Lucas felt a surge of irritation.

But since the likelihood of Brandy actually casting that spell was slim, Lucas decided to feign ignorance for now.

Just as he turned his eyes back to the book in front of him, Brandy spoke.

“I think… I might finally be able to use magic.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Hrm, hrm. Perhaps it is rash of this old man to speak of it in such haste.”

“It’s all right. Please, go on. I won’t be running around telling others.”

“Well, the thing is…”

The story that spilled from his lips was nothing short of shocking.

As Lucas stared at the old man’s excited face, he had the urge to clamp that mouth shut.

Earlier that morning, someone had approached Brandy and told him they could make him a mage. They had claimed that once the spell Lucas had glimpsed earlier was completed, anyone could become a magician. Brandy had snatched it up without hesitation.

But there was one thing missing, they said, preventing the spell from being completed. When Brandy asked what it was, their answer was none other than a contract with a soul.

Brandy had immediately offered up his own aged soul, but they insisted what they required was a young and pure one.

“…A young and pure soul?”

“Yes. They said they needed a young and pure soul.”

“…And where do you intend to find such a thing?”

“They told me it would not harm the body or mind. That it was simply borrowing a little strength from a soul—nothing to worry about…”

“What nonsense!!!”

It was utterly absurd. Borrowing strength from a soul? This wasn’t like leasing a plot of farmland—souls weren’t something to parcel out. Yet Brandy, gullible enough to believe them, had seriously considered going to an orphanage near the imperial capital to find such souls.

“Lucas, you are too young to understand. But there are many great wizards in this world. If I only borrow a little soul… this old man’s dream could finally come true.”

Danger. That was what Lucas saw. The goal Brandy had pursued since youth, the dream of magic, had dimmed behind a frail old body—and now, his judgment was clouded enough to attempt something gravely misguided.

“…That is impossible. There is no such thing as temporarily borrowing a soul. Librarian, you must speak with other humans… no, with adults you trust.”

Lucas was about to rise from his seat when—

“You don’t understand!!!”

“?!”

The sudden outburst made him pause.

“You can conjure light in your hands as if it were nothing—you don’t understand!!! I… I!!! I’ve spent my whole life striving for the smallest spark!!!”

The cracked voice of the old librarian echoed through the library.

—Bang!

The sight of his madness finally pushed Lucas to his feet.

“And for that tiny spark, do you not realize what you are about to do?!”

The boy’s clear, piercing voice rang through the air.

From that small body radiated an overwhelming pressure.

Brandy flinched without meaning to, then suddenly burst into wild laughter.

“Ha… ha ha ha ha!!”

“You’ve gone mad. Completely mad! Snap out of it!!”

Lucas’s desperate cry filled the air.

But Brandy’s laughter only grew louder.

“Kh… kh-huh… huhuh… hhhk…”

And then, the laughter faltered. The sound that followed was not mirth but sobs, echoing through the library.

“I know… I know full well…”

Over seventy years old, with tears trailing down the deep lines of his face, staining his collar.

He knew. He had always known. The children’s souls they sought would never survive.

Telling it to a boy who might not fully grasp the truth had been his way of lessening his own guilt.

“Librarian Brandy. Let me help you.”

The small boy stepped forward and clasped the old man’s hand.

The moment his hand touched, the librarian’s sobs turned into a wail, as though releasing decades of pent-up anguish.

Whoever spewed this kind of filth into his ear—I’ll find them and crush them.

Back in his room, Lucas stared at the spell Brandy had handed over for a long while.

At first, he had dismissed it as the work of some fanatic cult, trying to collect souls for their dark rites, or perhaps deluded dabblers in black magic.

But the more he thought, the less sense it made.

No one paid attention to Brandy. He was just a librarian. Some knew he had admired magic in his youth, but beyond that, he was nothing more than a harmless old man.

Yet someone had approached him deliberately. Someone who knew his past.

They had drawn out his deepest yearning and twisted his judgment, pushing him to the brink of a disastrous choice.

If he had gone through with it, the consequences would have been unspeakable.

“Wretches lower than insects!!”

Lucas tried tracing the culprits through the spell, but not a trace remained.

Young… pure souls, huh…

Turning Brandy’s words over in his mind, Lucas suddenly slammed a hand down on his desk.

His body tensed as though he might spring up at once—but then he froze.

“I am young… but… pure?”

There’s no other way…

When Lucas entered the library again, Brandy looked utterly worn down. Lucas sighed deeply.

“Librarian. Did they say when they would come again?”

“…They told me to seek them out once I found a child willing to lend their soul.”

“And where are they?”

“Why do you ask…?”

“Because I told you I’d help. Right here. A young, puuure soul.”

“No. I won’t drag you into danger for the sake of this old man’s greed.”

Brandy’s kindly smile showed his mind had cleared. But it only made Lucas grind his teeth.

Earlier he had shouted and wailed that Lucas didn’t understand his pain, and now when Lucas offered help, he refused?

Lucas had gone to such lengths for this old fool!

“Librarian?”

“Ah—Professor Aman! What brings you here…?”

It was then that Aman, who had followed Lucas under the veil of an invisibility spell, finally revealed himself.

“I was the one who asked the professor for help. If we’re to uncover everything about this matter, we’ll need… an adult’s assistance.”

“Hahaha. Our Lucas is truly clever, isn’t he?”

Lucas wanted nothing more than to spit right into Aman’s smug face, but doing so now would ruin everything.

“Heh… truly, there’s no need. This old man must have lost his senses for a while.”

“Oh? No, no. I’m not helping you, Librarian Brandy, so much as serving a greater cause.”

Aman drew out the words greater cause with heavy emphasis before continuing.

“Even if it were just a rat’s soul being offered, an investigation would still be necessary. Any sorcery that exploits a living being is forbidden in Arant.”

“Yes… I know it well.”

The old man bowed his head, clearly aware he had nearly broken imperial law.

“But don’t worry. You will not be held accountable for this matter.”

Even with Aman’s beaming smile, Brandy’s face only grew darker.

“Then, shall we go?”

With those words, Aman once more cloaked himself in invisibility.

In a small cabin hidden in the forest not far from the imperial palace—

By the time Lucas and Brandy arrived, their minds had been worn thin by Aman’s incessant whispering as he shadowed them under his spell.

That lunatic…!

The entire way, Aman hadn’t shut his mouth once.

“So what do you think I said? I shouted, ‘If you don’t stop, none of you will escape with your lives!’ That’s what I told them!”

He was bragging about his exploits. Lucas wanted to stuff a rock in his mouth right there.

What made it worse was that Aman whispered while walking between him and Brandy, his breath brushing across Lucas’s cheek now and then—utterly disgusting.

That damned blue-scaled lizard. I’d love to twist your jaw clean off.

Lucas burned to yell at him to shut up, but with Aman’s invisibility concealing them, any reply could have drawn unwanted eyes. So both he and Brandy kept their heads down and pressed forward in silence.

—Knock knock knock.

Brandy rapped on the cabin door, which creaked open.

The moment they stepped inside, a stench assaulted them.

Blood…?

Yes. It was unmistakably the stench of blood. Lucas instinctively covered his nose as the vile odor seeped from every corner of the cabin.

“You’ve come, Brandy.”

A man greeted them, his face hidden under a heavy hooded robe.

He glanced outside before shutting the door. With it closed, the metallic tang of blood only grew thicker.

“Yes. This is the young… friend you asked for.”

“Heh heh… Good. Very good.”

The man’s eyes slid over Lucas from head to toe, making his face twist with disgust.

Where do you think you’re staring, you filthy bastard? I’ll rip your eyes out.

The urge to snap the man’s neck surged, but Lucas forced it down. Instead, he widened his eyes, trying to appear as innocent as possible.

Does this look pure enough?

He had no idea how these men judged purity, but he did his best to look harmless. The self-loathing hit him immediately.

I should’ve just bitten my tongue and died instead.

—Snap!

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, the man seized Lucas by the chin, jerking it upward roughly.

“Perfect… absolutely perfect.”

Lucas let out a pained sound, but the man only turned his face this way and that, murmuring with satisfaction.

“Heh heh… Thank you. Brandy, your wish will be granted soon.”

His slimy voice slithered into Lucas’s ear as he pulled him closer with an arm around his shoulder.

“So then, what must I do now?”

“Just return home. We’ll contact you soon…”

A sinister smile curled the man’s lips as he tugged on Lucas’s hand.

“So, I may take the child with me?”

“I said—we’ll contact you when the time comes.”

Brandy’s voice trembled as he asked again, but the man’s tone had lost all trace of warmth. It was cold, flat.

Brandy lowered his head, nodding faintly.

“…Very well. I’ll wait.”

“Yes. Do not worry. The boy will be safe…”

Brandy cast one last fleeting glance at Lucas before stepping out of the cabin.

My part is over…

He didn’t have the strength to confront the man. Lucas would be safe. Professor Aman would protect him.

He had to believe that.