Chapter 5: The Library Encounter

I had to get off the carriage just three hours after leaving the Duke’s Territory.

It wasn’t because of any sudden accident or anything like that.

It’s just that you can’t enter the gate while still riding in the carriage.

For reference, this gate is simply a shortened form of ‘Warp Gate,’ and is just a means of transportation.

It’s different from the gates that often appear in hunter stories.

But that doesn’t mean that the latter kind of gate doesn’t exist in this world.

There are things that, while not exactly the same, are similar.

They’re called ‘Demonic Realms.’

And as for the group of people who would be called ‘hunters’ in a modern fantasy genre, in this world they’re called ‘Einherjar,’ and individuals are called ‘Einheri.’

That’s also why the title of the novel I’ve possessed is 《I Alone Am SSS-Class Einheri》.

‘Come to think of it, doesn’t the author of this novel really like Norse mythology?’

Einherjar or Einheri. These are words referring to warriors who appear in Norse mythology.

In the myth, they fought bravely in battle, and after dying, were guided by valkyries to Valhalla, preparing for the end of the world.

And now, the name of the academy I’m heading to is also Valhalla.

That’s not all, either.

The author’s pen name is ‘senna,’ In Norse, it means ‘quarrel’ or ‘heated argument.’

It can also mean ‘a duel with words instead of swords’ or ‘an insult game in the form of a song.’

In modern terms, it’s kind of like a ‘diss rap battle.’

Among these, the poem ‘Loki’s Quarrel’ is famous, since it’s about Loki insulting the gods. If you’re curious, look it up yourself.

Anyway, talking about the author’s love for Norse mythology has made this explanation part a bit long.

So I’ll talk about the difference between Demonic Realms in this novel and the gates in regular hunter stories later.

After all, Demonic Realms don’t start appearing in earnest until the first-year closing ceremony.

For now, I’ll just briefly mention that a Demonic Realm was created only once in the past, and that’s when the protagonist’s parents died.

If I keep laying out every unnecessary setting, the story will never move forward.

And when the time comes, everyone will have forgotten anyway, so I’ll have to explain it again, and that would just be a waste of words.

With that in mind, I’ll skip the whole process of passing through the gate and taking a hired carriage to the academy.

Same goes for the process of secretly checking the map I’d prepared like a cheat sheet, wandering around to find the dormitory building where my room is.

‘It was really lucky that, since it’s a week before classes start, there were hardly any students on campus.’

Some of you may have already guessed from the above sentence, but for those who haven’t, let me make it clear.

I have no intention of using the amnesia setting at the academy.

After all, the aristocratic society in fantasy novels is a world of survival of the fittest, where you’re eaten the moment you let your guard down.

And once the Familiar is born, there will be plenty of people talking behind my back, looking down on the body I’ve possessed.

If you add amnesia on top of that, I’d be even more of an easy target.

‘Besides, I’m planning to fill this semester’s timetable with combat courses. But if I say I have amnesia, how will people take it? They’ll definitely sneer and say I’m avoiding theory classes because I have nothing in my head, right?’

And more than anything else.

If I say to the original protagonist, ‘I bullied you, didn’t I? I can’t remember anything because I lost my memory, but, anyway, I’m sorry.’—would that really make the grudge go away?

Even if I properly apologize, it’s doubtful whether they’d forgive me, so that’s not going to work.

And as it happens, Hard Austri also wanted to hide the state of his youngest son and the reason behind it.

Even before I could say that I wouldn’t let the fact that I’d lost my memory (?) be known to outsiders, he handed over documents investigating the possessed body’s relationships and a list of names, telling me to take care of it as I saw fit.

Of course, he didn’t come tell me directly; he conveyed his intentions through Yon Leifson.

‘It doesn’t feel great to just follow whatever Hard tells me… but if our interests align, I guess it’s not so bad?’

***

When I arrived at the dormitory room, the possessions of the body I’d possessed were already there.

These were things Karvald Austri had used last semester and left behind when he returned home.

‘Did he do that because he figured that if the family came to collect his things, his death would inevitably be revealed?’

‘Or did he simply trust that Hard would take measures to make sure he wouldn’t die?’

Whatever the reason, it was convenient for me.

Thanks to the dust that had settled during two months of neglect, I had to do some cleaning, but there was hardly any need to unpack.

As a result, even the bag I’d brought was light enough to carry with one hand.

“I’ll clean up later… For now, I should check out the library first.”

As I mentioned before, Valhalla Academy is still on break.

Even so, instead of spending every last moment in the Duke’s Territory studying, I arrived here a whole week early.

It’s not because I was tired of learning and wanted to run away to rest. I had my own reasons.

The first reason was to get familiar with the academy’s layout before the semester started.

I had roughly memorized the locations of classrooms and other facilities using the map, but actually walking around would feel different.

You could say it’s an extension of acting as ‘Karvald Austri who hasn’t lost his memory.’

And the second reason is the very place I’m heading to now—the library.

Regarding the eyes of this possessed body, the original described them as partially losing color and becoming mottled.

Still, the blue part is a color in its own right.

‘Maybe it’s just that his talent hasn’t awakened, and this body has a different ability instead of poison.’

If, as I suspect, this body was a character who would be added as a companion to the protagonist, the possibility is more than enough.

A character who, after a troubled past, went astray and committed evil, but then repented.

It’s a classic, not just a cliché, for someone to awaken hidden potential as they grow mentally.

As you can see from the Austri Ducal Family, just because someone has two abilities doesn’t mean their eyes have two colors.

But there is a person who gained a new ability and became an odd-eyed at the same time.

That person is the protagonist of 《Nas-e》 and the only current Awakened—Leisir Daudabina.

Here, ‘Awakened’ is the same concept as in hunter stories; when you awaken, you can see your own status window and skill window.

Leisir was caught up in the first Demonic Realm that appeared in this world and awakened.

Thanks to his parents’ sacrifice, he landed the finishing blow on a boss monster in a near-death state and, as a reward for being the ‘first to clear a Demonic Realm,’ received Silver Ethere as a bonus.

‘The original protagonist was a case of acquiring two types of Aether after the fact, and they balanced each other. But what if someone was born with two types of Aether, but one was too weak to manifest its power?’

With that hypothesis, I spent my sleeping hours digging through books on Aether in the Duke’s Territory library.

But as you can tell from where I’m heading now, I found nothing.

All I got were darker eye bags from the accumulated fatigue.

Now, the only thing left to hope for is the library at Valhalla Academy, nicknamed the ‘greatest repository of knowledge on earth.’

“Alright, I’ll be back soon, so look after the room, okay?”

The Familiar Egg, still in its shell, has no ability to guard anything.

Knowing this, I gently stroked the Familiar Egg placed carefully on the table and spoke kindly before leaving the room.

A Familiar Egg is absolutely unbreakable.

Additionally, since the Familiar and its master are connected via Aether, its location can always be tracked, so there’s no risk of it being stolen.

Even so, since the Familiar Egg wasn’t my only valuable, I locked the door carefully before heading to my destination.

‘While I’m at it, maybe I’ll take a quick peek at what novels are like in this world.’

I had my reasons for walking all the way to the library, but a sparrow can’t just pass by a mill.

While I was in the Duke’s Territory, I was always under watch.

There was so much to learn, and on top of that, I was busy searching for books on Aether, so I never had any free time.

That’s why, until now, I’d deliberately ignored the novel shelves, but things are a little different now.

I still have a lot of knowledge to memorize and need to get familiar with the academy’s layout.

I also need to practice Karvald Austri’s handwriting.

‘But surely, compared to after classes start, I have more free time now…?’

Persuaded by my own logic, I headed straight to the fiction section as soon as I arrived at the library.

***

I skimmed through the titles, and they were all impressive and elegant. The writer’s thoughtfulness was evident.

But should I say the information value in the titles was lacking? I couldn’t guess the contents at all, which was a bit disappointing.

‘I know I shouldn’t compare them to web novels, where the core keywords and plot are hammered into the title…

But none of them gave me that strong “this looks fun!” feeling or piqued my curiosity at a glance.’

So, I just picked up any book at random and flipped it open.

To put it nicely, the writing was ornate and elegant.

To put it harshly, it was so exaggerated it was exhausting.

Heavy, lengthy sentences packed densely like bricks filled every page.

It’s not that I dislike complex sentences, but right now, I want something light to read during study breaks.

With books like these, you have to read and understand every sentence, so it takes too long and feels burdensome.

Regretfully, I flipped through three or four more books and was about to turn away when a sudden gasp from somewhere stopped me in my tracks.

“Gasp! When did the sequels come out in such numbers? There are even four new releases? Wait, does that mean the earlier ones are finished?”

In a place as quiet as this, even a small mutter rings out clearly.

So it wasn’t hard to pinpoint the direction the voice came from.

The fiction section of this vast library was tucked away in a corner, and the voice was coming from an even deeper, more secluded spot.

‘Since I’ve come this far, I might as well check it out.’

I was curious what kind of novel could make a reader burst out with such an exclamation.

Right now, I didn’t want to read anything heavy that would make me use my brain, but I decided to at least note the title for later.

‘But why are the bookshelves arranged like this? It’s so inconvenient.’

The fiction section of this library had shelves arranged in a repeating ‘ㄹ’ shape, winding and long.

I don’t know what they were thinking with this layout.

From what I glimpsed earlier, other sections had shelves arranged in straight rows with open sides, so you could find the books you needed without walking far.

Wondering about this peculiar structure, I moved forward, scanning the spines of the books, and then something happened that made me doubt my eyes.

At some point, the shelves were filled with books that had special characters instead of the author’s pen name.

Moreover, the titles were getting longer, and full-sentence titles were becoming more common, just like the web novels from my previous world.

‘Wha… What is this…?’

Looking closely, there were quite a few titles that seemed familiar.

Some even had exactly the same titles as web novels I’d read.

I was dying to open one right now to check if it was really the novel I knew.

But again, someone’s muttering led my footsteps onward.

‘Should I borrow two previous volumes and two new releases, or just borrow the earlier ones first?’ That is the question—

“Roda…”

Suppressing my confusion and bewilderment, I walked as quietly as possible through the corridor-like rows of shelves.

And when I turned one more corner—

I finally found the owner of the voice.

It may be sudden, but I feel like I need to reveal the third reason I came to the academy a week early at this point.

Because it’s closely related to what’s happening now.

Or rather, the very person who is that reason appeared before my eyes.

‘I was planning to find the protagonist and apologize before school started, but I never expected to run into him in a place like this…!’

That’s right.

The muttering I’d been hearing all along belonged to the original protagonist, Leisir Daudabina.