Chapter 110 – Just Because I Took an Extra Look at You in the Crowd

After Luna helped tidy Alice's bed and unpacked Alice's belongings, Zauna led the two of them to the library.
After all, Alice's primary purpose in attending the magic academy was to look at the taboos inside the academy's library, so a library card was necessary.

In reality, the theory behind taboo spells wasn't particularly complicated.
One could even describe some parts as easy to understand.

The reason why most people were incapable of casting taboos was because of the frightening requirements toward the user's mana and control.
The average person simply couldn't fulfill these requirements by themselves.

While there was the option of working as a group, the casting conditions would also grow in complexity if multiple people tried to cast a taboo together.
Moreover, the growth in complexity was exponential, and many auxiliary magic materials would be necessary to facilitate the process.

It was also challenging to turn a taboo spell into a taboo bomb.
A country would need very high industry standards to construct a taboo bomb since precision devices were required to process the necessary magic patterns and mana.
Moreover, even after a country fulfilled all of these conditions, it would still take a very long time to produce a taboo bomb.

In other words, without sufficient national power supporting them, a person couldn't produce a taboo bomb even if they knew the method to do so.

Hence, while books on taboo spells were freely available for everyone to read, they were only helpful for theoretical reference.
After all, nobody could cast any of these taboos at all.
It was just like how people on Earth couldn't build an atomic bomb by themselves even if they understood the theory of relativity.

Of course, the Hero and the Demon King were exceptions.
The mana and control they possessed had already exceeded the realm of ordinary people.
Not only could they single-handedly process mana that would typically require the joint effort of several dozen people and precision instruments, but they also possessed bottomless mana reserves that allowed them to cast taboos freely.

Although Alice wasn't the Hero, she had the physique and growth potential of a Hero, according to the Loli Goddess, the creator of the Hero's Power.
She was only missing the special properties of the Hero's Power.
In that case, she should also have the potential to learn and cast taboos by herself.

“A lot of people are looking this way,” Alice commented.
Previously, when she had made her way to the dormitory with Luna, they hadn't come across many people since most people in the academy were either having lunch or resting.
Now that lunchtime was over, the number of pedestrians had also increased.
Naturally, the number of people who noticed Alice increased as well.

Moreover, because the faculty had previously leaked Alice's student information, everyone in the academy already knew what Alice looked like.
Not to mention, Alice stood out like a sore thumb since her short height made her look like a middle schooler that had gotten lost in the academy's high-school section.
Hence, many people had turned to look at Alice as she made her way to the library.

“You are the princess, after all.
It's been many years since His Majesty has risen to the throne, yet he still doesn't have a wife or children.
Meanwhile, other countries already have enough princes and princesses to form a football team,” Zauna said, giggling.
“Now that we've suddenly gained a princess, everyone naturally can't help but look at you.”

“Let's hope this sense of novelty will pass quickly.”

Alice wasn't fond of being stared at by everyone she crossed paths with, so she could only hope that everyone would quickly get over their sense of novelty and stop paying attention to her.

“Don't worry.
Just like how idols will get forgotten because they stop releasing new works, so long as you don't do any earth-shattering feats, everyone will gradually stop paying attention to you,” Zauna said in comfort.
Then, she pointed at the massive building in front of them and said, “That's the March Academy's library.
You can say that it is the biggest library in Holl City.
It is also open to people outside of the academy, and it even holds original magic texts from more than ten thousand years ago.”

“How big…”

Alice was surprised when she looked up and saw the hulking building in front of her.
In reality, she had already seen the roof of this building since she left the distant dormitory.
Only, she didn't think that this building would be the library.

Now that she was looking at the library up close, she felt it should be at least thirty stories high.
With such a huge size, the library should store a massive collection of books.
It also explained why people regarded this library as the biggest in Holl City.

“…But magic texts from more than ten thousand years ago? Is there anything special about them?”

“Nope.
Those magic texts aren't even recorded on paper but animal bones, bamboo pieces, stone tablets, and fur instead.
Paper hasn't been invented back then, after all,” Zauna said, shaking her head.
“Honestly, I've read those ancient texts before, but many of the words written in them are different from the words used in modern times.
Even after I translated a few of them, I found that the magic principles recorded are crude and rudimentary.
They are far less concise and advanced than modern magic.”

This was only natural.
Human civilization in this world had already been developing for over ten thousand years.
Humans from ten thousand years ago would be no different from cavemen in modern humans' eyes.
It was only natural that the magic principles recorded back then would be considered crude in modern times.

“But many people think that ancient magic is mysterious and must have something that makes it stand out from modern magic,” Zauna said, shrugging helplessly.
“Yet, when I had those people tell me what's so extraordinary about ancient magic, they couldn't say a thing.”

“People from ancient times place more importance on mystery and flair, after all.
People will always be interested in things that cannot be explained,” Alice said.
Such situations were common even back on Earth, so she could more or less understand the thought process of the people Zauna spoke of.

While Alice chatted with Zauna, the group of three quickly arrived before the library.

As soon as they opened the front door, what greeted them was a gush of cooling air.
The March Academy's library had a very spacious lobby.
There were three reception counters located in the three directions directly opposite the door, and these counters functioned to process the lending and return of books.
Currently, all three counters had people lining up in front of them.
Through this, one could tell that many people came here to study.

The people in the lobby quickly noticed Alice's arrival.
However, because the library's management prohibited visitors from making loud noises, everyone limited their conversations to whispers.
Though, there was no questioning that everyone was talking about Alice.

After receiving all those gazes on her way here, Alice had already become somewhat immune to the stares of others.
So, after scanning the spacious and clean lobby, she whispered to Zauna, asking:

“Say, there are over 30 floors here.
Which floor holds the taboos?”

“The taboos aren't put together in a single place.
They are placed according to their properties and attributes.
For example, fire-attributed taboos are usually at the end of the section for fire-attributed spell books,” Zauna replied, similarly lowering her voice.
“Each floor has a specialized computer that you can use to check the placement of books, so you don't have to worry about finding the books you want.”

This part was similar to the libraries Alice had visited before she transmigrated, so she quickly understood how the academy's library worked.

“Come, let's go get you a library card,” Zauna said as she took Alice's hand and pulled her to a counter with a significantly shorter line.

Seeing this, Luna also followed after the two.

While letting Zauna lead her by the hand, Alice suddenly noticed a piercing gaze landing on her back, the gaze making her feel inexplicably uncomfortable.

Alice wasn't holding onto panties or the Hero's Sword right now, so her perception was feeble at best.
Yet, despite this being the case, she still felt uncomfortable.
This was more than enough to prove the seriousness of this uncomfortable feeling.

Turning around, Alice quickly noticed the source of this discomfort—a girl standing by the first-floor elevator.
The girl looked about the same age as Zauna, so she should also be a student from the high-school section.

Somewhat similar to Alice, the girl had blonde hair tied into a side ponytail.
The girl's blood-red pupils also stood out against her pale skin.
Meanwhile, even after noticing Alice turning to look at her, the girl kept on staring at Alice with a smile on her face.