Youngest 131
by CristaeChapter 131
“…Looks like something’s in there. I’ll go check it out first.”
The squirrel perched on top of Khalid’s head leapt down with a flick and scampered away. It, too, darted quickly through the labyrinthine shelves.
I held my lamp up and peered at a book wedged right beside me.
“…This is…”
At that moment, the lower part of the previously intact spine began to peel away.
Rustle. Fragile, old fragments of paper scattered.
Surely it wasn’t my gaze that made the book nervous…
I frowned.
“Why are the books… suddenly acting like this?”
To check, I used a levitation spell to carefully pull out a book. As I gingerly turned the pages, I suddenly stopped.
“They’re blank.”
The table of contents was completely empty.
To be precise, it wasn’t a perfect blank. Some characters had been erased or faded, leaving the text illegible.
“The books here… are being erased.”
I murmured to myself.
Then, the covers of other books began to crumble away, disintegrating.
“No, no.”
My mind raced. A pink gleam flickered across my eyes.
I took out another book to check.
Every book was being erased, page by page, from the beginning.
“It’s not that the contents are disappearing…”
I jerked my head up.
Endless rows of black shelves stretched away into the distance before my eyes.
“The books are aging.”
It was at that instant.
“Ruby!”
Khalid, who had disappeared between the desks, appeared before me with a look of urgency and seized my wrist.
“Someone’s coming.”
“What? Someone’s coming to the library at this hour?”
“Yes. We have to leave right now. Hurry.”
Regrettably, our investigation ended there.
With someone suddenly approaching, exploring deep into the ancient library was no longer possible.
With no other choice, I returned to the dormitory with Khalid.
“Hmmm…”
Click. As I gently closed the door, Sortie stirred briefly in her sleep. I stood on tiptoes and crept onto the bed.
“Whew.”
Only when I sank into the soft covers did I dare let out a shallow sigh.
‘The ancient books are being erased.’
The scene I had just witnessed was still vivid in my mind.
‘There might be a clue in there to solving the problem of the Crest…’
The immense magic that filled the library’s depths.
Remembering it, my suspicion became almost a certainty.
‘I need to figure out the cause first.’
At this rate, every book in the library faced the threat of crumbling to dust.
“Whew…”
In any case, I was truly exhausted.
I pulled the blanket up to my nose. Buried in the soft bedding, my body seemed to melt like jelly.
‘I can’t keep sneaking around every night like this.’
Dodging the night guards was draining beyond words. My heart was still pounding wildly.
What if I actually got caught and was expelled?
If my identity were discovered, wouldn’t my whole family be disgraced?
‘Even Void and Liam haven’t been thrown out yet—there’s no way I’ll be the first…’
No, no. I’m the dutiful daughter, after all…
Right as I was about to drift off, I slightly cocked my head.
‘But do I really have to sneak around? It’s not technically a “forbidden” area, is it?’
If I asked permission, wouldn’t I at least be allowed a look inside?
‘Which professor is in charge of the library…?’
I remember the explanation from earlier today.
Yul… Yul… What was it again…
My consciousness slowly began to fade.
“Huaam.”
Fuel exhausted. I’ll think about it again tomorrow.
With a huge yawn, I rubbed my eyes. Too tired for today, so good night, everyone.
Ch. 13
“Hello, I’m Professor Yuliophe Molton, linguistics. I’m also in charge of overseeing this camp.”
The next day, we all gathered in a large classroom, huddled together.
It was the first day of our official class activities.
‘The library professor!’
I stared intently at the young professor, his fatigue plastered all over his face.
Yuliophe cracked open a fatigue recovery drink with a dull hiss, mumbling.
“This morning we’ll have a brief indoor activity, and then in the afternoon an outdoor trip… Cough, cough.”
He couldn’t even finish speaking before he was racked by a fit of coughs.
Sortie whispered beside me.
“Professor… looks really tired.”
“Yeah, really.”
I observed Yuliophe Molton as he stood at the podium.
Disheveled light-brown hair and sallow, patchy skin, eyes sunken with dark circles.
He clutched the fatigue recovery drink in one hand as if it were a lifeline, and held a battered old book in the other.
‘Oh? That book…’
My eyes widened a touch.
“Cough, cough, hack!”
“Professor, are you all right?”
At someone’s question, Yuliophe hastily downed his fatigue recovery drink, then produced a new one from within his coat and took it in hand.
“Yes, yes, of course. What you’re witnessing now is simply an adult worker tormented by chronic exhaustion. If you have any revelations watching me, please make careful career choices for yourselves. Understood?”
Hahaha… Ahaha…
A cracked laugh slipped from the thin, handsome man’s lips. He downed half his drink in a gulp.
“Phew, to do that, I highly recommend enrolling in a top-notch academy to secure even more opportunities… Ah, wait—that would just increase my workload if our academy’s admission rate rises, wouldn’t it…?”
Yuliophe muttered with a serious look, fiddling with the book in his hand.
Even with his spirit half gone, he handled the book with utmost care.
‘That’s definitely an ancient book.’
Because the letters on the spine were written in the old language.
I unconsciously read the title.
‘A record of the old capital, perhaps.’
That’s what I hazily guessed.
“I think the professor… has a lot on his mind.”
“Yeah.”
In response to Sortie’s whispered comment, I nodded along.
“Anyway, let’s all try to enjoy ourselves. At the end, we’ll have a presentation on the last night, and an outdoor party at Lake Reim. Working overtime—exciting, isn’t it?”
The professor mechanically forced a smile to his lips.
“Yeeees.”
“Haha, you’re all adorable, just adorable.”
Like someone waiting for the last leaf to fall, Yuliophe sank into his chair.
“Cough, cough… But wait, where’s my drink…”
With trembling hands, he searched his inner pocket. It seemed he’d finished everything he’d brought.
“Now now, everyone, just, just remain calm.”
He was the one in need of calming down.
“Can everyone stay seated for a bit? You can read the picture books in front of you. I just need to fetch something real quick…”
“Yeeees.”
The students answered quickly, filled with pity, and the professor hurried out of the classroom. Even then, he hugged the ancient book to his side as if it were a treasure.
“…Will Professor Yuliophe make it to the last day alive?”
Someone murmured.
“God, please let our teacher survive.”
The children folded their hands and prayed together.
At any rate, we quietly read the picture books already set out for us.
‘But why did he bring the ancient book in the first place?’
I absentmindedly flipped through the pages, lost in thought.
‘If he’s in charge of the library, he should know there’s something wrong with the books… or is he unaware?’
The face of that zombie-like, soon-to-collapse professor popped into my mind.
‘Yuliophe Molton…’
If memory serves, he didn’t have a happy ending in the original…
I was slowly pondering Yuliophe’s character when—
Tap.
Something struck my shoulder, then dropped onto the desk.
“What’s this?”
It was a hastily crumpled note. Since it was already half unfolded, I couldn’t help but glance at the contents.
Written, no less, in red ink.
‘Ugh, not this again.’
Looking around, I spotted a boy seated diagonally from me, head low.
The very same boy who’d been teased by Havan the day before. With his bushy hair, he looked like a small poodle.
“Hey. Hand it over.”
Just then, Havan snatched the note roughly from my hand.
“What are you staring at? Gonna throw a fit again?”
Sigh…
I took a deep breath. Hold it in, hold it in.
“Pfft. You’re nothing.”
Taking my silence for fear, Havan glared triumphantly, then strode away.
“What’s his problem…”
Sortie shot a glare at Havan’s retreating figure.
He immediately began to pick another fight with Zerdin.
“Oh, and you brought a ton of pens? Where’d you get all those? Some have jewels in them too! They’re fake, aren’t they?”
“No! Those are, th-they’re from my mother…!”
Unable to take it any longer, the boy with fluffy hair sprang to his feet. At that moment, Havan deliberately tossed one of the pens.
It rolled across the floor—and stopped right at my feet.
“…”
“Hey. Pick that up and bring it here.”