← A Failing Student Chases the Truth Buried in the Academy's BasementHelen appeared at the library counter that afternoon.
Louis had already anticipated it. Or rather, he had calculated the probability. The librarian had been absent for a week, fatigue was evident on Helen's face, and her afternoon schedule had suddenly opened up. It was an obvious conclusion when you combined all these factors.
"Louis."
Helen's voice was lower than usual. She was organizing the book return system behind the counter. Her fingers moved without pause, but her shoulders were slumped.
"My mom has a fever... she's going to the hospital for tests. She needs about a month to recover."
She pushed a stack of books to the side. It sounded like an unnecessary explanation, but Louis understood it was a necessary one. Helen needed to make someone understand the situation. Probably herself.
"So she asked me to help with the library work. After school hours and weekends."
Louis said nothing. He simply looked at Helen. Her face, her hands, the tension in her shoulders. Everything was information.
Helen looked up.
"My mom thinks the library is the most important place in this school. So..."
Her voice wavered. Very slightly. Most people wouldn't have noticed.
Louis noticed.
"Are you okay?"
Helen attempted a smile. It didn't work.
"Yeah. My mom seemed really worried about something. Not just the library work... other things too."
She stopped. She had started to say something more but stopped. Was it because Louis's eyes hadn't left her face? Or was she just tired?
"What is she worried about?"
Louis asked. It was phrased as a question, but his tone was neutral. Not pressuring. Simply confirming.
Helen sighed.
"My mom keeps a lot of secrets. Something related to the library work... But it seems connected to her being sick. But she won't tell me what it is."
Her hand touched the spine of a book again. As if she couldn't bear it without doing something.
"My mom told me not to touch a specific area in the library basement. She doesn't usually say things like that, but suddenly a few days ago. She said, 'There are old records in that section, and no one should touch them.'"
Louis's breathing changed, almost imperceptibly. Helen didn't notice. She was looking at her own fingers.
"So she told me that if anyone asks, I should say that section is being organized. That no one can enter."
Silence settled over the counter.
Louis thought. Quickly. From multiple angles.
It was certain that Helen's mother knew. The secret behind the wall. Or at least part of it.
Why the records from 1954 to 1962 were concentrated there. Why the C-type circuit had been deleted. Why only the librarian could access certain areas.
Everything was connecting.
But now Helen was standing on that connection. Because of her mother. And that was dangerous.
"Don't worry too much."
Louis said.
"Your mom is going through a hard time too. It's not good if you're thinking about it as well."
Helen looked up. She looked at Louis. As if trying to read something in his expression.
"Louis, don't you... care?"
"About what?"
"The expulsion. You have a week left."
Louis walked toward the counter. He stood next to Helen. Her gaze followed.
"I care."
It wasn't a lie.
"Still, if there's something you can do, you should do it. Even if you can't do everything, there's probably something you can do."
Helen let out a laugh. This time it was a real laugh. Weak, but real.
"Where does that confidence come from?"
Louis didn't answer. Instead, he looked around the counter. Books, catalogs, computers. And the stairs visible in the back. The stairs leading down to the basement.
"It'll take time to organize the basement section."
"Yeah. It looks like it'll take a few months."
Helen sighed.
"I don't think my mom would leave all that work to me... For now, I'm just helping with organizing the records. Processing returns, classifying new books, things like that."
"Tell me if you need help."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Louis's voice was calm. Not the tone of making a promise. The tone of confirming something already decided.
Helen's expression softened.
"Thanks. But you have a lot of books to read too..."
"I can do it like usual."
Louis said.
"Wouldn't it be faster if two of us organized the basement instead of you doing it alone?"
That statement was precise. It was about efficiency. But on Helen's face, it read differently. As interest. As consideration.
"Then... can we start tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
Louis looked at the bookshelf again. His gaze descended the stairs. Into the darkness of the basement.
The records from 1954 to 1962.
And the wall that would be next to those books.
What would be behind that wall.
"Starting tomorrow."
Louis repeated.
Helen tried to read his expression again, but Louis was already holding a stack of books. The motion of going to a nearby shelf. A natural movement.
But his eyes passed over the stairs one more time.
A plan was already forming.
Helen helping with library work was an opportunity. But Louis knew it was also a danger.
That the librarian knew. And that the librarian had warned Helen. "There are old records in that section, and no one should touch them."
It wasn't curiosity. It was protection.
Protection of someone.
Louis placed the books on the shelf. Mechanically. Precisely.
And he planned.
How much to include Helen. What to hide. When to tell the truth.
She was already standing on the borderline. Because of her mother. Because of Louis trying to cross that borderline.
Louis knew that.
And he proceeded.
When he returned to the counter, Helen was still organizing books. Fatigue remained on her face, but her eyes were a little brighter.
"Thanks, Louis. Really."
She said.
Louis nodded.
"See you tomorrow."
It was unclear whether that was a promise or a confirmation.
But Helen accepted it as a promise.
And as Louis left the library, he thought.
The basement section. Being organized. No one can enter.
That statement would become a lie.
Someone would enter.
Louis would.
And before that journey began, he had to calculate every variable.
The librarian's intentions. Helen's limits. The distance to the secret behind the wall.
And above all.
Could he find evidence to overturn the expulsion hearing within a week?
Louis's footsteps passed through the academy's corridors. As usual. No one paid attention to him.
But his mind was already heading underground.
Lewis found Helen the afternoon after entering the library.
Helen was organizing loan records behind the return counter. She looked more exhausted than yesterday. It had been four days since her mother was hospitalized. She had been repeating the same routine—managing the library during the day and visiting the hospital in the evening.
Lewis stood in front of the counter.
"Helen."
Helen looked up. A smile of welcome appeared on her face, then quickly faded. It was because of Lewis's expression. His face was different from usual. It was the expression of someone making a demand.
"What is it? Another magic theory book?"
Helen asked. She thought the reason Lewis had been coming frequently lately was because of books.
"No."
Lewis said.
"I need help."
"...Help?"
Helen's eyes narrowed. It was rare for Lewis to ask anyone for help. Moreover, the situation was complicated right now. Her mother was in the hospital, and she had to manage the library alone.
"What kind of help?"
"I need to see the basement storage section."
Helen's expression hardened.
"No."
The answer came immediately.
"Mom said not to touch that section. I told anyone who asked that it's being organized."
"I know."
Lewis said.
"That's why I'm asking you."
"Lewis."
Helen stood up from the counter. Her voice lowered.
"What's the problem? Why suddenly that section?"
Lewis took a step back. He scanned the surroundings. There were only three students and one elderly person in the library. They were all focused on their books.
"It's not something to talk about here."
He said.
"Let's go to the back."
Helen hesitated. She met Lewis's eyes. There was no usual indifference in those eyes. Instead, there was something desperate. Helen had never seen that before.
"...Okay."
Helen murmured.
They entered the reading room at the back of the library. This was an area students rarely visited. It was filled with old books covered in a layer of dust. Helen closed the door.
"Tell me."
Lewis walked between the bookshelves. Helen followed.
"Why do you think your mother blocked off the basement section?"
Lewis asked.
"Because... it's being organized?"
Helen answered, but without conviction.
"No."
Lewis examined the displayed books.
"If it's being organized, why would she tell someone not to touch it? It's true that organized sections usually aren't opened. But 'I told anyone who asked that it's being organized' means something different."
"...What do you mean?"
"A lie was prepared in advance. To prepare for any situation that might arise."
Helen's face turned pale.
"That means... Mom is hiding something."
"Yes."
Lewis nodded.
"And she didn't want to include you in that secret. If someone asks, you would genuinely not know, and just repeat the prepared words. That way, you wouldn't be a liar."
Helen said nothing. Lewis's analysis was accurate. When she thought back to how her mother had blocked off the basement, it seemed that way.
"Then... what is Mom hiding?"
"I don't know."
Lewis answered honestly.
"But there's a high possibility it's important."
"Why?"
"Your mother is a librarian. A librarian at a 200-year-old academy's library. For someone like that to protect a section so thoroughly, there must be a reason."
Lewis turned toward Helen.
"And I need to know that reason."
"...Why?"
"Before I get expelled."
Helen's breath caught.
"Lewis..."
"One week left."
His voice was calm.
"The expulsion hearing. I can't stop it with my grades. I failed magic theory again. So I need evidence. Evidence that I'm not really a useless student. Or evidence that the academy itself is hiding something. If I can find either one, I might be able to overturn the expulsion hearing."
Helen slowly understood Lewis's words.
"So the basement section?"
"Yes. If the academy has a secret it's been keeping for 200 years, the basement is the most plausible place."
Lewis stepped closer.
"Especially if your mother is guarding it."
"But..."
Helen lowered her voice.
"What if Mom really is hiding something important? If we see it... wouldn't Mom be in danger?"
Lewis had anticipated that question.
"You're right. That's why I won't force you."
He said.
"This is your choice. Whether to help or not."
Helen looked at Lewis. Deep in his eyes, there was something. Something other than the usual Lewis. Desperation? Or fear?
Helen didn't know.
But she did know one thing. That Lewis was truly in a dead-end situation. And that it was something she couldn't prevent with her choice alone.
"Mom will be angry if she finds out."
Helen murmured.
"Really."
"I know."
Lewis answered.
"Thank you."
Helen sighed.
"I haven't done anything yet?"
"Yes. But I know you'll help."
Helen glared at Lewis, but eventually nodded.
"...The basement storage section Mom mentioned is actually divided into three areas. The front has books over 100 years old, the middle has old periodicals, and the back is..."
Helen stopped speaking.
"The back?"
Lewis asked.
"The back, Mom rarely goes to. When I asked her once, she said 'it doesn't need organizing.' But Mom goes there once a week. To check on something."
Lewis's eyes sparkled.
"How far into the basement?"
"The northern end. Behind the storage."
Helen pointed with her finger. Lewis committed it to memory, drawing the academy map in his mind.
"Is there a wall?"
"Yes. A brick wall. It looks really old. I don't think it's 200 years old, but... it seems like it's at least 100 years old."
"What's the condition of the wall?"
"There are cracks. Small ones. And..."
Helen stopped speaking again.
"What?"
"Magic smell."
Helen said in a small voice.
"I don't know what kind, but it smells like old magic. When Mom put her hand on that wall once, there was a mana reaction. Very faint, but there was one."
Lewis organized the information he had gathered so far.
A wall. Cracks. Old magic. A librarian visiting regularly.
It was the appearance of a vault.
"Helen, let's go to the basement."
"Now?"
"Yes. I need to see that wall before it closes."
Helen hesitated, but signaled her agreement by putting up a sign on the counter that said 'Back soon.'
The two descended the library stairs. The basement stairs were dark. Helen turned on a flashlight. The light crossed the tall bookshelves of the storage.
Lewis followed behind Helen. His eyes were analyzing the walls and floor. The age of the stone. Traces of magic. Arrangement.
As they headed north, the air grew colder.
And Lewis felt it.
A faint but distinct pulse of mana.
From the wall.
"Here it is."
Helen stopped and shone the flashlight on the wall.
Lewis stood in front of the wall. He placed his hand on it.
Cold and rough texture. And within it.
Something was there.
Something sealed.
"Lewis?"
Helen spoke in an anxious voice.
"What is... this?"
Lewis didn't answer. He moved his hand along the wall, tracing it. Following the cracks. Following the pulse of mana.
And he found it.
Around the middle of the wall, there was a groove the size of a finger. It was a trace of a magic circuit. Almost erased, but still present.
"Here."
Lewis murmured.
"The door is here."
Helen's breath caught.