Ian’s question, the three looked around, but Cedric and Leilia were nowhere to be found. The corridor that suddenly appeared was modest in width, but it stretched endlessly forward and backward, creating an optical illusion.
On both sides of the corridor where we stood, books were on display. Individually exhibited in glass cases like precious items in a museum, the books were tightly bound with chains and locked.
The overall atmosphere was eerie. A low-wattage orange light, seemingly at the end of its life, was flickering.
“Are that woman and Cedric still in the forest?”
Deon asked, but I shook my head.
“It’s highly likely that Leilia and Cedric are also in Building E.”
“Why?”
“If we were dragged into Building E against our will, it means one of the books here has had its seal broken. And that medium used illusion magic to lure us into Building E.”
I never thought I’d be pulled into Building E exactly as described in the original work. It seemed that Building E was following the original storyline properly because it hadn’t been tampered with by monsters or people.
In the novel, Deon and Leilia, who met in Building D, wandered and accidentally entered Building E. But it wasn’t an accident. A medium summoned by a dark magician, capable of using illusions, had drawn them in.
“One of the books is probably open. To escape this place, we need to find that book and close it again.”
“And where is that book?”
“I don’t know either.”
A moment of silence passed. Deon, who had been frowning as if it was a headache, carefully pulled my wrist that he was still holding.
“Then we’ll have to look for it.”
“Lemony. If one book is open, isn’t it possible that other books could be open too?”
Ian’s hypothesis was accurate.
“That’s why we need to be more cautious. The medium that drew us in now only knows how to use illusions, but if other books are open, we don’t know what abilities might pop out.”
“We just found the key, and now things have gotten complicated?”
“Let’s just walk for now. It’s better than standing around stupidly.”
We started walking at Deon’s words, but it didn’t really solve our predicament. Moreover, for the first time, Ian didn’t pick a fight with him. That meant that Ian, whose senses were several times sharper than mine, was also feeling something strange.
Building E had no rooms. This was partly because there was no need for rooms to confine living beings, and partly because of the strict surveillance system that prevented anyone but the assigned guards from entering freely. Even the officers’ offices and quarters were located in other buildings.
It was a place devoid of the warmth of living beings. Personally, I found this place the creepiest among the four buildings I had experienced. Even the two men who were always relaxed seemed slightly tense, which made it feel worse.
The sound of my footsteps, the only one wearing shoes between the two barefoot men, seemed particularly loud. In the uncomfortable silence, where it was the only sound to be heard, I almost wanted to take off my shoes and walk barefoot like them.
“You seem to know a lot about mediums. Are there any other mediums you can think of? With unique abilities?”
That’s when it happened.
Ian, who was walking beside me, casually opened his mouth, perhaps feeling the silence becoming uncomfortable. Fortunately, I was thinking the same thing as Ian.
“There are mediums with all sorts of abilities here. Um, for example. There was a dark magician living in the northwestern lowlands of the Free State, who lost a nobleman’s commission to his rival. It was the 10th time, they say. So the enraged dark magician tried to summon a death medium to kill him but ended up dying himself.”
“What an idiot.”
Deon, who had been quiet, chuckled.
“From what I’ve heard, the dark magician messed up the summoning. According to the summoning description, he should have called a medium that could stop the heart of anyone he stared at for 5 seconds, but instead, he summoned one that killed all living beings within a 5m radius of the medium. So that medium was probably classified as a second-class prisoner.”
“Wow, that’s just second-class? It seems stronger than me.”
Thanks to Ian’s question, the cold atmosphere lightened a bit.
“First-class is much scarier.”
“What is it?”
“What’s that?”
…Why are these people so focused on my words?
Belatedly realizing something was off, I noticed that the gazes of the men walking on either side of me were fixed on me. Had they noticed that I was gradually relaxing after being tense? The men, who had been smiling subtly, seemed to enjoy my change of expression and kept staring at me intently. Feeling slightly burdened, I untied my hair to cover my cheeks before continuing.
“I don’t know about first-class either. In the case of fiest-class books, only the officers in charge of Building E know about them, to prevent people from targeting the books if information leaks out.”
I quickly looked around.
“Come to think of it, this floor seems to be where fourth-class books are displayed. Books classified as physically dangerous are grouped from third-class and above, so where we are should be safe.”
Please. I hoped the two men would shift their gaze elsewhere like I did. But they just nodded and continued to bombard me with questions, seemingly uninterested in the books. As if they wanted me to relax.
“What kind of books are in fourth-class?”
“Wow, I’m really curious.”
Ian, who didn’t look curious at all, tilted his head and examined me with a slight smile. Now I’m not scared of Building E. I’m scared of these men.
Fourth-class. What kind of books were in fourth-class? Hoping they would take their eyes off me, I racked my brain, and then realized that in the original work, Deon and Leilia were also trapped in the fourth-class section of Building E. It was because the medium capable of moving living beings was a fourth-class prisoner.
“Fourth-class books are the kind that can change something physically or psychologically. For example,”
And I think there was an episode here. I was unconsciously touching my chin while thinking, when suddenly my body swayed. It wasn’t my will. My body suddenly lost strength.
“What’s this?”
Deon’s gaze, who supported my shoulder with his firm arm, hardened slightly. It was the same for Ian who was in front of me.
“…I don’t know,”
Ump.
As I closed my eyes tightly, suppressing a faint groan that was about to burst out, another large palm covered my forehead.
“What’s going on? Why did her face suddenly get hot? Lemony, did you catch a cold?”
My body strangely heated up. But it didn’t feel like a cold since I wasn’t shivering, and without any preceding symptoms, my legs suddenly lost strength and my lower abdomen felt heavy. A sudden burning sensation crawled up inside my skin, involuntarily making my legs close together.
“Are you feeling pain?”
Ian, who bent his upper body from across, asked seriously, and I shook my head.
“Then where does it hurt? That woman didn’t feed you spoiled food, did she?”
No. None of that.
“Ha, it doesn’t hurt at all,”
I raised my head, frowning slightly. As I stared at Ian through my slightly blurred vision, his golden pupils quickly dilated.
“Ah, down there,”
“What’s wrong down there.”
“That,”
As I opened my mouth, Deon waited patiently for my answer. But I didn’t even know what I was saying. Every time I spoke, excited breaths burst out, preventing the meaning from being properly conveyed. I clenched my tingling fingers for no reason. I needed something to lean on. The air in the corridor felt as cold as if I was standing naked.
My instinct, searching for a warm place, fidgeted and turned my head towards the man’s cave-like broad embrace, but as my legs gave out and I collapsed, Deon firmly grabbed my waist.
“Lemo—”
“…Down there is ho-hot.”
At my plea, the hand gripping my waist stiffened slightly.
◆
At that time, on the 6th floor of Building E.
“Where is the Divine Beast? Where is the Princess? Where is our disobedient young master.”
“Stop it, it’s hurting my ears.”
Leila snapped fiercely, covering her ears with a grimace. The man, realizing this was Building E that Lemony had mentioned, looked very anxious after confirming he was left alone with Leilia.
“According to Lemony, when a book sealing a medium is opened, it performs strange magic, right? It’s clear that one book has been opened, given that it led us to Building E. We should find it.”
“Alright. Then let’s look around for now. There might be an exit door, or we might run into Lemony’s group.”
Not Lemony, not Deon, not Ian. Cedric of all people. Just as Leilia yawned with her arms crossed, finding herself left alone with the weakest of all in this situation.
“…This book says that the moment it’s opened, all living beings within 3 meters in front of it die.”
As Cedric muttered while scanning the glass case, Leilia, who was stretching, asked in slight surprise.
“You can interpret it?”
“Dark magic summoning is the study furthest from a saint. Of course, I’d be curious about it. I can’t use magic, but I can interpret the ancient language written in the books.”
While the corridor itself was so chilly that ordinary people might find it scary, Cedric’s face instead showed intellectual curiosity.
“Another book is interesting too. It says that when the book is opened, the medium that attaches to the opener allows them to meet people who will die within the next 30 days for one day.”
“It’s like having a fortune teller?”
“That’s why it’s sealed. If the books in Building E were traded, the world would be in chaos.”
“Oh ho.”
He seemed quite smart for a saint. Leilia, seeing Cedric in a new light, subtly moved closer to him.
“Keep interpreting.”
The two, strangely matching at an unexpected point, ended up excitedly looking at various books.
“Ah, this book is quite interesting.”
“What is it?”
“It says it can exchange the souls of oneself and another person. It’s a body swap.”
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Thank you for reading! ♡
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