Chapter 22

With a gentle smile, Melissa asked, and Shilen shyly pointed somewhere with a hesitant little hand.

Melissa widened her eyes, then smiled softly.

“Did you find the key?”

Nod.

Shilen nodded with a bit more confidence and suddenly began to run ahead on her small feet.

Adorable.

Melissa watched that tiny back with fond eyes, then quickened her pace to follow.

The place they reached was—

“Oh my.”

The records room.

A rare hint of hesitation crossed Melissa’s face.

Shilen, who had already opened the door and stepped inside, peeked out while holding onto the doorframe.

Seeing the puzzled look in those round, hamster-like eyes, Melissa quickly shook her head.

“No, it’s nothing. It’s just been a long time.”

“Yap!” Melissa lightly pumped her fists, as if to cheer herself on.

Time to go in.

It had been so long, but still…

Just as she forced her foot over the threshold, she stopped.

“Huh?”

The faint scent of paper and dust filled the air.

‘How nostalgic.’

Melissa looked around the room with wide eyes.

The familiar smell made her feel as if an old friend were welcoming her back.

She suddenly remembered that, before she turned fifteen, she had not disliked reading at all.

In fact, she had loved it.

Her favorite series was A Hundred Volumes on the Customs and Cultures of the World.

Or was it one hundred thirty-five? Maybe one hundred eighty-nine?

No matter how she tried to recall, she couldn’t be sure. Perhaps because that series had never really ended, the last volume kept growing.

The Village at the Edge had once been home only to Melissa and her parents.

No one else her age had lived there before Demius arrived.

Growing up in that small, quiet village, Melissa used to roam the mountains or dig through her parents’ bookshelf for fun.

Among all the books she read, that series on world customs had been her favorite. She had read it so many times that she could recite what was written on each page.

Then one day, while habitually scanning the shelf where the series was lined up, she noticed a new book she hadn’t seen before.

Excited and curious, she read it immediately. And after a few months, or sometimes just a few weeks, another new volume would appear.

‘So that’s how it was.’

It suddenly came back to her, the moment she decided to stop reading.

The new volumes she loved so much had looked a bit different from the rest. The bindings, the handwriting, even the ink were not quite the same.

When she realized that her parents, after long workdays, stayed up late into the night to handwrite and craft each “new” book for her, she decided to stop.

That had been when she was around fifteen.

“Sigh.”

How could she have been so dense?

Melissa gave herself a light smack on the head.

How had it taken her that long to notice?

Still, thinking back on it now, she felt warmth instead of regret. Realizing how deeply her parents had loved her was one of the happiest memories of her life.

And now, thanks to Mr. Mimi, she had come all the way from her hometown to the northern edge of the empire.

‘I really am lucky!’

Seeing the world she had only read about with her own eyes. It was a true blessing.

Feeling cheerful again, Melissa followed where Shilen was pointing.

“Is it here?”

Nod, nod.

Her little face flushed red with excitement as she nodded repeatedly.

Then she ran to a tall bookshelf and stood on tiptoe.

The shelf held a thick book, just out of reach for a five-year-old but perfectly reachable for a seven-year-old.

With effort, Shilen pulled the book free and dropped it onto the floor. Then she eagerly flipped through the pages.

Melissa bent her knees slightly, watching curiously.

Could the location of the key be written inside?

‘But wait, Shilen can’t read yet.’

While she tilted her head in thought, Shilen turned to the very back of the book. Instead of paper, the cover was made of thick leather, and there, tucked neatly into a decorative strap, was a small metal clasp.

“Huh?”

When Melissa’s eyes widened, Shilen reached a hand toward her.

“Hmm? What is it?”

Not recognizing the gesture, Melissa tilted her head, but then she understood—

She wanted Melissa to kneel.

Melissa got down on one knee and lifted Shilen onto her shoulders.

‘So light.’

The child was already small, but even for her age, she was light as a feather.

Melissa felt a pang of concern and walked toward the shelf Shilen pointed at.

“Here? Oh, not there, here?”

Shilen wrapped her arms tightly around Melissa’s neck, as if to say yes.

The warm, soft feeling against her cheek reminded Melissa of a baby bird brushing close, and she laughed quietly.

“Alright, hold on tight, okay?”

She felt a tiny nod from above, then saw Shilen’s small hands stretch upward.

But neither of them was tall enough. Shilen’s fingertips brushed the air, still too far from their goal.

Melissa paused, thinking, then asked,

“Want to try standing on my shoulders? I’ll hold you steady.”

“…!”

Shilen froze at first.

Melissa chuckled and added,

“It’s fine. I’ve done it lots of times!”

She winked.

Her nickname back in the day had been “Flying Squirrel Boar” Melissa.

People in the city beyond the mountain from her village had called her that.

It had started when she was seven. A boy her age had gotten his kite stuck in a tree, crying beneath it, so she had climbed up and retrieved it for him.

That’s when they started calling her a flying squirrel, maybe because she had jumped down from the tree afterward. And years later, when she helped old Benson the carpenter carry his lumber, she earned the “boar” part of the name.

“I’ve even given adults shoulder rides before! Once, Grandma Mobin threw her cane onto the roof during a tantrum, and since she wouldn’t let anyone else touch it, I gave her a lift so she could get it herself. Oh, and when Grandpa Robin’s dentures flew up onto the Divine Spirit’s altar… wait, that one’s a secret!”

Melissa clapped a hand over her mouth.

Shilen didn’t know what to say.

A nickname combining “flying squirrel” and “boar” somehow fit her too well.

Then again…

Shilen looked down at Melissa’s arms. The slender muscles beneath her sleeves flexed like cords of steel.

Maybe this really would work.

When she nodded, Melissa grinned and asked,

“Alright, ready to stand?”

Nod.

Shilen felt Melissa’s grip on her ankles tighten like tree roots as she slowly placed her feet on Melissa’s shoulders.

Her knees trembled a little from tension, but she managed to straighten them carefully.

“There you go!”

Shilen blinked in surprise.

It felt stable. Incredibly so.

She lifted her head, reaching high toward the top of the bookshelf.

Her hand brushed something solid among the thick layer of dust.

This must be it.

Hooking her fingers around the narrow piece of metal, she tugged gently.

“Got it?”

Tap tap.

Melissa felt the light tap on her shoulder and shifted her hands from Shilen’s ankles to her knees, steadying her as she slowly lowered herself.

Carefully, gently.

Melissa knelt until Shilen’s feet reached the floor.

“Are you okay?”

Nod.

Shilen nodded shyly, then held out her clean hand, palm open like a maple leaf.

Melissa smiled and took it.

Following Shilen’s lead, she walked toward the back of the room.

“…Wow.”

Who would have thought such a place existed in the records room?

Melissa’s lips parted in wonder as light spilled across the space.

The records room was meant for book preservation. It was usually dark and slightly cool, the light strictly limited.

But behind one of the tall shelves hung a heavy velvet curtain, and beyond it was a secret space.

A small island of warmth within the dim chamber.

Sunlight poured down through a protruding window, bathing the area in soft golden light.

A single armchair sat there, plush and inviting. The fabric had faded with time, but its rich blue weave and golden embroidery gave it an elegant, timeless charm.

Sunlight, books, and a cozy chair.

It was a scene that made her heart warm just by looking at it.

While Melissa stood there, mesmerized, Shilen suddenly let go of her hand and ran forward.

“Shilen?”