Leon, having placed the giant bird within the orb, quickly erased all traces of its presence in the real world. Though it was impossible to remove every sign, he deliberately left some poorly erased marks behind. He wanted the investigating magicians to believe that someone had been here, observing and studying something before attempting to erase the evidence.

He also intentionally left behind the old man's poison vial for the same reason. Leon knew it might appear obvious, but the poison was solid evidence of the old man's research and would help the magicians understand the situation.

After leaving the old man's office, Leon didn't stop. He headed straight to the second floor of the magic library. He had always been curious about what kind of forbidden magic books were kept there and why even the librarian's access was restricted.

The door blocking the entrance to the second floor opened easily when he inserted the old man's token. The revealed space was more modest than he expected. Compared to the densely packed bookshelves on the first floor, this area held less than a third of that amount.

Leon began examining the books stored without any special restrictions. He had hoped to find a book on dark magic, not because he wanted to learn it, but out of curiosity about what it entailed. Dark magic was a secretive field, making it difficult to find information through normal means.

However, Leon was disappointed. There were no high-level dark magic books. Even the ones that could barely be called dark magic were crude and unimpressive. As he continued to browse through the books, his expectations diminished further. Most were clearly designated as forbidden for obvious reasons after just a brief inspection.

It wasn't the kind of "forbidden" he had anticipated.

"They're just too poor in quality."

Most of the magic books contained nonsensical spells that caused backlash to the caster or included crude magic like "erogenous zone stimulation." He thought it was only natural, considering this was the old magic library.

As Leon's disappointment grew, he flipped through the books faster and faster. Near the end of his search, however, he suddenly stopped at one particular book.

"El Cid Series: The Sword that Scatters Moonlight."

It was a sword magic book, something different from the usual elemental magic that was highly regarded in this world. In this world, where elemental magic was considered the norm, magic involving long weapons was often looked down upon. And for good reason—it was indeed difficult for such magic to match the power of elemental spells.

Yet, as Leon read through the spell and its underlying principles, his interest was piqued. He could understand why this magic book was classified as forbidden.

First of all, the book was incomplete. The spells were written in a scattered manner, almost like a cipher. Attempting to cast them as they were would undoubtedly cause the caster's mana to twist due to backlash. It seemed as if the book's content had been deliberately hidden.

Moreover, the magic required an immense level of talent from the magician. The book explicitly warned that only those with top-tier abilities should even attempt it. This was a statement that would have seemed arrogant to magicians who already looked down on long weapon magic.

Nevertheless, Leon carefully studied it because the magic seemed extraordinary enough to be worth the risk.

"I can't use it right away, but... it could definitely be high-level magic."

Leon immediately copied the magic book by hand and stored it in his subspace.

The next day, Hamel, a magician from the Widia Investigation Bureau, stood in the middle of a dark cavern with his assistant. They were investigating the secret space they had found after receiving a report about Porun's disappearance and searching his office.

Hamel picked up the green vial on the desk.

"It's poison."

"Did he not expect this hidden space to be discovered?"

"He probably knew."

Hamel scanned the floor of the cavern, noting the marks left by something that had occupied the space for a long time.

"Do you remember the traces that disappeared in the herb forest?"

"Yes, weren't there faint signs of a battle?"

Mark, the assistant, pulled out a half-burned leaf he had sealed and stored in his coat.

"It was strange that there were no traces of mana left after the battle. Now it makes sense. Porun was a dark magician, wasn't he?"

"With this secret research facility discovered, it seems almost certain."

However, Hamel still felt uneasy and tapped his temple.

"Is there something bothering you?"

"Hmm... The traces in the mountain were so ambiguous that it was impossible to determine what happened, but here, clear evidence was left behind? Doesn't it feel like someone is guiding our thoughts?"

Mark tilted his head in confusion.

"Could Porun have done this on purpose?"

"That's the troubling part."

"We should hand this case over to Pedro's team. We're only responsible for the outskirts."

After a moment of contemplation, Hamel nodded.

"Who was the first to report this?"

"A person named Leon who worked with the old man at the magic library. He's just a commoner."

"Were there any suspicious details about him?"

"He's a newcomer from the Witerion Orphanage. He's a recent arrival, so there's not much he would know. All we have is testimony that Porun rarely left his office. It seems he was conducting his research in this hidden space during work hours."

"A child from Witerion Orphanage..."

Hamel sighed, feeling as if the last possibility had just slipped away.

"So, we conclude that Porun, a dark magician, conducted secret research and then fled... Let's close the case with that."

"Understood. Things are going to get noisy. There’s already talk of hunting down dark magicians. I hope this doesn’t affect us."

Hamel glanced at Mark, who hurriedly tried to cover his slip of the tongue with a nervous laugh.

"Haha, we just need to do our best."

Mark scratched his head awkwardly.

Three days had passed since the magicians from the Investigation Bureau came and went. Leon, arriving at the magic library for work as usual, encountered a new face.

"Are you Leon?"

A stern-looking, thin man stood before him.

Leon quickly deduced that this was the person assigned to replace Porun as the new head librarian. He promptly bowed.

"Yes, that's me."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Alderik, the new head in charge here, replacing Porun. I was just familiarizing myself with the duties."

He was a man of few words, in stark contrast to Porun, who had shown no interest in Leon. However, he didn't seem like the type to be difficult to work with.

"Is that so? Then..."

"You're fired."

"Sorry, what?"

Leon reflexively questioned the unexpected statement.

"I don't see much need for a librarian."

"Well, that's true, but..."

"Good. So, find another job."

Alderik chuckled at Leon’s confused expression.

"Are you worried about finding something else to do? Don't be. I've already arranged it so you can choose whatever you like."

Alderik wasn’t dismissing Leon out of any ulterior motive; he genuinely believed there was no longer a need for a librarian, and Leon couldn’t argue with that reasoning. Without a word, he was unceremoniously let go from the old magic library.

"Should I be happy about this or not?"

Leon trudged off toward the office where work assignments were distributed. The man he met there was an older, ordinary man.

"I’m from the old magic library."

"So, you’re the one Alderik mentioned."

Without any extra conversation, the man unrolled a scroll and showed it to Leon.

"Is there something specific you want to do? If not, I’ll choose for you."

"Give me a moment."

Leon carefully examined the list of tasks.

"Sewer cleaning, waste disposal, apprentice magician’s attendant... I'll pass on all of these."

These jobs wouldn’t allow him enough time for training, and being an attendant would risk revealing his true magical abilities.

His eyes finally settled on something at the very bottom of the scroll.

"Herb Mountain Management."

"That's it."

Leon’s eyes lit up as he saw this task. He had the F-rank and E-rank elixir recipes but no way to gather the necessary herbs, so this was perfect.

He immediately pointed to the job.

"Herb management? Hmm..."

The task distributor frowned slightly, seeming displeased. He glanced at Leon.

"Do you have any knowledge of herbology? Even with the best intentions, assigning someone without any knowledge to this task is risky."

"Yes, I do. I’ve been collecting herbs with the orphanage director in the nearby mountains since I was a child. Porun knew about this and often sent me on herb-gathering errands."

Leon was determined to get this assignment, so he laid out all his qualifications.

"I might not know much about elixirs, but Porun taught me enough to understand the herbs needed for F-rank elixirs."

Leon invoked Porun’s name whenever there was something difficult to verify. After all, how could anyone check with a man who was now dead and hidden away in the orb?

"That old man is still helping me, even now."

"I don't expect you to know about elixirs. Hmm... that sounds reasonable. You’re not lying, are you?"

"What would a commoner like me gain by lying? If caught, I could lose my life."

The man nodded, understanding that as a fellow commoner, Leon wouldn’t risk such a lie.

"I'll notify the herb mountain supervisor. If he’s not satisfied, there's nothing I can do."

"Thank you."

Leon was told to return the next day, and he left the building.

Once back home, Leon began planning how to cultivate the herb field in earnest.