Chapter 5: Hope is a Bittersweet Word
The book containing information about the stigma—a forbidden power loathed by 『Primogenitors』 was in the end, just a book. Sebastian finished it with his fast reading speed but as he finished the last page, his mind went blank.
He had a deeper understanding of 『Primogenitors』, the God that gave them the powers, and the stigma but... there was no information that told him how to get a stigma.
Sebastian subconsciously closed the book in a daze then looked at it from the front cover once more. He didn't finish it the day after he had acquired it. Instead, he had read over the span of three days after going to the library that night to absorb the knowledge.
Not only did he not get the information he needed, but he also wasted four precious days in the three month period. He felt like a fish, trying to eat the bait only to find out there was nothing there.
But, there was still a sliver of hope. Sebastian was smart, he was confident of that. The book that he had read was too detailed, too real to be considered fake. Although it sounded far-fetched, Sebastian lived by the words that a wise man wrote on the last page of his book, 'once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.'
With the explanations inside the old book, many points that were glossed over and hidden in the normal history books could be explained. Although there was only a slight chance, just a tiny chance that it could be the truth, he had to take it.
Classes were already over for the day but Sebastian didn't want to risk being seen on his way to the old library and hence decided to wait for night. It wasn't that going there was forbidden—he was worried that Gilbert would catch word of it and prevent him from going.
Sebastian couldn't leave before curfew ended either because the guard would know that he was still outside, there was also the matter of his three roommates. They normally ignored Sebastian and hung out without him—they ignored his very existence.
But, it would be hard not to notice Sebastian's absence as the room had two bunk beds. Sebastian's bed was the bed at the bottom so his roommate had to pass through him to get to his own bed.
As Sebastian thought about that, the door opened and his three roommates walked in. He was laying down flat on his belly on the bed with the old book in his hand but once they entered, he quickly switched it to a book about arithmetics.
"You're serious?" one of Sebastian's roommates asked. "Yeah, I'm dating her now," another replied.
The two who had just spoken were the two who shared the other bunk bed, Freddie Obelyn and Willow Gardyner. Both of them were from minor houses, ones that served under the four major houses, Leon, Walt, Sol, and Luna.
"How in the world did you get Jessica to date you? By blackmailing her?" Freddie asked Willow in disbelief.
"Blackmailing... you, who do you think I am?" Willow sighed before walked over to his bed at the bottom of the other bunk.
"A womanizer that has broken the hearts of dozens of women," Freddie answered in all seriousness.
Hearing that, Willow was about to retort but swallowed his words. Freddie saw that and continued, "See? Even you agree with me. Wait until James hears about this. Oh, speak of the devil, James, listen to this!"
James walked into the room with only a couple of minutes in lag to the other two.
—James Malborn, Sebastian's roommate who lived on the top bed of his bunk. All three of his roommates originated from minor houses and despite Sebastian's infamy, none of them moved to do anything malicious to him.
But that was only natural, the Obelyn, Gardyner, and Malborn houses couldn't afford to offend the Sol, not even a disowned son. It would be different if their houses were under the Walt's or Leon's jurisdiction but two of those houses, Gardyner and Obelyn worked under the House of Sol while the Malborn House worked under the House of Luna.
Now that Sebastian thought about it, even if he was a disowned son, none of these three would dare blab about him to Gilbert if he gave the order. Gilbert also didn't hold the authority to force them to do anything and if word spread that he forced them, then the Walt House would spark controversy with the House of Sol.
Thinking about the possible consequences and benefits of leaving early, Sebastian decided to talk to them. He still had to wait until after curfew but telling them meant that even if they saw him leave in the night, they won't ask or tell anyone.
As they were talking about Willow's girlfriend, Sebastian sat up and spoke, "h-hey." Although Sebastian prepared himself, he still managed to stutter when he spoke causing all of his roommates to look at him in confusion. Sebastian hadn't actively spoken to them before and in the times they had, he wasn't the one to initiate it.
Sebastian saw the eyes gathered on him and took a deep breath before talking, "I'm going to leave at night. If anyone asks you where I went, please tell them that you don't know."
His three roommates took glances at each other and then nodded, they couldn't disobey the words of the House of Sol.
Seeing that they agreed, Sebastian sighed in relief and went back to reading but before he could get immersed, a voice interrupted him. "Uhh... Sir Sebastian," James was the one who spoke out.
"Huh?" Sebastian was surprised that one of them actually called out to him and unintentionally leaked out a noise of surprise.
James seemed to feel kind of awkward as he scratched his cheek before asking, "could you be sneaking out because of the president?"
The president could only refer to Amira Luna. Although it was true that Amy was the reason he was going to sneak out, it wasn't as if he was going to visit her. Though unfortunately for Sebastian, his words betrayed his thoughts, "well, yeah," he answered subconsciously.
After hearing his words, Freddie, James, and Willow widened their eyes in disbelief.
"Ah, don't get me wrong, I'm not going to visit her at night or anything..." Sebastian tried to explain but it was too late. His roommates gave him knowing looks and felt a sense of companionship with him. James even went as far as to clasp Sebastian's shoulder and give him a thumbs up.
"That's right, you aren't going to visit the president," Willow said while looking at Sebastian like a comrade. The three of them went back to their respective places and left Sebastian not knowing whether he should laugh or cry.
Deciding to leave the matter at a later date, Sebastian chose a different book and began reading—waiting for night to fall. His relationship with his roommates undoubtedly improved and it seemed that they didn't mind about his inability. They just didn't talk to him because it looked like Sebastian didn't want to.
As the sun fell and the moon rose, Sebastian looked at the clock on the ceiling and then got out of bed. As soon as he stood up, he could hear three whistling sounds causing his expression to darken. He shook his head and decided to prioritize the more important matter, he opened the door and snuck out.
He took the shortest route he knew to the library with the old book hidden in his blazer. It was quite obvious in daylight but during the night, the small bulge on his clothes couldn't be seen.
He spotted the old library and went in to find the old man sleeping. Sebastian hesitated to approach him and swallowed before finally speaking, "Senior?" He couldn't really think of another form of address to refer to the man.
The old man heard his words and opened his eyes, "you're the boy from the other day. Have you finished reading the book?"
Sebastian nodded and took it out from his blazer to place it in front of the old man. "I read the book and finished it but I didn't find any information about where to get this 'stigma' that it's referring to."
The old man asked, "are you sure you've read it in its entirety?"
Sebastian nodded multiple times, "I've even made sure to memorize the important pages. Is it really in here?"
The old man gave an enigmatic smile, it was the first time that Sebastian ever saw him change expressions from his usually stern-looking self. "The answer lies within our roots and in the heart of the book. Only when these two converge does the stigma appear. If acquiring it was as simple as reading a book then the world would be thrown into chaos," the old man spoke philosophical words.
"Within our roots and in the heart of the book..." Sebastian muttered in a daze, then he snapped back into reality and made a confused face, "what in the world does that mean?"
The old man simply looked at him and sighed—not responding to any of Sebastian's questions any further. Sebastian was smart, but if there was one thing he lacked, that would be EQ. Even if he had to pretend, he could've at least contemplated the old man's words for a few seconds.
Seeing as the old man didn't want to answer him, Sebastian walked over to the shelf that he had taken the book from. When he first got the book, he chose it from a random shelf. He looked at the tag on the shelf but it was left blank, the books had different genres, some were about history, geography, math, and even fiction stories.
But, there was one thing that all the books had in common. "All of them... are incredibly ancient," Sebastian muttered in surprise. Some of the books he saw dated to thousands of years old and he even found a tattered book from ten thousand years ago.
The covers all had dates on them and surprisingly enough, most of the pages were still readable. Though he also found some books that had pages turning into dust the moment he touched them, it made him wonder, 'how have these books been preserved in this library?'
As he finished scanning for new books to read, he took one that seemed interesting and went by the old man to check out. "I'll be reading this one," Sebastian showed the book he chose and the old man nodded before writing it down.
"Return it within a week," the old man paused before continuing, "and, believe in the book to get your wish."
The old man's words caused Sebastian to respond, "I really hope what I need is in here though, I don't have much time," he smiled wryly before giving one last farewell and leaving.
Once more looking at his departing back, the old man spoke words in melancholy, "hope... is a bittersweet word."
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