Chapter 286 - Cause and Effect (2)

I had no particular destination in mind for this outing. I simply wandered wherever my feet took me.

'Oh, that skewer place was around twenty years ago too.'

I wasn't usually fond of walks, but this one was quite enjoyable. It was like playing spot the difference. Whenever I saw a shop that would still be in business twenty years later, I felt an inexplicable warmth, even if I'd barely ever visited it.

I was still wandering aimlessly when...

"... Huh?"

When had I come all the way here? Habit really was a frightening thing. I absently raised my head to look at the beautiful building before me.

[Lavigion Southern Central Archives.]

The place everyone simply called the library—and the place I'd visited most often in this world.

'This place looks exactly the same as it does twenty years from now.'

Since I didn't have a pile of urgent tasks waiting for me, I stepped into the library without hesitation. And...

"Welcome. Thank you for visiting."

The staff greeted me the moment I entered. Honestly, I was taken aback.

'What the hell? This isn't how this place is supposed to be.'

The counters that had stood empty when Lagna worked here were all staffed. On my first visit, there had been only one dozing librarian.

One of the many librarians approached me.

"Is this your first visit?"

She looked to be in her early to mid-teens.

She seemed awfully young. Surely she wasn't a permanent employee. A part-timer, maybe? But why did she look so familiar?

"... Is this your first visit?"

"Ah, uh... Yes."

"Then allow me to briefly explain our reading rules and procedures."

Listening to her explanation, I learned that the number of librarians wasn't the only difference. Out of all these staff members, only one was an administrative mage. Even then, patrons had to give the mage keywords, which the mage used to magically retrieve the records of stored books. The ordinary librarians would then guide patrons to the books' locations.

"... Why use such a cumbersome method?"

"Pardon...?"

"Wouldn't it be easier to cast a spell on the patrons and let them find the books themselves?"

The librarian answered with a bright smile, though her eyes said, 'What the hell is this barbarian bastard talking about?'

"Haha, I can see why you might think that. But I've heard that spells cast on other people consume several times as much mana."

"Ah, so the problem is that there aren't enough mages."

"Yes. And I've never even heard of a spell like that in the first place."

Huh? What was that supposed to mean? There was no such spell? As I unconsciously tilted my head, the librarian murmured with a touch of self-deprecation.

"Surely you don't think the exalted mages of the Magic Tower would create spells for librarians like us?"

"... Oh, right. Sorry. I'll come back later."

"Not at all. Please look around, and if there's a book or subject you'd like to read about, feel free to ask at any time."

With our conversation over, the librarian returned to her seat. That brought her name tag into view; the angle had kept me from seeing it while we'd been standing.

[Apprentice Librarian - Shahvin Emur]

Ha. No wonder her face looked familiar. It was her. Apparently, she'd worked here before growing up and joining the administrative agency...

'That's pretty amazing.'

A thought suddenly occurred to me. Here, I could hear little Misha's childish lisp...

'Oh, right. She still talks like that anyway.'

Anyway, that wasn't what mattered. I could see everyone I knew as fresh-faced little babies if I wanted to. Interesting, sure, but what did that matter?

'Dwalki... He'd still be alive here too.'

Leor Wuerv Dwalki. The mage who would probably remain a sore spot in my heart for the rest of my life.

'If changing the future is possible...'

Depending on what I did here, couldn't I prevent Dwalki's death?

The moment that thought struck me, electricity coursed through my body. Not figuratively. Literally.

BZZZZT.

What the hell? Who was shocking me? A stinging sensation flared around my feet. I looked down to find a child staring up at me insolently.

As a grown barbarian, I spoke with generosity.

"What kind of bullshit is this?"

The child answered my question.

"I'm a mage."

I was dumbfounded. Yeah, so you were a mage. So what? Did that mean I was supposed to cower and grovel?

"Human child, you may be too young to know this, but mages die too when their necks get snapped."

Getting into a serious fight with a little mage of six or seven would be ridiculous, so I simply offered some sincere advice. Perhaps that hadn't gone over well.

"Whatever. Hurry up and move. You're blocking my way."

The little mage glared at me with impudent eyes. At least now I knew why I'd been shocked.

'Ha. You electrocuted me just because I was in your way?'

What an utterly spoiled brat. Still, remembering Amelia's warning not to cause trouble, I barely managed to restrain myself.

"Fine. Go on, squirt."

"What's the point of being big if you can't even use magic?"

"What? You want to see a neck-snapping spell?"

When I stepped aside, the child left with a deliberately audible snort.

"... Savage."

Yeah, that doesn't hurt a barbarian.

'Tsk, tsk. Were all kids like this twenty years ago? Whew. We weren't like this back in my day... What's the world coming to?'

After that, I took a quick look around the library, then sat in an empty seat without getting a book. There was something I needed to think through.

'It really would be a shame to waste this opportunity.'

A twenty-year gap. As Amelia had said, this was an opportunity. Simply going back to my own time felt like a loss.

'I only have three weeks aboveground, so I can't devote too much time to it...'

I made a list of what I could accomplish in that time. A few things came to mind.

'First, the Six Treasures.'

The Six Treasures would be stolen twenty years from now. I couldn't stop that, and stealing them first and burying them was practically impossible. I didn't even know where in the sanctuary they were hidden. But...

'I could at least give them a warning.'

That settled my first task.

1. Write an anonymous letter warning that someone will come to steal the Six Treasures on March 1, year 153 of New Beginnings.

Of course, whether this would change the future was anyone's guess. Still, it wouldn't take much effort, so there was nothing to lose. With that in mind, I decided to include a warning about the Sacred Relic War while I was at it. That was what had first set the barbarians' decline in motion, after all.

'... If only we had as much strength as we do in this era.'

I hadn't spent long exploring the city of twenty years ago, but the most noticeable difference was the proportion of barbarians. I saw quite a few wherever I went. This had probably been normal once. Then the Sacred Relic War had reduced our population, and the Magic Tower had announced that our hearts were valuable magical ingredients, bringing us to our current plight.

'The Magic Tower... Could I somehow stop them?'

Hmm. I'd think about that some more. Nothing came to mind right now. Time to move on.

2. Create circumstances in which Dwalki won't die.

Two methods came to mind for this one. Either intervene in the past and steer him away from becoming an explorer...

'Or kill that fucking bastard, the Dragonslayer.'

The first involved plenty of variables, but the second was more certain than any other option. It would do the world more good, too. There were advantages all around. The only problem was...

'I'm not even sure that bastard is in Noark.'

According to recorded history, his first appearance after stealing the Dragonslayer Sword and fleeing was about ten years from now. He'd made his Orculus debut by single-handedly carrying out a terror attack on the elves' sanctuary, which had been devastated in the Sacred Relic War. Unfortunately, nothing was known about his movements before that.

'Then I should meet Dwalki first.'

I therefore decided to proceed with steering Dwalki away from becoming an explorer. There were plenty of variables, but it was worth a try. Besides, I even knew where he would be staying at this point in time.

'If I visit him and tell him nothing but how hard and filthy an explorer's work is, it'll sour his opinion of it.'

Okay, that settled that...

'Next...'

I was continuing that train of thought when...

BZZZZT!

I heard the crackle of electricity from somewhere. Fortunately, it wasn't coming from my body this time.

"Aaargh!"

I turned toward the sound and saw a man screaming as he was electrocuted.

"Move. You're in the way."

The child repeated the same line I'd heard earlier.

Unfortunately, the outcome was different this time. After all, how many adults in the world were as kind and generous as me?

SMACK!

The man mercilessly slapped the child across the face. Scrawny weakling though he was, he was still a grown man. A six- or seven-year-old couldn't withstand that strength.

"Birhe te..."

Knocked flying by the blow, the child scrambled upright and began chanting a spell, but the man who'd been shocked allowed no time for that.

THUD!

A merciless kick struck the small body.

"... Shouldn't someone stop him?"

"A librarian! Let's get a librarian."

People turned to watch, but no one stepped forward. Ugh. This was the trouble with people who did nothing but study. How was I supposed to concentrate?

"Who dares make noise?"

With no other choice, I got up and headed toward the commotion. I approached the man, who was still furiously stomping away, and...

"Keep quiet in the library."

I hooked his leg and swept him off his feet.

THUMP!

"Fuck, who the hell are you now?"

The man rose from where he'd landed on his backside, huffing angrily. He raised his voice at me in irritation.

"If you don't want to get hurt..."

Then our eyes met, and he trailed off.

"If I don't want to get hurt?"

"..."

"Why don't you finish that sentence?"

"..."

The man didn't answer my questions.

For a moment, I wondered if he was using the number-one method for pissing someone off, but fortunately, that wasn't it.

"... Just go about your business."

The weakling tried to act tough while furtively lowering his eyes. I was a little dumbfounded.

He'd slapped a child so ruthlessly that I'd assumed he was an egalitarian like a barbarian, making no distinction for age or sex.

'So he's only tough with people weaker than him.'

Still, the kid was one hundred percent in the wrong this time.

"Why don't you leave it at that and go? Can't you see people are reading?"

"... Tsk."

Once I gave him an excuse to leave, the weakling clicked his tongue and walked away. Apparently, now that his anger had cooled, he knew enough to be embarrassed.

"Can you stand?"

"... Leave me alone."

If you wanted to say things like that, at least get a few years older and lose the baby fat first.

"Sheesh."

With a sigh, I helped the child, who was curled up like a shrimp, to stand. Then I asked,

"Don't you have a mother?"

"I do."

Huh? You did?

"No, you don't."

"... She's at home."

Oh, right. Should've said so from the start.

"Why are you out alone without your mother? Bring her along when you come to places like this."

"... I can manage on my own."

"Is that why you got the shit kicked out of you?"

When I bluntly hit the sore spot like a proper barbarian, the child scowled.

"... I could've won."

"I see."

This was why I hated kids. They were nowhere near capable of rational thought, yet so incredibly stubborn.

"Fine, do whatever you want now. If you're going to pick more fights, do it somewhere I'm not around."

"... I wasn't picking a fight. They're the ones in the wrong for blocking the way."

What was this kid on about now?

"Using magic just because someone is in your way is wrong too. You should ask them to move first."

"I did. I asked you, and that man too. But you both ignored me."

Huh? Really? I'd honestly had no idea...

"So I'm not going to."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm not going to thank you."

"Oh, really?"

I hadn't expected any thanks anyway.

"Fine. Now go."

I waved the child off. For some reason, the kid huffed indignantly before turning and leaving. Only then did a staff member come running over. Fortunately, I didn't have to explain anything. After hearing what had happened from the other patrons, the staff member thanked me and left.

"... I heard you stepped in and resolved the situation. Thank you."

That put an end to the little incident. I sat back down and resumed my thoughts, when...

SCRAPE.

At the sound beside me, I glanced over to see the same child sitting diagonally across from me and opening a book.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Reading a book?"

"Why are you reading here?"

"Why can't I read here?"

Ha. Seriously...

'Be patient.'

Exercising an adult's patience, I moved to another seat. But what was this?

SCRAPE.

Not a few minutes later, the chair diagonally across from me was pulled out again.

"Why did you follow me?"

"I didn't?"

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

Judging by my extensive volunteer experience, I seemed to have caught this child's interest.

'Ignoring them is the best medicine at times like this.'

If I didn't respond, the kid would lose interest and tire out eventually. I stopped paying attention and returned to my thoughts. But this damned brat didn't know where to draw the line.

"Why are you just sitting there without even opening a book?"

"..."

"Can't you read?"

"..."

"Want me to teach you?"

Oh, this was driving me insane.

"Hey, squirt."

Finally reaching the end of my patience, I spoke up. The child frowned.

"I'm not a squirt."

"What do you mean, you're no—"

"Allua Raven."

"... Huh?"

I froze, dumbstruck. For a moment, I doubted my ears, but I'd heard correctly.

"Allua Raven. That's my name."

... Wait, seriously?

* * *

Blue eyes and swishing blond hair. A tiny build, and human. Those were the only similarities I could immediately find, but looking closely, I could see Allua Raven in the child. Still, I couldn't be as certain as I'd been with Shahvin Emur. There was a huge difference between a six- or seven-year-old and someone in their mid-to-late teens, after all. So I asked again to make sure.

"You're sure it's Allua? Not Allu, Aruru, or Alluberos?"

"What are those weird names? My name is Allua. So say it properly."

Touchy, weren't we? In twenty years, nobody would call her Allua properly anyway.

"So how old are you?"

"Five."

Wow. Even her age matched. It really must be her. She'd been tall for her age as a child. The unexpected encounter had surprised me, but curiosity gradually began to take over.

"What's that book? Looks like it's about magic. Are you teaching yourself?"

"Yeah."

"Don't you go to the Magic Tower?"

Knowing that Allua would belong to the Magic Tower in the future, I couldn't help asking. But she merely clicked her tongue.

"Do you think just anyone can get into the Magic Tower?"

Well, that was true, but...

"My family's poor, so I can't."

"That's why you're studying on your own?"

"Yeah. If I become an administrative mage, I won't have to worry about making a living."

"... Y-yes, that's true."

I nodded awkwardly and wondered what I'd been doing when I was five.

'Going in and out of operating rooms, spending every day reading books in my hospital room.'

I'd been fairly mature for my age too, but I couldn't compare to her. At least I hadn't been worrying about my future back then. Admittedly, much of that was because I'd been hovering between life and death and had no room to worry about anything else.

"I'm going now."

"Huh? All of a sudden?"

"It's almost time for Mom to get off work. I'll get in trouble if she finds out I went to the library."

"I suppose she would worry if you snuck out like this."

"... It's a little different from that."

Raven placed her book on the returns counter, then left without looking back or saying anything about meeting again.

'What did she mean, different from worrying?'

It might be nothing, but the strangely dark look on her face as she'd said it lingered in my mind.

'Is there some problem with her family?'

Come to think of it, she'd never once talked about her family in front of us. This was even the first I'd learned that she came from a commoner background.

"Hmm..."

Now I was getting curious.