The Golden-Haired Summoner - Chapter 52

Separated from the group, I wandered aimlessly around Mizellan, alone—well, not entirely alone, since Rai was with me—when I stumbled upon a small candy store.

Without hesitation, I entered the shop and grabbed handfuls of various candies.

In this world, where snacks were scarce, candy was the most common treat.

Personally, I preferred chocolate, but since it wasn’t readily available, I had to settle for candy.

The shopkeeper carefully wrapped the candy I had chosen and handed it to me as I asked,

“Where can I find a bookstore around here?”

“A bookstore? Hmm, there is one, but it’s quite far. Oh, but if you go out of the shop and take the alley immediately to the right, you’ll find a general store across the way. They sell a few books there, though not many. Should I just tell you how to get to the bookstore?”

A general store?

They sell books at general stores too?

Well, if they can sell things like orc tendons, what wouldn’t they sell?

Still, I wanted to browse through new releases, so even if it was a bit far, I preferred to visit the bookstore.

“Yes, where is the bookstore?”

“If you leave the shop and head left for two blocks, you’ll reach a three-way intersection. From there, go right and enter the seventh alley. You’ll come to a U-turn area; don’t turn there. Instead, climb over the wall, and on the other side, keep going right. After passing the twenty-ninth alley—”

“Wait, where’s the general store again?”

“Oh, the general store is just in the alley to the right of this shop.”

Fine, I’ll just go to the general store.

I clicked my tongue in disappointment and headed toward the alley to the right of the candy shop.

I gave up on the bookstore when the directions started getting into U-turn territory.

As I exited the alley, I saw the general store, just as the candy shopkeeper described, directly across the street.

It looked like a very old store, so decrepit that the signboard was practically rotting wood.

I probably wouldn’t find anything remotely new here.

[This is the oldest store I’ve ever seen, Master.]

“Not ‘oldest,’ you mean ‘most run-down.’”

Creak.

The sound of the door opening was long and eerie, like the prelude to a horror movie.

Couldn’t they bother to oil the hinges?

Feeling a chill, I reluctantly stepped inside.

The dimly lit interior was so dark it seemed like only the face of the elderly woman inside floated in the gloom. Her disproportionately large whites of her eyes fixed on me, staring.

Was she the owner?

What kind of greeting was this, glaring at customers? Was she trying to drive me away?

“…What are you looking for?”

[Ack! It’s a ghostly old hag!]

“I, uh, I’m looking for books…”

The elderly woman spoke without the slightest hint of warmth, as if oblivious to my hesitation about whether to stay or leave.

She really did seem like a ghost.

“Books? If it’s books you want, I have some here. They’re just copies, but they’re still usable.”

I should leave.

If I stay, she might eat me alive.

She’s definitely a retired witch.

Assuming witches exist, that is.

A shiver ran down my spine, and I stepped back instinctively.

What excuse could I use to leave?

Ah, got it.

“Well, I’m looking for books written in the ancient language, and it doesn’t seem like you have any here. Sorry for the bother, but I’ll—”

“I do have books in the ancient language. About ten of them. Come take a look.”

Darn it. I should’ve said rune language instead.

Though the old woman intimidated me, I tried my best to appear nonchalant as I walked toward the bookshelf she indicated.

If I showed fear, I’d lose.

Just browse the books casually and then leave. Casually…

[Ack! Ack! Aaaaaack!]

[Quiet! And it’s not “ack”; it’s “ugh.” Get it right.]

[Oh my! Why are you scolding me, Master? I’m all about equality! I’m non-binary, thank you!]

[…Just be male, all right? If you’re female, I can’t stand it.]

Rai clung closely behind me, attempting to hide his massive frame.

The old woman, her pale face eerily floating in the dark thanks to her black clothing, approached me.

Her face looked like it was actually hovering.

“My, my, what a cute mutt you have there.”

“Uh, th-thank you.”

“It’s a fine one. Could probably make a good ten servings! Hohohoho.”

[Ack! Ugh! Ugh! Ack!]

The old woman laughed in a way that only witches in stories do, while Rai screamed in sheer terror, further adding to the chaotic atmosphere.

But could Rai really yield ten servings?

What even counts as one serving?

I glanced at Rai and estimated, but the old woman interrupted my thoughts.

“So, what are your earrings and ring made of? They look pretty nice. Want to sell them? Should I appraise them for you?”

“N-no, absolutely not.”

She had sharp eyes.

She immediately noticed that my earrings and ring were made of the same material and offered to give me an appraisal.

But there was no way I’d part with these.

I had only recently realized the full extent of what the “Tear of the Mermaid Set” could do.

With and without the set, the cooldown time for summoning Endairon, the high-ranking water spirit, was twice as long.

That meant I could use twice as many skills, which made it no surprise that ancient summoners had sought after this set with such fervor.

This was a rare, invaluable item.

“Tch, I see. Then at least pick a book or two.”

…Or two? This old woman was formidable.

Wearing an awkward smile, I glanced at the area she indicated.

What would I really find here among these so-called ancient language books?

I casually interpreted the titles.

*{A Collection of 192 Heroes}, {Gaete’s Poetry Anthology}, {The Autobiography of the Adult Prince}, {49 Things to Do Before Going to the Bathroom}, {The Summoner in Crisis}*

Among the familiar titles was one I had never seen before.

*The Summoner in Crisis?*

I had read every book about spirits, including romance novels, so what was this?

I picked up the unfamiliar book.

Who was the author?

No matter how much I examined the cover, the author’s name wasn’t there.

As I opened the book, the long, thin, bony fingers of the wrinkled old woman rested on mine.

The chill that ran down my spine at that moment was indescribable.

“Wh-why?”

“One silver.”

“…What?”

“One silver to browse.”

I suddenly remembered how Ash used to take one silver every time he used formal speech.

This old woman was tougher than him.

With a sigh, I handed her a silver coin from my pocket.

I had no choice but to yield.

When I finally opened the book, I realized that, despite its thickness, less than half of its pages had text.

Come to think of it, she did say these were copies.

Copies are always like this.

I opened the book to a random section in the middle and read the first line.

“When a shadow passes through, all that remains are decayed, rotting corpses still clinging to life.”

Those unfortunate enough to be in such a state, living but worse off than the dead, couldn’t even groan in their relentless agony. For them, death would have been a blessing.

Even if they finally managed to die, their bodies wouldn’t remain intact—they would dissolve into a mere puddle of rotten liquid.

What is this? A horror novel?

Puzzled, I turned a few more pages and read another section.

*“The Spirit of Curses.

I swear upon my name, Sergeino Marcio, that this spirit is the most vicious and dreadful entity I have ever encountered.

Its emergence was akin to a calamity descending upon the world. It was a dark, terrifying presence, so much so that even calling it a spirit seemed blasphemous.

Alongside four other top-tier summoners, I hesitated to classify it as a spirit and ultimately decided it was best categorized as a Spirit of Darkness.

Our mission was to seal away the Spirit of Darkness.”*

My jaw dropped.

Was this what I thought it was?

A book containing information about the Spirit of Darkness, the very topic I had been searching for all this time, was hidden here in this… rundown general store?

I was dumbfounded.

Something I couldn’t find even after combing through the royal library was just sitting here?

I knew it—I have great luck!

Grinning, I quickly refocused on the book.

There might even be *that information* in here.

Without wasting another moment, I resumed reading.

*“Something remarkable happened.

The summoner who had contracted the Spirit of Darkness suddenly died.

Like the people he had cursed and killed, he dissolved into a puddle of rotten liquid.

Such was the fate of those who made contracts with the Spirit of Darkness.

Even with the contractor’s death, we couldn’t rest easy.

We feared the emergence of another Spirit of Darkness.

Thus, we modified the existing summoning circles to exclusively summon elemental spirits and non-elemental spirits, avoiding any possibility of another calamity.”*

This was almost like reading someone’s personal journal.

It seemed this book hadn’t been officially published, which was why it wasn’t in the royal library.

I quickly flipped through the pages, searching for the details I wanted.

*“We created a total of 25 summoning circles.

However, while 16 of the circles for the stable and hierarchically structured elemental spirits worked well, the 9 circles for the non-elemental spirits were highly unstable.

Not only would the intended spirit fail to appear, but sometimes a different spirit or no spirit at all would emerge.

Worse, there was always a risk of accidentally summoning the Spirit of Darkness again.

In the end, we decided to divide the responsibility for the 9 non-elemental summoning circles.

Each of us took charge of the circles we had contributed the most to.

Ardo took the summoning circles for electricity and ice and planned to turn them into summoning stones, burying them in his homeland.”*

This was it!

My heart leaped with joy. I wanted to shout in excitement.

This book contained the information I had been searching for—the locations of the summoning circles!

I remembered now.

When I purchased Adol’s summoning stone in Hoden, the name “Ardo” was mentioned in the accompanying book.

Wait…

I thought it was “Ador,” which is why I named Adol the same thing.

Oh well, it doesn’t matter. Adol doesn’t know, anyway.

Convincing myself, I read on.

*“Rizamiel took the summoning circles for plants and animals, turning them into summoning stones as well, and entrusted them to a jungle tribe he was acquainted with.

Sorang Bemurim took a single summoning circle—the only one we created for a spirit of the mind, the Spirit of Illusions.

In truth, it was supposed to be mine, but he stole it from me.

This spirit creates illusions, making it loosely categorized as a mind spirit.

The regret still stings—I contributed more to its creation than Sorang did.

Yet he didn’t turn it into a summoning stone.…”*

The chapter ended there.

A jungle village, plants, animals—this had to mean Tarzan and Cheetah, right?

Including the four spirits I had already found, there were five remaining.

One of them was the Spirit of Illusions, categorized as a mind spirit.

Based on what I had read so far, the next chapter would surely reveal the location of the Spirit of Illusions’ summoning circle, as well as the locations of the remaining four circles!

My heart pounded violently, trembling in anticipation.

I could even feel my pulse throbbing vividly in my wrists.

With shaky hands, I turned the page.

*“Refer to the original text for more details. —The Copyist”*

The next chapter had nothing to do with what I was looking for.

I stared hard at the page, re-reading the line as if that would change its meaning.

But no matter how many times I read it, the words didn’t change.

If you’re going to copy something, at least copy it all!

What kind of nonsense was this?

Frustration surged within me, and I found myself shouting,

“No! Damn it, no!”

[What’s wrong, Master?]

I flipped through the remaining pages, hoping for more, but beyond the infuriating note to “refer to the original text,” there wasn’t a single drop of ink.

How was I supposed to refer to the original when I didn’t know where it was?

This damn copyist clearly did this on purpose!

“Why did you stop here of all places?!”

“Why are you shouting, miss? Did you not like the book?”

The old woman’s voice snapped me out of my frustration.

I thrust the book toward her.

“You sell these books; surely you know where the original is, don’t you?”

“Hmm? That book? If it’s written in the ancient language, it’s probably something Old Man Baten sold to me. I can’t read it myself, but he told me ancient texts sell for a high price, so I bought it reluctantly.”

“Baten? Who is he? Do you know where the original came from?”

“Of course, that’s obvious. Old Man Baten used to be a royal library scribe. He’s a senile old fool now, but back in his day, he often copied books from the royal library and sold them to bookstores—or to me.”

A scribe from the royal library had copied the book?

Specifically, the royal library of the Heidricke Kingdom?

Despair washed over me.

Why did it have to be the royal library?

There was no way I could access it unless I revealed my identity, and even then, only Heidricke nobles and royalty were allowed entry.

“So the royal library… That means I’ll never see the original, doesn’t it?”

“Exactly.”

[Why not, Master? Just sneak in and read it. Or I could go in and ask around for you.]

For a brief moment, Rai’s suggestion tempted me.

But I quickly dismissed the idea.

If I left it to Rai, he might botch the job. And “asking around” sounded an awful lot like stealing.

I would be satisfied just knowing more about the Spirit of Illusions.

I desperately wanted it—a mind spirit!

The frustration of being cut off at the most critical moment made my entire body tremble with indignation.

That Old Man Baten… He had to have done this on purpose!

Otherwise, why stop at such a crucial part?

“Miss, I’ve got something good to sell you. Interested?”

Before I could respond, the old woman turned and disappeared into the back of the shop.

Reluctantly, I followed.

She rummaged through a drawer, pulling out several scrolls covered in dust.

The old woman rummaged through the scrolls for a moment before pulling one out, unrolling it, and holding it out toward me.

Dust scattered as she shook the paper, as if urging me to take it.

“Ah, ah-choo! Grandma, the dust…”

“Oh, stop fussing. Just take it already.”

“What is this? A building cross-section? No… a map?”

It was indeed a map—a large one, requiring storage as a scroll.

It didn’t depict natural features like mountains or roads but rather a town or city made up of enormous buildings.

Wait, a town?

I scanned the map absentmindedly, then froze in shock.

These weren’t ordinary buildings, and the names and layout of the structures were far from mundane.

This isn’t a town! My God, it’s…

“Want to buy it? It’s just 90 gold. Add an option to keep your purchase confidential for 10 gold more, and I’ll give you both for an amazing price of 99 gold, 99 silver, and 99 copper!”

“Wait, this… this… How is something like this even here?”

“That? It’s a secret. Anyway, are you buying or not? If you buy now, I’ll throw in that ancient language book for free and even give you two special coupons.”

What the heck?

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

What kind of shop casually sells *a royal palace map* as if it were some home shopping item?

I could understand selling old books, but if caught buying a palace map, I’d be looking at nothing less than execution!

And what’s with that absurd price?

“Oh, come on! Not only is this illegal, but the price is ridiculous! It’s way too expensive!”

“Expensive? A royal palace map for less than 100 gold? What’s so expensive about that?”

“It *is* expensive! Just a single map for 100 gold? Ten goldens? That’s insane! A commoner’s monthly income is only 1 gold!”

“Eh, it’s not 100 gold; it’s 90 gold. Or rather, exactly 99 gold, 99 silver, and 99 copper!”

That’s barely a difference!

With 10 goldens equaling nearly 100 gold, it’s essentially 1 golden. And since 1 golden is worth about ten million won in my previous life, this Heidricke royal palace map costs a whopping hundred million won!

“It’s *still* too expensive!”

“That’s why I’m throwing in a freebie and coupons, you know? You look like you’ve got money to spare, so don’t be stingy. If it’s such a burden, just buy the map without the confidentiality option—90 gold.”

I took a moment to recall what the confidentiality option was.

Oh, right—keeping my identity as the buyer a secret.

Isn’t that something a seller should provide for free?

If you’re running a business, protecting your customer’s privacy is a given. Why charge for it?

I didn’t hesitate to argue, exercising my rights as a consumer.

“Grandma! Protecting a customer’s identity is basic decency! How can you charge extra for that?”

“Eh? You’re complaining now? Tsk, youngsters these days… Fine, since it’s the last one, I’ll include confidentiality and drop the price to 95 gold. But no coupons.”

Wait… If this is the “last one,” does that mean she’s sold other royal palace maps before?

And what’s with those coupons anyway?

“What are these coupons, anyway? Are they worth having?”

“Collect five, and you get free delivery.”

“…That’s it?”

“What more do you want? This old woman personally delivers the goods! But I only deliver as far as Mizellan.”

So, spending 10 goldens gets you two coupons… meaning 5 goldens per coupon. And even if you collect five, all you get is free delivery?

I wasn’t impressed—neither with the price nor the old woman’s services.

And this map of the royal palace… wasn’t this the kind of item you risked your life to buy?

Still, I had no choice but to buy it.

“Fine. 90 gold for the royal palace map and the ancient language book, with confidentiality included. Forget the coupons.”

“Hmm… Alright, but if you ever catch that yellow mutt of yours, save me a bowl or two, alright?”

“Oh, of course. I’ll give you two bowls!”

[Ma-Master, how could you say something so terrifying?!]

And so, the deal was sealed.

I ended up with a map of Heidricke’s royal palace in my hands.

What purpose would this map serve? Heh heh heh…

Taking advantage of the dark night, I infiltrated the grand royal palace of Heidricke.

The security was relatively tight, but flying in was no big deal. How could they possibly spot me from the air?

I’ve raided dragon lairs before; the royal palace was nothing.

Well, I should clarify. I didn’t “raid” the dragon lair; I simply received a generous gift of jewels. Similarly, I wasn’t here to steal anything from the royal palace—I just wanted to borrow a book.

[Master, should I land on that building?]

[Yes, Undain. Land by the window.]

With Undain cloaking us in invisibility, I donned black clothing, and Rai turned entirely black as well.

As a black serpent, Rai blended into the darkness so seamlessly that without the sensation of his presence on my wrist, he might as well have been invisible.

After landing on the narrow balcony outside the window, I dismissed Undain and scanned the area.

[No one’s around, Master. Not even inside the building.]

[Good, seems clear. Rai, can you melt this window?]

[Melt it? I can eat it.]

[Then eat it up.]

Rai latched onto the large window like a leech and started consuming it. To me, it looked as though the glass was melting and disappearing into his mouth, but he insisted he was eating, not melting it.

Whatever—it’s the same thing!

The opening left by the removed glass was wide enough for me to slip through, so I carefully climbed inside.

[There’s no protective magic, Master.]

[Good.]

Just as I expected, the window led directly into a room filled with bookshelves.

The only problem was that the bookshelves were quite a bit below me.

Clutching the window frame, I lowered myself until I could place my feet on the top of a shelf. The gap was larger than I’d expected, and my feet dangled uncomfortably in midair for a moment.

I disliked the sensation of having nothing beneath me, so I strained my shoulders to lower myself further.

Finally, I managed to step onto the top of the bookshelf, though my shoulders ached as if I’d been hanging from a pull-up bar.

Jumping down would have been quicker, but I needed to avoid making any noise.

[Master, can I eat that mana stone? It looks high-quality…]

[No. If you eat it, you’ll die, and I’ll survive. Understand?]

[Tch!]

Of course, the mana stones in the royal palace were of high quality. It was only natural. But being in the palace, these stones were likely protected by magic, and removing one could set off an alarm.

Adjusting to the darkness, I scanned the room and quickly spotted a ladder leaning against one of the bookshelves.

It was conveniently next to the shelf I’d climbed, so I used it to descend to the floor.

The ease of my infiltration left me in high spirits.

All that remained was to find the book and read the missing details!

Wandering the library, I searched for the section on ancient books.

It didn’t take long; the arrangement of bookshelves was almost identical to that of Drike Academy, so navigation was straightforward.

Things were going too smoothly. It made me nervous.

[Rai, keep watch. Let me know if anyone comes.]

[Yes, Master! Don’t worry.]

After another quick scan of my surroundings, I turned my attention to the bookshelves.

The title of the book I wanted was *The Summoner in Crisis.*

So, I headed to the section where books beginning with “S” were located.

Searching through the shelves, I muttered under my breath, “It should be around here somewhere… Ah, found it!”

[Master, shh!]

[R-right. Shh!]

Damn it, being scolded by a pet snake…

Momentarily excited by finding the book, I quickly calmed myself, carefully pulling it from the shelf and opening it on the spot.

[Can you see it?]

[…No. Adol!]

While my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, the dim light wasn’t enough to read the faint, yellowed pages.

So I summoned Adol to use as a makeshift light.

[Master! It’s been so long! I almost forgot what you looked like!]