Chapter 36
Ian bought one of the nearby sandwich shop's signature sandwiches and ate it as he walked.
The abandoned library was in a residential complex. However, it wasn't a place where many people lived. Most of the residents had left after a huge fire in the past.
So I'd heard, it was supposedly because flames suddenly erupted from some family's house, but I don't really know whether that was true.
In any case, thinking about it now was pointless. Whether some mad mage had set the place on fire or some mystery had carried out a terror attack, it was all in the past.
Ian neatly finished the sandwich and walked through the quiet residential complex.
There were almost no signs of life. Hardly any houses had their lights on, and even those showed no human figures. Only cats roamed the streets. A few stray spirits, too.
Ian approached a ghost staring blankly at him and turned it into materials as he thought.
‘Maybe this place would have been better than an officetel after all.’
Houses were expensive to begin with, and the layout made it easy for neighbors to look in, so he hadn't really considered it. But if it was like this, then once he saved up some money, moving here might not be a bad idea. There was no shortage of space to use it as a house rather than a workshop.
Of course, he didn't have money right now, so moving wasn't possible either. No matter how cheap a mansion was, the base price would still easily be over several hundred million... For now, it seemed best to handle this request first and decide whether to move afterward.
“…….”
After walking for a long while with useless thoughts in his head, he reached his destination.
A tall building that looked more like a bookstore than a library.
The sight of a giant library standing alone in the residential complex was quite bizarre, but that was enough to confirm it was a Mystery. Ian lightly checked the ammunition in the revolver tucked inside his coat and peered at the building through the window.
Naturally, nothing could be seen beyond the window. Only Ian's face was clearly reflected there.
An unknown space even the cartel hadn't properly managed to verify.
It was a situation similar to just before entering the theme park.
But back then, he hadn't known how horrifying that theme park was, so he could move a little more boldly. Now, however, he knew that the Mystery occupying the space wasn't very friendly to humans. Anyone with a head on their shoulders could tell that rushing in blindly was a bad idea.
What's more, unlike back then, no one was beside him now. The only things he could rely on were his own judgment and improvisational skill.
“Phew…….”
Ian, feeling the mounting tension, put a cigarette between his lips and slowly smoked it down. As the acrid smoke seeped into his lungs, some of the tension seemed to ease.
He rummaged through the various items in the bag on his back and stuffed them into his coat and pants pockets in preparation for entry.
He'd also had a pocket for the grimoire newly sewn into the inside of his coat, so he no longer needed to hide the book anywhere else. Ian put the pure white grimoire into the large pocket and tapped it with his knuckles.
“Let's go.”
He stood up. After loosely stretching his joints in case of anything unexpected, he held the cigarette butt he'd finished smoking and slowly opened the library's front door.
What came into view was... a gloomy corridor. The sunlight pouring in from outside the windows didn't seep inside even a little. Instead, it shimmered in a pale gray light.
There was no one there. Only the long corridor and a single door hanging at the very end.
Ian casually flicked the cigarette butt in his hand to the floor and pushed himself fully into the corridor.
Creak, slam.
At the same time, the front door shut and locked itself. He pushed at it just in case, but it didn't budge.
“So that means leaving without doing anything is impossible.
As he said that, he lifted his head. Then he jolted.
A huge window above the front door. Beyond it, a grotesquely carved giant creature was looking down into the library corridor.
Its face was nothing but countless eyeballs. And sharp teeth were attached to those pupils like eels. Its head was as big as a bus, and its curved body was about the size of a small building.
The thing reflected in the window wasn't the only one. Beyond the window, where the gray sheen had once been, bizarre creatures were plastered against the glass, glaring fixedly at Ian.
It was different from the theme park. The aberrations there hadn't openly shown their hostility. They only lunged like they meant to kill once a certain trigger was activated.
By contrast, those things looked as if they were desperate to tear off his flesh at this very instant. Drool dripped from their gaping mouths, and Ian's image was reflected clearly in their bloodshot eyes.
“…….”
Fortunately, as long as the door didn't open or the window didn't break, nothing dangerous seemed likely to happen. Still, he didn't like it. Ian set the aberration above the front door in his sights and crushed it.
At that moment, every one of the creature's eyeballs burst at once. Whether that had been the proper way to deal with it or not, the aberration collapsed to the floor and lay motionless.
[……?]
[……! ……?!]
Once the largest one died, the aberrations clinging to the windows tilted their heads in surprise, then immediately turned around and fled. Ian let out a long breath as he looked at the bloodstains left where they had been.
He didn't have time to worry about them.
He immediately turned around and headed for the library door at the end of the corridor.
With a creak, he opened the door, and a thick smell of books rushed out. It wasn't an unpleasant scent at all. Rather, it was a comforting one.
The library looked more ordinary than expected. There were no windows, but curtains covered the walls completely. Books were packed tightly into the tall shelves, and thin books were neatly arranged in rows on the tables.
It almost felt like people lived here. The comforting, quiet scenery was the opposite of the utterly horrifying theme park,
Ian closed the library door and carefully examined the titles of the books as he walked inside.
[Human Flesh Recipes]
[Human Body Assembly Method]
[52 Ways to Deliciously Season a Dying Human]
“…….”
After checking the titles, Ian was speechless. Even if the scenery was like this, the contents inside didn't seem ordinary either. He clicked his tongue and began to walk around the library in earnest. He took notes on the library's shape and atmosphere.
“Welcome.”
A moment later, the librarian sitting at the desk greeted him. Ian looked over the creature's appearance and quietly moved his pen.
Its head was normal enough. But it had no facial features. Literally, it was just a head. Its limbs were long and slender, and a huge eyeball twitched at its pelvis. Its chest was wide open, and as if it were a place to store books, thick volumes like legal codes were lined up side by side.
[Library Rule 1]
[Library Rule 2]
[Library Rule 3]
Three books in total. They were volumes explaining the rules of this library. Each one was very lengthy, but the rules being laid out so openly was, surprisingly, a boon.
Ian finished writing down the librarian's appearance and carefully asked the creature,
“Could I ask what the library rules are—
“Silence!!!!!!
Before Ian could even finish speaking, the librarian's head split open vertically and it let out a shriek. Ian clenched his teeth and braced a hand against the wall at the deafening blast, as if his head were about to spin right off.
“In the library!!!!!! Be quiet!!!!! I said!!!!!!!
“Ghk!
“Aaaagh!!!!!!
The thunderous voice made it feel as if his eardrums would burst. Ian somehow clamped both hands over his ears and gritted his teeth so his head wouldn't be crushed.
After a long while, once Ian no longer said anything, the librarian abruptly cut off its shrieking and returned to its neat, composed appearance. Ian sat on the floor, panting harshly.
‘I’m losing it.’
A piercing ringing echoed clearly in both ears. Whether his brain had been shaken or not, his vision swam and he felt like vomiting. He couldn't keep his balance properly, either. His fingers were trembling badly.
“……Ugh.”
He somehow managed to get back on his feet, took out a lighter, and lit it. Then the surrounding noise vanished all at once.
The librarian didn't budge even though the lighter was lit right in front of it.
It was absurd that something that went into convulsions at the sound of a voice didn't react to a lighter that could start a fire. As expected of an aberration, its standards were entirely its own.
In the silence, Ian brushed back his sweat-soaked hair and tried to act calmly again. His head hurt from the sudden uproar, but at least it wasn't a threat that could kill him. For now, he was fine.
Still, if it was going to seize up just from someone raising their voice, there was a very high chance other actions would produce a similar result.
“…….”
Come to think of it, this place was even trickier than the theme park. Ian let out a long sigh in silence and took out the red paper he'd kept in his pocket.
A piece of paper that slowly dulled intelligence and, in the end, reduced its victim to an idiot before killing them.
He'd originally planned to watch the situation a bit and decide whether to use it, but at this point there was nothing for it. It looked best to accomplish his goal as quickly as possible and get out.
Thinking that, he carefully slapped the paper onto the librarian's back. Fortunately, it didn't seem to react to contact, as the librarian just stood there blankly all the same.
After a while, once he judged enough time had passed, Ian snuffed out the nearly burned-out lighter and carefully cleared his throat.
“Ahem.”
“Qui!!!!
At his fake cough, the librarian immediately split its head open. But the second syllable, “suk,” never followed. Instead, it stood there blankly, scratching its head with a long, slender hand while staring at Ian with the eye in its pelvis.
“Sir, shouldn't you keep quiet in the library? My memory's really fuzzy. Ah, I want to eat snakehead fish.”
Ian laughed at the absurd nonsense.