"My, I wasn't expecting a visitor this late in hours. What do we have here~" the moment he stepped into the library, Enryu was greeted with a mature-sounding voice. Directing his gaze toward the culprit, he can see a calm beauty leaning her cheek against her hand while holding onto a book with her other hands. He could feel her gaze filled with curiosity directed toward him. She is none other than Lisa, the librarian. The maid had told him in advance about her, so he wasn't surprised at her presence.
"Excuse me, I'm here looking for a history book of this world," Though he didn't mention his name, he did drop a hint that he isn't a resident of this world like her. No one else would be asking such a book if they are people of this world, furthermore, the timing. One can easily connect the dots if they think about it.
"Ah~ it's Mister Hero, pardon my rudeness. I have heard from the maids that the Heroes were all young, but it seems not all of them were the case. Ah, I hadn't introduced myself yet did I? I'm Lisa, just a librarian," she said with an amicable smile on her face. Though she said she was just a librarian, he thought otherwise. He can tell from his instinct, she's dangerous too. After all, beneath that smile, there's a frightening strength that only few people can sense.
"Takashi Enryu, and as you have heard, I'm also one of the summoned Heroes. Unlike the youngsters, I'm a working adult who got accidentally caught in this whole mess because I only wanted to visit my sister," he responded with a wry smile on his face. If just a librarian was already this strong, he imagined the level strength of average people may be higher than that of his previous world. Or maybe, she was one of the few geniuses, he gained nothing but sense of urgency either way. For the goal of researching a way back to his world, he needed strength, more than the person in his sight.
But baby steps. First of all, he needs all kinds of information he can get about this world.
"You were looking for a history book, was it? But didn't the first princess already speak about the history of our world when you were just summoned to this world? Did you think she was lying? My, you're pretty bad~" She then giggles.
"No, I wouldn't say that."
"But you didn't believe her, did you?"
"Ah, you got me. So, are you going to report me to Her Highness for the crime of lese majeste?" He quickly admitted his mistake as he put his hand above his head in defeat, but a smile still remained on his face.
"Fufufu, you're interesting."
"I appreciate the compliment. So, do you mind guiding me to the book I'm looking for?"
"There's no need for that," the moment she finished her words, she waved her hand as a book, much thicker than her own hands, immediately came flying toward her hand like a magnet. At the front cover of the book, 'History of the World for dummies' was written on it.
He wasn't surprised that he could read the words which should've been gibberish if he was the same person as he once was in his previous world. What did surprise him was her action, it's telekinesis after all, as someone who lives in a world without the wonder of magic, the scene of a book floating mid air is truly eye-opening.
"Hmm? Are you interested in magic? Unfortunately, you have to be good at controlling mana before you can do something like this. You didn't get your status appraise just yet, right? If you're still interested in learning magic, you can come back later once you do so,"
"Are you sure?"
"My, and here I thought you were going to ask what 'status' is, but guess not. Since that's the case, we can start tomorrow," A smile appeared on her face, but this time it wasn't the fake smile she just wore moments ago.
"What's the price? There's no way you're going to teach me for free right?"
"It is, but you won't take that for an answer, would you? Well let's just say that teaching you is in my interest. You're a hero, after all. I wonder how much power could you wield~ Fufufu, yes, I'm truly curious." As someone hailed as one of the few Great Mages, she couldn't help but wonder if he could catch up to her in strength before her departure. If he was going to be her disciple, he needs to be able to do that at the very least. It would be a shame otherwise.
It's also about time for her to leave this godforsaken castle. It would be interesting to see the surprise look of her peers once they hear one of the heroes becoming her disciple. Looking at the figure leaving the library with a book in hands, she sighed as she thought, 'it's unfortunate but at the very least, he can put a fight when that time comes. It won't hurt to do that much at least.'
...
It was just like the princess had said, or rather, her version was much easier for the students to understand, hers is simplified. In the book he just read, the history of the world was much more detailed but overall, it's the same.
True to her words, the abomination of evil, the existence known as Demon God truly exists. Before it and its kin were pushed back to the corner of the world, it had wrecked many towns and cities like kicking pebbles on the street. Everywhere it goes, everything was razed to the grounds, creating a bloody and sinister path that remains the same to this day.
It knows no mercy, not even toward its own kin. Or at least that's what was written inside the book. At the end of the day, history was written by winners. Of course it may be hard to believe, but everything written inside the book appeared to be badly exaggerated. That's what his instinct told him, which he still found it unbelievable at this moment but nonetheless believes it.
After all, he needs to read the other side of stories as well. He couldn't judge them all as evil just yet. Though the chances are slim, the demons may have been forced by this Demon God to assault mankind. Heck, it's also possible that this Demon God itself was being manipulated by some other existence on the same level as it. However, there's still one truth that he learned from all this. That is strength.
In order to survive in this world filled with monsters and monster-like existence, he needs strength to stand above others. If he couldn't even protect himself, how dare he even think of protecting his little sister? Lucky for him, he already found a way to increase his strength tremendously during his stay in the castle. He finds it unbelievable at how everything was in plain sight.
It's almost scary..as if he were walking in the palm of someone's hand, Enryu shook his head before he hardened his will further. It matters not if he's a puppet of someone, so long as he can achieve strength, he will willingly follow it for now cause when that time ever comes, he shall bite back. Fiercely.