Hey, Victorica.
What is there in a library?
Well, books, for one.
That girl came here...
...in an attempt to hide a tree in a forest.
She thought you had seen her pick up the book.
She felt she needed to hide it.
And what better place than a library?
You wish to know the contents of that book, don't you?
But how do we find it?
Do you know of the Thirteenth Step on the Stairway to Heaven?
You'll be taken to the other side if you stop there.
This floor houses religious texts, both new and old, from all over the world.
That's right. This is the Stairway to Heaven.
And...
Un, deux, trois,
One, two, three,
quatre, cinq,
four, five,
Victorica?
six, sept, huit, neuf,
six, seven, eight, nine,
dix, onze,
ten, eleven,
douze, treize.
twelve, thirteen...
This is the Thirteenth Step on the Stairway to Heaven.
It's unlikely that anyone would stop here.
That girl must have hidden it in the bookcase here.
The Fountain of Wisdom tells me so.
Episode 5
The Mysterious Ghost in the Abandoned Warehouse
She's effortlessly solved yet another mystery.
The Golden Fairy, the Grey Wolf...
...and the Mysterious Victorica.
The Golden Fairy of the High Tower?
The Golden Fairy...
Hold on... You're going too fast.
What was that for?!
Your head was in the way.
Don't you want to read it together?
Absolutely not.
I should've known.
"Once upon a time in a faraway land...
...there stood a tall tower surrounded by a deep forest.
Within this tower lived the Golden Fairy.
She held all the world's vast knowledge in her grasp...
...and would use it to guide those who were troubled onto the correct path.
However, it was said that in return, she would ask for the souls of those she helped, and devour those souls."
This somehow reminds me of Victorica.
Could it be that Victorica is really the Golden Fairy of the Library?
What's that?
It looks like a postcard.
Avril Bradley... It's addressed to Avril.
It says that the sender was a Sir Bradley.
That's Avril's grandfather.
The stamp doesn't have a mark.
So it still hasn't been sent to Avril?
Well then...
Victorica?
I tire of this.
You already found what you wanted.
Go home.
You're already bored?
Hold on. Victorica.
Just what is Victorica thinking?
And we were just starting to get along.
What's wrong, Inspector?
Haven't all the mysteries been solved?
Indeed.
The case of the knight's mummy has been solved.
But I've just received a tip that there's a thief in the village.
I'm looking into it.
He goes by the name and title of Phantom Thief Kuiaran.
He's a thief who travels the whole of Europe, but he hasn't appeared for at least seven or eight years now.
There are rumors that he either retired or died.
But there have been recent sightings, and I've a tipoff that he's going to be in this village.
Business aside, Inspector...
The atmosphere around you is... How should I put it?
If Victorica were here, you'd have put on more of a show.
You'd normally say to me, "Oh, Baby Squirrel!"
What are you on about?
In any case, report it to me immediately if you happen to see anyone suspicious.
Got it?
Yeah...
Seriously, what's with him?
Are you awake?
How are you feeling?
I'm fine!
That's good.
You were unconscious near the warehouse, Kujou.
I found you and had the gardener carry you here.
I see. Thank you.
The book is gone.
What's the matter?
Oh, it's nothing.
That's great.
Nobody sets foot near that warehouse because it's said that the ghost of a woman appears there.
Might you have been attacked by the ghost?
Don't be silly.
Is Avril the one who attacked me?
This academy has more than its share of ghost stories.
Yeah.
That's not possible. Avril was the one who hid the book.
But...
There's a story about the library, isn't there?
If I recall...
...it was The Golden Fairy.
She was a very intelligent fairy with the ability to solve any problem in exchange for one's soul.
Though she sounds like more of a devil than a fairy.
That's not true.
The person on the top floor of the library is Victorica!
Victorica?
She often skips class and reads books by herself.
There's no golden fairy in the library.
She's a tiny girl with blonde hair.
Rather than souls, all she wants is snacks.
But I heard nobody has ever seen her.
Does she really exist?
She does. Victorica really does exist.
I see.
Book...
Book... Book...
It's not here.
Huh, Kujou?
Professeur, is everything all right?
Yes. Thanks for your help yesterday.
In other news, have you heard?
Apparently that mummy was an alumnus of this academy.
Isn't that scary?
I can't... If I start thinking about it, I just...
Professeur!
Thank you.
Where did you find this book?
Oh, someone left it behind the flowerbeds.
They just left it?
It wasn't Avril. But then, who could have taken it?
I heard there are ghosts in here.
I've removed my glasses!
Even if there are ghosts, I won't see a thing!
I should be fine this time!
It might be dangerous, so you should probably keep them on.
Help me.
There's no girl here after all.
I'd have to say it's either a ghost or some old geezer.
Could it be the Golden Fairy?
This is no place for a little girl.
There it is!
Victorica!
It's gone?
It was there but a moment ago!
Avril?
What's wrong?
Nothing in particular. I simply wished to catch a glimpse of the gardens.
Farewell.
Hey, Victorica!
Are you here?!
Where could she have gone?
But I heard nobody has ever seen her.
Does she really exist?
There's no way.
Victorica!
Aren't you the noisy one?
Victorica!
I hope you've come to bring me something interesting.
And then, Victorica, I was attacked by some unknown party.
And there was the 2nd generation Kuiaran, and the ghost in the warehouse, and...
Anyway, I was really frightened!
I smell something sweet.
Of course. They're sweets after all.
Even though it looks like dog poop!
Those are karintou.
It's hard.
There are more important matters, Victorica!
A thief, a ghost in the warehouse, and the Golden Fairy of the Library?
"This is no place for a little girl."
"I'd have to say it's either a ghost or some old geezer."
Wh-What are you talking about?
The woman known as Avril.
I believe that she's the 2nd generation Kuiaran.
Avril is Kuiaran?!
You really are noisy.
What makes you say that?
Oh well...
Allow me to share with you the truth which I've reconstructed...
...using the pieces of chaos I've collected from the Fountain of Wisdom.
The identity of the first generation Kuiaran belongs to Maxim.
It was Maxim?!
The first generation Kuiaran suddenly disappeared around seven or eight years ago.
Maxim was himself murdered eight years ago.
Can we really just call this a coincidence?
Maxim, or should I say Kuiaran, likely came here to this academy during the spring of each year to hide his ill-gotten gain.
That book is one such item, but he was locked up in the columbarium before he could hide it.
Avril is also searching for it.
Avril? But even so...
What's wrong?
It ended quickly again.
I'm getting bored.
It's not over yet! What about the ghost in the warehouse?
I don't feel like it.
Victorica!
You said that the ghost had spoken to you, correct?
Yeah, it said, "Help me."
That's not good. You should hurry up and save her.
Save a ghost?
The ghost is the real Avril Bradley.
What are you doing bringing me to a place like this?
Hey!
I should have heard the ghost's voice from here just now.
Are you all right?
What's this?!
Hey! Hey!
Thank goodness.
Help me!
Everything's fine now.
You're Avril Bradley, right?
Yes.
That woman... She's pretending to be me!
We met on the train from Britain to Saubre.
I told her about my grandfather's inheritance.
She's trying to get her hands on it.
Inspector, I'm leaving Avril with you!
Where are you going?! Hey!
It's not here!
Damn it! Where is it?!
Victorica!
Oh, Kujou.
Kuiaran!
Oh? So you figured it out.
That's right. I'm the 2nd generation Kuiaran!
I was surprised when the first came back as a mummy.
But thanks to that, I was able to find that book.
Where did you put it?
So the one who knocked me out and took the book...
It was none other than me. But it seems you only had the book on you.
Penny Black.
I'm asking you what you did with the postcard!
Postcard?
Didn't you know, Monsieur Detective?
Penny Black. It was the world's first postage stamp.
Just because of that, it's quite sought after.
But thanks to some printing errors, it's value is truly magnificent.
That's the postcard that...
I remember now.
Victorica!
Where is she?!
Oh, the girl you mentioned before?
I came here because I thought that she might have it, but she's nowhere to be found.
Besides, who would believe such a person exists?
Are you sure you didn't have an encounter with the Golden Fairy of the Library?
Of course I...
You are an isolated and lonely exchange student, the Black Reaper.
Just the sort of person who would befriend a fairy and give up his soul.
There exists such a rumor within my family.
No...
You merely came into contact with the fairy.
There was never a girl named Victorica to begin with.
That's not true!
Tell me! Where did you hide the Penny Black?!
Don't tell me your fairy friend has it!
Sh-She's not a fairy!
I don't have time for your nonsense!
Now! Hurry up and hand it over!
She exists.
She really exists!
Victorica is...
Enough! Hand it over!
Victorica is my friend!
You don't have any friends!
Who else other than you could possibly have it?
I have the postcard!
Victorica!
Get away from Kujou!
That guy is my...
...servant.
Avril?
Thank you so much for saving me!
It's nothing. How are you holding up?
I'm all better now.
It looks like it.
What is it?
Because of the state I was in, I saw you as a prince with flowing black hair when you came for me.
A prince? Kujou?
Oh, that's right.
Here you go.
I will give you this stamp.
When you grow up, use this to become a great adventurer.
To my beloved granddaughter, Avril Bradley — From Grandpa.
Grandpa...
Thank you.
May I consider you my friend?
Yes, of course!
Speaking of which...
Do you like ghost stories?
I love them!
But how did you know the ghost in the warehouse was the real Avril?
The 2nd generation Kuiaran used popular ghost stories from the school.
It's the same reason she hid the book in the library.
She used the ghost story about the warehouse to hide the real Avril.
I see.
I'll give you a bonus.
I will explain one more thing.
The ghost story that caused you trouble, "the Black Reaper of Springtime"...
That Reaper was Maxim, the first generation Kuiaran.
Every spring, he would return to the academy.
Perhaps it's because of the misfortunes that he brought with him.
Including that of Milly Marle, who died surrounded by a bed of violas.
The many treasures he's hidden will be discovered as time goes on.
You really are amazing.
Speaking of which, you really do exist.
How rude.
But you were nowhere to be found when I got here.
Where were you that whole time?
It was because I didn't know her.
I hid because I didn't know her!
You were hiding? Where?
In here?
Do you always hide in here when there are people you don't know?
You didn't hide the first time I came here.
How come?
Huh? What's wrong?
You're turning red.
I am not.
No, you are.
Am not!
But...
I told you I'm not!
Fine.
The Golden Fairy...
"She held all the world's vast knowledge in her grasp...
...and would use it to guide those who were troubled onto the correct path.
However, it was said that in return, she would ask for the souls of those she helped, and devour those souls."
I wonder if that's true.
No. I'm sure she just didn't want to be alone.
She believed.
She believed that there is a soul somewhere which will never leave her. A soul that belongs only to her...
She believed she would one day meet that soul.
One day, I'm sure...
Huh? Victorica, why is your face all puffy?
Oh? Are you eating a macaroon?
Yeah. It's over between us.
Next Episode
The Grey Wolf Cries for its Kin