"I'm sorry sir, you can't enter without a proper card." A feminine voice spoke up, her tone clearly irate.
"And I've told you like ten times, it's my first day, just let me in today and I'll make one the moment I'm free." Regulus argued.
"Look, I can't bend the rules for anyone. If I do, the rest of the students will also ask for favours, so go to the administration office and get yourself an I.D card and stop wasting both of our time."
Regulus groaned and turned around, he would make sure to remember that prickly green hair and those brown eyes.
"Firstie giving you trouble, Julie?" Regulus turned his head back once again.
At the massive door leading into the library, a floating spectre or something had appeared from seemingly nowhere.
Now instead of screaming or yelping like any normal student, Regulus remained calm, he knew the ghost or spirit.
Well at least from the novel.
Garling Claude floated over to him, he had wrinkly, pale, almost bluish skin and long messy hair all over him.
"C'mon now son, don't annoy dear ol' Julie, she's already stressed about her R.E.T" The old man said as he floated towards him.
"It wouldn't be a problem if she let me enter the library. I mean come on it's not that big of a deal." He muttered, still clearly annoyed at the girl.
"Go. Make. A. Library. Card!" Julianne reiterated, overhearing Regulus's complaints.
"Oh to fight over something so silly." Garling giggled like a high schooler, which sounded remarkably creepy coming from someone like him.
"Tell me boy, why don't you just make yourself a card?" He asked.
"It's gonna take a week to make one, and I need to do something extremely important right now." Regulus emphasised his hurry.
All of a sudden, Garling stared at him for one too many seconds for Regulus's liking.
'Don't tell me he's one of those kinds.'
Regulus shuddered.
He didn't have too much knowledge about the man in front of him. The most he knew was that the Academy Library was protected by an Astral.
"You're related to that Vincent boy?" He asked slowly.
Regulus paused, he had no clue what the astral and his father had to do with each other, and he was praying there wasn't any animosity between them.
"Um, he was my father." He answered hesitantly.
Garling's reaction was immediate, as a small smile formed on his face.
"You should've told me sooner. C'mon, Julie let the poor boy in, he looks like he's in a hurry."
Regulus didn't know how to respond.
'This absurd luck... Am I a main character of some novel as well?' He quickly shook that thought away.
It was probably a coincidence, although he had somewhat of an idea of how his father and the astral knew each other.
"Garling, I can't let someone inside unauthorised, you know I have to log it in." Julianne said in slight shock and annoyance.
"C'mon, dearie, let the boy in, he said that he'll make a card hasn't he?" Garling said turning around to the girl.
Who in response just groaned, before writing something down on the computer in front of her.
"Fine. But if I see anything has gone missing I'll be putting all of the blame on you."
'Well, that worked out rather unexpectedly.'
Regulus turned towards Garling and gave him an appreciative nod, 'Maybe he isn't that bad after all.' He sighed.
"Sign this first!" Julianne demanded and handed over a file.
It was something about a liability on losing anything, something not worth mentioning and he quickly signed it off without much.
"If I see you trying to make an excuse to get inside without a card again, I WILL choke you!" She said in anger.
Now that Regulus looked at her from closer, she looked the same age as him, and the fact that she was sitting her N.E.T, the exam every student gave in their final year. She was likely some sort of prodigy.
"What are you staring at?" She asked noticing his stare.
"Oh nothing, it's just we look the same age," Regulus answered averting his gaze.
"Hmph! We might be the same age, but don't mix me up with you, I'm gonna be out of this shithole by next year."
"Right... Anyway, I need to get going now." Regulus moved to enter the room as Garling followed him cooing behind.
"I hear choir bells." He giggled, much to both of their dismay.
"Shut up!" Julianne said while glaring at him.
Regulus promptly ignored the two and finally entered the library.
The library was vast, like extremely large. He imagined this was what the Library of Alexandria looked like in his previous life.
Stacks and stacks of books inside hundreds if not thousands of bookshelves. However, Regulus wasn't heard for any of those books.
Well, technically he was here for one of them, one very special book that he needed.
Speaking of special books, his mind raced back to the diary which had something inside of it.
And if his theory on what it was, was indeed correct, he needed to throw, burn, do absolutely anything to get that thing away from him.
"I know Julie can seem annoying at first, but let me tell you, Sonnie, she'll make a good partner. Give the girl a chance, heaven knows she needs one." Garling continued talking floating beside him.
"Are you gonna keep following me?" He glared at the elderly astral.
"Of course, I wanna know what kinda son Vinnie raised."
Regulus ignored the abhorrent nickname the astral gave to his father, which he knew his father would no doubt hate, and stopped to look at him.
"How do you know my father?" He asked, his curiosity piqued.
He knew that all of his family, extended included, went to Central Academy for education, but he never knew his father did.
In fact, his father kept a lot of things about himself very mysterious.
"Oh! That boy didn't tell you about me?" Garlic let out some "tsks" and dramatically held onto his heart.
"I knew that boy would forget about me, and after all I've done for him. You humans truly break my heart." Garling let out a rather annoying sob in Regulus's opinion.
"Are you going to answer or not?" He asked, to which Garling stopped his soap opera-level acting.
"Well, where'd be the fun in that?" He snickered and continued to float behind Regulus, who continue8his search.
"Stop following me then," Regulus said, having the astral follow him around was less than optimal.
In fact, he needed the astral far far away from him, he didn't need any suspensions raised after him.
"Go away."
"No."
"Piss off."
"No."
"Fuck off!"
"No."
"You're seriously annoying you know that?" Regulus glared at him.
"Or so I've been told a couple of times." He smiled.
Regulus glared at him once again, 'Maybe his neck won't pass through my hands if I choke him out.' Regulus wondered.
"Whoa, kid, I've got a feeling you're having some bad thoughts about me." Garling gasped.
"Maybe if you go away they'll stop." Regulus said taking a sharp turn.
'And where the hell is this damn book?' He thought in frustration.
What he was looking for, was an old book, in fact, it was a tomb of some sort, or that's what the novel claimed.
It's discription was that of an old worn-down book with its cover having silver edges and it having a triangular runic mark on its centre.
"Alright, kid, continue looking for whatever you want, I'm gonna go annoy some other kid before you actually try killing me." Garling chuckled and started to float away.
Regulus cursed at him under his breath, "Don't come back." He glared.
"Oh, I'll be right with you the next time you come here." He giggled.
"You better not be!" Regulus didn't get a response, and he knew that the damn astral would probably keep to his words.
But, that was a future problem, right now he had to find a damned ancient book.
"Where is it?" He groaned.
His search continued for a couple of hours, he checked every hall, every shelf, and every book, yet he didn't seem to find it.
His legs became heavy and his body started to ache after looking for a book for so long.
"Oh? You're still here?" A familiar voice echoed in his ears.
One he didn't want to hear anytime in the future.
"Piss off, I have something really important to do and you're not helping."
"Well from the looks of it, you've only been searching for something since you've been here."
"And? What's that got to do with you?"
"Well, you know, if you had told me I could've probably told you where the thing you're looking for is."
Regulus paused, 'Will he know?" He thought for a moment.
His current search wasn't leading him anywhere, and he needed the essence code immediately.
It would play a key role in his survival and he wasn't sure what he was going to do without it.
"Fine. It's a book with silver edging and there's going to be a triangular rune on its cover." He gave him the description.
"Hoh? Well, I think I do know where a book like that is." Garling said floating near him.
"You do?" Regulus's excitement was clearly evident.
"Of course, I've lived in this place for who knows how long, I know every book in this place." He smiled.
Regulus paused momentarily to look at him, 'Does he know what's inside it?' He wondered.
"Well, could you tell me where it is?" He asked hesitantly.
"Sure." Garling looked like he wanted to say something else, but he had stopped himself from speaking further.
"Thanks." Regulus said begrudgingly.
Regulus moved through the halls and finally arrived at the bookshelf Garling had led him to.
"I'll be off then, there are some other kids that need my help." Garling said floating away with a wink.
Regulus watched the astral float away for some seconds before searching the many books in the shelf.
"Finally!" He stared at the cover of a book.
Its edges were lined with silver, and the cover had an intricate triangular rune at it's centre.
"Alright, time to get that Code." His voice didn't fall on deaf ears.