When the Serial Killer Next Door Gained Harem System

Before that, though, the library here seemed like the smartest move. I needed to learn as much as possible about this world.

I climbed the stairs to the upper floor and found the library entrance. Pushing the heavy doors open, I stepped into a vast, quiet space that felt almost sacred.

The library was breathtaking. Towering bookshelves of dark, polished wood stretched from floor to ceiling, packed with thousands of volumes. Soft sunlight filtered through tall arched windows, casting warm golden beams across the room. Comfortable reading nooks with plush armchairs and small tables were scattered throughout, some tucked into alcoves with hanging lanterns that glowed with gentle magical light. In the center stood a long communal table surrounded by high-backed chairs, perfect for group study. The air smelled of old paper, leather bindings, and a faint hint of incense.

Behind the main counter sat a woman who looked to be in her early forties. She had short, practical brown hair that framed her face, large round glasses perched on her nose, and a generous figure that filled out her simple white blouse and long dark skirt. She was half-dozing, chin resting on her hand, clearly bored with the quiet morning shift.

I cleared my throat as I approached the counter. "H-hey."

"Huh?" She blinked awake and looked me over. "Kid, you should be in class... where’s your school uniform?"

"I just enrolled, ma’am," I replied. "I’d like to ask something if that’s okay."

"Where’s your ring?"

"I... don’t have one yet," I said, trying to keep Ambly’s blessing hidden. "I’ll get tested in ten minutes."

"Alright... so, what do you want to ask?"

"I’d like to learn more about this kingdom’s history. Like the most basic stuff. Would you recommend a book?"

"Sure."

She stared straight into my eyes and didn’t move. I held her gaze for a moment, but it quickly grew awkward. I rubbed the back of my head and cleared my throat again. What was she doing? If she wasn’t going to help, why agree in the first place?

"Turn around, boy," she said. "Why are you staring at me? Am I that beautiful?"

"Huh?"

I turned around. Floating gently at shoulder height was a book, wobbling slightly left and right in the air. Getting a little nervous, I reached up and gently grabbed it. The moment my fingers touched the cover, the levitation spell faded and it became an ordinary book. Bold letters on the front read: HISTORY 101.

"Huh..." I mumbled. "Thank you, ma’am."

"Mrs. Manherob," she corrected with a small smirk. "Don’t be late to your testing, kid."

"I won’t. Thank you, Mrs. Manherob."

I took the book and found myself an empty table near one of the tall windows. The hallways were now almost completely empty, save for the occasional teacher walking past with a stack of papers or a staff in hand. From where I sat, I could look outside and see the guards stationed near the main gate. The heavy iron gates were closed now, making the entire academy feel even more like a self-contained fortress. Damn, this place was huge.

I opened the book and flipped through the pages until I found a section titled "Silver & War."

This was interesting.

It spoke of the year Aestmis 911. I had no idea what "Aestmis" meant, but I didn’t care. My eyes locked onto something called the The Sundering War that had happened thirty-five years ago.

Toakwood had been at peace for generations, with prosperous trade routes running between it and the neighboring Sultanate of Valthar. Caravans moved freely, carrying silk, spices, rare metals, and magical reagents. But as the Sultan’s own resources began to dwindle, mines running dry, farmlands failing, Sultan Deri grew desperate.

Instead of negotiating honestly, he started cheating. He secretly placed his own soldiers along the trade routes, disguised as bandits. They would ambush Toakwood’s caravans, steal the goods, and then vanish. When the shipments never arrived, Toakwood had no choice but to send new traders with even more cargo to fulfill the contracts. Sultan Deri, controlling all information entering his kingdom, kept this going for years, quietly draining Toakwood’s wealth while pretending to be a reliable partner.

"Sneaky bastard."

Eventually, Toakwood’s previous king, the current Queen’s father, discovered the foul play. Furious at the betrayal, he declared war on the Sultanate of Valthar. What started as a conflict over trade quickly turned into the The Sundering War.

The war dragged on for years. Sultan Deri used religion to rally supporters from other nations, painting Toakwood as greedy aggressors. Toakwood fought alone, its resources slowly drying up. The army shrank. People grew desperate. Morale collapsed.

That was when the elves stepped in.

Forced out of their ancestral homeland of Bildenwaden by internal conflict, the elves migrated to the nearest safe land: Toakwood. They offered their help in exchange for sanctuary. For a time, humans and elves lived together surprisingly well. With the elves’ superior magical abilities and ancient knowledge, the tide of the war turned. The Sultan was eventually forced to sign a peace treaty.

But Toakwood failed to see the real threat that had been hiding in plain sight the entire time.

Corruption began almost immediately. The elves gradually placed their own people in high political positions. They manipulated the King into making terrible decisions. They pushed laws that forbade humans from using magic, claiming that humans were unworthy and dangerous with it. Over time, the elves grew bolder. They committed unspeakable acts against the human population, torture, rape, public executions, and systematic cruelty that turned entire villages into places of horror.

Until one day, the King’s son, Prince Maoler, at only eighteen years old, killed his own father in a coup and took the throne. He immediately declared a full-scale war against the elves.

With determination, the tide turned once again. After years of brutal fighting, the humans won, but the Prince was also assassinated in the end. The elves were forced to step down and retreat to the edges of the kingdom, and they would be executed, innocent or not.

That was why humans and elves hated each other so deeply now.

I closed the book slowly, my mind spinning.