Chapter 16
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: The Library's Librarians
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"Amazing"
Wendy gaped in awe.
This was my first time seeing a library of this magnitude, too.
No, could you even call this a library?
A magical space built atop the Stairway of Truth.
There stood a wall about twenty meters high.
Even the largest bookshelves in the world would probably be smaller than this.
Endless rows of bookshelves stretched out like mountain ranges.
This was the pride of Meikahel University.
The Great Wall of Truth.
"Count"
Wendy pointed to one side of the bookshelves.
"Look. There's a cat in there."
It was true.
A cat with only its butt and tail sticking out from between the books on the shelf.
But looking closer, it seemed stuck.
The cat's hind legs flailed about.
Unable to stand it any longer, Wendy approached and pulled it out.
"Kyaang!"
Swoosh!
The cat came free from the bookshelf.
The momentum sent both Wendy and the cat tumbling backward.
"Eek! A-Are you okay?"
Wendy lifted the cat up high and asked.
It was a cat with whiskers oddly like a catfish's.
But that wasn't the only strange thing.
"Hiss Ow, my back. Does this look okay to you?"
It was a talking cat.
"Wh-Wh-What???"
"Haah Hey, call the insurance company. I can't work like this."
"Ins-Insurance?"
The cat jumped down from Wendy's hands and flopped onto the floor.
"Ow, ow. I'm dying here. It's bad enough having to work here my whole life."
"Wh-What do we do The cat says he's hurt"
What do you mean, what do we do?
I stepped in front of Wendy.
"Ow I'm dying"
It peeked at me slyly, gauging my reaction.
Perfect timing.
Time to practice wielding my traits.
I awakened the emotion slumbering deep in my chest.
You are 'Wrath'!
...
An emotion boiled up in an instant.
I focused the surging wrath on the cat.
"Hwawack?! Hot!"
The cat let out a bizarre screech and leaped up.
It even stood bolt upright on its hind legs.
"What the!? What was that just now?"
My chest burned like it had been scorched after unleashing the wrath.
I held my breath and quickly reined it in.
You are 'Patience'!
'Wrath' gradually subsides.
Good. Much more manageable now.
Unlike with Mondri, using my power on a creature like this required brakes. I looked down at the cat, still clueless about the situation.
"I'm looking for a book."
"Wh-What are you!? I don't take orders from some stranger I just met!" The cat waved its paws dismissively.
I thought it was useless, but apparently it does its job diligently.
I pulled a card from my pocket and showed it to the cat.
A purple card.
The access pass Mondri had issued me.
This should do it.
But the cat's reaction was beyond my expectations.
"P-Purple?! No way, i-is this a p-purple card?!"
I examined the card closely.
Nothing was written on it.
Just a card that was purple on both sides.
"Seems like it. The president said showing this would let me borrow books."
"A-As expected!"
The catfish-whiskered cat scrambled back to the bookshelf it had been stuck in earlier.
It pulled out a white apron from thereor rather, something from the apron's pocket.
It was a golden bell that glimmered.
The cat shook the bell with all its might.
Ding-a-ling-a-ling.
The bell's chime echoed through the magical library, the Great Wall of Truth.
The cat kept shaking it without stopping.
Then the bell began to glow brightly.
The wonders didn't end there.
"C-Count over there"
Wendy pointed to the mountain range where the Great Wall of Truth continued.
Beacon fires seemed to light up here and there atop the mountains, as if responding to the cat's bell.
Ding-a-ling-a-ling.
The bell sounds echoed from all around.
Countless lights began to move.
Their destination was right here.
And the identity of those lights was, naturally, cats with bells around their necks.
Curiously, they all wore aprons.
"Wh-What is it!? What's going on?"
"Who sounded the alarm!?"
"Where's the five-minute response team?!"
"They'll be here in five minutes, sir."
"Those lunatics! Tell them to haul ass right now!"
Cats came rushing in a frenzy.
They were using the bells like walkie-talkies.
"Somehow they're so cute"
Wendy grinned dopily with her impressions, but to me, having done military service, they just looked pitiful.
The catfish-whiskered one in front of us had donned its apron and stood rigidly at attention before we knew it.
It fidgeted in front of a burly cat that had just arrived.
"Hey, was it you who rang the bell?"
"Yes, sir."
"Where are the mice?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Mice, you idiot. Mice! Why else would you ring it?"
"There are no mice."
"You fool! Then why'd you ring it? You only shake it like that for a mouse intrusion!"
"I-Is that so?"
"You moron! Step aside! I bet you were just holed up in some bookshelf sucking honey, huh?"
"N-No, sir!"
The burly cat poked at the cat's apron repeatedly.
"Hey"
"Senior Librarian Myo-Megi."
"You can't even keep your apron straight. You really screwed up on a rare day off, huh?"
"Th-Thats"
Then the big cat suddenly noticed us.
"Ahsorry about that. Didn't realize there were civilians here. One of our librarians seems to have made a mistake. Sorry, but could you show your access pass? It's just a formality, so we'd appreciate your cooperation."
I showed it the purple card I'd shown the catfish cat earlier.
The cat's eyes widened to an unbelievable degree right after.
"Sisorry for the rudeness! Please wait a moment!"
The black cat shouted loudly.
"Get over here now! Everyone, assemble!"
At those words, the aproned cats fell into orderly ranks without knowing what was happening.
The black cat saluted me crisply.
Never thought I'd live to salute a cat.
I figured I should return it, but it didn't seem to care either way.
"I am the First Chief Librarian guarding the entrance to the Great Wall of Truth, Myo Cheolsu! It's an honor to meet you. I never dreamed you'd visit during my shift."
So this was the power of the purple card.
Mondri, that old man, had said something ominous.
This access pass was made for you from the start, Count. Whatever book you want, you'll surely find it.
Indeed.
So it was a VIP card.
"But may I ask what brings you here?"
"I came to borrow some books."
"Borrow!? Out of the question! All the books in this library belong to the master. Even without instructions, we'll find them and add them to the library's collection!"
I was slightly surprised.
I'd thought the Ruelverta family just donated a lot to Meikahel University, not that we owned the library.
"The director will be here shortly, too."
"I'm already here."
"Huh?!"
When Chief Librarian Myo Cheolsu turned around, there stood an old cat with long eyebrows and a long beard dangling down.
It looked just like a lofty Taoist master.
It wore an apron, too.
Unlike the others, though, it was black.
"It's an honor to meet you like this, Master. Might I have the honor of your name?"
"Tristan Ruelverta."
"Oh, Lord Tristan! I am Myoil, the director in charge of managing the Great Wall of Truth."
Director Myoil knelt on one knee.
All the cats behind him knelt as well.
"I hear Lord Tristan is looking for a certain book. Do you know its title?"
'No, I don't.'
"Then what is the book about?"
I voiced the reason I'd come to this library.
"I'm looking for books on ancient magic."
Myoil's eyebrows rose.
"Hoooh How intriguing. Very well. I, Myoil, shall personally guide you to where those books are."
With that, Myoil hopped up on the spot.
A light, weightless jump.
As it traced a perfect circle in midair, the world turned upside down.