Hiiro clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. He never thought that he would have his voice recorded. What he had heard from the flower was undoubtedly his own voice. It was most likely the words that he had just spoke. If it wasn’t, then it would be impossible for the word 『Japanese』 to appear.
Hiiro: (This brat, she was aiming for this since the beginning…)
Hiiro glared intently at Liliyn, however, she simply dismissed it as if it were a passing breeze as she continued.
Liliyn: 「Well, there’s no need to make such a face. I don’t really care who you are. I have no intention of spreading this either. The only thing that I am interested in is purely you yourself.」
Hiiro: 「...」
Liliyn: 「Because you seem ignorant about the ways of this world, I somehow knew that you were not of this world, that you were of a completely different world, you know? Also, that ‘Jya-pa-nees’(7) word. That’s either this book’s title, or the general term used for the words written in it...am I wrong?」
Hiiro thought that she was an intelligent fellow as he clicked his tongue in his innermost thoughts. If Arnold was here, he would easily be able to deceive her. Yet, it seemed that he was up against the wrong opponent.
Liliyn: 「Those words couldn’t be deciphered by anyone that I’ve met before. In other words, those characters do not belong to this world. There was also a hero summoning in the past. The hero was a savior belonging to another world. Furthermore, I heard that recently, a Hero Summoning took place in the 『Humas』 Continent. You...are you a hero?」
Liliyn asked as her eyes sparkled with a *kirakira*(8), shining with the light of intrigue.
Hiiro: 「I’m pretty sure I have no obligation to answer, you know?」
Liliyn: 「Kukuku, certainly you have no obligation to. I just want to know. Then how about this. Name anything you desire. As compensation for fulfilling your wish, tell me about yourself.」
She reached her hand out towards Hiiro. An unpleasant sensation ran throughout his whole body, a sensation that seemed as if he were making a deal with the devil. Even if he thought it was his imagination, it was not entirely false. The girl in front of his eyes was certainly a little girl, no. What held the appearance of a little girl was actually a cunning individual that had lived tens of Hiiro’s life span.
However, as the situation was so one-sided, Hiiro felt uneasy. He had an idea to pierce the current silence, however, he was drawn by the words promising to fulfill his desire. He began to think of how to take maximum advantage of her proposal.
From what he had gathered from Silva and Shamoe, Hiiro understood that she was certainly not the type of person who would willingly spread information about others. Because of this, he particularly thought that her ideas were very exaggerated.
Hiiro: 「...I got it. Then first, listen to my request.」
Liliyn: 「Kukuku, very well.」
Hearing Hiiro’s words, her face brightened as she returned a slight nod.
Liliyn: 「State anything you desire. Even if you were to say you desired my body, I wouldn’t mind, you know?」
Seeing Liliyn jokingly declare thus, Hiiro glared at her with half-opened eyes.
Hiiro: 「As if I would be interested in such a flat(9) body.」
She was cut down and disposed of in a single strike.
Liliyn: 「F...flat...you say…」(10)
As if she had received a considerable amount of shock, her body trembled with a *furufuru*(11).
Liliyn: 「T-this...even though he’s just a lowly boy...I’ll pulverise your brain into mush…」
Although Liliyn’s words were drenched with murderous intent, Hiiro was unconcerned as he opened his mouth.
Hiiro: 「I want the admission permit to the 【Fortuna Grand Library】.」
Liliyn: 「I won’t be satiated just by simply killing him...I’ll keep him alive as I show him hell...wait, what’d you say?」(12)
Hiiro: 「Like I said, I want the admission permit to the 【Fortuna Grand Library】. Not just that, but the highest level clearance.」
Liliyn: 「...when you say the highest level, are you saying that you want to view the literature in 《Basement 5》 which requires certificates issued by the royal family?」
Hiiro: 「That’s right. Prohibited books and archaic manuscripts, there seems to be lots of interesting things there, doesn’t it?」
Liliyn: 「...hey, boy. I don’t know whether you’re aware of this, but those that are allowed to view the literature in 《Basement 5》 mostly comprise of only royalty. Even if they gave permits to the public, the chances of obtaining one would be extremely slim.」
Hiiro: 「Aa(13), it’s precisely because of this that I’m saying I want to obtain such a permit.」
Liliyn: 「...you. Have you ever been told before that you’re very bossy?」
Hiiro: 「I’ll return those words straight back to you.」
Although they maintained a deadlock with their eyes for a while, the first to break it was Liliyn.
Liliyn: 「...haa. Why are you going that far? What’s your goal?」
Hiiro: 「The hell’re you saying? Books are things that are meant to be read. It’s not something made to be stored away in a dark place. I’m travelling all around the world trying to read all the books I can.」
Liliyn: 「Hou(14), so it’s just simple curiosity, huh?」
Hiiro: 「Got a problem?」
Liliyn: 「No…」
She grinned happily as she continued to speak.
Liliyn: 「However, it’d be good if that curiosity didn’t destroy you someday.」
Hiiro: 「I won’t die. Therefore, it’s fine.」