Dark Dragon: The Summoned Hero Is A Villain

Chapter 294: Where’s The Bathroom?

The carriage rolled to a smooth stop at the base of the grand palace steps.

Sunlight glinted off the marble pillars that framed the entrance, and guards stood at attention in polished armor, their faces expressionless behind crested helms.

Noah stepped down from the carriage, adjusting his gloves as his boots met the ground.

Almost immediately, an attendant in a neat black uniform approached, bowing slightly.

"Sir Noah Webb, from the Royal Academy?" the man asked.

"That’s right," Noah replied.

"This way, please."

He followed the attendant through the palace corridors, the echo of their footsteps bouncing softly off the gilded walls.

Everywhere he looked, there were reminders of Camelot’s power, with murals of the old kings, giant stained glass windows, and banners embroidered with the Pendragon crest.

The hall they entered was enormous, though not yet filled.

The coronation was still some time away, and only early guests were present. The smaller nobles, scholars, and representatives from various orders.

Quiet conversations drifted across the space, filling the air with a subdued hum of voices.

Noah was led to a seat near the middle rows, close enough to observe, yet far enough to avoid attention. The attendant bowed again before leaving him.

For a moment, he sat still, studying the crowd.

There were familiar faces, lords he recognized from the Winter Ball, and a few professors from the academy, but no one who mattered to him.

His mind was elsewhere.

He stood after a while, scanning for an attendant. When one passed nearby, Noah stopped him.

"Excuse me," he said. "Could you direct me to the nearest place to... relieve myself?"

The attendant blinked, then nodded politely. "Of course, sir. Down that corridor, the third door on the left."

"Thank you," Noah said, waving off the man’s offer to escort him. "I’ll manage."

He turned and walked towards the indicated hall. Soon, the distant voices of conversation from the hall faded away into blissful silence.

When he reached the third door, he entered and closed it behind him. The room was empty, lit by light crystals embedded in the walls.

He locked the door behind himself. He then raised a hand, exhaling, before creating the spell formation.

Null Stride.

Noah teleported, and when he reappeared, it was in a shadowed corridor several floors above, one he recalled from memory.

He had walked through this very hallway once before, during the Winter Ball attack, when he’d been following Lady in Dark.

He pressed himself against the wall, able to hear the echoes of bootsteps coming faintly from somewhere in the distance.

He quickly pressed himself into a dark alcove, and a few seconds later, his eyes flicked towards the far end of the corridor where two palace servants appeared.

They were discussing the coronation among themselves, and he waited until they disappeared around a corner before moving.

The long corridors of the royal palace were a maze of turns and intersecting halls, but he remembered enough to navigate.

Cecilia had described the route to him and the landmarks he needed to find his way.

And so he walked, eyes peeled for every painting or decorative pillar he could see, using them to help him orient himself.

Two patrols passed, both pairs of guards in gleaming armor, their boots striking the floor in rhythm.

Luckily for Noah, the palace corridors were filled with a lot of alcoves at places he could access within a few seconds.

That was where he usually hid himself, waiting until they passed.

Minutes stretched into careful progress. His mental map of the palace unfolded step by step.

The royal library was near the east wing, beneath the long stretch of windows that overlooked the inner gardens. If his calculations were right, he was close.

He simply had two more turns, then down a short hall.

He peeked behind the final corner, his gaze finding the tall double doors ahead. That was the entrance to the royal library.

But there was a problem.

Two guards stood outside the doors, halberds at their sides.

Noah exhaled quietly. So close.

He pressed his back against the wall, his breath slow and steady as he peeked around the corner again.

No matter how much he stared, the two guards were still there, standing motionless and disciplined, their gazes fixed forward.

He pulled back, thinking. Getting past them quietly would be nearly impossible, unless he made them disappear.

That was when the idea formed in his head. It was all so simple.

Null Stride.

In an instant, the air warped, and he blinked out of existence.

A split second later, he reappeared directly behind the guards. Before either could react or even turn, he raised his hand, mana coiling in his palm.

Pocket Cube.

The spell activated soundlessly. Space folded in on itself, forming an invisible cube that shimmered once before collapsing inward.

Both guards vanished, sucked into a pocket of reality that existed parallel to this one. To them, it’ll be like they’d been sent into a white cube.

Noah exhaled quietly, lowering his hand. "You’ll be fine," he murmured, stepping past the spot where they had stood.

He pushed the library doors open and slipped inside.

The royal library was large and brightly lit, with shelves stretching endlessly beneath high, vaulted ceilings. Dust motes floated in the golden lamplight.

Noah’s footsteps were soft as he moved deeper into the aisles, scanning the labels on the shelves, until he reached a section cordoned off by iron bars.

The restricted section.

He tried teleporting past the gate, but the spell fizzled instantly, the iron bars glowing faintly in response.

He’d already experienced this before, so he knew what it was. The restricted section has been warded against spatial manipulation.

He couldn’t teleport in.

So, he crouched and studied the lock. Maybe here on Camelot, it was a solid lock, but back on earth, it was a normal lock.

Drawing a thin needle of mana, he inserted it into the keyhole. A few careful turns, a click, and the gate swung open.

He stepped through, looking around.

The air in here seemed a bit colder. He paid it no mind, walking deeper in.

And there it was, just as Cecilia had described.

A black leather-bound book rested beneath a glass case, its cover embossed with a golden sun crossed by a sword.

The Chronicle of the Deep.