Chapter 01: "The Oracle Priestess and the Tower of Silence"
Particles of light are dancing in the stagnant air‚ together with the scent of old paper.
On the top floor of the library tower that towers at the northern end of the misty kingdom of Lumiere. The quietest‚ dustiest place in the world‚ and the only one where I am permitted to breathe as an "individual"—this is the sanctuary I have defined.
The spring sunlight streaming in through the window mercilessly burns my retinas. However‚ the world reflected in my eyes still lacked vibrant colors.
「……Ah. Another peaceful monochrome day」
I casually rub the cold ink stains clinging to my fingertips onto the well-worn sheepskin parchment.
I am Rui. A failing magic student enrolled in this academy—and self-proclaimed‚ the noble 'Observer'.
Magic? I have not even the slightest interest in such sparkling privileges reserved for the chosen ones.
Even at this very moment‚ down in the square below‚ someone like Kyle—a man who could be described as the personification of sunlight—is probably flashing his refreshing smile at his entourage. An existence beloved by the sun‚ scattering blessings and protection with every step. To someone like me who dwells in the "shadows‚" it's nothing short of a lethal dose of poison. Just entering my field of vision is enough to char my thin self-awareness into ashes.
That's why I fled here. I cherish the solitude as if erecting an invisible barrier.
In the record book in my hands‚ the "insignificant realities" that had grazed my vision throughout the day were densely written down.
『At 9 AM‚ a crow perched by the window. It ignored me. A wise decision.』
『At 10 AM‚ a student tripped dramatically in the courtyard. No one helped. The world is cruelly normal today—beautiful.』
I set down the pen and crack the knuckles of my intertwined fingers.
Reality is fine as long as I observe it from afar and record it. There's no need for me to "participate" in it anywhere.
The only place I can be the protagonist of a story is within the world of delusions spreading in my brain. There‚ I wear golden armor‚ take someone's hand in a multicolored meadow‚ more eloquent‚ more courageous—.
At that moment.
The sound of the heavy door creaking open on the floor below threw a merciless stone into the deep sea of silence.
—Thump. My heart pounded violently against my ribs.
There shouldn't be any insolent intruders who enter this tower without permission. Has someone come to drag me back because I'm skipping Sera's lecture?
Suddenly‚ the ominous rumor I overheard in the cafeteria this morning flashed through my mind.
『The Oracle Priestess is said to be visiting the tower soon to receive assistance with magic studies.』
No way. Impossible.
Someone like her‚ who stands at the "center of the world‚" couldn't possibly appear in this dusty tower at the ends of the earth at this very moment. I tried to convince myself‚ but the fingertips gripping the record book were stiff and white with tension.
The sound of footsteps ascending the spiral staircase could be heard.
It wasn't the heavy military boots of a knight‚ nor the imposing stride of a strict teacher.
Tap-tap. A rhythm far too light and defenseless‚ with a lingering hint of skipping.
And then‚ the "something" that would shatter my fortress of silence to pieces reached my eardrums.
"Fufu-n‚ fufufu-n♪"
...Humming?
In this sacred repository of knowledge‚ was this intruder actually humming a tune?
That sound struck my eardrums with physical force.
...No way.
This tower is a "deep sea of silence" where a thousand years of knowledge have accumulated‚ and even exhaling requires proper etiquette. To echo the aftereffects of skipping and scatter "good spirits" without trying to hide them—it's insane.
The footsteps climbing the stairs unerringly corner my escape. With each step‚ I could feel the "walls of rejection" I had built up crumbling like sandcastles.
—Bam! The ancient oak door flew open with utter disregard.
"Hellooo! Huh‚ is no one here?"
What flowed in was the violently bright spring sunlight and an overwhelmingly vivid white that felt out of place.
Standing beyond the door was not the tragic heroine who appears in my delusions. It was a "living‚ breathing" girl‚ carrying dazzling light on her back‚ with a slight sheen of sweat on the tip of her nose.
She was wearing the sacred pure white robes permitted only to the 'Oracle Priestess' of the Kingdom of Lumiere. However‚ the stiff ribbon at her chest was casually loosened‚ and the hem‚ which should have been sacred‚ was splattered with mud as evidence of her running up the stairs.
Above all‚ what wafted from the basket on her arm was not the scent of solemn incense. It was butter and sugar‚ and—the sharp‚ piercing acidity of lemon.
"...Who are you? Please don't enter here without permission."
I pulled the record book to my chest like a shield and shot her a gaze filled with as much rejection as I could muster. My voice cracked slightly because the air in the tower had been invaded far too abruptly by "her heat."
It was definitely not because‚ in my monochrome vision‚ only her hair transmitted the sunlight and emitted a "color" I had never seen before. ...Definitely not.
"Ehh‚ you don't have to be so cold. It was really hard climbing all the way up here‚ you know?"
The girl seemed to treat my murderous rejection as nothing more than dust dancing in the spring breeze. She casually advanced deeper into the sanctuary and began innocently trampling the silence I had guarded so fiercely with her small feet.
"...You haven't answered my question. This is my place. What business does the Oracle Priestess have in this dusty tower at the ends of the earth?"
"Hmm‚ studying? I was told by Elise that I need assistance with magic studies. But I really hate that stuffy kind of thing. —What about you? You're not a teacher‚ right?"
(Elise...? That iron woman who embodies the 'reason' of the kingdom sent this storm-like girl? No joke. Pushing her education onto a failure like me.)
"...Rui. A magic student. No‚ more accurately‚ just an 'Observer'."
"Observer?"
The girl tilted her head slightly and peered intently at my face.
Close. Too close.
Her eyes held a deep blue like the sky at the end of summer. The moment her gaze pierced me‚ a vivid blue stain like spilled ink spread across my gray world. I involuntarily took a step back and bumped my back into the corner of the bookshelf.
"Are you watching people? That's interesting. I'm used to being looked at‚ but this might be the first time I've been 'observed.' ...Oh‚ I'm Elina. Nice to meet you‚ Rui-kun!"
A smile without a care in the world.
The symbol known as 'Oracle Priestess Elina' that I'd heard in rumors now stood before me as a human with body heat‚ painting over my world.
"...I'm just recording. Someone noisy like you wastes my ink. Please‚ go back to a quiet place."
"That's mean‚ calling me noisy. Hey‚ I get it. I'll be super quiet‚ so can I stay here?"
"Even if I say no‚ you're not going to leave‚ are you?"
"Ahaha‚ correct! Rui-kun‚ you're surprisingly understanding!"
Elina giggled softly‚ and then‚ unbelievably‚ she sat down on the windowsill—the only 'observation point' I always used to safely and precisely peek at the world—flipping her white robes as she did so.
Having stolen my privileged view‚ she placed the basket on her knees and swung her legs happily.
Her humming once again became small but definite ripples‚ repainting the air in the tower.
My sanctuary was about to be remade with a dreadful noise by this "vibrantly colored intruder."
"...That's my designated seat‚ you know. Both physically and mentally."
I gripped the pen with trembling fingertips and glared at the intruder who had taken up position at the window—the 'Oracle Priestess.' The spot where she sat was where the light pouring into the library tower was most beautiful‚ and at the same time‚ it was the soul's frontline where I confirmed the "edge of the world."
"Eh‚ is it? But there's no name written on it. See‚ it's just dust."
The priestess laughed mischievously‚ tracing the dust accumulated on the window frame with her fingertip and drawing a small symbol. With a single finger‚ my sanctuary was being repainted into a place bearing "another person's body heat."
My heart beat an unpleasant rhythm. The peace that I could usually endure by telling myself "I am part of the background" was being mercilessly pulverized by her overwhelming existence as an "individual." Her overly white robes were burned into my colorless world as an indelible afterimage.
"I'm not talking about that kind of dimension. That's the optimal point for observation. When you sit there‚ my view becomes... fatally obstructed."
"Observation? Weren't you looking at the sky? Or maybe... you were looking at me?"
"Overly self-conscious. I'm just recording the movement of the clouds and an unidentified 'specimen' that ignored the ecosystem and trespassed illegally. ...The one sitting there right now—you."
I spat out as much venom as I could and‚ as if putting on a bold front‚ opened the record book on my lap to show her.
The priestess puffed out her cheeks at "specimen‚ that's mean‚" but she lightly hopped down from the windowsill and approached without waiting for me to stop her. Then‚ she placed the basket she had been carrying on the center of my desk—with a deliberate clunk‚ right on top of the half-written record‚ mercilessly covering it.
"Ah... hey‚ the ink—"
I hurriedly steadied the ink bottle that was about to topple over. The basket that physically severed my thoughts and forcibly filled my personal space. From it rose an inescapably vivid aroma of butter‚ sugar‚ and—the sweet-sour scent of lemon.
"Whoa‚ you're really writing a lot! Am I in here too? What page?"
"...Page forty-two. 'Specimen: Priestess. Behavior: Incoherent. Noise level: Maximum.' Satisfied?"
"Not at all! You have to write it cuter. Hey‚ don't you draw pictures? I'd like to see how I look from Rui-kun's perspective."
She leaned over the desk and peered intently at my face again.
The eyes that peered into mine were the vivid blue that had earlier dyed my world so intensely. But deep within them‚ for just a moment‚ I thought I saw the shadow of a chillingly cold 'resignation.' A void too deep and unnaturally quiet for a girl of the same age.
"...I don't draw portraits. I only extract essences. Your essence right now is 'intruder‚' and that's it."
"Intruder‚ huh... But you know‚ Rui-kun. I don't dislike being 'seen' like this by someone."
She turned her gaze back to the outside of the window‚ revealing a suddenly mature profile.
From the innocent‚ carefree girl atmosphere just moments ago to an expression so alien it even evoked a premonition of "death." The gap nearly short-circuited my thought processes.
"...Aren't you scared? Being observed all the time by a stranger."
"I am scared. But you know‚ rather than being worshipped from afar just as a 'priestess‚' if there's someone who looks at me intently as one human being... that alone makes me feel a little saved."
Those words easily pierced the barrier I had called "Observer" and stabbed deep into my chest.
(...Saved‚ she says?)
The girl I had been trying to process as a recording subject‚ as a symbol‚ now engraved a decisive character onto the pure white page of my heart as a human with body heat—'Elina.'
I couldn't say anything in return; I could only stare back into her blue eyes‚ feeling my throat grow hot.
Silence dominated the air in the tower. But it was not the dead silence from before. It was a raw‚ vivid silence mixed with her breathing and my racing heartbeat.
A raw silence fell. It was Elina who broke it‚ as if to hide her embarrassment.
「……Ah‚ that's right! It got all gloomy. Here‚ this is a token of our friendship!」
Elina suddenly spoke in a bright voice‚ then dramatically flipped the cloth on the basket placed in the center of the desk with a "Ta-dah!" sound effect from her mouth.
What overflowed was an even stronger lemon scent that numbed the depths of my nostrils.
"...What is that?"
I looked down at the contents of the basket with eyes as if viewing an absurd foreign contaminant polluting the purity of the sanctuary‚ trying to mask my agitation.
Inside the basket were baked goods wrapped in neat‚ cute fabric that seemed mismatched with her free-spirited personality. The sacred smell of old paper and mold that I had aged over many years was ruthlessly swept away into the garbage.
"Can't you tell by looking? It's a gift. Se... ah‚ no. My secret friend baked them for me—these special lemon sweets. They're a bit bitter‚ but they get really sweet afterward."
Elina said that and thrust the basket right under my nose.
I reflexively tried to pull back in my chair‚ but there was a towering bookshelf behind me with no escape. Mistaking my confusion for shyness or something‚ she leaned even further over the desk‚ trampling my personal space once again.
"I don't want it. I'm an 'Observer.' I don't want to do anything impure like accepting offerings from a subject."
"Offerings? That's exaggerating. It's just sweets. Here‚ Rui-kun. Your fingertips are all black with ink. It's a reward for working so hard on your records."
She picked up one small confection from the basket.
In my gray vision‚ only the sweet touched by her fingertips emitted a vivid 'golden color' as if absorbing her warmth‚ jumping into my eyes. The base of her fingers was surprisingly slender‚ and her nails were a pale pink like spring cherry blossom shells.
When she innocently tried to bring it to my mouth‚ I reflexively moved to block her hand—and committed a fatal blunder.
My fingers‚ which were supposed to create a barrier‚ directly touched the fingertips of hers that were picking up the sweet.
My fingertips‚ long soaked in cold ink and loneliness‚ were ice-cold. In contrast‚ her skin was—astonishingly hot. From the small overlapping area‚ I fell into the illusion that even the throbbing pulse of her life was being transmitted.
Under that brain-burning heat‚ the logic of rejection I had desperately constructed crumbled with a sound. As I lost my words‚ overwhelmed by her heat‚ she didn't miss the opening.
"...Ah‚ sorry. You'll eat it yourself‚ right?"
Elina's cheeks flushed slightly as she dropped the sweet into my palm.
In that instant‚ an intense afterimage of heat from her fingertips clung to my hand. It was an overwhelming "raw sensation" that I had only touched in my delusions until now.
With my thoughts thrown into chaos by the heat at my fingertips‚ and my normal judgment lost‚ I had no choice but to throw the golden color into my mouth—to escape that heat or to forcibly chew and end the pressure of the "reality" before me.
With a crisp crunch‚ a strong acidity and the bitterness of the peel stabbed my tongue.
"...An unpleasant stimulus that disrupts order. It feels like nothing more than a barbaric territorial invasion meant to paint over my silence."
"That's harsh! Chew it properly. Come on‚ come on‚ here it comes?"
As instructed‚ I continued chewing‚ and from behind the violent bitterness‚ a meltingly rich sweetness overflowed. It was a strange taste that gently yet forcefully melted my frozen senses like spring thaw water.
"...Strange. The discomfort from earlier feels like a lie."
"Right? I love these. Even if something sad happens‚ knowing this taste makes me think‚ 'Next time it'll be sweet.'"
She said that and narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.
The irresistible sweet ending that follows the irrational bitterness—it felt similar to her very existence. Though she was an unwelcome intruder who destroyed my silence‚ my heart was already showing signs of surrender to the sweet premonition that lay beyond.
"...You're planning to destroy my sanctuary‚ aren't you?"
"Not destroy it‚ just add a little color. Hey‚ Rui-kun. Maybe it was good that I came here."
Her words‚ mixed with her breath‚ dissolved into the heavy air of the tower.
On my fingertips‚ her heat still clung like a curse‚ refusing to leave.
The lingering aftertaste of lemon in my mouth slowly took control of my thoughts.
It was a sensation I had never obtained while immersing myself in the ancient books piled up in this tower—vivid‚ violent‚ and yet terribly pleasant.
"...If you're satisfied‚ please go back now."
The moment she pulled her body back from leaning over the desk‚ I barely managed to spit out those words.
As the heat receded‚ the cool air of the library tower finally flowed back into my lungs. As if forcibly reclaiming the initiative that had been taken from me‚ I gripped the pen with trembling fingertips and slammed my gaze back onto the record book.
"The sun is starting to set. If the priestess breaks curfew‚ my peace will once again be threatened by the noise of a 'search party.'"
"Ahaha‚ so there is a curfew. But yeah‚ you're right. Elise might be waiting with a scary face‚ so maybe I'll call it a day here."
Elina giggled cheerfully and lightly spun around. In that motion‚ her white robes fluttered softly‚ and once again the sweet-sour scent tickled my nostrils. As she headed toward the door‚ she suddenly stopped and turned back to look at me.
"Hey‚ Rui-kun. I hope next time I come‚ your record book has something a bit better written in it."
"...Better‚ like what?"
"Not 'intruder‚' but something else. For example—yes‚ like 'fun snack time with me'!"
She said that and winked mischievously at me.
I choked on my breath‚ unable to come up with even a witty retort‚ and could only freeze in place. Her light footsteps receded down the spiral staircase. Once again‚ that humming lingered as an echo‚ dissolving into the air of the tower.
Silence should have returned.
However‚ the top floor of the tower‚ left alone‚ was decisively different from before she came.
The evening light streaming through the window still burned my retinas as usual. But strangely‚ in the world reflected in my eyes—in the scenery that should have been gray monochrome—indelible afterimages of 'blue' and 'golden color' had begun to mix in the window frame she touched and in the air where she laughed.
With trembling hands‚ I ran the pen across the page.
Page forty-two. I crossed out the column that had only been noted as 'Specimen: Priestess' with thick lines multiple times.
Then‚ in the pure white margin next to it‚ borrowing the format of the still-clumsy observer‚ I engraved her name for the first time.
'Specimen: Elina. The territorial invader who destroyed my sanctuary and painted it with color. ...Or perhaps‚ the girl who knows the taste of lemon‚ sweet like poison.'
The moment the name of a "non-symbolic other person" took up residence in the record book for the first time‚ my world full of delusions and deception collapsed with a sound.
No‚ perhaps it wasn't collapse‚ but the first step into the wilderness called reality.
On the fingertips of the page I closed‚ that hot sensation from that time still remained—like a curse‚ or perhaps like a prayer.
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