Night Raid on a Maiden's Boudoir (Seeking Monthly Votes)

"Frieren! You can't have that book!"

"Hm? Why not?"

"Because... because... that isn't a proper grimoire. In short, you can't have it!"

Frieren looked at Shane with a skeptical expression, then back at the grimoire in her hands, her eyes filled with doubt. Since when did grimoires come in "proper" and "improper" varieties?

Was this some kind of Sage riddle?

Watching Frieren guard the book like a squirrel with a nut, Shane felt utterly helpless.

"Trust me, this really isn't a valuable grimoire, and... look at the text on it. It's clearly an ancient Dwarven script, and it's incredibly difficult to decipher. Why don't you... why don't you give it to me, and I'll keep it safe for you for the time being?"

Hearing this, Frieren looked at the text on the book's cover; it was indeed a strange, difficult-to-recognize language.

It would be a bit of a challenge to decipher.

"That's fine. I can wait until I see Ize and ask him for help. I'll look at it with Ize."

!!!

Shane took a deep breath. I really thank you on Ize's behalf.

Seeing that he couldn't persuade Frieren, Shane had to think of another way.

"Fine, but you'd better keep it safe."

After saying this, Shane cast a lingering, gloomy glance at the grimoire.

He was already secretly plotting how to make this Dwarf Special Spring Playbook "mysteriously disappear" tonight.

Since he hadn't found any further clues regarding the Dwarf helmet, Shane decided to set the matter aside for now.

Taking advantage of the improving weather, they needed to set off as soon as possible to cross the Neck Mountains.

After leaving the village, the two returned to Saddle Town, planning to rest for the night, purchase the necessary travel supplies tomorrow, and then continue on their journey.

That night.

The moon was dark and the wind was high.

Shane arrived at the door of Frieren's room. He checked left and right before quietly pulling out the key he had swiped from the landlady.

As for how he swiped it, don't ask.

Click.

The door was gently pushed...

Pushed...

Pushed...

"Hm? Why won't it budge?"

Through the narrow crack in the door, Shane saw a pale, dainty foot.

"..."

He could perfectly imagine the wild sleeping posture Frieren must be in on the other side of the door.

How on earth did this girl manage to roll from the bed all the way to the door?

Shane didn't doubt for a second that if the door hadn't been in the way, she probably would have slept right out into the street. No, she might have even slept outside the inn entirely!

Shane took a deep breath and, using every ounce of his strength, slowly and bit by bit pushed the door open just enough to create a slightly larger gap.

Then, he squeezed his body in as best he could.

After finishing, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked speechlessly at Frieren, who was fast asleep on the floor.

He tidied up her bed and carried her from the floor back onto the mattress.

He even tucked the corners of the quilt in for her.

Finally, without hesitation, he swiped the Dwarf Special Spring Playbook from the table.

Back in his own room.

Shane didn't rush to Strip the entries from it; instead, he opened the pages out of curiosity.

He couldn't be blamed for this.

What man wouldn't be curious? Huh?

As it turned out, a miraculous scene occurred: the golden Thought Acceleration entry on his body suddenly activated on its own.

[Thought Acceleration (Legendary Gold)]: A true Sage must possess a sharp mind. Permanently increases your intelligence and comprehension, and accelerates the speed at which you interpret documents.

The ancient, twisted characters before his eyes seemed to become easy to understand in an instant, and those obscure, difficult sentences transformed into vivid illustrations.

Shane's eyes widened further and further.

A night passed.

Shane walked out of the room with unsteady steps.

What a fulfilling and unforgettable night it had been.

He had expected Frieren to sleep until the afternoon, but she had risen early and was currently rummaging through the room, making a clattering racket.

Shane stopped at her doorway and glanced inside; good heavens, she was practically tearing up the floorboards.

He silently walked away and headed downstairs for breakfast.

Not long after, Frieren followed, stomping down the stairs with puffed-out cheeks.

She complained to Shane that the grimoire she had just obtained yesterday had vanished before she even had a chance to read it. She suspected that some kind of concealment or escape magic had been cast upon the book. It must have been a myth-grade grimoire!

Shane nodded perfunctorily.

Seeing the girl's suspicious gaze dart toward him, he quickly pulled a slip of paper from his pocket to divert her attention.

"Neck Mountains, Blackstone Mountain, ruins of the Dwarf capital?"

Frieren looked at the words on the note in surprise. "Where did this come from? Is the information reliable?"

The information was absolutely reliable.

This was the result of Shane's hard work throughout the entire night.

That Dwarf Special Spring Playbook was a piece of erotica on the surface, but in reality, it was a codebook.

For reasons unknown, the person who wrote the book had used such a deceptive method; Shane guessed it was likely to prevent the Demon Race from finding it.

"It's information I saw on those helmets. As a sage, one can always discover secret codes that others cannot see."

Shane casually fabricated a reason.

Frieren did not doubt him and began to seriously examine the contents of the note; this was a major historical discovery!

A glimmer of excitement flashed in the girl's eyes.

Shane recalled the moment he saw the contents of the book last night; he had been just like Frieren was now.

Shocked by this information.

One had to realize that over the long passage of time, no one could verify how many times languages, vocabulary, and the symbols used to express meaning had changed, what had been lost, or what had been added.

If not for the

Thought Acceleration

trait, the difficulty of "reading" a piece of encrypted Dwarf literature from thousands of years ago would have been unimaginable.

Take the [Fragment of the Notes of Sage Aewich] for example; it was just a thin sheet of paper, yet it was covered in all sorts of bizarre codes and scribbled, incoherent, abbreviated phrases. If the author of the notes hadn't been there to explain them, even if later generations racked their brains to interpret them, it might have all been in vain.

After all, Shane had done far too many "reading comprehension" tests in his time.

He was grateful for his curiosity as a man; otherwise, they would have nearly missed an opportunity to uncover Dwarf history.

The decrypted information revealed:

"The Neck Mountains are the birthplace of the Dwarf 'Steel Civilization'.

They once built the most magnificent city in the world here—'Ironforge'.

Later, during the Slaughter War initiated by the Demon Race, Ironforge was destroyed and buried underground.

But the Dwarves believed that one day, a Champion of their race would possess the power to defeat the Demon Race, return to Blackstone Mountain, awaken the 'Black Iron Legacy' within the underground fortress, and restore the glory of the Dwarves."

Given the level of importance placed on this double encryption.

Shane did not doubt the authenticity of this information in the slightest.

Now, he was very interested in the [Sleeping Black Iron Legacy] mentioned in the cipher.