While Darc casually soaked in knowledge, Emma Metis puffed her cheeks and entered the reading room.
She had reached the library almost at the same time as Darc—but she had spent far longer buried among the shelves.
Emma came from a scholarly family. Her father taught children literacy at the church, and her mother had once been a disciple of a sage.
After the demons were eradicated, humanity entered a renaissance. With the Valkyrie becoming a global symbol of female strength, women's status rose dramatically. In every field, women thrived—even in combat and magic.
Emma had grown up surrounded by books. She loved reading and had inherited her mother's independence.
It wasn't that she couldn't make friends.
She simply felt that her classmates were… childish.
And St. Marian's library was, to her, a paradise.
Unlike Darc, who had brought only a single Magical Spirit Compendium, Emma staggered in with an entire stack of books.
She placed them on a table not far from Darc and immediately began reading, so engrossed that she didn't notice him sitting just a few meters away.
The two new students read quietly in the same space, undisturbed.
…
The library offered snacks for hunger, but unlike the scentless tea, all food had to be eaten in the snack room.
Around six o'clock, Darc ate two syrup biscuits, avoided the chocolate sponge cake he loved, drank a little milk, and returned.
The compendium was more like an illustrated encyclopedia. The tone was humorous, the entries fascinating, the artwork colorful.
Darc realized something important:
Reading this kind of "light" material didn't trigger Greed.
As long as he wasn't reading with a strong purpose.
It even contained knowledge—so it didn't count as Sloth either.
Then a horrifying thought struck him.
If this place sold addictive web novels…
He'd be doomed.
The impatient urge to keep reading would be Greed.
Reading brainless junk would be Sloth.
Reading junk with obsession?
Double sin.
Terrifying.
…
Around seven o'clock, a noisy group of students barged into the library.
Veit God was at the center, surrounded by excited Knights asking him endless questions about being the Hero's son.
They were completely unaware of how disruptive they were.
Robert trailed behind like an abandoned duckling.
They had both summoned their familiars and come to look up information.
But contrary to Darc's expectations, Veit's familiar was not a stag, and Robert's was not a hound.
At the counter, the library attendant Pandora Dora-Gon frowned beautifully.
A faint breeze passed.
All sound vanished.
"Silencing Card?"
Veit shut his mouth instantly and looked toward the counter.
The senior girl behind it had unnaturally pale skin, long black hair flowing like a waterfall, and a small heart-shaped scale beneath her eye.
She leaned forward slightly, pressing herself against the counter in a way that formed an… impressive silhouette.
Her legs, visible beneath her skirt, were shockingly long.
"...Mama!"
The silence lifted at that exact moment.
Veit's subconscious word rang through the library with crystal clarity.
Everyone turned to stare at him.
His face turned beet red.
"Come register here," Pandora said flatly.
She already disliked this group.
Weren't freshmen supposed to be like that shy blond boy from earlier? Cute, timid, lowering his head when approached by an older girl…
She had almost smiled remembering it.
But this boy?
Calling her mama?
Was she that old?
Or…
Was he just that shameless?
Her first impression of Veit plummeted.
…
Even after entering the library, Veit's face stayed red.
When the others scattered, only Robert remained.
"Why did you say 'mama'?" Robert whispered.
Veit pulled out a delicate pendant from inside his collar.
Click.
Inside was a photograph.
"That's my mother. I look at it every night and imagine what she looks like."
Robert leaned closer.
The photo only showed a distant side profile.
But the silhouette clearly showed a curvy figure and long black hair.
It did resemble Pandora a little.
Robert thought for a moment. "Want me to ask her name for you?"
Veit hesitated.
"…Better not."
But his mind clearly wasn't letting go.
…
Young hearts were hard to predict.
Just like how Emma finally noticed Darc sitting diagonally ahead of her and thought irritably, Why is this guy always in my line of sight?
And yet, she also felt faintly pleased.
After all, aside from Magisters, almost no one else studied this seriously.
Darc was the only one she didn't find childish.
…
At nine o'clock sharp, Emma was still reading.
Darc pretended not to notice.
He returned Magical Spirit Compendium to its shelf.
Then, out of habit, glanced toward another spot.
Into the Abyss—
Was gone.
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