I surveyed my surroundings with a languid gaze.
A girl in a pure white dress was trembling violently.
Scratch. Scratch.
After recording that the girl was “able to tremble,” I surveyed my surroundings once more.
Several balls were also rolling about here and there, trembling along with their owner.
But more noteworthy than them were the two people and one book in front of the girl.
[Elementary Physical Education Textbook — Grades 1–6]
That was the book I had been looking for. And as for the two people... Huh?
“...The person who broke the rules?”
“...!”
He flinched.
At my words, the man flinched and trembled.
It seemed he had suffered greatly for breaking the rules at the library before.
See, this is why you should follow the rules.
Anyway, I hadn't expected to meet him again here.
This place was also a mysterious space... It seemed that place called the “Administration” specialized in traveling to such locations.
Hmm, well, that was about the extent of my impressions.
He wasn't someone who interested me greatly at the moment.
If we had met inside the library, perhaps it would be different, but we were in another place now.
It felt like running into the owner of a cafe you frequent at a nearby department store.
Rather than him, my eyes were drawn more to the girl and the textbook that were shivering before me.
I had things I wanted to say to that girl, the root cause of this entire situation.
“You and your book. Which of you called me here?”
“Aah. Aaah.”
Whoops.
The girl was still trembling violently.
It was so severe that I couldn't make out what she was trying to say.
So...
Scratch. Scratch.
The girl finally managed to exhale and speak.
Scratch. Scratch.
“C-cough...! M-monster...!”
“Yes. So who called me?”
Regardless of what the girl said, I continued asking questions to satisfy my curiosity.
From the start, what I was curious about wasn't how many people that girl had killed, whether she was a bad child, or how much influence she wielded.
I needed to find out what I could now so that I could prevent being suddenly pulled out of the library again.
If she just told me that, I planned to return quietly.
“So will you tell me? If you tell me properly, I'll make a note of it.”
But the moment I raised my quill, the girl shrieked as if steeped in madness.
“No, I'm not trying to do anything to you this time.”
Even if that girl had forcibly dragged me here, I wouldn't be punishing her. So why was she making such a fuss?
From then on, I began to feel a sigh coming on.
“Aaaack!”
“I'm just asking you to tell me.”
“P-Physical Education Textbook!! Kill that bitch!! I-I'm scared!!”
“...”
The Physical Education Textbook reacted to the girl's scream.
Shuffle.
The book opened, red blood vessels dripping down, and several chunks of corpses burst out.
Judging by the two corpses already wandering around, it seemed to want to create a few more to torment me.
“Hmm...”
Grandmother had changed me into this mysterious body, but unfortunately, it didn't grant me drastic changes in physical strength or bodily abilities.
A librarian didn't need such abilities in the first place.
My physical limits were similar to those of an ordinary middle school girl.
In contrast, what that [Elementary Physical Education Textbook — Grades 1–6] vomited out were the corpses of its victims.
Most of the victims were adult men and women, displaying abnormal muscular growth.
Fitting its name as a Physical Education Textbook, it seemed to have modified the corpses internally.
*This is troublesome.*
Getting hit by those corpse chunks wouldn't kill or injure me.
But... if I touched them, traces would definitely remain on my clothes and body.
Then, the books that noticed the change—who knew what they would do.
Even I couldn't begin to predict.
“D-danger...!”
One of the visitors lying down muttered something.
I slowly opened an old tome and took out the sheet of paper tucked into the very first page.
From time to time, while managing books at the library, torn pages appear.
When that happens, I restore them if possible, but there are pages that cannot be recovered no matter what.
This paper was a page from a book that had remained torn and unrestored.
Back then, when I sniffled upon learning it couldn't be restored, hadn't the book fluttered its cover to comfort me?
Instead, it told me to carry it around like a symbol of luck and protection.
It had consoled me, promising to help me whenever and wherever.
Rustle.
I unfolded the page.
Then, a portion of the book's contents written in a language not of humans appeared.
.͍̘͇̭͍̥̞͍̀̾̀̍̑̂̋̈̚̚.͉̱̮͕͕͙̲̋̃͂͂̏̏̍͗.̙̣̝̣̙͔̠̞͚̿͌́̂ͅ.͚͍̫̮͇͚̫̭͓̰̀͌͗̚.͍̜̥͈͓̬͇̤̯̰̪̆͗̌̾̾̿͆̿͛̿ .̠͍̤̩͕͚͖̤̫̮̥̇̀͊́̋̎̇͆̿.̳̬̝̘͕̣̪̞͖̳́̆̏̄̋̒̈́̅̇̚ .̦̥̫̲͉̭̦̱͈͑̈́̄͒̇̀̓̎ͅ.̥̱̠̯̗̠̈́̂̑́ .̞͈̤̙̫͎͖̗̙̥̠̠͂̿͛̾̀.̩̜̖̬̓͛̎̂̀̚ͅͅ.͎̰͕͙̱͕̈̋̎̚̚.̮͙̠͇̝͉͖̲͋͊̆́ͅ .̦͖̮̫̭͉̥̟̉͊̐̾̽͗̌̋͐̆̆̋ .̮͍̠̖͔̦̝͔̳͑͗̂̄̋.̫̩̦̪͍̗̫̜̭̱͍̈̋̾̓ .̞̘͙̞͕̘͈͕̤̠̍͂͒̓́̈́̈̌ͅ
I could understand that fragment.
In a way, it contained content similar to that Physical Education Textbook over there.
“Oh.”
Human anatomy.
And beyond that, it delved into the ecosystem of the human body, revealed the primordial cause of humanity, and contained the future predetermined for the human race...
Humans are not simple creatures. Countless ecosystems live and breathe within them, and perhaps they are one giant host...
Vast knowledge from within the page began to encroach upon the space.
* * *
Beeeeep...
Manager Lee felt his body momentarily paralyze from the knowledge dominating his sight and hearing.
He was unable to engage in active thought due to the flood of overwhelming knowledge.
He realized.
That his body was not merely his own.
Within his body existed the food chains of countless worlds and organisms.
It wasn't talking about cells or parasites.
It was about a microscopic world that felt even atomic units to be large—something far smaller.
They were small but not weak.
The collapse of that world meant the collapse of the human body.
Depending on the will of that world, the human body could face structural collapse.
Completely incomprehensible content poured into his head.
Just one page.
With that, all humanoid structures within the “Deep Warehouse” ceased moving.
All except one—the librarian.
Splat.
The chunk of corpse that had been throwing punches at the librarian completely separated and turned back into a lump of meat.
It was something that had happened moments ago, when the microscopic worlds within the corpse revolted.
The characters that had been rushing out like oxygen leaking from a space station in the vacuum of space gathered back into the page.
Rustle.
Though there was clearly only a single sheet of paper, the sound of countless pages turning in a book could be heard.
Click. Click.
“...”
The librarian approached Manager Lee, who had collapsed nearby revealing the whites of his eyes, and knelt down with an expressionless face.
And seeing how he had tried to protect the woman below him even when paralyzed by knowledge, she took out the old tome.
Scratch. Scratch.
Manager Lee Cheol-won and Employee Kim Seo-young were probably innocent.
They once again forgot and became ignorant of the contents regarding [-----].
Scratch. Scratch.
“...Hurk!”
Manager Lee gasped for breath as his mind cleared in an instant.
*J-just now... what on earth...*
The sensation of his entire body being paralyzed.
But... he couldn't remember anything.
He had clearly realized something, yet he remembered nothing.
“Please don't try to remember.”
“...Librarian. The one from that library, truly...?”
“Our world and their world are fundamentally in mutual non-aggression. Don't try to perceive them, don't try to oppose them, and if you aren't afraid, nothing will happen. After all, they are a part of you. You only need not instill in them the fear of being discovered by a great predator.”
“What...”
“Please don't try to remember.”
The librarian warned Manager Lee with an expressionless face.
And Manager Lee... simply accepted her warning. He emptied his mind of complex thoughts.
Whatever the case, looking around, the situation had already been resolved.
The balls were all vomiting blood and collapsed, and the same went for the girl and the corpse chunks.
He didn't know what methods she had used, but the librarian had taken care of everything.
Except for Manager Lee himself and Employee Kim Seo-young.
*At least... she doesn't seem to be hostile to us right now.*
“You were a visitor to the library before.”
“...Yes.”
Manager Lee answered, struggling to calm his pounding heart.
“How did you come to be here?”
“By 'here,' do you mean the 'Deep Warehouse'?”
“Yes. That was its name.”
“...We came to rescue a missing elementary school student.”
“Is that also the work of that place called the Administration?”
“...Yes.”
For a moment, he nearly asked how she knew his affiliation was the Administration.
But thinking about it... at the Mystic Library before, she had written and erased this manager's real name, which he hadn't revealed.
She must have found out somehow.
“Hmm.”
Soon, the librarian stood up as if her interest had vanished.
Then she picked up the textbook that had become a demonic tome with a swift motion and rose.
“Ah, that!”
“Is something wrong?”
“...That is a Demonic Tome. By procedure, it is a target that must be quarantined or disposed of.”
“A Demonic Tome... Is that also the Administration's work?”
“Yes, it—”
“If so, isn't managing books the librarian's job?”
Having said that, the girl seemed unwilling to talk further and tried to leave.
If things ended like this, everything would be for the best.
The “Deep Space” had been neutralized, and Manager Lee and Employee Kim Seo-young would be able to return safely.
But... if things ended this way, the connection to the “Mystic Library” and the “Librarian” might be severed.
Because news had come that even the Anomaly Exploration Headquarters currently couldn't track them.
And given that being's power and disposition, she might somehow be made useful to the Administration.
But how could he stop the departing librarian?
Then, a memory flashed through Manager Lee's mind.
“...There are textbooks! Two more.”
Click.
The sound of low-heeled shoes echoing through the Deep Warehouse stopped.
The librarian turned her head and looked at Manager Lee.
“There are more friends like this child?”
“Yes, that girl definitely said so.”
“There are no more books here.”
“Not here. They should be at the elementary school. The art room and the music room.”
“Hmm.”
“We plan to acquire the two books through Administration procedures later. And... if possible, we would like to donate them to the library.”
The Mystic Library's rules were fundamentally based on ordinary common sense.
If so, most of its rules and information could be seen as based on the ordinary as well.
And the library also accepted book donations.
“I understand. New books are always welcome.”
As a result, the librarian gave a positive answer.
“I'd like to take them right this instant, but that won't be possible.”
Then she opened a nearby cabinet.
Creeeak...
As the rusty iron door opened, a landscape familiar to Manager Lee appeared inside.
It was the Mystic Library. The cabinet door had become the entrance.
“N-next time, where should I go? Here? Or...”
“Please come through the entrance you used to come in. Goodbye.”
With those words, the iron door closed and the librarian disappeared.
Hoping against hope, he opened the cabinet with his injured body, but there was nothing inside.
“...Ha.”
And a few minutes later, they were rescued by the follow-up team and team members who had arrived to support them, their faces pale.
“Manager, are you all right? More importantly, we need to get you to headquarters quickly. We'll only administer emergency first aid.”
“What? Aack! What's going on! Hey, do you know what I saw in there? It was...”
“A WA Scenario (World Annihilation Scenario) has been issued. The source is the Multidimensional Observatory.”
“...What?”