Youngest 138
by Cristae138
Beneath my knee, the lightweight fabric of my indoor dress fluttered. Is he growing not just taller, but more perceptive too?
“I just fell on the field today—scraped it a bit, that’s all…”
“Can I have a look?”
Khalid stepped in, suddenly asking. His eyebrows were raised high—clearly, he wouldn’t back down so easily.
With no other choice, I crouched on the floor and started to lift my skirt. Just then, a gentle hand caught my arm and stopped me.
“Please, honestly.”
“What? Again!”
“You said you hurt your knee. Sit here.”
Anyone would think I’d broken my leg!
‘And it’s not like I wasn’t crouched down plenty by the tree before.’
Ah, is that how he noticed?
Anyway, I grumbled inwardly as I sat down on the makeshift bench Khalid pointed to. It was one of those rest seats set along the corridor.
The hallway near the old library was devoid of even a single lantern, shrouded in darkness. But the moon was so bright that it wasn’t hard to see each other’s faces.
“……”
When I lifted my hem a little, a knee covered in haphazard plasters was revealed.
Khalid bent over, almost pressing his nose to my knee to examine it, every line of his face focused in concentration.
“Who did this to you?”
“I tripped during a run…”
I muttered, brushing it off.
“Sigh… Did you use any medicine?”
“I put some on this morning, but I forgot to apply it again tonight.”
I’d been too distracted by the library business to remember.
When I gave an awkward laugh, Khalid sighed once more and fished through his pocket.
In the pale moonlight, a clear ointment, disinfectant, and fresh plasters appeared.
“…You seriously carry all this around? It’s not like you’re on a battlefield anymore—what do you expect is going to happen that you carry these?”
He murmured lightly as he opened the ointment lid.
“You try going to the infirmary five times a day. You’ll come back with at least one of these.”
Ah, the truant boy.
“Well, I’m always sent away with something like this.”
With a most careful hand, he peeled away the old bandage.
“Unlike you, I’m not the kind of kid who skips—ow.”
As I was about to retort, distracted, something cold touched my knee. I flinched involuntarily.
“You okay? Sorry.”
Khalid looked even more startled than I did.
Hoo, hoo.
A gentle breath fell over my knee. Outside, the chirring song of autumn crickets drifted in through the window.
“I’ll be gentle.”
“Uh… uh…”
What is this? Why does it feel so strange…?
I could only clutch my skirt, frozen in confusion.
The loud thumping of my heart drowned out the crickets outside.
‘This is so awkward!’
Why is he gazing at my knee with such grave eyes? Why does his breath tickle so much? Why are his eyelashes so absurdly long?
“…Why are you squeezing your eyes shut like that?”
I couldn’t take it anymore.
I slapped a bandage on carelessly and sprang to my feet.
“If you’re that rough, you’ll just make it worse—”
“Khalid! I feel awkward!”
“What?”
Khalid frowned skeptically. I shook my head, inching backwards.
“I don’t know! It’s just… right now, everything you’re doing is making me awkward!”
It’s so hot! Is it summer again?
“Why? What’s wrong?”
I muttered, bewildered. Khalid was openly displeased as I kept backing away.
“How should I know? Come on, let’s just go together.”
“No! Just—keep a one-meter distance, okay?”
“What? One meter? Did you mean one millimeter?”
“Cut it out!”
I shouted, indignant, and in that instant our eyes met.
“……”
“……”
“Aaaaaah! This is so awkward! Why is it so awkward!”
I whirled around and bolted down the corridor.
Khalid chased after me, grumbling in exasperation.
“What did I do wrong, exactly!”
“I don’t know! Just stop following me!”
“I said, let’s walk together! What if a ghost appears!”
“Right now, you’re scarier!”
“I am not a ghost!”
And so an unexpected moonlit chase began.
A corner near the old library, now deserted.
Scratch.
In a pool of darkness where no moonbeam reached.
A quiet shadow quivered ever so slightly, then split open.
“Those kids are full of energy as always…”
Liam Zevert crawled out of his concealment tarp and stretched briefly. In one hand, he held a well-thumbed biology tome.
“I wondered if she might wander here alone—but she showed up with that cheeky little brat…”
Liam found he couldn’t concentrate at all during the anticipated debate meeting.
He kept thinking: Maybe Rubian will come to the old library today.
What if she’s scared and crying by herself? The thought had made him rise and sneak over secretly.
“This absolutely has to be discussed with Father.”
Trying to calm his irritation, he eyed the space before the library.
“What a mess, not even closing the door properly… If she gets caught, how much will she weep over it? Really impossibly careless and adorable.”
Just as he went to lock the door, keys dangling, Liam paused.
Through the slightly open gap, the tightly packed books caught his curiosity.
“What could be so interesting about ancient books?”
…Still, if he wanted to talk to his youngest sister for years to come, it was better to share her interests, right?
Cautiously, he entered the library and turned over a book in his hands. Some volumes were filled with oddly blank pages, but what seized his attention was something else entirely.
“Wait… Is this… an illustration of an ancient Magical Beast?”
Ha… ha! Ha!
Liam’s eyes sparkled as he examined the drawing.
“All right, my next mentor is Yuriope Molton.”
Clearly, nothing but good comes from following Rubian around.
‘But…’
His hand, reaching for another book, froze in midair.
‘What did that mean…?’
His sharp gaze fixed on empty space. In his ears, his beloved little sister’s clear, small voice echoed.
“You seriously carry all this around? It’s not like you’re on a battlefield anymore—”
“…Battlefield?”
What did she mean by that? Was it simply a metaphor for a difficult past?
‘…It must be, right?’
But.
Why does it bother me so much?
Liam absentmindedly stroked the page, tilting his head.
Day 8 of camp!
After resolving the old library’s blank-page phenomenon, my days at camp flowed by peacefully and calmly.
Of course, I didn’t forget to give Yuriope a hint that the library issue was solved.
The very next morning after sneaking in.
Over breakfast, as usual, I casually mentioned to him,
“Professor! I was thinking all night, and since it’s a library problem, shouldn’t the answer be found inside the library?”
“…Inside the library?”
“Yes! Maybe examine carefully what can only be found in the library…”
“Well. I didn’t find anything special.”
Before leaving the library, I’d buried a book beneath the tree, shallow enough that the top corner stuck out.
It was a book I’d scribbled old language into by magic.
And, the next day, Yuriope found it in the library.
“I chanced upon this old book called How to Draw a Squirrel. I thought Miss Rubian might find it interesting, so I brought it—I’ll read it for you.”
“Huh? Professor! This book is strange!”
I watched as Yuriope traced the script with his finger and said,
“Didn’t you say you read the ancient language from top to bottom? But your finger is moving across the page…”
“Ah, yes. This one is written horizontally… Hm? Wait a second.”
Yuriope paused, eyes sharpening with intrigue.
He slowly traced down the beginning of a vertical paragraph, reading again.
“…‘Pour water from Lake Raim into the library tree… If so, the library’s abnormal phenomenon will cease…’ Good heavens! This is—!”
I swung my legs, feigning ignorance.
‘However, this secret must be kept forever. If not, the goddess’s curse will befall the library once more.’
I recited the next line inwardly.