The Second Library stood like a relic of the past. Its exterior looked old, yet the door opened silently, as if carefully maintained. Inside, the heavy scent of old paper filled the air, and silence weighed on every corner.
Connor McCloud stepped in and found the place empty. The library was small, with only a single table for four people and two worn chairs. Endless shelves lined the room, each crammed with damaged books — spines tattered, covers missing, some crudely re-bound.
Despite its size, the library felt abandoned. No librarian greeted him, though clear signs of one were present: scattered parchment, pens, a magnifying glass, and a strange metal tool left on the workbench. Among the clutter, a lone blue rose sat in a vase, strangely out of place.
Connor moved deeper into the rows of shelves. They were arranged in alphabetical order, but when he opened a volume, the title was written in an indecipherable script. Kyle, the voice within him, explained that the writing belonged to Sarizon, a lost kingdom destroyed 800 years ago. Another book carried the Braktor language, a nation gone for over a millennium.
Shelf after shelf held only forgotten tongues, making it clear why no students or professors came here. This was a library of the unreadable, useful only to those who could interpret ancient scripts.
As Connor debated leaving, the quiet was broken by the sound of a book hitting the floor. He turned and saw a woman staring at him with vacant eyes. Her long green hair, oversized glasses, and heavy cloak gave her a strange appearance — but what truly caught his attention were her pointed ears.
An elf? Here, in the Academy? His instincts screamed of danger — spy, assassin, fugitive — any possibility was alarming. But Kyle urged him to calm down. On closer inspection, the ears were not long enough. They belonged not to a pure elf, but a half-elf.
The woman, flustered, introduced herself as Erza Essol. She wore the Academy uniform beneath her cloak and claimed to be a student. Though Connor doubted her, his Gift showed no sign of deception.
Sitting together, the awkwardness grew. For Connor, the presence of any elf-blooded being was unsettling, as elves and humans shared a history drenched in hatred and conflict. Yet Erza appeared harmless, fidgeting nervously as she tried to explain herself.
She revealed that her father was a human noble, Viscount Essol, infamous for his cruelty, and her mother was an elf. She even presented her student ID — but what Connor read only deepened the mystery.
The ID listed her admission year as 1972. The current year was 2021. That meant Erza Essol had been in the Academy for nearly five decades and was sixty-eight years old. Yet, before him sat someone who looked barely older than himself.
When Connor pointed this out, Erza broke down in despair. She groaned about her age, her wasted years in the library, her failure to graduate, and her hopelessness in romance and life. She declared herself a "gloomy half-elf spinster, student, and librarian" who had been trapped in the Academy for forty-nine years.
Trying to ignore her emotional collapse, Connor asked about books on Kurnugia, the dragon. At the mention of the name, her mood shifted instantly. With the energy of a true librarian, she became focused and sharp. She explained that while these archives contained dangerous and important knowledge, she would help him — though she wrote down his request on an inspection record first.
Connor glanced at the note she left behind. His name, dorm, and reason for searching had been scribbled down under a single word: "Interest."
Uncertain, but left with no choice, he followed Erza Essol — the eccentric half-elf who had not graduated, not aged, and not left the library in nearly half a century.
Who exactly was this woman, and why had she remained lost in time?