Calculated everything, huh.
Arfa’s absurd claim left the entire group speechless.
It wasn’t just empty bravado—his tone and expression were deadly serious.
When someone said something ridiculous with such pure sincerity, it had a way of sounding true.
“Uh—”
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Arfa flailed for an explanation.
“Ah, don’t misunderstand. Not everything! I just paid attention to the rooms we passed by on the way here, watching for unusual phenomena, and compared them with other places. That helped narrow down the possibilities.”
“...And how many rooms have we passed so far?”
“132.”
“...And how do you know that?”
“Well, I remembered them, obviously?”
“...”
Somehow, that made it even more impressive.
The group couldn’t help but realize the truth: Arfa’s real strength wasn’t just brute combat ability that rivaled knights—it was his perfect memory.
A being with the physical prowess of a knight and the mind of a prodigy.
Unbelievable.
No wonder they’re surprised, Ludger thought, watching their reactions.
Remembering every tiny detail like that... even the smartest mage couldn’t do it.
Humans are creatures of forgetfulness.
Unless one paid very close attention, most people couldn’t even recall what they’d seen moments ago.
That was sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse.
Even with intense focus and detailed notes, no human mind could analyze the shifting patterns of hundreds of rooms in real-time.
Ludger himself had tried, but he gave up after fifty rooms, leaving the task entirely to Arfa.
Because Arfa could remember it all.
And his perception isn’t even human.
Where humans used ordinary eyes bound by biology—unable to see things like ultraviolet or infrared—Arfa could.
He was a special automaton, a product of Delica Kingdom’s peak engineering, one of only two such creations in the entire world.
What others could never distinguish, Arfa could see with perfect clarity.
This was the very reason Ludger had brought him to the Night of Mystery.
Of course, anyone who doesn’t know would think Arfa’s some kind of monster.
The fact that Arfa was an automaton had to remain secret.
Because so little about him was publicly known, his accomplishments seemed even more exaggerated than they already were.
Not that even revealing the truth would change the fact that Arfa was exceptional.
Arfa himself, however, didn’t understand why people treated him as something extraordinary.
For him, never forgetting what he saw was simply natural.
From the moment he had first opened his eyes as a “Type Alpha,” it had been instinct.
Perhaps that was why he couldn’t grasp why others thought his abilities were so remarkable.
Ludger decided to cut things short before they lost more time.
“I understand you’re curious, but save it for later. That’s not why we’re here.”
“...Right. You’re correct,” Rimle conceded.
As expected of mages with quick minds, the three of them quickly refocused.
Yes, Arfa’s abilities were impressive, but that wasn’t what mattered right now.
The library lay open before them—they couldn’t afford to waste time gawking.
Even so, Rimle couldn’t help feeling slightly unsettled by how unnervingly precise Arfa was, as if he were... mechanical.
But that lingering doubt quickly melted away in the heat of intellectual curiosity.
Ludger turned to Rimle before beginning the search.
“Is there anything we should be careful about inside the library?”
“Not particularly. You just can’t take anything out of here. That’s one of the mansion’s basic rules—it applies everywhere, not just the library.”
“So aside from that, we’re free to do as we please.”
“Exactly.”
“Then let’s split up and find what we need.”
“Agreed.”
“See you later, then!”
The group dispersed.
Of course, Arfa stayed with Ludger.
The two walked deeper into the library, the warm crimson lamps casting a soft glow around them, adding an almost mystical aura to the otherwise gloomy room.
Unlike the rest of the mansion, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the library is strangely quiet, Ludger noted.
Not every part of the mansion was brimming with phenomena, but it was still odd that the most sought-after room was so calm.
Well, quiet is good for us.
He studied a bookshelf that stretched across an entire wall.
The books were old, but none were worn or falling apart.
Like the mansion itself, they were preserved by some kind of mystical power.
All written in ancient languages, as expected.
Ludger pulled out a book and skimmed its contents.
The text was indeed ancient, written in dense, hand-scribed characters that were hard to decipher.
Even for someone proficient in ancient linguistics, this would take ages to translate.
And time was the one thing they didn’t have.
The Night of Mystery only lasted three days—and you had to leave before sunset every day.
Finding the library at all was already a gamble.
That was why, even after so many years, no major discoveries had been made here.
For a newcomer like Ludger to find the library and begin studying books immediately was unusual in itself.
“What’s it about, Leader?” Arfa asked, peering curiously.
“Nothing important. Just some scholar’s daily musings on society.”
“That still sounds amazing.”
“Not to me. Historians would love it, but I’m not here for that. I need books on magic.”
If the mansion’s owner had been a mage, there had to be magical texts here somewhere.
But how to find them?
No ancient mage would have kindly labeled their tomes with neat titles.
They’d have to search through everything one by one.
“Arfa, do you see anything unusual? Something that stands out?”
“Unusual? No, they all look the same to me.”
“Nothing with worn edges or different dimensions?”
“Nope. Everything’s uniform.”
Then we’ll have to go deeper.
Ludger led them further in.
The library was vast, but eventually, it had to end.
And it did.
Damn it. Every shelf is arranged identically. No way to tell what’s where.
That meant only one thing—they’d have to check book by book.
Just as Ludger was about to get started, he spoke without turning his head.
“How long do you plan on following me?”
Three figures emerged sheepishly from behind the bookshelves: Rimle, Loina, and Sempas.
They looked embarrassed, clearly having thought they wouldn’t be caught.
“Have you already found the books you were looking for?” Ludger asked.
“Well... about that...” Loina hesitated, and Sempas stayed silent.
Finally, Rimle sighed and answered,
“Bah, you damn brat. You already know, don’t you? Why bother asking?”
“What do you mean by saying I know everything?”
“All the books in this mansion are written in ancient language. How the hell are we supposed to know them, read them, and interpret them?”
“You can’t?”
Ludger asked.
He hadn’t said it to mock them.
It was a pure and simple question—he truly couldn’t understand why two 6th-Circle mages wouldn’t know something like that.
“......”
“......”
Rimle and Loina were speechless.
Even though Ludger had no intention of belittling them, the fact that he asked such a serious question left them stunned.
“......I’m curious. How exactly are we supposed to interpret ancient language?”
“Rimle the Sage, you hold a Lexuror title, don’t you? You’re even called a Sage by name.”
“Just because I’m a Sage, does that mean I should know everything?”
“Wasn’t that title given because you were supposed to know a lot?”
Rimle, who had been twitching his lips, exploded in anger.
“Then why don’t you become a Sage!”
“Why are you getting angry?”
Ludger asked with a genuinely puzzled look.
Seeing that expression made Rimle’s temples throb even harder, but this time he couldn’t lash out.
Because no matter what, the one who held absolute authority in this place was Ludger.
After all, the reason they had approached Ludger wasn’t just because he was interesting—it was because he could interpret ancient language.
Other proud mages might dismiss rumors about him, but...
Rimle, with his long-lived experience, knew that rumors like that didn’t appear without reason.
“So, all of you followed me here because you can’t interpret the texts you’ve found, and you’re asking me for help, correct?”
Rimle reluctantly nodded, and even Sempas nodded silently, looking a bit ashamed.
Only Loina fidgeted with her fingers, looking embarrassed.
“Well, that’s a reasonable enough reason. Unfortunately, I don’t have much free time myself. I have materials to find as well, which means I need to search this entire library.”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
Rimle answered immediately, as if he had been waiting.
“I know how to find what you’re looking for.”
“Are you saying that, Rimle?”
“What’s with that tone? Do you doubt me that much?”
Rimle glared, his eyes blazing.
Normally, when Rimle, a Lexuror-class mage, showed such anger, other mages would immediately shrink back.
But Ludger was different.
“Yes.”
“What?!”
“You came to me because you couldn’t handle it on your own. How can I possibly trust you?”
“......”
It was such a straightforward argument that Rimle had no response.
Even Loina and Sempas unconsciously nodded in agreement.
“Ahem. So, I’m suggesting we help each other—more like a trade.”
“You said you know how to find books, but how do you know which book I’m looking for? That, too, is rather suspicious.”
“Bah! Why else would mages like us come here? Obviously, to find books containing knowledge about magic!”
“That’s true.”
“Then I can find them with my magic!”
“Magic, you say?”
For the first time, Ludger’s eyes gleamed with interest at Rimle’s words.
The others were just as curious.
Rimle frowned, clearly annoyed that they still didn’t trust him.
“Tsk. I’ll show you myself.”
With that, Rimle held his staff horizontally and began channeling mana.
He closed his eyes, concentrating deeply, and then abruptly raised the staff vertically and lightly tapped it on the floor.
At once, threads of pure white mana burst from the staff, spreading in all directions.
Countless threads of mana shot out, connecting to the surrounding bookshelves, like a hedgehog curling up with its quills raised.
Then the mana threads began to change.
Snap. Snap.
Some threads broke weakly and dissipated into the air, while others remained.
Not only that—the color of the remaining threads shifted.
Red and blue.
Above the visible books, red and blue glows appeared.
“What is this?”
“It’s called [Book Picker].”
Rimle opened his eyes and rotated his stiff shoulder.
“Book Picker?”
“It’s similar to detection magic, but I modified it myself. Just like its name, it acts on the books and analyzes the letters inside them, helping me find the books I want.”
So that was why the mana threads had connected to the books.
At the same time, Ludger became very interested in Rimle’s magic.
Just like his own [Source Code], Rimle’s [Book Picker] reminded him of programming—searching through countless letters to find specific keywords.
‘So detection magic can be used like this as well.’
Of course, unlike the usual wide-range detection magic that spread waves across a space, this required direct contact with the objects.
But in a situation where one needed to find specific books among so many, it was extremely useful.
“I focused on the ancient words for [magic] and [mystery]. I might not remember entire sentences, but I do recall certain words.”
“So the ones glowing are books that contain those two words?”
“Threads that snapped are worthless. The red ones have the words, but only a few times. The blue ones are the most important—they contain them frequently. Well? Do you feel at least a little respect for me now?”
Thinking he had finally shown something impressive, Rimle asked smugly.
Ludger opened the nearest blue-glowing book, flipping through it quickly, then answered.
“Well, it’s not bad.”
“What? Not bad? You ungrateful brat! Why don’t you just say you’re impressed!”
“Even so, there are still a lot of books to go through.”
Thanks to the [Book Picker], the number of books had been narrowed down from hundreds to about ten out of every hundred.
But in this library, there were tens of thousands of books.
Even reduced by a factor of ten, it still meant thousands remained to be checked.
“Hey, you have to accept that. Do you even know how hard it is to narrow it down this much?”
“Hmm. I see.”
Ludger recalled the magic Rimle had just shown.
“In that case, I think it can be reduced even further.”
“What? By who?”
Ludger stared straight at Rimle.
“By me.”