The Fifth Ward Library was located near the Middle Guild. Unlike the library I know, it's an academic building made of stone.

　At the entrance, I walked past an armed man who seemed to be guarding it. Then a woman who looks like a librarian walks over to us.

''I saw your license when you entered........oh, you're a specially selected explorer?''
Yes, I just got certified yesterday.
'I take it that you have been summoned to the Stampede. A difficult mission, thank you for your efforts... no, in this case, it's more accurate to say 'request'.
'No, I'm fine either way. I'm honored to participate in the subduing, in a small way.

　The word "mission" has an obligatory connotation. We, who are only explorers, are not forced to participate in Stampede suppression, so I guess she was cautious.

''I'm sure you've seen the explorers who voluntarily participate in the Stampede suppression, but they are only a small part of it. This archives is one of the places of refuge, so we also went around to the defensive side of the building yesterday. It was all we could do to keep them from getting in.
That's ... first and foremost, I'm glad you're okay.
Thank you. Now let me take you to the central stack.

　The librarian corrected the position of the tasseled school hat and led us to it.

'What would happen if I said I was a participant, or rather, a most meritorious person?
It's your stance that you don't spread that kind of stuff around.
'Lord Aricht's humility is something I've always wanted to emulate.
Yes ... it's profound, but when it comes down to it ... that's the kind of person you are, Aricht-san.
'Well I think Aricht is the kind of gentleman you don't see very often.

　Everyone walking in front of me is praising me so much, but if I were to listen properly, I wouldn't feel very comfortable.

'Wow you have a wall of bookshelves and an atrium. It's like a movie library.

　Madoka raises her voice, and I switch my attention to it. This is the central stacks - books are crammed into stacks so tightly packed that I can look up at them, and stairs are built along the bookshelves. I wonder if this means you can take books directly from the stairs.

''This is great.......how many books do you have in your collection?
This is the central stack with 300,000 volumes, plus a small stack for special books.
'I wonder if the book we're looking for is in this stack somewhere...'
I can use my skills to quickly find the desired item in all the books. You can even specify certain keywords and I can search by related words and phrases.
''Thank you. Now, can I find a book about The Monkey Prince and The Fiery Red Chamber, as well as The Spell Marker?
Oh, about your brother being too direct....
'I don't have time to be far off, so I'm not going to get my tea in.

　I could see what Misaki was trying to say, but for once, I was allowed to listen to it straight away, as Igarashi-san said.

　The librarian seemed a little surprised, but eventually she closed her eyes as if in prayer - then she said.　

I closed my eyes and said, "There is one book about 'Marquis de l'Arquestration'. There is one book on 'The Monkey King' and two books on 'The Fiery Red Chamber'. There are about ten books on the curse seal in this central stack. The book titles are here.

　When I look at the list you wrote down, I see books like "Elementary Curse Stamps", "Demon Special Attack Curse Edition", and "Professions that deal with Curses". All of them seem to be related to what I want to look into, and since there aren't that many volumes, I'll check them all out.

''In this central stack, does that mean there are books housed in the small stack as well?

　Seraphina asked a question, and the librarian woman nodded back.

'Yes, it will be a book donated by a private individual, but there is a book about the 'curse mark' housed in the small bookcase, number 66.
'If I don't understand an item I want to look up in a book in the central stack, can I browse it?'
The books in the small stacks can only be checked out on condition that they cannot be taken out. Would you still like to borrow them?
Please do. I'd just like to have a few leads.

　◆ ◆ ◆

　The books related to the spell mark were in the middle of the bookcase. Even though it was in the middle of the bookcase, it was quite high - it seemed that measures were in place to prevent it from falling, but it was not horrifying to look down.

'Arakne-san would be able to stick to the wall and fetch the book, wouldn't she?
'I suppose I could, but it looks like you can't use the summoning pendant inside the library.
It's pretty amazing what this library is doing, isn't it?

　We couldn't lumber up the stairs, so we used rock-paper-scissors to decide which members to fetch the books from. Surprisingly, Misaki didn't complain even if she lost, and she walked up the stairs with a light step.

　Igarashi-san and Elitia have gone to get the books of "Monkey Hou" and "Flaming Red Chamber of Heaven" respectively. We have ten books, which is a lot, so they let us go together.

　Then we found the desired book and scrutinized the contents at the reading seat.

'There's a book about the demons in the fifth district that mentions the 'monkey marquis'... but it doesn't seem to provide any new information on the defeats we've had so far.

　I walked up to Elitia's seat and asked her to show me the book. It depicts the figure of 'The Monkey Prince', but it was also inaccurate.

''It says the skills you've already used... there's no mention of 'curse erosion'. Does that mean you started using it from this individual?
''Named'' has a different resistance and so on each time it appears. It's entirely possible that there are individual-specific skills as well.
''Brother, this book has a map of the 'Fiery Red Chamber'. Would it be of any help to you?

　The book Madoka brought with her was a book called 'Basic Survey of the Fifth District Labyrinth'. About the Red Chamber of the Fiery Sky, the first layer, where there were no demons, was described in detail - but from the second layer, there was extremely little information about it.

　The reason for this was written as 'a serious hindrance to the investigation'. It means that something happened during the search for the second layer.

''The survey team that provided the information for this book was able to get close to where the entrance to the third level was located. The reason why the Monkey Prince built the fort was to prevent them from advancing here...?
'Some demons have a habit of thwarting searchers who try to dive into the depths. Either that habit is particularly strong, or they are protecting something. But whatever the reason, the 'monkey lord's' hostility to searchers remains extremely dangerous.

　Serafina spoke in a calm tone, but when she touched the "Monkey Hou", her voice was filled with power.

　There was little information obtained. I also checked the books on the Curse, but I couldn't find any mention of the curse mark used by the Monkey King.

'Rear, would you like to look in the small bookcase?　We're looking into this book a little more.
Yes, I'll do that.

　As I got up from my seat, Theresa, who had been watching the area, came fluttering over to me. Taking her with me, I asked the librarian to lead me to the transfer door to transfer to the small book stacks.

There are some books that have demons mimicking them. Some demons mimic each other for decades, in which case the library can't identify them at all. Just to be sure, please be careful when you open a book page. If there is any change in the text, such as movement, there is a high probability that it is a demon.
'Yes, yes I'll be careful.

　I walked through the transition door, praying that I wouldn't pull a 'hit' in a bad way. Then I emerge into a dimly lit room, much smaller than the central stack.

　The bookshelves were spaced apart, one by one. One of them was a book with a black leather cover.

''This will be the book called 'Professions Related to Curses, and Demons.'''
'Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me...

　I pick it up carefully. In the center of the cover, there is a green jewel-like object adorned with what appears to be a green gemstone.

(Is this ... jade?　(Related to Ceres' clan, the Jade People (Jade)...?

　As I flipped through the pages, there was a page with what looked like a diagram of the human body - and on it was something similar to the mark that floated on the back of Theresa's neck.

　--There is a 'curse mark' as part of the 'curse', which is engraved on a part of the body.

　--Some of the demons use the 'curse'. The curse left behind when a person dies is more severe than the curse left behind when he or she is alive, and if one is unlucky enough to receive a curse, it can be permanent.

　--That's why, in order to break the 'spell', you must go through the procedure of breaking the spell before defeating the demon.

''.........''

　Theresia takes me off the page, so I show her the contents as well.

　I turn the page further, but it doesn't say anything about the crucial 'uncanonization procedure'. The page is blank from the middle of the book.

　Who the hell wrote this book? Is he somewhere in the Fifth Ward, or is he in another ward?

　Handing the book to Theresia, I turn around to ask the librarian woman a question.

　--that's when it happened.

　The dimly lit room suddenly becomes brighter. The source of this light is from behind me.



　The librarian woman speaks up. But the dazzling luminescence slowly dies down.

　The book Theresia is holding has a pale green light.

''.........''
This is....

　I stood beside Theresa and asked her to show me the book. Then, on a page that had been blank, I saw that letters had emerged.

　It's probably an old script from the Labyrinth Country, one with a combination of wedge-like things - but...

'.........The characters of the ancient people of the labyrinth nation. It is written as 'The shores of the lake where the evening walk'.

　I can hear Ariadne's voice. I guess she can see the letters I'm looking at and she translates them for me.

　The letters that were luminescent will soon become invisible. Part of the reason why this phenomenon occurred was indicated.

　--The curse mark on the back of Theresa's neck glowed bewitchingly.

''Both of you, if the light just now ... emanated from that book, we must conduct another investigation.
'It's probably something that will cause a reaction depending on who has it. I don't think it's dangerous, so don't worry too much about it.
That's not...
'The condition for the book to glow is that the person who is being 'cursed' probably holds the book in his or her hand. We are here to break this child's 'curse'. Thank you so much for telling us about this book.

　I didn't expect to find a clue in this way. But now that I've surprised you, I should explain the situation as best I can.

The 'curse'... I took the customer at his word and didn't even try to think about why he was looking for such a book. It's not good enough for me as a librarian.
''No, no, that's.......I didn't want to be alarmed, and I didn't want to talk about the situation if I could. That's just for my convenience, you know.
Thank you for your concern. But as an employee of the museum, I hope I can be of assistance to you, the explorer. I will do my best to earn your trust.
We've been helped tremendously by this, too. Let me say that again.

　The librarian woman takes the book from Theresa. She regained her composure, repositioned her hat and urged us to go through the transition door first.

　◆ ◆ ◆

　The Lakeside Evening Walk is a labyrinth with an entrance in the southeastern part of District 5.

　A damp air flows from the dark rocky cave - it seems that if you go down here, you'll transition into a labyrinth.

''........there's something very atmospheric about the entrance.......it's frightening......''
Kyouka-san, are you okay?　You shouldn't be too hard on yourself...
''It's okay, I even have the skill to cure 'fear'... oh, I'm not scared, it's not like I'm haunted during the day.''
It's a magical time in the labyrinth, isn't it? Doesn't this labyrinth stay dark for a long time in the evening?
''Misaki, Misaki-chan, to be so outspoken...''
So I guess that means I should get some lights.......not that dark?
''The labyrinth is so close to zero visibility that we've been warned by the guild. This labyrinth doesn't seem to have been deemed a mandatory countermeasure against darkness.

　Since Serafina-san joined the party, she's been very helpful in giving me advice at key points - and I've realized once again that she's very helpful.

''Kyouka-sister, if you're not careful, you won't win just because you've known your brother for a long time, will you?
'No, that's not true...I'm relying on you, Seraphina-san, and...'
We've all made it through this before, so it's okay if there are a few scary demons out there.

　Elitia cheered up Igarashi-san - the ones who were thrilled to see that were Misaki and Suzuna.

''Wha, what...?''
'No, I'm just so happy that Ellie is back to her usual Ellie, and I'm so happy that I'm doing some serious damage to my tear glands.
'It's really ... good. Let's continue to work hard 'together'. If we do that, we'll be fine.
'Well you two don't have to indulge me too much. But thank you.

　Time is limited, but the best results will surely not come if we only discourage ourselves.

　We will move forward together with our friends. Elitia will never forget that she's never alone - I could believe that when I saw her smile.