Youngest 128

128
We crept along quietly, Khalid leading the way with me following close behind.

For a moment, it felt as if we’d slipped back into the past. There had been times before when the two of us moved about secretly just like this…

‘Although back then, the circumstances were much harsher.’

Just then—

From outside the door came the sound of the attendant’s polite clearing of his throat.

As we moved silently between the bookshelves, Khalid halted abruptly—and lost in thought, I walked right into his back, my forehead thumping against him.

“Ow.”

“You okay? Sorry.”

Khalid quickly turned to check my forehead. I grinned, rubbing the spot I’d collided.

“I’m fine! Let’s keep going.”

Ow, my forehead. Did I hit the bone? That was hard.

I waved my hand dismissively as if it meant nothing, but the boy fell silent and just stared at me.

“Why aren’t you moving?”

“Take my hand.”

“Huh?”

I stared blankly at the hand he held out to me.

“So you don’t bump into me again.”

“…”

My head tilted slightly.

Uh…

‘What’s this?’

Late-afternoon sunlight pooled gently at Khalid’s fingertips.

So… holding hands wasn’t a strange thing for us.

We’d often overlapped our hands for magic-related reasons, and when we made our escapes together…

‘Come to think of it, haven’t I grabbed on to him plenty of times, clung to him, whispered secrets close?’

Suddenly, inexplicably, my scalp flushed with heat.

‘What is this? Why does it suddenly feel so awkward?!’

Was it because Khalid looked unfamiliar, dressed neatly in the academy uniform? Or was it because this place was just so peaceful?

“Rubian and Khalid… what kind of relationship are they in?”

“You two are glued together way more than me and Khalid ever were, you know?”

Why!

Why did Titi’s words have to come to mind right now?!

I shook my head back and forth. Khalid’s shoulders drooped a little as if crestfallen.

“…My hands are clean, you know. Do you not want to?”

“Huh?”

“You just shook your head.”

“No, that’s not what I meant—”

Stumbling over my words, I reached out almost defiantly and grabbed Khalid’s hand. It was nearly an act of sheer stubbornness.

“Not at all! Why would I ever mind? It’s something we do all the time!”

“…”

“Let’s, let’s go!”

“…Are you sick? Your face looks kind of…”

“C-could you not look at me? I’m self-conscious about my face!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nonsense!”

Khalid pressed his lips together, wearing a disgruntled expression. Then, he gripped my hand tightly.

“All right, let’s just calm down and go. I’ll hold on tight, so you don’t have to.”

“O-okay…”

A slightly cool temperature lingered at the tips of my fingers. We continued to walk carefully behind the shelves.

Watching the figure in the gray sweater ahead of me, I thought: whenever the wind blew, Khalid always carried that pleasant scent.

‘But do close friends ever walk hand in hand like this?’

Does Titi sometimes hold hands with that friend she’s not always stuck to?

At times like this, I couldn’t help but resent my past self a little for never making a proper friend in my previous life.

For some reason, I couldn’t lift my burning face.

Step, step.

In a place filled with the hush of the whole world, only our footsteps echoed.

A gentle autumn breeze slipped in through a window the attendant had left open; Khalid’s fine hair fluttered softly in its path.

‘It’s hot.’

I took a short, shallow breath and looked away.

‘Summer must not be over yet.’

Yes, that must be it.

Because… Look at that.

His neckline is a little flushed, too.

---

“There it is.”

Peeking out from behind a decoration, I whispered.

A long corridor extended behind the central staircase. At its far end stood a massive door.

“…It says ‘Old Collection,’ doesn’t it?”

Khalid murmured softly from behind.

The archive at the very heart of the library.

A thick brown door, tightly shut, barred with a lock bigger than both my fists pressed together.

The sign, nailed to the entrance, immediately drew the eye.

I cocked my head.

“Why is it restricted? Because of the old books? Are they hard to preserve?”

“Maybe. But for something like that, the sign looks brand new.”

“Huh, you’re right…”

At Khalid’s words I looked again; the sign almost gleamed, as if it had only just been put up.

It was as if a new reason had arisen to protect the old collection.

“Hmm. What should we do?”

I narrowed my eyes at the lock, wondering if we should wait for someone with access to enter.

“…Huh?”

As if in a trance, I straightened up.

“Ruby?”

My legs seemed to move of their own accord. Behind me, Khalid tried uneasily to grip my shoulder, but that wasn’t important now.

There was something I had to confirm, right away.

I stopped squarely in front of the old collection door.

“…Look at this, Khalid.”

I touched the massive lock with my hand.

“Unlike the sign, this is ancient.”

“Well, yes, but more importantly—”

I raised my head. I hadn’t seen wrong. The power lingering on this lock was…

“Magic.”

“What?”

“There’s a spell on this lock.”

My eyes met Khalid’s.

Just then—

“Who’s there?”

Footsteps drew near, the attendant approaching.

“Oh—so you’re camp participants. Did you get lost? This is a restricted area; come with me, please.”

The attendant smiled kindly and led me back to the children’s library.

My supervising professor had evidently been looking for me, and now, at the sight of me, their relief was obvious.

Just then, the other children seemed to be coming outside, having finished their tour of the library.

“I told you not to wander off, didn’t I?”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

I apologized politely.

“Well, now that the library tour is over for the others, let’s all go outside together. By the way… that student?”

“Oh, he must have gotten lost with her.”

The attendant added shortly, glancing at Khalid.

“Looks like he’s an A-Class student, too. How did you end up here?”

“I got lost looking for the infirmary.”

Khalid answered curtly, and the professor looked troubled.

“Oh dear. Madam Elaine, could I impose on you?”

“Of course. I’ll show you the way—come along.”

The attendant gestured for Khalid to follow.

Without hesitation, Khalid did so. Our eyes met briefly for the last time.

In that same moment, a small squirrel zipped out. It happened so fast, no one noticed.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

I left the library with the professor.

I explored various spots around the academy after that, but my thoughts stayed fixated on one thing.

‘Why would there be a magic lock in the Babylon Empire library?’

My steps halted before a large lake.

“And now, for our final activity: we’ll be returning to the dormitory by boat across Lake Leim, another pride of our academy!”

The professor spoke triumphantly, pairing off the children two by two.

Since we had to return to the dormitories, we were naturally assigned to share boats with our roommates.

“Rubian. You vanished earlier and startled me.”

Sortie whispered gently.

Lake Leim was one of the academy’s celebrated sights, famed for its scenic beauty. I remembered hearing how Void had once tried fishing from a boat here and got scolded for it.

“Yeah… I got lost somehow.”

“Come to think of it, I think your brothers were in the library earlier. Did you run off to get away from them?”

“Ah, well…”

I replied absentmindedly, lost in thought.

‘Magic lock…’

Gazing at the blue ripples, the thought rose again.

Just who could have set up a device like that?

‘It wasn’t the sort of simple magic tool ordinary people can use…’

It was a highly complex form, woven from intricate magic circles. Which meant—

‘Whoever installed it is a mage.’

But what kind of mage would come all the way here, to the academy in the Babylon capital, and use magic?

“Titi, have you ever heard of… a mage being admitted to the academy?”

“Eh? Wouldn’t that be the kind of thing to go down in the history books?”

“…Right?”

I pulled my knees up again. Sortie was entranced by the lakeside autumn foliage and didn’t pay much mind to my question.

Of course, no mage had ever been a student or professor here. And it couldn’t have been a servant, either.

For that matter, even official dispatches of mages weren’t sent to Bamiless, the capital.

‘Could it have been a fugitive mage…?’

But would someone on the run take such a risk? Why?

And it was just an archive of old books, nothing more. Not forbidden texts. Why go to such lengths to seal it?

‘Whatever the case, there must be something there.’

I bit down hard on my lower lip. Honestly, I wanted there to be something more than anything.

Almost without thinking, my hand reached for my lower back.

‘Whatever it is, please, let me find a way to escape this Crest!’

I want so badly to become a true member of the Zevert family.

“Rubian, looks like we have to row all the way over there! The lake is huge, isn’t it?”

Sortie laughed happily.

I smiled, about to nod in agreement—when my eyes suddenly widened, and I doubled over reflexively.

“Uhh…”