"Amalga ferns?"
"Al-mal-ga ferns."
"Does it happen immediately? Like, does the effect of Amalga ferns-"
"Al-mal-ga ferns."
"Does the effect of Al-mal-ga-" I slowly sounded out. "Ferns combined with Halgenberries happen immediately?"
"No. It happens after both the Halgenberries and Almalga ferns are fully digested and combine in their stomach, creating a substance acting as a hallucinogen."
"Griesies had hallucinations?" I screamed in the empty library.
Kiori shushed me, and I had a feeling the invisible lady did the same. I just felt myself being scolded more than I can see.
"So… what do Almalga ferns look like?"
I definitely recall Mr. Anzer feeling Griesies a Halgenberry, but I saw nothing of an Almalga fern. Honestly, I prefer Amalga fern. It's easier to pronounce without worrying about messing up the pronunciation when speaking fast.
Like before, Kiori asked the invisible lady for a book, and one magically descended, levitating into his hands. It made me wonder if I could also get a book, assuming it was something within this weird library's selection.
"Kiori."
"What is it?"
"Is that how everyone gets books from here?"
He scanned the circular shelves of the cylindrical library.
"It's always been like this."
"And there's never been a day when…" I looked at where the invisible is at supposedly. "This lady couldn't give, or decided not to deliver books?"
As impressive as the library looked, the height of the shelves and the existence of books on those shelves that were beyond-tip-toeing heights were definitely a safety hazard. There had to have been at least one incident where a book fell from a skyscraper's height onto someone, and if not harming anyone, at least a witness.
"I've heard of days where she couldn't give out any books, but that got fixed pretty quickly."
"What do you mean by 'fixed pretty quickly'?"
"I… don't know. But whatever happened, Ms. Jaklin went back to getting books for us."
Right, I believe Kiori said the name of this ghost librarian, but it never stuck in my mind since I literally can't see her and I'm extremely used to putting names to faces.
"Ms. Jaklin can hear me, right?"
"Yeah, and I can hear you just the same."
I walked up to the counter, staring at where I imagined her form would be.
"Where are her eyes? I want to talk to her properly."
Kiori rested the books on the counter and oriented his hand flat, in parallel to the counter, and raised it above at a certain height.
"There?"
"Yes."
I produced a brass frame with 2 eyeholes with a ring as the base. The weird object looked like a glasses frame with a large rod attached, bent into a circle. It could pass as decoration for someone with an absurdist taste in furniture.
I adjusted the length of the frame so that it matched the height of Kiori's hand. When it was finished, Kiori retracted the hand, and I stared at the brass frame eyeholes.
"Ms. Jaklin, is there a way for us to retrieve books without your assistance?"
The air said nothing, of course.
I turned to Kiori. "Did she say anything?"
"She… wants you to tell her what book you're interested in."
"Okay…" I looked up, seeing the upper shelves of books. "What if a book on a shelf caught my eye, and I wanted to retrieve that book?"
"She said… please tell her the specific contents of a book you're looking for."
I stared up at the book I had in mind, creating a line as thick as the book on the underside of the shelf above it.
"Alright, I want the book directly under the blue line," I stated, staring directly at the brass eyeholes.
"She went up."
"As in fly upward?"
"Yes."
"Pray tell, Kiori. What exactly is Ms. Jaklin's history with this school? You have to tell me whatever you know, as she's the only person I can't see."
I was starting to wonder if it was the most natural thing in the world to co-exist with ghosts. How would ghost lives receive payment? What do they do on their time off? Are Ghost rights laws a thing?
"She's been here long before I enrolled in Megalia," Kiori said while staring upwards at where I assumed Ms. Jaklin was. "So I don't know how long she's been a part of the school. What I can tell you is that you're not the first person to try and have a meaningful conversation with her, outside of her sworn duty as this place's librarian and bookkeeper."
"Sworn duty? It's lending and returning books. It's certainly important, but I wouldn't say it's that sacred."
Perhaps the books in this library's collection have historic significance, but being a librarian yourself doesn't feel as sacred. I mean, it's a customer service job, not exactly a position you'd want to be in for long.
"True…" Kiori agreed, before looking up. "But these books have been with Megalia for longer than I've lived. Being a librarian isn't sacred on its own, but protecting and preserving the sanctity of these books definitely makes them sacred."
"Hmm…"
I'm not an avid follower of history, as someone who prefers to focus on myself over the world around me, but I also believe history- true history shouldn't be erased or fabricated to suit someone's needs. If preserving this place meant stopping people from forgetting… whatever significance these texts hold, then I wouldn't mind doing anything to preserve this place. People who dedicate their time to preserving certainly deserve respect.
Still, being unable to see Ms. Jaklin didn't make this place feel any less unsettling.
"Actually, are ancient books the only thing here?"
"No. Newer books do eventually get donated, but it takes a while for her to adjust to newly donated books, so we avoid donating as often for her to adjust."
"What do you mean, 'adjust?' You just have to account for its existence. If doing that hundreds of times is overwhelming, couldn't Ms. Jaklin hire some assistants?"
If I were a librarian, I'd find managing the inventory of borrowed and in-stock books tedious, but certainly not difficult, especially with computers. What would be overwhelming would be keeping track of that over an increasing number of people.
"Ms. Jaklin… is very dedicated to her job as the librarian. She reads books from front to back before they're available to read."
"I can understand wanting to understand the book's contents, but books take time to read. Can't she… just ask for a copy or have someone produce a copy for her to read?"
Now that I say that out loud, I don't believe I've seen identical copies of books next to each other. But if a book is in demand, wouldn't preparing copies be a courtesy to a library's patron?
"Unlike novels and informative books outside, the books here are exclusive to Megalia Academy students, so demand for books here doesn't reach the same demand as books outside the school, and even if they did, copying them takes far longer, as you'd have to ask for a copy for research or academic reasons."
A third voice spoke, and I turned to see the white-haired eccentric ice-attuned mage. Elipto.
"Also, some of the books here aren't meant for public eyes, so the school is very strict about when and why students should check out certain books."
"Hey Elipto." Kiori greeted the mage.
"Hey." He waved. "I just got back. What did I miss?"
"Nothing too interesting. Nolval here got paid 500 Qiliq for his first commission."
"Ooh. That's a big payout for a first-timer." Nolval turned to me, his eyes lit with curiosity and enthusiasm. "So, what'd you do?"
"I helped capture a Rhino Tortoise and returned it to its owner."
"Wow, and as a first commish, too!"
Eliptp stepped closer, inches away from my face, and I instinctively backed away.
"How'd you do it?"
"Well… Richter-"
"Wait-" He quickly backed away. "Richter was there? He's terrified of those things."
"Not as terrified as you think." I clarified.
"Wait. Did he split credits with you? That has to be it. No way he'd willingly confront a Rhino Tortoise! I bet he made you do all of the work!"
"Actually, he had the toughest job: distracting it while preventing the Rhino Tortoise from harming others. I was simply there to put a stop to its rampage." I stared Elipto dead in the eye while admitting this.
"Hmm. Is he in his room right now? I'm gonna go ask him."
"We just got back a moment ago."
Elipto walked off, waving goodbye with his back towards us as he left the room.
"He's certainly an interesting character," I said to Kiori.
"He… has a rather inflated sense of strength and pride. Basically, the prouder someone appears to him, the stronger they are in his eyes. Oh, right! You wanted to know what an Almalga fern looks like? I've got the book."
"Please, show me."
Kiori flipped the book to a page I assumed was the Almalga fern and began reading out loud. The fern itself looked fairly unassuming. It looked like a typical plant you'd see on Earth. The only thing I can't tell is the color, as the illustration is black and white.
"Almalga ferns grow in areas of high altitudes and low temperatures, as these are the ideal environment for them to thrive in."
"Do you know where Halgenberries grow?" Sensing he'd go to get another book from Ms. Jaklin, I kept talking. "I'm just curious how it's known that Halgenberries and Amalga- Almalga ferns are dangerous when eaten together."
"Well, Halgenberries grow on trees, which prefer lots of moisture and quality soil, so a Rhino Tortoise could never accidentally drug itself simply by eating whatever."
"In other words, it's possible something else caused the Rhino Tortoise to go on a rampage."
The only definitive way to know for sure that Griesies was given these ferns was if I examined its feces. But Mr. Anzer is likely long gone by now.
"You okay?"
"I'm just… maybe I'm looking too far into it, but I just feel like someone's responsible for Griesies rampage."
"Don't stress too much over this. You got your Qiliq, and classes are about to begin. Besides, you're barely a tenth of a division cycle old and a new student. We've got other things on our plate."
"I suppose."