SWNOVELXO Chapter 2
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"Is this... a library? But why... I should be dead... and..."
Kaito was shocked twice and maybe even thrice.
He knew he was dead.
He had died of illness. In his world, magic couldn't heal injuries, let alone cure diseases. Healing magic simply didn't exist.
Yet here he was, conscious and embodied in an unfamiliar room surrounded by countless books.
Moreover, Kaito had become younger. A nearby mirror reflected his appearance from when his master was alive—Kaito in his prime.
"Welcome. This is a place that only wandering souls with mysteries can reach. The Shinigami Detective Agency... or perhaps you'd prefer to call it the Shinigami Library?"
From the depths of the room—in a space where nothing had existed moments before—appeared a woman sitting in a rocking chair, reading a book.
"A shinigami... Why have you brought me to this place?"
Kaito showed no surprise. While he could sense an otherworldly atmosphere around her, he already knew he was dead. It was only natural to assume she wasn't human.
"Indeed. Some are startled by my presence... but you're different. It's interesting how humans vary depending on their world."
Kaito had lived in a world with magic, where one could sense unusual presences and powers.
Perhaps that's why he could so readily understand the term "shinigami"—his world had similar concepts.
"I've already answered your question. Only souls with mysteries can reach this place where I reside."
She closed her book and stood up from the chair. Then, she began walking toward Kaito.
As the shinigami approached, her appearance became clearer to him.
She stood at least 170 centimeters tall, with purple hair that reached her back. Green eyes adorned her beautiful face. Her black cloak resembled that of a magician... similar to his master's appearance.
Perhaps that's why Kaito was transfixed, unable—or unwilling—to step back.
Then the shinigami's hand grasped Kaito's head... no, that wasn't it. She pulled a book out from within his head.
"...What's that?"
"This is the book of your life. Name: Kaito. Died at age twenty. Servant to the magician Mary Alzas. And at age fifteen, your master went missing. These memories should be correct."
She read aloud from the memory book she had extracted from Kaito's head. His surprise at this lasted only a moment before he began answering frankly.
"No... a small correction. She didn't go missing—I believe she was murdered. Otherwise..."
"I know. I told you this book contains your life story, didn't I? I deliberately said 'missing' because that's how it's recorded in your world. An unsolved case. Your master, Mary Alzas, was killed by someone, and you died without ever discovering the culprit."
"...Yes... that's correct. After my master died, even though I dedicated my entire life to it, I couldn't even figure out who the culprit was. If only I had been able to accompany her that day... Even if I couldn't have saved her, I could have at least been her shield. Could have died alongside her."
"Yes... You were ill and couldn't go to the scene—a certain magician's mansion. Before ending their life, magicians pass on their magic to another magician. Mary Alzas was chosen as one of the candidates. Along with three other magicians..."
"But they couldn't have been the culprits. They went missing, just like my master. Many servants said they sensed their masters' deaths. Besides... if it had been a succession dispute, a battle between magicians where my master lost, I could have accepted that."
Kaito would have accepted it if it had been the result of a magician's duel. But all the magicians had gone missing. Not only that, but the host magician had vanished as well. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that person might be the culprit.