"Hmm, is this the one?"
I mumbled, feeling the old texture of the book's cover in my hand as I examined it.
The book was worn and tattered, a relic from a bygone era.
"History of the Danava Kingdom."
Grabbing the book, I looked around, finding myself surrounded by rows of bookshelves that stretched endlessly down the hall— a hall bigger than any classroom in the academy.
Unlike the library for first-year students, this one, ant for third-year students and teachers, was filled with books that could be considered antiques.
The scent of old books and wooden shelves filled the air as I began to move.
"Co to think of it, Mother has a bigger library than this," I mumbled while weaving my way through the bookshelves.
If there's one thing I know about my mother, it's that she reads a lot.
She possesses thousands of books dating back thousands of years.
'It's a different matter that so of them were stolen from other places.'
Even then, if I could just go there and try to find any book about history, I would definitely find them in her collection.
'But then again, I don't want to be anywhere close to her.'
After navigating my way through the shelves, I found a quiet spot where I could read in peace.
"..."
But as I looked around, I noticed only one person sitting at a perfectly aligned table with two chairs.
My curiosity piqued, I walked closer for a better look.
She was wearing the sa academic uniform, which clung close to her body, and her black hair fell freely behind her back.
Her eyes were fixed on the multiple books spread out on the table.
Only when I stood nearby did she lift her ordinary face, her brown eyes widening briefly before returning to normal.
Slowly, she picked up her bag and moved to place it on the seat in front of her, but I quickly pulled the chair back and sat down.
"Tch."
Clicking her tongue, she stood up and began closing her books.
"Are you a commoner?" I asked, making her flinch.
"Y-yes." She fumbled, glancing at .
"Then sit down and continue your work."
"I can—"
"I said sit down," I insisted, tapping my fingers on the table.
After hesitating for a mont, she sighed in defeat and sat back down.
"What's your na?" I asked, but she ignored completely.
Tapping on the table again, I repeated, "Your na?"
"Ahh, it's Nella," she replied awkwardly, pretending she had just heard .
I nodded and opened the book, while she returned to her reading, resting her head on one side of the book.
'What's with these princesses and their weird quirks of hiding their identity?'
I grimaced, glancing at the girl before starting to read the book.
[How do you even know that?]
'It's easy; she's the only one who lays her head on the book while reading.'
I replied, watching her with mild disbelief.
[...That's odd.]
'I know, right? She's been doing that for as long as I can rember.'
Co to think of it, wasn't she in disguise when she first t Ethan in the ga?
'What a cliché.'
Ignoring her, I searched the contents of the book for anything about Andarnaur, then jumped directly to that page.
No need to read the entire book when I'm only interested in one part.
But just as I began reading, a cluster of white light began to erge beside , taking the shape of a child.
"Dada."
Willis happily called out, standing on the table with his hands extended toward .
"No, this isn't a place to play," I quickly denied his request while turning the pages.
"Dada!!"
He yelled, jumping onto my lap before trying to climb up my body.
I completely ignored him as I continued to read the book, but this little imp used my hand as support, climbing up to my shoulder.
"Dada!!"
"No."
He yelled close to my ear, grabbing my hair to support himself.
"....."
I swear I will never have a child in my entire life, no matter what happens.
"Hmm?" Suddenly, he grew quiet, making glance up.
He quietly ca down from my shoulder with my help, standing on the table and looking at the girl.
"Mama!!"
He exclaid happily, startling her as she was sneakily watching us.
"Not mama." I grabbed him by the back of his neck before he could rush toward her.
Why does he go around calling random girls his mama?
"Mama."
He whimpered cutely, seeking sympathy from Nella as I lifted him and placed him on my lap, wrapping one hand around him.
She looked like she wanted to say sothing but kept quiet in the end.
'Hmm, Andarnaur really was sothing.'
The first and last Draconyx of this world.
His known powers included flas, gravity control, and authority over curses and misfortune.
'What's more interesting is his birth.'
"Are you reading about Andarnaur?" she asked, her gaze on my book as I looked up.
"Yeah, you know about him?" I asked back, holding Willis back from breaking free.
"Of course I know him; he's one of the most famous mythical creatures," she replied. "The one who killed and ate his weak birth mother."
"Yeah, him," I nodded in agreent as I looked at the book.
"After that, he was enslaved by the royalty of the Danava Kingdom."
The kingdom ruled by the race of Asuras, located half a world away on the southern part, opposite where I was now.
A place made up of thousands of isles clustered together.
Andarnaur was born in one of those clusters, making it easy for the royalty of that place to capture him.
"He was enslaved for two hundred years before he broke free and killed their royal family," Nella comnted, making glance at her.
Just as she said, the mont he gained the blessing of the Goddess of Misfortune, he used his authority over curses to break free, burning down half the kingdom.
'Well, it's been hundreds of years since then, and they were only ordinary Asuras, so it doesn't matter much.'
I mused, resting my chin on Willis's head as he kept trying to escape.
From then on, Andarnaur continued to kill all living mythical creatures until he settled down in the Empire of Mizraim.
"Anyway, what are you reading?" I asked, closing my book as I looked at her.
"Akasha Holy War," she replied, lifting the book to show the cover.
"Why such an old book?" I probed, squinting my eyes.
"It's the only one that wasn't written by the victors," she replied, piquing my interest.
"Soone from the Dronarta Empire?" I frowned, asking, to which she nodded.
"The last descendant of the imperial family wrote this book—it's a copy, though," she replied, placing the book down. "Anyway, what do you think really happened back then?"
"...A war between different races," I replied, loosening my grip on Willis.
"A war for supremacy, where all humans united under the Dronarta Empire."
"So you really think supremacy was the reason for the war?" she asked, a sly smile on her face as if she was enjoying my ignorance.
"As far as I know," I replied, as Willis climbed onto the table, walking toward her on his tiny legs.
"Mama!!"
He exclaid, finding a seat on her lap.
She didn't stop him; on the contrary, she seed happy.
'Is this the reason she started talking to ?'
I wondered, watching her happily pinch his cheeks.
What's with girls and their love for cute children?
"Ahem." I coughed, bringing her attention back to .
"Yes, before the war started, there was a phenonon that occurred," she stated, looking at .
"I don't know the exact reason, but it was ntioned in the book."
"What phenonon?" I asked curiously.
"The Incursion of Akasha," she replied, leaving puzzled.
"A what?"
She looked at as if I were the idiot before explaining, "It's when the moon cos so close to our world that we can see the Ethereal Mana of the moon from here."
"Right."
I mumbled, nodding softly.
....Now I get it.
It was in the ga as well.
"But that doesn't explain why the war happened," I asked, looking back at her.
"Well, you know the Oracle, right?" she asked, and I nodded in agreent.
"She predicted that when the Incursion reached its peak, one of the two worlds would face extinction—either the people of Akasha would survive, or the people from our world."
"So it was a war for survival?"
"Exactly," she replied. "And because no humans lived on Akasha at that ti, we were forced to fight against every other race."
"Hmm." I nodded, falling into deep thought.
I could digest everything, but there's one thing I can't understand.
...Oracles.
They can't predict the future.
Then why did the Oracle of that ti lie?
Or...
Did sothing else happen that wasn't written in the book?
*Ting!!*
Absentmindedly, I took out my phone and checked the ssage.
But as I read it, I abruptly stood up.
"Your number," I said, passing my phone to her.
"What?"
"Give your number!"
"Why?"
"Just do it," I insisted until she gave in.
"Willis, we need to go." Grabbing him, I ran out of the library as fast as I could.
[What happened?]
"Oliver woke up."
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