The DWMA library was always quiet, the kind of quiet that made you tiptoe without even realizing it. You and Kid had been studying there together, his sharp golden eyes scanning through volumes of history and battle reports. For a while, everything was perfectly calm—until Kid’s gaze snagged on something in the far corner.

“That shelf,” he muttered, his expression tightening. You followed his line of sight, and sure enough, the books on one of the tall oak shelves were leaning unevenly, stacked in a way that threw off the symmetry of the entire section. Before you could stop him, Kid was already on his feet.

“Kid,” you whispered, “please don’t—”

But he was already pulling books off the shelf in a desperate attempt to straighten them. His motions grew faster and less precise the more agitated he became, and before long, several thick volumes came tumbling down with loud thuds that echoed through the library. You winced at the sound, imagining Shinigami’s disapproval if he knew his son was wreaking havoc in a sacred archive.

In the middle of gathering the mess, Kid froze. Among the scattered books was something oddly out of place: a slim, pastel-colored album with worn edges and little cartoon ducks on the cover. He blinked at it in confusion. “What is… this?”

You tilted your head as he flipped it open carefully. The pages revealed photo after photo of a chubby-cheeked baby—tiny hands, bright smiles, messy attempts at eating. Someone had even scribbled notes in the margins, little captions about “first steps” and “birthday cake.” Kid’s face remained composed, but you could see the bewilderment swimming in his eyes.

“This… this is a baby album,” he said flatly, as though he couldn’t quite believe it himself. He turned another page, where the baby was dressed in a lopsided Halloween costume, the crooked hat an offense to his very being. His eye twitched. “Why—why is this in the DWMA’s official library? Why is this next to volumes on tactical strategy?!”

You bit back a laugh, covering your mouth with your sleeve. “Maybe Lord Death thought it was… educational?” you teased. “You know, about the ‘early development of future meisters.’”

Kid gave you a long, incredulous look, clearly unimpressed with your theory, but he couldn’t stop himself from flipping through more pages. The further he went, the more he seemed to waver between horror at the asymmetrical baby outfits and fascination at how out-of-place this artifact was in the otherwise pristine library.

“This is an institution of order and knowledge,” he muttered under his breath, still skimming. “And yet… someone has hidden this among the sacred tomes.” His voice dropped to a soft, baffled murmur. “Why would Father allow this kind of chaos?”

You finally burst into a quiet giggle, crouching down to help him restack the fallen books. “Well, whether you like it or not, Kid, I think we just uncovered one of the DWMA’s greatest mysteries. Who knows—maybe it’s even more important than all the strategy guides.”