Summary of the last chapter in three lines
Delicious inn’s food.
Greeting from Gordon.
Investigation at the library.
To keep the books" pages from yellowing, the library uses opaque curtains to block out sunlight, and the inside is illuminated by light magic tools.
Similarly, the room temperature and humidity are also managed by magic tools. Dina shivers from the room temperature that makes her feel somewhat chilly. Noticing this, Souta puts a blanket on her knees.
「Thank you.」
Dina smiles gently and thanks Souta in a hushed voice.
「Hm.」
Souta answers with a short word that can’t be considered a reply.
Some time has pa.s.sed since Souta and Dina started their investigation, however, there are no other visitors who come to the library beside them.
There are only the sounds of turned pages resounding between the two. Thanks to that, nothing disturbs their concentration, and they finish reading the books one after another.
When the already-read pile exceeds five books, Souta stretches his body.
「Hu–nnnnn, so tired. Dina, it’s almost lunch time, should we take a break?」
Hearing that, Dina raises her head.
「I agree. It’s interesting to know various things that have changed, but as expected, my shoulders after reading continuously are……」
To loosen her stiff shoulders and increase her blood circulation, Dina turns and stretches her shoulders around.
Souta ends the stretching he can do in a sitting position, retrieves the blanket from Dina, and puts it in his dimensional storage.
Souta stands up. After stretching his lower body lightly, he goes to the shelves with the stack of already read books that were on the table.
Upon reaching the target shelves, he checks the book numbers and returns them to their proper places.
「Did you find anything?」
Souta asks Dina while putting the books back on their shelves.
「Umm, I found many things, but whether it will lead us the truth is a little…」
Dina tilts her head as she answers Souta and pa.s.ses him the books.
「Mine are also questionable. For now, we shouldn’t look for new information, instead focusing on the difference between the known truth and our memories.」
When the two, stood side by side, return the books to the shelves while groaning, the female librarian comes over.
「What kind of book are our dear guests looking for?」
In the last visit, Souta got information from the book she picked out. It reminds him that his work progressed smoothly because her selection of books was on point.
「Hmm, it’s difficult to explain…… There are some books about the story of the battle of heroes with the demon king a thousand years ago, right?」
Souta decides to explain while showing her the cover of the book.
「With this story as a basis, we want to find different ones, or something like that…… I don’t know how to explain it well either.」
Souta scratches his head while frowning. The librarian is trying to comprehend Souta’s explanation by breaking it to part.
「… I do not know if I can find the exact material you wished for, but I will try to look for it in a bit.」
Souta stops his hand that"s scratching his head and looks at her with a surprised expression.
「Is it okay?」
She nods.
「Perhaps, the feeling of congruity comes from reading many books. In the first place, there are some strange parts in that legend.」
「… If … If the hero from that story didn’t kill his fellow heroes. Can you add this as precondition and find it?」
Feeling some kind of sympathy from the female librarian, Dina, who only listened quietly until now, adds that information.
「I see, that is an interesting one. That story had become widespread, and I have heard it since childhood, so I never had any doubts. But… In that case …」
She enters thinking mode while mumbling with her hand on her mouth.
「Hey, you, hey, are you okay?」
Souta shakes her shoulder lightly while calling her out to recover her sense.
「Hah. I-I am sorry. I lost myself when I am thinking…… I will look for the book now. In the meantime, our dear guests should go and have lunch.」
「I’ll leave it to you. I feel it"s a bit in a stalemate. I want something to break through it.」
「Sorry to trouble you, but thank you.」
Souta and Dina lower their heads towards the librarian.
「I-It is fine. This is something that I like, so please do not mind it.」
Lowering her head a little, she hides her blushing face with her hair.
「Thank you. As we might disturb you, I’ll ask you later.」
「Don’t mind if you can’t find it, please, just think of it as a bad luck that you can’t find it.」
Leaving her behind, the two head to the entrance of the library.
This time, they’re stopped by the male librarian.
「Excuse me, has our staff inconvenienced you?」
Souta and Dina exchange glances.
「No, rather, she offered her a.s.sistance with our research.」
The male librarian covers his face with one hand.
「Haa~, even though I already told Rena not do more than her duties…」
「As for us, that"s an incredibly helpful offer. Does it inconvenience her?」
With a slightly uneasy expression, Dina asks the male librarian.
「No, if it is about the introduction to a book, it is fine because it is included in our duty, but as for helping with research, I’m worried that the burden might be too great as she also needs to do it alongside her original job.」
From his words, it’s known that he doesn’t hate Rena.
「If so, was it a mistake to help out?」
「No, your worry is unnecessary. Fortunately, while I don’t know if it will stay like this or not, there are only two of you as visitors today. As there shouldn’t be that much of a difference in the afternoon, I’ll also cover for her.」
He answers so, while shaking his head toward Souta.
「My bad, this time, your burden will increase.」
「Fufufu, it’s fine, I’ve always been at her mercy. Besides…… it’s important research isn’t it? Our dear guests" faces when reading seem to be quite serious.」
「Were you watching? …… It’s not something that needs to be hidden, but, it’s not an exaggeration that what we do will influence the future.」
Dina nods agreeing with Souta.
「Then all the more, don’t hesitate to make use of our skills. We’re glad that someone finds our books to be useful.」
He answers with a proud smile. Although the two approach their work differently, it seems that at heart, their love for books is the same.
t/n: you might think i will release new year special or Christmas special, too bad my editor is having a vacation, muahahahaha
and i actually feel bad for that (though it’s I who allow them), this one was finished before Christmas, same with chapter 76, chapter 76 just need some re-check before i can release it, chapter 77 just finished now,
and so while it’s late, Merry Christmas and happy new year guys. Thank you for reading
as for my 2018 resolution, I’m going to finish Headless Dullahan this year (just need to report to people on zenith novel so i can host the novel here instead), and getting new project (I will send the preview chapter on my discord, will make an announcement before sending), also set up donation page and system to ensure the continuation of my translation, last is fixed chapter 1-17 translation with priority on chapter 1-7 (which is not touched by editor at all)
as such, please take care of me again this year