Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 9 According to what Turan had learned from his mother, marriage was a truly sacred bond. It was a ritual where a man and a woman vowed, in the name of God, a love that would not end until the day they died.
When Turan wore a dazed expression at the sudden mention of something so significant, Izella burst into laughter and waved her hand dismissively.
"What's with that face? It was just a joke!"
"My Lady, please…" the butler groaned.
"Alright, alright. But at least give it some thought! The seat beside me is currently vacant!"
With a playful wink, Izella vanished down the hallway. The butler stayed behind to wipe his brow, apologizing repeatedly for her rudeness. He looked as though he had aged ten years in an instant.
A short while later, Turan opened the most grand and imposing door in the castle and stepped inside. It was an office filled with taxidermied magical beasts, antique furniture, and ornate decorations.
The man seated in the center of the room was Lug Baltas, the Head of the Baltas Family and the Lord of Orem City.
"Welcome, young noble. I assume you already know my name?"
"I am called Turan."
Behind the Family Head stood a man and a woman with swords at their waists. Judging by the atmosphere, they were knights serving as his bodyguards. Turan wondered what use knightly guards were to a noble who was a powerful mage and a Family Head himself, but he kept the thought to himself.
At Turan's response, Lug asked with an intrigued expression, "Turan? Is that all?"
"There is a faction hostile to my family, so it is difficult for me to reveal more."
"Hmm. What conflicts of that scale have occurred recently? Hadit and Corel, Ire and Kelau, Arabion and Zahar—"
The moment he heard the names Arabion and Zahar, Turan focused his mind to ensure not a trace of agitation showed on his face. Lug listed several more family names, but when he saw no reaction from his guest, he gave a disinterested snort.
"Well, it doesn't matter. We aren't hostile toward anyone at the moment, anyway. However, I trust that when the Baltas bloodline comes under your protection in the future, we will be treated with the same hospitality we have shown you."
"I give you my word."
In this world, a noble treating another noble as a guest was a promise of mutual respect and non-aggression. If one entered another family's territory but refused their hospitality, it was equivalent to declaring to the lord of the land: 'I am not your guest. I have come with ill intent.' This aligned perfectly with the customs of hospitality Turan had learned from his mother.
"So, you wish to use the library? For what purpose?"
"Because I was raised in a unique environment, there is much I do not know. I wish to learn about the world through books."
Lug snorted at those words. "I'll tell you this in advance, as there are quite a few who come here after hearing strange rumors: there are no incredible ancient spells or secret methods to increase mana in that library."
"That is fine. I never expected such things."
Turan made it clear that it didn't matter to him. He truly just wanted to know the things he had missed out on while living his entire life on that hill.
Lug stared intently at Turan for a moment before shaking his head. "If that's what you want, there's no reason I can't let you in. There are no family secrets kept in there, anyway. It's getting late today, so rest and go tomorrow. Does that work for you?"
"I will not forget your kindness, My Lord."
"Yes, I trust you won't."
A meaningful smile played on Lug's lips as he watched Turan leave.
*
The next day, Turan left the castle and headed toward the library, accompanied by a Baltas knight. The guard at the entrance—a different man from the day before—nodded after checking the paper bearing the Family Head's signature.
"Your pass is confirmed, noble sir. Welcome to the Sky Library."
Upon entering, the first things to greet Turan were a few desks and chairs and a spiral staircase installed along the circular wall. Despite the lack of windows, the interior was brightly lit by white light emanating from a glowing sphere on the ceiling.
As he moved further inside, a middle-aged man sitting at a desk greeted him.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Turan. I am the librarian. By the order of the Family Head, I shall explain the rules of use."
The rules for the Sky Library were simple. First, if any books or facilities were damaged, compensation must be paid according to the amount set by the family. Second, books were strictly prohibited from being taken out of the library. To Turan, these were common-sense rules.
"Furthermore, while you are using the library, I must always be watching from behind to ensure no rules are violated."
As soon as the librarian finished his explanation, Turan immediately climbed the stairs. Reaching the second floor, he saw bookshelves installed in the central space, filled with hundreds of books.
"Oh…"
It seemed Midan's claim of there being thousands of books had actually been an understatement. Considering the height of the building, it wouldn't have been strange if there were tens of thousands. However, as he climbed three or four more floors, he noticed that many of the bookshelves were empty.
From the tenth floor upward, there wasn't a single book on the shelves. The librarian following him explained that there were no more books above that level, so Turan descended back to the second floor.
"The number of books seems a bit lacking compared to the size of the library."
"This library was built during the era of the Old Empire. As the ownership of Orem City changed hands several times through wars, many books were lost in the process."
The Old Empire. It was a term he had heard his mother mention in passing. Had she said it was a nation established in the distant past after the Frea Divine Clan defeated the other races and conquered the world? But after the gods ascended, their descendants—the nobles—fell into conflict, leading to the empire's collapse and the rise of the current society dominated by various mage families.
Turan, peering at the densely packed books on the second floor, turned his gaze to the librarian.
"As a librarian, I assume you have read the books here."
"Yes. It is also my job to find the books necessary for those who use this place."
"What would be a good book if I want to gain basic common knowledge?"
Considering that everything he said here might be reported back to the Family Head, Turan chose his words carefully. The librarian tilted his head for a moment, then began pulling several books from various shelves. After moving between floors a few times, he placed about a dozen books on the desk on the first floor.
"Many of the books here are hundreds or even thousands of years old, so they may not be suitable for what you desire. I believe reading these will be more helpful."
"Thank you."
After expressing his gratitude, Turan sat in a chair and picked up a book. The cover was made of thick cowhide, and the pages were well-cut parchment, filled with densely packed letters that looked as if they had been meticulously engraved by a master craftsman. The object itself felt like a work of art.
So this is a book…
Turan opened the book, feeling a complex swirl of emotions. He had so easily obtained something his mother had yearned for so much. Since he had learned to read and write by scratching sand with a branch, his reading was a bit slow at first, but he was able to understand the text well enough.
The title of the book was A Journey Around the World.
After a preface praising an unknown patron, the content began in earnest. The author was a noble born in a small city north of Orem who claimed to have set out on a journey to the east to see the end of the world.
The stories written in the book completely captivated Turan's mind. A mountain pass that opened to the left and right only once a day; the blind dwarves who lived hidden there, devouring travelers who passed through. A desert of endless sand that boiled during the day and froze at night. The fairies of the lush jungles; the merfolk who sang from reefs in the ever-churning sea to lure people in…
The author's ability to vividly describe environments Turan had never seen—to the point where it was almost chilling—was truly like magic. By the time he had read about half the book, Turan felt a pang of hunger. He memorized where he had left off and closed the book.
Incredible.
Now he knew what wondrous terrains lay to the east, what the various races he had only vaguely heard of looked like, and even their ecology and culture. If he had learned this much from just half a book, what else would he discover if he read them all? His heart pounded with anticipation.
*
After being granted access to the library, Turan fell into a routine of reading from morning until evening, returning to the castle only at night.
On the second day, he learned how mage families—from the Great Houses to the ordinary ones—interacted with one another, and the systems they used to manage cities and villages.
On the third day, he learned specifically how the objects he had once passed by without a thought were made, what materials were used, and which regions they came from.
On the fourth day, through a bestiary, he learned what kind of powers different magical beasts typically manifested and what physical characteristics symbolized those powers.
On the fifth day, he learned that many relics from the Old Empire era were still scattered across the world. The stone roads he had seen on his way to Orem, as well as this very library, were among them.
As he accumulated this knowledge piece by piece, the world—which had once seemed like a vast, unknown space—became increasingly clear. He felt as though he were evolving from an ignorant shepherd boy into something more. It wasn't a primal pleasure like eating delicious food or gaining mana, but it provided a distinct sense of mental satisfaction.
And then, on the sixth day.
On his way to the library, Turan was summoned by Lug. As soon as Turan arrived at the office, Lug got straight to the point.
"I hear you've been making very good use of the library."
"Yes."
"I trust you understand that allowing you to use the library, separate from my hospitality toward you as a noble, was a favor. I would like to receive the price for that now."
"Please, speak."
If he only took without giving back, the other party would eventually grow resentful. Customarily, the period for a noble to host a guest in their territory was about three or four days. Having already exceeded that, Turan felt the need to fulfill Lug's request.
"Recently, a magical beast appeared to the north of Orem and has been attacking travelers."
"Do you wish for me to hunt it?"
Lug nodded. "Four knights who went to subjugate it never returned; they were devoured. A noble needs to step in personally, but our family can only mobilize two people at the moment. If you join them to make three, it will be much safer."
The Baltas family consisted of six members: Lug and his wife, Lug's younger brother, his daughter, and two nephews. Among them, Lug's brother and one nephew were away serving as lords of other cities. Lug himself had to stay to protect the city in case of an emergency, and his wife was not skilled in combat. Therefore, the only nobles he could mobilize were his daughter and his other nephew.
"I understand."
Turan agreed readily, partly because he hadn't had any combat experience or gained any mana while reading books lately, and partly because he remembered something Keorn had once told him: that humans are always threatened by magical beasts in their living spaces, and therefore, mages must drive them back.
The commoners of Orem were not Turan's sheep, but everything he ate, drank, and wore came from them. A shepherd survives by consuming the wool and flesh of the sheep; in exchange, he must protect them from the wolves.
As he nodded, a question suddenly occurred to him. Recalling what the civil servant in Murei had said, neither nobles nor knights seemed particularly keen on hunting magical beasts. Why was Lug reacting so proactively?
When he asked indirectly, Lug replied, "The northern path that creature has blocked is an important trade route. It's been closed for ten days already, so we need to clear it quickly."
Ten days…
Turan recalled the meaningful smile Lug had worn five days ago when Turan first asked to use the library. Now that he understood why the library access had been granted so willingly, he actually felt more at ease.
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