"Milta, where exactly did you find this book?" Sophie carefully took the weathered volume from the girl's hands. Oddly, despite never formally learning this world's script, she could read every word.
"Third floor of the archives! It's been gathering dust forever." Milta rubbed her grimy sleeves—evidence of her morning-long search.
"Are there more like it?" Sophie flipped through the pages, enthralled. *This isn't just a book—it's a classified demonic chronicle!* If she had a set, she could make a fortune selling royal secrets.
"Not sure. I only remembered this one." Milta frowned, regretting not checking nearby shelves.
Serei squeezed Sophie's hand. "The third floor houses rare texts. If we search thoroughly..."
---
The moment they stepped into the archives, mildew assaulted Sophie's nose. *How did Milta endure this for hours?* But the sight of endless shelves made her forget the stench. Back on Earth, books had been her refuge. Now, they might hold the key to survival.
The group dispersed, silence broken only by rustling pages and the occasional *thud* of books knocked over by Agatha's unruly wings.
"GUYS! LOOK WHAT I FOUND!" Sophie waved a leather-bound journal triumphantly.
Faded letters on the cover read *Memories in a Box*. Inside, a firsthand account detailed the millennium before and after the demons' banishment—centered on Chirisia's founder, Curtis Far, and the demon princess Salister. The author? Salister's nursemaid, Claire, a tortoise-demon whose longevity let her witness history unfold.
Claire had joined the demon court as a young scribe, rising to archivist under Queen Daisy. When Daisy bore a second child—unheard of in demon royalty—she named the girl Salister: *"God's Blessed."*
Unlike her warlike brother Ferdinand, Salister inherited Daisy's curiosity. She chronicled demonic lore, including secrets only kings should know. But her fascination with humans led her to Curtis Far on the battlefield. Their forbidden love sparked a war that ended when the gods themselves intervened, sealing the demons away.
Pregnant and fearing Ferdinand's wrath, Salister fled through a crack in the barrier with Claire's help. She became Chirisia's first queen; her son, its second king. The truth was buried—until now.
---
Sophie summarized the revelations, ending with a bombshell: *"Every Chirisian royal has demon blood. Serei, you and Agatha are distant cousins!"*
Serei's face cycled through shades of crimson and ash as he verified the text. All official histories glorified Curtis Far's battles—*not* his romantic sabotage of the enemy's princess.
Agatha massaged her temples. *Of all the kingdoms to crash into, it had to be one founded by my great-aunt?*
Charles squinted at the journal. "So... how do the *Fallen Wings* actually *work*? This just brags about Ferdinand's war feats. Agatha's version barely keeps her airborne!"
"*Charles!*" Agatha's wings bristled, smacking another stack of books to the floor.
Sophie absentmindedly licked her lips, eyeing the wings. *Crispy golden skin, glazed with honey...*
"*MOM!*" Agatha yelped as Sophie pinched a feather.
**What other explosive truths lie hidden in these forgotten tomes?**