““We will take his place!””

Miki facepalmed.

Zanderfon, having defeated Ryan thrice in a row and concluding the Silence Observance Aptitude Test, was now confronted by three more Ryans.

“Rian!” “Rean!” “And Ruan!”

““WE ARE THE BROTHERS ZOTELO!””

The three of them posed like musketeers, complete with swords drawn. One of them held up a sign that said “These are props,” which explained why the school’s security wasn’t rushing in.

“Brothers, I… I failed you all,” Ryan said with a tear. He was dramatically lying on the ground, his voice raspy from defeat.

“Nonsense!” “You fought valiantly!” “Because of you, Miki-dearest will finally see us!”

Behind them, a small army cried “UOOOHH! PRAISE THE PRINCESS ZOTELO!”

The army’s cheer echoed. Ryan teared up a bit. Supported by his brothers, he propped himself up with a flagpole. Above him waved a banner emblazoned with an eye, a tear, and an encircling ribbon, upon which was written “SEMPER MIKI”.

While the development was developing at a developmentally concerning rate, Zanderfon squished up beside Miki.

“M- Miki, dear, are they really…”

Miki, still buried in her hands, nodded affirmative.

“…tried to tell you…”

“Hm? What is it?”

“…admirer president.”

Zanderfon back to Ryan, who was giving an impassioned speech about finally getting Miki’s attention.

No, in the first place, how did they manage to sneak a whole army into school grounds? It’s not like any of them were armed nor armored, but still…

A whistle blew.

“I told you all! No retainers allowed in school grounds!”

“WOH, MASTER ZURIN!”

Zanderfon cheered as a certain copyright-breaking wizard swooped overhead, sending crowd suppression spells downrange, obliterating the Zotelo retainers with looping visions of their cringiest highschool memories. Their wails could still be heard as they retreated through their invasion portals, cursing exes and themselves all the same.

But, not all could be turned away.

Indeed, it’s not as if students weren’t allowed to make a ruckus. Furthermore, it would be difficult to prove that a Family’s retainers conspired to crash a school event simply to support one student. They would, however, definitely be slapped with a hefty fine.

Despite their lost comrades, Ryan raised a fist, rallying his remaining brothers around him.

“WHILE EVEN ONE OF THE NOBLE GUARD STILL DRAWS BREATH!”

““THE GUARD HAS YET TO FALTER!””

Miki was still shaking her head, loitering around and kicking rocks.

“Stupid brothers… peace, give me peace…”

Zanderfon yearned to curbstomp the remaining Zotelo Noble Guard and give his dearest her well-deserved peace, but according to aptitude testing rules, a student could only take an aptitude test once per year.

A hand landed on Zanderfon’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Sandyboi…”

“What—Larissa?”

He couldn’t believe it. The look on Larissa’s face screamed death to Miki’s enemies. Rather, didn’t that also mean she was a Miki fanatic? When’d she get converted, what the heck?

Her lips parted as she slowly broke into a smile, but the light that shone was the darkest red.

—Wait, no way… O’Dulie! That tainted lineage?!

Zanderfon did not truly know Larissa, for she had merely crashed his date with Miki that fateful day before the entrance exam. To her credit, she did apologize for spilling Miki’s ice cream and bought her a new one, at which point it somehow turned into a date between Miki and Larissa, leaving Zanderfon to thirdwheel behind them and act as a baggage carrier.

Faster than Zanderfon could say “Oi, wait, don’t declare war!” Larissa sped away from his grasp and towards the Zotelo Noble Guard. The President and his Three Musketeers immediately posed to receive her. She skidded to a stop a few meters away from them, pointing at them, and declaring war:

“Miki hates you! Die for Miki!”

Like that.

Silence is the sound of hearts breaking.

“Brother!” “Brother-president!”

The brothers Zotelo caught Ryan as he fell backwards.

“I… I can’t do this anymore. You must… avenge me…”

His consciousness slipped, and they cried like wolves. “No… No, it can’t be…” Such thoughts denied that maybe, just maybe, Miki-dearest truly hated them.

—This is clearly just anti-Miki propaganda!

With such reasoning, they bared their fangs against Larissa. They started strafing around her like wolves, hands resting on the hilts of their prop swords. It’s not as if styrofoam swords could actually do any physical damage, but it did inflict damage upon one’s dignity.

The brothers Zotelo’s eyes widened and they quickly jumped back, putting distance between themselves and Larissa.

“Oi. Larissa. It’s too loud in here, isn’t it?”

Casa drew small Tree Diagrams over her knuckles, and with a bright burst, cracked all of them at the same time. The brothers swore her hands were about to transform, but nothing further happened.

“N- No way, Chiropractic Magic?!”

Originally devised for office workers to fight back pains, Librarians have found creative uses against unruly patrons.

Amidst Larissa and Casa, a far smaller girl, her face bowed down and hidden behind her silver hair, took center stage and took her position ahead of them.

“Give… peace…”

“M- Miki dearest, it’s us, your brothers! See? It’s me, Rian!”

“Stupid Rian…”

“GUGH?!” “RIAN’S DOWN! RIAN? RIAN!”

“Grant…”

Miki pointed at the brothers.

“Peace!”

Just like that, Miki and friends forewent the Silence Observance Aptitude Test, and confronted the remnants of the Zotelo Noble Guard…

Here. Now. In the Team Return Aptitude Test.

For some reason, the girls blocked Zanderfon from joining. Anyway, there was a thick miasma coming off of them, so maybe he shouldn’t join them in either case…

The objective: return all the given books.

In a simulated panoptical library section scenario, the returns counter was located smack in the middle of a circular cylindrical chamber, 20 meters in radius and 100 meters high. Sliding platforms and lifts allowed Librarians to access any portion of the 10-story bookshelf hyperstructure. There was also an Index Pillar in the returns counter to look up any book’s proper shelf.

In effect, and with little effort, even a freshman student could operate the Index Pillar, find the correct shelf, and get to it with the sliding platforms.

However, this was not the last of the Terror Three for nothing.

Two teams would race to achieve the highest number of points on a local leaderboard. The team’s accumulated points, their leaderboard ranking, the number of team members, and individual performance evaluations are used to calculate the final grade given to an individual student.

It’s not that the two teams have to fight for it. It’s completely reasonable for them to choose to cooperate. However, the employment scene for Librarians was harsh and unforgiving, and it wasn’t uncommon for Head Librarians to, sometimes literally, claw their way to the top. One’s ability to use others as their stepping stones—that is, to work effectively in a team—was a necessity to survive in such an environment.

Also, betting on the outcome was fun.

The two teams entered through opposing entrances. Rian, Rean, and Ruan entered with scowls on their faces.

“How could this be…” Rian muttered, “How could we fight Miki-dearest?!”

“We mustn’t relent, brother!” Rean said, jumping in front of him. “We need to make Miki finally see us properly! We can’t fail as brothers!”

“Rian, Rean is right,” Ruan, the youngest, added, “If we hesitate now, imagine what Miki will say about us!”

“What?!”

“‘What a useless brother,’ or, Miki forbid, ‘I don’t want to talk to you’!”

Rian got on all fours and punched the ground. Rean, believing him crippled, crouched down to try to catch him, but Rian slapped his hand away.

“Ruan, our youngest… You are wise beyond your years…”

“Rian…”

Rian stood up and patted himself down, acquiring a sharpness that almost rivaled that of their eldest, Ryan. He pumped his fist into the air.

“ON WE MARCH, O BROTHERS OF THE NOBLE GUARD!”

““OHHH!””

Miki shook her head. She entered, flanked on either side by Casa and Larissa. It was almost as if a white dragon with blue flames coiled around Casa, while a black dragon with red flames coiled around Larissa. Seeing these predators at the beck-and-call of Miki, whose shadow somehow extended farther than either Casa’s or Larissa’s, the brothers Zotelo had conflicting feelings of “Yes, yes! As it should be! All power to Miki!” and “We have to fight that?!”

Well, strictly-speaking, they didn’t have to fight. On the other hand, actively sabotaging the opposing team wasn’t off the board, either…

“FIGHT!” announced the golem.

Again, they don’t have to actually fight.

Miki picked up Larissa and threw her at her brothers. The girl didn’t complain, instead smiling at them. Instead of the usual blinding light, however, darkness flashed across the chamber, paralyzing the brothers in doubt and fear. Meanwhile, Miki and Casa raced towards the Index Pillar.

“Oh? They’re not going for the books?” Brother Dominicus remarked.

“I’m telling you, brother, these students are exceptional,” Sister Maria continued.

“…And why, perchance, would these students gain such of your impress?”

““Lord Master Deluxe Grand Librarian!””

The two Librarians bowed towards the headmaster and chief administrator of the Kingdom of Toth’s most esteemed Grand Library: Lord Master Deluxe Grand Librarian, Amerilus Lockefeldt!

His looks were young for his years. His black hair was swept back, and reached his neck. There was not a scar nor a wrinkle upon his pristine face. He wore a grand cape and sashes criss-crossed his body—an honor for some, but merely chains for him.

As for the mega-syllabic title, one so mega that a comma was needed to distinguish his actual name from the title…

“…I believe I’ve told you both to choose one word and stick with it.”

“But it’s fun to say the whole thing…” Sister Maria pouted.

“Pardon, Lord Master Deluxe Grand Librarian! But as my sister so said, gaining all of those titles in one lifetime is so rare that it’s never not amazing to just say! I, for one, am proud to announce that I have known and have had the pleasure to work under one Lord Master Deluxe Grand Librarian!”

“I…” he sighed, “…whatever. So? Sister Maria, how are these hatchlings different from the rest?”

“Well—Ah! She’s doing it! Look!”

Miki was hugging the Index Pillar, while Casa was dancing around it.

“She’s… dancing? The one called Casa Ley?”

“Lord Master Deluxe Grand Librarian, please observe closely.”

“That’s…”

On the ground around the returns counter, nodes connected to nodes connected to… Miki.

Casa did not dance. The rhythm was merely necessary to prevent the massive Solar Diagram from collapsing. Unlike a Tree Diagram, the nodes of a Solar Diagram were in constant motion, like planets around a sun. When nodes collided, they joined, and when energy was added or removed, they sped up and slowed.

When planets aligned, their powers exponentially multiplied. The sun shone brighter. Miki was sun.

“H- Hey, sister, isn’t that actually dangerous?”

“I believe they can do it.”

“Even if you say that!”

“N- No way?! They’re doing it again?!”

The woman’s scream attracted their attention. She was covering her face with a folder and crouched down in horror—a horror which she could not help but to curiously watch.

She was Ms. Dale, the examiner who administered Casa and co.’s entrance exams.

…incidentally, also Lord Master Deluxe Grand Librarian Lockefeldt’s assistance.

Miki shone so bright, bathed in blue light, that her brothers, originally preoccupied with fighting off Larissa’s charming smile, all stopped to witness her possible ascension to divinity.

In that moment, Casa approached her, and poked her forehead. That strong blue light gushed out and flowed into Casa, transforming into white and purple. Those three colors clashed until, finally, a radial tricolor of blue, purple, and white soundlessly filled the chamber. Witnesses and bettors alike momentarily forgot to breathe.

As the light died down, some started to wonder what the point of it all was.

Then Miki clapped.

Dozens of thin blue lasers soundlessly shot out from an orb on top of the Index Pillar, their ends landing on several empty spots on various shelves, from the lowest to the highest shelves all around.

Then Casa snapped.

All the books on the return counter levitated, spiralled outwards, and flew to their homes. They neatly packed themselves in their proper places, as every book must have, and every book should.

Silence is sweet and forgiving.

The trio left the playing field, leaving Miki’s brothers to wonder whether they were actually pretty lucky to see their beloved sister do something so amazing right in front of them.

“Miki… Forever…”

Rian finally said before he passed out, standing on his feet. He was the last amongst his brothers’ consciousnesses to hold out, as the others posed in various states of awe: Rean on his knees, and Ruan on his chest, his right hand reaching out towards where Miki had stood.

“…They will take my classes.”

At Lord Master Deluxe Grand Librarian Lockefeldt’s words, Sister Maria, Brother Dominicus, and finally, Ms. Dale, all slowly cranked their heads towards him.