It has been a week since all of us returned to the city. Life had returned to what could be called normal for us, but things weren"t the same without Ronald.Elly had started working at the Amigo inn with Diane while Dale was looking for a job at the trade district. Ria and Emma got along pretty well which was good for both of them. For now, they were staying at the inn, but Dale was saying that they were planning to rent a house after he finds a job.
Even though it was early morning, the sun was so bright that it felt like it was already noon. I was going to the library with Princess Eliane and Nina. Flare was flying in the sky above us since it would be too odd to carry a bird around the city on my shoulder. We decided to go to the library early because it was usually less crowded in the early morning.
The problem when a library was crowded was that somebody else may have already taken the book that you need. Unlike the libraries in my previous world, the library here didn"t have many copies of the same book since the copies were handmade.
When we reached the library, I saw that even the outside garden that usually had no one reading there was crowded with academy students. Even Nina who usually came to the library had no idea what was going on.
After we entered the library, Nina walked towards the lady Librarian near the entrance and asked, "h.e.l.lo there, why is it so crowded today?"
"What can I say, there is a test next week, so these kids think that this is their opportunity to attract the attention of some wealthy n.o.bles," replied the Lady. She looked busy so Nina returned to us without disturbing her further.
Today, our first goal was to draw the map which we could use during our journey to The Labyrinth of Panacea. The second goal was to collect as much information as we can find about the labyrinth and the surrounding area.
The books and the maps that we needed were in the geography section. Compared to other sections, the geography section was less crowded. It was probably because it was considered less important during the test.
"Eliane and I will go and collect the books and maps, Nara can you go and see if there are any empty tables at the reading hall?" said Nina after we reached the geography section.
I replied saying, "Okay, let me go and check" after which I went towards the reading hall.
The reading hall was crowded and most of the seats were already occupied. There was a table at the corner which had only one guy sitting on it. When I looked closely, I remembered who it was. It was the Duke"s son who took the entrance test with us.
"What"s he even doing here?" is what I thought when I saw him. He was already a n.o.ble and the Duke"s son at that.
He had a large pile of big books in front of him, but his face looked half asleep. I wanted to avoid him as far as possible, but I had no choice in this case.
I went in front of the table and asked, "h.e.l.lo, can I sit here?"
"Who the hel-," he paused when he was saying that after he saw my face. His irritated reaction changed into a surprised one. He stood from his chair saying, "W-wait, you are that guy who fought against the knight squad back then."
"I think I saw him watching our fight back then."
"Y-you, become my servant. If you do, I will make you a n.o.ble when I become the Duke," he said composing himself.
"What now?!"
I was confused and had no idea how to reply so I just said, "Sorry, I don"t have time for that."
"What! who do you think you are talking to?" he replied in a displeased tone.
I was somehow expecting this reaction. Some part of me always knew that this guy was nothing but trouble. As I was looking for a way to resolve this mess, I heard Princess Eliane"s voice.
"Oh, if it isn"t sir Goro. It has been long," said Eliane with a smile. It looks like she understood what was going on.
"Y-yes, it has Your Highness. I was about to leave. If you will excuse me," replied Garo with a forced smile and left in a hurry without even picking up the books on the table.
I didn"t know what was going on with him since he left as soon as Princess Eliane came here. But I had no interest in learning, I was just relieved that he left.
"Thanks, Eliane. You saved me," I said looking towards her.
"Don"t mention it," replied Princess Eliane with a happy smile.
"Okay, let"s sit here. I will combine the maps we have got and draw a new one. You guys read the books and write the things that may look important in these papers," said Nina, putting the books and maps she brought in the table.
We sat at the table after which Nina started drawing the maps while I and Eliane started reading the books. There wasn"t much information about the labyrinth itself.
All that was mentioned was how people went there but never came back. There were speculations about what could have happened to them but that wasn"t really helpful. Based on what I read, it was probably a maze with several floors.
I learned many things about the region in the center of the kingdom. In the center of the kingdom, there is a large mountain range in a circular shape. Based on what I learned, it could be several times larger than the Himalayas. The whole region is called the dragon valley.
The labyrinth we were heading to was close to one of the mountains of the dragon valley. Several monster races lived around those parts including goblins, ogres, and lizardmen.
"Phew! Finally done," said Nina in a relieved tone.
"Wow, that"s detailed," said Princess Eliane looking at the map.
"I combined the instructions given in several maps and made this one," replied Nina.
"Yeah, this will be really helpful, thanks," I said looking towards Nina.
Nina stood from her chair and looked out of the window saying, "It"s almost evening so if you guys are done let"s head back."
"Yes, I think I am done," I said since I had collected a fair amount of information considering how less informative the books were.
"I am done as well so let"s head back," said Princess Eliane piling the books that were in front of her.
Since everyone agreed, we returned the books that we had borrowed in the right place and came back to the orphanage.
Next Chapter: The Dark Summoning