5

“The door was unlocked, you see, so I wandered in without thinking. But it seemed there was a caretaker here, and they kindly let me inside.”

Ains said this, adding that the tea had been delicious as well.

“A caretaker, you say. Then I would very much like to introduce myself at least once.”

There was no caretaker of the Forbidden Archive.

The owner of the Forbidden Archive was the Eternal Witch.

The Eternal Witch was an exceptional sorcerer.

If Ains, himself a sorcerer, had interacted with her, then if he were to refer to her at all, he would call her a sorcerer, never a caretaker.

“She’s a nice person. I’m sure Seidel-san would get along with her too.”

Ains turned toward the back and called out, “Rubelmel-san, it seems an acquaintance of mine has arrived.”

After a short pause, the sound of approaching footsteps rang out.

Beads of sweat on his brow, Seidel waited for the figure to appear.

A woman with striking crimson lips appeared from around the corner of the bookshelves, a teapot in one hand.

Rubelmel looked at Seidel with a calm expression.

“Oh my, are you an acquaintance of Ains-san? My apologies. He had an appointment, and yet I ended up keeping him here too long.”

Rubelmel bowed her head respectfully.

“Rubelmel-dono, are you the caretaker here?”

“I am not someone grand enough to be called a caretaker. I merely came to retrieve a single book.”

To that, Seidel replied in a gentle tone as well,

“I see. Then I must apologize for intruding so rudely. We shall take our leave at once.”

After staring at Rubelmel as if to burn her face and figure into his memory, Seidel turned on his heel to leave the Forbidden Archive with Ains.

Seidel judged that he could not measure the other party’s skill.

At this stage, making an enemy of her would not be wise.

Rubelmel likewise came to the same conclusion as Seidel.

However, Seidel had seen her face.

If Seidel understood what sort of place this was, then pursuers would undoubtedly be sent after Rubelmel later.

But even so, there would still be time between Seidel leaving this place and sending word.

She only had to flee during that time.

“I do apologize. I would have liked to serve Seidel-san a cup of tea as well, but…”

“My apologies. We are forbidden from enjoying tea while on duty. I shall accept the sentiment alone, Rubelmel-dono.”

The two of them played out a farce neither of them meant and let the moment pass.

But that too was rendered meaningless by yet another person.

“Hey, Rubelmel. Did you get the thing? If it was going to go this easily, then what did I even scatter that stuff for—”

It was Darius.

He flung the entrance door open with force and, letting out a sigh, called out to Rubelmel, who should have been inside.

Ains and Seidel alike were left dumbfounded by Darius’s sudden appearance.

Rubelmel wanted to hold her head in her hands.

She truly hated noble brats who had no sense of the atmosphere.

“What!? You’re… Ains!”

Upon entering and spotting Ains standing there facing Rubelmel, Darius cried out in shock.

“Why are you here!? Are you trying to get in my way again!?”

But Ains did not even remember Darius at all.

“No, I was just having a friendly conversation with Rubelmel-san over there.”

Ains’s casual words took on a different meaning in Darius’s ears.

To him, it meant that Rubelmel, who had been cooperating with Darius, had secretly been connected to Ains, the very cause of the problems he faced.

“Rubelmel, you bastard! What is the meaning of this!? Were you only using me, and with a man like this!”

“…Darius-sama, please calm yourself.”

“Silence!”

Darius flew into a red-faced rage.

“So you lied when you said you would hand me the original copy of the ‘Original Canon,’ and in the end you only used me so you could make the original yours! You filthy thief!”

Pointing at Rubelmel, Darius rattled on furiously.

After that, silence fell over the scene.

Seidel understood that the situation had already become one he could no longer overlook.

If he let this pass here, criticism would fall upon the one who served Kirishiya, and upon Kirishiya herself, Seidel’s master.

Rubelmel wanted, right this instant, either to stitch Darius’s endlessly moving mouth tightly shut or to cut off his head so he would stop babbling uselessly.

Ains simply looked as though he did not understand the situation at all.

Leaving Ains aside, amid this tense situation that could erupt at any moment, Rubelmel quietly tilted the teapot she had been holding.

There was no cup at the end of the pot, and the vivid tea pouring from the spout spilled directly onto the stone floor.

“Hey, Rubelmel-san, that’s such a waste of tea.”

Ains was surprised by Rubelmel’s utterly unexpected action.

However, Rubelmel was already moving to bring the situation under control, without paying any heed to Ains’s words.

With Darius’s appearance, it was no longer possible to smooth things over with words alone.

“Darius-sama, your cooperation truly was a great help. My magic has certain peculiarities, and it is weak in sudden situations.”

“What are you talking about?”

Darius frowned deeply.

At the mention of magic, Ains’s eyes lit up, while Seidel shifted into a battle-ready stance.

“‘Moisture gives rise to wood.’”

After the words woven by Rubelmel, the entire ground of the Sorcery Academy’s grounds let out a roar.

A great number of enormous tree trunks emerged from the ground.

As though to reject all intrusion from outside.

As though to ensure that not a single one trying to escape from within would get away.

Rubelmel’s magic completely isolated the Sorcery Academy from the outside.

“With the situation having moved this far, there is no helping it now. I shall resist you for as long as time allows.”

Letting out a heartfelt sigh as she looked at Darius cowering before the roaring trunks, Rubelmel fixed Seidel within her twin eyes.

“…My apologies for not introducing myself sooner, Ains-sama, Seidel-sama. I am Rubelmel, the Sorcerer of Antagonism, one of the Next-Era Luminaries. I hope you will remember me well.”