Chapter 270 – Academy Arc (43) – Forbidden Books 2
271. Academy Arc (43) – Forbidden Books 2
A while later, as promised, Scarlett used a teleportation portal to take me to the capital.
Charlotte wanted to come along, but Scarlett said it was too much to teleport three people at once. Even with just the two of us, it consumed a lot of mana, and if she didn’t have precise control, all sorts of variables could arise. For example, the coordinates could be off, and we could end up dropping somewhere else entirely.
More than anything, she probably didn’t want to put me and Charlotte together, not knowing where we might end up getting cozy.
So, I warped to her mansion in the capital, Tellamis.
Scarlett’s mansion was similar in style and overall size to her daughter’s mansion. Of course, this wasn’t her main residence, but a place she stayed while working in the capital. As I stepped out of the portal room, maids greeted me politely. We sat in the drawing-room, sipping tea brought by a maid. Scarlett chuckled as she saw my barely concealed excitement and put down her cup.
“Shall we go to the library now? It won’t take long by carriage.”
“Ah, yes!”
We rode in a lavishly decorated carriage towards the Royal Magic Library.
During the ride, I gazed out the carriage window at the scenery.
My excitement wasn’t feigned.
So far, I’d only been in the commercial district of Langshu, the quiet Rosichester barony in the countryside, and recently, the academy near Langshu. Seeing the capital’s landscape like this made me feel like I was truly in another world.
The streets of Tellamis were full of life. There were all sorts of shops, and occasionally, luxurious buildings dealing in valuables. There were also equipment shops of considerable size, and in the distance, I could see a market area with colorful fruits, likely a large-scale wholesale and retail operation.
The streets were filled with various types of people. I saw seasoned adventurers or mercenaries, guards maintaining order, and lightly armed knights. I also saw lower nobles or bourgeois children dressed to the nines, giggling and entering buildings with their attendants.
It was lively in every way.
“By the way, did seeing the capital’s scenery bring back any memories?”
“Huh? Um, I don’t think so. It’s all new to me…”
“I see.”
A while ago, Charlotte had told Scarlett about the incident involving Armion, so now she was well aware of my setting of having no childhood memories. The strangeness of the incident where the Marquis Armion of the Bahin Kingdom had come to pick a fight made her try to deduce my identity based on her background knowledge, but would that really lead to an answer?
She even used the confession magic that Charlotte had used, and for a moment, I thought about pretending to be affected, but I just tilted my head and asked what she was doing. I figured that trying to act in front of a great mage like her wouldn’t work since she’d know whether the magic had worked or not. Indeed, when my mental resistance blocked her, Scarlett looked like she understood. She also seemed to have a slight inkling that I possessed divine power, and she was probably making a simple guess that there was a story behind it.
If I had tried to act poorly, it would have only raised suspicion.
The carriage soon arrived at the Royal Magic Library in the city center.
Until now, the buildings had been densely packed, but this library was surrounded by a wide field, showing its importance. The building itself was enormous, much larger than the convent I had stayed in.
“Wow…”
Inside, it was like a modern large library, with multiple floors and bookshelves packed tightly together. The interior was very modern, with a slanted glass window on one corner of the building, allowing the bright weather outside to be seen. It made the atmosphere perfect for reading.
The mages inside seemed to know her to some extent, so they didn’t make a fuss about the appearance of a great mage. They would just nod lightly as they passed by. As for me… they probably just thought I was a new mage being trained.
While Scarlett was talking to a library official, I was looking at the books on the nearby shelves.
Unfortunately, there were no books like ‘Level Up with Sex☆’.
“You can read those books later. Follow me, Raul.”
“Yes, Countess.”
Following Scarlett through a wide-open doorway, a new library section appeared.
She said that the first section was for level 3, and the place we had just entered was for level 2, and that the quality of the books differed as the level increased. Level 2 and 3 were open to all mages, while level 1 was only accessible to certain high-ranking officials or top mages. As we entered the next section with the guidance of a mage, I could see that the space was a bit smaller, but the books on the shelves seemed to be of high quality and well-preserved.
If I could broaden my knowledge here and gain even a small insight, my magic level would improve significantly.
Of course, that wasn’t why I came here.
I looked around and noticed a strange sight in the corner of the room.
Three middle-aged mages were sitting at a table talking, and right next to them was a small door. I could also feel that the door was being affected by some kind of magic circle.
‘Is it just there like that?’
Confused, I asked Scarlett, who was next to me, to confirm.
“Countess, what is that door?”
“You don’t need to worry about that place. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Ah… yes, I understand.”
It seemed that was the area where the forbidden books were kept. A place only accessible to top-ranking people like Scarlett. But was it okay to have it in such a conspicuous place? Was it confidence that they were openly keeping books that should be managed deep within the palace? Or was there some political reason? Were mages more independent?
Hmm, I didn’t know the circumstances.
Well, even the level 1 area I was in now was only accessible to people who had been identified, and there were fewer than five people. Still… surely there wouldn’t be a problem.
I looked at Scarlett with sparkling eyes and asked if I could read books until the library closed at night.
She nodded slightly and said that she would send a carriage to wait for me in the evening, so I could take it back.
She soon returned to her mansion to attend to her duties.
…………
I glanced out the window and saw that darkness had fallen.
The level 2 area was deserted, with no one around.
I was diligently reading books there, patiently enduring. Occasionally, I would glance around, and I could see library staff going in and out of the stacks. I had also counted all the people entering and exiting the level 1 area while sitting at a clear table, and there was no one inside except for those three mages.
It was almost closing time…
As expected, a male mage who had been going in and out of the stacks approached me with a pleased expression.
“Young seeker, it’s almost time for the library to close.”
-Clap
I immediately clapped my hands to activate my power. The mage resisted with a small groan, but after a few seconds, he fell into a state of suggestion.
‘Cube, now.’
[Okay, okay.]
At the same time, I took out the cube from my pocket and, as we had discussed, had it create a distortion field in the library.
I was worried that the goddesses might be watching from above. They wouldn’t peek when I was having sex, but it wouldn’t hurt to be extra careful.
“The three mages in the level 1 area are guarding the forbidden books. Is that right?”
“Yes, that’s correct. I’ve never been inside, but that’s what I’ve heard.”
“Can you use mental attack magic?”
“Yes, a little.”
“Then guide me inside.”
Without delay, I had him lead me into the level 1 area.
The three mages tilted their heads and asked him.
“Wilhelm, what’s going on? Why did you bring that young man?”
“Attack them.”
“Yes. …Huh!”
At my words, the mage called Wilhelm suddenly began to launch a mental attack on the three of them. The three mages were surprised by the sudden attack, but they quickly used their mana to deflect his magic. But at that moment, I also activated my power.
The double mental attack had a decent effect on weakening their resistance.
“Ugh…!!”
One of them desperately tried to move and manipulate something on the magic circle. Startled, I used even more divine power to activate my power on him. I didn’t know what it was, but I had a bad feeling.
Fortunately, before that, the eyes of the three went blank, and they fell into a state of suggestion.
‘I almost had a big problem because I saved a little power.’
Relieved, I asked them about the magic circle on the door.
They said that the door had a high-level defensive magic circle, and in a crisis, it would activate the circle to send an alarm signal and strengthen the defense. This alarm signal would be sent to great mages like Scarlett and those of equivalent power. In other words, they were acting as a trigger for the defense and alarm system, and their role was to hold out until reinforcements arrived.
If they had activated just one circle, these three wouldn’t have been so easily subdued.
A chill ran down my spine.
I almost became a wanted criminal in the Glishen Kingdom.
I should have done some research first.
“Okay, dismantle the circle and open the door.”
“Understood.”
Then, the three of them manipulated something in sequence using their mana and, over the course of a few minutes, unraveled the magic circle’s formula. It wasn’t that the circle itself was erased, but rather that the lock had been released.
Creak.
When the door opened, I saw a dark interior and a staircase leading down to the basement.
“Make sure no one enters the level 1 area. Well, there probably won’t be anyone… but just in case, close the door again. If I knock on the door from the inside, open it. Got it?”
“I will.”
I closed the door and created a light with light magic on my hand. Then, without delay, I quickly went down to the basement. I couldn’t waste time, or some other variable might arise.
After going down quite a bit, I found another door, and when I opened the unlocked door, the lights automatically turned on, revealing a small study room. There were only a few bookshelves and just two tables in the modest room.
‘Let’s find it quickly.’
There were no labels on the bookshelves, so I started searching methodically from the beginning.
The books I saw contained various types of black magic.
Black magic had side effects that were closely related to life, and its abilities were also ominous, either mentally destroying the target or killing them cruelly. From what I could see, there were detailed records of necromancy using corpses. However, in this case, there were footnotes from various recorders, such as, ‘Is there a way to apply the theory by changing the medium, and if so, where can it be used?’
It was amazing that these were so well-preserved.
Although it was unethical, was it that the activation principle or the theory itself was worth studying? In the end, mages were also slaves to knowledge, and seeing that they had kept these separately, it seemed they couldn’t act like some great sage. Well, knowing the enemy and knowing yourself is the key to victory, so analyzing them separately like this might be helpful in dealing with them. Maybe it was both.
As I was diligently searching through the bookshelves, a book with a deep red color like a rose caught my eye.
The first word of the book’s title clearly started with ‘Lust’.
