After our sudden stop by the bandits, we headed inside the city near the east tower. These cities are designed to protect the four towers (east, west, north, south) in case of an attack, as they say these towers are meant to safeguard the books containing our history. At the entrance to the city, there were thousands of people wanting to get inside, but they were being refused entry. When we approached a lady behind a desk, who had two guards alongside her, Sebastian gave her a crimson red medal with two black flowers arranged in a circle on the round medal. The guards looked surprised, or shocked.
"Th-There you go, sir. Have fun inside the city of the tower," the lady at the desk told Sebastian, who replied with a dead smile, "I promise I will."
"So, what are we doing here, Sebastian?" Midori asked.
"Just Seb, and firstly, we are going to find an inn to sleep for the night. It will be dark before you know it."
"An inn, huh?"
"Yeah, there is one down the road. I hear it is cheap as well."
All four of our smiles faded.
"Cheap...?" we asked in unison.
Seb never answered, and the conversation stopped there. When we reached the inn, Seb paid, and we got two small rooms with two beds in each one. In one room were the tweens, and in the other, me and Megumi. Apparently, Sebastian hadn't taken any bed and insisted that it was too dangerous for me to stay there without someone being awake.
"Midori, give me my shirt now."
"Hahaha—hey, let go of my hair!"
This is what was being heard from the next room where the tweens were 'sleeping.'
"They sure are full of energy. After all that walking, I expected them to be exhausted," Sebastian said in annoyance.
"They are always like this. Anyway, when they stop fighting, they will fall asleep instantly. I hope."
"Megumi, what do you mean 'I hope?'" I asked as I saw her jump down onto her bed.
"Now, now, it's time to change clothes and go to sleep. Wear something clean and go to your beds before I come back. I'm going to give an earful to the two in the next room."
"Yes, sir," we both exclaimed in annoyance.
Needless to say, there were some screams in the next room, a heavy sound like something being hit, and then... nothing. We didn't hear from them until the morning when Sebastian came inside to wake us up with a scary smile on his face.
"Get ready, we are going to the tower."
"How exactly are we gonna get in?" I asked Seb, who seemed to forget that it's almost impossible to gain access to the tower as a normal citizen, let alone when the traitors are after you.
"The same way we got inside the city. You underestimate the power the name 'Karasunochi' holds."
I see, so that's his plan. That explains why everyone was so surprised when Sebastian showed that medal. Before we went to the tower, we made a stop at the market, where we bought food for the next ten days, as well as a sword, small and light enough for me to hold. Sebastian paid for everything...
"Hi, esteemed gatekeepers, I would like to have access to the tower," Sebastian said, with the stupid smile he always makes when he wants something.
"Go away, cunts. This is the ancient tower of the east, not some cheap pub," the guards said.
"Cunt... Oh, now you hurt my feelings. Unlike you, I'm no cunt. My name is Sebastian Karasunochi, and I hereby order you to let us pass, or else..." We all knew what Seb meant by 'else.' He threatened them with an army of 'ravens'; that's not something you can simply deal with.
"A raven..." the guard on the left said angrily.
"This way Sebastian-sama," the other guard said with a fake smile on his face.
(I don't like this.)
"This is the door to the ancient tower; behind it is the eternal library. Your nobility has given you a chance to see the library, but it's up to you whether you will open that door."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing threatening, don't give me that look. What I mean is that if the library allows you to enter, it is because you are chosen by the library for who you are. Neither connections nor nobility will get you into the library."
"I see..." Sebastian said and ended the conversation with the guard.
The moment the guard left the room, Sebastian tried to push the door, but it wouldn't budge at all. We were all surprised by this, as we expected Sebastian to have some plan, but we saw him just fail. Then he told us to turn around and close our eyes and ears. We protested at first, but in the end, we did as he instructed us.
...
...
The door magically opened. Sebastian somehow did it. Sebastian... was covered in blood. From head to toe, he was covered in injuries and blood; he was sitting on the ground and had the black katana, still in its sheath, in his left hand. Did he use it to open the door? The door isn't damaged at all; only Sebastian is hurt.
"Seb, what happened?" I asked.
"Hehe, the door was more difficult to open than I expected."
"More difficult? You will bleed to death," Megumi complained.
"It opened, didn't it? That's what matters. Now kids, I present to you the eternal library."
The eternal library... a really large room with brown wooden bookshelves, and the roof—there wasn't one. At least, not an ordinary one. It was like being under the night sky, full of glowing stars, an endless galaxy.
"Now, what I want you to find is a book about the five Sovereigns. I don't know how it looks or where it is, so it will take some time. Good luck," Sebastian said and turned to leave but was stopped by Aiko's question.
"You said we would meet our father here. You got yourself covered in blood; now you order us to find a book from who knows where in the eternal library, and we still haven't met him. Now you are trying to leave? What's going on, Sebastian?"
That was Aiko's question. He sounded furious. He looked furious, but after he heard Sebastian's calm answer, he was even more furious.