The Legend of the Legendary Librarian (1)
Four days after the entrance ceremony, on a Thursday. I was playing the part of the librarian at the academy library, reading novels borrowed from upstairs during work hours and chilling with comics after clocking out.
There was no deadline for the mission Chongsu had given me. At least, not on the surface. The task was to seduce capable women, and those kinds of operations were always long-term plays. It hadn't even been a full month since I infiltrated Sejong Academy, so expecting me to hook someone and drag them into Imae Mangnyang right away was impossible.
The plan was to spend at least a year observing calmly, then lure in the promising ones—the so-called "heroines"—to join us. Even if they weren't heroines, pulling in extras like Yumir, or future supporting characters with bright prospects, would be a win.
With that in mind, I was slowly checking the freshman roster through the library's book lending program.
But.
What the hell?
I kept scrolling through the database of registered students. The first time, I'd brushed it off, but on the second pass, a chill hit me. Something was seriously wrong.
The protagonist was missing.
No male freshman matched the protagonist profile. The name I remembered wasn't there!!
Maybe he'd changed his name or used an alias? I manually copied every name from the lending program and cross-checked them at home against Hero Association records and indie hero wikis, pulling overtime. Still no sign of the guy.
He's supposed to be some Korean living abroad with a middling E-rank superpower—where the fuck is he?!
Most of these kids had squeaky-clean backgrounds. None fit the protagonist's setup.
This is driving me insane.
Did the original story change? Maybe his "Korean abroad" bit switched countries? Or was he enrolling next year? Or skipping the academy altogether this year?
No target from the start? My head was starting to throb. I'd infiltrated the spot where the assassination target—world's fate on the line—should show up, only for him to ghost the place entirely.
I'm seriously losing it.
Who the hell has a case like this? In an academy light novel, the academy protagonist doesn't show up? That's bullshit!
I wanted to cry. I'd investigated the protagonist obsessively, enough to cool my fantasy fried chicken, but zero results.
Should I check every guy one by one? There were too many—about a hundred male college freshmen this year. Should've been fewer, but one woman's appearance had boosted enrollment beyond normal.
It wasn't just girls enrolling for Snow White. Plenty of guys picked the academy to catch a glimpse of her, and already, internal Sejong Island communities had secret Snow White fan clubs popping up. Membership over a thousand, flooded with her photos and videos under the banner of "fandom."
↳ SeventhDwarf watching intently^^
Thanks to them, I knew Snow White's every move without lifting a finger.
They want the protagonist this bad, huh. If someone tracked his dawn-to-dusk routine like this for me, it'd be golden. Assassination's no joke—even with solid intel, it's tough.
But here I was, failing at step one: ID'ing the target. No wonder I was antsy.
Stay calm. First week of March term barely done. Mid-semester transfer, summer session, whatever—he'd show eventually.
"What's your real reason for coming to the academy?"
"Can't say."
"Why? You're not here just to study. Tell me the truth, not the cover."
"Someday... when the time comes. Why I came to Sejong Island."
He had some must-achieve goal at the academy.
But the novel rushed to an end without revealing it. Unresolved plot threads get called MacGuffins in masterpieces. In a abrupt finale? Just dropped bait. Useless to me now.
Why would the protagonist, with his low-rank near-useless power, join the academy? Power grind? Seduce some girl and play house husband? Actually learn something?
Whatever his real, non-PR motive, he'd appear. Unless it was something he could do elsewhere, no academy needed?
"......Hah."
Headache city. One missing guy spawned endless what-ifs.
The only variable was my six months as Dokkaebi. Did that butterfly-effect him out? Nah. More plausible: he died in some accident during my villain stint, or snowball-suicided from it.
At this rate, I'd never find him.
Just spill to Chongsu and ask for help? Might amp her unease, but she'd back me. Cost? My life on the line even more. Already half-hers, but admitting I'm a possessor? She'd chain me as her personal "author."
"Spit out every creative work from your world. Now!"
"A reader in your past life? Every reader’s a latent writer—don't you know that?!"
"Synopsis, plot—anything! Stories from a world without superpowers!"
"Got a novel-writing manual. Write 30k words a day from now on. What, can't? 300 keystrokes a minute? Hundred minutes gets you there! Try it!"
Like Scheherazade spinning tales for a thousand nights, I'd regurgitate Earth's stories for her. Ones this world never had.
If no luck by summer, then ask for help. Deadline: second semester. Post-summer training camp, when Dokkaebi goes rampant and the Four Heavenly Kings get targeted. No protagonist by then? I'd admit defeat and call Chongsu.
Where the hell is he? If he just popped up like "I'm the protagonist," it'd be perfect—
"...Huh?"
"Hi there?"
Across the desk, a familiar face beamed at me.
"Working here, huh, Mr. Do."
"Told you I was at the library, but didn't expect a visit, Miss Yumir."
Yumir had arrived. I shelved my guy woes and greeted her with a kindly librarian smile.
"Here for a book?"
"Nah. Here for you?"
"...Me?"
"Yeah. Heard you covered my restaurant bill."
Guilt trip? "That was just what anyone would've done. Even in that mess, someone's gotta look for the missing."
"......Ah."
Her face stiffened. She'd caught my Dokkaebi subtext.
Masked heroes transforming on-site risk exposure if they vanish suddenly.
Smart as she was, she'd get it from casual chat.
"...Got it, sir."
"No need to 'get' anything." I shrugged it off lightly.
"So, you really came to see me?"
"Yup." She pulled something from her bag. "Coffee? I got a free period."
Convenience store brew. ...In a 500ml Starbucks latte glass bottle?
What's her angle? Too generous for mere thanks.
"Thanks. I'll enjoy it. And forget the restaurant thing."
"Uh, if you're not busy, got a question."
"Shoot."
"......Any books on clothing?"
"Clothing?"
"Yeah. Hero costumes even better."
Her expression was dead serious.
Looks like she was ditching the platinum knight concept.