As they were heading toward the palace library, Roland and Sasha were discussing the security measures, when familiar faces appeared from down the hallway.
“Ah, Martina!”
The voice came from the other side. Haruka, who had changed into the clothing of this world, waved energetically.
“Haruka! We couldn’t meet yesterday, but I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”
“I’m doing great. Once I decided to focus on doing my best in this world, all my worries disappeared.”
Haruka, with a smile as if she had shaken something off, looked at Martina, and Martina felt a sense of joy as well.
“You trained yesterday, right?”
“Yeah, with the First Knights. They were all really great people. Also, Sofian has been so kind to me, and I’m really grateful for that.”
Haruka turned around and looked at Sofian, prompting Martina to greet him as well.
“Sofian-sama, good morning.”
“Martina, good morning. Sorry I couldn’t join you over there, but I’ve entrusted the research to you.”
“Yes, leave it to me.”
After their brief exchange, Martina glanced at the person standing next to Sofian and the others behind him.
Behind Sofian stood several aides and guards dispatched from other countries, who had been highly valuable in supporting Haruka. From a quick glance, they all seemed serious and reliable.
The person next to Sofian was someone Martina knew well.
“So, it seems Lord Floran is assigned as Haruka’s guard.”
Floran Lavan, the deputy leader of the First Knights.
“Yes. Given that Haruka is a saint, a certain status is required for her protection, but since the commander is quite busy, I’ve been entrusted with the responsibility,” Floran explained.
“Indeed, Lord Lambert seems very busy. I’m reassured that Lord Floran will protect Haruka.”
Floran, besides his position as the deputy commander of the First Knights, was also a noble born into a baron family. He was skilled with the rapier and could even wield wind magic. His calm and composed demeanor made him well-suited for the role of protector.
“Sasha, has it been decided who will be your other guard?”
Sofian asked, turning to Sasha, who immediately stood at attention and saluted.
“Yes! My name is Sasha, and I’ll be guarding Martina.”
“Sasha, huh? I’ll remember that. Since I often work with Martina, I’ll rely on you from now on.”
“Understood!”
After their introductions and greetings, Sofian subtly urged Haruka.
“It’s time to head to the training grounds.”
“Got it. Hey, Martina, how about we have lunch together? I feel like I won’t have many chances to see you otherwise.”
Haruka, after thinking for a moment, suggested this as a way to create an opportunity to meet with Martina. Martina, without hesitation, nodded.
“Of course! The cafeteria works?”
“Yeah, I had lunch there yesterday too. I thought you might be there, but I couldn’t find you.”
“Ah…”
Martina recalled yesterday’s events and made a slightly awkward expression.
“Yesterday, I… got so caught up in reading books that I forgot about lunch.”
Haruka, understanding, grabbed Martina’s hand.
“I get it! When I start reading on my days off, I forget about meals too. Before I know it, it’s evening!”
Feeling happy that Haruka empathized with her, Martina leaned closer to Haruka’s face. Since Haruka was a little taller, Martina had to look up slightly.
“Exactly! When I’m reading, everything else just slips my mind.”
Just as their conversation was about to heat up, Roland deliberately cleared his throat. Martina snapped back to reality and took a small step back, offering a wry smile.
“Let’s save this conversation for lunch.”
“Right, see you in the cafeteria.”
“Yes, see you soon.”
They waved and parted ways, each heading toward their destination.
When they arrived at the palace library, Roland left to attend to his work at the administrative department, leaving Sasha as Martina’s sole guard for the morning.
“Alright, Martina, I’ll leave the research to you.”
“Yes. Please take care of the arrangements, Roland-san.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.”
Sasha’s duty was to stand guard at the entrance of the library’s archives, while Martina would enter the archive alone.
“Good morning, everyone.”
Most of the historians were already in the archive, deeply focused on their books. As Martina moved to her seat to continue from where she left off yesterday, it was Laforet who first spoke to her.
“Martina, we’ve all finished reading yesterday’s journal. But there don’t seem to be any new discoveries.”
“I see… Thank you for checking.”
Martina took the journal from Laforet and checked its title and spine again. As expected, there were no new findings.
“We should put it on the shelf with the important books.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
After their conversation, a female historian approached Martina.
“Excuse me, may I ask something?”
“Of course.”
“I believe you once read an old book with a lot of geometric patterns. Do you remember where it went? It’s missing.”
Martina recalled a few books with geometric patterns from the hint given.
“There are three possibilities, but did the book you’re looking for only have patterns?”
“Yes, I think so. It was a thin book of about thirty pages, and I remember it mentioned that it wasn’t a magic circle.”
As more details were provided, one book came to mind for Martina.
“Could it be the book The Pursuit of Balanced Beauty? Was it that book?”
“Yes! In the history book I’ve been reading, there were similar patterns drawn without any context. And there were smudges on the page instead of text, though the page had some margins.”
The female historian flipped through the history book and showed Martina the relevant page.
