The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 136

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 136
With a soft cascade, the stack of books tumbled from Liam’s arms, sliding across the floor.
“Oops!”
He rushed over and scooped Rubian up effortlessly.
“Ah, the books! The books!”
“What’s going on here? How did you end up in this place? Aren’t you supposed to pretend you don’t know about it?”
“That’s right, pretend! This is a secret rendezvous between my brother and me…!”
“I love secrets between just the two of us.”
Liam pulled Rubian into a tight embrace.
As he examined his younger sibling after so long, his eyes caught sight of the short black hair.
“But….”
His eyes narrowed beneath his glasses.
“Just as the rumors say, your hair looks like you’ve been doused in the venom of some sea monster….”
“That’s not true! It’s not squid ink!”
Rubian bristled indignantly, but Liam found his younger sibling’s reaction utterly endearing.
* * *
“You want to go inside the Ancient Manuscript Archive?”
Liam adjusted his glasses with both hands as he asked. I nodded from where I sat in the chair.
“Yes. I asked Professor Yuliope about it… but he said it wasn’t allowed.”
Unlike the Children’s Archive, this place had tall chairs and high desks. My feet didn’t touch the floor, so my legs swung back and forth freely.
“…Do you happen to know a way, brother?”
As I asked cautiously, Liam’s eyes, who sat right beside me watching, gleamed with excitement.
“Getting the key to the Ancient Manuscript Archive is naturally something I can easily arrange. The patrol schedule of the guards nearby and the schedules of the administrative professors as well….”
“Wow.”
“All possible.”
Liam pushed his glasses up with a clever expression.
Long live otaku youth! Long live bookworms!
“But… Professor Yuliope comes to the Ancient Manuscript Archive almost every night.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He locks the door and I don’t know what he does, but for the past month he’s been there all night, which has been quite bothersome….”
My eyes blinked once, twice.
‘…So the night Kalid and I infiltrated was just incredibly lucky.’
I thought it over once more.
It must have been Professor Yuliope who suddenly came to the Library that day. If the timing had been off, I might have been caught long ago.
“Sigh, what should I do then? I can’t even stay here for ten days….”
Besides, if I wanted to venture deeper and see all the unexplored areas, I might need to stay quite a bit longer.
“Don’t worry.”
“Huh?”
“Two nights from now, he won’t be there.”
“Really?”
“In two days, it will be the memorial day for fellow scholars who were researching ancient languages with the Professor. He probably won’t go out.”
Gasp, an opportunity!
“….”
‘Huh? Wait a moment.’
A sudden question made me crane my neck forward and stare intently at Liam.
“But how did you know the Professor was in the Ancient Manuscript Archive all night? This place closes at seven….”
At that, Liam jumped to his feet.
“Well, since you say you need it, I’ll get you a key.”
Hmm, something about this feels suspicious.
But since Liam was my ally, I decided not to press further. However, I made a mental note to add this to my investigation report on my two brothers’ actual Academy activities.
“How are you going to get a key? You’re not planning to sneak one out, are you?”
“What do you take me for? I can get it from the Caretaker’s office. Of course, all borrowed keys have to be recorded…. But well, people can make mistakes sometimes, right?”
“…That’s impressive.”
I found myself genuinely amazed.
And somewhat exasperated.
‘Just how much of a library fixture must he have been!’
To have obtained a library free pass at that age?
“Then let’s meet two days from now in the evening. After seven.”
“Ehhhh….”
I fell into slight contemplation. It seemed Liam was excited about going to the Ancient Manuscript Archive with me.
‘Investigating alone would be best….’
Well, I suppose there’s no helping it now.
For now, the goal is just to get inside.
“Understood, brother!”
I nodded with a smile.
Liam patted my head as if pleased, then opened a book he’d set beside him and forced me to study.
* * *
To cut to the conclusion, that night two days later.
Liam could not go to the Ancient Manuscript Archive with me.
“Liam! The component analysis of the beast claw you brought me is complete! I’ve made an incredible discovery! It should be finished by evening in two days—do you have time then? We’re going to make history in the field of biology!”
It was because the Old Professor suddenly burst in and said so. Liam embraced the Professor with an emotional face.
“Blast it, I believed in you, Professor!”
“Excellent! Then will you come to our University Research Department? I’ll stamp your approval!”
“Anything, anything!”
Ah…. Liam had crossed a bridge from which there was no return.
“Ah, but I have a prior engagement two days from now in the evening….”
“Brother, I’m fine. Go do your research. Your studies are more important!”
“You little….”
In the end, Liam secretly told me the location of the key and the security patrol schedule with an extremely emotional expression. (How does he never get caught!)
He told me to use his name if any troublesome situation arose.
‘After all, the Library isn’t a dangerous place.’
I was grateful that Liam understood my burning passion for knowledge.
In any case, after finishing dinner, I pretended to retire to bed before slipping out of the Dormitory and heading toward the Library.
Now that I’d mapped out the schedules of the guards and the Caretaker, infiltration had become considerably easier.
“Sigh, an oak drawer beside a demon crest table, of all places.”
Kalid, walking ahead, muttered with exasperation. In one hand, he held the golden key that the Squirrel had found.
“Right? How are you supposed to find anything in that absolute chaos?”
Kalid spun around sharply, seeking my agreement.
“Shouldn’t we actually file a complaint about this? Why does the Caretaker keep bringing all sorts of bedding supplies into his office?”
I pursed my lips and whistled casually, playing dumb.
For some reason, I had a hunch about who the culprit was.
‘A facilities inspection report…! More content to add…!’
News of the eldest son bringing his belongings into the Library! This could be trending!
In any case, I moved forward diligently.
But then, my legs faltered slightly.
‘Ow, that stings…’
The truth was, I’d fallen during physical education class this morning.
My knee was scraped slightly, and walking quickly made it sting a bit.
‘If he finds out, he’ll nag me about it…’
I’d better keep quiet about it.
That’s why I’d deliberately worn a long dress.
Fortunately, Kalid was walking ahead and didn’t seem to notice.
I moved as carefully as possible. Then, a large door to the Ancient Manuscript Archive appeared before my eyes.
“It’s open.”
Kalid inserted the key and turned it, and the large lock clicked open.
“Let’s go deeper inside.”
“Okay. I’ll lead the way.”
We advanced without obstruction all the way to the center of the Ancient Manuscript Archive, a place we hadn’t been able to reach on our previous visit.
‘It seems the mana pooled in this place has been preserving the books all along.’
I thought this while sensing the energy permeating the air.
Yuliope had described this Ancient Manuscript Archive as either an ‘environment optimized for ancient manuscript preservation’ or a ‘mysterious blessing.’
As an ordinary person unable to sense mana, he seemed to perceive it as a force that couldn’t be fully explained in words dwelling in this place.
It was when we’d ventured deep into the dizzying maze of bookshelves.
Kalid suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“Rubian. Look at this.”
He turned to face me with a peculiar expression.
“What is it?”
“There’s a tree in the middle of the Ancient Manuscript Archive?”
“…A tree?”
I hurried forward.
The deeper I ventured inward, the denser the mana became.
And at the very heart of the Ancient Manuscript Archive where I arrived.
There stood a small courtyard that resembled a glass greenhouse.
“This is….”
An enormously ancient tree seized my gaze.
Bathed in the moonlight pouring through a large opening in the ceiling, the tree swayed gently back and forth.
I moved forward as if entranced.
The moment my hand touched the rough bark, the verdant leaves trembled softly.
“Kalid, this tree….”
When I turned to look at Kalid standing beside me, my crimson eyes reflected in his transparent gaze.
“Why on earth is there a tree here?”
I answered after a moment’s pause.
“…It’s a Sealing Tree. It seems to be containing the mana, keeping it confined to this space alone.”
“So that’s why the Ancient Manuscript Archive was overflowing with mana.”
Kalid nodded slowly, then suddenly furrowed his brow.
“But, could it be that the reason Babylon Capital was so devoid of mana….”
My head nodded slowly in agreement.
“There might be things like this scattered throughout the Capital.”
But who on earth could have done such a thing?
I placed my hand on the tree and attempted to glean more information, but there was nothing more I could discern.
‘Yet simply touching it brings such peace.’
I closed my eyes and felt the gentle, luminous mana flowing through me. It was truly soft and warm.
‘Could the books have been so well preserved thanks to this Sealing Tree?’
But something felt incomplete.
Mana was, in essence, merely the source of power.
By itself alone, it was difficult to expect any specific effect. Therefore, to achieve the desired result, various magical formations would be necessary.
“Rubian, there’s something strange here behind the tree.”
At that moment, Kalid’s voice reached me as he examined the area behind the tree.
‘Could it be?’
I hurried toward that spot.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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