Chapter 21: Libracia and the Innocent Tourist
—CELIA—
The mont the carriage stopped, I knew this place was absurdly important.
I slowly stepped down from the carriage and imdiately froze.
"Oh my gosh..."
Ren stepped down after before offering his hand politely. "My lady?"
I stared upward in complete disbelief.
Libracia stood before us like sothing pulled directly out of an expensive cinematic universe.
The building itself was enormous, far larger than any structure I had seen since arriving in this world. Massive white towers spiraled toward the sky while countless bridges connected different sections of the academy high above the ground. Silver runes glowed faintly across the walls like veins of light flowing beneath marble, pulsing slowly and rhythmically as though the building itself were alive.
And above all of it, a transparent barrier covered the entire structure.
I gasped.
"IT HAS A SHIELD."
Several nearby scholars turned toward imdiately.
Ren blinked slowly beside . "My lady... please lower your voice."
"But it has a shield," I whispered loudly.
"It is a magical barrier."
The barrier shimred faintly overhead, reflecting sunlight in waves of blue and silver. Every few monts, glowing symbols appeared across its surface before disappearing again like ripples moving through water.
It looked unbelievably cool.
My modern brain was losing the battle against fantasy excitent very quickly.
I pointed upward imdiately. "Why does it have a barrier? What is the purpose of that?"
Ren followed my gaze toward the shimring do above the academy. Up close, the magical barrier looked even more unreal. Thin streams of silver light moved across its surface like flowing water while countless tiny symbols flickered in and out of existence around the edges.
"It protects Libracia," he explained calmly. "The academy contains ancient magical texts, artifacts, and forbidden records gathered over centuries. So of the books stored here are considered dangerous even when unopened."
He paused briefly before looking at with mild confusion.
"I am rather surprised you do not know this, my lady. Everyone in the kingdom knows about Libracia."
I flinched internally so hard my soul almost detached from my body.
Right.
Of course they did.
anwhile I was out here reacting like a tourist discovering fantasy infrastructure for the first ti.
Which, technically, I was.
I laughed awkwardly almost imdiately. "Ahahaha... well..."
My mind began panicking at dangerous speed.
I cannot exactly say ’Sorry, I ca from a modern world and my only previous experience with magic libraries involved movies and video gas.’
Ren continued looking at politely, though I could tell he was waiting for an explanation now.
Unfortunately for him, explanations were not my specialty.
Improvised survival tactics, however...
Excellent.
I straightened slightly and placed one hand near my chest with forced dignity.
"I simply never paid attention before," I declared solemnly.
That part was technically true.
"Libracia did not particularly interest in the past."
Ren blinked once. "Did it not?"
"No," I replied confidently. "I was young."
I paused seeing he was not quite convinced.
And so I sighed and added, "And foolish."
Ren’s expression finally softened slightly in understanding. "I see."
"Yeah..." I laughed awkwardly while avoiding his gaze, praying he would not question any further.
Honestly, living inside another person’s body was already difficult enough without constantly worrying whether I accidentally sounded like soone who had fallen from another dinsion.
I quickly redirected my attention before my thoughts spiraled again.
"This place is incredible though..." I whispered instead, my eyes widening further as more details revealed themselves the deeper we walked in.
The entire academy looked alive.
Students dressed in elegant dark robes crossed the enormous staircase leading toward the entrance, their long cloaks flowing behind them while glowing symbols occasionally flickered beneath their feet.
So carried floating stacks of books beside them while others casually held conversations about magical theories as though discussing the weather.
Which was deeply unfair.
anwhile, I still reacted to enchanted doors like a frightened villager encountering technology for the first ti.
Above us, floating lanterns drifted gracefully through the air despite it being broad daylight.
Their soft golden glow reflected against the white marble structures surrounding the academy grounds, giving everything a dreamlike appearance.
And then suddenly, there were the birds.
I stared openly at the glowing blue creatures flying between the upper towers with scrolls tied carefully to their legs.
The creatures shimred beautifully, their translucent wings leaving trails of glowing particles behind them each ti they moved.
One of them swooped gracefully overhead carrying what looked like six rolled scrolls at once.
I pointed upward imdiately.
"I am guessing..." I began carefully, still staring at the glowing creature in complete fascination, "...those are familiars?"
Ren followed my gaze before smiling faintly and nodding.
"They are, my lady. ssenger familiars specifically. Libracia uses them for communication between departnts and towers."
I continued staring upward.
"...This place really looked at regular thods and said ’absolutely not.’"
Ren looked at briefly, clearly accustod to my increasingly strange comntary by now.
Honestly, impressive adaptability on his part.
By the ti we fully entered the main library halls, I had already accepted one important truth.
This place operated entirely on magic.
The interior was sohow even larger than it appeared outside. Endless shelves stretched upward toward impossibly high ceilings while glowing chandeliers floated peacefully through the air without chains or support. So staircases shifted slowly on their own, rearranging pathways between different levels whenever students approached.
I watched one staircase physically move itself across the hall.
No one reacted.
Not one person.
anwhile, I nearly pointed at it like a dieval peasant witnessing electricity.
A group of scholars passed by us while discussing advanced magical theory with frightening seriousness.
"...if the mana compression continues to destabilize the rune formation..."
"The third circle should compensate for that."
"No, because the astral alignnt..."
I stared after them.
"Ren."
"Yes, my lady?"
"I suddenly feel very uneducated."
He looked mildly amused. "You are not uneducated."
"I do not even know what astral alignnt ans."
"That is advanced magical theory."
I sighed dramatically.
I let my gaze slowly drift around the massive halls again, and despite my complaints, excitent bubbled quietly inside .
I loved this place already.
Honestly, if soone locked in here for three days, I would probably co out speaking ancient prophecy by accident.
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