When Lucillea suddenly stopped walking, Cookie asked:
[What’s wrong, Lucy?]
“…The Silent Recording?”
Something about it stood out strangely. Or rather, it felt unnatural enough to bother her.
Among the reddish-brown books, a single green volume stood out so much that she wondered how she had failed to notice it earlier.
As if possessed, Lucillea reached out and pulled the book from the shelf.
“The Silent Recording: Memories of the Lost Forest”
It was odd.
This shelf was supposed to contain books about the Empire’s institutions and economy, so why was there a book about nature here?
Lucillea quickly returned to her seat and carefully opened the first page.
A strange feeling washed over her.
As though she were awakening something that had been sleeping for a very long time.
Back then, we were not alone.
Even the trees had names, and the passing wind carried warmth.
We asked them for directions, and they answered through the changing seasons.
Things resembling water and wind, fire and earth spoke to us, and we called them spirits.
In a communion that bloomed before words, we lived together with them.
“Spirits?!”
Immediately, May’s words about spirit masters came back to her.
“Long ago, there was an infamous— no, an incredibly powerful genius spirit master.”
That unfamiliar piece of lore was appearing again here.
Lucillea took out the necklace she had tucked beneath her clothes.
The peridot leaf sparkled under the library lamp.
“That spirit master decorated their magic wand with peridot. After that, it became quite popular among mages and spirit masters for a while.”
She stared at the World Tree-shaped pendant hanging from the chain before lowering it again.
“I thought it was just a legend, like the bedtime stories Grandma used to tell me.”
Spirit masters really existed?!
Since it was written in an ancient book preserved in the Grand Duke’s library, it probably wasn’t complete nonsense.
“There definitely wasn’t anything about spirits or spirit masters in the original novel.”
The story had mostly focused on the male lead Serdian’s aura and the female lead Cynthia’s divine power.
“Mages appeared once in a while, but only briefly.”
Spirits...
Lucillea decided to keep reading.
From Chapter 2 onward, the atmosphere was very different from the peaceful, mystical tone of the first chapter.
Mages with a strong affinity for nature became spirit masters, serving as intermediaries between spirits and humans.
However, their happy companionship did not last long.
Water dried up and trees withered.
Sparkling laughter disappeared.
The wind fell silent, and the earth cracked.
The spirits began to vanish little by little.
Then one day,
The last spirit master met their death.
And so, the spirits completely disappeared from sight.
That was how the final page ended.
“Once all the spirits disappeared, spirit masters vanished too.”
The last spirit master...
Why had they become the last one? Why did the remaining spirits hide themselves after that spirit master died?
The book didn’t explain the circumstances of the spirit master’s death.
It merely mourned it.
“Ugh, what an unsatisfying ending...”
She had started reading because she loved stories about nature and spirits, but the ending left a bad taste in her mouth.
And the fact that it might have been real made it even more frustrating.
Clicking her tongue, Lucillea closed the book.
Just then—
Bzzzzzzzz—!
The necklace suddenly began to vibrate.
“Huh? What’s wrong with it?”
[Lucy! The necklace is buzzing!]
“That’s what I’m saying. Why is it vibrating all of a sudden?”
The moment Lucillea looked down at the shaking necklace—
It shot up into the air as if it had been waiting for that very moment.
Fiiing—!
Lucillea was yanked forward.
“Gah!”
Startled, she reached out to grab it, but the necklace darted around nimbly as though mocking her.
Then it suddenly dropped down and—
SMACK!
—hit the top of her head hard enough to make a loud noise.
“OW!”
Lucillea stared at the necklace in disbelief.
“W-What? Did I just get hit by a necklace?”
[L-Lucy! It’s coming back!]
“Huh?”
Just as Cookie warned her, the necklace rose into the air again before plunging toward her head.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
“Ow! Hey! Stop! Ugh!”
Lucillea could do nothing but suffer under the necklace’s assault.
The top of her head and forehead throbbed painfully.
Then, suddenly, anger surged up inside her.
“Has this thing gone insane?!”
Deciding she couldn’t just sit there and take it, Lucillea waited for the right moment despite the repeated blows.
Finally—
SNAP!
“Got you, you little brat!”
She managed to seize the wildly struggling necklace and rubbed her burning scalp.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“You! The moment I leave this library, I’m melting you down!”
But perhaps it had somehow read her thoughts.
The necklace’s vibrations intensified before it shot upward again.
At the same time, Lucillea’s body rose with it.
“Aaaah!”
[Wow! Lucy! Can you fly too?!]
“I’m being dragged, you idiot!”
Then—
“AAAH!”
Lucillea let out a scream.
The necklace had started flying forward through the air while carrying her along.
“W-What is wrong with this thing?!”
[Lucy!]
Cookie flapped after her in alarm while Lucillea was helplessly dragged along.
The necklace raced straight between the bookshelves.
Its movements held no hesitation, as if it already knew exactly where it was going.
It moved so fast that her hair and dress fluttered wildly, and books tumbled from the shelves behind her.
“At this rate, the library will be destroyed!”
Oddly enough, Lucillea was more afraid of being kicked out of the Grand Duke’s estate than of being dragged away by a possessed necklace.
She hurriedly called out:
“May!”
Ah, right.
May was outside.
Except for the librarian and those chosen by the elite order, no one could enter this library.
And the entrance was far away.
There was no hope of receiving May’s help.
Lucillea looked around frantically.
But there wasn’t another person in sight.
“Is anyone there?!”
She shouted as loudly as she could, but nobody appeared.
Even the librarian she had greeted upon entering seemed to be absent.
She tried letting go of the necklace.
But—
“I can’t!”
For some reason, the hand gripping the necklace had gone rigid and refused to move.
Then—
[L-Lucy! A door! A door! A DOOOOOOR!]
“What?!”
[Y-You’re gonna crash!!]
At Cookie’s warning, Lucillea looked ahead.
A gigantic wooden door was rushing toward her at terrifying speed.
“I’m going to hit it!”
She squeezed her eyes shut.
BOOOOM—!
A thunderous crash erupted as she collided with something, and her body was thrown away by the impact.
For a moment, silence followed.
But something felt strange.
She had definitely slammed into that enormous door, yet her body didn’t hurt at all.
If anything, it felt warm.
“Don’t tell me... I died again?”
Slowly, Lucillea opened her tightly shut eyes.
Her vision was still dark, and then a sharp voice fell from above her head.
“Have you lost your mind?”
She looked up.
A familiar face came into view.
Black hair.
Red eyes.
And an expression that made no attempt to hide its irritation.
“...Huh? Serdian?”
“......”
Serdian’s brow furrowed deeply.
Then he practically threw Lucillea out of his arms.
“Owowowow!”
Landing on her feet, Lucillea grabbed a nearby bookshelf to steady herself.
Her legs were still trembling.
“Judging from the situation... I think Serdian just saved me...”
Cookie immediately answered from atop a bookshelf.
[That’s right! Just like a cool prince from a fairy tale! He came flying in, swooped you into his arms, spun around all dramatically, and saved you! I saw it! I saw the whole thing!]
Cookie spun around in the air, imitating Serdian dramatically.
