Chapter 191

Sheffy didn’t rush to ask her anything. Instead, she used the small notebook in her hand to compare the text on the gray-covered book.

Indeed…

This really was a document related to Word Magic!

“Belith…?”

“Ahaha… Royal Sister? What is it?”

Would you dare look me in the eye and ask that again?

Sheffy didn’t recall Belith ever comparing this book before.

Without the translated support of the little notebook she had, even glancing at it a hundred times wouldn’t have helped identify this as a Word Magic record, let alone just one glance.

Unless…

She had prepared in advance.

Or rather, she had already memorized the layout of the books here, had studied them, and knew very clearly what kinds of books were in this place.

So… when Belith said earlier that she didn’t remember ever coming here, was that a lie?

But that made it even stranger.

Belith was a smart girl—not just ordinarily smart, but with a level of intelligence more than sufficient for a royal princess of a kingdom. She definitely wouldn’t make such a low-level mistake and accidentally let something slip. That supposed “slip of the tongue” just now seemed more like it was done on purpose.

Tch.

What on earth was this girl plotting?

—

21. Intelligence

The Demon Clan’s Forbidden Book Repository was said to be the most secretive place in the world, and also the site with the richest collection of long-lost magical knowledge.

This was also the main reason why the Demon Clan was so feared by nations across the world. No one knew how many trump cards the Demon Clan still kept hidden, nor whether there were any absurdly powerful spells within the repository that could overturn the balance of the world.

In fact—

Even the Demon King himself didn’t know.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t be bothered to check. The main issue was, even after all these years and the efforts of so many scholars, they always hit a wall at the most critical steps in deciphering the spells!

“Forbidden books” were truly “forbidden,” as if some mysterious curse had been placed upon them.

Even if one understood the meaning of certain characters, once those characters were combined into a complete ancient magical system, it became entirely unreadable.

The forbidden magic of 【Origin Magic】 that Belith had once translated—she had spent a full year just to barely—

…scratch the surface.

Sheffy’s reading experience wasn’t particularly enjoyable either.

She furrowed her little brows. Even with the small notebook Sylatrella had given her, she still found it quite painful to read the yellowed pages.

“Fire-roasted… mouse-mouse? What kind of mouse is ‘mouse-mouse’? Belith, do you know what kind of mouse this is talking about?”

“Fire-roasted… I think this might be a recipe? Ah, Royal Sister, we’re not scholars—most of the magic in here is beyond us. I really think there’s no need to take it so seriously…”

“Oh oh! Got it, got it. It’s not a recipe—turns out it’s 【Fire Stream Loop】! Looks like it’s describing how to gather fire magic elements into a specific magical array, so that it creates a cyclic domain of fire magic? The ancients were really quite clever, huh. Whew… look at me, sweating all over—translating this stuff is really a mental workout.”

“Royal Sister, did you actually just translate that?! In just a few minutes?!”

“More or less…?”

“……”

Royal Sister, Belith of course didn’t doubt your genius-level talent. But if that magic translation was correct…

What was that “mouse-mouse” anyway?! Why did it disappear the moment the word got translated?!

The two sisters sat back to back, each holding a floating ancient book laced with magical particles in their hands.

Rather than stiffly translating the content inside, Belith was more interested in gently rubbing her back against her Royal Sister’s smooth jade-like back. As long as it didn’t cause her discomfort, the warmth she received made it all the more meaningful.

Her back itched, but Sheffy had no mind to scratch it.

She was focused on the words within the sea of books, like constellations scattered across the heavens.

She managed to understand just a little—she felt the ideas of the ancients resonated with her own research.

For example, the version of 【Storage】 that Sheffy had optimized—ancient writings mentioned similar concepts. But due to the lower magical operation efficiency of that time, the idea had remained theoretical, never put into practice.

Moreover, Sheffy had keenly realized that if this 【Fire Stream Loop】 could actually be implemented, it would be the perfect tool for endless fish roasting!

Who would’ve thought—who would’ve thought—that the wisdom of the ancients could also be so delightfully unserious.

“Well… that may be true, but there are too few of these spells that can be recreated. They’re basically useless.”

“Why?”

“The current density of magical particles is definitely different from ancient times. The ancestors’ theories were only applicable in their own environment. But now, the times have changed.”

“Ehh… I see. That explains why my magic back then faile—ahem, it’s fine, Royal Sister. Just being able to translate the general idea means you’re already a genius beyond words!”

Ho.

Another “slip of the tongue” on purpose, huh? Trying to hint something?

Hilarious. You want me to ask about 【Origin Magic】, don’t you? But I won’t.

I’m going to wait until you bring it up.

“Still, I really don’t get it… How does Royal Sister even understand any of this? Just comparing the text doesn’t work—I still can’t read it.”

“How would I know?” Sheffy honestly had no idea—it wasn’t modesty. “But I just feel… these things look kind of familiar? Like I’ve seen them in a dream? Belith, maybe in my dreams, I was someone who diligently studied ancient texts!”

“Pfft… If Royal Sister ever started diligently studying books, I think Father and Mother would be moved to tears.”

“It’s not that exaggerated. Haven’t I ever read books before?”

“Nope.”

“……”

That firm, decisive answer… truly wounded Royal Sister’s heart.

It was true that, back then, whenever it was time to study, she would sneak out of the Demon King’s Castle to go fishing. But didn’t she also bring books to pass the time while fishing? The order might’ve been reversed, but she had still read thousands of books and become very well-informed!

And also—the original purpose of coming to the Forbidden Book Repository had indeed seen some progress.

They had been buried in their reading for about two hours now, right?

During that time, Sheffy had found ancient descriptions related to both 【Word Magic】 and 【Instant-Cast Magic】.

“Belith, so 【Word Magic】 really could alter the forms of magical creatures in the earliest times.”

“Like the kind of effect the Third Princess of Aurus uses?”

“More or less. The only thing in these records we can use as reference is an event from two thousand years ago. Before the founding of the kingdom by the First Demon King, one of his high-ranking ministers—who was well-versed in Word Magic—once used it to turn a fiery red ant into a fiery red big ant. Quite astonishing.”

“A big ant… how big? Was it some sort of evolution that crossed power levels?”

“Not quite. Before the transformation, it was about the size of a fingernail. After, the big ant was about the length of a finger.”

“?!”

Did this book seriously record even such small details?

No no no, Belith, you have to understand there’s a phrase called “seeing the big through the small.”

The point wasn’t how far Word Magic could go.

It was the fact that this magic could indeed accomplish something—that gave her confidence.

Don’t worry, Livra. It seems you’re a freak, yes… but not the only freak. There were people in history just as strange as you.

As for that other matter—what Aunt Ailellek mentioned earlier, about encountering Aimeris and being struck through the heart by something akin to 【Instant-Cast Magic】—there was no exact mention of it in the ancient records.

But, unexpectedly, Sheffy had found this passage in a book over two thousand years old. It was unclear who had written it:

【Power of the Human God. Thunder scorched the wilderness, creatures perished, it arrived in an instant—not descending from the heavens, yet all knelt and submitted.】

“This must be referring to Aimeris herself. Back then, she already used lightning strikes. That line ‘arrived in an instant’ probably describes how, in the eyes of a surviving witness, the lightning landed the moment the magic activated. And since the area of effect was so large, it was likely an indiscriminate attack. This sounds more like boasting about divine authority, doesn’t it?”

“But in all the national records, the ‘Human God’ is described as a kind and gentle figure—always praised positively. If that’s true, then Aimeris might actually be pretty violent?”

“Hard to say. But if the Aimeris I encountered wasn’t a fake, then she had absolutely nothing to do with being kind and gentle. Let’s not talk about that now.”

Pa-thunk.

The precious book was forcefully shut by Sheffy, without a hint of care.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be careful with the books…

It was just that she got a bit carried away trying to act cool—

And accidentally used too much force.

Gently placing the volume back onto the stone shelf, Sheffy silently apologized to the ancestors in her heart before sitting back down in her original position, back-to-back with Belith.

Two sisters with similar features, sitting in opposite directions—like shadows standing at a crossroads, each heading down a different path.

It was very quiet here.

So quiet that they could hear each other’s heartbeats.

“Belith.”

“Mm…? What is it, Royal Sister?”

“You still remember that matter, don’t you?”

“Is Royal Sister referring to… the time I used 【Origin Magic】 without permission?”

“Still playing dumb with me, huh. I knew you wouldn’t talk, so I was going to bring it up mys—uh?”

Did you just—

Did you just admit that you do remember that?

And then throw a fake-out at me right after—just to throw me off balance?!

—

A Small Leave Note

Well… maybe not exactly a leave note~ It’s just that Little North Star wants to adjust the update schedule a bit.

In the past, updates always came after midnight. The timing was too cursed, and the writing state wasn’t great either, so from now on, the update schedule will shift to noon each day.

Everyone, sleep early tonight~ wait for the noon updates. All future updates will also be at noon!

—

22. So You Admit It, Huh? (4K)

Drip—drip—

Droplets formed on the stone walls, slowly condensed and illuminated by candlelight, suddenly falling to the ground with a splash that echoed through the eternally unchanged silence.

Though it was rare for visitors to come to the forgotten Forbidden Book Repository, for a moment, it felt as though it had returned to its usual deserted stillness.

The silence came from Sheffy being momentarily stunned.

The words she had intended to say—she suddenly no longer knew how to begin.

When she turned around, the younger sister leaning against her back was no longer there.

Turning again, she found Belith had already circled around to face her. She crouched in front of her, tilting her head with a smile—and even reached out her slender fingers to brush aside the silver strands on Sheffy’s forehead. Her palm slid gently from her brow upward, resting on the top of her head in a soft caress.

Belith had always loved the floral scent of her Royal Sister’s hair since she was a child—cool and smooth like snow, yet not something that would melt at the slightest touch.

Feeling the sudden warmth settle on top of her head, Sheffy’s lips twitched, and a whisper tinged with mild irritation naturally escaped her lips.

“Oh…? Got some nerve, huh? Belith, did I ever say you could touch my head?”

“I’m not Royal Sister’s subordinate. I’m Royal Sister’s family. So even if I pat your head, I don’t need permission, do I?”

“You’re just a little sister… Can you please understand your place? If you know I’m your older sister, then there’s no need for such unnecessary moves.”

Sheffy raised her elbow and gently nudged Belith’s hand aside, defending the dignity she held as the elder sibling.

Though really, it wasn’t so much about dignity or pride.

If Sheffy had truly felt her dignity was being trampled, she would’ve smashed her fist into the girl’s face without hesitation.

What Belith had just done… was simply to comfort her.

Sheffy had forgotten what she wanted to say—not because of Belith’s sudden admission.

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