Chapter 91

The library already had Anella waiting.

To say she was “waiting” wasn’t quite accurate, as Anella had been buried in the library since yesterday, trying to uncover a way to find the World Tree.

The table where she sat was a mess, littered with books everywhere.

Despite the chaos, Anella displayed an extraordinary ability to find and open the book she wanted from the pile.

“Saintess… Lady Anella.”

Reflecting her dislike of the sense of distance, she addressed her by name.

Anella raised her head from the book she was immersed in, revealing rare shadows under her eyes. Yet, she still smiled brightly.

“Lady Shaterian!”

“Have you gotten any sleep?”

“No. The ancient documents turned out to be so fascinating.”

Her positivity was almost overwhelming.

While others would be dizzy just looking at books written in ancient languages, Anella genuinely seemed to enjoy reading them.

“I brought the animal I promised to show you today.”

She gestured to the raccoon at her feet.

Anella, noticing the raccoon for the first time, widened her eyes in surprise.

“What a cute raccoon!”

But that word was taboo…!

She hastily bowed to the Divine Beast.

「A raccoon! I am a raccoon!」

But it was already too late. The Divine Beast had opened its mouth, and instead of animal noises, human words came out.

“L-Lady Shaterian…! Did… Did that raccoon just talk…?!”

Anella exclaimed in shock.

She looked disapprovingly at the raccoon, who had no intention of hiding its identity.

Somehow, it reminded her of a certain wolf—always causing trouble wherever it went.

Indeed, as fellow Divine Beasts, their behaviors were strikingly similar.

“Lady Shaterian… Is this animal perhaps a Divine Beast…?”

Anella’s words, which immediately pinpointed the answer, left her wide-eyed in surprise.

One would expect her to deny reality after seeing a talking animal, yet she deduced the truth so quickly.

Once again, she was reminded of the extraordinary nature of the heroine.

「Human, you’re quite clever. Though you did call me a cute raccoon.」

The raccoon spoke with a smug tone.

It was always a strange sight.

To hear a human voice coming from an animal.

“So Divine Beasts truly exist.”

「Of course!」

The raccoon puffed out its furry chest proudly.

It seemed oddly pleased to have its identity revealed.

“Your fur is stunning. May I pet you?”

「Of course!」

“Excuse me, then.”

With the raccoon’s permission, Anella stroked its back.

The raccoon, who would normally avoid human hands, allowed itself to be touched so easily…

As they say, compliments can make even whales dance, and apparently, they could also make raccoons dance.

Anella, who quickly figured out how to handle the raccoon, even managed to touch its paw pads.

Of course, she did so with admiration and praise.

The raccoon, seemingly pleased, settled into Anella’s arms.

It looked as if it might start purring like a cat, despite being a member of the raccoon family.

Tsk tsk. While she disapproved of the raccoon’s behavior, she heard footsteps approaching from behind and turned her head.

Eched, who had arrived earlier than her, was carrying several ancient books in his arms.

He placed the books on the table, which had no space left, and began organizing the scattered books.

“Did you really read all of this?”

Anella answered her question nonchalantly.

“Yes. It didn’t take long since I read them with the Commander.”

That wasn’t the issue here…

The problem was that the two of them had read this enormous pile of books, written in ancient languages no less, in less than half a day.

‘Oh, right. Anella isn’t an ordinary human either.’

Watching Anella sit back down with the raccoon in her arms, she shook her head.

“So, did you find anything about the World Tree?”

She asked Anella as she sat beside Eched.

“No. I haven’t found anything yet. But I did find clues about a relic that disappeared from history.”

“That’s an incredible discovery…”

“I suggested we give up on finding the World Tree, but he’s so stubborn…”

Anella shot a glare at Eched, who had just opened a book.

Eched ignored her sarcasm completely.

It seemed they’d had another argument while she was gone.

She shook her head at their constant bickering.

“We searched through every book in the library last night, but we couldn’t find anything about the World Tree. How are we supposed to find it…?”

“If there’s no way, giving up early is also a solution.”

She sent Eched a look, urging him to stop being so stubborn and let it go.

That’s when it happened.

The raccoon, nestled in Anella’s arms, suddenly slammed its paw on the book Anella had opened with a loud thud.

「This…!」

Under its paw was an illustration of the World Tree.

The raccoon’s eyes sparkled as it looked at the picture.

「That’s my home!」

“What…?”

The raccoon tapped the book again for everyone to see.

「That’s my home!」

“…Here?”

「Yes!」

“Then do you know how to get there?”

Anella’s efforts to search through books all night had been in vain, but could it really be this easy to find a way?

She looked at the raccoon with anticipation.

「I don’t know!」

How could it be so confident?

The disappointment was evident on her face, as well as on Anella’s and Eched’s.

Of course. The raccoon had been wandering the palace because it didn’t know how to return home.

Whether the World Tree was its home or not, it was useless if it didn’t know the way.

“What’s the point of being a Divine Beast if you don’t even know how to get home?”

「Argh…!」

Ignoring the indignant raccoon, she let out a deep sigh.

In the end, it seemed finding the World Tree was impossible after all.

“Explain in more detail.”

But Eched hadn’t given up yet. He pressed the raccoon for more information, hoping to glean even the smallest clue.

Startled by Eched’s sudden prodding, the raccoon burrowed deeper into Anella’s arms.

Even though it knew Eched wouldn’t harm it, its animal instincts made it fearful.

“Do you think you’ll get anything out of it…?”

The raccoon was only good at washing food…

She left Eched and the raccoon to their heated conversation and stood up.

While they talked, she decided to explore the library, which she hadn’t had the chance to do before.

The library, cleaned daily, was spotless. Given how strictly access was controlled, it seemed they put a lot of effort into its maintenance.

Passing by the dust-free shelves, she found herself in an area filled with documents rather than books.

Judicial Office, Knight Orders, Finance Department, Foreign Affairs Department…

This was where the records of people employed in various departments were kept.

Curiosity struck, and she searched for the section containing the personnel records of the Grievance Counseling Office.

Running her finger along the neatly organized files by year, she pulled out the file from one year before she joined.

That was the year Masetike had joined the Grievance Counseling Office.

Even now, she found him remarkable.

To rise to the position of Head of the Counseling Office in just one year, and as a commoner no less…

Inside the file containing the employees’ records, there were names she recognized and some she didn’t.

Slowly flipping through the documents, she eventually found Masetike’s file.

Name: Masetike Stallon. 

Born in the same year as her, currently 25 years old. 

Hometown: Mortre Village.

His resume was ordinary, with nothing particularly notable…

“Hmm…”

Turning to the next page, she found a portrait of Masetike along with a map of Mortre Village.

Looking closely, Mortre Village was near the Kulnensi Marquisate.

“….”

A chill ran down her spine.

Two years ago, most of the villages near the Kulnensi Marquisate had been destroyed during the monster flood incident.

She hurriedly turned to the records of the incident and found Mortre Village listed among the affected areas.

Flipping the page, she found a list of the names of Mortre Village residents.

Koby Stallon, Amy Stallon, Viviana Stallon.

The names of Masetike’s parents and younger sister were listed.

So that’s why Masetike abruptly resigned two years ago…

That’s also why he cherished the pendant with his family’s portraits so much.

And to think she had once asked him why he had quit the Counseling Office…

The sorrow that had passed over his face at that moment came back to her, and she bit her lip unconsciously.

Though she couldn’t formally apologize for learning his family’s story in secret, she resolved never to make such a mistake again.

She carefully returned the document to its original place.

While she couldn’t fully empathize with Masetike’s grief over losing his family, she knew that if something happened to the people she considered family, her heart would ache unbearably.

Until quite recently, she believed that her family did not exist within the boundaries she had set for herself.

“What are you doing there?”

Eched suddenly approached her, whispering softly.

“Why are you whispering?”

“One must remain quiet in the library.”

After chatting loudly just moments ago, he now pretended to follow the rules, an act that struck her as absurdly hypocritical.

However, she did not find it unpleasant.

She thought to herself, ‘I must truly be losing my mind to think this way.’

‘I never imagined that Eched would shake the foundation of my values…’

She lightly tapped Eched’s shoulder with her hand.

“Could it be that as you change, I’m also changing?”

Eched stared at her intently, as if trying to decipher the meaning behind her words.

“If you don’t understand, then it’s fine.”

It seemed that the changes brought about by the altered original story extended to her as well.