Chapter 29: Librarian
Several minutes later, Mercedes and Lorcon returned to the Sorcerer’s Spirits and Smokes, where Raimund lectured them on tardiness and quest penalties before the Disciple and four Initiates returned to the Academy.
Shortly after their arrival, the Sparrow got her first glimpse inside the Mystic school library, which was positioned to the left of the Nexus courtyard.
Another two-story interior room awaited them, the first floor divided by isles of shelving units packed with books, scrolls, maps, and even boxes that contained drawings of plants, birds, and other assorted, fantastical species, each laid out on polished wooden shelves kept secured behind sturdy glass panel doors.
The second floor held fewer shelves. Its outer walls were framed with many decorative panel windows, which filled the room with natural lighting and revealed the serene, bright blue horizon scattered with clouds.
“The rest of you may browse for a bit while I get Mercedes registered with the Librarian,” Raimund said with a dismissive wave to the three younger Initiates. “Just remember the library rules.”
The Sparrow realized they had been here before without her as the trio bobbed their heads and split off in different directions. She drew her shoulders back with a heavy sigh as she followed the Disciple, feeling less than thrilled to be surrounded by literally thousands of books with titles she couldn’t read.
The librarian’s desk was located at the center of the large room but still visible from the doorway due to the shelves, which curved and parted around it like the petals of a flower. A slender black and white cat slept on a pile of books stacked neatly on the side of the horseshoe-shaped desk. The feline’s green eyes opened lazily as they approached. The creature slowly unfurled itself, arching its back with a yawn that revealed two rows of sharp fangs and a tiny pink tongue.
“Hello, Sylvester. Is Master Leonore around?”
Mercedes raised her brow as she watched the Disciple speak to the cat then recalled her first meeting with Raimund as a robin and Sasha as a striped grey tabby.
The tuxedo sat primly on the desk, blinking at them with an almost bored expression before it responded with a modest but very cat-like “Meow.”
‘So, not a Mystic?’
“Could you ask her to come down? I’ve brought another Initiate who needs to register for an access card. And I need a few copies of a primer made for their next assigned homework reading.”
The black-and-white cat flicked its tail and emitted a louder meow before it hopped down. With a loud purr, it slid its body along the ginger Disciple's robes before padding over to the albino.
A tingling sense of danger tickled at the back of the Sparrow’s neck, and she stepped to the side—only to flinch as the cat pounced on her left boot.
“What the—get off!” Mercedes hissed as she attempted to kick the cat free before its fangs and claws could penetrate the leather barrier.
“Sylvester!” Raimund shouted with faint admonishment. The tuxedo let out a low growl before it unlatched its claws and leapt away from the awkwardly hopping albino. The feline flicked its tail and offered them an ear-splitting, disgusted yowl before it sauntered off into the library to find the missing Librarian.
“What—was that about?” Mercedes growled as she checked her boots and groaned at the severed state of her laces. ‘Please tell me this doesn’t mean I have to go back to that tailor.’
“He’s not usually this hostile,” the ginger Disciple said hesitantly. “You didn’t happen to pick up fish from the market or anything else?”
“Does blood eel sushi count?”
“Ahh, that might be it. He doesn’t like the smell of blood.”
The Sparrow scoffed in exasperation as she activated the uniform’s [Gear Mend Fabric] enchantment and exhaled gratefully as the severed threads wove themselves back together.
“See, no harm done,” Raimund said with a bit too much enthusiasm.
“Disciple?” a female voice pulled their attention to an older woman with sharp cheekbones, bright hazel-green eyes behind a pair of brown framed glasses, and two very cat-like ears that peeked out on either side of a slightly messy bun of silver-streaked black hair. Sylvester emerged beside her, his fluffy tail coiled around the woman’s ankle. “What have you brought into my library?”
“Ahh—this is Initiate Mercedes, the sixth student my Master invited into the Academy,” Raimund answered with a note of confusion. “Mercedes, this is the Academy’s Librarian, Mas—"
“Can it even read?” Leonore interrupted with a note of scorn as her hazel-green eyes narrowed in on the silent albino.
‘It?’ The Sparrow shivered and furrowed her brows as the uncomfortable feeling of being examined spread like goosebumps down her arms and neck.
[Astra System Update! Master Leonore is using [Mystic Insight] to evaluate your stats and Astra Profile details.]
‘What?!’
[Notice! An unknown entity has blocked Master Leonore from accessing your Astra Profile.]
“Haa!” Leonore muttered as she stormed past the confused Disciple and startled Initiate. “Well, I suppose Master Nicodemus knows what he’s doing.” She added the pile of books she carried to the stack the tuxedo had been sleeping upon, then dug through a few drawers before sliding a pen and paper in the Sparrow’s direction. “Here you go. Read and sign this, Initiate.”
Mercedes glanced uneasily between Raimund and the strangely hostile Librarian before accepting the pen. The document presented to her was as illegible as the rest of the books around them without the helpful translation of [Quest Insight].
“So I—sign my name here?” the Sparrow asked as she tapped a blank line near the bottom of the page.
“Yes, after you’ve read over each of the library rules,” Leonore retorted cynically. “If you can manage that.”
Something in the woman’s tone suggested this was a trap, but the albino could see no way around it. ‘I’ll sign the paper now and get Lorcon or Hestia to explain the library rules to me later.’
Mercedes scribbled out her name, the only word she could write without the system guiding her, and set the pen down as she stepped back. When the Sparrow looked up to find the Librarian and Sylvester staring back at her with matching condescending grins, she knew she had made a mistake.
“Disciple Raimund, will you come read the document your Initiate just signed?” Leonore called out with a note of sinister delight.
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“Is there a problem?” Raimund asked as he stepped forward to take the offered parchment. His ginger brows furrowed together as his expression shifted from confusion to annoyance. “This isn’t the registration document, Master Leonore.”
“Of course it’s not!” the Librarian snorted as she waved a hand toward the frozen albino. “But your Initiate couldn’t tell the difference because she can’t read!”
“What do you mean she can’t—” Raimund stiffened as he glanced from the document to the Sparrow. “Mercedes—is that true?”
“I don’t know how she’s managed to fool you for this long. Perhaps Master Nicodemus is assisting her in some way, but if she can’t read, she has no business setting foot inside my library. The treasured archives of the Mystic Academy would be wasted on the likes of her.”
“How—” Mercedes’s jaw hurt as she forced a cold smile and met the Librarian’s mocking gaze. "Did you know I couldn’t read?”
“Because no Bloodborne can,” Leonore retorted, gazing back at the albino with an expression filled with haughty arrogance. “It’s how the Vrặjitoare have kept their blood creations under control for centuries. You’re born with the abilities of a Blood Witch and Vampire but with a magic barrier deeply ingrained inside your brain to prevent you from ever learning to read.” The Librarian arched a brow cynically as she stroked the purring cat beside her. “Nothing makes a race more vulnerable to oppression, manipulation, and slavery quite like illiteracy.”
The Sparrow couldn’t formulate a response as the ginger Disciple uttered a strangled gasp of realization. Somewhere at the back of her mind, another puzzle piece clicked into place, and she knew the Librarian was speaking the truth.
“I don’t understand,” Raimund whispered as he appeared to open a screen to check something. “Her homework assignment shows she’s finished reading two of the four primers we assigned for her to read.”
“Like I said, your Master—or perhaps someone else is helping her. Information can be obtained in more than one way, after all. If they were part of a quest, perhaps that created a loophole for your Initiate to exploit, but hand her any book, scroll, or note without this loophole, and she won’t be able to tell the difference between even the most basic words. Look—she can’t even spell her name correctly.”
The albino’s jaw tightened as her cheeks flushed with humiliation.
“But the written examinations, the research projects, all of her other reading assignments,” Raimund sputtered.
“Without a loophole, she won’t be able to complete any of them,” Leonore affirmed smugly as she folded her arms. “She might have enough potential to outperform a dhampir when it comes to magic, but she won’t be able to rise past the rank of Novice if she can’t raise her Magic Knowledge to level 3.”
‘Right. Because Spells are locked behind Tiers I can only unlock with a higher Magic Knowledge.’
“No. That doesn’t make sense. Master Nicodemus wouldn’t have taken her in as a student if her potential was so limited.”
“You’re assuming he knew about her handicap when he invited her, Disciple.”
‘Didn’t he, though? Nicodemus is the only one who’s seen my Astra. He called me Bloodborne. Surely, a Professor like him is aware of the implications. Then he must believe I’m capable enough. Or perhaps he realized his Primordial was helping me?’
“Either way, Mercedes is a student of the Academy, and all students have the right to access the Academy’s Library,” Raimund said as he locked gazes with the Librarian. “So please, give us the correct registration paperwork.”
“Disciple,” Leonore growled, her cat ears flattening as she leaned against the desk toward him. “Despite my humble position here, please remember that I am just as much a Master of this Academy as your Professor. The Basilisk’s Lair is his domain, and this—” she tilted her head towards the shelves of books around them as Sylvester let out a threatening yowl, “—is mine.”
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“Master Leonore said that?” Nicodemus asked as he set aside the scroll he had been reading to examine the ginger Disciple and albino standing across from his office desk.
“Word for word,” Raimund affirmed with notable displeasure. “What do we do?”
“You will go back to the library with the other Initiates, make sure they all get copies of their assigned reading, and dismiss them for the day,” the Professor instructed, nodding towards the office door.
“Yes. Of course. But—what about—”
Mercedes ignored the pointed glance in her direction as she maintained her focus on the document Leonore had tricked her into signing.
“You don’t need to worry. The Initiate and I will handle that between us,” Nicodemus said with a note of firmness that appeared to settle the matter as Raimund bowed and left through the office door, which he shut quietly behind him. The Professor’s gaze returned to the Sparrow as he tapped the arm of his chair. “Are you upset, Initiate?”
“No.”
“Hmm. Then do you have a question for me?”
“I—” Mercedes clenched her wrist, her arms folded behind her back, a habit she still retained from years of service as a soldier in her old world. “Why bring me here, to the Academy, if you knew I couldn’t read?”
“I told you, my interest in helping you aligns with that of Titan Astralindar. As to your illiteracy, it appears that someone else has given you a tool to overcome this significant setback. Judging by what Raimund told me, I suspect Arcantheon may have modified the Quest system to provide you with a loophole. Would I be correct in that assumption?”
“Yes.”
“Then we will continue to take advantage of that to teach you everything you need to know,” Nicodemus said with a faint shrug as he leaned back in his chair. “Though I suspect this modification will only apply to quests you receive inside the Arcane Realms.”
“What about outside this realm, the Academy, and the quests you can give me?” As reluctant as Mercedes was to acknowledge, let alone speak of the disability she had grown up resenting, it made her even angrier to learn she had been intentionally designed with this defect.
“I suppose a mystical companion of some sort might help to balance out any limitations to this workaround,” he mused while stroking the snake-like signet ring on his left hand. “I will look into that. In the meantime, is there anything else I should know as your Professor and Guardian?”
“Guardian?”
“Yes. I told you that you are under my protection as long as you remain my student,” Nicodemus replied as he folded his hands over the documents on his desk. “I would prefer to avoid further incidents such as what happened this morning.”
“You mean when my classmate brought members of Serenitus’s Temple into the Academy to interrogate me?”
The Professor offered her a cynical brow before he pushed back his chair and rose. “Novice Karissa has been put on a temporary suspension. And Serenitus’s Temple within the Arcane Realm has been put on notice to avoid coming near the Academy or any of its students without express permission from the Grandmaster himself.”
“And you think they will honor that agreement?”
“I think Serenitus’s Disciples will take advantage of any opportunity they have to uncover the mystery behind Master Primula’s disappearance on the Mundane World you escaped from,” Nicodemus replied as he moved to stand in front of the albino, who quickly avoided his gaze. “But they won’t challenge the Academy openly like that again if only to avoid provoking the Grandmaster and Archmage Lothaire.”
“So, I go back to being safe while I remain on Academy grounds or confined to my rooms at the Inn?” Mercedes observed sourly. ‘So much for freedom.’
“It is a far better deal than what would await you should they succeed in dragging you inside their Temple, Initiate. Still—” The Professor raised a hand to tap her chin, urging the Sparrow to meet his gaze. “All of this could be avoided if you simply told them what they need to know.”
“What if I can’t?” she retorted with a blank expression. “What if a lie will condemn me just as much as the truth?”
“Ah.” Nicodemus withdrew his hand with a faint laugh. “I thought that might be the case. You lack the ability to open a portal capable of entering our world. Yet, if Master Primula had opened such a portal herself, she would have escaped rather than linger in the face of any danger.” His golden amber eyes narrowed as they returned to the Sparrow. “More importantly, if Serenitus’s High Priestess died, her soul and body should have been resurrected in the Divine Realm—unless—something or someone interfered.”
“Perhaps something did.”
A slow, devious smile spread across the Professor’s face before a dry chuckle escaped his lips.
‘I—think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen him smile,’ Mercedes realized as a shiver ran down her spine. She flinched when he patted her shoulder almost approvingly before returning to his desk.
“Let us keep that between us for now, Initiate. You should go and wait for Raimund outside the library. I trust my Disciple will find a way to get an extra copy of the primer you need. Have him add it to your ongoing homework assignment and then escort you back to the Inn.”
‘And here I was hoping I’d have less reading to deal with.’
“Don’t forget, Mercedes. Tomorrow, you meet with Astralindar in her domain. Be sure to treat the Titan with the respect she deserves for sparing your life.”
The Sparrow couldn’t tell if he meant that as a threat or a warning, but she suspected it didn’t matter. If Astralindar were anything like the Phoenix-Dragon she had encountered outside the Divine Realm, then Mercedes would be as cautious as a mouse entering a predator’s lair.