We were now walking down the hallways of the academy.
Ogun and Aleksandr were busy bickering.
Ogun pouted dramatically.
“Why won’t you visit my booth?”
Aleksandr rolled his eyes.
“Why would I visit your booth? I’m already in a club.”
Ogun placed a hand over his chest.
“How could you say that? I came to yours.”
Aleksandr gave him a sly smirk.
“That’s because you only come to annoy me.”
Ogun grinned.
“That’s not the only reason. I also care.”
Aleksandr immediately replied,
“So you admit you come to annoy me.”
I couldn’t help letting out a small chuckle.
As we continued walking, I realized we were no longer anywhere near the club rooms.
Simon frowned.
“Shouldn’t the Library Society’s club room be somewhere around here?”
Ogun turned toward him.
“Unlike everyone else’s club room being in Hall Eight, the Library Society is different.”
Simon raised a brow.
“How so?”
Ogun smirked.
“You’ll see.”
We descended a staircase, walked down another hallway, and finally stopped before a pair of enormous doors.
A large sign hung above them.
Grand Library.
Simon blinked.
“You brought us to the library.”
“Yes,” Aleksandr replied.
“The giant library?”
“Yes.”
“The library every student can use?”
“Yes.”
Simon sighed.
“I feel like I’m missing something.”
Aleksandr shook his head, a small smile appearing on his face.
“Just come inside. I’ll explain.”
The moment we stepped through the doors, the scent of old paper surrounded us.
Rows upon rows of bookshelves stretched toward the ceiling.
There had to be thousands of books here.
Perhaps because it was Club Selection Day, the library wasn’t very crowded.
Only around twenty students could be seen reading, browsing shelves, or carrying stacks of books.
What caught my attention most, however, were the students standing on ladders, checking shelves and recording information.
Hmm.
Those were probably Library Society members.
Aleksandr noticed where I was looking.
“The Library Society isn’t just about reading books,” he explained.
“That’s only a bonus.”
He began counting on his fingers.
“We organize books.”
“Restore damaged texts.”
“Help professors locate information.”
“Assist researchers.”
“Translate ancient manuscripts.”
“And manage restricted archives.”
He then looked directly at me.
“Some people say we’re the soul of the school when it comes to information.”
I looked around again.
Honestly…
This was amazing.
Ash-Fall never failed to surprise me.
Aleksandr continued.
“Last month we spent two weeks translating an ancient druid text.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“What was it about?”
“Agriculture.”
I stared at him.
“…Agriculture?”
“Very advanced agriculture.”
“Ah.”
Simon looked between us.
“I can physically feel Li Qiang’s excitement.”
Suddenly Aleksandr turned around.
“Follow me.”
And so we did.
He led us deeper into the library, weaving through shelf after shelf until he stopped before a particularly colorful bookcase.
Unlike the others, it looked almost childlike.
Aleksandr reached forward and pulled a single book.
With a soft rumble, the bookshelf slid aside.
A hidden doorway appeared.
Imara gasped loudly.
“WHOA!”
Immediately several voices called out:
“Shhh!”
Imara quickly covered her mouth.
“Sorry!”
Ogun ruffled her hair.
“That was my reaction too.”
He grinned.
“Apparently previous Library Society members built it.”
Simon nodded.
“It is cool.”
He paused.
“Maybe a little extra.”
Imara pointed at him.
“You have no childlike joy.”
“Princess, I—”
Before they could start arguing, I looked at Aleksandr.
“Shall we?”
He smiled and nodded.
Together we stepped through the hidden doorway.
The first thing I noticed wasn’t the large meeting table.
It wasn’t the comfortable chairs.
It wasn’t even the tea corner.
No.
It was the mountain of books and papers stacked on the table.
Cabinets lined the walls, likely filled with records and documents.
The entire room felt lived in.
Imara looked around in surprise.
“Wait.”
“This is actually cool.”
“Thank you,” Aleksandr replied.
Simon placed a hand over his heart.
“Write down the date.”
“The princess admitted books are cool.”
Imara threw a book at him.
He dodged.
Aleksandr looked at all of us.
“Tour’s finished.”
“You can look around if you’d like.”
“Just don’t misplace anything.”
Simon immediately headed toward a stack labeled:
Trading Records
Monster Reports
Artifact Journals
Ogun claimed the tea corner.
Imara wandered toward a shelf containing famous battles, combat manuals, and tournament records.
Judging from the concentration on her face, she was enjoying herself far more than she’d ever admit.
Aleksandr then walked over to me.
“Anything you want to see?”
I thought for a moment.
“Not really.”
He nodded.
“That’s fine.”
“Let’s walk around.”
And so we did.
For a while we simply wandered through the library together.
The silence wasn’t awkward.
It was comfortable.
Perhaps being surrounded by so many books made me curious.
Eventually I looked at him.
“Why did you join the Library Society?”
Aleksandr shrugged.
“Strength without knowledge is dangerous.”
I nodded.
That was true.
He continued,
“And honestly, I’ve already done enough sword swinging back home.”
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“I like reading.”
“It helps pass the time.”
I smiled.
“I can relate.”
“I could spend hours in my room reading.”
Aleksandr glanced at me.
“I can tell.”
After a while he stopped walking.
“Hm.”
“I was hoping we’d run into the club leader.”
“But she doesn’t seem to be here.”
“Maybe she’s busy?”
“Most likely.”
Aleksandr nodded.
“She usually handles the more advanced tasks.”
“Advanced?”
A small smile appeared on his face.
“Everyone has secrets, Li.”
“Even Ash-Fall.”
That answer only made me more curious.
Still, he continued walking.
“No worries.”
“You’ll meet her next week when you join.”
I raised a brow.
“If I get chosen.”
Aleksandr smirked.
“Why would I give you a private tour if you weren’t getting chosen?”
I laughed.
Fair point.
Time passed quickly.
We exchanged book recommendations.
Talked about stories we loved as children.
Even discovered that our tastes were surprisingly similar.
“I remember my tutor making me read this old—”
Aleksandr was suddenly interrupted.
“Aleksandr!”
One of the society members hurried over.
“Can you come here for a second?”
Aleksandr sighed.
“Of course.”
Then he turned to me.
“You go ahead.”
“I’ll catch up.”
I nodded.
“No problem.”
As he left, I made my way back toward the meeting room.
My eyes drifted across stacks of organized—yet somehow still messy—documents and books.
Then one title caught my attention.
I stopped.
My breath hitched slightly.
The book was old.
Very old.
Across its faded cover were the words:
Records of the Central Kingdom Before the Fall.