Well, since I'm in a state of pre-vacation apathy right now, Donut suggested I should write. And so I did. It's been quite a while, so I apologize if this chapter isn't quite up to the usual standard.
Anyway, have fun reading~
- Episode 5: To the Final Battle, Magical★Librarian Squad - Part I
BGM:
A brave charge?Wait for me??
Ruro muttered as she watched the ground rush by below her. A wide grassland, only occasionally disturbed by spots of colorful flowers or small rivers, this was the kind of landscape that made up most of the Art Atelier.
?They call this area the Vast Canvas?, she shouted towards Esi and Roukan, who were flying close behind her forming a triangle formation. ?You can already see our target from here!?
Esi narrowed her eyes, focusing on the direction that Ruro was pointing in. Sure enough, in the distance she could see what looked like a mix between a medieval fortress and a mansion.
??I don?t see a welcoming committee??, Esi relayed her thoughts to Ruro and Rou, ??Does Moerin not know how to properly receive guests anymore? Geez, this is boring!??
?They are probably hiding and shivering in fear, since justice has come for them!?
On the walkway above the main gate of the palace, two figures were watching the three Librarians. From here, they were only three small black spots against the bright light of the rising sun, gradually becoming bigger and bigger as they closed in.
?Ah, I love the feeling of battle! The screams of the wounded! The smell of explosions! The roar of the soldiers as they rush into their doom!?, one of the figures spoke, shivering with delight at her own words.
?But Stein-san, there are no screams??, the other figure responded with a confused voice.
?They will come soon, Keri?
?And there?s no explosions either??, there was a hint of worry in Keri?s voice now.
?I admit that might have been an oversight. A shame, I really worked hard to place all those landmines down. They could at least have had the decency to come charge us on foot.?
?And we don?t even have any soldiers! We are alone out here!? She sounded panicked now.
?Now now, Keri, that is not true?, Stein grinned. ?We have plenty of cannon fodd-I mean loyal soldiers just waiting to die?FIGHT for Mistress Moerin. Isn?t that right??
At her last words she turned around to face the courtyard behind her. From below, a mighty roar answered. Or rather, what would have been a mighty roar, had it come from an army of burly men. Or even an army of burly women. Since what was gathered in the courtyard were hundreds upon hundreds of child-sized fairies though, the result was more akin to a loud squeal. It was also not a unified squeal, as one could hear shouts like ?I was promised ice cream!?, ?Are there shiny things to steal?? and ?I have to pee.? from amongst the masses as well.
As far as Stein was concerned though, it was a good enough response.
?Alright ladies, are you ready for a game??, Stein asked the fairies another question.
This time, the answering shouts were much more energetic. Stein?s grin widened. Fairies were easy to control, the promise of fun would convince them to do anything they were asked. Adding to that the fact that fairies would revive immediately upon being killed, they were almost perfect soldiers.
?Well then, we have some bad people coming towards Mistress Moerin?s palace. You know what to do with bad people, don?t you? Yes you do! You shoot them down! And whoever shoots them down first??, she paused.
The fairies collectively held their breath in anticipation, some of them quickly turning purple from lack of oxygen.
?...gets an extra piece of cake at the victory celebration!?, Stein finished her announcement in a hurry before any of the fairies collapsed.
She didn?t need to say any more. The fairies? trigger had been activated. They had a goal, and they had a clear-cut way to achieve it. Their brains didn?t need anything more. Countless pairs of small wings began fluttering all at once?
The sound broke through the silence without any prior warning. It was not a sound made by a single entity. It was a sound composed of a large number of smaller sounds, accumulated and amplified into a deafening cacophony. It was accompanied by a strong gust of wind that hit the approaching Librarians like a hammer.
?Kya!?, Roukan screamed, grabbing onto the tuna she was riding with all her strength. Esi and Ruro stopped their advance as well, covering their faces from the wind.
?What is this??, Matsuri asked from inside Ruro?s shirt.
They watched as a black cloud started to rise from the palace ahead of them.
??Did they blow themselves up? They shouldn?t be *that* desperate? yet.?? Esi said.
Just as she said that, the cloud started to change shape. Instead of rising further up, at a certain height it abruptly started to move into the directions the Librarians were coming from. By now, the three girls could also see that the cloud was, in fact, a large swarm of small beings.
?It?s Yosei!? Ruro shouted.
?Which one?? Roukan asked in confusion.
?All of them. Get ready!?
Ruro?s words were followed by a sharp sound as she drew one of her blades. Esi and Roukan followed her example, the former readying her staff, while the latter summoned a plethora of writing tools out of nowhere. The three girls nodded to each other, before they took flight again, charging into the horde of fairies that blocked their way.
BGM:
Metal Book SolidI pressed my back against the wall, slowly shuffling to the side until I reached the corner. There I crouched down, slowly turning my body and head so that I could see what was awaiting us. I scanned the hallway from left to right, then from the ceiling to the floor. When I was sure noone was there, I signaled my comrades to follow me as I left my cover and began to tip-toe along the hallway.
?You?re really getting into this, aren?t you?? The voice from behind made me jump.
?Psst!? I whispered as I turned around.
The person standing behind me was Chaore. Unlike me, she was showing no effort to conceal her presence in any way, instead she just walked through the halls as if she wasn?t even concerned about being discovered. The same was true for Polaris, who seemed to have taken an interest in the paintings that decorated many of the walls inside the palace.
?If you continue to try and sneak around like this we will never get anywhere. You take almost a minute just to go around a corner!?, the bunny-girl stated with irritation in her voice.
?But wouldn?t it be bad if we were discovered??, I asked.
Chaore shrugged.
?We could use someone who knows the layout of this place. It?s not like we have any idea where we are going. And given their competence so far??
?Well, she has a point. And my knees are starting to hurt?, I thought to myself as I slowly stood up.
Sneaking into the palace had been far easier than we had imagined. Neither the fairies as they swarmed out towards the Ruro?s team, nor the gatekeepers had even noticed us when we had flown towards the back of the palace. They probably weren?t expecting us to take anything else than a linear plan, and given Ruro?s strategy, or the lack thereof, they weren?t exactly wrong. The walls surrounding the palace had been no obstacle for flying, of course, and thanks to Polaris we also managed to find an open window on one of the upper floors. And that is where we were now, several corners and hallways away from our entry point, trying to find anything that would help us locate Moerin and put an end to this mess.
?But really, did they send every single fairy they had into battle. Wouldn?t you at least leave guards??, I asked.
?It?s what a sane person would do?, Chaore answered. ?And sane people are in short supply at this point.?
At that moment, Polaris froze. I opened my mouth to ask her whether something was wrong, but she quickly signaled me to stay silent. Then she waved her hand, beckoning us to follow her as she made her way to a nearby intersection of the hallway.
When Chaore and I caught up to her, she pointed towards the corner and whispered, barely audible.
?I hear someone.?
Chaore?s large ears twitched.
?Yeah, definitely someone there,? Chaore confirmed, ?and they?re moving towards us??
I held my breath and listened. There was indeed the sound of footsteps. As the sound came closer, something else could be heard. The person approaching us was humming a carefree tune.
?Alright, they don?t seem to know we are here. Sakana, tuna!?, Chaore whispered.
?Eh??
?Give?em a good whack.?, she motioned towards the corner with her head.
?But I don?t have it, remember!??, I responded desperately.
Chaore went silent for a second as she recalled what had happened, then she groaned.
?Should I try singing or dancing??, Polaris asked from behind me.
?No, I?ll do it. You two stay here,? the bunny-girl ordered as she pulled a small origami-knife from her skirt.
?Careful with that, paper-cuts hurt like hell,? Polaris whispered, but at that moment Chaore had already jumped up and run around the corner.
There was a small scream and the sound of someone being shoved into a wall and falling to the floor, along with a loud clattering, then the hallway was silent once more. When Polaris and I stuck our heads out from the cover we witnessed an unusual scene. Chaore was standing in the hallway, a puzzled look on her face, looking down at another person that was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. The person was a girl wearing a blue overall, and she was shaking with fear. Next to her on the ground was a heavy-looking metal toolbox.
?You, who are you??, Chaore barked at the girl.
?I? I? my name is Arrdeejay, but people just call me Rdj?, the girl stammered a response.
?What? You said the same name twice??, Polaris said.
?It?s not the same! It?s written differently!?, this time she sounded a bit more confident in her answer.
?Well then, Rdj, how about you tell us where you are keeping Donut?, Chaore continued her interrogation.
?Donut? Shouldn?t those be in the fridge? Are you hungry? I?m sorry, I don?t have anything to eat with me??
?Don?t play dumb. You know what I mean, where is she?, anger started to seep into Chaore?s voice.
Meanwhile, the girl in front of her just looked more and more scared and confused.
?S-she? It?s a person? I?m sorry, I?d love to help, but I don?t know??
?Uhm, Chaore, do you think maybe she doesn?t belong to Moerin?s???, I carefully voiced my thoughts.
?Moerin??, the girl asked with even more confusion.
Silence struck as we stared at the girl completely dumbfounded. I could see that Chaore was barely able to keep herself from slamming her own head into the nearby wall.
?Alright then? you don?t know who Donut is, and you don?t know Moerin either? then what exactly are you doing here??, the bunny-girl pressed out those words.
?I was fixing the bathroom. And I was just about to take care of a defect window somewhere on this floor.?, the girl answered without hesitation again. She even seemed to smile a bit now.
?What are you, the janitor??, Chaore asked with sarcasm in her voice, but the Rdj?s smile just became brighter.
?Exactly! I find broken things and fix them! I?m being useful!?, she answered enthusiastically.
Chaore groaned once more.
?And you came into this house???, she asked.
?Because I sensed there were things for me to do, yes!?
?And you have no idea what is even happening here? Or what this place is??, I asked.
?Should I??, Rdj looked confused again.
The hallway fell silent again as we Librarians looked at each other in disbelief. This girl would break into someone?s house just so she could fulfill her duties.
?Well, that?s not too different from us. She?d make a good Librarian, in a way?, I thought.
?Hey, I have an idea!?, Polaris suddenly exclaimed. ?Rdj, did you happen find some stairs leading down somewhere here??
?Oh, yes, I did! They are over there, second hallway to the left!?, the janitor answered happily.
?Great, let?s get moving,? Chaore said as she stepped forward to grab Rdj?s arm and drag her to her feet. ?And you are coming with us.?
?W-what? But what s-should I even do? I don?t understand??, she stammered.
?We?ll see. Just be useful!?, Chaore responded as we ran off...
