Anderson and Siegfried instinctively assume a battle stance.
Eli remained unperturbed as she guessed that this must be the mysterious Leprechaun that Leon was talking about last night.
Kazimir raised his hand to signal Anderson and Siegfried that everything was already before he calmly put his hand on his chest and bowed.
"Greetings, Esteemed Guardian of the Archives. Kazimir Nox De Seirende, the current First Prince of the Empire, brought my team here to look into the records of the First Great War."
At Kazimir's cue, the rest of the group also introduced themselves to the being that was not yet revealing himself.
"Hmm… so many young ones. The Empire has already been here for centuries, and yet, it took your generation to become curious about the details of the first war…" The voice sounded, it seemed to be amused with the presence of the four.
"Hmmm, amazing…"
"Really… splendid!"
The four remained silent as they let the Guardian reveal himself.
Soon, they finally saw the source of the voice, it was an elder-looking leprechaun.
Dressed in a green hat and robe, with his white beard as long as the hem of his robes. There was also a pair of spectacles in his eyes that he kept on touching while he looked at Kazimir and Eli, clearly amused.
"It is such a miracle that a blood mixed with two heavenly beings becomes cleansed like this…"
"I always warned your Father that your body would never withstand the blood of two guardians, but look at you… You lived past thirty and even had a family… How much sacrifice did your old man do to sustain your life?" The Guardian, Leprechaun circled around Kazimir; he was half as tall as him yet everyone did not treat him lightly.
"Sacrifice?" It was the first time Kazimir had heard of this thing. His eyes were full of questions as he tried to ask for more answers from the Leprechaun.
"Well, you do not have to worry, everything is all good anyways! Look, someone even permanently fixed the issue for you. Now the other power who almost destroyed your body no longer had any trace in your entire being.
Oh, if you happen to see the One who helped you, make sure to bring your son to her too. So that you would be sure that he would not encounter the same problem as yours."
The Leprechaun continued circling around Kazimir, but as soon as he mentioned the last sentence, he cast a glance at Eli who was behind the three of them.
Eli met the eyes of the Leprechaun and she put a finger on top of her lips, signaling to not talk and reveal anything about her.
It was lucky that Leon also mentioned how the Leprechaun would carelessly mutter a lot of crucial information. No wonder, the Emperors sealed him in the Archives, he was a total chatterbox.
The Guardian Leprechaun pouted like an aggrieved grandpa upon seeing Eli's gesture.
"Alright, enough, I'll bring you to the section where you wanted to go." He raised his head and snapped his fingers.
In an instant, they were transported to another section of the library. Books and memoirs about the First Great War were stacked neatly on the shelves around them
"Feel free to start browsing, of course, handle them all with care or else…" He looked at them and gave a warning glance.
"Esteemed Guardian of the Archives, we dare not insult these precious materials. We will ensure that they are intact and damage free." Kazimir politely bowed once again, leading the other three to do as he did.
The Leprechaun gave a nod before stepping out to fade into the darkness slowly.
They watched his body slowly blend in the shadows as they hear his voice saying, "If you want to know how to become efficient I suggest that the First Prince take the books in the North Wing, the lady on the South, the Son of Astaze on the West and the Heir of the Cross on the East…"
"We will heed your wise words…" They replied.
As soon as his presence faded, the people looked at each other and started their research.
Once they started their research, they immediately lost track of their time. They did not even have the time to bother each other.
On the south wing, Eli was browsing the book catalog so that she could start filtering out what books she had to read first. However, before she could even select a book, she felt a presence behind her.
Eli calmly turned around and saw the Leprechaun with an aggrieved face. Deeply confused as to why the Leprechaun revealed himself, she asked carefully, "Esteemed Guardian, do you have anything to say?"
But the Leprechaun only stretched out his aged palm, a gesture that is demanding payment, "Compensation!"
"Compensation?" Eli blinked while looking at the elderly leprechaun who was now acting like a swindled grandpa.
"You asked me to keep your identity secret, now give me compensation!" He demanded.
"Err… how about this one?" Eli reached into her space pocket and gave a pouch of supreme mana stones. These are the most valuable item in her pouch at the moment that could not even be bought with money.
Besides she does not have gold and jewelry in her space pouch either.
"Young Lady, you think that I, the Leprechaun, who has lived as the book spirit in this archive would have a need for mana stones?" The elderly man shook his head as if looking at Eli with a disappointed look.
"Apologies… This humble one still had a lot to learn from this world. I have only ever lived with the protection of my loved ones (to be precise, just less than two years of this world) and so I am still not familiar with what the Esteemed Guardian wants." Eli did not get annoyed by the Leprechaun's behavior.
If Leon and even Kazimir had to treat him with respect, then all the more that she had to be more patient and accommodating towards the Leprechaun without a second thought.
"Hmm.. since you, the last descendant of the Asani asked this nicely, then I will spell it for you. What more would be valuable to a Leprechaun like me but another set of new books!"
"..." Eli was taken aback for a few seconds before she could properly reply. She had always thought that leprechauns liked gold and sparkly things… but it seems like the Leprechaun guardian doesn't.
Could it be because he was stuck in the library?
"O-oh… Indeed the Esteemed Guardian is wise!" She immediately replied. "Errr what kind of books does the Leprechaun find interesting then?'
"Hmm… everything here is so plain and boring. You know, this guardian is stuck here for centuries and I only hear entertainment when the earth sprites gossip around. So give me something interesting and entertaining!" The Leprechaun crossed his arms and told his tale like an aggrieved child.
Eli kind of sympathized with his situation, being cooped up and isolated would definitely become mind-boggling for anyone.
"Alright…" Eli then pretended to rummage in her space pouch but in reality, she was searching and recreating a book through the book of knowledge.
Ever since she became stronger, she could already directly produce a book out of the searched information she does in the book of knowledge.
'Hmmm… the classical literature that has a medieval setup may be the best choice for him…' She thought.
And so she took out a few classic novels and writings such as Les Miserables, Romeo and Juliet, and Pride and Prejudice.
Looking at Eli's books, the Leprechaun's elderly eyes lit up.
"Hmmm not bad… not bad!" He immediately snapped his fingers and the book flew beside him in an instant.
"Tell me if you wanted more…" Eli was relieved that the guardian was satisfied.
"Alright! Alright… I won't disturb you any further…" The Leprechaun happily glanced at the book and there was even a trace of excitement in his eyes. As if he couldn't wait to open the books that Eli gave him.
But before he completely disappeared, he snapped his fingers once again and several books floated and stacked neatly on the table at the center of all the books where she and her team decided to convene.
"These are the books that would certainly give you the most valuable information. You need not search for the entire library and focus on those books that I have organized." The Leprechaun looked pleased and satisfied.
"Thank you so much, Esteemed Guardian! You do not know how valuable it is for the time that was saved in our research!" Eli thanked him profusely. She did not expect that the Leprechaun could be 'bribed' this easily and that they could gain his favor this way.
With the books already filtered out, there was so much time saved for them to do other things!
"Well if you are that pleased, just send me more interesting books. I'll tell you what kind of books I like after I read through all of this…" He replied nonchalantly before disappearing in the dark once again.