Lilia's Tale

Chapter 62: Library

Unsure where to go first, and thinking the one who would know would be the principal, I headed towards his office. I noticed on the way that the door to what I had assumed to be the teacher's lounge was open, while the principal's room's door was closed. Checking into the open room, I saw it to be empty and figured they were probably still eating, so I went towards the canteen.

While walking to it, I noticed the principal walking back on his own.

"Excuse me," I said once I got close.

"Are you alone?"

"Yeah, Father went to check the new house out. I'm wondering if there's anything else I need to do, since I'm technically going to live here now."

"I heard you've been doing magic training recently, so maybe ask Mark-san for the key to the training arena?" he replied after thinking for a bit.

"That makes sense, thank you. Is he still eating?"

"Yes. I suggest waiting for him in the common room."

"Will do, thank you again."

I slightly bowed then went and waited in the common room. I was a little anxious being alone, as I wasn't used to it anymore, but told myself I'd be fine. That despite my childish body, I was still a grown adult in mind.

I didn't wait long before Mark came out of the canteen. When he noticed me, he came over and asked:

"Where's your father?"

"He went to check his new house out."

"I see. Letting you handle yourself like a mature girl, isn't he?"

"Well, you can put it like that. More importantly, I heard there is a training arena, or something?"

"Yeah, the self-use arena. Why do you ask? Do you want to visit?"

"I was wondering if I could go there, since I train magic very often."

"We'll need someone to watch over you, and I think the teachers are very busy with making the different classes and schedules. Additionally, entrance exams will start soon, so they're looking over those once again. Sorry."

I felt a little bothered that I wasn't trusted, but knew it only made sense, considering both my body and my standing here as a student.

"I understand. Although I don't really have anything to do as a result.

"Why not go to the library and pick a few books to read over the coming month?"

"That could work, although I'm not sure what I'd want to read."

"We have all kinds of books, so I'm sure you'll find something for yourself. Let's go there."

After a short, silent walk through the garden, we arrived in front of a relatively tall, round tower. I was surprised at first that I hadn't been able to see such a large building from outside of the academy, but figured it was due to perspective or similar, being hidden behind other buildings.

We entered, and I was greeted by a singular, vast room, spanning the entire tower. The walls were littered with books all around on multiple floors, only separated by a balcony every five meters or so. Stairs were rotating both clockwise and counter-clockwise around the perimeter in a semi-continuous fashion. The center had many tables with anywhere between four and eight seats.

"That's...a lot of books."

"It is. These are all copies of nearly every book available in the Royal Library, free to use by students. Of course, it's not because it's free that you shouldn't be careful with them."