Endless Journey: Infinite Realms

Chapter 363 Interlude: Asteria“s typical day as a studen part 8

[[[At the sight of the frightening amount of books around them, Celeste could only continue gulping as she looked at Kibou pleadingly.]]]

[Celeste]: Kibou, do you know how to read books in a normal way?

[Kibou]: Ki?

[Celeste]: What I meant is that if you can read books just by using your eyes, or whatever you are using to see things...

[Kibou]: Ki ki!

[Celeste]: So you can read that way? Good, at least I won’t do this alone.

[[[After Celeste said these words, she put the sleeping bodies of Asteria, Ex, Cali, and Bur on the ground beside her. Celeste did not bother to fix their postures as she dumped the 4 down unceremoniously.]]]

[Kibou]: ...

[[[Kibou’s robotic face immediately frowned as it saw what Celeste did, as if he was disapproving of her actions.]]

[Kibou]: Ki ki ki ki!

[Celeste]: Don’t worry Kibou. I think we can leave Asteria and her lackeys here. At least here they won’t really do the trial by themselves... We can just fetch them back once we finish the trial!

[Kibou]: Ki...

[Celeste]: Kibou, if we still have to bring these 4 along with us during the trial, it will be much harder for us to even finish it. Kibou, do you want us to fail because we are bringing burden on ourselves?

[Kibou]: Ki... Ki ki ki ki!

[Celeste]: Hey! I did not do this because of Asteria’s feud with me! That’s a separate case!

[Kibou]: Ki. Ki.....

[Celeste]: Ugh... Kibou, why are you even making assumptions like that? I really didn’t do this out of spite! Believe me!

[Kibou]: Ki.

[Celeste]: Oh thank goodness you listened to me now Kibou.

[Kibou]: Ki ki ki. Ki ki...

[Celeste]: Yes Kibou, I will not abandon them, I swear.

[Kibou]: ...

[Celeste]: Kibou, I promise that once we finish the trial, we will get Asteria and her lackeys before we descend on the next floor. If I don’t fulfill this promise, then the universe is free to strike me down!

[Kibou]:. Ki....

[Celeste]: Okay, now that we have agreed on these terms, why don’t we start our exploration already? We still have a trial to finish, right?

[Kibou]: Ki!

[Celeste]: Go on, follow me then.

[Kibou]:. Ki ki!

[[[Celeste and Kibou then walked onwards, with their faces filled with dedication. Behind them, the slumped bodies of Asteria and her lackeys laid still, with snoring sounds emanating from them. The contrast between these two sighs was so great that Stone Face, who was watching everything that happened, could only shake his head in faint amusement.]]]

[[[Stone Face]]]: These students... they really are a mischievous lot.

*****************

A FEW MINUTES LATER.

[[[As Celeste and Kibou continued walking among the scattered books, their faces would occasionally frown, as if there was something bothering them. This frown was more prominent on Celeste, whose forehead looked like a crumpled paper.]]]

[Celeste]: Kibou... Since we are in a trial, then shouldn’t we know what our Trial is? After all, we can’t do anything if we do not know our damn trial! And to make matters worse, Stone Face also did not inform us about the Rules and Objectives of this trial! Ugh!

[Kibou]: Ki... ki!

[Celeste]: Yes, I agree with you. This is really unfair. Sigh... did Stone Face screw up with his job? Maybe he’s getting too old to remember everything that he should do...

[Stone Face]: Young woman, I am still of sound mind, so your accusations are all baseless. Oh, and if you continue insulting me like this, I will be forced to punish you too.

[Celeste]: Ah Stone Face! It’s a good thing that you are here! Please tell us what our trial is!

[Stone Face]: Tell you? No, I won’t be telling you anything, Miss Celeste. Even if you bribe me with anything more, I will still not be telling you anything.

[Celeste]: What? But if you don’t tell us the trial, then how will we be able to finish it?

[Stone Face]: Miss Celeste, if you don’t know the trial, then you just have to discover it by yourself.

[Celeste]: What? But that’s-

[Stone Face]: Miss Celeste, at the moment that you entered the trial ground, your trial has already started. Everything that you do from now on is crucial, and I have not capability to interfere. So even if you’re in danger, I have no way to save you...

[Celeste]: ...

[Stone Face]: If you really want to know what your trial is, then I recommend that you keep quiet and just start looking for clues! Stop wasting time there moping with your robot friend! You have better things to do than that!

[Kibou]: Ki!

[Stone Face]: And the same thing goes for you too, Mr. Kibou. Even if your processing capabilities had been crippled with your separation from your ’relatives’, you should still have enough power to use your head! Don’t just waste it talking like that! Use that to discover your goals!

[[[Stone Face seemed to be worked up as he berated the two students. Even if his face was unseen, the tone of his voice made it apparent that he was disappointed, which made Celeste feel both saddened and irritated.]]]

[Celeste]: So if we want to proceed with the trial, we must first investigate what the trial is while I am doing the trial? Huhuhu... Stone Face, what did we do to offend you like this?

[Stone Face]: You did nothing to offend me, Miss Celeste. In fact, you actually had impressed me. I find it rare to find someone as dazzling as you. Sigh... if it weren’t for the presence of Asteria, you surely would have been the brightest pupil here in the school.

[Celeste]: ....

[Stone Face]: Hahaha, why am I getting sentimental like this? Okay Miss Celeste, you should go on right now! I already reached my allowed talking time with you, so don’ expect to talk to me again during the trial. If you want to talk to me again, finish the trial first! Oh, but you two should make sure that you can come back in one piece later!

[Celeste]: Stone Face.... Now I understand why Asteria and her lackeys were really pissed at you...

[Stone Face]: ...

[Celeste]: ???

[Stone Face]: ...

[[[Even when the latest words by Celeste were clearly mocking Stone Face, Celeste did not hear any replies from him, as if the connection between them was cut off. Facing this silence, Celeste only sighed as she confirmed that Stone Face was indeed unable to talk to them now. After she reached this realization, Celeste was not sure if she should feel happy or worried by it.]]]

[Celeste]: Um, at least Stone Face has managed to make me realize what I should do for this trial. I think that’s enough from him already... As for his voice, I think I can just wait until the end of the trial to hear it again...

[Kibou]: Ki? Ki? Ki?

[Celeste]: Yes Kibou, Stone Face is unable to communicate to us now. So if you want to vent your anger him, just do it later once we exit this place.

[Kibou]: Ki...

[Celeste]: Okay then... So just like what Stone Face said, we must first investigate and discover what our trial is. The earlier that we do this, the better it will be for us. If we do this late, we will be just exposing ourselves in more danger...

[Kibou]: Ki? Ki ki ki ki?

[Celeste]: You’re asking me how will we investigate? Well, seeing that we are surrounded by books, maybe we can glean a clue if we open one of the books? What do you think about that?

[Kibou]: Ki! Ki ki ki ki!

[Celeste]: So you’re okay with it? Okay then, let’s oo and find a good book to open!

[Kibou]: Ki!

[[[These two miniature beings then started observing the books around them, looking for the book which will be a good ’material’. After a few minutes of looking, Celeste’s eyes stopped moving as it landed on a purple book. Her eyes immediately narrowed in interest as she stared at the purple book shrewdly]]]

[Celeste]: From the observations that I had earlier, I theorized that the color of all the books here should have been either black or white only. After all, the colors of the books that I have seen around me are either black or white. There’s no other color for books that are present, which makes my theory quite plausible. But who could have expected that a purple book like this will actually appear now! This is really interesting! Hmm... this purple book is the first book that I have seen with this vibrant color. Since its color was unique, then maybe this book has a unique property too? Hmm... guessing like this won’t help us reach the real answer! Since this book is already here, then I will just open it right now!

[[[After she made this declaration, Celeste did not waste any more time as she stretched her hand out, grasping the purple book with her tiny hands. She then started heaving, as her whole body strained on opening the cover of the purple book.]]

[Celeste]: Hng...

[[[Since the purple book was meant to be read by a human, its size was obviously larger compared to Celeste. This size disparity made it naturally harder for Celeste to open the book, as its weight was something that even Celeste cannot just shrug off.]]]

[Celeste]: Kibou... are you willing to help me out here? I.... I cannot open this book by my own...

[Kibou]: Ki? Ki ki!

[[[After hearing Celeste’s pleas, Kibou, who seemed to be slightly down from everything that happened, let out a cheerful ’ki’ as it approached the purple book.]]

[Kibou]: Ki ki ki!

[[[The excited Kibou grasped the front cover of the purple book with both of his metallic hands, with his elbow tucked neatly on his sides. Kibou stayed stuck on this pose for a few more seconds, before he started to make his move.]]]

[Kibou]: Ki!

[[[Loud, creaking sounds rumbled out of Kibou’s body, as the said robot seemed to have used every part of his machine body to open the book. This move seemed to have an effect, as the unmoving cover has started to slowly rise under the influence of Kibou’s arms.]]]

[Celeste]: Yes Kibou! You’re really amazing!

[Kibou]: Ki ki!

[[[The two continued conversing to each other like this, and they only stopped when Kibou has fully opened the book.]]]

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