Chapter 181: The Tin Knight and The World Inside The Library
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 181: The Tin Knight and The World Inside The Library
You held onto the rope and walked on in silence.
With every step, the lighting changed. With every step, your sense of distance vanished. With every step, the air turned thick as water. It was a bizarre situation.
The you outside the monitor guessed it was a hallucination.
The you inside the Tin Knight denied it. This was real.
Both were right. Both were wrong.
A vague understanding brushed past your mind.
This was an undefined world.
A series of unwritten characters on a blank page.
The only thing established here was the single sentence: ‘This library exists on the second highest floor of the tower.’
Beyond that, not the sky, not the ground, not even space itself was fixed.
The current chaos was the result of all the books in the library revealing their own sentences to fill the remaining void.
One moment, the sentence “Methods of remote arson using dust in the air as a fuse” would manifest as a scorching flame, heating the surroundings. The next, the sentence “The great mage said, ‘My life is nothing but regret’” would create a gloomy, dark space. Of course, it all seemed like a jumbled, crazy mess.
But at the same time, you were realizing something.
The sentences affecting you and your companions weren't actually that powerful.
The proof was that while the phenomena themselves seemed threatening enough to cause serious harm, you felt almost no actual damage.
Walking at the very front, you spoke.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ assesses that the effects are all flash with little actual impact!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says it’s like watching a massive earthquake on a 4D movie screen, but all the audience experiences is a bit of rumbling in their seats!]
The witch, walking second, grumbled.
“It seems like a space created by the resonance between the library’s own magic and the grimoires inside. But I can’t even begin to guess how it all got so twisted.”
The scarecrow, walking third, muttered.
“It feels like a… very conceptual space. Our strides are all different, yet we cover the same distance with each step. And normally, a situation like the rope stretching out earlier should have affected our bodies, but we don’t feel anything different.”
The little lion, walking fourth, voiced a concern.
“The farther we go, the stronger the influence of these illusions seems to get! I didn’t feel the first flame at all, but that last one was as hot as basking in the midsummer sun!”
How long did you walk, having this strange, disjointed conversation?
A thought suddenly occurred to you, and you asked.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ is curious about how many steps have been taken!]
Sophia answered.
“We just took our forty-fifth step. In the time it took to say that, we’ve taken two more, so that makes forty-seven.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says there are two steps to go to match the rivals’ record!]
“We already passed it while you were saying that… tsk.”
The witch, about to scold you, clicked her tongue and stopped in her tracks.
You and the rest of the party did the same.
You finally understood why Gale and the White Knight had walked exactly forty-nine steps before returning to the tower.
Forty-nine and fifty were different.
Not just in a numerical sense, but as if the realm itself was entirely separate. It seemed your companions felt it too.
From here on, your lives could truly be in danger.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks whether to proceed or turn back!]
The one most surprised by these words was none other than you.
Normally, you would have been urging your companions forward, eager for a new adventure and its dangers.
And just as you expected, your companions reacted with a look that said, ‘What’s gotten into you?’
“We went through all that trouble to get here; we can’t just turn back now. Whether it’s information on the Witch of the North or one of the kingdom’s sacred treasures, I won’t be satisfied until we get at least one thing from this tower.”
At the witch’s words, you took a step forward with a cheerful heart.
In the next moment, the scenery changed.
A vast, endless space, so immense its end was nowhere in sight.
Various runes shone like stars in the sky, and the constellations they formed wandered through the air like living creatures.
The ground was neither soil nor rock; it felt as if you were treading on tens of thousands of giant sheets of paper stacked together.
“Ah, over there!”
The little lion raised her voice and pointed, and you turned your gaze in that direction.
The silver horse that had gone ahead of you was sitting on the ground as if taking a rest, its tail swishing gently.
The problem was the familiar face nearby.
Shimmering blonde hair and blue eyes. A magnificent white dress.
Aside from her blue eyes, the girl looked like a reverse image of Dorothea. It was Gale Elilaz.
And for some reason, she was sitting at a tea table, sipping from a teacup.
To top it all off, the White Knight stood beside her with something like a white towel draped over one arm, looking for all the world like a butler.
Gale casually lifted her head toward your party, who could only stare, dumbfounded.
She met Dorothea’s bewildered gaze and blinked her blue eyes. Once, twice.
“Would you care for a cup? You must be thirsty.”
“Is that really what’s important right now!?”
Dorothea shrieked.
Of course, Gale paid her no mind. She was on another level of doing things her own way.
“No, I mean, you… what is all this?”
Dorothea stammered.
She had so many questions that she didn’t even know where to begin.
You decided you had to help this poor witch.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ advises that you should challenge her to a duel!]
“Right, a duel… Don’t interrupt!!”
Dorothea’s staff struck you on the head.
I was only trying to help, you thought, feeling wronged.
Though the regret that she might have actually gone for it if you’d pushed a little harder was even greater.
“Oh my, what a fine strike. Do you have some expertise in the martial arts? As for the duel, I must decline. If I were to fight, I’d prefer a tag-team match with Sig.”
“Stop talking nonsense and answer me. What is this situation? What is this place? And why are you just sitting here drinking tea?”
“Hmm, so many questions. And in times like these, shouldn’t we start with a greeting? It’s been a while, after all.”
“You’re the one who started with the nonsense instead of a proper greeting!!”
Dorothea screamed.
Gale shrugged, then gestured toward the silver horse with a flick of the wrist holding her teacup. As always, her actions were oddly casual for someone with her appearance.
“I saw that one arrive,” she said. “So I figured another compass holder would be here soon and decided to wait.”
“Wait? Why?”
“Well, that’s…” Gale began to explain, but just then—
A door abruptly appeared in the empty air, and something popped out.
The reason you judged it to be a ‘something’ rather than a ‘someone’ was simple.
The figure that emerged from the door had no body.
Two hands in white gloves. A rabbit-shaped mask with a monocle. And a pocket watch floating at roughly waist height.
That was it.
The sight of the various parts floating in mid-air was truly bizarre.
《Welcome to the game, everyone!》
“What’s this now?”
Dorothea glared at the floating rabbit mask.
The rabbit mask paid her no mind and continued its explanation.
《You are adventurers challenging the labyrinth to obtain the legendary sacred treasure!》
《Survive the tangled paths, countless traps, and dangerous monsters to reach the labyrinth’s exit!》
《Some choices will become a beacon of hope, while others will lead you into deep darkness!》
《May glory and blessings be with you at the end of your adventure!》
Fanfare~
A strangely cheap-sounding effect echoed through the air.
The overwhelming scent of a classic trope made you tilt your head in confusion.
Dorothea’s eyes turned to Gale.
“Hey.”
“I don’t know if you noticed on your way here, but the library’s own magic and the magic of the books stored within it are all tangled up, bizarrely distorting the space. There’s only one space but many books, so they’re all competing to become the master, so to speak.”
After taking a sip of tea to wet her throat, Gale continued.
“If a grimoire of flames had won, this place would have become a scorching hell. If someone’s adventure story had won, a world based on that tale would have been created. If something like a theoretical book had won, its laws and formulas might have been reflected in this space.”
“So, what’s with this game business? What kind of book took control to make things like this?”
“A game book.”
“What?”
“It’s a game and a grimoire that my master created, based on a popular pastime. The original game is structured so the reader turns the pages, something like, ‘You’ve come to a fork in the road. To go left, turn to page 3. To go right, turn to page 8.’ But the one my master made is a book where the entire content of the next page changes based on your choice.”
Dorothea’s eyes narrowed.
Perhaps because she lived a life far removed from such leisurely pastimes, she seemed to be having trouble grasping the situation.
Just then, Sophia, who had recently been quick to absorb the various cultures you knew, stepped forward.
“So, you’re saying the contents of that game book have become reality in this place?”
“Yes. I’ve experienced it myself, so there’s no doubt.”
A question suddenly occurred to you.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that if you’ve experienced it, that means you actually participated in the game, so it doesn’t understand why you’re still here!]
If Gale and the White Knight had been breezing through the game, it would be strange for them to be stuck in the library long enough to be considered missing from the tower.
On the other hand, if they’d run into major trouble and couldn’t get out, their perfectly fine appearance wouldn’t make sense.
When Dorothea pressed the point after hearing your words, Gale sighed.
“Because that’s the ending I reached.”
“What?”
“‘You defeated the undead guardian of the legendary sacred treasure and claimed it for yourself. However, due to the labyrinth’s curse, you have also shouldered the fate of becoming its new guardian. To escape the labyrinth, you must either leave a new guardian in your place or break the curse itself. You have decided to wait for an opportunity that may one day come. Normal Ending.’”
After reciting this, Gale rose from her chair.
The shoes she wore were a vivid silver.
“I pray that you and your companions reach the Good Ending, Dorothea. I truly have no desire to settle things in a place like this, in a manner like this.”