10 — Lorelai's Favorite

"You're late." Lorelai points to the clock on the wall. "It's already two past eight!"

"Oh, come on. I got lost on the way here." Joezand grumbles. "If you'd let Anneliese come with to guide me, I'd be here on time."

"She'd just keep trying to pull your attention away from the book." Lorelai says, opening the door. "Now come on in already!"

The inside of the library is way less opulent than the rest of the palace. Instead of the gold decorations and flashy gems everywhere that he expected to see, it's a bit... boring, even. There's just some wooden shelves and tons of books, but not much else. Even the tables and couches there for lounging and reading are pretty simple.

"Huh." Joezand exclaims. "I expected this place to be a bit more dazzling."

"Really? It's probably the fanciest room in the whole palace." Lorelai walks to a pile of books. "They even have three whole copies of Falchion's Teachings."

"And how is that impressive?"

"Do you even know how expensive books are?" Lorelai sighs. "Really, I thought your time with the common people would give you more of an idea of how much of a luxurious life you live."

"Books just aren't as eye-catching as diamond-encrusted platinum chalices or whatever insane things are in the other rooms." Joezand says. "Really, it was impressive at the beginning, but it's just too much now. Why is everything so excessive?"

"It's a personal taste thing, I believe. The palace was always pretty well-built, but the person who pushed it over the top was lady Marie Onatz." Lorelai explains. "She was the mother of Thaddius and Agatha, so your grandmother."

"Ugh. I still can't get over the fact that they're siblings." Joezand says. "Onatz... That's a different name. Was she not part of the family?"

"The previous emperor, Otto, tried marrying someone from outside to bring some... variety in the von Styria bloodline. Marie was a princess from the neighboring nation of Wespolta. Of course, that didn't really fix anything when his own children started reproducing." Lorelai says. "And since Wespolta abhorrs incestuous relationships, like most civilized nations, the two countries became sworn enemies ever since."

"So I imagine we are pretty isolated diplomatically?" Joezand asks.

"Got it in one." Lorelai says. "We are simultaneously the most powerful nation in the world and our leaders are morally repulsive to most other people, even to our own citizens. It's pretty easy to rally against a country like that, huh?"

"That is... worrying, considering my goals." Joezand sighs. "After I win the duel, I have... business in the village of Kivul. It's right by Wespolta, isn't it?"

"Business, you say?" Lorelai asks. "Well, I won't pry, but border patrols are done very frequently around that village. You'll need someone to take care of you so that some Wespoltan commanders don't get any big ideas about assassinating you. I'll ask to go with you. Just so that poor Pult doesn't get chosen again. You'll probably have to bring Anneliese as well to take care of us on the road."

"Thanks, that'd be a very big help." Joezand says.

"Now let's stop blabbering!" She hands him a thick tome. The cover is all dark blue, and the title reads Gray Complex. Shouldn't the cover be gray as well? It'd fit better thematically. Although he supposes that pigment isn't very common here. "I'll sit over there reading something else."

He sighs and opens the book while Lorelai lounges on a nearby couch. He starts to read...

'The rainclouds filled the sky,' The book starts. 'The beautiful sunlight diffusing into a boring, clinical gray as it drained the life of every object on the planet, their saturation dropping as they're robbed of life.' Hm. Interesting. He keeps reading. 'The buildings grow upwards, being thin and rectangular with tons of windows. They scrape the skies, some of them going above the clouds. Those were for the rich. For the poor, there were only dinky, small homes that were barely taped together.'

Huh. Wait. There is no way... right?

'At a dirty tavern on the fringes of society, a cloaked figure stood. The famous detective... Shinichi Aizawa. He was waiting for his sidekick, Suzuki Akira, when—'

What the hell?!

"Hey, Lorelai!" Joezand asks. "Who wrote this?"

"Hm? Oh, it's a pretty ancient book. It was apparently a very old Wespoltan hero called Chin Itzch." She replies. "He apparently did some pretty impressive stuff, including defeating a demon, before retiring and turning to writing before suddenly disappearing. I think there's a biography of him somewhere in here."

"Oh, I knew it." Joezand murmurs, twirling the ring in his finger nervously. 'Hey, what gives?!' He thinks angrily.

'Ooops. Guess I got busted.' Sunnaria giggles.

'Tell me.' He thinks. 'Why is there was a book about this universe in my world. And why there's a book about my world in this universe. This doesn't make any sense! Unless...'

'I think you've got it. It's not that hard to figure out, little lamb.'

'That little... He never was a writer to begin with! You summoned Shinichi before you summoned me and he was just recounting what he saw here!'

'Bingo! That's exactly right.' Sunnaria says. 'Time works differently between dimensions, so I took him from your world pretty recently from your perspective, but he was acting around two hundred years ago in this universe. Even the time he spent here was basically null in your world's perspective, because I returned him to his body moments before his death. Which ended up not happening, because, y'know. He knew to avoid it.'

'Why didn't you tell me this before?' Joezand complains. 'You're making it really hard for me to trust you.'

'It didn't seem like it was relevant, that's all.' Sunnaria says. 'I didn't want to overload you with every little bit of information! You're having a difficult enough time already.' She adds. 'Besides... This book should make you trust me more!'

'Should it really?' Joezand asks. 'Because it seems to me like you could be hiding even more things from me.'

'Well, your friend Shinichi is living proof that I can uphold my end of the bargain, isn't it?' Sunnaria argues. 'He came into this world, did his part in slaying the demon, and even asked me to stay a few years more in here. Then he went back safe and sound into his world, even taking some things he learned here to there. Doesn't that sound like the greatest deal ever? I could've just let you die, you know. Instead I'm offering you a second chance here, little lamb.'

'Still.. I don't understand. Why do you keep so many secrets?'

'I think you have a very narrow vision of this. I'm not a mustache-twirling villain choosing to deceive you.' Sunnaria says. It's weird, but her voice sounds so... comforting in his brain, like a mother's hug, that he feels like he can't disagree with her even if he wants to. 'I was just... omitting some things to make your journey easier. But I see now that this was the wrong decision.'

'Okay.' He sighs. 'No more secrets, then?'

'It's not like I was intentionally hiding things or something... but sure. If you ever ask something, I'll answer.'

He decides to keep reading the book. The worldbuilding would be impressive if he didn't know Shinichi was just describing a city that already existed. The story is... fine. But he can't help but roll his eyes as the dashing noir detective Shinichi saves the day constantly while his bumbling sidekick Akira keeps getting into trouble. He feels like a damsel in distress. The book ends with Shinichi dealing with two rival gangs, the Tiger Gang and the Bat gang, and with a fight with 'explosive crossbows' in an epic shootout. He finally finishes the novel. Notably, this book mentions... pretty much everything in his world. Even things about old history of Europe and such were referenced. The worldbuilding sections are quite long, but they do paint a complete picture. He looks over at Lorelai on the couch, and she has the book she was reading laid open on her face as she loudly snores. He sighs and goes out of the library, back to his room.