(MC POV)
The Director was at the entrance to the hidden archives waiting for us.
"Lady Rina, welcome to the archives," She greeted with a bowed head.
Even though Rina was a 'maid', her position still technically outranks everyone as Luna's right hand woman. Anyone who was foolish enough to think themselves above her would not last very long.
Do remember that this 'maid' is also the one who takes care of the Matriarch's political enemies as well, she could easily kill you in your sleep without leaving any evidence she was even there.
"Cut the small talk, we are here to enter the hidden archives."
The Director kept her head bowed, "As the Director, I will need to ask for what purpose you might require to enter such a place?"
"The man wishes to further his knowledge and her most gracious Majesty has seen fit to grant him his wish. Is there anything else you want to know?"
I could see the Director peeking at me for a moment while keeping her head down.
"If her Majesty has decided so, there is no reason to disobey. Please have the man wear this talisman on him to allow him access to the archives."
She presented a red coloured talisman made of cloth which I recognised to be the entry pass into the hidden archives. Only the Director has the right to hand these out and anyone with this attached to them will be able to pass through the barrier without issues.
These are enchanted to return back to the Director's possession after passing through the barrier so it's like a one time entry ticket to prevent misuse. If I stepped out of the hidden archives and wanted to enter again, I will need to get my hands on another of that talisman.
Although… I'm pretty sure with my Star Power or even the female version of me could teleport myself into the hidden archives after visiting it once. After I figured out how the barrier works from within, I should be able to slip past it without much issue.
Yep, then I would be able to return here whenever I want, wherever I am.
Hmm? Was this also part of my plan to come here for this? Of course it is, everything there is priceless knowledge ok? There's no way I'll pass this opportunity up! This is all so that I can use them to teach my cute disciples better you know?
Rina received the talisman from the Director and tossed it back to me casually like it was just a piece of trash.
I caught it in my hands before following her through the barrier, the talisman disappearing into balls of light the moment I passed through it. The Director followed behind us, keeping pace a step behind me.
The maid girl led the way down the polished wood staircase illuminated by balls of light that hung on the ceiling. Though the staircase was not dark by any means, it still gave off a rather ominous atmosphere the deeper we got.
Incidentally, in the area between the door that led to the hidden archives and the final landing of the stairs was a stretch of darkness.
Any person who came here for the first time might think that someone had mistakenly neglected to put a source of light here, but I knew otherwise.
This was where the shadow spirits summoned by the Director to guard the hidden archives were hiding in. In the event that someone managed to slip past the barrier, the shadow spirits would attack and restrain the intruder if the Director was not there to stop them.
Rina stopped at the edge of the darkness and turned to the Director, "Your escort is unnecessary beyond this point."
The Director merely bowed her head before turning on her heels and leaving without another word.
Now, I'm a little bit worried about what we might find behind the door so I had Xun Guan prepare a gender change pill just in case.
If that crazy girl is there, I do not doubt that a fight would be unavoidable. And if we were to fight, I'll need to throw everything I've got against her.
Rina had no such worries so she simply strolled up to the door and pushed it open, unaware that I was fully prepared for battle right behind her.
I immediately started looking around the place for that crazy girl as I entered.
"Eh?"
I unconsciously let out a gasp of surprise.
"Fumu, was it not like what you thought? This is where we keep the secret tomes of knowledge after all, it's normal for a first timer like you to be surprised," Rina told me with a rather proud smile on her face.
No, that's not what I was surprised about.
Sure the place was huge and looked magnificent, a contrast to what people may think a secret place like this might look like. The entire hidden archive was as big as the main archive above it and no less luxurious looking.
Despite being underground, the entire place was well lit with magic lights hanging below a decorated ceiling. It had two floors with spiral staircases reaching the second floor and several reading tables and couches spread around the archive for comfortable reading.
What I was surprised about was the fact that there was no other presence within the room and Xun Guan even confirmed so.
Rina gestured to the bookshelves, "As much as I wouldn't mind you carelessly opening up a cursed book and losing your life to the curse, her most gracious Majesty has tasked me to keep you safe with my life so I recommend you to bring any book you are interested in reading to me first before actually opening them. Understand?"
I nodded, though my attention was still occupied in double checking if the crazy girl was hiding somewhere inside here.
"Good, I will be waiting at the reading tables. Remember my warning or I will make sure you suffer greatly."
The maid girl left me with those words and got herself comfortable in one of the leather sofas, a book appearing in her own hands suddenly.
I moved out of earshot from her before looking down at my clothes, "Xun Guan?"
"It's strange, Master. Just when the door was opened, all traces of her disappeared. I'm not sure if she had teleported away or was this a false trail from the start. I apologize."
"There's nothing you need to apologize for. If I had to guess, she probably did land here after going through the portal but left those traces as a sort of cover before she went somewhere else. That's unexpected… I thought she would have stayed here for all the knowledge it possesses… Well, that's one of our leads down but it's still within the expected parameters. We'll just need to improvise."
"Understood, Master. Please let me help you in any way I can."
"Umu, I'll be depending on you. I'll start analysing the barrier first, could you try and find any books related to the travel between Planes?"
"Yes, Master."
A blob of slime split off from my clothes and bounced away from me.
Right, since I'm already here, I guess I'll also pick out some books I wanted to read before but never had the chance.
Maybe I might even learn some new things that I missed.
