Avoiding Death in an Otome Game

Chapter 68: Chapter - 68: A Notebook

By the time the experiment in Venesa’s laboratory finally came to an end, the academy had already become considerably quieter than it had been when Elena and I entered the room, with most students either returning to their dormitories or heading toward the dining hall, and even the corridors that had been busy earlier were now mostly occupied by only a few students who were making their way back after finishing their own activities.

Elena and I walked side by side after leaving the laboratory, while the faint sound of Venesa continuing to discuss the results of the experiment with Lily gradually disappeared behind us.

I glanced through one of the tall windows along the corridor and noticed evening glow from the setting sun.

”It is already getting late.”

Elena looked toward the window before nodding.

”You are right. We were supposed to study in the library today.”

I thought about it for a moment before continuing, ”so should we cancel the plan? We can always go tomorrow.”

Elena seemed to consider the idea before shaking her head.

”We do not have to cancel it completely, since we can simply borrow the books we need and take them back to our rooms.”

”That is true.”

There was not really any reason to disagree with her, especially since the academy library allowed students to borrow books, then studying in our own rooms would probably be more convenient than spending another hour sitting in the library after everything else we had already done today.

”Then let’s go get them.”

Elena nodded, and the two of us continued toward the library.

The academy library was still open despite the late hour, although there were far fewer students inside than usual, and the quiet atmosphere made the sound of our footsteps noticeably louder as we entered through the large wooden doors.

Several students were sitting at the long tables scattered across the main hall, reading beneath the soft glow of magical lamps, while the librarians remained behind the counter and occasionally glanced around the room to make sure nobody was causing trouble.

Elena and I separated after entering, each heading toward different shelves to find the books we needed, although we remained close enough that we could easily find each other again.

I already had a general idea of what I wanted to borrow, so finding the first two books was not particularly difficult, but while looking through one of the shelves, I suddenly stopped.

There was something else I had intended to borrow. The problem was that I could not remember what it was.

I stared at the rows of books in front of me while trying to recall the title, the subject, or even the section where I had seen it before, but nothing immediately came to mind.

*What was it again?*

The strange thing was that I could remember that I had been thinking about this particular book before going to the laboratory room, and I could even vaguely remember its position among the shelves, but the actual title seemed to have disappeared from my mind.

Eventually, while checking one of the less frequently used sections near the corner of the library, I suddenly noticed a familiar looking spine.

There it was.

The moment I saw it, I immediately remembered why I wanted it.

*How did I forget that?*

I pulled the book from the shelf and added it to the other books I had selected, deciding that it was probably better not to question my memory too much at the moment.

After Elena finished gathering the books she wanted, we met near the entrance and took the books to the counter.

The librarian checked them one by one before registering the borrowing.

”That is everything?”

”Yes.”

”Then remember to return them within the permitted period.”

”We will.”

After taking the books, Elena looked toward me.

”I will see you tomorrow.”

”See you tomorrow.”

She gave me a small smile before heading toward her dormitory, while I turned in the opposite direction toward mine.

The walk back was quiet. When I reached my room and opened the door, I noticed that Ian still had not returned.

I did not think much about it and went over to my own side of the room, placing the books I had borrowed from the library on the desk before sitting down.

For a while, I simply rested there, allowing the silence of the room to settle around me.

Then I reached into my storage magic tool and takes out a book. The book I pulled out was not one of the books I had borrowed earlier.

It was an old notebook.

Its cover was plain, and there was nothing about it that would make someone think it contained anything important, which was exactly how I wanted it to look.

I placed it on the desk and opened it. The pages were filled with writing. Not the language commonly used in this world, but the language of my previous life. And it contains something very important....

The details of the game.

Every page contained information about the game, its characters, its events, locations, important battles, future incidents, routes, etc.

Information about organizations and enemies. Details about people who would become important much later in the story. Things that had happened in the original storyline and things that I believed could change because of my existence.

I had started writing this notebook several years ago because I had eventually realized something that should have been obvious from the beginning.

I could not remember everything forever.

Having an unusually strong mind did not mean that my memory was limitless, and even though my mental strength was considerably higher than that of an ordinary person, there was a difference between being capable of processing information quickly and being able to preserve every single piece of information indefinitely.

The game had contained an enormous amount of information.

I knew the major storyline extremely well, but there were countless smaller details that could become important when circumstances changed, and since my actions had already caused the timeline to deviate considerably from the original events, relying solely on my memory had gradually become too risky.

So I had written everything down.

I had deliberately used the language from my previous life because it provided another layer of protection.

Even if someone somehow found the notebook and managed to understand that it contained valuable information, they would not be able to read it unless they knew that language, and considering that the language belonged to a world that, as far as I knew, did not exist in this one, the possibility of someone understanding it was extremely low.

There was still one exception.

Another reincarnated person from my previous world, particularly someone from the same country, could potentially read it. That possibility was one reason why I never carried the notebook around unnecessarily.

I turned several pages. Some of the information was written years ago, while other sections contained notes I had added recently whenever I remembered something that I had previously overlooked.

I had already updated several parts after arriving at the academy because some details of the original game had become more relevant as the story progressed, and today’s purpose was not to add anything new but simply to refresh my memory.

I quietly read through the pages.

I continued reading until I eventually leaned back against the chair and rubbed my forehead.

*Even with this much mental strength, I still have to keep doing this.*

It was somewhat frustrating.

I could remember things that happened years ago with surprising clarity, but there were still small pieces of information that gradually became difficult to retrieve if I did not revisit them regularly.

*It would be convenient if I could simply read something once and remember it forever.*

I stared at the open notebook for a few seconds. Then another thought appeared.

*Wait.*

I slowly straightened myself.

”Is there no magic like that in this world?”

The question had appeared so suddenly that I had not even considered it before.

This world had existed for an extremely long time, and throughout that history, countless types of magic had been developed by people with entirely different specialties.

There were spells for manipulating the body, spells for controlling elements, spells for influencing the senses, spells that could interfere with the mind, spells that could alter physical structures, and even incredibly strange techniques created by mages whose names had survived only because their research had been considered unusual.

So why would not someone have attempted to create magic related to memory?

I closed the notebook halfway.

*There has to be something.*

Perhaps there was a spell that could strengthen memory. Or perhaps there was one that allowed information to be stored within the mind or a technique that could preserve memories indefinitely or improve the speed at which someone could recall them.

There could even be some kind of magical method that allowed a person to memorize information after reading it only once.

I did not know whether such a spell actually existed, but the possibility alone was enough to make me interested.

If something like that existed, it could save me an enormous amount of time and, more importantly, reduce the risk of forgetting an important detail from the original game.

I looked down at the notebook again.

*I should investigate it.*

I closed the notebook completely and returned it to my storage magic tool. The books I had borrowed earlier were still in my storage device but my interest had shifted toward something else entirely.

I stood up. ”Let’s see what the academy has to offer.”