I Give Up on the BL Novel's Male Leads - Chapter 7
A chuckle escaped me unwittingly as I made my way to the corner to find some of the more recently published books among the ancient books.
The front of the library housed the older books, while the more recent publications were placed towards the back.
Not many came this far seeking books that had only recently been moved from the Central Library.
Most visitors were here to see the old manuscripts that couldn’t be found in the Central Library, as the librarian had explained.
Walking to the deepest part of the fifth floor, the scent of dust mixed with the smell of books filled the air.
The fifth floor of the quiet old library was deserted, with only the sound of my footsteps audible.
Perhaps feeling reassured by the solitude, I glanced back. The sunset light streaming through the window was quite beautiful.
Realizing I wasn’t in the leisure to enjoy the view, I focused on finding the book I needed.
Scanning the titles, I moved to the end of the aisle, where several books caught my eye. I took a closer look at their front sections to make a choice.
The ceiling was high, and the books were stacked up to such heights that I needed to climb a ladder to reach them.
I considered using my wand to fetch them but decided against it, worrying it would drain the energy I needed for studying later.
Magic was akin to vitality, and mine was barely enough to sustain studying.
So, I moved the ladder towards a book titled ‘101 Reasons Why Transformation Magic Fails’.
Interestingly, the more entertaining books always seemed to be at the very top.
Climbing the ladder, I ignored several intriguing titles on my way up, focusing on reaching my target.
Finally, I got hold of ‘101 Reasons Why Transformation Magic Fails’ and was slowly descending when…
“What?”
I locked eyes with someone looking up at me from below.
“Edwin?”
Why are you here?
I should have never come to any library in the first place.
As that thought crossed my mind, the usually sturdy ladder that wouldn’t budge even if I jumped on it from above, creaked ominously and broke, causing me to fall.
“Ah…!”
Falling from a second-floor height wouldn’t be fatal.
“Ugh…”
If I were to die, it wouldn’t be because of the fall.
As I fell, I ended up accidentally touching Edwin’s lips.
They say when people are shocked, time seems to stop. That was exactly my situation.
The encounter with Edwin was supposed to happen in the Central Library.
Illein Thierry in the Central Library had been looking for a book on magical potions to study his deficiencies in magic.
Then, the ladder broke, causing him to fall.
In such a rush, he couldn’t think to use magic, and, coincidentally, Edwin was there to catch him.
Illein fell on top of Edwin, and to make matters worse, their lips touched.
I was in that very situation now.
Except, the location was the old library, and the book I was searching for wasn’t about magical potions but transformation magic.
How did this even happen?
Moreover, in the original story, Illein was supposed to get seriously injured from the fall.
But now, the only pain I felt was on my lips. A bite mark inside my mouth from the impact was all.
“Get away.”
Edwin said that and pushed me off his shoulder.
“I’m, I’m sorry…!”
I apologized in a fluster, but he looked at me wide-eyed and furiously wiped his lips.
His face and ears turned a bright red, leaving me equally flustered.
“Thanks for saving me. I didn’t get hurt because of you… Edwin?”
He abruptly stood up.
Then, roughly grabbing his dropped wand, he ran out of the library.
“Ah.”
I felt it was me who should be fleeing, yet as he ran away looking so bewildered, I was the one left feeling odd.
“What’s going on…?”
I couldn’t understand it, but…
“Unbelievable.”
It was a relief, in a way.
An accidental touch made him bolt, so maybe things were different from the original story.
The bite mark in my mouth only started to hurt now, perhaps due to the shock.
Maybe him sitting at my desk was just a dream.
I have been overworking lately, staying up late to study and practicing magic without a wand day and night.
It was entirely possible that my fatigue had caused me to see things.
“Yeah, that must be it.”
Nodding to myself, I abruptly stopped my train of thought before concluding I might have a delusional disorder.
But why was he holding the wand? Was he about to cast a spell?
The memory of him gripping it as if preparing for a duel felt odd.
“Enough.”
Muttering as if casting a spell, I picked up ‘101 Reasons Why Transformation Magic Fails’ from among the fallen books and tapped the rest back into place with my wand.
The books flew back to their original spots on the shelf.
Had I known it would come to this, I would have used magic to fetch the books from the start.
Although I couldn’t avoid the encounter with Edwin, since that incident had already passed, maybe I should head to the Central Library to study magical potions after all?
But that idea still seemed too risky. I decided to stick to my original plan and finish studying transformation magic.
