No wonder studying without practical experience was a bad idea. You had to read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles.
After experiencing it firsthand, the contents suddenly became much easier to understand.
Though, in theory, the scene beyond the door was a little abstract—the staircase actually went up.
As I'd said before, the most important thing about this door was its symbolic meaning.
Now that I'd chosen to open it, the combination of various elements no longer needed to follow boring rules. The idea came before the form.
In that case, I might as well take the time to appreciate the book's central message.
Ignoring the unpleasant smell, I stepped straight into the sobbing.
"Heh... hahaha..."
Without warning, the sobbing turned into a manic laugh.
So was this a stress response, or just a coincidence?
Despite the sudden change, I didn't break stride.
As I looked around, I couldn't help wondering what had caused the change.
For one thing, the switch between the two sounds had been completely abrupt. For another, the laughter was just as infectious, making me feel as if I wanted to tear the whole world apart.
That was right. She was laughing, but her emotions were even more unstable than before. She was practically at the point of being consumed by darkness and falling into demonic madness.
Yet it was still the same person—the same young woman.
What a shame. The book wasn't just stream-of-consciousness; it was clearly missing a huge chunk.
As a result, I hadn't found her name, nor had I come across this unusual mental state.
And even now, no one had come out to greet me or explain what was going on.
After such an earnest invitation from Lady Nepheli, this level of neglect seemed rather unusual.
But