The center of Rondon, the Hearth.

I stared at the flames, seemingly eternal, that would never extinguish. As the blizzard touched them, the snowflakes sublimated into steam, a sight that brought me into a near-meditative state.

Due to the unique setting of Snow Castle’s world, there was no concept of morning or evening. There was only a subtle difference in brightness beyond the clouds, but even that was barely noticeable near the bright glow of the Hearth.

As a result, the number of people walking around remained nearly the same, whether I was resting or awake.

Perhaps because of this, several facilities in Rondon, such as the market where I went with Asti, or ordinary hospitals—not just emergency rooms—operated 24/7.

Among them was the library, which I was heading to.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been alone.”

Arriving at the branch, I felt a twinge of guilt for convincing Asti not to come along. After all, the information I was looking into was more or less about investigating her past, so I had to be cautious.

Every time I saw the excited gleam in her eyes as she marveled at new things, it felt healing, and I regretted not bringing her with me.

'Understood, Master. I’ll have a meal ready for you when you return.'

Even though I barely said a few words, Asti had immediately bowed her head and backed down from her own desires, which only made me feel worse. I decided that once I finished gathering information at the library, I’d take her to the market as a way to make it up to her.

I entered the Hearth Knights’ headquarters. Since knights need to be ready to deploy at a moment’s notice, reporting my whereabouts was helpful. Even if there were plenty of knights to handle things without me, it was better to be cautious.

After passing by the spiral staircase and descending to the basement, I opened the door to the headquarters and ran into someone.

“Servant.”

White Mask stood there, reaching for the door at the same time.

It seemed she had business with the Deputy Commander. It was the first time I’d seen her at the headquarters since she was brought in from the underground prison.

I couldn’t help but feel an odd sense of awkwardness mixed with curiosity—'What’s she doing here?'

“Master,” I greeted her.

“I didn’t summon you today, did I?” she asked.

“I’m heading to the library today, so I’m here to report my location.”

“I see. That’s very commendable of you, Knight.”

White Mask patted my shoulder a couple of times.

Recently, every time I accomplished something, White Mask’s attitude toward me seemed to be shifting. There was a sense of familiarity now, a closeness that hadn’t been there before.

It wasn’t a bad feeling, so I smiled in return.

“Thank you, Master!”

“The Deputy Commander is inside. Take care of your business.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

With that, White Mask left, her steps a little heavier than usual. I couldn’t help but wonder if something had happened to her, given the emotional weight in her movements.

Puzzled by this unfamiliar mood, I entered the Deputy Commander’s office, and the reason for it became clear.

The Commander was staring blankly into space, while the Deputy Commander held his head in his hands, sighing deeply.

And, for some reason, there was a broken chair.

…It seemed something had gone wrong during their conversation.

“…You’re here, Tanton,” the Deputy Commander greeted me.

“Yes, Deputy Commander.”

His voice was weak, and his face looked worn out.

“I’m going to stay at the library for a while to gather information. I’m here to report that.”

“...Do as you wish.”

Normally, the Deputy Commander would ask how long I’d be staying or what books I planned to read, but he just waved me off, as if his head hurt too much to care.

Whatever they had discussed, it had clearly been serious.

Since it wasn’t my place to ask, I saluted and prepared to leave just as another knight knocked and entered the office.

“Deputy Commander, we’ve been seeing a surge in patients with severe mental contamination lately.”

“I’ve already received that report and instructed them to pass it on. You still don’t know? Which branch are you from?”

“Uh, well…”

I couldn’t stand watching the Deputy Commander take out his frustrations on the poor knight, so I saluted and made a quick exit.

Even in his stress, the Deputy Commander still returned my salute sharply.

The Library.

Due to Rondon’s strict rule—never read anything not written by human hands—people here were extremely wary of books. According to the Knight’s statistics, 90% of Rondon’s population was illiterate, and most of the remaining 10% only understood the context of words rather than reading them fully.

It’s not like the books in the library were entirely safe either. Some foreign texts still managed to slip through. Scholars who read them without knowing… well, let’s just say that’s a story for another time.

In any case, the library was a dangerous place, akin to a minefield near the demilitarized zone. You never knew where a trap might be lurking.

But with my near-immunity to the mental contamination caused by foreign texts, the library was like a treasure trove of information for me.

Even foreign writings—such as the cryptic texts of recorders—sometimes proved helpful. From my perspective, any information was useful.

“Welcome to Gwyn Library.”

Upon entering, I was greeted by the sight of towering shelves. The books were old and faded, yet their orderly arrangement brought a sense of awe, reminiscent of the first time I stepped outside the underground prison and saw Rondon’s landscape.

Trying to find information on foreign matters by myself in this vast library would be an exhausting task. I approached a middle-aged man wearing glasses, who was sitting at a desk reading.

Thankfully, he was the librarian.

“Hello.”

“How may I assist you?”

“I’d like to access books containing information about foreign entities.”

Perhaps I’d spoken too abruptly. The librarian’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“Foreign entities?”

“I’m a knight, gathering information for an investigation.”

His expression made it seem like he was about to dismiss me as a lunatic. I quickly calmed myself and spoke plainly.

Only then did the librarian squint, studying my face carefully before nodding.

“Ah, now that I think about it, your face is familiar. You’re Sir Tanton, aren’t you?”

…Of course, I hadn’t expected him to know my name.

At this point, I might as well consider myself Rondon’s idol.

The Deputy Commander’s rising star, sought after by foreign powers!

…The latter wasn’t exactly a prestigious title.

“Thank you for recognizing me.”

“In that case, I understand. However, accessing books related to foreign entities is risky. I don’t handle them lightly myself.”

“I’ll be fine. I know how to avoid any hazards.”

“...You have knowledge of the occult sciences?”

The librarian’s eyes lit up with curiosity, and I couldn’t help but feel awkward under his gaze.

That wasn’t exactly the case, but maybe it was best to just play along here.

“Yes, my father was something of a renowned occult scholar.”

“Ah, then there should be no problem. The section you want is in the far corner, on the lighter-colored shelves. All the books related to foreign matters are there. Happy reading.”

The librarian bowed slowly before returning to his book. Watching him made me wonder if he was perhaps too lax about the danger.

When I reached the section he indicated, the books were all worn and tattered. Some of the covers were so damaged that I couldn’t even guess what they were about.

Sigh, this wasn’t good.

I had hoped to find some relevant information quickly, but at this rate, I’d have to go through each book one by one, which would take far too long.

Fortunately, I could tell how the books were arranged. Popular ones were on the left, while obscure or difficult texts were placed on the right.

Given the high likelihood that anything related to the torturer would be unknown to most, I figured it would be on the right side.

As I reached for one of the books, another hand touched it at the same time.

I followed the hand and arm up to see the face of a man with a long beard, giving him the appearance of a wise sage.

“Ah, you go ahead.”

I didn’t have a specific book in mind; I was just gathering information, so I tried to yield the book to him. But for some reason, the man didn’t take the book and instead stared at me.

“…?”

When I met his gaze, the man slowly spoke.

“You’re Sir Tanton, aren’t you?”

Seriously, I was getting popular.

Scratching the back of my head, I nodded, and the man’s eyes widened.

“Does Sir Tanton read books as well?”

“Yes, well, I can manage a little.”

The man made a thoughtful noise, then glanced away before returning his meaningful gaze to me.

“As I thought, our predictions were correct.”

“Pardon?”

“Sir Tanton, you’ve found a way to survive by deciphering the inscriptions in the Gardener’s Garden, haven’t you?”

His words left me stunned.

I couldn’t say if those inscriptions had helped me directly, but they certainly helped me understand the Gardener’s intentions better.

How had this man figured that out?

As he noticed my surprise, the man nodded and said,

“Yes, it’s true. Sir Tanton, I have a request for you.”

It was only through our later conversation that I learned this man held a high rank in one of the occult scholar circles that had been mentioned several times before.