{5}“Library Fairy”

  ***

  "Dear new students!"

  The morning of April's first day had dawned. As hundreds of new students watched, Antoine Pinetre, Head Professor of History and Geology at Elvlin Academy, began his welcoming speech from the podium.

  "Is there anything more thrilling and exciting than a new beginning? Throughout my life, I've explored many regions and conducted various research projects. Looking back, what I remember most vividly are the moments when I started something new."

  Most of the new students were young children, and they gradually lost interest in the professor's lengthening speech. Instead, they chose to either look around or sit stiffly, lost in their own thoughts.

  "...Looking back, beginnings were always joyful. However, it's often difficult to recognize that joy in the moment. What a shame."

  Rin listened intently to Professor Antoine's words, paying no attention to the chattering new students right beside her. Her cheeks were slightly flushed. The academy she had known for fourteen years appeared entirely new to her eyes, because she had finally become what she had always wanted to be—an 'official student.'

  Elvlin Academy sprawled across its vast grounds like a city unto itself. While outsiders and employees could move freely within its grounds, only students and faculty had unrestricted access to all facilities. Working as a library clerk, Rin had always envied the students.

  Having lived without any family connections, she owned very few clothes, and even the uniforms that students wore daily were objects of her admiration. The uniform she wore now at the entrance ceremony was slightly too big for her, obtained by Professor Temel who had tracked down a graduate. Though the sleeves nearly covered her hands, to Rin it was a precious and beautiful new garment.

  "...Many say that to achieve your goals, you must endure and persevere through the present. But students! Whatever your goals may be, living like you're dead inside will only make you forget your original objectives. What's important is everything that came before, and before that, and even before that—and right now! This moment of beginning!"

  Rin kept nodding at Professor Antoine's words. Then she felt someone poking her. It was the girl sitting right next to her.

  A pretty student with long red hair, long limbs, a sharp nose, and large green eyes. Judging by her perfectly fitted uniform and straight posture, she seemed to be from a highly distinguished family. She turned to Rin with a broad smile and extended her hand.

  "Nice to meet you. I'm Calia."

  Rin smiled back and took her hand.

  "Nice to meet you. I'm Rin."

  "Are you a fan of that professor too?"

  "Pardon?"

  Rin's eyes widened at the unexpected question.

  "You were the only one listening intently while everyone else was distracted. Actually, I'm a fan of his too."

  "Oh, really?"

  "Of course! Antoine Pinetre. Anyone who knows anything knows he's the King of Adventure!"

  This reminded Rin that the many professors she regularly greeted were all renowned figures across the continent.

  "Yes, that's right."

  Having found someone who shared her interests, the two quickly became friends. Several people around them cast glances at the two chattering students.

  Though their gazes created an odd atmosphere as they shifted between Rin and Calia, Rin remained completely oblivious to this fact. She continued occasionally exchanging words with Calia while listening attentively to the speech echoing from the podium. The former 'King of Adventure,' Professor Antoine, steadfastly continued his speech despite the restless murmuring of the new students.

  "...Therefore, what I want to implore you is to cherish this present moment. So that someday in the distant future, today's scene will shine more beautifully and more joyfully in your memories, savor this moment fully! Every moment in life is both a beginning and a process. Even now, something new is beginning here with you and this academy. If something has sprouted within you during this beginning, from now on, we will help nurture that sprout together. From the bottom of my heart, from the bottom of my heart, welcome everyone! Thank you!"

  When the speech ended, Rin and Calia stood up simultaneously to applaud. This sparked a chain reaction, and other new students began standing and applauding as well. Soon the hall was filled with thunderous applause. Professor Antoine seemed slightly surprised, tilting his head as he descended from the podium.

  The one who congratulated him as he returned to the professors' seats was an elderly man wrapped in a large cloak with a monocle on his face.

  "That was an excellent speech, Professor Antoine."

  "Thank you, Headmaster."

  The person he shook hands with was none other than Elvlin himself. The owner of Elvlin Academy, considered the most prestigious institution in Northern Ascalia. Except for days like today, he rarely showed himself and was an unfamiliar figure even to the professors, though he maintained a particularly close relationship with Professor Antoine.

  Other professors also praised Antoine's passionate speech. During this, when Doctor Gernshvatz, who seemed especially moved today, started saying "Such a wonderful day can't go without fireworks. Now where did I put my 'explosives'..." while searching his pockets, the entire professors' section froze in tension. Fortunately, Professor Sven, who had been monitoring him from nearby, quickly resolved the situation by efficiently choking the doctor into unconsciousness.

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  Thanks to this, the welcome ceremony concluded without any incidents, and the new students, unaware of what danger they had been exposed to, happily chatted as they left the hall.

  ***

  First day of the semester. Rin woke up earlier than usual. After grooming herself, she put on her uniform first. Then she stood before the full-length mirror. Her mouth was full of smiles. Though the clothes were a bit big, that didn't matter at all.

  She packed a small notebook and two pens before leaving her room. The room was located at the top of the library.

  Elvlin Academy's library was a large cylindrical building. Above its highest floor's domed ceiling, an enormous tree protruded.

  It was so large that the shadow of its widely spread branches and leaves could cover the entire library building. The library's book storage cylinder was four stories high, and including the dome structure on top, it reached nearly six to seven stories in height.

  The collection numbered 46,000 volumes. The ancient tree penetrating through the center (known among students as "Grandfather Tree"), the spiral structure between floors surrounding it, and the vast bookshelves covering the walls were unique features of this library. Though the dome itself had no windows, morning sunlight filtered through the ceiling's opening and the gaps in the massive tree trunk.

  The interior featured circular balconies that wrapped around the ancient tree, and Rin's room sat like a small cabin at the very top. She had lived here and started working as a library clerk around the age of ten. This was why the existing academy students had come to call her the "Library Fairy."

  "Hmm hmhm."

  She found herself humming. Her steps down the stairs were lighter than ever, and the numerous books and lamps on the walls, along with the majestic trunk of "Grandfather Tree" penetrating through the library's center, looked more impressive than usual today.

  As Rin opened the library's main door and looked to the side, there lay a grayish-white dog the size of a bull—or perhaps even larger—sleeping.

  Rin bent slightly at the waist and greeted cheerfully.

  "Good morning, Baron!"

  *...*

  The animal called Baron opened just one eye to look at Rin. With her smile reaching her ears, Rin did a light twirl.

  "Starting today, I'm a student, Baron!"

  Baron blinked his one open eye in response.

  "Well then, I'm off to my first class!"

  Baron blinked once more before returning to sleep, and Rin left the library with steps that seemed ready to take flight.

  ***

  "From now on, for one semester, you will..."

  The new students gathered in the plaza at the center of the academy grounds to hear about their upcoming classes. Typically, schools in the northern region operated on a three-semester system with spring, summer, and fall terms, followed by a long winter break. This was due to the region's characteristically long and severe winters.

  However, Elvlin Academy ignored this convention and operated on a two-semester system, which was said to follow the headmaster's principle of "not yielding to environmental conditions."

  New students would take common core courses for the first four months of their first semester. This was mandatory with no alternatives, allowing students to experience introductory courses in various fields during this period. At the end of their first year, they would decide their major field, at which point they would take an entrance test for their desired area.

  This served as a replacement for year-end exams. Everyone tilted their heads at this first-year curriculum, since most already had fields they wanted to pursue. However, when anyone asked about it, they were simply told it was policy.

  "Oh? Rin!"

  At the familiar voice, Rin turned her head. She saw a red-haired girl waving from afar.

  "Calia!"

  After the briefing ended and all new students were moving to their next location, the two girls had somehow managed to find each other among hundreds of people.

  "Did you sleep well, Rin?"

  "Yes, I slept wonderfully. How about you?"

  "I spent forever looking for you at the girls' dormitory yesterday. Where is your room anyway?"

  "Um... in the library."

  "What?"

  "I'll explain later."

  The new students moved to the location where they would take their common core classes. Before reaching the building, which was quite far from the main gate, they first encountered a fountain.

  In the center of the ornate fountain, decorated with various symbols and scripts, stood a statue of Lord Merlen, a historical figure renowned as a hero of the last great war and a legendary archmage.

  He was depicted in his youth, wearing the distinctive flowing robes of House Hardien, holding a book emblazoned with an owl spreading its wings. The white marble statue, standing twenty vatts tall, was truly magnificent.

  "I don't get it."

  "Get what?"

  As Rin tilted her head, Calia frowned slightly and crossed her arms.

  "The common core courses. Starting with learning everything first? Wouldn't it be better to begin with our desired fields?"

  Rin smiled lightly in response.

  "The great merchant Jabes Dane Isaiah once said, 'People don't know what they want until you show them what's available.'"

  "Hmm... that makes sense?"

  "And the biographer Aquinad Ruhan said this."

  Rin pointed to the headstone placed in front of the fountain. There, inscribed in Ascalian script, were these words:

  [Merlen said, "There are no worthless people in this world. Live, learn, and challenge yourself, and you will eventually find it." And we know. That he discovered the highest value. That he constantly honed himself. He ultimately became great. -Excerpted from Aquinad Ruhan's Biography of Merlen]

  "Isn't it amazing? Aquinad Ruhan wrote many books analyzing and documenting the lives of historical figures. He said that talent isn't something you're born with, but something you discover."

  Rin's eyes sparkled as she spoke. Calia smiled awkwardly in response.

  "You must read a lot of books?"

  "Yes. Living in the library..."

  "Oh, right! What did you mean about the library being your home? You said you'd explain?"

  Rin explained how she came to live in the library. She briefly described being abandoned at the academy as a baby, being found and raised by the faculty, later working as a library clerk to earn her keep, and naturally obtaining her room at the top of the library. Though she related it all matter-of-factly and briefly, Calia's response was,

  "*SOB* *SOB* Waaah..."

  Pure emotion. She buried her tear-streaked face in Rin's shoulder and cried so pitifully that Rin found herself patting Calia like a mother would.

  "Don't cry, Calia."

  "But... but..."

  "There, there, good girl."

  Calia's crying was drowned out by the murmuring of students. Everyone's attention was focused on the fountain. Calia, who had absently followed their gazes, was startled.

  "Rin! What's this..."

  *CLICK CLICK*

  The numerous symbols arranged on the fountain were moving. While everyone was amazed by the sight of stone carvings moving smoothly, Rin remained unfazed.

  "Oh, this? It operates like this twice a day. Water will start spraying soon."

  All the new students watched in awe as the carvings moved precisely, changing their arrangement. Calia grabbed Rin's hand and smiled brightly.

  "Water will come out? That must be so pretty..."

  *WHOOSH!*

  Right then, water spurted from the center. Specifically, from the top of Merlen's statue's head.

  "..."

  The bizarre sight looked as if blood was gushing from his head. Calia and countless other new students were left speechless. Except for one person. Excluding Rin.

  "Ah! It's such a magnificent sight no matter how many times I see it! Hm? Calia. Why are you so quiet?"

  "..."

  -To be continued-