AKM Act 11-18

Act 11-18: The World of the Grimoire

TL : Cnine

ED/PF :

Part 1

　Chiyuki and the others entered the Forbidden Archive.

　It was a bit concerning that there was no one at the reception, but they decided to move on without worrying about it.

「Wow! So many precious grimoires! Even one of them is a priceless treasure!」

　Sabina let out a gasp of amazement.

　Chiyuki felt the same way.

　She could sense the magical power emanating from those grimoires.

　None of the books kept in this archive were ordinary books—all of them were grimoires.

　Even a single one would be considered extremely rare, and yet here, there were countless of them.

　It was only natural for any magician who sought to master the arcane to be thrilled by this spectacle.

「Hehe, as expected. These are indeed the Grimoires of Totona, the God of Knowledge. No wonder that personage desires them.」

　Sabina looked around with an expression of ecstasy.

「Sabina-san, I've been wondering, who is this ‘That Personage’ you’re referring to?」

　Kyouka, who was walking by Sabina's side, asked while cocking her head.

「Ah!? N-no! Don’t worry about that! I was just speaking nonsense! O-hohoho! Anyway, it looks like this place is a labyrinth, so wouldn’t it be better if we split up and explored?」

　Realizing she had let something slip, Sabina laughed awkwardly in an attempt to cover it up.

「I think we’d better not do that, Sabina-dono. There’s only one of these necklaces, after all, so it’s safer if we stick together.」

　Chiyuki looked at the necklace she had received from Magius.

　It seemed that one needed this necklace to safely navigate within the Forbidden Archive.

　In short, the situation would be pretty dangerous without it.

　Since there was only one necklace, they had no choice but to stick together.

「Ugh, you’re right. It does seem like there’s some kind of danger here… Could it be that the grimoires might even attack us?」

　When Chiyuki said that, Sabina looked visibly disappointed.

　It was entirely possible for the grimoires to attack.

　In this world, there were sentient tools, such as swords, that possessed wills of their own.

　There was a possibility that the grimoires, possessing a will of their own, might attack anyone who entered without permission.

　They might even use the magic written within their pages.

　If Chiyuki and the others fought back and ended up destroying the grimoires, it would defeat the entire purpose of coming here.

「Say, Sabina-san. You’re looking for a specific grimoire, aren’t you? Why not try asking Kuroki-san once all of this is over?」

　Seeing the dejected look on Sabina's face, Kyouka offered her suggestion.

「Oh my, in that ca— After a second thought, it might be impossible.」

　Sabina's expression brightened for a moment before she quickly rejected the idea.

「May I ask why you think it’s impossible?」

　Chiyuki asked while glaring at Sabina.

　It seemed that what Sabina was seeking was something she didn’t want to ask Chiyuki and the others for.

　At that moment, the surrounding bookshelves began to move.

「What? What in the world is happening now?」

「Stay calm, Kyouka-san. Let’s stick together, don’t let it separate us.」

　Chiyuki and the others stuck close together.

　Once the bookshelves stopped moving, a path leading deeper inside appeared.

「It seems like it’s guiding us... Shall we go?」

「It might be a trap.」

　Sabina spoke vigilantly.

「No, we should go on ahead. After all, we came here to capture the intruders who entered this place. We should act with confidence. Besides, we mustn’t keep Kuroki-san waiting.」

　Kyouka walked ahead after declaring so.

「You’ve got quite the nerve, don’t you?」

「True enough... But Kyouka-san’s instincts usually seem to be right. Let’s go too.」

　Chiyuki followed after Kyouka.

　Kyouka often made decisions based on her instincts.

　She was the exact opposite of Chiyuki, who prioritized logic above all else.

　However, many of her seemingly reckless choices turned out to be right.

　That’s why Chiyuki looked up to Kyouka.

　And then, at the end of the road they walked,

　They saw Kuroki’s figure.

　There were a few figures around him.

　However, over half of them were tied with chains.

　Some of them were familiar figures.

「We’ve arrived, Kuroki-san.」

　Kyouka jumped and hugged Kuroki as soon as she saw him.

「Uhm, Kyouka-san, if you hug me this tightly, I~~~」

　Kuroki looked troubled as he was suddenly hugged by Kyouka.

「Oh, don’t be like that. We’re close enough for this, aren’t we?」

　Kyouka paid no mind to Kuroki’s reaction and pressed her chest against his arm.

　Kuroki looked all the more awkward as her ample chest pressed against his arm.

「Sorry to interrupt your little display of affection, but is that the intruder over there, the one chained up? And what’s Mitsuami doing here? Don’t tell me, you’re an intruder too?」

　Chiyuki looked at Mitsuami.

「N-No! I don’t even know why I’m here myself! I swear, I didn’t come in on purpose!」

　Mitsuami got flustered, trying to defend herself.

「Er, um… She's telling the truth, actually. It seems someone used magic on her to bring her here. We might need spirit arts to undo it. As for Katakake-dono over there, it looks like he came in to try and stop her.」

「That’s right! I only came in to stop Mitsuami! I didn’t mean to enter the Forbidden Archive!」

　As Kuroki spoke up for Mitsuami, Katakake gave a nod of agreement.

「I see... When it comes to spirit arts, Sabina-dono’s the one to ask, but I wonder if she’d be willing to help.」

「Of course. But who on earth could’ve cast the spell in the first place, I wonder?」

　Sabina smiled, readily agreeing with Chiyuki's request.

　However, to Chiyuki, that smile looked completely insincere.

「And those bound by the chains are the real intruder.」

「I see. Well then, one last question, who’s the one with the horns standing next to you?」

　Chiyuki turned to look at the horned woman standing beside Kuroki.

　She was quite a beauty, easily a match for Kyouka.

　She was the one who stood out the most among them.

「Kuroki-san, I’m rather curious about her too.」

　Kyouka asked as well, puffing out her cheeks a bit.

　She might be bothered by how the woman was standing so close to Kuroki.

「Er, right, she is Dantalyas. She’s the manager of this Forbidden Archive. She’s also the one who opened the way for you and the others here.」

「Is that so... Now that I look closely, she does seem like some kind of solid illusion.」

　Chiyuki spoke as she observed Dantalyas.

　She agreed that Dantalyas did give off the same sort of feeling as the solid illusions Rino created in the past.

　Meaning that she didn’t have a physical body either.

「Well, that settles it then. Seems the intruder’s been caught. But since we’ve come all this way, I’d quite like to have a look around, would that be alright?」

　Sabina turned to Dantalyas as she voiced her request.

「I won't stop you as long as you've received proper authorisation. However, there are still other intruders at large. Until they’re dealt with, this remains an emergency situation, so I must ask you to refrain from viewing the Forbidden Archive for now.」

　Dantalyas spoke calmly, her expression remaining as flat as before.

「What!? There are still more!? That’s completely unexpected! Hm? Don’t tell me… It's that personage!?」

　Sabina gasped in surprise, then fell into deep thought.

「Excuse me, Sabina-dono? Do you by chance know the identity of the intruders?」

「N-No, I don't know at all. Ohohohoho.」

　When Chiyuki asked, Sabina feigned ignorance again.

「Dantalyas, you’ve figured out their objective, haven’t you? What were they after?」

「Kuroki-sama, their objective is the magical power of this labyrinth itself. I suspect they intend to use it to restore their own strength. They’re heading towards the central chamber.」

「Aren't you going to stop them, Dantalyas?」

　Dantalyas just shook her head upon hearing Kuroki's question.

「That would be difficult. That goddess possesses eyes that see through all. Stopping them won’t be easy. They’ll arrive shortly.」

「I see...」

「However, if their goal is the magical power itself, there are ways to deal with it. I’ll begin evacuating the books closest to the central chamber. If it comes to a fight, that area should be suitable.」

　Kuroki and Dantalyas exchanged a few words in discussion.

「Oi, don’t just carry on talking between the two of you! What exactly is going on right now?」

「My thoughts exactly. If there are intruders about, we’ll lend a hand as well.」

　Both Chiyuki and Kyouka interrupted the conversation.

「Yes, exactly. Let’s get moving. That perso-- ... I mean, I’d very much like to know who the intruder really is.」

　Even Sabina urged them to move on.

　Thus, Chiyuki couldn't help but wonder why she was in such a hurry.

「W-Well... If possible, I’d rather you took Katakake-dono and the others back with you.」

　Kuroki spoke with a troubled expression.

　However, Sabina paid it no mind and pressed on regardless.

「Let's go, Kuroki-dono. I'll take care of these people.」

「Right... I understand. Umm, will you come with me?」

　Kuroki turned around and looked at Chiyuki and the others.

「Of course!」

「Well... I guess it can't be helped.」

　Kyouka nodded, and Chiyuki nodded as well.

　If the one who had entered was the wife of that Reaper, then leaving her unchecked would be dangerous.

　Chiyuki, too, was concerned about the intruder’s movements.