It had been quite a while since I visited the library. I wondered if Huang Doju had disappeared while I wasn’t here, but as soon as I entered the library, he appeared as if waiting for me.

“Have you come!”

A small doll that seemed pleased dashed towards me from a distance. Then, it leaped up to my eye level. Somehow, I felt like I should reach out to accept that doll.

And when I did, Huang Doju confidently climbed onto my hand.

“I was worried that you left like that day and might not come back again.”

“Ah, I see…”

Afraid of revealing my identity or rather, whether I had already revealed my identity.
“I was so bored. Now that you, the only one who comes, didn’t show up, it seems I can’t find a trace of human shadows in the library again.”

The doll covered its face with short hands, as if in sadness.

“Were you alone for a very long time?”

“Yeah, I was. Loneliness seemed so long that I didn’t know it was loneliness. But once it was imprinted as loneliness, it became so sad.”

With his whole body trembling, he stared at me intently.

“Come by more often now. Well, not necessarily often, but… at least promise to come. It’s so boring to be here all day.”

“I understand. I couldn’t come this time because of the wedding. I’ll come with the kids after work.”

“Alright, alright, good thinking.”

Worried that someone might overhear our voices outside, I headed towards the inside of the library with Huang Doju in my hand.

And just in case of any unforeseen circumstances, I took out a few books to bring to my room and placed Huang Doju on the shelf in front of me.

“I’m curious about something. The memory loss we talked about last time…”

“I said it was hypnosis, didn’t I?”

“Right.”

“Oh, come to think of it, the hypnosis is released. You seem to have remembered. Congratulations.”

I looked at him with a bitter smile.

“Huh? Why is your expression like that?”

“If you see it, can you really recognize me?”

“Of course.”

He nodded proudly.

“I was quite a great wizard.”

“Oh right. You mentioned being the first wizard who created this place, didn’t you?”

“That’s right. This place was my life’s masterpiece. So, I didn’t want to leave here. When death approached, I sealed my body and left only my soul here. Everyone probably thinks I’m dead.”

“Can wizards do things like that?”

“Indeed. Hm-hm.”

Pretending to stroke a non-existent beard, he moved his hand.

“When magic is abundant, you can live for a very, very long time. But for humans, there’s no end to it. While the body can be eternal, the mind begins to deteriorate over time. Experiencing loneliness and loneliness again, and then if emotions dry up, the reason to live disappears, and one chooses death.”

“Then what about you?”

“I sealed my body before those things happened. I was also similar. If I want, I can go back again. But living now, free from any constraints, makes me quite happy.”

I gazed at him quietly. With the warm sunlight shining on his body, Huang Doju looked content.

“Then why do you look like that?”

“This consumes the least amount of magic power. I chose this because my body absorbs magic just by sleeping in a sunny place. Whether it’s an animal, an object, anything is fine as long as it can contain a soul.”

“Are you happy?”
“Of course. I’ve read all the books I’ll ever see in my life, and I love it. I even set up a device to come in here when a new book is released. So, it’s never boring. But it’s still lonely. That’s why I was withering away, and then you came. Thanks to you, it’s interesting. I haven’t had someone to talk to in so long. So, recently, I secretly went out following you. The world has changed a lot.”

As if waiting for someone to tell the story, Huang Doju continued speaking for a long time.

“I see…”

“Yeah. So, who lost their memory?”

“I’ll bring the child. It’s a child who is said to have memory loss… a bit mysterious.”

“Are you talking about the child who used to come with you?”

Huang Doju responded to my words as if he knew something.

“Yes, the child who used to come with me. Do you happen to know?”

“That… Rather than memory loss, I think it’s more like a seal.”

“…What? A seal?”

“I recognized it right away. I couldn’t not know. When the three of you came here, I thought it was an amazing combination. A girl with tremendous power, a woman who sealed her own memories with hypnosis, and even a boy whose memories were sealed. So, I was more curious. Oh, there’s one more. The twins outside. It was an incredibly amazing combination.”

I was dumbfounded. Huang Doju knew everything. About all of us. Including the twins outside was a bit surprising, but for now, it was more important to focus on Ruedello.

“Sealed?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, then… So…”

Ruedello’s memories were suspicious from the beginning. Rather than claiming that the memories resurfaced selectively, it seemed more accurate to say that one by one, sealed memories were being released.

“It might be good to bring him again to confirm… But my words wouldn’t be wrong.”

“I’ll bring him again.”