Grandmother's Admonition
⋯⋯She'll kick you out of the library. The Pioneer Division Chief grinned, observing the girl as a faint change rippled across her face. She was still expressionless, but her eyes trembled ever so slightly.
'As expected⋯.' That reaction confirmed it for the Pioneer Division Chief. This anomalous entity was remarkably similar to a human.
'To be precise, it shows a lot of similarities to human reactions and behaviors.' In her time as Pioneer Division Chief, she'd encountered countless anomalies. Among them were all sorts of bizarre entities, but this was the first to exhibit reactions so close to human. Even the anomalies most akin to human civilization always carried an alien air about them.
The Librarian lacked that air entirely—no, it was absent. She felt like she'd been human from the start. And so, the Pioneer Division Chief tossed out a casual proposal. What if she joined the Anomaly Management Bureau?
It was a ridiculous suggestion. Binding an anomalous entity already tied to an anomalous space to the Bureau? But if this library and the Librarian girl came along, it would undoubtedly be a huge asset.
'This Shinbi Library is an incredibly powerful anomalous space.' Earth—and the universe—held countless magic books. Some were stored by the Bureau, others owned by rival factions. Magic books, as anomalous entities, each possessed freakish powers. The mages and witches who wielded them were outright designated as hostile forces by the Bureau, inflicting massive casualties.
Preserving them often led to losses too, but this library was completely immune to such issues. With staff constantly injured or dying, even the higher-ups—including herself—were tearing their hair out. But if this library served as a storage vault for magic books? No more casualties, and containment staff could be reassigned. It was a win-win on every front.
'And in negotiations, you always start by asking for the stars~.'
No, Grandma.
'⋯⋯Huh?'
The Pioneer Division Chief glanced around at the unfamiliar voice. Then she noticed the girl before her had frozen, unmoving like a statue. More precisely⋯ time itself had slowed to the pace of eons.
Far off, beneath the Milky Way, a bird that visited once a century rubbed its beak against an impossibly tall rock and departed. Only when that rock wore away completely would a single second pass.
Stroking, caressing. Multiple hands gently patted her head—on the hair, nose, chin, nape. Withered hands, deeply lined with age, tended to her tenderly.
"⋯⋯."
Crack. A fracture spiderwebbed across the Pioneer Division Chief's sunglasses. Slowly, blood trickled from her nose.
You foolish child of this laughable mortal world.
How dare your arrogance fill your bones, your presumption pierce the heavens?
The tender touch was like a grandfather doting on his grandchild—love, affection, and pity woven into softness.
Blood seeped from the Pioneer Division Chief's mouth and ears. A shadow loomed behind her. Countless hands extended from a single being—holding fans, books, swords, rosaries, crosses, and myriad sacred objects.
Rob not the eternal joys of we ancient gods who have lived through myriad ages.
When our revels end, shall your fates remain whole?
Screeeeech⋯. Sincere adult counsel echoed like tinnitus.
Child, and her other progeny. Heed this counsel deeply.
In mercy I warn you thus: block not this child's path, lest you shorten your own heaven-granted lifespan.
Know this as my gentle intent to preserve your thread of fate.
You child, have you forgotten? The myriad gods rage at your presumption.
Suddenly, the elder's hands withdrew from the Pioneer Division Chief's face. Time, which had neared calamity, resumed its normal flow.
"Ptooey!"
She spat blood and collapsed face-first onto the desk.
"I'll pass. I have no plans to join anywhere else. I'll keep being this library's librarian from now on⋯⋯ Huh?"
Because of that, the Pioneer Division Chief missed the colorful confusion on the Librarian girl's face. But the one who'd passed out remained blissfully ignorant, unburdened by regret.
* * *
I'm flustered.
The Pioneer Division Chief, mid-conversation, suddenly spewed blood and collapsed.
"Uh⋯? Excuse me⋯?"
I poked her shoulder repeatedly with the quill's tip. But she lay utterly still, like the dead.
"Wha-what⋯?"
Cold sweat beaded on my skin in bewilderment. Because⋯ I hadn't done anything!
Her treating me like an easy little sister had irked me a bit, but I could've endured it. Testing with the quill had shown her personality was just naturally cheeky. Plus, she'd donated books.
I'd planned to punish her only if she crossed the line further, but she keeled over first⋯!
"Wh-what do I do? She didn't have any chronic illness, did she⋯?"
I paced frantically around her, brainstorming solutions. Grandmother hadn't taught me how to handle sudden deaths⋯!
"Wait. ⋯⋯If it wasn't a chronic illness, then who did this⋯?"
With an angry scowl, I stormed out of the reading room toward the shelves. The air crackled with uncharacteristic hostility from the books.
Now I understood. They were furious at the Pioneer Division Chief's attitude.
I'm grateful they were looking out for me, but killing people on their own wasn't okay. Especially since her survival meant a steady book donor secured⋯!
Of course, her innocence as a victim factored in too.
"Who was it⋯!"
Bam! I flung open the shelf doors (well, kicked them since I couldn't actually break them) and bellowed in fury.
Some of the raging books flinched at my unusual reaction and reined in their auras. But others still seethed—including the Swamp Zone with its criminal record.
"⋯⋯You?"
Flap, flutter?! As I glared triangularly, the faintly angry Swamp Zone jolted. It rapidly flipped pages forward then back, denying involvement.
But this was the one that had once revealed its true form in rage when I left, so I couldn't easily dismiss my suspicions.
Flutterrr⋯! Flutter! Flutter! Thud thud!
Surprisingly, Swamp Zone seemed genuinely wronged, slamming its cover on the shelf floor to prove its innocence. Its pages were slightly damp and crumpled.
Flutter!
"⋯⋯You were drooling in your sleep, realized late, and got mad then?"
Ridiculous. Books drooling in sleep? But it looked so wronged I had to drop the interrogation.
"Fine, then who? Jijong, Unomunoeo. You two?"
Shhhrrrak!! Shhhrrak!! Unomunoeo circled me, insisting it wasn't them.
Flutter. Jijong, walking gracefully on the ground, shook its pages lightly in denial.
Hmm⋯.
'Jijong's quieter than the other two, so okay. But Unomunoeo⋯ who knows.'
If I had to assign roles to these three books⋯ yeah. Good guy, bad guy, weird guy? In order: Jijong, Swamp Zone, Unomunoeo.
Just categorization, of course—they were all friendly to me. But with all three denying it⋯ I couldn't find the culprit.
"I don't know who did it, but remember this. Next time you act without my say-so⋯."
I paused for a beat, then said gravely with a serious face,
"⋯⋯I'll kick you out of the library."
⋯⋯!
Flap, flutter⋯! My declaration shocked them; the shelves' atmosphere chilled instantly.
Having issued my stern warning, I turned back to check on the chief's body.
"Whoa, no need to go that far."
"Eek!"
The blood-smeared Pioneer Division Chief suddenly replied in a bright voice! I yelped and jumped in shock at her sight.
"Oh, such a human reaction. Definitely different from other anomalous entities."
"Y-you were alive⋯?"
"Yeah? Somehow I pulled through. But my head throbs like hell. Sigh⋯ Anyway, shall we talk outside?"
Still whispering, I helped her back to the reading room. I meant to apologize right away for the books' misdeeds, but she beat me to it.
"Mm, if I came off arrogant, sorry. Dealing with anomalies has roughened my edges a bit. I was testing the waters too."
"⋯⋯Pardon?"
"I got greedy thinking you and this library could really help humanity. So, how about a different proposal?"
Even splattered in blood, she pulled a pamphlet-like thing from her pristine white coat's inner pocket.
Anomaly Management Bureau Anomaly Pioneer Division Guide - Librarian Edition -
"Made this just for you—info on our Pioneer Division. Should've given it first. Oh, Seoyun-a, a former visitor and Processing Division employee, created it."
"Why this⋯."
"I really want to collaborate with you and this library. Gotta show some goodwill first, right?"
She flashed a beaming smile, thumbs-upping crisply. But with her beauty buried in gore, it looked more eerie than pretty.
"So, if you're interested⋯ mind if I tell you about the Anomaly Management Bureau and Pioneer Division? What do you think?"
Her tone was kinder, gentler than before.
Hmm.
'Cooperation and info sharing⋯.' Different vibe from joining up. Kinda intriguing. If I don't like it, I can always refuse.
Anyway, post-collapse, the Pioneer Division Chief was much meeker. Like shifting from pesky second sis bullying the baby to a much-older big sis.
"Tell me more, then."
"Great! Guess we start with the Bureau?"
And so, for a good while, I listened as she explained the Anomaly Management Bureau.