Ch.16- Two options.

The golden key nestled inside the box, bigger than the one Crow held but still similar. Beside it was a folded parchment, yellowed with age.
“Paper and another key…” Ash said with both shock and disappointment in his voice. “Is this some kind of joke?”
A heavy silence fell over the room. All eyes focused on Crow as he stood motionless, staring at the contents of the box. Amy could barely see him breathing. His jaw moved, but he said nothing.
He reached into the box slowly. His fingers shook before they touched the key, and Amy realized she’d never seen him tremble before. There was sweat on his forehead, too.
“Crow?” Lyra asked quietly.
He didn’t acknowledge her. Nobody else tried speaking.
He picked up the key and turned it over, then again before closing his fist around it. His grip tightened until the knuckles were white. Amy could hear him breathing.
“We searched all this time,” he said quietly. “Risked all that…”
Lyra glanced at Ash. Lain took a step away.
Crow didn’t look at any of them. He was still staring at the key, and nobody had an answer for him.
“And it’s another key.”
His eyes had gone a darker gray. Amy noticed the tension in his shoulders and the vein at his throat, though she already knew what he was about to do. She tried to prepare herself anyway.
Suddenly, his fist slammed into the wooden desk with such force that for a moment Amy thought he had broken it.
Whoah!
Amy flinched despite herself. She knew it was coming, yet she still got scared. She saw it in the manga, after all.
“Crow—” Lyra started, reaching toward him.
But before she could get to him, Ash grabbed her arm with a shake of his head.
What followed was silence as no one moved.
Amy shifted uncomfortably.
When she’d read this scene in the manga, she had actually laughed out loud. All that buildup, just to give them another key. She’d thought it was a stupid way to drag out the mystery and make everyone wait for more chapters.
She’d been annoyed enough to write a post about it, complaining that the author was getting lazy.
Now Crow was standing in front of her, and she couldn’t find anything funny about his face. How long had he been searching? Years? He’d done everything that she had simply watched him do on a page.
She’d complained about the reveal and gone on with her day. He had to live with it.
His fist hadn’t left the desk. It was shaking, and looking at it made her throat tighten.
And I was looking forward to this reveal…
She remembered having so much fun during this chapter that she forgot that her enjoyment had been at the expense of these characters, who now were real people. It was only now that she remembered. Thinking back, it wouldn’t have been that different even if she knew they were real people back then…
Lyra still had her hand out toward him. Ash had almost let go of her arm, but she stayed where she was. Lain didn’t seem to know what to do either.
Eventually Ash walked into Crow’s line of sight and waited. He didn’t touch him. After a while, Crow looked at him.
Crow took a few slow breaths, making an effort to lower his shoulders.
“You haven’t read the note,” Ash said.
Crow looked back into the box. He took out the parchment with his uninjured hand and opened it.
As he read, his eyes widened.
Amy watched him go over something on the page. For once, he seemed too surprised to bother concealing it.
“It’s…” His gaze caught on Amy, and he stopped.
“What is it?” Ash asked, coming closer.
Crow hesitated. Of course. She was the only one here who wasn’t his friend. He seemed to consider keeping it to himself, but then looked up again.
“It’s from my father.”
Ash and Lyra exchanged a look. Lain’s attention stayed on Crow.
“Your father?” Lyra repeated. She seemed to have forgotten about the possible traps.
“Yes.” He glanced at Amy again. “He disappeared when I was little. That’s his signature.”
His fingers tightened on the paper.
“What did he write?” Ash asked.
Crow went back to reading. By the time he answered, he’d recovered some of his usual composure.
“It’s in Old Vernacular.”
“Do you understand it?”
“Yeah…” He was already reading the next part.
His lips moved a little as he translated, and Amy found herself watching.
She’d accepted that in the manga without much thought. Crow knew ancient languages because the plot required him to know them, sure. Some readers had tried to explain it. She hadn’t bothered. But somebody must have taught him, or he’d learned it himself. After watching him lose control like that, it was harder to dismiss him as a protagonist with convenient skills.
Why, and how?
And the box itself—what had his father’s box been doing there? That hadn’t been explained in the published chapters either.
It sounded like something that would come back to cause trouble.
Nobody interrupted him while he finished reading. Eventually, he looked up.
“He’s left directions, and a warning.”
“Where do they lead?” Lyra asked.
Crow took the larger key and turned it over again.
“A place he calls The Library.” He pointed to the name on the page. “Supposedly, you can find all the answers there. This opens the way to a chamber beneath the Academy.”
“Beneath the Academy?” Ash asked, straightening. “And nobody’s noticed it?”
“The entrance is hidden on the fourth floor of the Eastern Wing.” Crow checked the line again. “The part we’re forbidden from entering.”
Amy shifted where she stood. She remembered skipping pages to the point where they reached the library since nothing really game-changing happened on the way there. If only she had known that one day she would find herself needing that information…
At least she got something from the headmistress’ introduction to the Academy. She’d specifically told them to stay away from that wing because of some temporal displacement. Amy remembered that much, although the headmistress hadn’t explained why it was there.
[Hidden chambers and forbidden corridors. Back to Act 1 of the second arc, then?]
Act 1.
Amy shivered before making herself stop.
The worst of that act was already over. No more rituals sacrificing people to bring an eldritch horror into the world. There would still be fights and frightening things, but more of it happened in their heads. The really horrible part came in Act 3. That was when Lain died and Ash got eaten by rats…
From now on, I won’t fail…
Getting to the Library would be difficult. It still wasn’t going to be like the nightmare they’d just escaped.
She tried to keep that in mind.
“Vanheim told us to stay out of the Eastern Wing,” Lyra said quietly.
“He wasn’t entirely wrong.” Crow read the note again. “There is temporal displacement. My father says it’s controlled, though. A defense.”
“Controlled by who?” Ash asked.
“He hasn’t written that down. But there are instructions for getting through it safely.”
They took a moment to consider that.
Ash folded his arms and leaned against the wall. “Before we go any further, are you actually planning to go there? Or are we just talking?”
Crow looked at the key, then the parchment.
“Next week. I’m going, and I’d like all of you with me.” His gaze stopped on Amy. “Including you.”
She blinked.
“Why me?”
“You managed in the nightmare. We could use your powers.” He paused before adding, “If this is what my father says it is, I don’t want to go without help.”
“…and why should I go?”
She had many reasons to go, but they didn’t need to know that. The less they knew how much she needed to get there to prepare for the next acts, the better. This way she would get stuff for free. Maybe she could even get another favour from Crow.
Lain stepped closer, looking directly at Amy.
“…you’re bluffing. You want to come anyway.”
What!?
Amy almost reacted. She managed to keep her face still, though her heart had already given her away to herself.
[She read you like a me. Hah! Get it?]
Crow looked at Lain, then at Amy, his eyebrows raised.
“Do you?” He sounded interested rather than annoyed.
Amy shrugged, trying to look as though the question meant very little to her.
Unfortunately, nobody took that as an answer. They just kept looking at her. She waited a few seconds, but they apparently had plenty of time.
Eventually, Amy let out a dramatic sigh, breaking the silence. “…I’ll go.”
Crow stared at her with both a confused and thoughtful expression, saying nothing for a while before eventually nodding, seemingly satisfied. “Good. What about the rest of you?”
“…I’m coming,” Lain said, looking at Crow.
“Me too.” Lyra straightened up.
That left Ash. Everyone looked at him.
He stayed against the wall with his arms folded. For once he wasn’t smiling. He looked irritated, actually.
“Ash?”
He sighed and rubbed his head. “Am I the only one who’d rather stay alive? We’re talking about the fourth floor of the Eastern Wing. You all remember that part?”
“You don’t have to come,” Crow said, rather coldly.
Ash put a hand to his chest. “Getting rid of me already? And after everything we’ve been through. That hurts, Crow.”
“Just answer him,” Lyra said.
“I will obviously come, because somebody has to keep you alive. But I’d like to know how we’re getting there. Have you seen the security since Building B?”
He had a point. Since the ritual, there were teachers and security staff everywhere. Restricted areas in particular were getting a lot of attention.
“We don’t have to use that entrance.” Crow paused before adding, “We can go through the headmistress’ office.”
“Her office?” Lyra stared at him. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Possibly.” He almost smiled. “I’ve been using my ability to study the building for months. There’s a passage from her private study to other parts of the Academy. It connects to the Eastern Wing.”
“You’ve been studying the building? Why?”
Crow closed his fingers around the key. “Because of my father. His research involved this place. Whatever happened to him, I think…” He stopped and tried again. “There are three sealed entrances I’ve found. One in the library archives. Another under the old observatory. The last—”
“Under the headmistress’ office,” Lyra said.
Everyone seemed to need a moment after that.
[We could accomplish quite a lot if we stopped pausing like this.]
Ash whistled. “Her office or the main entrance. The room with probably the most wards in the Academy, or the second-most-patrolled part of the building. Those are our options? Lovely.”
“I don’t think we can get through either,” Lyra said, twisting hair around her finger. Amy remembered that habit from the manga, though it looked different when there was an actual worried person doing it.
“…guards have routines,” Lain said. “You can work out where they’ll be. Sometimes they miss things. I learned that dealing with my family. Wards aren’t perfect either.”
Crow looked at her. “What do you suggest?”
“…compare the routes. Then vote.”
“We’re voting now?” Ash asked. “Fine. Let’s hear it.”
“The main entrance has guards,” Crow said. “Getting into the office will be more dangerous, but once we’re through, we should have an easier way in.”
“At least we’ve seen the front entrance,” Lyra said. “We know where the patrols go.”
“The old patrols,” Ash pointed out. “There are more now. And after Building B they’ll be watching for students trying to sneak into places.”
Amy listened without joining in, trying to decide what she thought. In the manga, they had gone through the front entrance—it had been a whole chapter of narrow escapes and close calls. They’d managed to get in but were caught on their way out. The punishment had been severe; a suspension, a fine, and a lot of extra work.
But the headmistress’ office… that was uncharted territory. The manga had never explored that path… Moreover, she didn’t know if she could follow them through the main entrance with her current capabilities.
If only her powers could see that far, she would be able to make a more sensible decision. But she had a feeling—thanks to her mastery—that she wouldn’t even get close to knowing what the better option was. A week was too much time.
Some readers already speculated she knew things from the future, but they didn’t know how. She would have to make them believe it was part of her ability…
But for now, though, she needed to take a path.
“I believe the office is the better option,” Crow stated firmly. “The wards are complicated, but I’ve studied them. Most are there to keep people out. They do less to watch anyone who’s already inside.”
“Lovely. We’re outside,” Ash said. “How do we change that?”
Crow showed him the smaller key. “This. The note says it disrupts certain ancient wards, though only briefly. It should work on the ones protecting her office.”
“Why are we only hearing this now?” Lyra asked.
“Because I didn’t know until I read it.”
“…can we vote?” Lain asked. “The office or the front?”
“The office,” Crow said immediately.
“…I’ll choose that too.”
Ash let out a groan. “Put me down for the front entrance. I don’t want to use either, but I’d rather try the place we’ve actually seen.”
Lyra took a little longer to make up her mind. “The front entrance. Sorry, Crow. Breaking into the headmistress’ office sounds like a good way to get expelled.”
That made two for each route. Amy realized what that meant just as everyone turned to her.
Of course, last vote, what did I expect…?
“Well?” Ash prompted. “What’ll it be?”
Amy took a deep breath and thought. A long long time passed of her just thinking, until she finally reached a conclusion.
Let’s just trust the MC, plot armor will help. Besides, he’s ridiculously strong. With him there, surely…
“The headmistress’ office,” Amy said at last.
Crow smiled at her answer. “That’s settled, then.”
“Wonderful. Should I write my expulsion letter tonight?” Ash rubbed his head. “I’d rather have it ready when she catches us.”
“She won’t catch us. Just follow the plan.”
He sounded so sure that Amy almost believed him. Almost. It would have been nice to know where he got all that confidence.
“Alright, but what’s the plan?” Lyra asked, folding her arms. “You still haven’t told us.”
Crow put the keys down together. “We start with these. I want to know exactly how they work before we go. We have about a week.”
Amy stared at the keys for a moment. She’d wanted them to avoid getting caught at the front entrance, and now they were going through the office instead. She’d helped decide that. Which was fine, probably, except that everything she remembered about the route was now useless.
They couldn’t get caught leaving through an entrance they hadn’t used. Well, they could, technically. She had no idea where this new route would bring them out, or what else they might run into along the way. For all she knew, she’d voted for something worse.
Wonderful. A whole week to think about whether she’d made a terrible decision.
First, though, she had divination class. Then she had to meet Zayd for tea. She should probably worry about those in order.