Vanessa stumbled back several steps, looking around in terror, as though that were not a bookstore but a gaping maw waiting to devour someone. The surrounding houses still looked familiar. This was the Hearthfire District, and the gas lamps along the street were rather dim, barely illuminating the road. A few insects circled the light, occasionally striking the glass shades with faint sounds.
Yet the place also felt unfamiliar. The detectives patrolling everywhere were nowhere to be seen, and the tense atmosphere had vanished entirely, leaving only silence. It was as though Vanessa were the only person in the world.
Vanessa stopped and craned her neck to look at the bookstore ahead.
A lantern illuminated the bookstore, but barely a few strands of light reached the doorway.
Not far from the door, an empty reclining chair still rocked gently, as though its owner had left just a second ago.
A string of wind chimes above occasionally gave a clear tinkle, making the surroundings seem even quieter.
Vanessa looked around with [Spirit Vision], but could find nothing unusual, as though everything were exactly as it should be.
She turned to look behind her again. The road she had come along was still there, and she could even make out pedestrians in the distance.
Perhaps if she turned around now, she could leave.
Thinking it over carefully, that was what the Believer named Jenny had done before. She had seen Daydream but chosen not to enter, and had successfully left just like that. She had simply never managed to get inside again.
Vanessa swallowed.
Should she go in?
"Perhaps I could give it a try. Last time, I went in and read that Sevenfold Record of Broken Oaths, and gained the ability [Concealment]..."
There were not just books inside; she could gain