The car came to a stop in front of a large building.
Made of marble colored white, the Steel City Library was a sight for sore eyes.
It stood on elevated ground, a row of stairs leading to its entrance where dozens of civilians, from Mages to Warriors, stepped in and out.
Stepping out of the car with Alice behind him, Alex somewhat tensed, shielding her from the gazes of the mass.
The Bladeheart family were the de facto rulers of their city; hence it wasn't a surprise their subjects would look at them. But today, their gazes were not diverse.
The third child and the weakest of his family, along with the sole anomaly of the family, were both walking around.
It was a sight worth observing — and boy did Alex hate it.
"We should have brought Rita along," he muttered, grabbing Alice by the hand and dragging her across the stairs.
He ignored everyone in sight, trying his best not to be rattled by the occasional scorns that passed through the crowd.
They pricked him like needles and seemed to urge a pained reaction from him, but not once did Alex falter.
Being rattled now would further enforce a statement his uncle had once made:
"You are children… naive, weak-willed, and too emotional. You all are unfit to govern."
Even if he didn't mean well, Alex knew there was truth in that — and because of it, he kept his cool.
As for Alice, perhaps it was because of the innocence of a child, but she didn't seem bothered — merely amused as she scanned the crowd with clear eyes.
Of course, she was old enough to sense the hostility, but to understand it was a different problem.
Even Alex wouldn't have been so rattled up had it been the normal Alex, but the current one harbored the soul of someone who had lived long enough to be considered an adult.
And he knew how cutthroat the society he and his family lived in was.
"Never show weakness," he whispered to Alice as they took their final step.
She tilted her head but said nothing, as if she was trying to process what he meant.
"Young Master Alex and Lady Alice."
At the entrance of the library, they were greeted by a middle-aged woman — the head librarian of the building.
The woman, all smiles, offered a light bow and led them inside.
Like a few, she wasn't bothered by their presence. She just seemed happy that the rulers of her land had offered to visit her institute.
"Miss…"
"Agnes, young lord," she interrupted, observing Alex's stutter.
Alex, still holding Alice, smiled softly and walked beside the woman.
He was still quite short; hence his attempt at trying to act mature left quite a comical sight, but Miss Agnes didn't laugh.
She did, however, want to pat the heads of the children since they both reminded her of her grandchildren.
"Miss Agnes, I wanted to confirm if you really have the spell book my sister commissioned."
"Of course."
Leading them between shelves of books, she affirmed, "The golden edition of Advanced Magic, personally written and signed by the Saintess of Dawn. Is that correct?"
"Yes ma'am!" Alex nodded.
He wasn't a magic geek nor could he use mana, but the word advanced sounded far more threatening than he thought.
For a moment, he considered whether giving Alice that book was the right thing.
She was still a child, after all… well, he too was a child, but his case was somewhat different.
Anyway, he felt advanced magic was far too dangerous to be learned by a child barely ten.
"Miss Agnes, is it right to give her such a book?"
Alex's question caused Agnes to come to a halt while Alice, feeling betrayed, pinched his arm.
"Well…"
Seeing the fierce look in Alice's eyes, Agnes was unable to respond.
Just as Alex said, it really was dangerous — but Alice also didn't seem like the type to accept that easily.
"Please be honest with me."
"Nooooo!"
Alice began to sob at her brother's words.
"Well… it is quite dangerous."
"Nooooooo!"
True to her nature as a child, Alice began to stomp the ground in dissatisfaction.
Alex wanted to scream at her that this was a library and noise wasn't permitted, but frankly, that would encourage her to do it even more.
"You know, young master Alex, it is indeed dangerous — but what if you find someone to guide her?" Agnes suggested.
"You mean a tutor?" Alex responded, wondering why his parents never did that.
"Precisely. If she has someone who can teach her the do's and don'ts of magic, especially advanced class, I think she'll be safe. I can even recommend you one."
Alex went into thought for a bit and glanced at Alice, who now stared at him with pleading eyes.
She knew this was her only chance, hence she put in her all to make sure Alex would reconsider.
"Fine," Alex sighed, and Alice burst into joy.
"I knew you wouldn't disappoint me, big brother!"
Like a koala, she clung onto Alex, who sighed even more and glanced at Agnes, who smiled back at him.
"Go get your book then."
Tearing her off him, Alex pointed at Agnes, and Alice followed as the two went deeper into the library.
"Children," he muttered, turning to a shelf and picking up a book on a whim.
He was closer in age to Alice; hence he was the one always subjected to the whims of his younger sister.
He didn't hate it, but it could get tiresome occasionally.
[An Encyclopedia on Witches]
Reading the title of the book, Alex furrowed his brows.
Witches were quite a story and typically deviated from what one might call a mage.
There were cases he wanted nothing more to do with, hence he placed the book back where he found it but…
"I'm quite curious."
He ended up taking back the book to read later.
"They wouldn't be back for a while, I guess I'll try to increase my efficiency then."
[0–10]
Now that he knew his abilities wouldn't cause much harm to him, he didn't mind turning it up a bit higher.
At first, everything felt normal.
His senses sharpened and his perception slowed; it almost felt like he had entered a trance that was until he took notice of an anomaly.