77. Library

77. Library

“Edel, what are you doing here?”

A black bob cut, cleanly trimmed, with an indifferent and sharp gaze. Claire’s maid, whose every movement was remarkably restrained and quiet.

Edel briefly paused her concentration on something in front of the library and gave a light nod towards us.

“I had a little something to investigate.”

“Investigate… you mean that thing from before?”

“Yes. It’s still uncertain, but I believe it’s related.”

Her words were quite abbreviated, but we understood each other. Edel’s investigation must have been about the unpleasant incident Claire experienced in the dungeon.

But was she still dwelling on that incident?

“Is the investigation not going well?”

“Yes. I even sent a request for help to the Royal Court, but the other party seems to be quite formidable, as they haven’t been easily tracked. Furthermore, the undead that could have been a crucial clue… was annihilated by the Grand Duchess. Without a trace.”

“Me?”

“Don’t you remember? When the Duchess broke through the dungeon wall to the surface, you were caught in the trajectory… No, never mind. Regardless of the clue, it’s fortunate that the Princess was safe thanks to that blow.”

Edel seemed about to explain something but then shook her head. Her tone suggested she thought I wouldn’t understand even if she explained further.

“Sister, what did you do while I was gone?”

“Nothing much.”

Freya asked during a brief pause. And the answer.

I really didn’t do much. I just made a hole in the dungeon for rescue.

After answering, I turned my head back to Edel. She briefly rummaged through her pocket, took out a few documents, and said to us.

“So, have you perhaps seen any of the Academy buildings being destroyed recently?”

“Hmm? I saw them, but….”

I had seen the destroyed buildings on the way to the library. Restoration work was also in full swing.

… But I was the one who destroyed those.

Edel continued, flipping through the documents.

“The old school building is completely in ruins, and the Magic Engineering department building next to it has collapsed by 90%. Besides that, there are countless other buildings that are damaged or half-destroyed, and if we include minor cracks, the damaged buildings would fill dozens of these sheets of paper.”

“So?”

“According to our investigation so far, this seems to be related to the dungeon incident. Do you know anything more about this? Even the smallest detail is fine.”

“….”

Priscilla, who had been touching my tail, spoke after a moment of closing her eyes to think.

“What are you thinking about! You should tell her properly that Skadi destroyed it!”

“Ah, no… that’s….”

I was unsure if I was the one who destroyed it, and it also felt awkward to confess that I did it when she was asking so seriously….

“Is it okay to lie or not? And besides, your siblings are here!”

Th-that’s cheating, bringing up the siblings.

As the older sister to Freya and Iris, I had to show a proper and good image. At least in front of my sisters.

And since my sisters were right behind me, Priscilla had delivered an unblockable attack. I shuffled forward and said to Edel.

“… Excuse me, Edel.”

“Yes.”

“That… I probably destroyed it.”

“Yes?”

Edel replied with a bewildered voice, as if she couldn’t understand. It was the first expression I had ever seen from her, who always maintained a stoic demeanor.

“I destroyed it. With a bang!”

“… It’s not just one or two buildings. For one person to destroy so many in such a short time…”

“….”

“… Huh.”

Edel clutched her head.

“How could the Grand Duchess do something like that….”

“It wasn’t intentional.”

I just ran down the road, and the buildings were destroyed by the aftermath; I didn’t destroy them on purpose. I glanced at Henir and said.

“…… I will directly bill the Grand Duke’s family for the costs. Under royal decree.”

Wait, what?

Directly billing the Grand Duke’s family?

“Th-then, will my father hear about this…?”

“Of course, he will.”

“Um… how much are the costs?”

The Grand Duke’s family was wealthy. But just because they were wealthy didn’t mean they could spend money carelessly, so it meant that after paying the billed costs, my father might come to the Academy to catch me with veins popping in his head.

“A lot.”

Edel’s cold answer sent a shiver through my body. My body, sensing a very dangerous moment, instinctively tensed its muscles.

I didn’t want to experience being thrown into a deep glacial crevice again.

But this was purely my fault, and there was nothing I could say. Hoping there might be an alternative, I looked back at Freya, but Freya was just twitching the corners of her mouth in disbelief.

Edel’s moving hand, the countdown to destruction.

My usually upright ears drooped, reflecting my anxious feelings. My tail sagged, and in that state, I swayed restlessly.

It was Claire who spoke to me.

“Um, um, Skadi?”

“Uh, uh-huh?”

“Are you worried?”

“N-no, not at all.”

I just didn’t want to end up like a snail in a well, endlessly climbing and falling down a glacier. That would be truly… truly difficult.

“Then I’ll ask Edel to help a bit.”

“Uh-huh?”

“Um, Edel?”

Claire called out to Edel. Edel, who was in the middle of drawing lines on the documents, moved her head and looked down at Claire.

“Skadi’s debt, could you… reduce it a little?”

“… Do you know the amount?”

“You have plenty of money anyway. Couldn’t we just consider it as an expense for economic revitalization by creating jobs?”

“Where did you learn that concept?”

“Um… from a book I read recently?”

When Claire answered, Edel let out a deep sigh. Then, she placed her hand on Claire’s head, stroking it back and forth, and replied.

“Understood. I will propose to the Prime Minister that we can share about 50% of the cost. However, this is only for this one time. Not twice.”

“Really? Okay, I’ll make sure you can’t do it twice.”

A moment later, Edel, who was adding something to the documents, left. Claire ran up to me with short steps and said.

“Edel said she’ll cut it by half!”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

That was welcome news. I had secretly hoped for about a 90% reduction, but 50% wasn’t a small amount either. At least the depth of being thrown into the glacier might be a little shallower.

“Thank you, Claire.”

“It’s nothing-“

I immediately lowered my head and kissed Claire.

It was a sincere expression of gratitude to my friend Claire, who made it possible to reduce the terrible repetitive task of climbing and falling down glaciers with a sword.

Her small pink lips, our breaths mingling. Claire’s eyes widened as if she hadn’t expected it, and soon her golden eyes met mine.

Speaking of swords, something is on the tip of my tongue.

-Slurp.

Just as a thought was about to form, Claire suddenly became proactive and began to entwine her tongue with mine. With a face flushed red with embarrassment, yet with eyes looking straight at me.

Our intertwined tongues explored each other. I gently brushed Claire’s collarbone, which caught my eye, and Claire shivered as if tickled.

Finally, her small hands reached out towards me, touching me, and their warmth was transmitted-

“Hey!!! Get off my Sister!!!”

It was my sister, Freya, who intervened between us.

Freya, shaking her voluminous black tail menacingly, shouted at Claire.

“You, you really…!”

Claire, displeased that her expression of gratitude was cut short, then said to Freya in a mocking tone.

“Hmm? What’s wrong? This is just a ‘thank you kiss.’ Hmm?”

“You crazy bitch, what kind of thank you….”

Freya shouted, then stopped abruptly and looked at me. Claire, deliberately for Freya to hear, asked me.

“Skadi, what we just did was a thank you kiss, right?”

“That’s right. When you’re truly grateful, you have to kiss.”

There are also thank you gestures that require being naked, which are a bit embarrassing to do outside. So, outside, they are generally substituted with kisses.

“Are you perhaps jealous of the thank you kiss? Hmm?”

“Grrr…!”

“Skadi, c-can you do that ‘thank you’ again?”

Claire looked at me with a slightly embarrassed face and asked. Of course, my gratitude towards Claire was overflowing, so I could do the thank you kiss many times.

“Waaahhh!!!! What are you doing!!!”

“Freya?”

Freya waved her hands back and forth, blocking Claire’s path towards me.

“I-it was enough with one! Why do it twice!!!”

“But I’m that grateful. Thanks to Claire, the punishment I’ll receive from Father has decreased. Freya, if you ever received punishment from Father, you wouldn’t say that, I’m sure.”

“Ughhh!!”

Freya groaned, clutching her head. I ignored her, passed by my sister, and approached Claire, kissing her again.

-It seems the Young Lady has complicated relationships.

-Henir, may I put my tail in your mouth?

-….

“Shall we head inside now?”

I don’t know why finding books in the library is taking so long.

And so, we finally succeeded in entering the Academy Central Library, the repository of knowledge, the sanctuary of records.

I need to find some interesting books here and send them all to my mother.