“Wow, amazing…”
Wendy exclaimed with her mouth agape in admiration.
I too had never seen a library of this scale before.
Actually, is it even right to call this a library?
A magical space set upon the Stairs of Truth.
There was a wall about 20 meters high.
It was probably smaller than the largest bookshelf in the world.
Endlessly long bookshelves formed a mountain range.
This is the famous landmark of Meikahell University.
The Great Wall of Truth.
“Count…”
Wendy pointed to one side of the bookshelf and said.
“Look. There’s a cat over there.”
It was true.
A cat with only its buttocks and tail sticking out was seen among the books on the bookshelf.
But upon closer inspection, it seemed to be stuck.
The cat was flailing its hind legs.
Unable to watch any longer, Wendy went over and pulled it out.
“Meow!”
Swoosh!
The cat fell out of the bookshelf.
The recoil caused both Wendy and the cat to fall backwards.
“Yikes! Are, are you okay?”
Wendy quickly picked up the cat and asked.
The cat had whiskers just like a catfish.
But that wasn’t the only strange thing.
“Ugh… my poor back. Does this look okay to you?”
It was a talking cat.
“Wha-what??”
“Hey, call the insurance company. I can’t work like this.”
“Ins, insurance?”
The cat jumped out of Wendy’s hands and then lay on the ground.
“Oh my, oh my. I’m dying. It’s already sad enough that I have to work here for life~”
“What, what should we do… The cat says it’s hurt…”
What should we do indeed.
I stood in front of Wendy.
“I’m looking for a book.”
“Oh my… I’m dying.”
The cat glanced around sneakily.
This was a good opportunity.
I should practice dealing with personalities.
I awakened the emotion deep within my heart.
[You feel ‘anger!’]
Emotion boiling up in an instant.
I focused the surging anger on the cat.
“Whoa?! Hot!”
The cat jumped up with a strange scream.
It even stood up on its hind legs.
“What, what was that just now!?”
My chest, having released the anger, felt like it had been burnt.
I quickly caught my breath and seized control.
[You practice ‘patience!’]
[‘Anger’ gradually subsides.]
Good. Now I’m getting the hang of it.
Unlike Mondri, when dealing with such creatures, brakes are essential.
I looked down at the cat, still unaware of the situation, and said.
“I’m looking for a book.”
“What, what are you! I, I don’t follow orders from strangers!”
The cat waved its paws.
I thought it was useless, but maybe it does its job diligently.
I took out a card from my pocket and showed it to the cat.
A purple card.
The reading pass issued by Mondri.
This should do.
But the cat’s reaction was beyond my expectation.
“Pu, purple?! Could it be, is this a pu, purple card?!!”
I looked closely at the card.
Nothing was written on it.
Just a card colored purple on both sides.
“It seems so. The dean said I could borrow books if I showed this.”
“Ye, yes…!”
The catfish-whiskered cat hurried back to the bookshelf it was stuck in.
It took out something, specifically from the pocket of a white apron.
It was a golden bell, shining brightly.
The cat shook the bell with all its might.
Jingle, jingle, jingle.
The sound of a bell echoed throughout the magical library, the Great Wall of Truth.
The cat continued to shake the bell non-stop.
Then, the cat’s bell began to shine brightly.
The amazing events didn’t stop there.
“Count… over there…”
Wendy pointed towards the mountain range where the Great Wall of Truth extended.
From there, lights began to shine here and there, as if responding to the cat’s bell, like beacons on a mountain.
Jingle, jingle, jingle.
The bell sounds resonated from various places.
Countless lights began to move, their destination was right here.
And, naturally, these lights were cats wearing bells around their necks.
Interestingly, they all wore aprons.
“What’s going on! What’s happening?”
“Who sounded the alarm?”
“Where is the 5-minute standby team?!”
“They’ll be here in 5 minutes.”
“Those fools! Tell them to hurry up!”
The cats, in a flurry, ran over.
The bells seemed to be used like walkie-talkies.
“They look kind of cute…”
Wendy said with a dazed expression, but to me, who had been in the military, it just seemed pitiful.
The catfish-whiskered cat we met earlier was now standing stiffly in an apron.
It was fumbling in front of a big cat that had just arrived.
“Hey, did you call the bell assembly?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Where are the mice?”
“Did you hear me wrong?”
“Mice, I said. Mice! You wouldn’t have sounded the alarm if there weren’t any mice.”
“There are no mice that came in.”
“You brat! Then why did you ring it? You’re only supposed to do that if mice invade!”
“Is, is that so?”
“You fool! Get out of here! You were probably just stuck in a bookshelf, sucking on honey, weren’t you?”
“No, that’s not it!”
The big cat poked the apron of the smaller cat as it spoke.
“Hey.”
“First Librarian Myomegi.”
“You’re not even managing the apron imports properly, completely off track. Right? Causing trouble on your day off too.”
“Well, that’s…”
Suddenly, the big cat realized our presence.
“Ah- I apologize. I didn’t know there were civilians here. Our librarian seems to have made a mistake. Could we just check your reading pass? It’s just a formal procedure, please cooperate.”
“Hmm.”
I showed the big cat the same purple card I had shown to the small cat earlier.
Its eyes widened unbelievably shortly after.
“Excuse me! Please wait a moment!”
The black cat shouted loudly.
“Hurry up! Everyone assemble!”
Upon that command, all the apron-wearing cats lined up, confused.
The black cat saluted me.
I never thought I’d receive a salute from a cat.
I wondered if I should return it, but it didn’t seem to care either way.
“I am Myocheolsu, Chief Librarian guarding the entrance to the Wall of Truth! It’s an honor to meet you. I never expected you to visit while I was on duty.
Was this the power of the purple card?
Mondri, that old man, had said something unusual.
-This reading pass was made especially for you, Count. If there’s a book you want, you will surely find it.
Indeed.
This must be a VIP card.
“But… what brings you here?”
“I came to borrow a book.”
“Borrow? That’s absurd! All the books in this library belong to you, master. Even if it’s not here, we will find it and add it to the library’s collection!”
I was slightly surprised.
I thought the Ruelberta family was just funding Meikahell University heavily, but to think they owned the library.
“The manager will be here shortly.”
“I’m already here.”
“Huh?!”
As the Chief Librarian Myocheolsu turned around, an old cat with long eyebrows and whiskers appeared.
It looked like a dignified Taoist sage.
It too was wearing an apron, but unlike the others, it was black.
“It’s an honor to meet you. Master, may I know your name?”
“I am Tristan Ruelberta.”
“Oh, you are Tristan. I am Myoil, the manager overseeing the Great Wall of Truth.”
Manager Myoil knelt down.
The cats behind also all knelt down.
“Lord Tristan, I heard you are looking for a book. Do you know its name?”
“I don’t know that.”
“Then what is the book about?”
I articulated the reason I was looking for in this library.
“I’m looking for a book about ancient magic.”
Myoil’s eyebrows raised.
“Ho-ho… That’s quite interesting. Alright. I, Myoil, will personally guide you to where those books are.”
Saying so, Myoil leaped on the spot.
A light jump that seemed almost weightless.
As he drew a neat circle in the air, performing a somersault, the world seemed to turn upside down.
