The Royal Library.
It was a tower so tall that its peak could not be seen from the ground. The walls were entirely made of bookshelves, countless tomes embedded within them.
Members of the Sacred Race glided between the shelves on the library’s unique flying carpets.
At the center of the tower, a spiral staircase wound upward.
“Hello, are you here to borrow books?” An elf librarian hopped down from the stairs and asked.
Furina shook her head and handed over an envelope.
The envelope was crumpled, as if it had been violently crushed and then carefully smoothed out again.
Not long ago, while wandering aimlessly through the streets, Furina had agonized countless times.
If she didn’t follow Lin Shu, this place would indeed be suitable for her.
She decided to come and take a look first.
The elf opened the letter, a flicker of surprise crossing their face. They asked Furina to wait a moment.
Soon, Furina met the head librarian.
The head librarian was a small, elderly elf. His graying hair and beard covered most of his face, leaving only a pair of long elf ears exposed.
He sat cross-legged on a flying carpet and floated down.
“So you’re Furina?” His voice was slow and gentle.
“That human lady named Lin Shu said you would arrive soon. I thought you weren’t coming.”
The head librarian glanced behind Furina. “She didn’t come with you?”
“I came alone.”
“Is that so. She helped us out a lot last time. Too bad you weren’t there.”
Seeing Furina’s curious expression, the head librarian explained, “Someone caused a disturbance that day. She happened to help us resolve it and completely protected our books.”
“She asked for no compensation afterward, only mentioning a companion—you.”
While recounting the events, the head librarian led Furina to the upper floors of the library.
He gave Furina a few simple tests. Each time she precisely found the location of every book. The head librarian nodded in satisfaction.
“Indeed, just as she said.”
“So, what do you think? Would you like to stay here with us?”
“Head Librarian.” Furina didn’t answer immediately. She pulled out the book filled with her handwriting. “Does the library have the original version of this book?”
Lin Shu had once said that the original version of this book was very hard to find.
Since she had come to the most developed royal city, and the library with the richest collection, she should be able to find it, right?
She prayed inwardly that her copy wouldn’t turn out to be the only one.
“Oh?” The head librarian’s white eyebrows and beard lifted simultaneously.
He took the book and flipped through it.
“Although we have books on magic here, none of them are as comprehensive as this one.”
Furina pressed on. “What about other places in the royal city? Bookstores?”
“This library contains all the books of the Sacred Race. Unless it’s a privately written book by an individual, everything is collected here.” The head librarian handed the book back to her.
How could that be?
Furina suddenly realized—this book might truly be the only one in existence?
If Lin Shu wanted to buy a new copy, it would be impossible.
The head librarian suddenly seemed to remember something. “Oh, right. You’re companions with her, aren’t you?”
“Last time she came, she asked if we had any ancient texts about the faith of the Holy Church’s gods.”
“We found one deep in our collection, but she had to rush back that night and didn’t take it with her.”
The head librarian floated to a desk and picked up a book. “If it’s convenient, could you trouble yourself to pass it on to her?”
Furina’s eyelashes trembled.
She pressed her lips together and shook her head gently.
“I’m sorry. Please find someone else to give it to her.”
“Oh?”
Furina lowered her gaze and said flatly, “She and I are no longer companions.”
The head librarian clearly noticed Furina’s discomfort and understood that something had happened between them.
He advised slowly, “Are you sure? Many conflicts will never be resolved if you don’t meet face-to-face.”
Furina felt a sting in her heart.
’…But I already said those things.’
In the end, she handed the magic compendium she had copied back to the head librarian. “Could you please also give this to her? It’s her book.”
The head librarian sighed and reached out. “Very well. Young people these days… Do you know where she is? So I can have someone send the books over.”
“She… should have gone to the headquarters of the Holy Church.”
Furina remembered that Lin Shu had told her this was where she was going before they parted.
“Understood. Then you can stay here for now. Someone will take you through your work.”
—
Over the next few days, Furina busied herself at the library.
The Sacred Race librarians she worked with were very friendly to her. No one looked at her strangely.
The tower was eternally quiet. The scent of ink and paper comforted her.
She had a stable place to sleep and eat.
But the more peaceful her life became, the sharper the pain in Furina’s heart grew.
She kept replaying the hurtful words that had slipped out when she parted from Lin Shu.
She had taken Lin Shu’s kindness as self-indulgent sentimentality.
She shouldn’t have said that.
Just as she was thinking this, Furina’s breath hitched for a moment. The book she was about to put back onto the shelf slipped from her hands and landed on the floor with a thud.
Just then, the conversation of two nearby librarians reached her ears.
“The head librarian recently sent me to deliver a book to that human lady who came before. But I went several times, and they said there was no such person there.”
“Instead, I was interrogated with a lot of questions. It’s very strange.”
Furina paused her movements and listened intently.
No such person?
Lin Shu… didn’t go to the Holy Church?
Not long after, the head librarian called Furina over. He returned the handwritten magic book to her and shook his head.
They couldn’t find any trace of Lin Shu.
“I’d better give this book back to you for now. You’re familiar with her—maybe you know where she might have gone.”
Furina gripped the book tightly.
Impossible. There had to be traces of Lin Shu left in the royal city.
Maybe she should try looking for her.
Even though she had said such angry words, Lin Shu might not forgive her.
Just to catch a distant glimpse of her, and then secretly leave the book by her side.
Furina hesitated for a long time. She wrote a note saying “I’m sorry” and tucked it into the pages of the book.
Over the next few nights, she asked every inn and tavern in the royal city, large and small.
That evening, a light rain was falling. Furina inquired at the last inn in the royal city, but the answer was still negative.
She walked out of the inn, dejected.
Why? Had Lin Shu already found a master and left the royal city ahead of time?
Had that been the last time they would ever meet?
Furina’s heart clenched. She felt a piercing pain.
Lin Shu had helped her so much, and yet she had said those things.
The drizzle drifted down. She hugged the book tightly to protect it from the rain.
If only she hadn’t said those words, would she at least know where Lin Shu had gone?
If only she had held back her impulses, would everything have been fine…
Furina dragged her exhausted body back to the library.
The rain soaked her ice-blue hair, plastering it messily against the side of her face.
The next day, a nun from the Holy Church came looking for her.
They demanded by name to take Furina back for questioning. It was only because the head librarian stepped in that they managed to fend them off.
Furina began to feel that something was wrong. An unease settled in her heart.
What exactly had happened to Lin Shu?
Furina suddenly remembered that Lin Shu had mentioned a magic organization. Since Lin Shu could use magic, maybe she had gone there instead?
Maybe there would be clues about Lin Shu there.
Furina’s eyes lit up, hope rekindling in her heart.
After that, Furina never left the library again.
She spent day and night among the shelves, dark circles forming under her eyes from lack of sleep, but she didn’t care.
“What’s wrong with her?” her colleagues whispered about Furina’s strange behavior.
“I don’t know. She just reads all day. After finishing geology records, she flips through continental maps.”
Until one day, Furina packed her belongings and personally sought out the head librarian.
She bowed deeply to the elderly elf who had taken care of her for so long.
“Thank you for everything. I’ve decided to leave the royal city.”
The head librarian was not surprised. “To find your companion?”
Furina was silent for a moment, then replied softly, “…Yes.”