Painting Prison (1)

…Sylvia studied Epherene's note. The mana on the paper wasn't left as letters or a picture, but a simple trace. However, it took a tremendous amount of mana to look into Epherene's meaning contained in that, to understand that fool's thoughts.

"…Julie."

Sylvia turned to Julie.

"Yes!"

Right now, Julie's confidence in Sylvia was 100%. As Julie revealed her identity, Sylvia confessed that she was Sylvia of Iliade, not Sephine.

"…Can you carry me?"

Sylvia couldn't lift a finger. It was only a brief interaction with Epherene, and she was only exposed to a very small portion of time energy, but the result was complete exhaustion. Every single drop of mana in her body was squeezed out.

"Of course. Right now?"

"We don't have time."

However, thanks to that, she knew for sure what Epherene meant.

"Yes."

Julie immediately picked up Sylvia.

"Where are we going?"

"…The Underground Imperial Library."

It was so humiliating that she had to sigh, but she could do nothing. Sylvia buried her face in Julie's back.

"Yes."

Julie opened the door and walked out into the eerie corridors of the Imperial Palace.

"We're going!"

There was no hesitation. She held Sylvia tightly and sprinted off, her steps quiet despite her speed. Was this the reason knights escorted wizards?

"Is it here?"

She arrived just as Sylvia began to ponder. Or, she may have fallen asleep for a moment without even realizing it. Sylvia raised her heavy eyelids to see a large gate and two statues of scholars standing on either side.

"Yeah. It is."

"Okay."

Creeak-

The gate opened. Julie went inside.

"…It's quiet."

There was no one inside. Julie whispered.

—By the way, what was it? The contents of the note given to you by this Epherene.

"There wasn't anything on it."

—…Huh?

"There wasn't anything written down. There was only a little bit of her mana."

Julie blinked. Sylvia shook her body with her tired look.

"Now, put me down."

"Yes."

Julie sat Sylvia in a chair.

"Take the note out of my pocket."

"Yes."

She pulled it from Sylvia's pocket.

"Now find it."

"…Yes?"

Julie asked back. Sylvia answered, already half asleep.

"It's a piece of a book."

"A book…"

Julie looked around. A sea of books surrounded them.

"…What book do you mean?"

"The book from which the note was torn. There is a high probability that it is a high-quality book or one with many pictures. It'll be of a material similar to canvas."

Julie took the note. To her, it was just paper. Blank.

"But be careful. It could be a book from the future."

"Future?"

"Yes. She handles time…"

That was the last thing she managed to say before Sylvia buried her face in the desk. She didn't say anything further.

She was asleep

"…A book."

The book that once held this little piece of paper.

'Can I find it?'

Julie looked around the Imperial Palace library. However, Julie's dedication hadn't changed.

"I'll make it work somehow."

Julie started searching through the shelves.

…

Tick-tock-

Julie was still looking for a book, and Sylvia was still sleeping. Passing through thousands or tens of thousands of pages, the texture and smell of the paper on her hands were now familiar. Fortunately, the process of finding the book wasn't that difficult. She just grabbed one and flipped through it to see any torn pages.

"…?"

At that moment, Julie took out a book without thinking and was startled. It wasn't a book. It was a 'record.'

[Demon's Record: Voice]

Records about the Voice. Julie glanced at Sylvia.

Snore, snore…

Judging from the snoring, she was still a long way from waking up. Then maybe Julie could have some free time. As soon as she opened it, a name caught her eye.

[Author: Deculein von Grahan Yukline]

Deculein's familiar handwriting greeted her.

—This is a record about the 'Voice' that covered the continent.

After a brief introduction, some numbers and calculations followed. It seemed to be a numerical summary of the evil and power of the demon called Voice.

─…This echo occurred and confused the nation. The living became reluctant to talk to anyone, and the memories of the dead haunted them.

Echo. A phenomenon in which the voices of the past rose like reverberations through time. Julie's eyes widened.

—The echo that originated from Voice Island was put to an end by a magician. The echo phenomenon that has already spread across the continent will gather on Voice Island.

"?"

However, the end of the report was too abrupt. One line to explain the phenomenon, three enchantments to explain the echo, and a conclusion.

—More detailed and confidential information has already been stored in the library of Yukline, so the number of records to be disclosed to the outside has been reduced to twenty thousand.

Creak-

Julie straightened up. She hurried to Sylvia, but after noticing the silhouette of someone through the bookshelves, she hid.

Stomp- Stomp-

Solemn footsteps echoed through the library, and an unforgettable scent hit Julie.

Stomp- Stomp-

Deculein. He walked by without saying a word, then suddenly stopped. His gaze was on Sylvia, who was lying on the desk.

"…Was she studying?"

Deculein muttered like that. Then he quietly looked around. Was he looking for a book?

"The one hiding over there, come out."

Julie's heart pounded, but she bravely stepped forward. She faced Deculein.

"Hmm. We're meeting each other pretty often, huh?"

Deculein said sarcastically, and Julie moved to Sylvia's side.

"Yes. I am the escort for Wizard Sephine."

"Are you looking for a book?"

"…Yes."

She remained vigilant, but she didn't lie. Deculein nodded softly. Then he shed his coat.

"I see you're an escort, but you can't act as a doctor."

The moment Deculein said that Julie's eyes widened. She placed her hand on the back of Sylvia's neck.

It was burning.

"…Oh!"

"Leave it. She's not in a state where you can do anything."

Deculein covered Sylvia with his cloak.

"If you wait, she will heal naturally."

"…"

Julie blinked at him. To be healed just because she was covered with a coat… could that be some kind of magic overcoat?

"It looks like she's gone beyond mana exhaustion to overwork and overload. I can roughly guess what she did, though… this overcoat has natural healing and soothing properties so that she will feel better in a day or two."

"…Is it a magic coat?"

"You can say that."

Julie looked at Deculein without saying a word. He had an unconscious reluctance to deal with her now. When he looked at her or said something, he vaguely responded with an instinctive fear.

…Did he know, after all?

"By the way, what did you come here for?"

Julie asked. Deculein shrugged.

"Is there anything other than books in a library?"

"What book are you…"

Deculein reached out his hand. Then, Psychokinesis yanked a document out from somewhere on the bookshelf. It was what Julie had just been reading.

"What is this?"

"You don't need to know."

Whoosh—!

Deculein set it aflame.

"Why are you burning it?"

"It's a document that should have been incinerated long ago."

"…"

"I leave the wizard Sephine to you. Let her know that I read her thesis. She possesses a rare talent."

Deculein turned around. As if nothing special happened, as if she was no one.

"Count Yukline."

Julie called to him. Not in the name of Deculein but in the name of his family. He turned to regard Julie.

"What kind of knight was Julie?"

Then his brow furrowed. He clenched his teeth and shook his head. Was he acting now?

"…I do not speak of the dead."

Deculein said.

"…"

Julie realized a bit late. Even if Deculein knew about her existence or not, Julie was already dead to him. The reason was simple: her current self was Julie and not Julie simultaneously. She should have ten years of memories if she were Julie, but she didn't. Without that memory, she'd be just a clone…

Slam-!

Deculein had already left when Julie looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

"…I know."

Deculein might know. So that's why…

"I should know as well."

Who Julie was. How did she feel, and what kind of life did she live. Knowing her past, she could carry on to her present and future. A new start after forgetting everything didn't suit Julie. She didn't want it.

Swooosh…

A draft pushed through the library. She was startled. There were no windows. No, this was underground in the first place…

"Oh?"

Julie let out a small exclamation. A small notebook had fallen from one of the shelves. Julie slowly approached and picked it up. There was only one word on the cover.

[Diary]

Diary. Below that, the name of someone Julie knew.

[Julie]

"…"

For a moment, her mind went blank. The world moved away from her.

Julie's diary. Her diary, which she had no memory of writing.

"Then."

There was only one answer. As complicated as she felt, she knew what she needed to do.

"—Kugh."

And she fainted. The diary, being not a thing of the present, had absorbed all of her mana…

* * *

Early morning in the Imperial Library. Sylvia opened her eyes, feeling a warmth embracing her.

"…"

It was because of the large coat wrapped around her. Sylvia, staring blankly at it, sniffed the coat and immediately blushed.

"Ah!"

She could tell just by the smell it was Deculein's. Her heart started pounding, and her head felt feverish, but she calmed herself. Sylvia shook her head, looking around…

"…What're you doing?"

Julie was lying on the floor and looking up.

Blink- Blink-

And blinking like a goldfish.

"I'm sorry. There is a problem."

"I can see it. What's going on?"

"…"

Julie pointed her eyes across Sylvia's desk. The [Diary] was there.

"What is this?"

"It's my diary. A diary I wrote in the future, no, in the past. Perhaps it was because I knew I was going to lose my memory and prepared for it."

"…"

Sylvia nodded and hugged the coat. Indeed, it was covered by Deculein's scent.

"…Are you listening?"

Julie asked. Sylvia glanced at her up and down and put on the coat again. She tucked her arms into the long sleeves and buttoned it up. She was swimming in it.

"I'm listening."

"I don't think so."

Sylvia frowned, fiddling with the buttons on her sleeve.

"Tell me. Why do you look like that?"

"…Yes. I was going to read it, but every time I tried, the mana exhausted me so much that I managed only two lines before this happened."

Sylvia laughed.

"That's not a thing from the present. Probably, only you can read it."

"Why am I the only one who can read?"

"It's your thing in the first place, and you are made of time and energy. There will be fewer side effects to you compared to others."

"…Oh."

That convinced Julie, but she still needed a solution. Sylvia was rubbing her face against the collar of the coat.

"…In that case, it would take several decades to read this diary—"

"Raise your background knowledge."

"…?"

Sylvia said to Julie, who was tilting her head.

"Background knowledge. After all, it's your thing. The more you get to know yourself, the less mana will be consumed."

"Yes. All right. I'll have to keep getting to know myself."

"But will you be okay? You might regret it. You used to hate Deculein a lot."

"…"

Julie stiffened at those words, but she smiled broadly as if she remembered something.

"Oh, wizard Sylvia. I found it."

Sylvia asked.

"What."

"The piece of paper you mentioned. Where it came from."

"…It wasn't from the diary."

Sylvia put Julie's diary in Deculein's coat. Indeed, it was enchanted, so the storage space was second to none.

"No. The paper wasn't the same material. Surprisingly, it was easy to find."

"Easy to find."

"Yes."

Julie turned her neck and pointed elsewhere.

"It's that."

Sylvia followed her eyes.

"Photo Frame."

"Yes. Canvas. It was a piece of canvas."

A canvas hidden behind a bookshelf in the library. There was no painting, and just as Julie said, the corner was torn a little…

Sylvia walked over to it and put the piece of paper on it. It fit perfectly.

"You're right."

"Yes. I barely found it."

When the two of them mumbled like that and looked at each other with a smile-

Whoosh-!

A whirlwind tore through the canvas. Julie and Sylvia cringed and tried to back away, but it was already too late.

Swoooosh-!

The mana that surged from within the portrait engulfed them.

* * *

At the same time. Arlos, Zeit, Carla, and Jackal were still in Quay's oil painting.

"…Can we even get out of here?"

Zeit asked.

Imprisoned in a painting, all they could do was walk all day long. Zeit and the group had no other option.

"Why are you asking me that? It happened because of you."

Arlos gave Zeit a sidelong scowl. Zeit cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck.

"Anyway, you're the only wizard here, aren't you? Considering Carla won't be much help."

"I have more knowledge than Arlos. I just can't execute it."

"That's right. Don't mess with my sister. Okay?"

Carla and Jackal. Neither of them helped at all.

"Haah. Seriously."

Zeit shook his head.

─Rumble!

A roar sounded from above them at that moment, and two people fell from the sky.

Thud-!

"Ugh!"

"Ugh"

"Eh?"

Seeing Julie and Sylvia suddenly fall ahead of them, Zeit and the party blinked a few times in disbelief.