Cheers rang out across the snow. Shatas and the others gathered around the giant, sitting or standing beside him, their faces lit with heartfelt smiles and relief.
For some reason, the sight left Klein momentarily dazed, and other scenes flashed before his eyes.
In those scenes, Groselle's chest was caved in and his breathing was almost nonexistent. Shatas was deathly pale and needed support. The ascetic Snoman was still encased in ice. It was another ending, one in which Chariot had never appeared.
Klein suddenly turned pale, feeling as though his head was about to explode. He clutched his forehead. Fortunately, the sensation vanished almost immediately. He frowned, unsure what the scenes he had just witnessed meant.
"Hey, shouldn't we hurry up and get out? Who knows how long that door will last? I don't want to stay here any longer," the Elf Singer proposed irritably.
Groselle nodded emphatically. "You're right. We've spent a very long time here. It's time to go back."
His words brought a question to Sifa's mind. Groselle and the others had entered this ancient book in the distant past. Would something happen to them if they returned?
But the excited protagonists clearly hadn't considered that question. They only wanted to return. Edwina called Danitz out, while Shatas asked Klein for paper and a pen. After giving him the Ocean Songster formula, she was the first to rush through the door.
Sifa glanced back, then walked with the others toward the illusory, snow-covered door. Up ahead, Iceberg Admiral pushed hard and flung it open. The scene before them immediately turned illusory, then transparent, before dissolving.
Soon, rows of bookshelves appeared before Sifa. Through the window, he saw the setting sun nearly sinking below the sea's horizon, and a desk holding a fountain pen, an ink bottle,