The following noon, the depths of the Imperial Palace basement were declared the site of a magical incident, and all entry was forbidden. Every mage and knight of the Imperial Palace was dispatched, and Ria was no exception.0

"... Yawwwwn. What's going on?" Ria muttered, yawning with a tired face and rubbing her eyes.0

Ria's stamina was depleted, having spent the previous evening in consecutive sparring matches with Delic, Leo, and Carlos, all while grappling with her thoughts about Deculein.0

"Do not approach. It is dangerous," said one of the knights.0

In the Imperial Palace basement corridor, near the library, a crowd of curious ministers and maids were in hushed whispers. Though the knights attempted to maintain order, heads craned and murmurs spread among them.0

"What is it? What's going on?" Ria asked the knight, approaching him with an innocent voice.0

"Do not even be curious... Oh, it's Ria. Hmm... Yes, look there," said the knight, seeming to recognize Ria's face and gesturing towards the Imperial Palace library. "It's a magical attack."1

“Magical attack?”0

“That is correct.”0

Is it the Altar's doing? Ria thought.0

Ria glanced over the knight's shoulder, and just as he'd said, the library was an absolute disaster, with bookshelves toppled like dominoes and volumes scattered like refuse across the floor.0

"All who visited the library in the past three days have gone missing."0

“Missing?”0

“Yes.”0

"Does that mean no one knew for three days?"0

"... The Imperial Palace library, as you know, is not a crowded place....0