Late at night.

Edna arrived at the library and was immediately greeted by the librarian.

"You're too late to borrow any books."

"That's fine."

Since she didn't plan to borrow any books in the first place, she nodded and looked around.

The Stella Library was almost deserted at this late hour, which once led to a ghost story circulating among students about a 'night library ghost.'

It was later revealed that the supposed ghost was actually a group of senior students who stayed up all night studying for their university entrance exams at the Grand Magic Tower, and the rumor quickly died down.

"No one’s here..."

"Are you looking for a particular book?"

"No, just...”

Edna closed her mouth, realizing it would be ridiculous to come here just to ask about Baek Yu-Seol's whereabouts.

‘This is embarrassing... should I just leave?’

As she was contemplating this, the librarian, who had been staring at Edna’s name tag, clapped his hands together and spoke.

"Oh! You’re Baek Yu-Seol’s girlfriend, right?"

“What?”

Why couldn’t she naturally deny it?

“There’s a book he forgot to take earlier. Since it’s the type he’s been looking for, I thought he’d like it. Could you pass it to him later?”

The librarian handed over the book and Edna accepted it.

[Witches and the Truth]

So, it turned out that the information Baek Yu-Seol had been searching for in the library was about witches.

“... Sure. I’ll give it to him.”

With the book in hand, Edna left the library and walked down the street, deep in thought.

'Witches do exist.’

Having read the original romance fantasy novel, she knew it well.

Even though witches were said to live hidden away from the world, they were frequently mentioned and appeared often.

And soon, a significant disturbance caused by witches was expected to occur in Arcanium.

According to the original storyline, Eisel would have been caught up in it, but thanks to Baek Yu-Seol early intervention, she was safe.

However, while Eisel might be safe, the chaos caused by witches was still imminent.

It seemed like Baek Yu-Seol intended to stop the witches...

'Do I need to look into witches?’

Reading books about witches in the library wouldn’t be of any use. There were no properly recorded books on witches.

Baek Yu-Seol would know this better than anyone, so if he was still seeking out books, there must be a reason.

'He might have lost some knowledge or there might be something even Baek Yu-Seol doesn’t know.'

If it was the former, there was no need to worry, but if there was a mystery that even Baek Yu-Seol was unaware of, Edna could help.

In the original novel, Eisel was almost transformed into a witch, so the settings regarding witches were detailed enough for Edna to have expert-level knowledge.

Heading back to her dormitory, Edna changed direction towards the boys' dormitory.

Though it was late, Baek Yu-Seol would return to sleep eventually, so she decided to wait for him there.

——-

Stella’s Chief Knight Arien.

In the original game, if he had to define his personality in one word, it would be ‘psycho.’

"You’re here."

"Yes."

Upon arriving at Arien’s office, he quietly observed his surroundings.

From what he knew, he had a personality close to madness, but the bright and tidy decor of his office felt quite out of place.

With his personality, he had a hobby of decorating the room?

Unbelievable.

“Please take a seat.”

Without the usual offer of tea or coffee, Arien got straight to the point as soon as he sat down.

“I heard that you’ve been investigating witches personally recently.”

“... Yes. That’s correct.”

“Is there a special reason for that?”

‘What should I say?’

‘Just because I'm interested?’

‘No.’

Arien wouldn’t want such a common answer. He was the type who never wasted his time on trivial matters, so it was better to give him the answer he wanted to hear.

“I want to hunt witches.”

“That's a foolish idea.”

‘… Maybe I shouldn't have said that.’

Arien maintained a stern expression and stroked his wrist as he spoke.

“A mage cannot hunt a witch. You know that well.”

“Yes, I do.”

Witches, who mainly used illusion magic, were an absolute nemesis to mages who dealt with reality.

No matter how hard one summoned flames or manipulated ice, a witch could mess with their mind, turning them into a helpless fool.

Moreover, Baek Yu-Seol knew Arien had suffered a severe injury fighting a witch twelve years ago.

Having faced a witch directly, he would know better than anyone how foolish it was for a mage to oppose one.

“But... You might be a little different.”

Arien looked into his eyes.

“Mana Accumulation Retardation.”

“You have a physique different from other mages. While your body is quite unsuitable for using magic, it also means you are less susceptible to magical attacks.”

“That’s correct.”

Indeed, Baek Yu-Seol could completely deflect illusion magic.

“So I have a proposal for you.”

Arien placed a pocket watch on the table. It was an item used by mages to prove their affiliation. Unlike the student pocket watch he had, Arien’s had a golden star pattern engraved on it.

‘Stella Knight Order’s Pocket Watch’

He spoke calmly.

“This is a pocket watch that temporarily certifies your status as a member of the Stella Knights.”

“That means...”

“You have worked alone so far, and despite that, you’ve accomplished many things. But there are clear limits to working alone.”

Saying this, Arien pushed the pocket watch towards Baek Yu-Seol.

“If you accept this and join the Knights, I promise you the same respect as a full-fledged knight, and I will provide you with information inaccessible to the general public.”

“... Is this a recruitment offer?”

“Yes. Even within Stella, you stand out. Such conditions should be met.”

The Stella Knights were the world's top martial organization, often referred to as the 'world police,' and not just anyone could join them.

Besides having a high level of magical skill, one had to build a career over several years by hunting dark mages and subduing magical beasts to prove their abilities and barely qualify.

So, it was even stranger.

Even though Baek Yu-Seol had solved many incidents, compared to the achievements of the Stella Knights, they were insignificant.

"If you accept this pocket watch, you can use some of the authority of the Knights even as a student, and upon graduation, you can become a full-fledged Knight. I guarantee it."

"This is... quite an honor for me."

"You can think of it that way."

Baek Yu-Seol stared at the pocket watch.

'This is really a good deal.'

The reason he had been working alone was because there was no one to work with.

Of course, even if he joined the Knights, he wouldn’t be able to disclose future information, so he would still be working alone in that sense, but receiving some assistance from the Knights was undoubtedly a significant advantage.

Additionally, it solved a practical issue.

He had always pondered, 'What will I do after preventing the future apocalypse?'

For someone like Baek Yu-Seol, who couldn’t use magic or alchemy, the Magic Knights—where ranks were determined solely by combat ability—were the most fitting group.

"Of course, there's one condition."

"... A condition?"

"Currently, the Stella Knights operate as a mercenary group without a sovereign nation, taking on cheap assignments."

His tone showed no pride in being a magic knight.

"You will also need to act as a student normally but respond to orders when missions arise."

That wasn't ideal.

Seeing Baek Yu-Seol’s reluctance, Arien immediately revised the condition.

"But at your age, with a focus on your studies, frequent missions would be difficult. So, like now, I will assign you missions only related to cases you are interested in. Is that sufficient?"

"It's more than enough. Why are you treating me so well?"

"I hold you in very high regard. For the future of the Stella Knights... You are essential."

"Oh come on, I haven't done anything to deserve such high praise."

Baek Yu-Seol tried to lighten the mood with a joke. He felt Arien was overestimating him, but he remained firm and serious.

"... Are you really serious about this?"

"Yes."

If he said it so earnestly, there was no need to hesitate any longer. The conditions were good, and for some reason, Arien had a lot of trust in Baek Yu-Seol, so he just needed to make the most of it.

"I'll do it."

When he accepted the pocket watch, Arien finally seemed satisfied and his expression softened ever so slightly.

"Congratulations on becoming a provisional Stella Knight. Now, let’s discuss your first mission right away."

"... Wait, you're giving me a mission even before I've received my appointment?"

"It's a mission I think you'll find interesting. It involves witches."

He kept touching his wrist every time he mentioned witches.

"That is... Yes. That sounds interesting."

Seeing Baek Yu-Seol’s agreement, Arien appeared to have expected it. He pulled out a prepared document and placed it on the table.

"Your mission is to track down, and if possible, eliminate the witch causing trouble in Arcanium."

After saying that, he interlocked his fingers and spoke.

"Can you do it?"

Without hesitation, Baek Yu-Seol took the document and nodded.

"Of course."

After that, it took a long conversation with Arien about the existence of witches before he could finally leave.

“As you probably already know, witches do exist.”

Arien began and carefully avoided any mention of his own defeat at the hands of a witch, while trying to provide Baek Yu-Seol with as much information as possible. Unfortunately, most of it was information he already knew.

However, there was one particularly interesting piece of information. It might be directly related to why he kept hearing phantom sounds in his ears.

Apparently, witches with grudges could bind their souls to objects...

“Hm?”

When he returned to his dorm, he found the door slightly open.

Had he not closed it properly?

'Whatever.'

There were CCTV cameras anyway, so the likelihood of a thief was low.

Once inside, Baek Yu-Seol took a quick shower and hid the document envelope securely in a makeshift safe. Then, after turning off the lights and collapsing onto his bed, he felt something soft and warm beside him.

Startled, he sat up abruptly.

“W-what the heck…”

Baek Yu-Seol quickly summoned his spec to clear his vision, and there she was.

“Edna?”

A small girl with short hair was curled up like a shrimp, sleeping soundly.

'Did I come to the wrong dorm?'

No, that wasn't the case.

The layout of the room was unmistakably his dorm.

“What’s she doing here?”

Seeing her sleeping in one corner of his bed, Baek Yu-Seol felt more baffled than angry.