LIGHTNOVELWORLD Episode 25
Chapter 25:
“Beyond this door is the library,” Alshade said.
“It was a bit anticlimactic. Well, but it’s good that it’s easier,” I replied.
“That skilled man earlier seemed confident in his skills and was the one who probably instructed the soldiers to prioritize the back entrance. Besides, Hyann hasn’t kept his troops out of war. There shouldn’t have been that many pieces he could move,” she explained.
Afterward, Alshade and I had reached the front of the library without encountering any soldiers.
I had some doubts about that, but I agreed with Alshade’s prediction.
When planning to betray someone, it’s normal to act in a way that won’t raise suspicion. They would likely follow the instructions for deploying the troops.
“So, inside, there’s just Hyann and one knight, huh? Can I be of any use other than being a meat shield?” I asked.
If they’re knights, they probably learned combat techniques, and Hyann was likely the same..
Wouldn’t I just be a burden as an amateur?
“Just striking the enemy with that spear and your thunder attack would be enough to distract them. So, don’t underestimate yourself. Besides, the fact that Orto didn’t say anything means that even just the two of us have a good chance of winning,” Alshade reassured me.
“Come to think of it, indeed Orto didn’t say a word.”
Now that she mentioned it, that’s true.
The fact that Orto, who can judge the enemy’s strength from just their presence, allowed the two of us to go ahead without any warning, indicates that he must have judged that we had a fairly good chance of winning.
“In that case, do you think the person who gives off the aura of a knight might have lower combat abilities?” I asked.
“If you can match up with him, then yes.”
I nodded in agreement with Alshade. Just because they’re called knights doesn’t mean they all excel in combat, right?
“Being a knight isn’t solely about combat ability. One of the significant benefits of being a knight is that it makes it harder to betray, so there are cases where knights are appointed as aides to handle important documents, for instance.”
“I see.”
It would indeed be troublesome if aides were to betray and leak information.
As someone who has played various games, I had the image of a knight being a combat profession, but in this world, knights are primarily aides, so combat abilities might not be necessary.
“As for the battle with Hyann, let’s start by splashing water, and then you can strike with your thunder first. If it works out well, we can settle things with the first move.”
“Got it.”
“Alright, let’s go. I’ll leave the front to you.”
“Yeah, leave it to me.”
We slowly opened the heavy wooden door and peered inside.
The library had numerous massive bookshelves, and light sources enclosed in glass containers were placed here and there.
Although we could see the end of the room, it seemed quite distant.
The space that should have been spacious was narrowed down by the bookshelves, making it feel cramped.
The library’s size was far larger than what I had imagined, causing my cheeks to involuntarily twitch.
“What is this place? A maze or something? Al, do you know the location of the treasure vault?”
The various magical tools that seemed to be scattered throughout were glowing, providing light. It was thanks to the light from the “Illumination” magic that our enemies’ whereabouts could be known, reducing the risk of surprise attacks. Honestly, it was quite helpful.
However, the same could be said for Hyann’s side.
Nevertheless, we had a certain advantage since we could somewhat anticipate Hyann’s objective and search accordingly.
I whispered quietly to Alshade to ask, and she answered in a hushed voice,
“Yeah, I know. I was just taken here by Father not too long ago.”
“I see… Can you give me instructions?” I asked.
“Sure.”
Assuming her father took Alshade there to spoil her, I asked her for instructions.
“Turn at the second bookshelf over there—”
Following Alshade’s directions, we advanced through the labyrinthine arrangement of bookshelves.
It was quite intricate, with paths that seemed easy to miss and certain bookshelves that could be moved to conceal passages.
“…The path leading to the treasure vault is just around that corner, but be cautious; Hyann is likely there,” Alshade cautioned.
Nodding in agreement with Alshade’s warning, I readied my Tonitos and continued forward.
Peering from the shadows of the bookshelves, I saw the back of a blond man who seemed to be in front of what appeared to be the entrance to the treasure vault.
However, from the visible area, he appeared to be alone; no one else was in sight.
Though it might be a simple reason to assume based on his blond hair, he was likely Hyann. If he was alone, that was convenient; we should settle things swiftly.
Using gestures to indicate that there was only one person, I exchanged nods with Alshade.
It seemed we were on the same page.
“What the…!? Guuuaaah!”
We both jumped out from behind the bookshelves at the same time, and Alshade showered the man with “Water Aqua.”
Without delay, I rushed towards the man and struck him with the thunder attack of Tonitos.
The man, writhing in agony from the thunder shock, fell to the ground.
“It’s been a while, Uncle, I mean, Hyann.” Alshade spoke in an unbelievably cold tone to the fallen man, Hyann.
Hearing Alshade’s voice when she shouldn’t be here, Hyann was thrown into disarray and exclaimed in astonishment,
“T-That voice, you idiot! Alshade, why are you here!?”
“Apparently, speaking is not an issue,” she commented. “Rio, can you turn Hyann this way?”
“Understood.”
“Guh…”
With Tonitos’ tip pressed against his neck, I pulled his collar to make him face Alshade and then released my grip, causing him to slump to the floor.
As a precaution, I twisted his arm behind his back and pinned him down with my weight from above.
The face I saw then did bear a resemblance to the Hyann I knew.
However, the future Hyann had become overweight, resembling a corrupt nobleman.
…Although his impressively grand Kaiser mustache remained unchanged.
“Why? Like you mentioned earlier. It’s true I was abducted and ended up being your pawn, but it appears Lady Luck didn’t forsake me. Now, I stand here before you, completely unharmed,” Alshade explained.
“I see… so this dirty brat who’s holding me down is the reason,” Hyann said, pointing at me.
“Oh, it was quite a wonderful encounter.”
I didn’t interrupt, and Alshade didn’t correct him either. Nevertheless, I was just one of the factors contributing to the situation, not the sole cause.
Even if it took time, she would eventually be able to escape from there on her own.
“I’d love to talk about how we met, but there’s something more important right now. Hyann, why did you betray Father? I know you were resentful towards me, but Father trusted you.” Alshade questioned.
“…I suppose it’s not something I should tell you, but fine, I’ll talk.”
Talking in such a pompous manner even though you’re caught, huh, this guy.
From the way he’s behaving, it seems that he didn’t betray them just out of greed, after all.
Perhaps the reason he resented Alshade was that, as a woman, she was chosen to be the next head of the family, disregarding him as he was a just mediocre younger brother?
“I respected the guy as my older brother, but at the same time, I also hated him. You wouldn’t understand the feelings of an ordinary younger brother compared to an excellent older brother. However, that hatred was something I could control… until that moment!”
“Until that moment?”
I don’t know how hard it is to be compared to an excellent older brother, but Hyann, who had been speaking in a bitter tone, suddenly changed his demeanor.
He started to get fired up, seemingly unable to contain his frustration.
“That’s right! Do you know what he said after your mother died? He intended to pass the family’s headship to Alshade! Not to take a new wife and have a legitimate son, not to let me inherit it, not even to adopt a son-in-law, but to make a little girl with some minor blessings the next head! Do you understand how I felt at that moment!?”
“I have no idea about that. Besides… Oh, it seems like time’s up.”
“Time’s up…?”
“You can hear it too, right? Those footsteps. The knight who came to report the attack and got lost is coming this way after finding the path we took.”
I strained my ears and could indeed hear the hurried footsteps approaching.
—
If you like this novel, Please leave ratings and review in NovelUpdates.>>HERE
If you’d like to make a one-time donation to support our translations or subscribe to read up to 5 chapters or more (depending on the novel) ahead, you can do so via Ko-fi: