Shiki had just entered the door and hadn't even gone up to the second floor yet when this spiritual body started shouting.
"...I'm not here to borrow books."
"Let me introduce myself. My Inazuma name is Huizhen, and I am the librarian of the Byakuyakoku Library," Huizhen said. "Though it's also the last day."
"Last day?" Shiki asked, following Huizhen's words.
"Yes, we're all moving to live on the surface tomorrow, but there are still five books that haven't been recovered," Huizhen sighed.
"I'm incredibly angry right now. I mean, it's the last day, can't people just not cause trouble?"
"I don't want to become a Sinner of Enkanomiya!"
"It has nothing to do with what books were lost. If I can't find them, I, Huizhen, will have to bear a stained name and go..."
'It seems her memory is still stuck in the period when Orobas had just established Watatsumi Island.' Shiki thought upon hearing this.
That time was quite ancient, basically traceable back two thousand years.
After pondering for a moment, Shiki decided to see what kind of books they were: "Tell me first, which five are they?"
"You're willing to help me? That's great! Although I didn't have much hope, thank you anyway."
"These five books are 'before sun and moon', 'Tales of the Serpent God of Tokoyo', 'Collection of Light and Shadow', 'Byakuyakoku Geographic and Hydrological Studies', and an experimental record."
Goodness, a royal flush right off the bat!
As soon as Shiki heard 'before sun and moon', she knew she had to find it, even if she didn't want to.
"Then can you tell me where they last appeared? I need some clues, don't I? Otherwise, wouldn't I just be running around like a headless chicken?"
"Hehe, of course I know that ~"
"'before sun and moon' was stolen. The culprit is currently imprisoned in the aerial prison below the Mikoshi. Lord Dizhou has said that if they don't explain the book clearly, they'll be kept in prison indefinitely!"
"By then, there will only be three of them left in all of Enkanomiya, but that's just to scare them. They'll definitely be released tomorrow."
"'Byakuyakoku Geographic and Hydrological Studies' was borrowed by someone named Date. I don't know if he's still obsessed with his labyrinth, but he hasn't returned the book yet."
"'Tales of the Serpent God of Tokoyo' was used for cultural exchange with Inazuma. Its current whereabouts are unknown."
"The experimental record is on an island not marked on the map. As for 'Collection of Light and Shadow', I'm not sure."
"Is that so? Then it seems quite difficult to get them all back."
"That's why I had no hope at all. The chances are too small."
Huizhen's tone was slightly helpless. If she could, she wanted to beat up all those people who borrowed books and didn't return them.
Do you know how much trouble you've caused a librarian?!
However, a sinshadow is a sinshadow; they believe they are guilty, which is why their remnant souls remain. So, Huizhen definitely didn't find the books in the end.
Otherwise, why would Enjou go to such lengths to find 'before sun and moon'?
He could just read it in the Library!
Shiki didn't reveal the truth. She just nodded, then left the Library with a simple "Wait for me to return."
After leaving the Library, Shiki followed the instructions and first went to the place where the fragments were stored in Xiajian Street. After another violent bypass to retrieve the fragments, she then teleported back to the Mikoshi.
She was going to start looking for the heavyweight guest, 'before sun and moon'.
First, the first clue: the aerial prison located below the Mikoshi.
Enkanomiya floats in the air, so the so-called aerial prison should be a prison built on a cliff.
Starting from the north of the Waypoint, Shiki traveled west, eventually discovering a recessed open space on the cliff southwest of the Mikoshi.
There were also two illusory figures in the open space, presumably two of the three suspects.
"Are you the Dizhou official here to pick us up? But you look so young, you must just be a candidate, right?"
"Heh, after all, slandering our innocence, the Lord Dizhou officials couldn't save face, so it's understandable for them to send a young subordinate to run errands and apologize!"
One of them couldn't help but speak sarcastically upon seeing the girl.
Shiki didn't mind. She just asked in a flat tone: "Where's the third person?"
Huizhen said there were three suspects, but now there were only two sinshadows here, so there was a high probability that the other one had escaped.
"So... you're not here to release us, but to chase after that guy?"
"Otherwise? Do you think you can get out before the book is found?"
"Oh, I'm not familiar with the one who ran away. This one next to me is better acquainted with him, you should ask him!"
This sinshadow also got angry upon hearing that. After speaking, he floated to the side, looking as if out of sight, out of mind.
Seeing this, Shiki turned her gaze to the other sinshadow, and then heard him say:
"Never mind the book for now, hurry and find Anzhen!"
"Is that the person who ran away?"
"Yes, that's him!" The sinshadow said: "My name is Oshima, and he is Antigonus, his Inazuma-style name is Anzhen."
"He's also a Dizhou official candidate like you, with a fierce personality and exceptional physical ability. He escaped by climbing up the cliff using its protrusions!"
"Isn't that terrifying? Do you think a normal person could do something like that?"
"Never mind, that's not important. Anzhen said he would leave marks along the way, patterns of something called [Neo], a creature not found in Enkanomiya, that can fly and has wings."
"...That's called a bird."
Shiki was speechless. This Oshima was exactly like her in elementary school, annotating English words with Chinese characters.
"Right, right, it's a bird!"
"Anzhen told me his plan. After he climbs up, he will go to Serpent's Heart. He said there are some clues about the Khaenri'ah envoy delegation."
"And he promised to stake his life to prove our innocence. Later, if any shrine maidens or Dizhou officials come, they should be directed to Serpent's Heart!"
"Even if he falls, he will leave clues with bird patterns, guiding whoever comes to the place that can prove our innocence."
"If nothing goes wrong, you should be able to find him by following the bird patterns."
"Okay, I understand."
After saying that, Shiki took a few steps with her golden tomoe-patterned soles, then transformed into a flash of lightning and disappeared before Oshima's eyes.
Seeing such a miraculous scene, Oshima's spiritual body instantly froze in place. So, you Dizhou officials... are all this absurd?
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