Chapter 94 - 21: No One Knows You Better Than Yourself

Chapter 94: Chapter 21: No One Knows You Better Than Yourself

Victor: "..."

He felt like he was being treated like an idiot.

He hadn’t been at the Royal Court for long, but that didn’t mean he knew nothing about these royal descendants.

On the contrary, to better tailor his teaching to their individual abilities, he had not only observed them in various overt and covert ways during class but had also requested files on the several Princes and Princesses from the Interior Minister.

Victor knew Lilia’s background. How could a Little Princess who had been like a ghost for the past decade possibly have the right to read books here?

Even he had only obtained this hard-won opportunity after a series of quid pro quos.

It couldn’t be that she was able to sneak in from time to time just because the security in this area was lax, could it?

...Wait a second.

Given her Magic Talent... it didn’t seem entirely impossible.

Suspicious, Victor found one of the books Lilia had named on the shelf.

Lilia added from the side, "Chapter three, section five. There’s a passage that mentions the Demon Lord Gersas."

Victor hesitated for a moment before flipping to the page she mentioned.

He glanced at it, and his gaze froze when he saw the familiar name.

What she said was actually true.

This book... actually contained the information he was looking for.

At this moment, Victor’s expression remained impassive, but his inner shock was beyond words.

A researcher’s innate rigor prevented him from jumping to conclusions based on a single coincidence. So, he pulled out a second book and took the initiative to ask, "Which Chapter is it this time?"

"The last section of the last Chapter. It mentions that Lord’s name, along with some descriptions of his territory, but it’s only a few short lines."

Lilia’s answer was unhesitating; she clearly remembered it perfectly.

Victor flipped to the corresponding page.

...It was correct.

The Chapter was correct, the description was correct, and the content was correct.

’Has she... memorized the entire contents of the book?’

Aside from this shocking conjecture, Victor couldn’t think of any other explanation.

Under his somewhat shaken gaze, Lilia stepped forward and pushed a pile of books into a corner.

Victor frowned slightly, standing still and watching her actions.

"I’ve read all of these books." Lilia turned, her right hand gesturing vaguely to define an area. "We can start from here tonight."

Victor’s frown deepened. "...You know what I’m looking for?"

"Of course. All information on the Demon Lord Gersas, and the manuscripts he left behind."

As she spoke, Lilia pulled a book from the pile and began reading it on her own.

Looking at the perfectly normal expression on the girl’s face, Victor felt a profound sense of absurdity.

It was as if... there was a gap in his memory, which was why he was encountering so many things he couldn’t comprehend today.

’How does she know what information I’m looking for?’

’And how does she know my plan is to first sift through all these books for any mention of the Lord?’

And Lilia’s attitude...

It was as if her being here, reading with him, was some long-standing agreement they had made.

’I can’t figure it out.’

This girl was an absolute enigma.

Victor took out a pen and paper and recorded the entire series of book titles Lilia had listed.

As the last word was written, Lilia handed a book to him. "Here."

Victor’s hand paused.

Before he could ask, the girl explained proactively, "Both the first and sixth Chapters mention that Lord."

She smiled, her features appearing even more delicate in the candlelight. "Looks like my luck is good tonight."

Victor was silent for a moment. He took the book and flipped through it, and after confirming that Lilia was telling the truth, he added its title to the end of his list.

"You..."

Victor finally couldn’t help but ask, "Who exactly are you...?"

Lilia, of course, knew what he wanted to say.

She raised a finger to her lips. "It’s a secret."

The girl smiled. "Just pretend I know Time Magic."

Time Magic.

In the common understanding of Mages, that was an authority belonging solely to the Gods. Even a Holy Mage could only stand at the edge of that mysterious domain and sigh in helplessness.

Victor knew Lilia was lying, but he didn’t expose her lie. Instead, he joined the screening effort, picking up a book to read alongside Lilia.

It went quickly.

A night passed.

In the early morning hours, Lilia took the notes from Victor’s hand and memorized all the book titles, Chapters, and content summaries written on them.

Victor stood by and watched quietly.

Suddenly, he spoke up, "Next time..."

Lilia looked up at him.

Their eyes met. The young man’s light gray pupils were filled with seriousness. "If there is a next time, you can just tell me directly that you can use Time Magic. It would help me understand things faster."

At least not to the point where I was as lost as I was just now, like I’d stumbled into an unsolvable tangle of string.

Lilia blinked. "Would you believe me?"

"No."

Victor said, "But it would at least be more convincing than your previous explanation."

Lilia: "Was my excuse really that bad?"

Victor nodded with a serious expression. "Very bad."

It was completely illogical and full of holes. It was, one might say, one of the worst excuses he had ever heard.

Lilia: "..."

"I already told you, don’t use your teacher-voice to critique me in a place like this."

After mentally reciting the book titles and their contents a few times to ensure there were no mistakes, the girl looked up, waved at the young man before her, and said, "Well then..."

"See you in a bit."

...

"So, what you’re saying is..."

Victor stood in the center of the library, looking at Lilia by the door. "You used Time Magic, traveled here from the future, and that’s how you know my thoughts, my objective, and..."

He glanced at the two piles of books to his right. "Our future selves have already screened these books and compiled a detailed list?"

"That’s right."

Lilia nodded and walked in, asking curiously, "You don’t believe me?"

"I don’t."

Victor said flatly, "Time Magic is a domain only Gods can touch. Even a Holy Mage only has a partial understanding of it."

Even if Lilia was exceptionally talented, her Magic Level was at most Third to Fourth Rank. She still had a long way to go before becoming a High-level Mage. To say she could use Time Magic was simply absurd.

What’s more, even if someone could master Time Magic, they wouldn’t waste such a precious resource on something as trivial as looking for books just to save a few days.

It would be an outrageous waste.

Lilia thought for a moment. "Alright, fine. The truth is, I’ve loved reading since I was a child, and I’ve read and remembered all the books you have there. At the same time, I happened to learn that you came to the Royal Court to find information on the Demon Lord’s identity and his lost manuscripts. I just happened to run into you outside the attic and thought I’d come help out..."

Victor: "..."

Victor nodded lightly. "I see. I suppose there’s always someone better out there. It seems there are, in fact, cases of Low-level Mages mastering the Time Law..."