The Fool held his chin as he nearly spread himself out on the table.
"That damned notebook is causing problems again."
He sighed audibly.
Remembering the past without any difficulty, he allowed his thoughts to echo through the magnificent castle.
"Perhaps I should get it back? No—it will be back in my hands anyway."
***
Amanises woke up at 5am sharp. She prepared some light breakfast with brown sweet tea and pastries, before picking up a few documents that Daly had brought.
These are the reports made in the last few weeks by the Machinery Hivemind.
Of course, there were only hand-written copies made, as it was impossible to sneak out the originals.
Nonetheless, I should be able to piece something together with this.
She began sorting and posting similarities between cases, one of them only happened recently.
The death of a wealthy young man, last seen in a bedroom with a mistress...
The mistress ran out of the room in a hurry, claiming the man collapsed on his own.
The authorities claim that the cause of death is a heart attack...
She spent almost the whole morning that way, at least until Daly woke up with her usual routine of putting tons of makeup composed of light and dark blue eyeshadow.
I'm bored. Amanises tapped with the fountain pen at her temple lightly, careful to not get any ink smeared on her head.
Shall I head to the library?
She gave it some thought, debating whether it was worth it to make the long trip.
But that would be strange, no? My mission there is already done.
Plus, what if I encounter Mr Azik?
She gave it some more thought.
There are more libraries in the city and Khoy is not the only university in Tingen!
She gave even more thought.
In the end, Amanises gave in.
It's just too cozy there! The books are interesting and I got too used to the layout!
That was indeed true. The library had an amazing sorting system and with most of the students away with summer vacations and only a few summer classes being held, the place was incredibly quiet too.
Amanises loved quiet places, a good reason why she still read books in the real world despite the availability of audio mediums.
For her, reading something with your own eyes brings your focus, while audio is just some background noise, useful when doing random stuff.
Could this be the truth or just a poor excuse? Who knows!
***
Walking through the long corridors felt strange and uneasy, but at the same time brought the familiar calmness.
For some reason, these walls feel far more encompassing and natural as if she spent years here, either teaching or studying.
Could it be?
While Amanises walked the familiar path to the library, she started to speculate.
Perhaps Mr Azik and Klein's memories are somewhat stuck with me. I lived their life albeit only for a few minutes, I sensed their emotions, experiences and even their very sense of self.
Have their consciousnesses fused with hers? Maybe just a tiny bit, just enough for it to be unnoticeable in the long run, but it made a difference when walking their path.
I should be more careful with this in the future. It's a strong ability, one that could have immense uses but it also brings backlash…
If I do it carelessly, my own self will be overwritten by them!
She made a mental note to tackle problems the natural way, and not rely on the river too much.
Click!
The library's doors opened with a soft click. She smelled the familiar scent of books, inhaling as much as possible.
With natural motions, Amanises walked towards a shelf, picked up a book and read the title engraved on the cover.
Venerable Madness.
Madness? What a strange title of a book…
She weighed it in her hands a little.
It's pretty thick.
The cover was made of black leather, sown with golden thread in stripes along the margins. Only the front cover had text, with the author being left unknown.
Please, don't let this be some cursed book...
She caressed the leather softly, then moved towards the front desk.
There, the quiet librarian, with crazy androgynous features, was stamping some manuals.
She knocked on the wooden desk thrice, catching their attention.
Through golden-rimmed reading glasses, they looked up with annoyance.
"My apologies, could I know the author of this book?" She spoke in a hushed voice, careful to not disturb the peaceful atmosphere.
They took the book and shuffled through some pages, eyes scanning with crazed speed.
Not even twenty seconds later, they lifted their head up and placed the book back on the front desk. "The book had been discontinued for a while, this is one the few copies left."
Amanises moved to open her mouth, but was soon interrupted.
Their harsh, and heavy voice pierced the silent huge room. "From what I know, this book is extremely gruesome and controversial. It holds information and opinions trashing the government and some of the churches. That's why the author is currently on the run."
"The author made a book about politics and then ran away?" She tried to summarize.
They shook their head. "Not really, while it reflects on the current state of politics and religion, it's still about the journey of the protagonist. I recommend reading it, but make sure to not get caught by the authorities."
Can a book like this even be kept here? Universities still belong to the government don't they?
She felt strange about the book, but since the ever quiet librarian made a recommendation, she couldn't do anything but nod and return to a table.
She made herself comfortable and started reading the discontinued book.
***
It didn't take more than a few hours and she was already done.
It wasn't a bad novel, quite the opposite it was simply amazing. However,
You recommend this to me, yet you didn't tell me that this wasn't finished either!
The novel was incomplete!
How ridiculous! This should be a crime!
She wanted to throw the book in dismay, but stopped herself even before the thought fully formed.
I'm in a library for God's sake! I can't behave like this.
She made a move to get up before stopping suddenly.
Thud!
Right in front of her, a person sat down on the wooden chair with a soft thud.
She looked up, and lo and behold it was the androgynous librarian.
She took a closer look at them, light brown hair that was much darker at the roots and nearly blonde at the ends, gold-rimmed glasses with symbols inscribed on the sides and a thin thread that hung over their shoulders, with a round nose and soft jawline.
Now that I think about it, their features are more feminine with a lean body. If it weren't for the rugged voice, I would think they were a woman.
Or perhaps they are...?
She was still confused.
The librarian tapped on the table a couple of times, catching her attention.
Before Amanises could ask, they moved first.
"Why do you read?"
Huh?!
The question caught her completely off-guard. What? Didn't you recommend this to me? What do you mean 'why do you read?'
She kept the confused look for a few seconds, but the librarian's face looked as if carved from stone.
Expressionless, unmoving.
"Because I like it?" Eventually, she answered the question, though not sure if this was the answer they were seeking.
After registering it, they nodded and leaned back. "Correct answer."
Was there a wrong one? Amanises still looked stupified with a stiff, twitching smile.
The librarian picked up the leather cover book and stroked it a couple of times.
"I hope you will like the rest of your journey like this too."
Poof!
Amanises lifted her head off of the table abruptly, vision still blurry.
I fell asleep?! The encouragement still rolled in her mind, leaving a soft echo with layered whispers.
She looked around and towards the front desk, finding it empty.
Where are they?
She was confused, head spinning.
What just happened?
Instead of going to the receptionist to ask, Amanises made her way directly into Azik's office.
If there was anyone who knew this place and could be trusted—it was him.
She knocked on the wooden door thrice, only opening it when she heard his muffled voice saying 'Enter'.
"Did anything happen?" Azik asked, face full of concern at seeing the woman's even paler condition.
"Kind of. Mr Azik, do you know where the librarian went?"
"The librarian? I'm pretty sure she was absent the past few days."
"Absent? Then who manages it?"
"A staff member is tasked with opening it and doing inventory from time to time. Though they don't spend much time there, I think."
"By any chance, does that person have messy light brown hair and gold-rimmed glasses?"
He shook his head. "No, I don't know anyone who belongs to that description."
Then who was that? What the fuck?!
"Could it have been my imagination?" She mumbled while touching her forehead in confusion, unease wasn't washing off and only growing thicker.
"I haven't sensed any malice within these walls as of late, as my spiritual intuition hasn't given me any warnings. Perhaps it's not something to dwell onto now." He gave his best examination, hoping to quell her gnawing fear.
She soon calmed down. "Yes, you're right. I should just focus on something else."
He nodded. "Try to avoid coming here. I don't think that person will be back any time soon."
"Yes, thank you, sir." Her breathing finally evened out.
"No problem, I'm always here to help." He chuckled lightly, sipping from a cup of coffee that rested on the nearby desk.
***
The next two days passed by in a blink, Amanises continued to think about the missing 'librarian' while occupying herself with daily matters and investigations.
She got more intel from Dunn and Leonard in the meantime.
They're keeping tabs on a member of the Psychology Alchemists through another member…
From what she had been told by Daly and the rest, Amanises made a small summary over this in her head.
Hood Eugen was a Sequence 7 Psychiatrist who has lost his mind and has been sent to the Mental Asylum, being overseen by Dexter Guderian, the one who is actually close to The Arcanists.
Two days ago they met up at the Shooting Club and talked more about him. From Dexter's words, his condition seemed to be worsening.
She could already feel the lost hope and sadness from the informant as it was apparent both shared some sort of connection.
How unfortunate.