Sonya's lips moved slightly, but in the end, she smiled and shrugged. "I just thought the titles of these two books looked interesting, so I picked them up to skim through. There's nothing special about them. If they turn out to be useless, I'll just put them back later."

Sylvia nodded, looking thoughtful. "You don't really need to explain yourself to me in that much detail."

Sensing Sonya's unease, Sylvia quickly shifted the topic. "Still, I was surprised to see you at the Sylvan Library. I thought you would have joined the Extermination Operation."

"The Extermination Operation?"

"Yes. Didn't Professor Trosan mention it to you? Ah… it might be related to how fast you've been improving. The professor probably decided it was better for you to miss this opportunity than to risk putting you in danger."

"What exactly is the Extermination Operation?" Sonya asked. The term was completely unfamiliar to a rural...