After completing the paperwork and entering the library, Rei was surprised to find more people inside than he had expected.
A male mage sat at a desk with several books stacked before him, reading intently. A short distance away, a wolf beastman flipped through some book looking utterly bored. In another spot, a woman who appeared to be a sheep beastman was using a table as a pillow, fast asleep—only to be shaken awake by an elven man.
Rei had first visited this library not long after arriving in Gilm. He had returned a handful of times since, but he had hardly ever shown his face there during winter. Perhaps that was why he was somewhat surprised to see so many people inside.
(Is reading trending or something?)
Rei didn't dislike reading—rather, he enjoyed it—so an increase in library users was by no means a bad thing. However, more library patrons also meant the books they were reading would be unavailable to him.
(Or rather... at this point, there wouldn't happen to be no books left for me to read, would there?)
He had chatted with Kenny briefly before arriving, but that wasn't why he was late. The library was open from the morning to begin with, and he had left the inn around ten. There would have been a fair number of people even at that hour.
(I hope there's something on Silver Lion materials, at least.)
Keeping his purpose in mind, he searched through the shelves. Along the way, several people noticed Rei and shot him surprised glances, but he paid them no mind.
Rei had always stood out in Gilm, and on top of that, it had been publicly announced that he had cleared the Dungeon. He understood why people stared, and if he let such things bother him, he would only end up succumbing to stress.
Ignoring the attention, Rei went through the bookshelves one by one. There were books on monster materials, but they only covered C-Rank and D-Rank—or at best, A-Rank. Nothing covered S-Rank monsters.
But thinking about it, that was only natural. S-Rank monsters were not beings one could encounter easily. Even A-Rank monsters were the kind of existence you might only meet once in your lifetime.
...Though the residents of Gilm saw Set, the equivalent of an S-Rank monster, nearly every day.
Setting Set aside as an exception, opportunities to encounter such high-rank monsters were exceedingly rare, so it was only natural that the knowledge worth recording in a book hadn't been passed down. Of course, there had been those who fought and defeated S-Rank monsters before, so the knowledge wasn't entirely nonexistent. But those were extremely rare cases—far fewer compared to B-Rank and below. Naturally, that meant little information circulated.
Moreover, in this world, the practice of disseminating information was not common.
"So there's nothing after all. I figured since it was Gilm, there might be something here."
If this were an ordinary village, town, or city, Rei wouldn't have been this disappointed. But precisely because Gilm was a frontier region, encounters with rare monsters were by no means uncommon. That was why it wouldn't have been strange for him to hope that maybe, just maybe...
"Then, is there anything else...?"
With the book he was looking for nowhere to be found, the purpose of his visit had been lost. Even so, having gone out of his way to come, he searched for something interesting to read. But naturally, the books everyone found interesting were the ones others wanted to read as well—first come, first served. Of course, what people found interesting differed from person to person, so not every good book was gone. Even so, there was almost nothing left that Rei wanted to read.
As he walked along the shelves, wondering if there was anything available, one book suddenly caught his eye.
"Adventure of Reppurusu...?"
He didn't know why that particular book had drawn his attention. Still, the fact that he reached out and picked it up must have meant something.
Finding an empty desk, he sat down. What he saw upon opening it was a story composed entirely of text, with no illustrations. It was in a standard format for an Elgin book, and Rei read through it.
The content took the form of a typical heroic tale. A boy found a longsword thrust into a rock inside a cave, gained power by pulling it out, overcame various trials, and eventually came to be called a hero.
It was a common—truly common—story, but Rei tilted his head in puzzlement after finishing it in less than an hour. It wasn't that there was anything strange about the tale itself. Rather, something about it felt familiar.
For instance, some of the trials the protagonist faced were similar to novels and manga Rei had read back in Japan. Pulling a sword from a stone could be called a formal aesthetic, so it wasn't rare even in this world. But beyond that, there were familiar settings in many other places as well.
(This is... definitely written by someone with knowledge of Japan, specifically manga and the like, isn't it?)
That thought raised a question in his mind, and with book in hand, he headed toward the Librarian.
"Excuse me, can I ask you something? Do you know who wrote this book? If you happen to know, I'd appreciate it."
"Eh? Ah, um... Adventure of Reppurusu? This book has been around for a very long time, so as for who wrote it..."
The Librarian shook his head apologetically.
"A very long time? Approximately when would that be?"
"Hmm? At the very least, I remember my grandfather reading it to me as a child, so I think it's at least from around that time. It seems there are countless manuscripts, too."
The Librarian was in his forties. If his grandfather had read it to him when he was a child, that meant at least twenty or thirty years ago.
"I see."
Rei had been hoping there might be someone else who had come to Elgin from Japan. With that hope dashed, he let out a disappointed sigh.
"I see. Sorry to trouble you."
"No, I apologize for not knowing the exact timeframe."
The Librarian gave a small bow. Rei shook his head and told him not to worry about it, then returned to his earlier seat. Behind him, the Librarian—who had finally raised his head—was being regarded with envious looks by the other librarians. They were probably jealous that he had spoken with Rei. Given Rei's level of fame in Gilm, it wouldn't be strange for someone to react that way.
Unaware of what was happening behind him, Rei sat down and turned his gaze back to the book.
(The person who wrote this is probably... no, definitely someone who came from Japan. And considering the source material used, it was probably a few years before I came to this world. No, that might not necessarily be the case.)
The source material was mostly from manga and the like that Rei recognized as having been released a few years before he was in Japan, but that didn't necessarily mean the author had arrived in Elgin a few years before him. It was possible that among the author's knowledge, there just happened to be many works from around that period, and in reality, they might have lived in a time even further ahead.
(Well, I should have already known the dates don't quite add up, like with Takumu's case. ...Wait. Could it be that Takumu wrote this and it's survived until now? No way Kabajid wrote it, that's for sure.)
The First Prince of the Bestia Empire writing a novel like this didn't quite fit the image. And if it had been a fairly famous work from thirty or forty years ago, it wasn't something Kabajid could have pulled off.
(But what about Takumu?)
Someone who, like Rei, was from Japan—but unlike Rei or Kabajid, who had come to this world with only their souls, Takumu had arrived with his physical body intact. And Takumu had come to this world far earlier than either of them, so it wouldn't be strange for him to have written a book or two.
...Even so, the era when Takumu lived wasn't decades ago, so it was strange that a manuscript from that time would still survive.
(So it's someone other than Takumu after all? Well, it's entirely possible. Setting myself aside, it's unclear why Takumu or Kabajid came to Elgin either.)
Considering the eras they lived in, it wouldn't be strange to think there were people other than Takumu, Kabajid, and Rei who had come from Japan.
"So I can't look into this author right away after all."
If they were still alive, Rei wanted to make contact by any means. But if they weren't alive to begin with, there was nothing he could do. He couldn't deny the possibility that they had descendants, but what Rei wanted to meet was a Japanese person, not their descendants. Of course, he'd like to meet them if he could, but he didn't feel like putting in the effort to search on the mere chance of meeting the person themselves.
"Well, nothing I can do about that."
Though he felt a twinge of regret, Rei didn't dwell on it any further and once again turned his attention to the novel he believed was written by a fellow countryman. Despite the familiar developments, he found himself genuinely captivated by the story as he read.
Finishing it in under an hour, he returned the book to the shelf. Maybe there were other novels by the same author? With that thought, he scanned the shelves, but many of the books didn't list an author's name.
(Academic books tend to have the author's name clearly written, though.)
Feeling disappointed, Rei was about to pick out another book when his stomach let out a loud growl, and he recalled that it was about time for lunch.
He had arrived at the library a little past ten, and considering the time he had spent reading, it wouldn't have been strange for it to already be noon. Moreover, when he thought of Set waiting outside, leaving the gryphon hungry at lunchtime was simply not an option.
It was disappointing that he hadn't found any information on Silver Lion materials, but discovering that novel made the trip well worth it. Feeling satisfied that the visit hadn't been wasted, Rei stepped out of the library and...
"Well, that's about right. With Set here, I suppose that's what happens."
He felt both exasperated and oddly convinced by the scene before him. A crowd had gathered around Set—several people petting him, others feeding him. Beyond those directly interacting with the gryphon, still more stood watching the scene with satisfied smiles. Counting everyone, the number easily exceeded ten.
Set, basking in all the attention, purred happily as hands stroked his body. He was also happily devouring portable fare like sandwiches and skewers.
"Ah, Captain Re—Rei-san!"
Spotting Rei, one of the people around Set waved happily. He was one of the party members who had gone to the Dungeon with Yohanna.
"Aren't you used to calling me that by now?"
"Ahahaha. Sorry, I just can't help it..."
Rei's relationship with the Former Mobile Unit members had gone on for a fair while, but the time he had actually spent with them as their captain was not all that long. In fact, the association since the end of the Bestia Empire civil war was already longer. But even so, to the Former Mobile Unit members, Rei was still their captain. That was how great an impact seeing Rei during the civil war had been on them, and that was why the impression of him as their captain was so deeply etched into their minds.
Knowing this, Rei couldn't bring himself to scold them too harshly. In the end, the matter was always brushed off half-heartedly. Of course, if Rei had truly been bothered by being called Captain, he would have made them correct themselves more firmly. Ultimately, the reason things stayed as they were was simply that Rei didn't mind it all that much.
"By the way, um... when shall we have that party?"
"Oh, right, that was a thing. ...Yeah, why not. Since the opportunity's here, a barbecue party in the snow might be fun."
An idea coming to him on the spot, Rei muttered with a smile.