This World Needs a Hero

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“Seeing me in this unclean state…,” she mumbled.

“I’ve seen worse on the battlefield.”

“At that time, everything was messy… Can I at least wash up?”

“Sorry, but we’re short on time.”

“Ugh…”

I looked at her wrapped in a blanket, grumbling.

I asked, “By the way, you’ve been hiding for a few days. What’s going on?”

“Oh…”

As her embarrassed expression surfaced, I naturally began to ‘observe.’

Piles of papers on the desk filled with complex equations.

And in Yussi’s gaze at them, there was a faint excitement, as if looking at a treasure.

“You’re not the type to randomly neglect your work without a reason.”

“Well… I got a chance to get the item I’ve been looking for a long time.”

It was an even more ambiguous answer.

I narrowed my eyebrows.

“…An item you’ve been looking for?”

“Um…”

Yussi hesitated and then spoke.

“Can I tell you later when it’s certain? I don’t want to jinx it.”

I slowly nodded.

I was curious, but prying into personal matters too much felt strange.

“Sure, let me know when you’re ready.”

“Thank you. I was planning to tell you first once everything is resolved.”

Yussi smiled more comfortably.

“Anyway, what brings you here without notice?”

“I needed a key.”

“…A key?”

The academy map was spread out on the desk.

I pointed to a specific location.

“I came to get the key to the Library of Memories.”

The academy map spread across the desk as I pointed to a specific location.

* * *

▼

Rosenstark’s Mystery

Library of Memories

▲

I recalled the information I had gathered.

The library was enchanted with a spell called Memorize, a magical process that extracted and stored memories in books.

Visitors could shape their desired memories into books for safekeeping, a place to revisit and reminisce about those memories.

However, not just anyone could leave their memories there.

Entrance was restricted unless you were a graduating fourth-year student or had special permission from the principal.

‘Usually, freshmen are oblivious to its existence.’

I only discovered it recently.

Besides memory storage, the library didn’t have any distinctive features, and the stored memories were generally only accessible by the owner.

Compared to other mysteries at Rosenstark, it had relatively low visits.

‘…Are the Original’s memories stored there?’

[TL/N: Og Hero.]

If so, it was reason enough to visit.

Seeing memories of the original could enhance my understanding of the Hero, making Polymphe’s performance even stronger.

Clank!

Yussi handed me an old bronze key.

“By the way, it’s been a while.”

“What do you mean?”

“I remember you used to visit every year. You stopped for the past few years, though.”

I paused for a moment.

‘Every year?’

Original never shared every detail of his schedule with me.

Some aspects remained undisclosed, and it seemed the Library of Memories was one of them.

‘…He used to visit every year without saying a word about it.’

The distance from the central region to the west was not negligible.

If the busy Hero deliberately took time to visit, it must have been an important matter.

What memories did the Hero seek every year?

What could it be?

Intense curiosity welled up within me.

* * *

Sitting by the window of the magic train, I felt the cool breeze, and before I knew it, we were near the destination.

[…Next station is the main entrance of the Library of Memories, Library of Memories Main Entrance Station. If you’re getting off…]

I was the only one getting off.

‘Strange’

It wasn’t the usual time for graduating students to visit, and although graduates occasionally came to revisit memories, today, surprisingly, no one was around.

I stood in front of the main entrance of the library.

The familiar dizziness hit me.

▼

The Mystery is Unveiled

This is a place of rewinding

The mourner has arrived

Recorded Location:

A place that stores memories of individuals who passed through Rosenstark…

▲

I clenched my fist.

I had truly found it.

The kind explanation continued.

▼

The enchantment on Memorize in the Library of Memories is a bit special.

It not only allows experiencing memories from the individual’s perspective,

but also can be directed from the perspective of a third party,

and you can freely move between them based on the creator’s intent.

Please note that blind spots such as visual or auditory experiences that the owner didn’t experience are magically supplemented.

The first viewing password of the previous user, ‘Ted Redymer,’ is ‘Do not forget.’

▲

The first viewing password?

‘It seems like there are multiple memories.’

My gaze turned toward the library.

‘It looks even bigger up close.’

The structure, bathed in the twilight, pressed down on visitors with an unknown oppression.

It felt like I had entered a historic ruin, facing overwhelming time and history.

Beyond the great mountain range.

Suddenly, memories of wandering through the ruins of the First Era came to mind.

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It felt just like this.

Click!

I inserted the key into the keyhole of the main entrance.

The old key unexpectedly smoothly slid into the hole—

Clunk!

The door opened on its own, even without me touching it.

A musty smell wafted through the air.

I instinctively peered through the crack in the door to see the interior.

‘What is this?’

At first, I saw nothing.

The sudden burst of radiant light in the pitch-black darkness startled me.

A dazzling light that I couldn’t even bring myself to look at directly.

After about a second,

‘Here is…’

I found myself standing in an entirely different space.

The massive building that loomed over me was nowhere to be seen.

The serene academy landscape had vanished.

Instead, what greeted me were endlessly stretching bookshelves.

A long, narrow corridor.

I took a few steps inside.

The dusty scent surrounded me.

The warmth of sunlight.

The mountain breeze was felt simultaneously.

‘Space teleportation, huh.’

A manifestation of advanced magic that existed in the First Era but has not been used practically for a long time in the present.

‘It’s the same as the portal that led to the Cave of Protection.’

Walking through the quiet corridor, I observed my surroundings.

Everywhere I saw there were books, books, and books.

The bookshelves filled with books looked like waves.

After a while, I could see a tall ladder among them.

And on top of it, a graceful silhouette moving back and forth.

Our eyes met.

‘…’

‘…’

While she descended the ladder as if sliding, the Iris of Laplace quickly wrote a comment.

▼

Recorded Individual: Rosalyn Requiem

– A magical being created by Zero Requiem, bearing his surname.

– The main magic of the Library of memories, the intermediary of ‘Memorize,’ and the librarian managing ‘memories.’

– Awkward to deal with.

▲

One of the comments added a bit of tension.

‘Magical being, huh.’

Rosalyn Requiem approached with unaffected white hair, brows, face, and white eyes.

Taking on the appearance of a human but not being entirely human.

However, there was no unpleasant sense of the typical discomfort of artificial entities.

What else can I say?

It felt like placing a thick and worn ancient tome in front of me.

I slowly looked at Rosalyn’s pursed lips.

‘It’s been a while, Ted. Welcome back to the library.’

Her voice, calm and without highs and lows, resonated in my ears.

* * *

I didn’t respond immediately.

‘Ted,’ or ‘Professor.’

The unfamiliarity of being addressed by a name rather than the familiar titles held my tongue.

As if she didn’t care, continued speaking.

“Are you here to create a book?”

“No, I came to read.”

“I see.”

After finishing her sentence, Rosalyn stared at me intently.

Blink. Blink.

As if performing some procedure, she concealed her appearance at a regular tempo and reappeared, her eyes pure white.

As the dark shadow created by the tall bookshelves descended over her artificial gaze, a strange tension gripped my body.

‘It’s okay.’

Polymorph can’t be seen through by any magical means.

It was a fact proven in numerous experiments conducted with the Hero.

I casually faced Rosalyn again.

She spoke again.

“To which memory would you like to be guided to?”

“The first one.”

“Always looking for that one.”

I looked at her outstretched white hand.

“As you know, the paths are complicated. You wouldn’t want to become lost in memories, right?”

Her hand was unexpectedly warm.

To the point where the illusion of feeling a pulse was felt.

“Treating me like a child.”

“When you’ve existed for 300 years, the depth of wrinkles becomes irrelevant.”

…300 years.

“Must have been boring.”

“Well, I can’t say if it was boring.”

“’Do you read stored memories?”

Though I was only looking at the back of her white head, somehow it seemed like Rosalyn was smiling.

“Only those of the deceased.”

“…Why only those of the deceased?”

“’Because that’s what they would prefer.”

Thud!

As we walked through the labyrinth of intertwined bookshelves, the conversation continued.

Rosalyn spoke with a rhythm, as if she were reciting psalms.

Even without concentrating, the content flowed into my ears.

“Isn’t it magnificent?”

“’What?”

“These bookshelves. When choosing a book, I stand before numerous lives. Before the moments they wanted to preserve till the end. It’s never boring.”

Moments they wanted to preserve till the end.

I became increasingly curious.

What kind of memories did ‘real’ leave behind?

‘If it’s memories before graduation, I have no idea about the content.’

He had drawn a line, saying that even I didn’t need to know beyond that point.

The opportunity to know about the young Ted Redymer from his early days as a Hero filled me with a strange excitement.

By the way, there was never any piece of media that talked about the young Hero.

“Here we are.”

The rhythmic shaking of the silver hair, emitting a subtle scent of wood, gradually subsided.

She grinned.

“It’s time for a time reversal.”

With those words, Rosalyn reached towards the top of the bookshelf.

A wave of magic was felt as a book at the very top floated through the air.

A worn-out and tattered book.

Rosalyn extended it to me.

“What kind of memory is it that Ted visits it like an annual event… I’ve been curious for a long time.”

I accept the book and responded, “So?”

“Hehe, did it make you uncomfortable? I apologize. Curiosity is one of the few emotions allowed by my master.”

Rosalyn turned around, now wearing a more human-like smile than before.

“Then I hope it will be an enjoyable reminiscence.”

She quickly hid her appearance.

I explored the cover with my fingertips, repeating the password.

‘(Do not forget).’

…do not forget.

As I continue to ponder its meaning, something seems to pull at me.

At the same time, my view began to slowly ripple.

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