“Koizumi tried to cook for us thrice or more in the watchtower but for some reason, it always comes out wrong.”

I had thought Stryklos was the one who said that but it was actually Ubermensch with his never before heard of a playful voice.

Koizumi who was sitting beside him was keeping her face down, embarrassed while I could see her right hand nudging Ubermensch bitterly.

I guess I wasn’t the only one who found his significant other(s) in this other world.

And also, we don’t have classes anymore. Those three months after we were summoned was enough for us to familiarize ourselves with Eoum. I sort of miss Dekhine, Keh Tauzad and Gavrau but we occasionally met up with them from time to time.

While everyone was chatting about mundane things and I had just finished my fill, Vefal on my right, tapped my shoulder.

“Bring the rest of the soup to the Grand Library. I think Erganisu, Ghiscra and Tevalini haven’t had any breakfast yet.”

I nodded and stood up but before that-

“Any of you are going with me?”

I looked at both of my side.

“No, Vefal and I will be spending the day together. We haven’t seen most of Tchekaz yet.”

Rino was genuinely excited at this prospect along with Vefal. I’m glad both of them are going along really well as they are very similar except some difference in mind-set. The atmosphere between the three of us was like best of friends instead a guy with his two lovers.

I got up and left, leaving the still chatting groups and went to the Grand Library.

--

The Grand Library was a section of the many leaning towers, a part of the Palace of Tchekaz. It was located on the west side of the place and it consist of about ten of those towers.

Each tower hosts a genre of books. The towers that I usually hang out were always the Tower of History and the Tower of Fictions.

Erganisu, Ghiscra and Tevalini are currently at one of the two Towers of Records If I’m not mistaken. What’s the different between the Tower of History and Records? Well, the latter have the books written in various perspectives of the authors and regardless whether they are inconsistent, biased or just plain wrong, all the books ever written with even a miniscule historical value are put there. The former is where the official records of Athryshiayl are stored. Eight hundreds plus year of history of demographic information’s that it needed two towers.

The reason why the three of them are there was because Erganisu was currently compiling his anthropology of the eighty three tribes and stored them over there. Ghiscra and Tevalini were helping him as some of the summoned created a group called “Tenth Scholars’ which I was made aware when I helped Ghiscra with her Communication System experiment.

Arriving at the entrance while nodding toward the guards, I quickly entered while steadily holding the cauldron filled with soup on my left arm.

Stacks of books on bookcases and in the middle of all the bookcases were a spiral staircase and inside the spiral staircase was a huge, leaning tree.

On my right side, the librarian, a Wolven woman was reading a book.

“Where’s is the three other summoned?”

“Sir Ruigne, they’re on the 30th level.”

The woman looked up and answered concisely. I nodded and went up. Most of the librarians here already knew of us and our various temperaments. Apparently, I’m considered stoic and noble.

After a few minutes of boring stair-walking, I finally reached the 30th level. I asked Thomas the Inheritor about how many level there were in a tower and he said there were exactly 50th level except a few exceptions.

The moment I appeared-

“Ruigne!!”

A periwinkle haired girl came running at me with an excited expression. I held out the cauldron for her to accept. She stops right in front of me and looked puzzled but after sniffing with her cute, dainty nose, her face lit up.

She took the cauldron happily.

The room here was the same like the first level just like almost every room with stacks of books on bookcases and some tables and chairs. The weirdest thing was that even if the tower looked leaning outside, it doesn’t feel like that inside.

“This smells nice. I only had some light breakfast before I went off.”

Taking one of the bowls that I brought along and a spoon, Ghiscra tasted it directly from the cauldron and remarked.

“Thanks for the meal, Ruigne.”

Erganisu nodded his thank. Tevalini was just sitting there, organizing the papers.

Now if there is one thing I learnt about Herlf is that they have two appearances, a ‘low’ and a ‘high’. For example, a ‘low’ is like Vefal’s outer appearance which is cold and indifferent but if she’s with me, she’s the warming balm of an existence, opposite to what she portrays, that’s a ‘high’. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in public or private but as long as I’m with her, she’ll stay at that state.

Tevalini is in a ‘low’ as of now but I know she’s gradually getting into the state of ‘high’. The reason is because of me. No, not because we’re in that sort of intimacy but we have a very unique non-romantic relationship between us due to some circumstances that had happened before.

She stopped her compiling and took a bowl. After pouring some soup from the cauldron, she took a sip from her spoon.

After she did that, she had a slight smile on her face.

After finishing their fills, Ghiscra and Erganisu went back and do their work but Tevalini, having finished her, stood up.

“Ruigne, I have something to discuss with you.”

With an impassive face, she approached me, who was sitting on one of the tables.

“Tevalini, I too have something I wish to discuss.”

I stood up and faced her.

She turned towards Ghiscra and Erganisu.

“Excuse us.”

She neatly curtsied and went to the entrance of a balcony as I followed along. Every level of the tower has at least one balcony facing outside.

The only one who looked slightly puzzled was Ghiscra when she saw the two of us walking together.

We reached the balcony, overlooking the entirety of Tchekaz. From here we could see the perfectly aligned districts of the city.

Tevalini rest her arms on the railing of the balcony, enjoying the view as I stood just behind her slightly to the right.

After a moment of silence-

“So you go first or this fair maiden should?”

A mischievous voice came out from her while she was still enjoying the view.

“This fair maiden should go first since this fair guy got a message from her about Ghiscra.”

Her ‘high’ is out already, so better just go with this flow.

She chuckled and turned towards me.

“Alright, the matter is with the review about her communication device and system. Although she doesn’t say it, she clearly needs help since… you know about her inability to socialize normally. Naturally or unnaturally, she has a stage fright although she told me a few times that she can handle it. The fact that she didn’t ran and begged me to help her during the review means that something changes her during her assignment. So I deduced that the reason she changed was because of you.”

She pointed at me with a satisfied smug.

“Huh… why me?”

I pointed to myself, putting up an incredulous expression.

“Aha, you see ever since this morning, all she talks about is about what you and she did during the assignment down to each nitty detail.”

Oh ye gods… don’t tell me she told her absolutely everything but judging from a glint of slyness in her eyes, she probably does. Let’s control back the flow with some evasive manoeuvres.

“I’ll do it.”

“Huh, that was too easy…”

Oh shit, wrong move, usually I would give some arguments before I concede or she does.

“If you stripped down to your undergarment and ran around the town yelling “I was meant to be as a man but god made me wrong!!’.”

With a blank face and deadpan tone, that went as smooth as possible. Tevalini chuckled again, lightly brushing it off.

“Are you so against being a help to someone who considered you like older brother?”

Oh wow, I didn’t realize she also saw me that way too. Guess that’s one more thing we have in common.

“Well, that was partly a joke because I don’t mind helping but I do think it’s better for her to stand on her own in this. I think they wouldn’t allow for someone like me to attend, so I can cheer for her in the audience. There are audiences right?”

“I need you to be at her side, not just being physically present and yes, from what I heard there will be a five panel reviewers and officials would attend.”

I managed to take control of the direction of our conversation.

“Wait, why wouldn’t you help her then?”

She cocked her head to the right after hearing me, staring at me like I just asked a really dumb question.

“I had been with her ever since the Summoning but that won’t do her any good in a long term. You’re the first person- before you say what about his cousin? No, his cousin is useless on this- that she can rely on so she’s moving in the right direction in being socially functioning and you’re a guy, so it’s an immense step-up and beside, the practical reason is that you’re the one who is most involved with her in this project, so it makes logical sense that it should be you instead of me.”

She stated her points. Well, I was going to help her if she herself had asked anyway.

I nodded at her, showing my agreement.

“Fine but let ask her first though, let’s see whether she wants my help or not.”

“… Fair enough. As expected from a man who decimated the salt industry and use it in warfare, a conniving charlatan who manipulate religious belief for his own good, A gracious lover whose artistry level in naughty cookin-”

With two hands cupping my ears and eyes shut, I abysmally thought of how much in detail Ghiscra had told her about that incident. Opening my eyes slightly, she was still talking with like someone who had been awe-struck with inspiration as she listed down my ‘achievements’.

Now is a good time for an opening.

With my left hand balled into a fist, I swiftly aimed a punch at Tevalini’s abdomen.