42. Isolation (4)
Tehallan, the capital of Adolevit, was quite famous as a tourist destination as well.
That was because from anywhere in the city, one could see the Frost Cliff Palace.
Standing atop a sheer cliff in the distance with the backdrop behind it, the immense palace exuded an overwhelming pressure simply by being looked at.
It was, undeniably, a cool city.
Sitting at an outdoor café in the street, sipping away at a drink while staring at the palace far off in the distance, I couldn’t help thinking it had a certain charm.
The streets of Tehallan brought nineteenth- to twentieth-century London to mind.
The gloomy black trains cutting across the city, the ladies and gentlemen who enjoyed formal wear, the sky and buildings washed in shades of gray.
It all felt like Sherlock Holmes might leap out of an alleyway at any moment over there and start chasing Jack the Ripper with Watson.
And if you asked what I was planning to do here now, then naturally, the first step was to infiltrate that palace.
Of course, trying to sneak into a palace with security that tight relying only on Blink was little different from suicide.
Even though my body contained no mana, my experience so far had shown me that mages could detect a mana reaction the instant I used Blink, so the palace security system would probably detect it too.
But sneaking into the Frost Palace wasn’t limited to secretive, criminal methods.
There were also moral and legal methods.
For instance…
What if I simply became a palace servant myself?
There were less than two or three weeks of summer vacation left now, and I had to get Hong Biyeon out before then, so becoming a palace servant sounded absurd and impossible at first glance.
But for me, it was easier than it sounded.
Because I had the Bulbul Glasses, which kept careful records of many of the events currently taking place.
First, I sought out Cheonri Trading Company, the most famous merchant house in Tehallan.
“Hm? A Stella student. What brings you all the way here?”
“Greetings.”
Cheonri Trading Company’s office was closer to a factory than an office.
Dozens of self-driving wagons the size of trucks stood waiting while workers loaded and unloaded cargo, carrying crates and goods back and forth, and in the middle of it all clerks and staff barked orders and took care of business.
I stepped right into that chaos.
“I heard you’ve recently been having trouble because you’re short on Antaril Oiler technicians. As it happens, I’m extremely knowledgeable when it comes to handling Antaril Oiler systems, so would you allow me to help?”
I said it confidently, full of ambition, but—
“What are you talking about? We’ve got too many Antaril Oiler technicians. That fellow over there’s one too, but there are so many of them that he’s doing loading work instead.”
Failure.
Of course the Bulbul Glasses weren’t omnipotent.
There was naturally no exact indication of what event would occur where and at what time, and on top of that, my actions had already caused countless butterfly effects all across the world, nudging the future onto a different path.
Of course, I hadn’t expected to succeed on the first try anyway.
After that, I continued visiting all sorts of places throughout the city of Tehallan.
Newspaper offices, weapon dealers, magic tool shops, and more.
After failure after failure, I finally found the place that the Bulbul Glasses had indicated was in trouble.
The Sunset Bookstore.
It was called a bookstore, but in reality it was closer to a publishing company.
It was one of the suppliers that continuously provided books to the Adolevit royal family.
But recently, a problem had arisen.
Once a book had already been supplied to the royal family, it could never be supplied again unless there was a separate request, so everything had to be managed with meticulous checking.
However, the librarian responsible for that work had recently run off, giving them a major headache.
If all that had happened was the librarian fleeing, it wouldn’t have been so bad.
But the relevant documents had been left in complete chaos, and now they were in danger of missing their deadlines.
“I happen to be exceptionally good at organizing this kind of thing.”
“…Really? Well, go ahead and try.”
The bookstore owner clearly didn’t trust me, but perhaps because the power of Stella’s emblem was greater than I’d expected, he hired me anyway, more or less like a one-day temp worker.
And then, in just one day, I managed to cleanly sort it all out.
“H-how in the world…?”
“I’m just good at this.”
The document-sorting work itself wasn’t all that special.
It was brute force, really.
Take the documents one by one, gather them, and read through them all.
Well—strictly speaking, I wasn’t reading them. I was making the Bulbul Glasses read them.
After that, once the Bulbul Glasses had stored the contents of every document and sorted them in order, all I had to do was follow along and stack them properly.
The volume was truly enormous, so I had to spend the entire day skipping meals just to finish it, but thanks to me, the Sunset Bookstore was able to successfully deliver books to Adolevit.
It was worthwhile work.
“Well, this turned out great. We actually needed someone to fill the empty librarian position anyway. You said you were planning to work over the summer? We’re scheduled to deliver books directly to the royal family the day after tomorrow, so why don’t you come with us? It would be a huge help if you assisted with the organization.”
Of course, not just anyone could enter the palace.
One needed an identity that was sufficiently guaranteed.
But a Stella student ID wasn’t exactly an ordinary identity, was it?
Compared to the royal family it wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was still enough to be called a “first-class citizen.”
So simply gaining access wouldn’t be much of a problem.
Once I’d gotten this far, it was already half a success.
I still hadn’t become a palace servant, but if things went according to my plan, then probably…
“Oho, the three of you organized all this?”
“Haha. Surprised, right? But what’s even more surprising is that the two of us didn’t do anything. This student here did all of it alone.”
When the owner of the Sunset Bookstore joked around and thumped my back, the librarian of the royal library lit up.
“So you’re the temp worker? You’ve got sharp eyes and an excellent memory. Your personality’s meticulous and delicate too.”
“Thank you.”
“And speaking of which, the caretaker has come down with a terrible case of the flu and is bedridden right now…”
The old librarian began speaking while carefully gauging my reaction.
“I’ll pay you well, so how about working for us just for the summer?”
Exactly as I’d expected—
No, exactly as the Bulbul Glasses had recorded.
The royal library was short-handed because the caretaker was chronically ill, and now, in the middle of that, a highly capable librarian candidate had appeared…
How could they possibly resist hiring him?
“Yes. Of course.”
And so, I successfully found work at the Frost Palace.
That didn’t mean I could meet Hong Biyeon right away.
My role was limited to the royal library, and even there I only counted as a librarian managing third-rank books, the kind that didn’t fall under top-secret matters.
Since I was not an Adolevit citizen and was merely a traveler, it was impossible even to read second-rank texts such as national grimoires.
That didn’t mean there was nothing to do.
If anything, there was so much to do I thought I’d go insane.
The caretaker must have been gone a long time, because the royal library was in such catastrophic shape that it raised the fundamental question of whether a human being could really organize it at all.
On top of that, it was pointlessly enormous, so it took me a full week just to sort the place out.
“You actually organized all this. Impressive.”
“Hey, Chief Librarian. Is that the kid you were talking about?”
“I told you it was. Impressive, isn’t he?”
“Hm-hm…”
As if that weren’t enough, managerial nobles from the administration began showing up after hearing the rumors and started eyeing me with interest.
I rather wished the Chief Librarian would block them off, but unfortunately, he had very little authority.
“Well then, if you’ve got time, think you could help me out? There’s a mountain of paperwork piled up, and I just can’t get it organized at all.”
“Sure.”
I had planned to keep a low profile as an ordinary library librarian, but instead I ended up being dragged here and there doing administrative work.
I wasn’t even an Adolevit citizen, nor a noble, nor even an official palace servant, so I honestly didn’t know what exactly they were trusting me on.
Then again, compared to the South Korean military, which would drag in even some fluffy mutt off the street and work it to the bone as long as it looked useful, perhaps this still counted as civilized.
Still, these developments weren’t entirely bad.
I wasn’t an official palace servant, but I was able to get close to noble palace staff.
In particular, I got close to the maids, and since they were so sensitive to gossip, I was able to hear stories about what was going on inside the royal household.
“Did you hear? Her Majesty the Queen is apparently going on vacation with the princesses this time.”
“Of course I heard. They’re going to the coast of Leviang.”
“Pfft, calling that a vacation spot is a joke.”
It was only after hearing the maids’ conversation that I became certain this situation really was the scenario I knew.
[Extra Episode]
[The Vacation of the Adolevit Royal Family]
This wasn’t a main episode.
It was an extra episode.
But I’d said this before.
The entity known as the Twelve Divine Moons, which I suspected to be the most important key to leading this world toward the proper ending, was almost impossible to encounter in the main episodes.
You could only meet them by progressing through side stories.
For that reason…
I could dare say that this episode was more important than any story we had encountered so far.
Because on the coast of Leviang, where winter never ended, the Divine Moon Blue Winter December (靑冬十二月) lay sleeping.
‘I didn’t expect I’d have to do this already…’
Still, the Twelve Divine Moons were beings I would have to meet someday, one way or another.
Maybe it was a little early, but the situation had turned out this way, so all I could do was give it my best.
“…Princess. I’m sorry.”
Keeping her lips pressed tightly together, Hong Biyeon silently listened to the words of her guard knight, Yae Taerin.
Ever since the age when she had first begun to understand the world, Yae Taerin had always spent her time in the same spaces as Hong Biyeon.
To Hong Biyeon, she was the closest thing to a best friend and protector.
In this terrible palace where everyone opposed her, she was one of the few people Hong Biyeon had been able to trust.
And now even Yae Taerin was being sent away on assignment.
Wasn’t that utterly absurd?
To dispatch a princess’s guard knight elsewhere.
But it was a matter personally approved by Queen Hong Seryu, and therefore impossible to reverse.
Even at the last moment, while packing to leave, Yae Taerin could not hide the sorrow in her eyes.
Normally, Hong Biyeon would have said something, anything—but today, her mouth felt particularly heavy, and she could say nothing at all.
“Princess…”
Even when Yae Taerin called to her, Hong Biyeon did not answer.
No—
She couldn’t.
Because if she opened her mouth here, she felt she had no idea what would come out.
Yae Taerin slowly approached her and spoke in a soft whisper.
“Princess, even if I’m not here… you’ll still be able to manage. The princess I’ve always seen is someone who never breaks under anything, and who keeps moving forward with unwavering resolve.”
“I promise… I’ll complete my mission as quickly as possible and return to your side once again.”
Only after Yae Taerin stepped back after saying that did Hong Biyeon finally nod.
She did not put on a tearful face now of all times.
There were still too many eyes watching here.
‘I can’t afford to become weak.’
She must always show strength.
If she showed weakness, people would look down on her in an instant.
Because although she stood at the top of the food chain, she was also prey coveted by every predator.
After Yae Taerin left, someone else took the position of Hong Biyeon’s guard knight.
She neither knew his name nor his background, but one thing she knew for certain.
‘He is not on my side.’
The man, with his short-cropped hair and hard, cold expression, looked at Hong Biyeon with obvious displeasure.
It was not a gaze one could dare direct toward royalty, but she could not carelessly touch him.
He was… a man assigned to her personally by the queen.
…Night fell.
Wearing only her undergarments, Hong Biyeon stepped out onto the balcony and looked up at the moon.
The full moon hanging high seemed hateful to her.
What was so good about things that it could be smiling so brightly like that?
Staring vacantly at the sky brought to mind the elder sister who had left long ago.
She used to lie on a hill with her sister, watching the stars.
‘Have you ever seen a meteor shower?’
Back then, Hong Biyeon had shaken her head.
‘It’s when the sun has fully gone down, and you look up at the sky to bid farewell to the day.’
It had been past midnight.
In those days, there had been no one looking for her, so even if she climbed the dawn hill together with her sister, no one stopped them.
‘On a clear night without clouds, spread out a mat and lie down… and hold the whole sky in your embrace like this. In the moment you gaze at a meteor shower, you’ll be the freest person in the world.’
…Her sister had been wrong.
Hong Biyeon had become someone who could never be free again.
What did a meteor shower matter now?
She was lonely, desolate, and isolated.
Because she had learned the unfamiliar sensation of not being alone.
Because she had learned what it felt like to be able to rely on someone, to lean on someone.
That feeling dug all the more cruelly into Hong Biyeon’s chest.
There was no one left within the Frost Palace who would stand on her side anymore.
Even those who had remained by her side…
Had all gone away.
She was alone.
Alone in the palace.
Trapped there.
Praying in loneliness for the rest of her life.
Until she withered.
Leaning weakly against the balcony, Hong Biyeon closed her eyes beneath the shower of starlight, as if receiving its comfort…
‘Ah.’
At that moment, she suddenly felt something strange and unfamiliar, yet not unfamiliar at all, brush against her cheek, and her eyes flew open.
She reached up and touched her cheek in a daze, but there was nothing there.
‘This…’
Then she realized.
This was not one of the five senses.
It was her sixth sense—mana—reacting to a familiar nostalgia.
At that late hour, when everyone else was asleep, Hong Biyeon quietly left her room and walked down the corridor.
She did not even know where she was going.
She simply followed that familiar scent.
Walk.
And walk again.
Only after passing through several hallways and then leaving the palace entirely did she finally reach a place that could be called her destination.
It was…
The library.
The royal library.
It had been her first time there since entering Stella, so she had not come in half a year.
‘Why… here?’
She herself did not understand why she had ended up here, but she unconsciously pushed open the library door.
At that hour before dawn, it should naturally have been locked, and yet strangely, the door opened.
Creeeak…!
The old, unoiled gate opened, revealing the inside of the library.
The smell of books filled the air, but it did not feel unpleasant.
She sensed no presence.
And yet she could see that a lamp was lit deeper within the library, so she carefully drew out her wand and headed toward it.
And then—
Crash! Boom!
A loud noise rang out.
Something had collapsed.
‘What—!’
Hong Biyeon hurried toward the source of the sound.
What she found there was a toppled bookshelf, dozens of books scattered everywhere, and someone pinned beneath them, struggling.
“Who—”
She was about to ask who it was.
At that moment, the boy wriggled out from between the books and showed his face.
…In that instant, Hong Biyeon genuinely thought her heart might stop.
She wondered if perhaps this situation was a dream, and without realizing it, she forgot to breathe.
“Ugh, I’m dying here… That damn Chief Librarian—he’d better show up tomorrow…”
Grumbling as he tried to lift the books off himself, Baek Yuseol idly turned his head—only to meet the eyes of Hong Biyeon, standing there in her nightclothes and staring blankly at him.
“Uh.”
A brief silence.
Then Baek Yuseol gave an awkward smile and said:
“Ha ha… Well, instead of just staring, why don’t you come help? Neighbors are supposed to help each other out and all that—”
Thump!
“…Huh?”
But before he could finish, Hong Biyeon collapsed right there onto the floor.
“H-how are you here…?”
“Well, uh. Sort of. As part of a little side job.”
He pointed behind himself with his thumb.
“See that? I organized all of it, every last bit. Pretty wild, right? I’m exceptionally skilled at this kind of thing.”
Even though he’d worked so hard to boast about it, Hong Biyeon did not even glance in the direction he’d pointed.
She stared at him without blinking once, as if afraid that if she looked away for even a second, she would lose him.
“A side job…?”
“That’s what I said.”
Hh, hahh…
She laughed.
But strangely, her face looked as if she were crying.
“Liar…”
She lowered her head deeply.
“Who do you think doesn’t know that’s a lie… you stupid commoner…”
“Ahem! It’s not a lie. Maybe there’s a little seasoning added, but instant food tastes better with some—”
“…Don’t look at me.”
“Huh?”
Hong Biyeon covered her face with both hands.
From that moment on, even Baek Yuseol was genuinely flustered and couldn’t say anything properly.
It was as though some error had seized him and his lips simply refused to move.
He had never imagined she would react that intensely, and so Baek Yuseol truly…
Could do nothing at all.
The night deepened.
It was a night when the stars sparkled with unusual brightness.
