The Path of Ruin-Chapter 116: Palace Library

As Kael left the palace and headed toward Hakon’s office, he wasn’t at all sure what he was supposed to be thinking.

He had managed to find a middle ground. Technically, he would now be working on behalf of both General Loukan and Marshal Sirwill. He was a sort of double agent, though what he was doing wasn’t exactly espionage...

It was a complicated situation.

Still, he was fairly satisfied with the result he’d achieved. At least, he didn’t think there was a better option.

Going to the Marshal without Hakon had been a mistake—he admitted that—but he’d managed to resolve the matter on his own. And in a way that worked to his advantage, too.

But when he entered Hakon’s office and told him what had happened... the reaction he received wasn’t exactly what he’d expected.

"What...?"

Hakon dropped the pen he was holding onto the desk, his eyes fixed on him.

"Wait, hold on... what did you say you did...?"

Hakon... looked as if he’d been struck right between the eyes.

"I went to the Marshal’s office and got this medallion as a gift."

He paused for a moment, pulled the medallion from the inner pocket of his jacket, and showed it to Hakon. Then he continued.

"Also... I’m working for both him and you now."

"..."

Hakon... was silent. It was as if he couldn’t find a single thing to say.

Yet he didn’t break the silence. On the contrary, for as long as neither he nor Kael uttered a sound, he simply... shifted from one state of mind to another.

At first, he looked angry. As if he might suddenly pounce on Kael and start punching him. But then that anger gave way to a pensive expression. After that, he seemed annoyed. But, finally... he just stayed calm.

But then his brows furrowed, and his eyes narrowed.

"Kael..."

His voice was a little... hoarse.

Kael quickly snapped to attention, afraid of making him angry.

"Yes, Master!"

"..."

Hakon just stared at him for a moment. But then, he leaned back and let out a deep sigh.

"I want you to tell me everything that happened there. Don’t leave out a single detail. Don’t skip even the most insignificant piece of information."

And that’s exactly what Kael did.

He recounted everything that had happened, one by one, from the moment he entered the Marshal’s room. He also told him about the girl he’d encountered when he first entered the room—though he didn’t mention their previous encounters on that alley, as if that were the very first time they’d met.

However, Hakon didn’t seem to care much about the girl’s presence. In fact, his expression hadn’t even changed when she was mentioned. He was entirely curious about what had transpired between the Marshal and him.

And when they reached the end of Kael’s story...

"Huuuu..."

He took a deep breath, then exhaled just as deeply.

He seemed a lot calmer than he had been at the beginning.

"Your interaction hasn’t gone much further than I’d planned... We were aiming for something similar anyway. So it’s not that big of a problem..."

After those words, his expression suddenly turned cold. He looked more serious than Kael had ever seen him before.

"However... never think of doing something like this again without telling me first, Kael. For your own safety and ours. Since people see you as my disciple—"

He paused, then quickly corrected himself.

"—Since you actually are my disciple, no one would consider it disrespectful for you to discuss such matters with me. Even if the person who summoned you is a Marshal."

Kael couldn’t find anything to say. He bowed his head as if apologizing and remained silent. Even though no problem had arisen in the end, he was fully aware that he had made a mistake. For that reason, he didn’t object to anything Hakon said.

"Well, anyway..."

Hakon took his eyes off Kael and turned them to the medallion he was still holding. He kept his gaze fixed on it for a moment.

"All that aside, the gift you received is really... good. I expected him to give you an armor or an artifact, but this will be much more useful to you. As long as you use it properly, it can help you open many doors that were previously closed—both literally and figuratively. So... congratulations."

Kael nodded quietly again. After slipping the medallion back into the inner pocket of his clothes, he noticed Hakon was looking at him quite intently without saying a word.

"..."

A deep silence had fallen over the room.

"?"

And Kael didn’t understand why.

"That medallion... You need to keep it in a safer place."

"Ah..."

So that’s what it was...

He... had thought of that too.

The medallion was too valuable to carry in his pocket for the rest of his life. If he lost it during a mission, the consequences would be severe. But if he didn’t take it with him on missions... he wouldn’t be able to use it as effectively either.

But what other choice did he have?

"For now, keep it on you. Never let it out of your sight, and make sure it’s always safe. I’ll have a solution for this by tomorrow."

And these were the last things he heard before Hakon told him he could leave.

*******

Kael had originally planned to spend the rest of the day training.

But now, with the medallion representing some of the Marshal’s authority in his hands, he had something else on his mind.

He’d already done quite a bit of exercise before receiving that summons. So, there was no need to overdo it.

For that reason, his goal after leaving Hakon’s room was simple.

The palace library.

Previously, since he hadn’t been officially recognized by the Empire and was more of a ’mercenary’ of General Loukan, he didn’t have permission to enter there. But now, things were different...

He was now a sergeant, someone whose name appeared in the Imperial archives. Or at least he would be soon...

In short, he would soon obtain permission to enter there anyway, even if his access level was somewhat limited.

But thanks to this medallion, he didn’t have to wait for that.

He quickened his pace.

When he reached the palace gates, the knights, as usual, asked for his reason for entry and his identity. But Kael merely smiled and showed them the medallion in his hand.

At first, the knights looked at the medallion as if they didn’t quite understand what it was.

But then they realized what it actually was. Their eyes widened instantly, and they bowed respectfully before Kael.

Kael entered the palace, unable to suppress the small smirk on his face. But then... he noticed a tiny problem.

He had no idea where the palace library was...

For a moment, he considered wandering aimlessly through the palace in search of the library, but then one of the palace servants caught his eye.

He approached her quickly.

"Excuse me."

He quickly caught her attention.

"Where can I find the palace library?"

The palace servant looked at him suspiciously at first. However, since access to the library was already restricted, she decided not to worry about it.

"Once you go to the east wing, you’ll find a map of the wing hanging on the wall on the first floor. You can find it easily from there."

Kael smiled politely at her.

"Thank you!"

Then, without looking back, he headed toward the palace’s eastern wing. In a short while, he found the map the servant had mentioned and pinpointed the library’s entrance.

And just two minutes later...

"Wow."

He was standing before a massive door.

A truly massive door, at that.

It must have been nearly four or five meters tall. It was also wide enough for about ten people to walk side by side if they wanted to.

But what truly captivated him wasn’t the door’s size. Rather, it was the library itself. He could see part of it from where he stood since the door was wide open...

He couldn’t tell how many floors the library had, but it was certainly even larger than he’d imagined.

He slowly walked toward the door, unable to hide his excitement. Just like entering the palace, entry here required an identity check. But just as he’d expected, thanks to the Marshal’s medallion, he passed through the checkpoint successfully.

But that wasn’t all...

The library was designed so that each floor contained more important items than the one below. For this reason, people had different access levels, and these levels were determined by the badges issued to them upon entering the library.

It was necessary to show this badge to the floor attendant before entering each floor. Anyone without the appropriate access level was simply not allowed to enter that floor.

As a Sergeant, once his registration in the archives was complete, the access level he was normally supposed to receive only extended up to the second floor.

The Marshal’s medallion, however... granted him access all the way up to the fourth floor just by its mere presence!

Kael really had to hold himself back from laughing as he looked at the badge in his hand.

But he kept his excitement to himself. He had read the library’s rules and saw how others behaved here. He had to stay quiet and mind his own business without disturbing anyone.

So, that’s exactly what he did.

He calmed himself down as much as possible. He pulled himself away from the mesmerizing sight of the massive library and, as his first move, approached one of the floor attendants who was available.

"Excuse me."

The floor attendant looked at him, raising one eyebrow slightly.

"Yes? How may I help you?"

"I’m looking for books on world history."

Before he continued, he showed her the badge he’d been given, which clearly bore the number four.

"I don’t know much about history, so I’d prefer something not too complicated. Which floor would you recommend for such a book?"

The floor attendant fixed her gaze on the badge Kael was holding for a moment. Then she fell silent, as if deep in thought.

By the time she finally spoke, Kael had been patiently standing there in silence for nearly twenty seconds.

"If you’re looking for something at the beginner level, I’d recommend the books on the second floor."

She then listed a few book titles one by one, explaining exactly which section and which shelves on that floor they could be found on.

When she finished speaking, Kael thanked her very politely.

It must have been a situation the floor attendant didn’t often encounter, because even as he turned away and walked off, she couldn’t help but cast a strange glance at his back. However, she didn’t dwell on it and returned to her work. Kael, on the other hand, headed excitedly toward the spot he’d memorized.

’Second floor, C corridor, fourth shelf block, middle shelf...’ 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

As he kept repeating these in his mind, he first reached the C corridor, then approached the fourth block. His eyes scanned the middle shelf as he checked the titles of the books one by one. After a short while, he found the book he was looking for.

"The Ages of the World in Brief, nice!"

He then found the second, third, and fourth books that the floor attendant mentioned. Each one, just as he’d wanted, was a book that explained world history without getting into too much detail.

With that, Kael settled into an empty section of the library. He opened the first of the four books and began reading with great excitement.

He had lived as a slave until the age of fifteen, and history had never been taught to him in any way because it was deemed unnecessary. Since, unlike his current situation, he had never had permission to enter any library, he remained largely uneducated.

Later, even though the King of Arcanoa had freed him from the mark of slavery before taking his last breath, he had never had the chance to fully overcome the illiteracy of his childhood. He had always been preoccupied with more important matters, such as surviving or trying to grow stronger.

But now...

Now, things were different.

Now, he could finally leave his lack of knowledge about the world behind. Finally, he had access to a vast reservoir of knowledge that no one could stop him from tapping into.

And he would use that reservoir to the fullest.

After all, knowledge was one of the greatest powers.