Chapter 5

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 5

Chapter Title: Bellierd Library (5)

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I tapped the message window that Anonymous 10 had been sending me to check it.

After that last message saying he'd found me... there were no more chats from him at all. His sudden silence unnerved me.

"...No way he's coming here? Is he on his way...?"

A creeping terror gripped me—the fear that something not human might actually be coming for me.

"...What do I do? What should I do?"

Should I pull up the keyboard right now and apologize to Anonymous 10?

But... it wasn't like I'd done anything clear enough to apologize for. I hadn't sent him any insults or curses in my messages.

I'd just...

--

--

"All I did was ask for a little help..."

It would be a lie to say he hadn't given me a weird vibe.

But... if Anonymous 10 was really some monstrous aberration, I figured Anonymous 4 wouldn't have left that playful reply on his comment.

A veteran playing some oddball concept?

That's how I'd seen Anonymous 10—a survival expert thriving in this monster-infested world. That's why I'd messaged him.

"No... then he shouldn't have said 'jjeot-jji' or 'not that'..."

I felt wronged.

How the hell would a monster understand slang like 'jjeot-jji'?

If he'd just acted like he didn't get it, I could've realized, "Oh, this guy's no human!"

"10 minutes..."

I glanced at the clock. Only 10 minutes left before I had to head out for my second day as librarian at the Bellierd Library.

"...What the hell? Uh... what do I do?"

The thought that Anonymous 10 might actually show up here kept swirling in my head.

My only choice was...

"...Damn it, just... lend me this one thing...!"

I wiped the metal chopsticks from the bento box clean with some tissue and pocketed them as a potential weapon, just in case.

As I started sharpening the tips to make them as pointy and effective as possible...

Suddenly...

"...Ah, will they get mad if I steal these chopsticks...?"

Whatever was refilling this bento might get furious if I took the chopsticks.

I tore a page from the empty notebook on the desk and scribbled a message on it with a pen.

"Eh... if they're gonna kill me, they'd do it while I'm asleep, right? They won't flip out over some stolen chopsticks...?"

...

Ding~ Ding~ Ding~

"..."

Second day as Bellierd Library librarian.

The alarm signaling the end of the morning shift rang out. I slowly got up and returned to the room where I belonged.

"...What was that? Just some roleplayer?"

I'd been sure Anonymous 10 would track me down here after saying he'd found me...

But no guests showed up at the library all morning.

So I'd realized he'd just been messing with me via messages.

"Whew... I got scared for nothing...!"

I pulled up the status window and logged into the community, ready to chew out Anonymous 10 for that crap.

That's when...

Knock knock knock—

"..!"

A knock came from the firmly shut door right behind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me.

"..."

I turned silently to look at the door.

But it might've been my imagination, so I didn't want to give away that someone was inside.

I kept staring quietly at the door...

The status window chimed, notifying me of piling unread alarms.

Anxious, I tapped them...

"..."

Ah... shit... this is bad...

Knock knock knock—

"..."

Knock knock knock knock—

"..."

What a polite guy.

Since I wouldn't open the door, he just kept knocking...

Anyone else would've had their heart exploding or seizing up by now, but he's politely knocking away.

'...What do I do?'

I realized how pathetic my plan was: 'If Anonymous 10 shows, stab him with the sharpened chopsticks.'

All I could do was hold my breath, pretending no one was here, maintaining silence.

Knock knock knock knock knock—

Knock knock knock knock knock knock—

The knocks grew louder, matching my pounding heart.

Worried the aberration beyond the door might hear my heartbeat, I took a deep breath and held it, silent as death.

Knock knock knock knock knock knock knock—

Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud—

Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!—

Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!—

The thing outside was now pounding like it was furious, trying to smash the door down.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!—

'The door's gonna break...!'

The door wasn't reinforced ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠steel.

As cracks spiderwebbed across it, I knew death was imminent.

Bang bang bang!—

Thud!----

Thump...

"..?"

The frenzy of noise cut off abruptly, replaced by the sound of something collapsing right outside the door.

'What?'

Too sudden for my brain to process.

But through the splintered cracks... bright red blood trickled in.

'...Dead? Just like that..?'

Anonymous 10 had been taken down by something.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

'...Can I open the door now?'

I hesitated in the absurdity, but worried he might still be alive, so I waited a bit longer...

'No... if they wanted to kill me, they'd finish the job while he's out cold, right?'

Suddenly.

If I had to kill him, better now while unconscious than after he woke.

It'd be a lie to say I wasn't hesitating, but I yanked the door open anyway.

Thud...

Something that had been leaning against the door frame toppled inside.

"...Fuck..."

I'd been trying so hard not to curse.

Say the wrong thing in a place like this, piss off the owner, and you're done.

So I'd been biting back the swears...

But staring at this grotesque thing collapsed in front of me... no way to hold it in.

I mean...

"What the hell is this...?"

The creature on my floor had dark blue skin.

About 100-120cm tall—tiny.

But its head was four times the size of a human's.

Four eyeballs bulged from that head, and what passed for a mouth was sewn shut tight, like someone had stitched it.

No visible ears, so who knows if it could hear...

But its fingers and toes were two or three times longer than a human's, making it look terrifying for a moment.

"...Yeah, gotta kill it. Kill... it..."

I had to ensure it couldn't get up again, no matter what.

"Let's do this... I can do it...!"

Any living thing's eyes are a weak point.

I reminded myself of that.

Stab— Stab— Stab— Stab—

I jammed the sharpened chopstick tips into the downed aberration's eyes, one by one.

Stab— Stab— Stab— Stab—

Stab and pull, stab and pull.

After assaulting the eyes repeatedly, around the 20th stab...

Suddenly, with a squelch, the eyeball melted like liquid.

"Just gotta stab each one 20 times, huh."

Twenty stabs per eye would do it.

I kept jamming the chopsticks into the remaining three eyes, gouging away...

"..?"

Through the open door...

Something resembling a Mannequin Monster was staring right at me.

"..."

An awkward beat passed.

But it didn't seem about to attack.

After popping the last eye, I casually stood, closed the door first, and went about my business.

"...Now what?"

Door shut, I had no clue what to do next.

"Guess... I should wash up first."

Heading to the bathroom to clean the blood off my clothes...

"That thing... better ask the gallery folks."

I snapped photos of the collapsed aberration and posted to the community, asking how to handle the corpse.

"Monster corpses... how do you dispose of them... sigh..."

Feeling uneasy, I popped all its eyes. How do I get rid of this?

Will it just evaporate on its own if I leave it?

Sigh... gotta eat and head to afternoon shift, but this thing's bugging me...

Give me some advice...