Too tired to even move a muscle, it didn't take long for Haruki and his wives to slip into a deep night's slumber. Surrounded by the beauties, he felt drawing inwards as if his body was about to implode. Before that could happen, however, a pair of violet arms reached for him through a dark portal. Looming right over his face, they ran their fingers down his charming face. Resting the right index over his lips, the left one's nail left a light scratch running down his neck.
"You've grown," a familiar voice whispered through the portal.
The next moment hands withdrew into the dark and a pair of lips came out through it. Moving closer to Haruki's face, they left but a brief peck on his lips.
"If only you could take this accursed title off of my name," whispering those words, the lips retreated, leaving behind nothing but the looming silence as everyone soundly slept without a worry.
When Haruki finally woke up at the crack of dawn, a knock on their door was the first thing that greeted them. Having forgotten about his changed appearance and the deceiving female body parts, Haruki, thinking that he was back at the castle, headed over to open the door. Standing naked before the entrance, he pulled the door open to find the owner standing at the other end.
"Miss Freya, I-" Noticing that Freya wasn't wearing any clothes, the owner couldn't finish the sentence.
No longer rubbing his eyes, Haruki felt a bit confused as he squinted at the owner. Having averted his gaze from Freya's body, the old man was blushing like an apple.
"What is it?" Haruki asked, but when Freya's feminine voice came out, he finally realized what the problem was. A quick gaze down at his body made him feel terribly embarrassed.
'Shit!' he thought before slamming the door shut.
"I just came to let you know that breakfast is ready!" The owner yelled from the other side before rushing down the staircase.
'Goddammit, ughh!' Frustrated by the event, Haruki turned away from the door and took a look at the women still sleeping on the bed. Thankfully, none of them had seen what had happened or else he could've felt even more ridiculed than he already did at the moment.
A grumble from his stomach made him stop worrying about the incident. Feeling a bit hungry, even though he didn't need to eat being a demon, he swiftly woke everyone up and had them get ready so they could enjoy their breakfast together.
On their way down the stairs after getting dressed, Haruki decided to bring up the Library of Heroes to the rest of the group. Once the food was brought to a table over which they all had to squeeze in with their chairs, he finally began spilling the beans about the true intentions of their visit to this kingdom.
"Let me know if you need anything, Miss Freya," with that said, the owner left them alone.
Already not looking at him, Haruki simply spoke to his group.
"I know that I said I just wanted to scope out other kingdoms around us, but," producing a piece of parchment from his pocket, he laid it on an empty spot over the table. "That wasn't the whole truth."
Leaning in, everyone's gazes were fixed on the torn piece of paper. Picking it up from the middle, Margarette decided to read it for the demi-humans since they were usually mentally lacking in academic capabilities.
"In the heart of a land so far yet familiar, rests the eyes of the seer who'd witness it all, be it past or the future," puzzled by the verse, Margarette briefly glanced at Haruki before continuing to read. "To the north is scorching sun, to the east, is the drowning river, trail the path that runs between the two, and you'll bore witness to the history of the world."
Flipping the page over, she noticed another piece of paper taped tightly onto it. Scanning through the words for herself first, she once again gave Haruki a confused look and then voiced out what she'd learned for the rest of her companions.
"The tundra used to be a range of volcanoes, and to the east of Lamenia is the ocean, so that means…"
"There's supposed to be a way to find out the world's history here," cunning as always, Moriyana was the first to put everything together. Raising her tired eyes from the tea cup in front, she turned her attention to Haruki. "And I'm guessing you want to find out everything there is to know about the mistress, maybe even some other folks like the emperor?"
Keeping things brief, Haruki nodded in response.
"What are we trying to find again? I'm sorry I don't understand what we're talking about exactly," not being able to follow the rest Asuka voiced her concern, Athena and Alice also seemed relieved that she asked the same thing that they wanted to ask.
"It's a library with everything that has records of everything that has already happened or will ever happen," his eyes hanging low, Haruki pulled a plate of puffy pastry towards him. "While studying in the royal archives, I found many mentions of this place, and coincidentally since we're sitting neighbors to where it's meant to be."
Taking a bite from the buttery bread filled with vanilla cream, a soothing calm washed over Haruki's body. With dropped shoulders, he picked up the coffee cup and brought it over to his lips. One sip alone was enough to melt the flavor in his mouth and make the pastry gracefully glide down into his tummy.
"This is actually good for once," surprised that he liked something from outside the castles, he moved the pastry around for everyone to give it a try. Once they all had taken a bite and were delighted by the flavor, Haruki continued to explain his plans further.
"While I do not know how to find this place, I think that girl from the bath might be able to give us some clues about the myths," taking another sip from the coffee, he set the cup back on the table. "Some of us will accompany her to the forest, some will go looking around the cities for clues, and then some will keep a close watch on the girl's injured friends in case we can use them to threaten her in some way."
'Having a large group is perfect for this mission.' And as if to ring the bell of initiation for their plans, a pair of steps came approaching their table. Turning around to look, it was the same silver-haired elf, Laura. 'Perfect.'
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