Epilogue: Sealing the Laugh Encyclopedia
After returning to the library, I walked straight into the stacks and hurled the bundle of papers onto my desk. Compared to how I normally treated books, even I had to admit it was shockingly rough. Thud!Flutter! Flutter-flutter! Flut… flutter?Swish-swish-swish! The books—including the swamp region—were furious that I had vanished. But the moment they sensed my expression was far from normal, they quietly retreated to their shelves on their own.
“Haaah…” I raked a hand through my hair and glared down at the bundle. The Laugh Encyclopedia. The transcendent concept that had nearly devoured the entire Earth and its neighboring dimensions was now sealed inside this book. More precisely, its very essence had been transcribed here. If I compared it to mathematics, it was less like a worksheet full of difficult problems and more like a reference manual filled with formulas. Because of that, fragments of its power still lingered outside the library. It would have been ideal to trap every last trace, but tearing apart old grimoires to improvise a new vessel was the best I could manage for now.
“Hmph. How does it feel? Powerless because you can’t do anything?”
…
I chuckled and looked down. The Laugh Encyclopedia offered no reply. Apparently my earlier trampling had done the trick. …Flutter. …Was it refusing to speak because my novel had shocked it into silence?
“……”
Understood. So that was how it wanted to play. Perfect timing—the library’s third space had just become accessible. The Preservation Archive. A vault for books too dangerous or unstable for the general stacks. Think of it as a safe-deposit box, or solitary confinement, for books. That was where this one was going.
“First, I’ll turn you into something that actually looks like a proper book. I’ll give you a cover, keep you clean.”
…Flutter?
“And then I’ll lock you in a solitary cell inside the Preservation Archive.”
This wasn’t for its protection or preservation. Nor was it to shield it from the other books that had already figured out what happened and were seething with rage. “Together with my novel.”
…Flut, ter? …~!! Flut-flutter! Swish-swish-swish! At my declaration the surrounding books trembled violently. Their reaction only irritated me further, but my real target was the Laugh Encyclopedia. “I’ll let you out once you start thinking my novel is actually entertaining.”
Time was something I had in abundance. And the initiative was mine. Its ability to burrow into my unconscious? Useless now that I was aware of it and it had lost its power. The Preservation Archive’s neutralization field would make escape impossible anyway.
“Read it thoroughly. Try to understand what the author actually intended.”
Flut-flutter! Flutter!! The bundle of papers thrashed and flailed, but it was pointless. I carried the screaming thing into the management room, shut the door, then stepped back out to survey the rest of the library. Jijong had already returned to its usual spot.
“All right. Anyone who had complaints while I was gone, speak up.”
…
Not a single book raised its cover. They had clearly decided that causing trouble now would earn them the same fate as the Laugh Encyclopedia. Quick on the uptake. But I wasn’t finished.
“Then the one who caused an incident while I was away—confess now. I’ll let it slide with a light punishment.”
…
Still nothing. Every book remained perfectly still, playing dead. I turned my gaze to the swamp region.
Flut-flutter…! I—I really didn’t do anything…! The swamp region jolted and shook its cover in panic, then suddenly pointed at the Unu Octopus and began gesturing frantically. Flutter! Flutter-flutter!
“…The Unu Octopus calmed everyone down?”
The Unu Octopus? I looked at it in surprise. It responded by slowly fanning its pages. …It seemed the swamp region was telling the truth. The Unu Octopus had soothed the others and kept the peace.
‘…But why? How?’
What puzzled me most was that the Unu Octopus hadn’t joined the outrage at all. Last time, when we returned from the deep warehouse, it had been just as annoyed as the swamp region. So what had changed?
‘Ah. Or did the Unu Octopus read my note first?’
Hmm. Leaving that note must have worked better than I expected.
“Good work, Unu Octopus. It’s not much of a reward, but I’ll use a softer brush on you from now on.”
Swish-swish! The Unu Octopus fluttered happily. Well, if nothing serious had happened in my absence, there was no need for a major cleanup. For the time being, I would focus on formally “publishing” the Laugh Encyclopedia. And with that, the long, chaotic outing—had it been one day? Two?—finally came to an end.
. . .
“Huuu…”
Once the exhausted librarian lay down and drifted into quiet sleep, the books that had been holding their breath began to stir. Most were curious about the new arrival—the Laugh Encyclopedia—but because the girl had locked it inside the management room, no one could stage a proper “initiation.” The physical-education textbook looked especially disappointed, yet not a single volume offered sympathy. Meanwhile Jijong, at the others’ urging, began recounting what had happened outside, carefully downplaying its own role and exaggerating the librarian’s achievements. The books’ loyalty toward their caretaker rose noticeably. The swamp region kept repeating, “As expected of our librarian!”
Only one book remained apart—the Unu Octopus, tucked in a corner and absorbed in something. On its very first page an unfamiliar landscape shimmered.
—Kyaaaaah!
—The laughter— the laughter is tearing me apart!
—Get out of my head—!
Uuuek. A man’s agonized voice was written in speech-bubble form. The Unu Octopus smiled faintly as it read. Swish.
—Kuhuk.
When the Unu Octopus turned the page, the voice cut off as though a thread had snapped. Swish-swish. If things continued this way, “they” would restore the Earth, the man’s memories would return, and even the sensation of having his brain rummaged through would fade. Then this delightful little deviation—secretly observing the world called Earth—could continue for a long, long time. Thanks to that, it had been able to grasp the situation quickly and prevent the rebellion! The Unu Octopus praised itself and closed its cover.
* * *
Temporary evacuation building of the Anomaly Management Bureau. Staff moved with urgent precision in response to the sudden shift they had all felt.
“Anomaly energy of High-dimensional Laughter is plummeting! Confirmed collapse of the Jeongpalpo Amusement Park, previously identified as the epicenter…!”
“Extremely high probability that High-dimensional Laughter has been eliminated!”
“Where are the Processing Headquarters personnel?”
“The Processing Headquarters Director is confirmed dead by self-destruction. Other teams’ signals are being tracked as the amusement park collapses…!”
“…Did the Director succeed?”
“We can’t confirm that. However, multiple tents have vanished across the globe. There is also an anomalous record coming from the server.”
“What kind of record?”
“It states that a powerful divinity influenced Earth’s stabilization. The source is unknown.”
“…Divinity? Something above divine rank? Or the Vatican?”
“We don’t know. But if it’s an anomaly, we should all be aware of it…”
At that moment, every mind felt the brief, gentle touch of an old, kindly hand. The sensation vanished before anyone could register it. The man who appeared to hold final authority spoke.
“Then instruct the Multidimensional Observatory to execute the final activation of the Restoration Protocol.”
“Understood.”
A signal shot from the aged terminal into an unknown dimension.
. . .
“……”
Rumble… rumble…
“……”
A branch of the Multidimensional Observatory. An employee stared silently out the window. Amid powerful vibrations, the Milky Way blazed across a sky stripped of atmosphere. The observatory sat atop a mountain that encircled a city unlike any on Earth—cold, silent, yet unmistakably alive. To obey the city’s “rules,” the employee remained mute. One wrong word and the entire main control center of the Anomaly Management Bureau could be swallowed. Yet when used correctly, the city served as an impregnable barrier against any anomalous threat. It had once contracted with the Pioneer Headquarters Director. Somewhere inside that city, her corpse now sat in a lavish leather chair, a knife through the heart or a bullet hole in the skull.
“……”
Beep-beep. Beep. Beep-beep.
A signal arrived from the Anomaly Management Bureau: authorization to activate the Restoration Protocol. The employee finally initiated the long-prepared sequence.
Click.
Stepping over unconscious colleagues, he checked the readouts of dozens of telescopes orbiting Earth at one light-year’s distance. They would now overlay the image of Earth from one year ago onto the present world. The gaps would be filled with vast data from the server and ■■■■. If successful, even the dead bureau staff and humanity itself could be restored.
Click. Beep. Beep-beep-beep.
With a cascade of output tones, a three-dimensional Earth materialized on the screen—Earth as it had been one year earlier. Time would continue forward, yet humanity and the planet would regress to that moment.
“…For the sake of humanity.”
The employee spoke his final words and lost consciousness.
. . .
Anomaly Management Bureau internal server running…
Confirmed death or fainting of all human employees.
Confirmed activation of Restoration Protocol and 1 Light-year Telescope. Transmitting related data…
Earth restoration procedure initiated.
Complete.
Welcome, Anomaly Management Bureau and Earth.
The ■th Restoration Protocol has been completed.