Ch.37The Library Takeover Incident (2)

“Come to the library at 6 PM. Bring the fox with you. And Hersy, you’ll be playing the final boss.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’ll find out when you get there.”

Hersy walked, deep in thought.

“What could Ruide be planning?”

Following Ruide’s thought process was difficult. She’d always thought so, but this was the first time she had absolutely no idea what he was up to.

“Does Miho know?”

[Wouldn’t Hersy know more about Master than I would?]

“I suppose…”

Hersy felt secretly pleased, but her mind was still racing. All she could do was follow Ruide’s instructions and go to the library at 6 PM.

Hersy looked up to check the clock tower. 3 PM. Still three hours to go.

“I should go early just in case. Maybe I’ll find some clues.”

[That’s a good idea!]

“Come here.”

Miho hopped into Hersy’s arms. Hersy smiled contentedly.

Soon after arriving at the library, Hersy nodded respectfully to Karon. He returned the greeting and approached her.

“It’s good to see you, Lady Hersy. You came straight after class, I see.”

“…How do you always manage to arrive before me, Karon?”

Hersy had just come from “Understanding Casting,” a required course for Experts.

She was amazed that Karon had somehow arrived much faster than she had.

“Haha, we have separate supplementary lessons after closing hours.”

“Ah… I see.”

She hadn’t known that, having never paid much attention.

“That must be quite exhausting.”

“Not at all. It’s a great honor to work at the Imperial Academy.”

As Karon spoke somewhat awkwardly, his gaze fell on Miho.

“What’s this…?”

“Oh, it’s a familiar.”

“Yip!”

“What an adorable Arctic fox. It suits you, Lady Hersy.”

Hersy shook her head.

“No, this is actually Ruide’s familiar.”

She’d been asked about it by several students and professors during class. Each time, Hersy had proudly explained.

A familiar was considered equivalent to family.

Entrusting such a being to someone meant they must be extremely close.

Simply by inviting the question, she could show off her close relationship with Ruide.

While she wasn’t exactly going around bragging, Hersy couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride.

After all, she was known to be the only person currently close to that lazy Ruide.

Karon’s reaction was no different. His pupils dilated in surprise.

“This is Lord Ruide’s… Now I understand. Especially since it’s an Arctic fox.”

“Hehe. Right? Though it probably suits Ruide’s arms better than mine.”

“Ah. Actually, Lord Ruide came to the library earlier. Are you meeting him?”

“…The library?”

“…You didn’t know?”

Hersy nodded three times.

Karon’s face filled with dismay.

“I, I’m terribly sorry, but could you please forget what I just said…”

“Pardon?”

Karon squeezed his eyes shut. He had made a mistake. Failing to keep a visitor’s secret was unacceptable for a gatekeeper.

“He seemed to have come discreetly. I apologize. Please don’t ask any more questions.”

“Ah…”

Hersy smiled brightly to ease Karon’s guilt.

“If I see Ruide, I’ll have to act surprised. What a coincidence, I’ll say.”

Karon’s face brightened.

“Thank you.”

“Not at all. May I go in?”

“Of course!”

Hersy opened the door to enter the library.

[There are nine people staring at you from behind.]

‘Huh?’

Hersy turned around.

There was a group of about ten commoners huddled together, whispering while looking in her direction—

Hersy had good intuition, and something felt off.

‘Miho, could I ask you a favor?’

[Yes?]

‘Could you secretly listen to their conversation? Without being noticed, of course.’

Miho winked one eye.

[Leave it to me!]

The fox’s body turned invisible.

**

“Hersy Minerva wasn’t part of the calculation. What should we do?”

“We have no choice. Opportunities like this are rare—”

The group of commoners stood with their backs against the wall, looking toward the library while whispering.

They made eye contact with Karon’s stern face but paid him little mind.

They’d been doing this for a week already.

“We need to strike at 7 PM closing time. Especially today, since the Chancellor is away on business.”

“…I’m scared.”

A timid-looking commoner stared at the ground and spoke softly.

“What if we all get expelled? Magic use is forbidden.”

“Are you stupid?”

A sharp-eyed female commoner scolded him.

“There are 30 commoners participating in this operation. We have three people inside too. Do you think those arrogant nobles won’t use magic? They can’t punish that many people.”

Their plan was to forcibly occupy the library.

Afterward, they would cause a commotion by collectively using magic in the sky.

With the Chancellor gone and unfriendly to commoners anyway, the Vice Chancellor, “Professor Fenicia Finance,” would come to handle the situation.

Fenicia was a professor very friendly to commoners. They were confident she would take their side.

“Once we take over by force, it’s done. We’ll put those arrogant nobles in their place. Then we’ll use it as leverage, saying, ‘If the strongest should guard the library, why couldn’t you even stop mere commoners?'”

Their ultimate goal went beyond occupying the library—they wanted to place commoners among the staff assigned to the Every Library.

The reason nobles controlled the library was because all staff members were nobles. There were eight positions in total—librarians, managers, gatekeepers—and their plan would succeed if they could place commoners in just four of them.

“And stop acting weak now, Hans. If you like Hannah, show some masculinity—”

Pot-bellied Hans slumped his shoulders dejectedly.

“Can we… really do this?”

“Of course!”

Frank, nicknamed “Skinny,” grabbed Hans’s shoulder.

“You idiot! Justice is on our side! Right, Justin?”

Justin, who had been silent until now, sighed and spoke.

“This is too violent. Isn’t there any other way? If we all just created a forum for discussion—”

“Discussion? With those arrogant nobles who look down on us for being clean?”

Justin was immediately met with opposition.

“Justin, you’re our leader, aren’t you? How do you think the others will feel if you talk like that? Take some responsibility.”

“…If that’s what everyone thinks, I should follow. Alright.”

“Now, it’s almost 6 o’clock. Let’s think about our strategy.”

They huddled together, crouching down.

“First, Catherine will distract that big guy. Make a bigger fuss than usual. Meanwhile, we’ll surround the area secretly. And then…”

They were unaware.

An Arctic fox was comfortably listening to their entire conversation.

**

“W-what?”

Hersy, who had been reading a book at the table, widened her eyes after hearing Miho’s report.

Looking around cautiously, she spoke inwardly.

‘Is that true?’

[Spirits can’t lie.]

‘Goodness… What’s wrong with those commoners?’

Hersy could hardly believe it. The commoners’ plan was beyond common sense.

‘Do they really want to get expelled as a group?? Forceful occupation?’

After thinking for a moment, Hersy realized that the commoners’ audacious plan might actually work.

Of course, the nobles here would respond, and then the academy would have to discipline too many students.

Especially if the commoners drove out the Experts and took their positions, the problem would become serious.

The library staff might really change as they wanted. Regardless of the reason, the staff had failed to protect the library from intruders. That made them unqualified.

‘…Those crazy fools. I’ve been spending so much time with peaceful Ruide that I forgot. Being a commoner is hell.’

Hersy stood up. She planned to go and scold them, somewhere private.

But at that moment.

Ruide’s words flashed through her mind.

-Hersy, you’ll be the final boss.

‘…Could this be what he meant?’

Hersy’s mind raced.

The instruction to come to the library by 6 PM.

And the commoners’ attack was also planned for 6 PM.

This meant… Ruide likely knew about this incident.

If so, the meaning of “final boss” was…

‘…You were bored, weren’t you?’

Hersy slumped her shoulders.

She looked around.

Somehow, she felt like Ruide was hiding somewhere, watching.

**

“It’s starting.”

Ruide’s eyes sparkled as he watched the commotion unfolding outside the library.

He picked up a bread roll he had prepared in advance. Using a crescent-shaped knife, he spread kaymak on the bread.

Kaymak was a dairy product made by collecting and solidifying milk fat into a cream-like substance.

It was a very luxurious food, and one of the few normal foods not affected by ruthless detoxification magic.

After spreading plenty of kaymak, Ruide took a big bite.

Crunch—

A rich flavor filled his mouth. The kaymak, made from freshly squeezed milk, was incredibly savory.

It was beyond description. This was a heavenly taste.

“…This is the life.”

Ruide murmured in admiration as he looked ahead. The entertainment couldn’t be missed either.

-What do you think you’re doing?!

-You’ve had it good until now, haven’t you? This is the magic of discrimination we’ve endured!

-Y-you’re using magic in the academy…! Have you lost your minds?!

-Shut up, idiot.

“Hmm. You can’t beat commoners with words.”

Karon stammered, unable to speak properly. He seemed unable to collect himself after hearing such harsh insults for the first time in his life.

Ruide looked at him sympathetically and reached out to rummage through his spatial storage.

“Found it.”

Ruide smiled brightly as he pulled out a glass jar. The label on the jar read “Ruide’s” in elegant handwriting.

It was a honey jar.

Food should always be modified to taste better. For example, when eating pork cutlet, the first bite should be with salt, the next with wasabi, then with cutlet sauce. That’s what makes one a true gourmet.

In that spirit, Ruide spread kaymak on his bread and then drizzled honey over it.

“Mmm.”

This was a privilege known only to those who had tried it. Before tasting this century’s delicacy, Ruide watched the magical battle unfolding.

Lights of various colors collided, looking just like beautiful fireworks.

Ruide took another bite.

Crunch—

The rich flavor spread throughout his mouth.

The sweet honey gathered diligently by bees made it twice as delicious when combined with the kaymak.

Just then, one of the commoners hiding inside opened the library door.

-The library door is open! Everyone charge!

-Yaaah!

A battle cry announcing the start of the real episode rang out vividly.

Ruide clenched his fist and cheered quietly.

“Go Hersy…!”