Shadow Court Magician Chapter 57: Flame

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　The room of the chief of the library of the magic guild is on the same floor as the grimoire vault.

　However, it is separated from the other end of the same floor, so it is quite a walk.

“Even though they are on the same floor, they are quite far apart.”

　I said to the princess, who had the same thoughts as I did.

“The library is surprisingly large. The whole building is huge and magnificent.” (Sicily)

“The Kingdom of Ernia is a nation that values knowledge, and they don’t spare any expense for such facilities.”

“The Royal Library, where you work, is also wonderful.” (Sicily)

　I forward a complaint from someone I know.

“My colleague is complaining about paying the staff working there rather than the building.”

“… I’m sorry. I’ll raise your salary when I become a queen.” (Sicily)

　She looks really sorry, so I follow up.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, and that’s coming from my colleague. I’m a book lover myself, so I’ll be happy to have better facilities.”

　It’s true. Books are bulky and difficult to store, so it is inevitable that the building will be grand.

　The buildings are exceptionally well built so that the books will be safe even in the event of an earthquake, and there are special fire suppression systems installed for fire prevention, etc. Anyway, a lot of money is spent.

　In addition, with the number of new books being published every year, it was only natural that there would be plenty of space for them, and they would inevitably become larger.

　――Of course, it’s still already quite wide in the first place.

　I thought so, but then I noticed something.

　I found the same bookshelf as before.

“… It’s the same bookshelf as before.”

　At first, I thought they were simply duplicating the same bookshelf to attract more viewers, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

　When I discovered the third bookshelf, my suspicion turned to conviction.

“…it looks like we’ve been invited to a place that isn’t exactly the library before I knew it.”

“This place is not the library?” (Sicily)

　The reason why Sicily looked around was not that she noticed the discomfort, but because of her trust in me.

“…what is happening?” (Nine)

“Probably, we were taken to another space by a magician who doesn’t like us very much.”

“!?” (Nine)

　Both of them shared a surprised look on their face.

“Who is that magician?” (Sicily)

　Sicily asks, but I can’t say the answer.

“I hate naming a criminal without evidence on hand.”

“I understand.” (Nine)

　Nine agrees, unexpectedly.

“But, I’m sure the magician is the arsonist.”

“So you’re sure.” (Nine)

“It’s just too coincidental.”

“Is Octavia-san also caught?” (Sicily)

“I think it’s highly possible.”

“Then we have to rescue her as soon as possible.” (Sicily)

“I agree.” (Nine)

　That’s why we spread around, and the three of us started to look around, then we realize the bookshelves are different from normal ones.

“It seems that the corridor is endless.” (Sicily)

“And the books on the bookshelf are all fakes. They’re all blank.” (Nine)

　Nine flipped through the pages, nothing is written on them except for the titles on the spines.

“No, what should be in there, is there.”

　On the other side of the bookshelves, the books have contents written inside.

“Maybe it has something to do with whether or not the magician who created this space read it.” (Sicily)

“That may be so. Assuming that’s the case, we might be able to deduce the culprit from the nature of the books.”

“It looks like it will take some time.” (Nine)

　The bookshelves were endless.

“It’s certainly troublesome.”

“Yes, it is. Our first goal is to get out of this space. Our first goal is to get out of this space and rescue Octavia-sensei.” (Nine)

“That’s right. Don’t get me wrong.”

　Then Nine continues.

　Nine chanted and begins to summon flames in his right hand.

　He then throws it on the bookshelves.

　I wanted to say that such a thing would cause a huge fire, but this is a different space, and the flames that Nine threw reacted unexpectedly.

　The ball of fire that hit the bookshelf exploded, but it did not spread, instead, it made a gaping hole in the space.

“Good work, Mr. Flame magician.”

“Please praise me more.” (Nine)

　I went into the hole with Nine, who giggled.

　Then we found ourselves in a place that looked like a hospital.

“…sounds like something out of a horror story, an empty hospital.”

“Yes, it is. I mean, does this have anything to do with a doctor?” (Nine)

“It’s highly probable that it is a scene from a doctor’s mindscape.”

“So, is the criminal a nurse or a doctor?” (Nine)

“It could be a patient.” (Sicily)

“Or the family. We don’t know about that.”

　I opened the door of the hospital room from one side to the other.

　If it were a horror story, I would have expected to see a bloody operating room or a room full of spattered organs, but there was none of that, and all the rooms were quite normal.

　――However, it is not without danger.

　In what seemed to be a hospital room, there was a monster lurking.

“What is that odd-shaped creature? …It looks like a horse, but it’s not a horse.” (Sicily)

“That’s a nightmare”

“A dream?” (Sicily)

“It’s a Nightmare. It’s a horse-shaped creature with nasty habits that likes to haunt people through nightmares.”

“I see. So is it docile?” (Sicily)

“If it were docile, we’d avoid a fight, but it seems to be in a rut.”

　Then the Nightmare noticed our presence, it looked back at us with a sniff.

　Its muscles are stiff and the veins are pulsing.

　Its teeth are exposed, saliva is dripping on the ground.

　Apparently, I can’t help but want to kill us.

“So, it’s going to be a fight. Princess, please stay back.”

“Okay.” (Sicily)

　Her trust in me is solid. She followed me obediently.

　Stepping back a little,

“Leon, and Nine, do your best!” (Sicily)

　She raised her voice.

　Seeing this, Nine mumbles, “…she’s a natural, cutie.”

“I agree with everything you said, but don’t fall in love.”

“I like older women.” (Nine)

　That said, Nine covered his body in flames. It’s the magic [Flame Body].

“…Woah.”

　I was impressed because it was absolutely wonderful magic.

“It’s not the typical [Flame Body].”

“It contains an original spell of mine. The outer flames are blue.” (Nine)

“Oh, it’s proof of its high temperature.”

“Not only that, but it’s also very deadly.” (Nine)

　When he said that, we head for Nightmare with the speed of a rabbit.

　Nine lands his fist in the body of Nightmare without any hesitation.

　Nightmare stopped its growling and howled at the blow.

　It is an overwhelmingly powerful blow.

　Just as I was wondering if I was going to do anything, a black hole appeared at the edge of the hospital room, and a second Nightmare appeared from it.

　When I stared at the creature, I clasped my staff.

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