Laugh Encyclopedia (3)
"⋯⋯."
The lobby had turned into a total mess. The man exploded amid laughter, sending chunks of flesh and blood spraying everywhere, painting the lobby red.
I looked down. Fortunately, my clothes were fine, but a bit of blood had splattered onto my cheek.
"⋯⋯."
My head cooled sharply. Sorting through the chaotic swirl of thoughts, I focused solely on what had just happened.
"⋯⋯Laughter."
The man had trembled as if he couldn't hold back when I refused to laugh out loud. Then he laughed convulsively until his body burst and he died.
What had happened? It wasn't normal, that much was clear. Some mysterious force had been at work. Probably something that could be called an anomaly.
"Anomaly Management Bureau⋯."
Did they know about this? Were they handling it now, or were they completely oblivious and caught up in it themselves?
"Haa⋯."
I had no idea. But now wasn't the time to worry about them. Nor was it the moment to vent my rage at whatever had caused this disaster.
First things first—clean the library.
Screeech. Clunk.
"⋯⋯."
I went into the shelves and fetched cleaning supplies in silence. The books around me started rustling faintly. They must have noticed the blood on my cheek and realized something had gone wrong.
Flutter! Flutter flutter!
Swamp Zone hopped over frantically on its cover, asking if I was okay. Jijong, Unomunoeo, and several other books followed belatedly, crowding around to check on me.
"Move. I'm fine."
Maybe it was my unusually cold tone, but I felt them flinch. I wasn't mad at them, though. The lobby floor and walls needed scrubbing before those chunks of meat and blood could stain them permanently—that was why I'd spoken so curtly. If they fussed over me and surrounded me, it'd just waste time.
Flutter.
It had all happened so fast that most of the books seemed clueless. But one—Jijong—radiated a subtle fury. It knew something.
"I'm going to clean the lobby, so stay put."
I decided to ask Jijong later. For now, I grabbed a rag and scrubbed the lobby floor and walls. Luckily, the high-quality surfaces didn't stain.
As I cleared away the corpse fragments, my mind wandered to a horrifying what-if.
⋯⋯What if this body had burst in the shelves instead of the lobby? It would have been a nightmare. Countless books soaked in blood—the damage would have been unimaginable.
It had been that sudden, that instantaneous.
Once cleaning was done, I gathered everything that seemed related to the incident: the newspaper from the Anomaly Management Bureau, Jijong, and⋯ the Laugh Encyclopedia.
I didn't want the other books worrying, so I only brought Jijong to the reading room.
"Jijong."
Flutter.
"You know something about what happened in the lobby earlier, don't you?"
⋯⋯Flutter.
Jijong fluttered its pages belatedly. It definitely knew something—and it was glaring at the Laugh Encyclopedia beside us.
"You know about this book?"
Laugh Encyclopedia. It had been lively and responsive when I managed it earlier. But now⋯ it felt utterly lifeless. So much so that I wondered if it was even a book.
Flutter.
Jijong silently glared at the Laugh Encyclopedia in response to my question. Then it suddenly leaped and smashed down on it with its corner.
"Eh, huh?"
The next instant, something unexpected happened.
If the Laugh Encyclopedia had been a real book—a living one—it would have reacted in one of two ways: a dent in its hard cover, or flinching in pain.
But it shattered like a glass plate under Jijong's blow.
"⋯⋯Plastic?"
I quietly picked up a piece of whatever had been mimicking the Laugh Encyclopedia. Plastic. Cheap, crude plastic.
The Laugh Encyclopedia wasn't a book at all.
"⋯⋯Then the reactions I saw⋯."
Jijong approached after smashing it and seemed to explain something. It brushed my head with its cover, and memories I'd forgotten came flooding back.
"⋯⋯I've seen the Laugh Encyclopedia before? And not just now?"
It wasn't that long ago. Just a day earlier, by Earth's time.
I'd personally received a donation of the Laugh Encyclopedia. Directly from some entity wearing a mask with a ridiculous expression.
Memories surfaced of it performing gags and jokes with exaggerated, skit-like gestures. After it left, I'd accepted the Laugh Encyclopedia and completed the donation process.
But until those memories returned, I'd been sure⋯ there had only been one Laugh Encyclopedia.
Normally, there should have been two: the one donated yesterday and the one from a few hours ago.
Flutter.
"⋯⋯You ate yesterday's Laugh Encyclopedia?"
Flutter. Flutter flutter.
And that wasn't all. Jijong had also made me forget all memories related to it.
"⋯⋯Why?"
It wasn't fear or anger—I was just curious about the reason. These books had protected me for no small amount of time, and Jijong especially had helped me a lot, so there had to be a good explanation.
⋯⋯Flutter. Flutter. Flutter.
After a moment of silence, Jijong finally explained.
"So the Laugh Encyclopedia⋯ is the will of some entity?"
The explanation was a bit hard to believe.
* * *
There are countless entities that can effortlessly cross dimensions, distant universes, parallel worlds, and the gaps between them.
Jijong, Swamp Zone, Unomunoeo. Other books too, but these three have distinct main bodies. I could faintly sense their distant presences.
What Jijong meant was that the Laugh Encyclopedia was similar to them.
Flutter. Flutter flutter.
The Laugh Encyclopedia was merely a "prop" meant to devour the library and infect me with laughter. Props don't need much effort since they're just imitations. That's why it was a crude plastic fake, not a real book.
"⋯⋯So it only looks like a fake now because the 'performance' is over."
Props don't care about success or failure. It had played its role perfectly in the skit targeting me and the library, then reverted to cheap plastic regardless of the outcome.
Truly malicious.
"So that entity attacked us in the end."
Flutter.
Jijong signaled affirmation. Why it targeted us, I had no clue. Nor did I particularly care. I'd started getting angry the moment I realized it anyway.
"⋯⋯Then the masked figure who tried donating the book was the main body?"
Flutter.
No. Even the masked human-mimic was just another "prop," Jijong said. Probably, the human it possessed exploded on leaving the library—or maybe it was plastic from the start.
I slowly examined today's newspapers. That's when it clicked. Why every country's papers were filled with memes, jokes, and gag comics.
"⋯⋯Everyone's been caught up in that entity."
Judging by the dead man's reaction, many must already be under its sway. A powerless civilian coming here just to chase jokes? That was borderline madness.
A global influence—strong enough to reach me, even with Grandmother's help.
⋯⋯Maybe on par with Swamp Zone, Jijong, or Unomunoeo.
"Jijong."
Flutter.
"What do you think we should do? This place isn't dangerous anymore."
Because we'd become fully aware after that incident. No more subconscious influence.
But should we just hole up here? We could. Though that might lead to a regrettable outcome: all Earth visitors vanishing.
Maybe the entire universe's civilizations were facing the same. With this limited info, it was hard to gauge the entity's scale.
"Can the Anomaly Management Bureau really handle this?"
They cared about humanity, so they wouldn't just watch. But folks like that mage from before? They might exploit it.
"Hmmm."
Alright. Decision made.
"Jijong, let's go out."
Flutter?
"Outside."
Flutter! Flutter flutter!
"I know it's dangerous. But I don't want to just sit here. What if patrons dwindle?"
Flutter. Flutter flutter.
"That's why we're sneaking out now⋯. If Swamp Zone or the others see, the universe might get even messier."
Flutter, flutter!
"Yeah. That's why it's just you and me."
⋯⋯Flutter?
"Yep. Just us two. Sneak out quietly, check Earth's situation, visit the Anomaly Management Bureau's main center⋯ like a little outing."
Flutterrr⋯.
I leaned close to the hesitant Jijong and whispered.
"Hmm⋯ Worried it's stronger than the Laugh Encyclopedia? Then we could bring Unomunoeo or Swamp Zone too⋯."
Flutter! Flutter flutter!! Flutterflutter!
Jijong reacted exactly as expected.
"Pfft, got it. Quick in-and-out then. Oh, and I'll leave a note."
Vanishing suddenly again would cause a panic. A note saying I'd return should keep them calm.
I scribbled it hastily.
[Hey guys, I'm heading out for a bit. Not for fun—going to buy tools to help manage you better. Taking Jijong, so it'll be safe. No mischief, stay put, okay?]
With my usual ancient tome and Jijong clutched to my chest, I left the library with a pounding heart. Descending through Goru Bookstore, the Earth's scenery I faced after so long was⋯⋯.
Screeech! Boom!
Hahahahaha!!
Kekekeke⋯.
Rumble⋯⋯.
Absolute chaos.
