Chapter 93 - 20: The Correct Way to Use Saves

Chapter 93: Chapter 20: The Correct Way to Use Saves

Gazing into her eyes, which were as clear as a running stream, Victor felt inexplicably flustered.

It was as if he’d been caught doing something wrong.

He instinctively averted his gaze, but then forced himself to look back, not wanting to reveal his nervousness.

Then he asked a question he believed to be flawless: "Can you understand it?"

"Most of it, yes. The book is written in a very accessible style."

Under Victor’s watch, Lilia took a step forward.

’A little closer... easier to discuss things...’

Victor silently consented to her approach.

Lilia, however, seemed to not be reading too much into it and continued to share her thoughts. "I’ve read some books related to the Spirit Realm before, but they were about its creatures. And perhaps because they were unofficial, they were mostly written as travelogues or fiction. So I’ve never had a tangible sense of what the so-called Spirit Realm is really like..."

Victor nodded. "That’s where most people get their impression of the Spirit Realm—a special world that seems like an Otherworld."

Lilia asked, "But it’s not actually like that?"

"Not entirely."

"An Otherworld has no connection to our world," Victor said, "but the Spirit Realm is inextricably linked to the Mortal World. Many places even have a one-to-one correspondence."

"That might sound a bit abstract..."

"No, not at all," Lilia said, shaking her head.

’Isn’t this just like the Digital World from *Digital Monster*?’

’It’s just that data is replaced by the more abstract concept of "spirituality."’

Seeing that Lilia wasn’t just bluffing, Victor said with some surprise, "...It’s rare for someone to understand this completely on their first exposure."

"Perhaps it’s because my prior knowledge was so limited," Lilia said with a smile.

"It’s like a child who has just started school. The less you know, the stronger your ability to make connections, and the faster you understand."

Victor was taken aback for a moment.

’That statement... though it sounds a bit counterintuitive, it’s surprisingly logical when you think about it.’

’When it comes to such complex and abstract knowledge, knowing less really does make it easier to understand.’

’In fact, the deeper you delve into the research, the more likely you are to be bogged down by all sorts of miscellaneous information, inevitably leading you down the wrong path or into a quagmire.’

"Speaking of which..."

Taking advantage of Victor’s daze, Lilia leaned in closer. "What are you looking for?"

Victor snapped back to his senses.

He was silent for a moment.

This time, he didn’t say something like, "You don’t need to know." He simply said, "A Demon."

Lilia, of course, knew of such creatures. "The Dominator of the Spirit Realm?"

"Yes."

"A Demon, huh... All the books here are about Demons. What specific information are you looking for? Maybe I can help."

"..."

’It should be fine if she’s just helping me gather information.’

’As long as I keep her away from the dangerous secrets.’

So Victor thought to himself.

He looked at Lilia. "Gersas."

"Any information related to the Demon Lord Gersas will do."

...

With a clear goal, the search went much faster.

Lilia’s Intelligence was [90/100]. Intelligence was a composite attribute that not only represented her reading comprehension but also, to some extent, her reading speed.

In a single night,

Lilia and Victor went through hundreds of books, recording everything they found related to the Demon Lord Gersas.

Lilia looked at the list in her hand. "Only twelve books in total. That’s so few..."

"We should be able to find more in the future."

Victor returned the books to their shelves.

What they had read today was only a tiny fraction of the tens of thousands of books in the collection. At this rate, just filtering out the useful books would take dozens, or even hundreds, of days.

’This is too slow.’

’Several of the King of Light’s descendants are already adults or close to it. Before long, a war over the title of Crown Prince is bound to break out.’

’By then, I might not be able to remain safely within the Royal Court to continue my investigation and research.’

’I have to speed things up...’

As these thoughts ran through his head, Victor said to Lilia, "It’s getting late. You should go back and rest."

After all, she had been up all night doing the exhausting work of reading. Even with Lilia’s outstanding Intelligence, she had started yawning near the end.

Seeing the undeniable exhaustion in her eyes, Victor paused for a moment. "You don’t have to come to class today. I’ll explain things to the Interior Minister."

"Oh, okay."

Lilia nodded. "What about you?"

"I’ll read here a little longer, then go straight to the training grounds."

"Aren’t you going to rest?"

"As a Mage’s Magic Rank increases, their mind is also fortified. Going a few days without sleep is no issue."

Lilia looked thoughtful.

’Even if his spiritual power is strong, pulling consecutive all-nighters is bound to affect his performance.’

She asked, "Are you in a hurry?"

"Not really."

Victor clearly didn’t want to pressure her. "Go back and rest. Get a good night’s sleep."

Of course, Lilia noticed his deliberate attempt to change the subject.

She got up from amidst the piles of books, stretched, and worked the stiffness out of her body from sitting for so long.

"Alright."

She walked to the door and waved at him. "Well then, see you in a bit."

"See you... in a bit?"

Before Victor could figure out what she meant, Lilia loaded her save file.

The scene before her eyes changed rapidly.

From the brightly lit library, she was once again back in the small, lush garden.

Instead of rushing to find Victor, Lilia first checked her current status.

She couldn’t feel much of a physical difference, but her mind felt somewhat restored; she was no longer so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open.

Of course, since her memories were continuous, the fact that she had pulled an all-nighter remained. Even if her stamina hadn’t objectively decreased, she still felt somewhat fatigued.

But it wasn’t a big problem.

Lilia strode toward the distant pavilion.

She opened the door and climbed the stairs with practiced ease, arriving at the private library where the books on Demons were kept.

Just like last time, Victor was already waiting for her in the center of the room.

This time, Lilia skipped the pleasantries and walked into the room as if she owned the place.

As if her appearance in an empty pavilion in the middle of the night was the most natural thing in the world.

Startled by her unpredictable behavior, Victor froze for two seconds before reacting. "You shouldn’t be here..."

"You’re looking for information about Demons, right?"

Victor: "?"

At this moment, the Great Mage—famous from a young age and always so calm and composed—was genuinely bewildered for once.

’Apart from the King, no one else should know about this.’

’How did she...?’

Just as he was wondering, Lilia recited a series of book titles.

They were the very titles related to the Demon Lord that they had spent all night finding in the previous timeline.

"I’ve loved reading since I was little, and I’ve been in here many times."

Lilia offered an explanation that was hardly an explanation at all. "If you don’t believe me, you can pick any one of them and check."

"You should find what you’re looking for in them."