Disclaimer: I don't own any of the HIMEs.

Chapter 4: Something's building 1

"Peruchio, do you have any vacant rooms? As you know we just got here and have yet to find a place to stay." says Dimitri.

"Yes I do. The rooms are upstairs. Make yourself comfortable. Bathroom is in there and 3 meals will be served in a day." Peruchio responds.

"Great! Here, 2 gold coins for you. I think we need to stay here for quite some time, if you don't mind." Dimitrius smiles. Peruchio happily accept the coins and went back to his kitchen to clean up.

Just when Mashiro opens her mouth to tell Dimitrius about excluding her from his plans….

"I have a plan and we need to get in there tonight. I mean the faster we get the location, the better right?" says Dimitrius.

"Yeah…right." Mashiro dreads.

Night falls and the sky is beautifully light up with stars. Unfortunately, Mashiro is unable to gaze the stars above her when she is standing in the underground water channels. Mashiro grumbles, " Why always must it be the stinking water channels? There is a thing called windows in this world, you know. And just to remind you, we have powers too! Besides, when did you checked out this place?"

"Shhhh! I don't want to get us fry by the local authorities! Shut up and move. I came here in the afternoon while you were in dreamland." Dimitrius looks ahead.

"No wonder you smelt weird when you came back into the room! I woke up because of that awful stench!" Mashiro complains.

"Shhhh!" Dimitrius looks behind him.

"Okay.Okay." Mashiro zipped her mouth.

The channel is almost pitch black. Dimitrius grab Mashiro's hands out of a sudden to ensure she stays close to him. Mashiro almost scream the life out of her but didn't because she recognises the firm grip of Dimitrius. She blushed. They move forward faster and found the exit. Well, not exactly the exit but it's a manhole with a ladder attached to it. They are directly under the library and according to Dimitrius's calculation, they should be at the secluded section of the library.

Dimitrius climbs up the ladder and tries to open the covering above him but later found the lid is stuck. "Damn. They must have sealed it." Dimitrius grab his dagger from his side pockets and starts scrapping out the sealant. 15 minutes later, he manage to move the lid a little. With an extra push, it pops open. He sticks out his head, observes and declares, "All clear." Both of them get out of the hole and they are amaze by the elegant décor. They could not help but admire the architectural beauty in here. "Simply astounding." Dimitrius thinks.

They begin running their fingers through the books, scripts, scrolls, anything they can find. But to no avail, they fail to find any manuscripts depicting the location of the city. Mashiro leans on the shelf and a book drop from top, almost hitting her right on her head.

In a split second, Mashiro is pulled towards Dimitrius and he catches the book in time before it hits the ground. Close call.

"Hey be careful, okay?" Dimitrius worries.

They are so close now that their bodies touched. Mashiro never felt this kind of warmth in her before. Suddenly she feels so secured. She knocks herself out of the dreamy instance and get back to work.

"How could a book dropped out in such a way?" Dimitrius thinks to himself while looking the top part of the shelf. Then, he flips the pages of the book he caught in hand since he has not check that book. He catches a glimpse of an explorers account and goes back to that page. Juan Marcus Pélo the great explorer of Far West Continent describes:

Day 1:

In the summer of 540 BC, King of Espaigneola summoned me to the court in Aestival Paleis. I do not know why the King intend to seek me and I do not know the whereabouts of the Paleis. The Paleis officials escorted me. I had not seen before the surroundings throughout our little trip. I was surprise that I have not visited this land even though it is still part of Espaigneola. I asked the escorts and they politely answered that we were in 'Dracos Valley'. It seems this valley is inhabited although the soil is fertile. Wild fruits and berries were easy to obtain. I enjoyed every bits of them. I was told that we need to walk 4 days through the forest before we reach the …

Dimitrius quickly slams the book, grab Mashiro's hand and dashed to the manhole they come out from.

"What?What?" Mashiro who is ever so blur and never understands Dimitrius' intentions.

"Quick, I have no time to explain!…" hustles Dimitrius.

Mashiro's arm scratches the edge of the manhole but kept quiet about it.

The moment they close the manhole, an old man holding an oil lamp in his hands, carrying out his routine checks around the library.

"Hm, it must be my ears again. I thought I did hear something."

Since everything seems untouched, he shrugged and moves on to another section.

Meanwhile…

Mashiro and Dimitrius are still in the manhole waiting for the old man to leave. They do not dare to move a single bit, fear they may be heard by the person above. They hold hands and pray. After some time, Dimitrius feels his feet a little wobbly.

"Shit…"