Fischl strode into the library with the kind of swagger that said I acknowledge no kinship with mortals. Seeing everyone looking at her, she blushed slightly, but quickly cleared her throat, closed her eyes, and adopted a proud pose.
"Ahem! I am the Prinzessin der Verurteilung, known by the true name Fischl. Today, I felt the flow of fate stir—I have come to pluck the strings of the stars and grant you the honor of my presence."
Oz translated faithfully: "My lady says she's pleased to see you all."
Shen Qin and the others just stared at her blankly. No one responded. For a moment, silence swallowed the entire library.
Sensing the awkwardness, Fischl's face turned even redder. She opened one eye to peek at their reactions, then immediately shut it again, fumbling her words.
"C-could it be that the mighty name of this Prinzessin… has not yet echoed through this world? An oversight… this was the Prinzessin's negligence—I should have descended upon this realm in all my radiant glory sooner!"
Oz added, "My lady means that if no one says anything soon, she's going to get really embarrassed."
"Ah! Hello, Miss Fischl, and… talking raven gentleman!" Noelle finally snapped out of her daze and greeted them politely.
Fischl exhaled in relief. "Oz."
"What?" Noelle looked confused.
"Ozvaldo Hrafnavins. That is the name of my familiar. Referring to him as 'talking raven gentleman' is far too rude."
Oz gave a more casual follow-up: "You can just call me Oz."
"Wow! Prinzessin Fischl of Condemnation and her familiar Oz—you're the characters from The Nocturne of the Princess! Aren't you?" Klee suddenly ran over, looking up at her with stars in her eyes.
"B-but of course! The Nocturne of the Princess was written under this Prinzessin's divine sanction, recorded by the grand historiographer as a true biography, to be spread throughout this world so that all might bear witness to my noble figure!"
With Klee's admiration bolstering her, Fischl began to puff up with pride.
"So The Nocturne of the Princess is actually a real biography? I always thought it was just a fantasy novel!" Noelle said excitedly, brimming with innocence. "If Miss Fischl is willing to guide me, does that mean I might actually pass the official knight's exam?"
Sucrose remained silent, withdrawn as always. Talking to strangers was hard enough—talking to someone with Fischl's overwhelming presence was a whole different level.
She had seen The Nocturne of the Princess in the library before and had heard of Fischl living in Mondstadt. But she had never made the connection between the novel and the actual person.
Fantasy novels were fun to read, sure—but Miss Fischl in real life? She was someone Sucrose wasn't sure how to deal with. That silence from earlier had been painfully awkward, and she had no idea how to respond to a "Prinzessin der Verurteilung."
Would Shen Qin think she was weird for feeling this way? Curious, she turned to look at him—only to see him covering his right eye and dramatically limping toward Fischl.
"Hah—so you are the Prinzessin der Verurteilung? I've finally found you!"
Sucrose: Huh??? What is going on???
"W-who are you?!" Fischl took a step back, looking shocked.
"Listen well!" Shen Qin planted his feet wide, one hand over his right eye, the other pointing to the heavens.
"I am the Evil Eye Wielder born from the abyssal flame, descended to this world in search of the 'Invisible Boundary Line!'"
"Is that so? You seek the illusory and ephemeral 'Invisible Boundary Line'?" Fischl seamlessly picked up the cue. "Then for what purpose do you seek out this Prinzessin? Do you wish to challenge my supreme authority, or are you following the threads of fate in search of my divine guidance?"
Oz: "…"
Sucrose: "…"
"Whoa—Big Brother Shen is amazing!" Klee jumped in front of him and mimicked his pose.
"I am the Bounce Bomb Wielder from the Knights' solitary confinement room! I've descended to this world to defeat the great demon king, Master Jean!"
Noelle: "…"
"Ahem." Shen Qin coughed, clearly a bit embarrassed, and began lowering his hand from his eye.
Ah, the classic chuunibyou phase. He was no stranger to it. Who hadn't believed themselves to be a chosen savior at some point in their youth? Then you grow up, look back, and cringe hard enough to curl your toes.
"Stop right there! Evil Eye Wielder, do you intend to unleash your powers here? Innocent lives are present—will you truly endanger them so carelessly?" Fischl dramatically stopped his hand.
Shen Qin: "…"
But seeing the serious look on her face, he decided to play along. "Prinzessin der Verurteilung, I have fully mastered the powers of the Evil Eye. You need not worry."
Klee: "So cool!"
"A-amazing!" Fischl sighed in relief and touched her left eye.
"To think that you have reached such heights! This Prinzessin has yet to fully master the Eye of Condemnation and must keep it sealed away."
Shen Qin: "I see. I never expected the ruthless and decisive Prinzessin der Verurteilung to also possess such divine compassion!"
Sucrose: Wait, what? Are we saying she's a god now??
"Indeed! I shall gallop across the stars, traverse countless worlds, grasp the threads of multiversal fate, and read the apocrypha of all souls. Depart, ye mortals—and if ever thou art plagued by karmic burdens, simply speak my true name—Fischl!"
Oz translated dutifully, "My lady says she's going to read some novels now. If you ever need help, feel free to come find her."
After watching the Prinzessin excitedly return her old books and rush off to find new ones, Sucrose couldn't help but remark, "I don't really understand what she says… but she doesn't seem like a bad person."
"Yeah yeah! Sister Fischl is super strong! It says so in The Nocturne of the Princess! She defeated a big bad guy who wanted to destroy the world and saved everyone!" Klee said excitedly.
"I've read it too," Sucrose said, patting her on the head.
Noelle still looked completely overwhelmed. "Sigh—I really want to be someone as amazing as Miss Fischl."
Just then, more readers entered the library, and it wouldn't be polite to keep chatting freely.
Noelle returned to her seat behind the terminal—though the system didn't actually require any manual input from her.
But what if someone came to borrow a book for the first time and didn't know how to use it? What if someone messed up and their record wasn't saved?—A responsible knight like Noelle couldn't take that risk.
Klee happily went to read novels with Fischl—though Shen Qin privately thought children's fairy tales would be more appropriate for her.
Sucrose stayed true to herself and headed off to the alchemy section, which was always deserted, to look through some alchemy notes.
Shen Qin grabbed a few books from the fiction section. They reminded him more of traditional print novels from Earth rather than the flashy web novels of the modern age.
The pacing was slower and lacked the instant gratification of web fiction, but the otherworldly charm of these stories was strangely addicting.
It wasn't until Klee came to tell him she was hungry that he realized—it was already 7 PM.