Turning the ornate key handle, Aesc pushed open the door to the library. She stepped aside to let Shiomi enter first, but he gently nudged her shoulder, motioning for her to go in ahead.
So, Aesc naturally walked inside. Behind her, the heavy wooden door slowly closed, shutting out the evening wind and the snow that had begun to fall once more.
Through the window, snowflakes could be seen drifting down. The library was quiet and cold, with a faint dampness in the air that immediately made Aesc tense in the dimness.
It wasn't because she was alone at night with Shiomi, whom she had only just met, but because of that dampness.
This room contained every book the Land of Rain had managed to gather. To Aesc, they were priceless treasures. Her greatest joy was to sit here, reading them, learning new knowledge, and pondering her future.
She carefully lifted the lantern and slowly paced the room, lighting the candles one by one before gently closing the glass shades that covered the flames.
"Don't worry. This level of dampness is probably just from the room being left unused during the day," Shiomi said quietly as she finished with the last lamp.
"Eh?" Aesc froze for a moment.
She hadn't said anything aloud—so how did he know exactly what was on her mind?
Shiomi raised his hand, brushing it lightly across the nearest bookshelf. His fingers traced the spines of the neatly arranged books as glowing runes appeared in the air—symbols unfamiliar to Aesc. The shining letters scattered into faint specks of light, dispersing through the library.
At once, the dampness faded. The air grew crisp and dry.
"That should do it." Shiomi lowered his hand naturally.
"Yes, that should be fine. Usually, I do the dehumidifying myself." Aesc smiled in thanks. "I didn't expect that the first time I brought a guest here, he'd end up helping with chores."
Using Magecraft for small, everyday problems—effortless and effective—was very much to her taste.
"It's nothing. I just did it because it came to mind," Shiomi replied with a shake of his head.
What he didn't say was that he had only wanted to see her smile without worry.
Aesc cleared a chair piled with books from the corner and moved it to the center of the room. At the same time, Shiomi kindled a fire in the library's hearth, and the air grew warmer.
He didn't immediately sit in the chair Aesc had set out. Instead, with keen interest, his gaze wandered across the room—not just the shelves of books but also the jars and bottles scattered across the desk.
One jar held blue flowers, a kind that shouldn't have been able to bloom in this season. The whole space had the atmosphere of a witch's study.
"Ah… the flowers are starting to wilt," Aesc said softly, lifting the jar and examining it. "Even though I protected them with Magecraft, it's still a bit too much."
"Are you researching a spell to make flowers bloom in winter?" Shiomi asked.
"No. It's just that in Orkney, winter covers everything in white. I wanted to grow flowers that could stay in bloom through the season, even if it required Magecraft," Aesc said quietly. "Father and Mother have both been so busy lately. If there were beautiful flowers decorating their room, I thought it might cheer them up a little."
"Father?" Shiomi was surprised. "I didn't see him today, not even at dinner."
Aesc gave an apologetic smile. "Father had business with the Mirror Clan. He won't be back for a few days."
"I see." Shiomi nodded in understanding.
In the northern reaches of Britannia lived two clans.
One was the Rain Clan, who had established their kingdom in Orkney.
The other was the Mirror Clan.
Two thousand years ago, during the "Spring War" of the 6000th year of the Fairy Calendar, the six great clans waged war against the northern fairies. After annihilating them, they used the remains of the Last Dragon to expand the land and connect it to the Britannia mainland.
A thousand years later, the Rain Clan and the Mirror Clan migrated to this new territory and founded their respective capitals.
Although the queen had spoken of this history in careful, understated words, Shiomi could hear the truth clearly enough—this land had been taken through the slaughter of other fairies.
He almost asked Aesc what she thought of this inherited sin, but in the end, he held his tongue.
"What's wrong?" Aesc felt that Shiomi seemed to be holding something back.
At that moment, he took the vase of flowers from her hands.
"It's just that their vitality is fading. Magecraft may be a miracle that manipulates phenomena, but it also has its limits," Shiomi said softly. "If you want to achieve your goal, I think it might be better to start from scratch and find another approach."
As he spoke, Aesc noticed the petals that had begun to droop slowly regain their vitality.
The change was so subtle it could easily have gone unnoticed, yet when she accepted the vase back from him, she clearly felt the life force stirring within.
"What did you do?" Aesc asked in surprise, her curiosity piqued.
"I only replenished the life force that had been lost," Shiomi replied, meeting her gaze. "It's a clumsy method—you could do it yourself. But it requires using your own life force in exchange, even if just a tiny fraction, so it isn't exactly wise."
"But Tenkei, you're not—" Aesc felt his words contradicted themselves.
"I am a Sage. For me, this is nothing unusual." Shiomi shrugged. "Just think of it as a little trick to please you, alright?"
"Mm..." Aesc muttered, placing the vase back on the table.
This man really had no reservations—he could say something like "to please you" without even flinching.
She lowered her head, staring at the flowers in the vase.
"To be honest, I'm very interested in this 'little trick.' Can you teach me?" Aesc asked.
"Eh? Teach you? Me? Are you serious?" Shiomi reacted as if she had just said something incredible.
"I do have my own style of Magecraft... but what you use is something entirely different. If you could teach me, it would help me refine my own Magecraft." Aesc expressed her interest openly.
Whether it was the activation, the structure of the spells, or even the Foundation itself, everything about his Magecraft was fresh and fascinating to her.
"If you're that interested, of course I can teach you." Shiomi smiled. "But Rune Magecraft comes naturally to me. It might not suit you."
"How would I know if I don't try?" Aesc's eyes shone with determination.
Shiomi looked at her helplessly. "No, what I mean is that your own style of Magecraft is already remarkable."
"Even so—!"