You Call This a Trial? VI

The three of them looked at each other, seemingly waiting for someone to take the initiative and accept the task.

Murasaki Shikibu said, "There's no rush. If you haven't decided yet, take your time. If you're hungry or thirsty, I can arrange a meal for everyone first. Or perhaps you could look through my collection."

"Though there aren't many modern books—just books humans occasionally discarded that I picked up—the ancient volumes here are all genuine originals."

With that, Murasaki Shikibu stepped back to a safe distance, took out I Have a Date with a Monster again, and resumed reading it with great relish.

She seemed utterly certain that the trial she had designed would stump Aoko and the other two.

The entire library was divided into two sections, outer and inner. The outer section held old books from human society. They were not worth much and had been placed there purely to fill space.

The inner section contained Murasaki Shikibu's collection from before she joined Himeji Castle. Books from that era all possessed great historical value; if taken outside, they would likely sell for astronomical prices.

Alice had no intention of going up to tell a story, so she wandered around and casually picked up a battered comic book with no visible cover from the outer section.

Suddenly, the comic book burst with radiant light, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

"Greetings, wonderful person. Let us meet in a dreamlike encounter!" A voice emerged from the light.

A tiny figure, less than 1.4 meters tall, appeared before everyone.

Pfft!

That sound came from Manaka Sajyou, because the person before them was Nursery Rhyme. Though Nursery Rhyme's Spirit Origin could not even be considered that of a Servant and was, at best, as strong as a third-rate monster—

That face, traced back to