Chapter 12
“Demon God! Thank you, thank you! After twenty years, this library finally has a proper reader entering it!”
The fairy flung her arms skyward and began dancing with delight. Ariella watched in disbelief.
Just moments ago, the fairy had been icy cold—now she welcomed Ariella as though she were a long‐lost sister.
“Does she always swing so wildly between moods?” Ariella wondered.
The fairy quickly calmed down and began explaining.
“It’s been so long since someone came here to read. I just couldn’t hold back! Oh dear, I haven’t properly introduced myself?”
Her eyes sparkled with excitement, completely different from before.
“I’m Phily. I’m sorry, but what’s your name again?”
Ariella, startled by the overwhelming energy, handed her the sealed letter bearing her name and title—her official authorization.
She recalled Ludwig’s words when handing it over:
“Do well. But don’t overwork yourself.”
“The Demon King made a contract? I had no idea!”
Now that she knew Ariella’s identity, Phily spoke gently.
‘From treating me like a suspicious stranger to treating me like royalty… that was fast.’
Any cold wall had melted instantly.
“No one’s come here to read in all that time?”
“Oh dear… don’t even ask.”
Phily sighed deeply as memories came flooding back.
“Those who live here don’t care about books at all.”
No wonder—the residents were too busy surviving to notice words on a page.
“I’ve worked here for over fifty years. The only people who ever walked through that door either needed the bathroom, wanted paper to use instead, or asked for directions.”
Phily barely kept her composure.
After dealing with endless trivia and thieves, she’d grown understandably bitter.
“Still, this library is awfully big if no one ever comes.”
Though dilapidated, it was massive.
“Records are gone—so I’m not totally sure—but it’s probably from a time long before the previous Demon King.”
“Like the one before the previous one?”
“No… like many Demon Kings ago,” Phily said with a weary smile.
Ariella lost count of how many times “many Demon Kings ago” was repeated.
“It must have been quite prestigious back then.”
“If it were built recently, it wouldn’t be this big—or exist at all,” Phily agreed.
“Still, many books here are rare and old. It’s sad no one cares.”
At those words, Ariella’s eyes lit up—she was a bookworm.
Since childhood, she’d live on books even when skipping meals.
She’d grown into magic only after acquiring a grimoire by chance.
“I want to explore. Right now.”
“I’ll show you around.”
Phily suddenly fluttered her shimmering wings and soared up.
Ariella followed behind.
It didn’t take long for Ariella to explode in excitement.
‘I could die right here!’
Just a glance at the collection was enough.
Titles that caught her breath:
- One Hundred Deadly Demon Realm Poisons
- How to Curse Your Worst Enemy in the Most Agonizing Way
- Private Life of the Great Demon King Heidelberg
- Undead and Labor Rights: Do the Dead Have Rights?
- Studying Multidimensional Fields via Gravity Magic: A Physical Impact Analysis
Her facial muscles twitched beneath control.
But her curiosity pushed her onward.
Then she spotted something.
“Wait… these books are all by humans?”
Phily smiled.
“You know just by the title? These shelves are for human‐realm books.”
“Hold on!”
Suddenly serious, Ariella pointed.
“That book—get it down now!”
The volume perched on a high shelf, far above her reach.
Phily zipped up and gently brought it down, moving as if it weighed nothing.
“This…!”
Ariella dusted off the cover and swallowed hard.
“The Empire History Vol. I by Berelius! A first edition!”
Berelius was a famous human historian from 500 years ago.
His Volume II is considered a national treasure—locked in the royal museum. The first volume had vanished and was rumored lost forever.
‘And now it’s here in the Demon Realm?’
There were more astonishing finds.
“That one—‘99 Romantic Poems by the Legendary Poet Chelba’—and it’s the author’s own copy!”
“And this? Introduction to Dimensional Magic by Archmage Mondrian! A book that changed magic forever—complete with author’s formulas scribbled in the margins?”
“…Over here is supposedly the memoir of an ancient magic‐king! I didn’t even know that existed!”
Ariella’s breath quickened.
‘I have to read these now!’
These legendary, lost human books—once vanished—were shelved here at arm’s reach.
Her heart pounded.
She longed to carry them all and hide in a corner of this castle.
Yet she had work to do.
Suppressing that urge, she left the rare book section and moved toward the archives where official documents were stored.
That’s when she spotted another critical problem.
“This is impossible. Phily, look at that. What happened?”
