Back in the elevator, Nuriel intentionally focused his gaze at the ground but kept his head somewhat level. After what felt like an eternity, they finally reached the ground floor.
[Scepter Fragment Nearby]
He read the message. All the tension in him vanished when he confirmed its realness, but a new worry emerged. How would he get it? When he and Vivienne stepped out, the Scepter message vanished as they got further and further away from the elevator.
'The panel is quite low to the ground... does it mean the Scepter Fragment is located underground?' Nuriel thought, staring blankly in front of him as he was trying to come up with ways of accessing it.
'I wouldn't be surprised if the College of Magic has an extensive underground facility. My only real hope here is Vivienne doing another infiltration mission.'
There were definitely ways for Nuriel to indirectly help her, or perhaps even encourage her!
He could try his luck in the throne room, strumming every white string he saw, in the hopes that one of them belonged to a high-ranking employee within the College of Magic, then somehow get information, or even appear in the form of a family member or even the Steel Witch herself to directly get the information through talking.
'Would the Steel Witch shock them too much?' Nuriel chuckled silently.
Nuriel and Vivienne walked back to the truck to deliver another four stacks of books. He counted around almost a hundred stacks before them.
His heart sank a little. They were only making tiny chips among the horde.
He shook his head in regret. He repeated to himself inside his head, 'This is good for my health.
This is good for my health.
This is good for...
. . .
The two returned to the upper library, then returned over and over till the horde was now around half of its original amount. The sight of the truck slowly getting a bit higher and higher due to the decreased weight on the suspensions made him raise his chin up.
Back at the upper library, the two were greeted by the scent of tea in the air, followed by a voice that echoed further away from their location.
Following the echo, they stumbled upon George who was setting down two trays, each with a small cup of what seemed to be black tea alongside a savory sandwich.
"Take a break," George instructed with a smile as he slowly walked past the two, waving his arms behind his back.
"I need to go to the Dean's office. Keep watch of the place in the meantime."
After he said that, the two saw his figure disappearing amongst the maze of bookshelves.
Nuriel turned to where the tea was. The space was dotted with cushy seats and coffee tables, and was right beside a large panoramic window that showed the nighttime Owhen University from a sky high view.
Unlike the dream, the real deal was much more pleasing to look at.
Making himself comfortable, he observed the sandwich and its high-quality craftsmanship. He took it closer to his eyes to see the ham, which was glistening under the moonlight cast by the large windows.
He then smelled the black tea, whose aroma was already piercing his senses without the need for Nuriel to breathe in.
He grimaced at the sight of such well-prepared delight. 'Is it possible for me to transfer to the College of Magic?'
But he shook his head.
With the lounge and café-like vibe of the upper library, it would be an overstatement to call himself a librarian. A maid or even a janitor would be more correct!
Nuriel sighed. He placed the black tea back on the table and stared at the clock which was about to strike midnight.
Taking a small bite left him speechless to the point that he had to say it aloud, "Vivienne, this...
'Huh?' Nuriel was confused. He stared at Vivienne who was already finished with her snack.
She quietly wiped her mouth with a handkerchief before quickly standing up and facing him.
"I need to go to the restroom, excuse me," she said before silently walking away. The footsteps immediately ceased the moment she disappeared from Nuriel's field of vision.
Nuriel stared at the empty space where she disappeared from. A slight curl appeared on the edges of his mouth.
'I was waiting for you. There was no way you could pass on this opportunity!'
Now that he was completely alone, he stood up and began jogging around the area, sliding his fingers across the dozens of magic-related books and tomes for his Scepter System to analyze and store inside the internal database.
Meanwhile, Nuriel was careful to only take tiny bites out of his sandwich in case he accidentally choked on them while running.
Although the space was relatively large, it couldn't compare to the main library of the university. It took him only five minutes to cover everything, at the same time he was finished eating the sandwich.
'With that, I should have the majority of the knowledge regarding magic in this world,' he thought, with his expression turning into that of a satisfied smile.
He returned to his seat that was beside the panoramic view and sipped down the fragrant tea to clear his stuffy throat.
'As I thought, eating while running is a terrible combination,' Nuriel covered his mouth and cleared his throat. At the same time, he heard a chime from the distance.
'Is Vivienne finished? No... it's more likely to be George.'
He waited, and soon enough, he found himself to be correct as George appeared from one of the corners.
George paused to look at Nuriel who was seated, then turned to the empty chair in front of him, with its missing sandwich and empty teacup.
"Where did Vivienne go off to? Surely you're not resting here while she's doing all the lifting," he glared at Nuriel, waiting for a response.
'He's more aggressive than his brother…' Nuriel retracted himself before the pressure, but he was quick to clear up the misunderstanding.
"She has a mild stomach ache. She's busy in the restroom," he calmly replied, then took another sip.
. . .
Eventually, the glaring ceased as George returned to his usual cheery state. He then occupied the seat in front of Nuriel and rested his back against the soft cushion.
George was the first to speak. "So… why a librarian?"
'I was assassinated by my former co-worker, who now happens to be the god you worship. I transmigrated into this world through my own means, and the new body just happened to apply to Owhen University as a librarian.' Nuriel quietly took another sip before replying, "I was outed as the head of my family. Since I needed a job, being a librarian was my first choice."
George rubbed his chin. "A fallen noble?..." He chuckled. "Apologies."
Nuriel paid no mind and simply nodded at his apology.
"Tell you what, if you get a promotion, I'll gladly take you in—along with Vivienne. You seem to be passionate about books, see?" George suddenly announced.
Nuriel internally winced at the sudden prospect and snarky tone.'He might be even more shameless than Orwell… that's a pass from me.'
As if George read Nuriel's mind, he continued, "I'm serious. Since the College of Magic is mostly aristocrats, we do get plenty of benefits." He emphasized the word benefits.
"Provided that you don't mind the ghost," George added.
'Ghost?' Nuriel sipped his tea in thought. 'Could they exist? After a hundred thousand years… could it be possible for certain humans to evolve into some sort of ghost or similar?'
He quietly thought through the possibilities before asking, but chose to respond in a way that showed he neither believed nor denied the paranormal.
"You should hire them. They don't need to eat or sleep."
George laughed a hearty laugh. "Good one! I wish it was possible."
'So they don't exist…' Nuriel continued, "What do you mean by ghost? Could the entire College of Magic be haunted?" he jested.
"That's what the students say… Actually, it's more like a tradition. In fact, if you worked here instead of the main library, you'd see small groups of juniors sneaking around in the middle of the night during the early days of the opening—hoping to find a ghost. Those seniors really have funny ways of mistreating the young bloods huh?"
George shook his head and laughed. "They say the entire college is built right above a grave site. Can you believe that?"
Nuriel instantly froze, the rim of the teacup held steady just a millimeter from his lips.
'Custodian George… I might just actually believe it,' he thought in his frozen pose, before continuing with the sip.
He connected the grave site and the Scepter Fragment together.
Despite it being a hunch, the idea mortified him to the core. If a corpse had a Scepter Fragment, there would certainly be strange things occurring within the College of Magic.
A zombie?
A ghost?
A vampire?
'To think my Scepter System could become such a thing…' he grimaced in thought. He might need to commit grave robbery at this rate.