Three days had passed in the manor. During that time, although Hiiro befriended Silva and Shamoe, he didn’t even catch a glimpse of Liliyn. According to Silva, Liliyn usually stayed in her room, relying on Silva to bring her meals.
During the past three days, there was no sign of the rain letting up. As it had rained continuously for such a long time, Hiiro thought that the river might overflow. However, Silva assured him that there was nothing to be concerned about.
The reason for this was that the monsters living in the lake were absorbing the Red Rain. Although it was raining continuously right now, there was a point in the past where there was no rain at all.
Because of that, the monsters shrivelled up and died. Since the rain provided them with energy, they literally regarded it as a blessing.
However, to people, this was one of the most annoying events that could occur. As one could not step outside, even without Liliyn present, all one could do was stay muffled in their rooms as they ate and slept.
Hiiro was obviously dissatisfied at first. Yet, in actuality, the mansion was filled with books and literature that Silva had collected, appeasing Hiiro’s boredom. Hiiro deemed the books in Silva’s collection as intriguing, especially the books detailing topics related to the Demon World. Thus, he enjoyed himself as he read through them.
At first, he was handed a book recommended by Silva. However, as it was clearly one of those books that the Perverted Butler often had, Hiiro immediately smacked the pervert over the head with it.
As Hiiro was in the guest room, absorbed in his reading, he heard the sound of a door slowly opening. If the visitor was Silva or Shamoe, then they would definitely knock before hand. Thus, he understood that his visitor was the only other existence that resided in the mansion.
Shifting his gaze towards the opened door, he predictably saw a face that he had not seen in a while.
With her blazing red hair, Liliyn swayed as she spoke in a commanding tone.
He instantly gave his rejection. However, perhaps expecting such an answer from Hiiro, Liliyn did not grow too upset as she continued.
Hiiro: 「What’s so interesting?」
Liliyn: 「Like I said, if you follow you’ll find out.」
Hiiro: 「......」
Hiiro: 「Where are we going?」
Liliyn: 「Over here.」
Hiiro: (This is...)
Hiiro: (The 《Golden Rose》...huh?)
They had entered a dimly lit room, a room that Liliyn would refer to as her own.
As he saw several creepy masks and ornaments lined up along the walls, Hiiro shrugged his shoulders. In the center of the room was a large magic circle drawn on the floor, a lone bed sitting on top of it. On top of said bed, Liliyn quietly sat down and stared at Hiiro.
Hiiro interpreted this as her most likely hearing this from Silva.
As Liliyn said thus, she took a singular book out from under her pillow. The book, wrapped in a pitch black hardcover, appeared to not have anything resembling a title written on it.
As she said thus, Liliyn threw the book towards Hiiro. Catching it with both hands, Hiiro first began to check the front and back covers. As he had thought, there was no trace of a title written anywhere. As such, he had no clue as to what the contents of the book were.
For the time being, Hiiro decided to check the contents of the book, his eyes involuntarily widening as he opened the book. Seeing Hiiro’s expression, Liliyn’s gaze sharpened as she stared at him. Of course, Hiiro was oblivious to this.
Hiiro unconsciously muttered in surprise. Of course, this was to be expected. This was because the contents of the book contained words that should not exist in this world.
Indeed, it was precisely as Hiiro had said. The characters written in the book was undoubtedly the native language of Hiiro’s birth place, Japan.
Upon hearing Liliyn’s words, Hiiro looked towards her. He immediately regretted his actions.
As she gave of an eerie smile, a dubious light shone within the depths of her eyes.
As he wasn’t paying attention, he did not remember what he had said that was so significantly bad. However, from the current atmosphere, he could grasp that he had spoken something that caused even more problems for him.
Hiiro threw back the book as he made his usual poker face.
Certainly, the black book was filled with scribbles. Reading it, one could tell that the characters were quirky. It could easily be called ‘messy writing’. However, seeing through Hiiro’s excuse, Liliyn’s smirk as her amusement was overflowing.
Saying thus, she took out a flower from her pouch. It was a charming flower that closely resembled a tulip, yet, its size was so small that it would fit neatly within her hand.
Liliyn began to pour magic into the flower. Following this-
Hiiro clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. He never thought that he would have his voice recorded. What he had heard from the flower was undoubtedly his own voice. It was most likely the words that he had just spoke. If it wasn’t, then it would be impossible for the word 『Japanese』 to appear.
Hiiro glared intently at Liliyn, however, she simply dismissed it as if it were a passing breeze as she continued.
Hiiro thought that she was an intelligent fellow as he clicked his tongue in his innermost thoughts. If Arnold was here, he would easily be able to deceive her. Yet, it seemed that he was up against the wrong opponent.
Liliyn asked as her eyes sparkled with a *kirakira*(8), shining with the light of intrigue.
She reached her hand out towards Hiiro. An unpleasant sensation ran throughout his whole body, a sensation that seemed as if he were making a deal with the devil. Even if he thought it was his imagination, it was not entirely false. The girl in front of his eyes was certainly a little girl, no. What held the appearance of a little girl was actually a cunning individual that had lived tens of Hiiro’s life span.
However, as the situation was so one-sided, Hiiro felt uneasy. He had an idea to pierce the current silence, however, he was drawn by the words promising to fulfill his desire. He began to think of how to take maximum advantage of her proposal.
From what he had gathered from Silva and Shamoe, Hiiro understood that she was certainly not the type of person who would willingly spread information about others. Because of this, he particularly thought that her ideas were very exaggerated.
Hearing Hiiro’s words, her face brightened as she returned a slight nod.
Seeing Liliyn jokingly declare thus, Hiiro glared at her with half-opened eyes.
She was cut down and disposed of in a single strike.
As if she had received a considerable amount of shock, her body trembled with a *furufuru*(11).
Although Liliyn’s words were drenched with murderous intent, Hiiro was unconcerned as he opened his mouth.
Although they maintained a deadlock with their eyes for a while, the first to break it was Liliyn.
She grinned happily as she continued to speak.
Saying thus, Liliyn opened the drawer of a shelf that had vials placed on top of it. Taking out something from the drawer, she threw it over to Hiiro with a *hyoi*(16). Luckily, Hiiro caught it as he confirmed what it was.
It was a singular piece of card that had her name written on it. Upon closer inspection, the words 【Fortuna】 were written, with a golden mark pressed onto it.
Although he told his request half-heartedly, knowing that it was a desire that was unlikely to be fulfilled, as he unceremoniously obtained the permit, he was obviously surprised. Because of this, he began to wonder even more as to the identity of the person before his eyes.
As she had indicated earlier, those that possess the permit for 《Basement 5》 mainly consisted of royalty. And yet, she had one such permit in her possession. Knowing that this fact alone should be enough to startle anyone, Liliyn boasted as she puffed her chest out in pride, wearing a merry smile.
In regards to favours, Hiiro had another one in stock. If that one was unable to be granted then Hiiro would have determined that negotiations had broke down, causing him to immediately depart from this place. However, as he had been disappointed in a good way, the fact that Hiiro was puzzled was undeniably true.
This proved the extent of how difficult it was for a normal person to be able to obtain the 【Fortuna Grand Library’s】 highest level permit.
The 【Fortuna Grand Library】 was a library that’s located in the 【Evila Capital: Xaos】. It’s collection of literature was unparalleled in this world. It was also known as the 《Fountain of Knowledge》. It’s said that no matter what problem you have, the answer would be slumbering within its walls.
『Humas』, 『Gabranth』, 『Evila』, 『Pheom』. The library has achieved the gathering and collection of literature from all the continents. However, the library works on a permit system. In order to gain entry, one must obtain permission from both the library director, and the country.
The library has two upper levels and four basements. As one goes lower, the books housed become more important, thus, it becomes even harder to gain access to them.
Basically, 『Evila』 usually apply for a permit for 《Basement 1》, a descending floor that often holds books that are commonly sold elsewhere. Floors even lower than 《Basement 2》 and 《Basement 3》 require not just permission from the head librarian, but the country as well. In other words, there are floors that require permission from the Royal Family to access.
One of which was the floor known as 《Basement 5》, a floor where books that were never revealed to the general populace are stored. Hiiro definitely wanted to read such books.
However, upon hearing this story, Hiiro began worrying about how he would obtain access to such a place. Although he could use 《Word Magic》 to attempt to sneak in like a shinobi, if possible, he wanted to peacefully gain access to such a location. Thus, he took up Liliyn’s offer without giving it much thought.
It was a happy miscalculation that she happened to have a permit. Furthermore, it was a permit of the highest level. He had slightly viewed her as the goddess of luck, however, he decided not to voice this out.
Quite unlike himself, Hiiro slightly felt curious about Liliyn herself. Oblivious to such thoughts of his, Liliyn began to speak.
Hiiro stared at Liliyn as he placed his hand on his chin. Silence shortly followed.
Thinking as such, Hiiro quietly opened his mouth.
Upon hearing Hiiro’s words, Liliyn once again showed a broad smile.