-1076- Books that contain power

Not long after, Rozen and Yukina walked out of the antique shop together.

However, when they emerged, Rozen had an extra book in his hands.

A book emanating extremely subtle magical fluctuations, mysterious and profound.

Yukina, who was following Rozen, had been watching this book closely, and only now spoke cautiously.

"Is this... a grimoire?"

—Grimoire.

Different from magic books and jujutsu scrolls that only record knowledge, grimoires are books imbued with inherent power, or one could say, magical tools.

These books are unintentional creations that come into being during the continuous accumulation of vast knowledge about spells, rituals, or laws.

Because they contain knowledge that can bring power, the books themselves unconsciously acquire that power, which is quite normal.

As a result, these books become dangerous items capable of causing great harm and bestowing the reader with abilities beyond human understanding.

Those who seek the path of grimoires hope not only to acquire knowledge by reading but also to use the grimoires as a source of power, unleashing the capabilities brought by the knowledge.

However, only a few individuals can actually comprehend and control such a magical book.

Due to the overwhelming power or unique nature of grimoires, those who obtain them without sufficient ability often end up manipulated by the grimoire, leading to self-destruction.

In the past, many researchers met their demise due to failed attempts to control grimoires, causing the grimoires to go berserk and bring immense calamities to the world. This could either involve the destruction of several cities or the contamination of tens of thousands of souls, turning grimoires into hazardous items.

Thanks to this, many grimoires have been lost over time in the process, becoming extremely precious, rare, and elusive entities.

It is said that many mage and witches, concerned about this, collect grimoires from around the world. Based on their purpose, they carefully categorize them and either seal them or entrust them to individuals capable of controlling grimoires, preserving the wisdom passed down from ancient times to the present.

Of course, there are also mages and witches who are not interested in advancing grimoire knowledge or protecting the world. They gather together driven by their curiosity and desires, ruthlessly collecting grimoires from around the world, acting recklessly and becoming a criminal-like grimoire research group.

For a grimoire, various entities worldwide might engage in earth-shattering battles at times, some aiming to obtain its power, others seeking to destroy or seal it.

At this moment, the book lying in Rozen's hands is such a grimoire.

However...

"It's not a grimoire with powers beyond human," Rozen affirmed Yukina's thoughts while explaining. "Its ability is rooted in the most fundamental nature of a book — storing knowledge."

Rozen, with a slight smile, looked down at the grimoire in his hands.

The Lion King Agency went to great lengths to prepare even this kind of grimoire just to complete their surveillance of Rozen.

Rozen could tell that the vast knowledge accumulated by the Lion King Agency over the ages was not something easy to provide, even if they were willing to open their organization's library and let him freely read. Rozen would have to spend a considerable amount of time within the Lion King Agency to absorb all that knowledge.

It would be troublesome, and neither side could trust each other completely.

To avoid unnecessary complications, the Lion King Agency prepared this grimoire.

Perhaps, the Lion King Agency has already recorded all the knowledge intended for trade in this grimoire?

This way, Rozen only needed to carry this book with him, essentially having a magical library of accumulated knowledge from ancient times to the present, accessible anytime, anywhere.

Rozen admired it somewhat.

"The mysteries accumulated by an organization over the ages are its greatest reliance and secret. To hand them over so easily, if I were to lose it, and it got spread or taken by opposing forces of the Lion King Agency, it would cause them a lot of trouble."

At that time, not to mention other consequences, opposing forces hostile to the Lion King Agency would certainly thoroughly analyze all their technology and power, discovering various methods to counter the Lion King Agency, leading to its irreversible demise.

Taking such risks, the Lion King Agency gave this grimoire to Rozen, expressing their goodwill clearly.

However, they were cautious.

"Has a curse been placed above that would cause anyone but me to die of exhaustion within three days if they read the knowledge inside?" Rozen saw through the subtleties at once, smiling wryly.

"I'm afraid there's also a spell that automatically erases all the knowledge inside once I finish reading, right?"

In this way, the Lion King Agency dared to give this grimoire to Rozen.

Rozen could also see that, besides the mentioned curse and spell, there were many layers of safeguards on this grimoire.

Faced with such layers of safeguards, even Rozen would need considerable time to remove them all.

For others, it would undoubtedly take even longer.

However, there must also be a spell placed on it that automatically destroys the grimoire if it is away from Rozen's magical aura for too long.

Given this, Rozen remarked that the Lion King Agency went to great lengths.

"Anyway, I have received your sincerity."

Rozen weighed the grimoire in his hand before turning to Yukina.

Sensing Rozen's gaze, Yukina tensed her expression.

"So, I will formally take on the role of the overseer and be responsible for monitoring the seal of the Fourth Primogenitor."

Yukina stared straight at Rozen as she spoke.

"I'll be in your care, senpai (senior)."

Upon hearing those words, Rozen felt a slight stirring in his heart.

"Senpai...?"

Rozen suddenly recalled a certain girl.

The one who had always been by his side, protecting him with her shield, pure and resolute.

At this moment, the figure of that girl overlapped with Himeragi Yukina before him, causing Rozen's gaze towards Yukina to change slightly.

"Um... senpai...?"

Yukina seemed to sense this acutely and appeared somewhat surprised.

"It's nothing."

Rozen shook his head immediately, dispelling some thoughts and feelings from his mind.

"Alright, let's go."

"Yes."

Rozen and Yukina then left together, leaving only the antique shop behind, quietly sitting there.