This world is named after the game, Insinity.
Herale was the faith that describes the world's origins and existence in detail.
From what I've read so far, four goddesses appeared and became the overseers of Insinity after its creation:
The Goddess of Systems, Altair who created the phenomenon of monsters and magic, status windows, stats and values of all things in the world.
The Goddess of Growth, Ennieus who blessed half the world into Ascendants, beings who would be able to use them to pioneer the various evolutions that were possible in this world.
The Goddess of Progeny, Dianna who spread the seeds of race and nature, creating variety in the world.
And the Goddess of Morality, Cardinal who created desires, emotions and the codex of Morality, bringing upon sins and virtues upon the world.
The foundation of balance was formed with these four, and the world expanded quickly into one that they had envisioned. Because of the harmony of magic and science combined, humans were able to create a utopia for themselves—which lasted for no more than 50 years.
Human nature created from Cardinal had proven to just be as destructive as it was beneficial, and with the ruination of the utopian times came the dark age. Instability spread chaos, and the world was set to a decline again. The goddesses decided to try again. This time, to supplant chaos with order, the conclusion came in the form of two individuals who were the spearheads of that dark age.
A human who fought, and a demon who fought.
It didn't matter particularly what their races were, but they had been chosen because of their unique dispositions at that time, the morality compass which swung on two complete, polar opposites. Perfect vessels for the fragments of the world's morality to reside in. That's right, those two were the beginning of the eternal conflict between the Hero and the Demon King.
A never-ending tale told for generations, martyrs that were born to kill one another. A proxy war between good and evil—
"Shuffle—" The sound of shifty footsteps broke me out of my concentration.
I raised my head from the history book and saw the familiar figure of a girl who I had seen not too long ago.
(Lyndel huh.)
Lyndel, she had come again today as well. She was covering her face with a book in her hands, only peeking at me from the side timidly as if worried that I wouldn't notice her. Picking up her silent subtleties, I patted the seat next to me on the couch and stood up.
"I'll make coffee." I said. The one I was drinking had turned cold after some time too. I should brew another one for myself.
The librarian girl nodded while still hiding her face. When I left my seat, I could see from the corner of my eye that Lyndel had taken this chance to scurry over to the couch. That small action of hers made me smile for some reason.
I stepped over a few books, and came to the coffee-maker on the wall rack, then retrieved a new mug out from the cabinet and placed it under the dispenser.
When I was about to press the button on the coffee-maker, a hand suddenly grabbed my wrist. Turning back in surprise, I saw Lyndel frowning at me while pointing at my hands.
"...Ah."
That's right, my gloves. Just as I was about to get it, Lyndel stopped me. She pushed me away just before I could react, and pressed the button herself. She could do that without the gloves, after all she wasn't like me.
Ever since obtaining the passive skill「Disarmed Circuit」, any physical contact with devices that uses magic would have a high chance of malfunctioning.
I first learnt about this when Lyndel was around when I brought the first coffee-maker here. And man, did I make a mess. I had to stay behind to clean it up secretly so the other librarians wouldn't notice, and it was fortunate that Lyndel being the new librarian that she was, were close enough not to tell on me. But that had obviously left quite a shock for her, imagine staying near someone who could explode electronics just from a single touch. This was why she was now so cautious about me touching any devices that operated on mana circuits from that day on.
Apparently, most Strays used to also be unfortunate enough like me. After reading about it, the cause for a disarmed mana circuit was from exerting mana strongly without enough to supplement it. But I didn't recall something like that happening.
The only thing that came close, was the one time I tried removing the collar from the demihuman slave. I remember seeing a black current of electricity discharged as I took it off of the girl.
Had my mana reacted to the collar then? I didn't know, but since I had only myself to blame because it was my decision to save her at that time, I thought it wasn't really all that bad to wear gloves for the rest of my life.
... ... ...
The smell of coffee quickly permeated the air again. When the mug was nearly full, she handed it over to me with a half-cute and angry pout.
"A...Ahahaha... sorry, it slipped my mind."
Suppressed by her unusual seriousness, I received the mug with both hands and laughed dryly. Her expression didn't seem to change though and was instead alternating her gaze between the coffee and my face repeatedly. I thought she wanted me to take a sip of the coffee so I did.
The blend of roasted cocoa beans imported from god know where, and the sweetened cream that was considered a commodity in Halvan were honestly why it was so expensive. But all I can say is, the rich, creamy taste was worth every copper that I had paid for it.
"Is it good?" Lyndel, already aware of the answer was looking at me interestingly.
I nodded, but suddenly remembered something.
"Ah... I should have used my mug."
"Eh?" Lyndel looked at me, confused. I pointed at the other mug of lukewarm coffee on the table and smiled wryly.
"Lyndel-san... I only have two mugs here."
"..." The girl looked at my face, and then the mug on the table. She looked at the mug she had just brewed for me, and then the mug on the table, which then rested on my face eventually. Finally, her face lit up as if she had connected the dots in her head, and in the next moment it suddenly boiled as red as an octopus.
Huh? Embarrassed...? Why was she embarrassed?
"Uhm... I'll just take this and make a—"
"—!!" I felt a pull before I could finish my words, and my body jerked backwards.
"...L-Lyndel-san?" I saw where the tug had came from, Lyndel was pinching the back of my robe stopping me from leaving.
And the girl wasn't even looking at me, but the cup of cold coffee that I was just about to wash for a new one. That made me feel a little conflicted. Don't tell me, she was considering whether to drink it or not? Caught up by how focused of a look she was giving the mug, that I couldn't move away until she came to a decision on her own.
I stood there awkwardly, with two cups of coffee in my hands. I took a sip off the freshly brewed one—
"—That coffee..." After a few seconds of silence, she abruptly spoke.
"It's a waste to throw it away. ...drink it..." Her voice had suddenly shrunk nearing the end of her words, so I shot her a confused look. Lyndel's expression became a little more flustered and she replied with a louder voice this time.
"I said...! I-I'll drink it... I'll only drinking it s-since it's a waste if I don't! A waste!"