Note: I thought I could this was just a quick chapter around 1K, that I could upload quickly. In the end I just ended up tripling it as always dammit!
Anyway, now seriously I will start uploading again when I settle down.
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"T...Tanaka, b-be careful up there, I suppose."
Beatrice stood in the garden with both hands clasped tightly in front of her, staring upward.
Several meters above her, Tanaka was floating in the air.
Or, more accurately, he was attempting to float in the air.
His body swayed from side to side, his arms stretched out for balance as though he were standing on an invisible tightrope. Every few seconds, his legs kicked awkwardly beneath him in an attempt to stabilize himself.
It was not working.
"Beatrice!"
Tanaka suddenly grinned.
"I think I really got it this ti—"
His sentence was cut short.
His entire body tipped forward.
"Tanaka!"
He plummeted.
Beatrice's eyes widened in panic as she immediately thrust out her hand, "Murak, in fact!"
Tanaka's body dropped the remaining distance at a slower pace but still crashed directly into her.
"Whoa!"
The two tumbled across the grass together.
Tanaka instinctively wrapped his arms around Beatrice as they rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.
For a moment, there was complete silence.
Beatrice lay sprawled across the grass, her hair disheveled and her dress covered in bits of grass.
"Tanaka!"
She quickly pushed herself upright.
"Are you alright?!"
But then she stopped.
"Hahaha!"
Tanaka was laughing, genuinely laughing.
Beatrice stared at him in disbelief.
He had just fallen several meters out of the sky, crashed into her, and rolled across the ground like a sack of potatoes.
"Why would you do something so stupid?!" she demanded.
Tanaka sat up and brushed a few blades of grass from his clothes.
"Relax."
He gave her a carefree smile.
"You saw how strong I was yesterday when we fought those Witch Beasts. They didn't stand a chance."
"That's true, but..."
Beatrice's voice softened.
Tanaka laughed again.
"I'm fine."
He then looked at her with genuine admiration.
"But you were amazing yesterday too. I was honestly shocked by how easily you handled those witch beasts."
A faint blush immediately appeared across Beatrice's cheeks.
She quickly puffed them out and turned her head away.
"Of course Betty was amazing!"
She folded her arms proudly.
"Who do you think Betty is? Betty is the Great Spirit Beatrice, in fact!"
Despite the confident tone, her flushed cheeks betrayed how pleased she was.
Tanaka chuckled.
"So..."
Beatrice looked back at him.
"What were you trying to do anyway?"
Tanaka's smile remained, but he let out a small sigh.
"It's because of that clown."
"Roswaal?"
Tanaka glanced toward the sky.
"When I first came here, I fought him."
He pointed upward.
"He was flying. So I was trying to figure out how he did it."
The thought process behind his attempt was that, he would use Murak to reduce the effects of gravity on him and then use wind magic to levitate himself, but his body couldn't maintain his balance which caused to him to lose concentration and drop the spell.
She sighed.
"The problem isn't the magic itself. It's maintaining control over your body while manipulating multiple elements simultaneously."
After several seconds, Beatrice spoke again.
"Betty hates to admit it..."
She sighed again.
"But only a crazy genius like Roswaal could pull something like that off, I suppose."
Tanaka sighed.
"That explains a lot."
He looked back toward the sky.
For several moments, neither of them spoke.
Then Beatrice noticed something.
Tanaka wasn't frustrated.
If anything, he looked excited.
His eyes were focused, his thoughts racing as he tried to piece together the information.
He wasn't giving up.
He was already thinking about his next attempt.
Beatrice watched him for a moment.
Then an idea suddenly came to her.
"...Actually."
Tanaka looked toward her.
"Hm?"
Beatrice raised one tiny finger.
"Betty might have a solution for that."
*********************************************************************************************************
The moment they stepped through the mansion's main entrance, Tanaka was greeted by an entirely different world.
The hallway opened into the Forbidden Library.
Towering shelves stretched along every wall, rising several meters high and disappearing into the shadows above. Thousands upon thousands of books filled them.
The sheer scale of the collection was overwhelming.
Beatrice walked beside him, her hands folded behind her back.
"Betty may have been fooling around with you a little too much lately, but she has continued guarding the Forbidden Library for you, in fact."
She gestured toward the countless shelves.
"All of this belongs to you now."
He let out a quiet laugh.
"Having ownership of all these books is a little overwhelming."
He looked toward Beatrice.
"But I'm grateful that I'm allowed to read them."
Beatrice smiled faintly.
"That's should be a befitting reaction, Mother said that I should have to wait..."
Tanaka didn't answer immediately.
Instead, his attention drifted back toward the shelves.
"Now that you mention it..."
He turned toward her.
"I haven't met your mother yet, is she away or something."
Beatrice froze.
Tanaka's smile slowly faded.
He looked at Beatrice.
Her expression had become solemn and her eyes were no longer focused on him.
They were somewhere far away.
Tanaka's expression immediately changed.
"...I'm such an idiot." He lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry, Beatrice."
Beatrice shook her head.
"It's alright."
Her voice was quiet.
"You lost your memories. It's not your fault, I suppose."
Tanaka hesitated.
He wanted to say something else, but nothing seemed appropriate.
After a moment, he asked carefully,
"Why did your mother leave the library to me?"
Beatrice looked toward the shelves.
"Mother told Betty that 'that person' would be someone worthy of inheriting her knowledge."
She placed a small hand against her chest.
"She said that person would eventually come and claim this library."
Her eyes shifted toward him.
"That person is you, Tanaka."
Tanaka remained silent.
"You must have met Mother before," Beatrice continued. "You simply don't remember because you've lost your Od, I suppose."
Tanaka couldn't give her a definitive answer.
His mind was empty whenever he tried to look backward.
They were things that he could do instinctively, such as writing, reading, using magic.
He could instinctively understand things that should have required years of study.
Even his body sometimes moved before his mind understood what it was doing.
So perhaps Beatrice was right.
Tanaka glanced toward Beatrice.
"...I don't have a reason to deny it."
Beatrice smiled softly.
"That's enough for Betty."
She walked toward one of the shelves.
Tanaka followed.
After searching for a moment, Beatrice pulled out three thick books.
She carried them toward a nearby table and placed them down one after another.
"These contain detailed information about the application of elemental magic to aerial movement."
She looked up at him.
"If you want to understand how Roswaal moves through the air, these should give you the foundation you need."
Tanaka looked at the books.
"Thanks."
"If you have questions, Betty will be sitting over there, I suppose."
She pointed toward a small wooden ladder beneath one of the shelves.
The earlier conversation had left a strange atmosphere between them.
He didn't want to push her.
So he simply nodded.
"Alright."
He smiled faintly.
"Thank you, Beatrice."
She gave him a small nod.
And with that, they began reading.
__
___
____
A little more than an hour passed.
The Forbidden Library had become almost completely silent.
The only sounds were the occasional turning of a page and the faint rustling of paper.
Tanaka sat at the table surrounded by open books.
His attention was completely absorbed.
He had become dead set on figuring out how to fly.
But he wasn't going to imitate Roswaal's movements without understanding the principle behind them.
Yang magic was the key.
Something he almost understood.
Tanaka slowly closed one of the books.
His eyes widened.
"...I think I've got it."
He looked up.
"Beatrice?"
He turned toward the little girl.
She was still sitting on the same tiny ladder.
She hadn't moved an inch in over an hour.
She was holding a large, thick book with a black cover.
Tanaka stared at it.
The strange thing was...
The book was closed.
She wasn't reading it.
She was simply holding it.
Tanaka stood and walked toward her.
"Hey."
Beatrice looked up, slightly startled.
"Ah, Tanaka. Are you finished, I suppose?"
"Yeah."
He nodded.
"I think I have an idea or two that I want to try."
Then his gaze fell upon the book in her hands.
He hesitated.
"What is that book?"
Beatrice's fingers tightened around the cover.
For a moment, she didn't answer.
Then she looked down.
"...It's the last book Mother gave Betty."
Tanaka's expression softened, he already had a vague idea that it was case.
"What's it for?"
Beatrice slowly opened the cover.
"It's supposed to tell Betty what to do."
She turned several pages.
"The book would give Betty instructions whenever Mother wanted to guide her."
Tanaka leaned closer.
"But..."
Beatrice's fingers stopped.
"There hasn't been anything new written in it for centuries."
She turned several more pages.
The first handful were filled with writing.
After that...
Nothing.
Page after page after page remained completely blank.
Hundreds of empty pages.
"It no longer serves any purpose, I suppose."
There was a strange emptiness in her voice.
Tanaka noticed it immediately.
"Can I see it?"
Beatrice's hands tightened around the book.
"For what reason...?"
Her voice was unusually hesitant.
Tanaka looked at her.
Beatrice seemed to realize how she sounded.
She quickly looked away.
"...Of course you can."
She held the book out.
Tanaka accepted it.
But the moment it touched his hands, he noticed something.
Beatrice's fingers lingered against the cover.
She wasn't ready to let go.
The reaction bothered him.
A lot.
She was pretending it didn't matter.
Pretending that the book was useless.
Pretending that because she had finally found "that person," she no longer needed it.
This was still the last thing her mother had left her, and she wasn't ready to lose it.
But something bothered him even more.
He opened the cover.
His fingers slowly moved across the pages.
Then he stopped.
"You were right... After those first pages were filled, the book wasn't supposed to fill anymore pages on it's own, however..."
His eyes narrowed.
"There is still a connection."
Beatrice tilted her head.
"What are you talking about, I suppose?"
Tanaka stared at the book.
"It's amazing." He frowned. "It works like an input-and-output system."
Beatrice blinked.
"An input-and-what? Betty doesn't understand."
Tanaka paused.
He didn't either.
The phrase had simply appeared in his mind.
Just like so many other things.
He knew what it meant without knowing where the knowledge came from.
"It's like..."
He searched for an explanation.
"You put something into a process, and eventually you get a result."
He pointed toward the book.
"Think of it like baking a cake. You put the ingredients in the oven, and eventually you get a cake..."
Beatrice seemed confused, she didn't understand what he was going at.
He looked around.
"I need a pen."
A feather quill rested on the nearby desk.
Tanaka reached for it.
But before he could pick it up, Beatrice grabbed his clothing.
"Wait, Tanaka."
He looked down.
Her tiny hand was trembling.
"What are you trying to do?"
Tanaka's expression softened.
He understood now.
The book might no longer have served the purpose it once had.
But that didn't mean it had stopped being important, and that might actually be the case.
Tanaka gently placed his hand over hers.
"Don't worry."
He smiled.
"I know it's important to you."
He paused.
"But trust me."
Beatrice stared at him.
After a moment, she slowly released his clothes.
Tanaka picked up the feather quill.
He opened the book to the first blank page.
Then, carefully, he began writing.
Hello. My name is Tanaka.
He paused.
Then added:
What is yours?
Nothing happened.
Tanaka waited.
Silence filled the library.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
A minute passed.
Still nothing.
Beatrice stared at the page without blinking.
Tanaka didn't move.
Two minutes.
Nothing.
Then—
Three minutes.
A faint shimmer appeared across the paper.
Beatrice's eyes widened.
Letters began forming on the page.
One by one.
Slowly.
As though an invisible hand were writing.
Tanaka's eyes widened.
"My name is Echidna."
Beatrice stopped breathing.
Her lips trembled.
"...Mother?"
Tanaka looked toward her.
Beatrice stared at the words.
"Is that..."
Her voice broke.
"Is that really Mother?"
Tanaka smiled faintly.
"I think so."
He looked back toward the book.
He picked up the quill again and wrote.
"I have my fair share of questions to ask, but Beatrice is here with me. I believe she wants to talk to you."
He placed the quill down.
Beatrice looked up.
"Tanaka?"
"There's something I should tell you first."
He pointed toward the quill.
"When you write, you need to imbue the feather with mana."
Beatrice blinked.
"Mana?"
"Yeah. That way, your words can pass through."
He smiled.
"Hey, I have to go to the bathroom so you are going to have that 10% of privacy to yourself."
Tanaka smiled and gently patted her head.
"I'll be back."
He walked toward the library's exit.
Beatrice watched him disappear through the doorway.
The moment the door closed behind him, the astonishment is still plastered on her face.
She turned back toward the book.
Her fingers trembled as she picked up the feather quill.
For a few seconds, she couldn't bring herself to write.
Then, finally, she lowered the feather to the page.
She infused it with mana.
Her hand shook.
And she wrote:
Mother, is that really you?
This time, she didn't have to wait long.
A few seconds passed.
Then the letters began to appear.
"Hello, Betty."
Beatrice's eyes widened.
The next words slowly formed beneath them.
"Have you been well?"
Beatrice stared at the page.
And her eyes began to fill with tears.
___
____
_____
What was supposed to be a single hour in the Forbidden Library, with Beatrice merely helping her contractor, quietly turned into several without noticing.
Naturally, there was a 400 years worth of missed conversations that obviously couldn't be filled within just one afternoon.
But Beatrice found herself talking anyway.
She told Echidna about everything that had happened since Tanaka arrived.
She told her about the spirits.
About his strange Gate.
About the fact that he had no Od.
About his missing memories.
About the way his body could draw mana from spirits and crystals.
And, of course, she told her about Tanaka himself.
At the same time, Beatrice asked the questions that had been buried inside her for centuries.
Eventually, Echidna's answer became clear.
Echidna didn't know who Tanaka was. She had never known who "that person" would be.
That was why she had never given Beatrice a name to wait for.
The only person capable of understanding the Book of Wisdom's mechanism would be the one who could establish the connection necessary to use it.
And Echidna had known something else.
She had known Beatrice would recognize him the moment they met.
Beatrice had.
The instant she felt Tanaka's mana, something inside her had told her that he was the one.
But four hundred years of waiting had left behind a terrible weight.
Hope could become frightening when it had been carried for that long.
Even after meeting him, a small part of Beatrice had been afraid to believe.
What if she was wrong?
That doubt had remained...
Until it had completely vanished now.
The fact that you can write to me now means that you have already made a contract with him.
Beatrice looked down at the book.
Tanaka had imbued his mana into the pen.
The Book of Wisdom had responded to him.
And because Beatrice's contract was connected to Tanaka, she could now use that connection to speak with the book as well.
There was no longer any room for doubt.
He was the one.
Still, even Echidna seemed surprised by some of the things Beatrice told her.
The fact that Tanaka was neither fully human nor fully spirit.
The fact that he possessed no Od.
The fact that he had no memories.
The strange way his Gate functioned.
The way his body could draw mana from other sources instead of relying on its own Od.
Those were things even Echidna had not expected.
And that left several questions unanswered.
Why had Tanaka taken so long to arrive?
What had happened to him?
Why had he lost his memories?
And how had he survived for so long in such a state?
Those were questions only Tanaka himself could answer.
Eventually, Beatrice lowered the feather.
Her fingers tightened around it.
"Mother..."
She hesitated.
"What is Betty supposed to do now, I suppose?"
For so long, Beatrice had believed her purpose was simple.
She had to wait for that person.
And once he arrived, she would use everything she had accumulated over four hundred years to support him.
She had even begun to believe that perhaps her purpose was to continuously supply Tanaka with mana because of his strange condition.
But perhaps that wasn't what Echidna had intended at all.
The book remained still for several seconds.
Then new words slowly appeared.
Be a good girl and listen to him.
A pause.
He also wants what is best for you.
Beatrice stared at the words.
Her lips parted slightly.
Then another thought struck her.
Her eyes widened.
"Wait..."
She suddenly looked down at the amount of mana remaining she could use.[1]
Panic immediately crossed her face.
"Ah!"
She nearly dropped the feather.
Her hands trembled.
'What if I can't talk to Mother anymore' is the thought that crossed her mind.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then, slowly, more words appeared.
Don't worry, Beatrice.
Beatrice froze.
You will be able to talk to me from now on.
Her eyes widened.
"...From now on?"
Before she could fully process what that meant, another sentence began forming beneath it.
One last thing before you go.
Beatrice leaned closer.
The words appeared.
Please keep the book a secret.
She stared at them.
Then she slowly nodded.
For a moment, Beatrice simply held the book against her chest.
She had spent four hundred years waiting to hear her mother again.
And now...
She could.
The thought alone made her heart feel almost too full.
She suddenly turned toward the door.
"Tanaka!"
She clutched the Book of Wisdom tightly against her chest and rushed out of the Forbidden Library.
********************************************************************************************************
Beatrice hurried through the mansion's corridors.
The thick book was held securely against her chest as she practically ran through the halls.
To anyone watching, her movements probably seemed completely random.
They weren't.
She knew exactly where she wanted to go.
She could have used her door-crossing ability and reached her destination much faster.
Normally, she would have.
But her emotions were overflowing so violently that she didn't trust herself to use the ability properly.
She needed to see him.
She needed to tell him.
She needed to...
Beatrice reached the second floor.
She turned toward the stairs.
And suddenly stopped.
"...Huh?"
Voices.
Two people were talking somewhere ahead.
"Why in the world would you do something so reckless?"
That was Emilia.
"I'm telling you, I was this close."
Tanaka.
"Really close. One week. One week at most, and I'll do it."
Beatrice blinked.
She looked toward the other end of the staircase.
Emilia and Tanaka appeared around the corner.
Tanaka's hair and clothes were covered in grass.
Beatrice stared.
Tanaka noticed her.
His face immediately brightened.
"Hey, there you are! Have you had f—"
He never finished the sentence.
Beatrice dropped the Book onto the floor.
Then she jumped.
Tanaka's eyes widened.
"Whoa—!"
He instinctively caught her.
Beatrice buried herself against him.
For a moment, Tanaka simply stood there, confused.
Then he felt something warm against his chest.
Tears.
His expression changed immediately.
"Beatrice?"
He quickly adjusted his grip and looked down at her.
Tears were streaming freely down her cheeks.
Emilia's eyes widened.
"Beatrice?! Are you okay?"
Tanaka gently set her back on her feet.
"Hey, hey."
He crouched slightly so they were closer to eye level.
"Why are you crying?"
He reached out and carefully wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"Did something happen?"
Emilia stepped closer, concern written across her face.
Beatrice shook her head.
"No..."
Her voice trembled.
"Betty is..."
She swallowed.
"Betty is just happy." She looked down. "And grateful."
Her fingers curled tightly against her dress.
Everything had changed.
Her entire life had changed.
The lonely days she had endured for four hundred years...
All of it had been turned upside down.
And it had started with him.
Ever since Tanaka arrived, she had gained things she had long since stopped believing were possible.
Tanaka continued wiping her tears.
A gentle smile appeared on his face.
"If you're happy, then why are you crying?"
Beatrice looked at him.
"I..."
She hesitated.
"Betty didn't do anything for Tanaka."
Tanaka chuckled softly.
"You don't have to worry about doing something in return."
He brushed another tear away.
"You don't owe me anything."
"But..."
"I mean it."
His expression softened.
"The only thing I want is for you to be happy."
Beatrice stared at him.
Tanaka smiled.
"I know things have been hard for you."
He placed a hand gently on top of her head.
"And I'm only trying to make up for that."
Beatrice's eyes widened slightly.
Tanaka continued.
"Besides..."
His smile became warmer.
"The fact that I get to see you smile this often is more precious than anything."
He lightly tapped her forehead.
"So, if you really want to do me a favor..." He pointed at her face. "How about showing me that beautiful smile?"
Beatrice stared at him.
She took his request completely seriously.
"...A smile."
"Yeah."
She wiped her cheeks.
Then she tried.
Her lips stretched into what was probably the most forced smile Tanaka had ever seen.
"Like this?"
Tanaka stared.
He tried to suppress his laughter.
"You just look really cute."
Tanaka laughed again and pulled her into a hug.
"Really cute."
Tanaka eventually released her.
Beatrice looked up at him.
"Tanaka..."
"Hm?"
"Is it okay if Betty requests something else?"
"Of course."
He smiled.
"Anything."
Beatrice hesitated.
Her gaze shifted toward the Book of Wisdom lying on the floor.
Then back to him.
"Can you keep something a secret between us?" She whispered, "The fact that Betty's book works now."
Tanaka tilted his head.
"Sure."
For a moment, Tanaka said nothing.
Then he smiled.
"Yeah."
He nodded.
"I will."
[1] For clarification, it's not that she was running out of her total mana, but the mana she got from Tanaka. The book can only be used with his.