The crowd slowly filed out of the entrance, still discussing today’s battle. The day’s examination finally came to an end, and the crowds that had filled Twilight Hall began to disperse.
“It was really exciting! Today’s fight was so evenly matched, it was a thrill to watch.”
“You don’t know. A few years ago, that was a real battle. Do you know the one before Silver Fang became a Crest Knight? It was earth-shattering, the sun and moon lost their light!”
Lita stood not far from the entrance, waiting for Cecilia and listening to the discussions.
When it came to the most eye-catching battle today, of course it had to be the one between the Dark Elf and the examinee wielding the tower shield.
In the end, Keluoyi couldn’t break through and was defeated.
But Lita had a vague feeling that Keluoyi, like herself, was holding back some trump card that shouldn’t be used here. She had clearly been wrestling with that decision at the end of the fight, but ultimately gave up.
Still, Lita made a note of that examinee’s name.
Tasding.
Though even if she didn’t remember it, she probably wouldn’t forget it anyway.
The examinations after that were relatively less exciting.
She was called up twice more. Apparently there were still examinees who refused to accept reality and wanted to use her as a stepping stone. One of them was actually quite skilled, giving Lita a hard time, but she managed to defeat that examinee using the same trick as before.
The dual-sword swordsman Aerbeier, whom she had taken note of in Solus City, also won quite easily. His swordsmanship had improved considerably.
Unfortunately, although the judge called Qiangsen’s name, Qiangsen didn’t actually step up. He just stood up from the examinee seats and announced his withdrawal.
In fact, Aerbeier had been saying something to Qiangsen throughout the entire examination. Qiangsen’s expression had grown uglier and uglier, like his features were about to scrunch together. If Qiangsen had been a delicate girl, Lita figured he might have cried.
What was a pity was that as soon as the examination ended, Qiangsen and Aerbeier stood up and left together, not giving Lita a chance to greet them.
“Tch, what a joke.”
A man’s voice made Lita glance over.
The speaker wasn’t a civilian onlooker, but a Holy Knight—an ordinary one at that.
Lita found him familiar. Back when she had clashed with Holy Knight Wenfeisha, this man had stood beside her and helped her talk, which was why Lita noticed him now.
“Come on, you were saying this at the tavern last night. This isn’t a tavern now—there are eyes and ears everywhere. It wouldn’t be good if someone overheard you.”
The Holy Knight beside him elbowed the complaining man.
“Why can’t I say it here? What gives? A young master who can’t even hold a sword properly gets to be a Holy Knight? Did you see how ridiculous they fight? Like women! No, even women are better than them! Lord Silver Fang, Lord Twin Stars, even Lady Lita—these women are ten thousand times better than them. Did you see that?”
“I saw, I saw, with both eyes. Calm down. Let’s go drinking again tonight.”
As they spoke, they felt a burning gaze. The man who had been complaining glared back irritably, only to see that the person standing there was Lita. He immediately stiffened, his expression turning serious and awkward.
Lita smiled at the two and stopped them from bowing. They shut their mouths and quickly walked out of Twilight Hall with the crowd.
Watching their backs, Lita couldn’t help but sigh.
It’s everywhere, even within the Holy Knights. It seemed there were plenty of people who took issue with those who used connections to get in. But Lita already knew there was discord among the Holy Knights—one faction consisting of those who entered through special means, and another faction of those who truly had the strength to join, the ones who had been with Wenfeisha.
After waiting a while longer, Cecilia finally walked over to Lita. Beside Cecilia were Rosalia and her personal knight, along with the reluctant Promi.
“Father agreed.”
That was the first thing Cecilia said when she saw Lita.
This matter was precisely the important reason why Lita hadn’t gone drinking with Momoka tonight.
Last night, she and Cecilia hadn’t just been cuddling. Lita had given a lot of thought to the curse on Cecilia. Let’s skip the thought process—Lita’s train of thought was a bit strange, and it wasn’t easy to fully recount, but the conclusion was simple.
She needed to look into what kind of writing the runes on the sword were.
Both Cecilia’s sword and Lita’s own sword bore mysterious runes, and they appeared to be the same language. If she could find the origin of those runes, it might be a big help in uncovering the secret of Cecilia’s curse.
If she hadn’t remembered what the king had told her about Cecilia’s mother doing before she disappeared, Lita wouldn’t have thought to look into it.
Cecilia’s mother, being a mortal, might not have seen the truth, but Lita was different.
The best place to look into something like this was, of course, the Forbidden Library!
Yes, the Forbidden Library! That was Lita’s goal today.
“But Father agreed reluctantly. He told us that some things are better left uninvestigated. I don’t know what he’s worried about, but the Forbidden Library definitely holds secrets he doesn’t want us—or doesn’t want anyone—to know.”
As Cecilia spoke, Rosalia chimed in: “So Father made a request. He wants Silver Fang and me to go along. Absolutely no books or materials can be taken out. Also, if possible, we’re not to tell anyone what we see.”
Lita understood that. In any fantasy world, a forbidden library was bound to hide some secrets—it was basic logic.
It was only because the king doted on his daughters that Lita had been able to ask Cecilia to plead for her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gotten her wish so easily.
The group walked toward the Forbidden Library. Before long, a familiar building came into view.
“Hang on, are we going the right way?” Lita looked at Cecilia skeptically.
“That’s right. It’s here.” Cecilia strode forward, heading toward the warehouse keeper she had met once before: Index.
That’s right, Index again! The Royal Treasury where Lita had gotten her exclusive weapon!
After listening to Rosalia and Cecilia explain the situation and reading the king’s letter, Index led them into the Forbidden Library.
The key was different, and the spot where it was used was slightly different, but the layout inside was much like the treasury.
Index directed her magic power deep into the Forbidden Library, and a series of faint lights illuminated the entire space.
Huge bookshelves lined both sides, cluttered with books of various sizes and styles.
“Where are the books related to magic or curses?” Lita got straight to the point.
“I don’t know.” Index shook her head.
“You don’t know? You’re the librarian here!” Lita scratched her head, a little frustrated, but given Index’s status, she couldn’t be too blunt.
“These are all forbidden books. I’m the librarian, but in theory, I don’t have the right to read them. I’ve never had the chance to sort them either. Honestly, who would bother categorizing all this junk?” Index gave Lita a look like she was an idiot and said it as a matter of fact.
That… made sense. Lita was convinced!
So they had to go through them one by one. Lita walked to a bookshelf, looked at the books on it, and was at a loss.
Rosalia was there to accompany Cecilia and as a precaution from the king, so she definitely couldn’t help. Brownie was even more useless. All Lita and Cecilia could rely on were themselves.
Lita picked up a book at random and flipped through it. It turned out to be the doctrine of some strange church, basically saying that people could only find happiness if they loved each other.
What kind of love is that? That’s just an orgy. Even us Dream Demons wouldn’t dare go that far!
Alright, next one.
Oh, the original manuscript of Monster Cooking Guide by Master Senxi. That’s impressive.
“Oh, I actually paid attention to that one.” Index leaned in. “Because someone ate themselves to death, the king strictly banned the book from circulating. But the manuscript is very valuable, so it was collected here.”
Lita flipped through it briefly. There was literal zombie meat, fried poisonous spiders, dragon tail meat—and she even saw a recipe for Dream Demon tail liquor, said to enhance abilities.
“By the way, the book next to it is similar. Probably not what you’re looking for.”
Lita picked it up and took a look.
This one was impressive. Really impressive.
Senxi’s son, Sendong, trying to catch up to his father, had written How to Use Monster Materials to Surprise Your Life. The contents were an eye-opener.
It detailed which mushrooms to cook together in a soup to make people dizzy and see little people dancing, how to weave Thunder Wolf Dragon hair into things that deliver an electric shock on use, and how to stick soft, shapable Slimes directly on your skin for beauty and skincare.
Oh, and there was a companion piece. This one wasn’t about using materials; it was a Monster Raising Guide.
Does a normal person raise monsters? No, absolutely not! Why was there a section on how to raise Dream Demons?
No, this book absolutely cannot let Lady Cecilia see, or my good days will be over—in every sense of the word.
Lita flipped through a few more books, most of which were similarly absurd.
For example, a magic book that automatically wrote stories once you entered keywords, filled with inexplicable dashes and ellipses, exaggerated modifiers and numbers that made no sense, and logic that collapsed into incoherence.
“Because the writers in the Royal Capital strongly protested that this kind of effortless creation had no soul, it was banned. This book is kept as a souvenir.”
Then there was an illustrated book on the Demon Race. Unlike the monster illustrations on the market, this one mostly featured beautiful races. After flipping through it, Lita just thought the pictures were nice.
“This was made by a pink-haired Bard from the Far Eastern Country. Apparently her favorite hobby was visiting pleasure districts and writing down her real experiences, then using the money to keep going back. But because the content was deemed harmful, it was banned.”
Then there was Potion Mixing Guide. Okay, that was nothing compared to the others. This Book of Hatred, full of Halfling jokes, was much more interesting.
Lita kept flipping until a thin little booklet caught her eye.
What really drew her attention was the name on the book: Brownie.
Lita turned her head and glanced at Brownie, who was standing behind Rosalia.
Her heart skipped a beat.
But she still couldn’t help picking up the book and gently opening the first page.
Hilarious chapter, the cooking book and the AI book, hilarious