The tenth author's journal: book 2A

Chapter 12: First Dawn

Dawn is approaching the horizon. My mind deteriorated after spending the night in the royal office. The knowledge is acceptable because not much can be expected from the kingdom that is being devoured by the flames of war. Since incubus and succubus are the main residents here, famine is expected for the weak who are unable to travel; however, commerce has been thriving despite the slowly drawn-out residents.

Morning arrives, and Blood Claw must have been awake for quite some time. I'll be right over to greet him. I was so careless not to inquire about the location of his chamber; there must be someone awake at this time as well. I doubt it would be the prince because he prioritizes his "nightlife" over getting up early.

Where is the royal library? I should meet with the librarian when the doors open. The library should be the last room in the west hallway; it's early in the morning, so the corridor is as empty as it can be... But isn't it a little too quiet? The guards haven't shown up since the day I arrived. Were there no guards at all?

Walking through the endless corridor, windows lining each other, their shadows reflecting a terrifying illusion that keeps anyone stepping onto it at bay. At the far end, the library stands menacingly, with a steel door keeping its contents from spilling out.

Opening the steel, so many books were sealed behind it that this castle would not have enough room to gather them all. This must be another pocket dimension type of room; dimension spells are purposefully quite high maintained because mana is recycled itself almost instantly and the caster only needs to pour their share once every few centuries or so. As difficult as the spell matrix appears to be, the need for tedious drawing and knowledge of spell stability is quite low; even a newcomer can create a small space of 64 squares in three days.

The front desk is empty, with no sign of the librarian's insight, the note in yellow is written "Section 3, the new artifacts are there." Don't come to the sixth section; I will not tolerate any of your antics." I should heed his advice and avoid Section 6. His cloak from yesterday... I haven't seen his face or know what land he came from, but Blood Claw came from the land of wrath, so he would be from a different land than the other six. To be honest, this kind of variety scares me just as much as the bloodthirst from the day before... I knew it was Gabriel who was stalking us, but why didn't he attack us? Is he also motivated by ulterior motives, or has Pa's plan changed? After all, he wouldn't throw away a successful experiment so easily.

The library section is the same as the office section, with numbers one through seven representing the seven elite demon earls who hold the title. Other irrelevant subjects, such as music, art, and history, are kept in the eighth section. Without any direction, I wandered into the library and read whatever piqued my interest. The books here are only a partial mystery to me, but I am grateful for what I can learn. I should go back and read 'Demonic rank and families in my spare time after the evening.

"I thought I told you not to touch my books." The enigmatic figure whispered behind my back. The librarian's voice is clearly his, but his demeanor is vastly different from what he stuttered before. It was agitated and harsh because of my touch on the library book. And what Kryos has said is to be his equal, I am not worth more than a servant who is his shadow.

"Is it too much to ask for a loan of one?" Without looking back, I say that angering a gorgon is dangerous at this time. Petrification would be impossible because I am immune to it, but my mana is still severely depleted.

"I don't believe you can keep my book safe. Return it to the bookcase." I do as the librarian says and place the book, slowly turning around as the librarian's voice softens. The figure emerges from the shadow coat, an owl-like demon, so it is a knowledge demon. No, its eyes appear to be purple in color, a characteristic of the land of sloth.