Record of a Thousand Lives

Chapter 134

The Library of Knowledge was the place that housed the largest number of books on the continent. Large, intertwining staircases moved busily around it through magic, and bookshelves stretched so high into the air that one’s neck would hurt after trying to see their tops. It was a place incomparable to the ordinary libraries found in other cities; that was because the Library of Knowledge was on a completely different scale from all other city libraries.

The Library of Knowledge looked like a wooden castle from the outside. It was built out of wood that would not rot no matter how humid it was, and it exuded a sense of warmth and intellect to all those who saw its grandeur.

The library employed dozens of librarians to rent out books, and the shelves were all numbered and labeled to make it easy for anybody to find the book they were looking for. Of course, books were considered to be a luxury on the continent, so they were only rented out to those who had high social standing. Additionally, those who either stole or damaged a book would be severely punished.

However, anybody would be free to read books in the library; they could go until their legs gave out if they wanted to, as long as they did not damage any of the books. After they finished reading, they could put the books in any of the dozens of lockers found throughout the library; afterward, the librarians would move ever so discreetly to return books to their respective shelves.

Anybody could read the books they wanted to their heart's content at the Library of Knowledge. As such, there was a huge crowd of visitors today coming to the library to read books.

However, a scene that could make anybody jump in surprise was going on behind the doors of the librarians' office, located at the top of the towering staircases. The ever-so-quiet librarians of the place moved around busily in a panic.

“Burn all the books related to Surian, the King of All Things…” the chief librarian said dejectedly.

However, the other librarians soon protested against his order.

“That’s not a logical thing to do! There are many hundreds, or even thousands, of books related to the ancient heroes. We’ll end up throwing almost all of our history books out if we destroy them all!”

The noise was an unusual thing for the librarians. Their most basic rule was silence; normally, they were not merely quiet, but eerily so. However, they were so worked up at the moment that they started to talk over each other; their threatening demeanor made them look more like a group of gangsters.

The chief librarian sighed and replied, “What’s the point of keeping history books that contain errors?”

Just as the librarians were about to speak out, the chief librarian said gloomily, “Enough. This is an order from Sage-nim.”

All the librarians had to submit after the chief librarian said that one sentence. They cursed inwardly at the owner of the library, but the chief librarian’s curse was on a different level.

The chief librarian said, “The Sage is a son of a bitch.”

The librarians looked at the chief librarian with eyes filled with reverence for his courage in blurting out those words, and the old chief librarian felt somewhat proud of himself at that moment. He was not really in a position to say anything, but it had been a long time since he had last gained the respect of these librarians who cared about nothing except books.

‘To think that the King of All Things was actually?a?villain…’?the chief librarian thought.

There had been a huge uproar in the scholastic community over the past few weeks. Sirian, the founder of the Reorkan Empire, who was the leader of the ancient heroes and the most respected among them, was discovered to have actually been the main culprit behind opening the doors of Pandemonium.

The scholars had been left in an uproar by that, as they were now in a situation where they had to rewrite and alter most of the history they knew and had written of.

‘The libraries are no exception to that,’?the chief librarian thought.

It was always a good thing for an error in history to be found, but the problem was that the owner of the library, the Sage, had ordered all the erroneous books to be destroyed.

They were librarians, and they held more affection toward books than anybody else. The librarians were beings who would feel empty and hungry even after eating all day if they had not read a single book.

Even though it was because of an error in history, what had the other pages that did not have any mentions of the King of All Things done wrong, for the librarians to be ordered to throw away such precious books with their very own hands?

They were not supposed to feel this way, but they still felt a sense of animosity toward the person responsible for unearthing the error in their history. That person was called Ramax of the Red Rock Excavators, was he not?

It was then that one of the librarians quietly agreed and said, “The chief librarian is right.”

The chief librarian proudly nodded.

“I think so too,” another librarian said.

“That’s right! So what if he’s a Sage?” another librarian added.

Then, the other librarians started to speak up one by one.

“He can’t even read books properly!”

“How can we call someone who doesn’t even know the value of these books the owner of a library?!”

“He’s just called a Sage, but he’s no different from a donkey!”

The librarians started to cause an uproar once again, raising their voices and speaking their minds. At that very moment, they were representing each and every book lover on the continent, united in heart and spirit under one banner.

The chief librarian shouted, “The Sage is?!”

“A son of a bitch!” the librarians shouted back in unison.

“I see.”

The librarians froze on the spot upon hearing those words.

A bespectacled Centaur opened the door and entered the room, and the chief librarian’s face turned ghastly pale. He said in a trembling voice, “S-Sage Akenil-nim! What business do you have in this lowly place?”

“I see that every room is soundproofed very well. I did not hear a single peep of your ramblings outside,” the Sage said.

One of the quick-witted librarians immediately served red tea to the Sage, and Akenil took a sip from the teacup.

“I have been quite perturbed these days. My stupid fellow Centaurs tried to attack the royal palace, and there have been complaints of strange sounds coming from the library every night,” the Sage said.

The chief librarian gulped dryly in response.

Akenil was the founder and owner of the Library of Knowledge, as well as a Sage officially recognized by the empire. The Sage was known to be so ill-tempered that his anger could even split the heavens in half.

“It seems that you are unhappy with the thought of destroying all of the books related to Sirian, the King of All Beings, yes?” Akenil asked.

“I-It is too much to destroy all of those books, so we were wondering if it would be possible to at least keep those books in a separate area…” the chief librarian mustered up his courage and said. The timid librarians clapped inwardly.

Akenil lowered his teacup and said, “Well, it is not as if I cannot change my mind, if you put it that way.”

“Really?” the chief librarian asked, his expression brightening.

Akenil nodded and said, “The books I wanted to borrow were also related to Sirian, the King of All Things. I became interested in them when the historical error suddenly came to light recently. Would you lend me a book?”

“Ah, yes… Which book would you like to borrow, Sage-nim?” the chief librarian asked.

“The Epics of the Ancient Heroes, Volume 17,” Akenil replied.

The chief librarian motioned with his chin, and the librarians quickly rummaged through the list of books they had. One of the librarians who had been searching through the list suddenly came back and said, “That book is currently not in the library. Someone has already borrowed it.”

“Who is the person who borrowed it?” the chief librarian asked.

“Viscount Seaming Hickeyveron,” the librarian replied.

“How long has it been since it was lent out?” the chief librarian asked.

“It has been overdue for the past… twenty-three years…” the librarian replied.

“…”

The chief librarian closed his eyes, and Akenil’s face crumpled. He asked, “Are you telling me that this great library I have constructed cannot even keep a book properly?”

“T-That is… The Epics of the Ancient Heroes are quite old books that nobody looks for… We have all of the other volumes, and it is only Volume 17 that has gone missing…” the chief librarian said in a trembling voice.

“Shut up. What I need right now is The Epics of the Ancient Heroes, Volume 17,” Akenil said with a disappointed expression. He continued, “What is the point of having so many books if a library cannot even provide the book the reader wants because they lost that book? I cannot grant your request.”

The chief librarian felt as if he wanted to pull out his hair. He felt that it would be better for him to just kill himself rather than to destroy so many books with his very own hands.

It was then that Akenil suddenly said, “I will give you a month. I have to read that book no matter what.”

“Huh?” the chief librarian exclaimed in surprise.

“Find The Epics of the Ancient Heroes, Volume 17 within that time. If you do, you will not have to destroy the books related to Sirian, the King of All Things. However, you will have to destroy all the books related to him if you fail to find the book I want to read,” Akenil said. He then left immediately before the chief librarian could even say anything.

One of the librarians asked in a small, timid voice while the others were still dumbfounded, “Who… will go and find the book?”

***

The party arrived in front of the library, and the tall wooden building tucked away in a corner of the city towered above them.

Shaneth was overwhelmed by the large exterior of the library, saying with wide eyes, “It really is as large as a castle! Are you telling me this place is filled to the brim with books?”

“It’s not only books that are in it. I’ve heard that there are various other rooms that house ancient scrolls or books, as well as the librarians’ accommodations,” Henrick explained.

“What are librarians?” Shaneth asked.

“They manage the books, and I think this is the only place to have dozens of them,” Henrick replied.

“Oh, I guess a library as large as this would have to require a lot of people to manage it,” Shaneth said.

The smell of paper and ink tickled their noses when they entered the library. Bookshelves packed with all sorts of books extended all the way to the top of the library. The large, vast library was packed with people, but the only sound that filled the air was that of book pages being flipped.

“It’s really quiet,” Shaneth whispered.

A specific group stood out from amid the crowd of readers. They were huge people who were all moving large stacks of books at once.

“Who are those men?” Iris asked.

“The librarians,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

Henrick rubbed his chin and remarked, “I don’t usually stereotype people based on their occupation, but don’t you think they’re a bit too big for librarians?”

It was exactly as Henrick said. The librarians of this place could easily be mistaken for mercenaries or swordsmen if not for the uniforms they were wearing. However, the impressive thing was that the huge librarians did not make a single sound with each step of their large feet.

Henrick’s sharp-eyed gaze suddenly fixated on a particular person and he said, “Look at that guy.”

“What is it?” Shaneth asked.

Henrick pointed across the library hall at a man who was slowly leaving the library while scratching his abdomen.

“That guy’s hiding a book in his shirt,” Henrick said.

“How do you know that, ahjussi?” Shaneth asked.

“I can tell just by looking at him. Do you think my eyes are here just for decorative purposes when I’m crafting things?” Henrick grumbled. He then nudged Kang Yoon-Soo with his elbow and asked, “Shouldn’t we go and catch him?”

“It’s alright,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Right at the moment when the man was about to leave the library, the gazes of the librarians, who had been quietly moving books around, suddenly turned cold. One of the librarians grabbed the man by his shoulder and pointed at his torso.

“Tsk!”?The man clicked his tongue and ran as fast as he could while holding the stolen book.

Henrick remarked in surprise, “I don’t think he’s just a petty thief… How the hell is he so fast?”

Bam!

A librarian’s fist crushed the man’s cheekbone, and multiple librarians surrounded him. He did not even have the opportunity to resist, as the librarian in front of him held his lips shut while the other librarians beat him up.

“…!”

The man could not even let out a scream before he was tossed out of the library, covered in bruises. Then, the librarians quietly placed the book that had been stolen back on its bookshelf before silently going back to work as if nothing had just happened.

Henrick was taken aback by what he had just seen. He asked, “What kind of librarians are these guys…?”

“Now I understand why nobody ever dares to steal a book from the library…” Shaneth muttered in surprise.

It was then that Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly said in a low voice, “Go and read some books.”

“Ah, we can go do that?” Shaneth replied, her whisper filled with excitement. She then looked at Iris and asked her, “I want to go and read some books related to cooking and dragons. What about you, Iris unni?”

“I want to read a colorful fairytale book. There are so many books in this place. It really is very surprising,” Iris said while looking around in amazement. She looked intently at the people dipping their quill pens in ink before saying, “They are also giving out pens and ink bottles for free here.”

“Pens and ink bottles? Have you been writing something lately?” Henrick asked.

“Omo, no, it’s nothing. Forget about it,” Iris said, flustered.

“Henrick ahjussi, do you like books as well?” Shaneth asked.

“Seriously, what do you even see me as?” Henrick grumbled while rubbing his chin. He added, “I guess I’ll go and read some books as well. Let’s meet up for dinner later on.”

It was then that Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly said, “We’ll spend the night here.”

“I guess we have to read books all night…” Henrick grumbled.

The party separated and went their separate ways; the trip was something like a vacation for them.

After being left alone, Kang Yoon-Soo walked up the stairs. The staircases in the library were enchanted to move by themselves, shifting from one place to another.

‘I have to move around?by myself for now,’?he thought. The library was very peaceful, but to Kang Yoon-Soo, it would be anything but.

***

The chief librarian finished his preparations to leave. He had lived almost his entire life in the library, and his pride as a librarian was greater than anybody else’s. While carrying a backpack, he looked at the other librarians.

The librarians looked back at him with worried expressions and asked, “Are you really going to be alright?”

“Do not worry. I will definitely find that book and come back,” the chief librarian said.

The chief librarian had volunteered to go out and look for the missing book. The librarians had tried to stop him by telling him that it was reckless of him, someone who was already old, to go out on a journey on his own; but he had stubbornly refused. This was a matter of responsibility and pride for him, the chief librarian of this place.

A few of the librarians grabbed his hands and pleaded, “Please take care of yourself. Avoid pushing yourself too hard, and just come back if it gets too difficult.”

The chief librarian was touched and became emotional. It seemed that these bookworms also knew how to crawl out of their books now that it was time for him to leave. He said, “I will bring back some souvenirs for all of you in the future.”

“Really?” the librarians asked, delighted.

The librarians only loved books, but they were scared of the outside world. These strange people had been born with huge bodies, but they were very bad at socializing, so they spent most of their time engrossed in books. The chief librarian had always felt a mix of pride and pity for the librarians.

“Then, I will get going,” the chief librarian said.

“Please… We really hope you can succeed,” the librarians replied.

“Wish me luck,” the chief librarian said before walking away with his huge backpack on his back.

The librarians stared at the old man’s large back for quite a while.

The chief librarian checked his itinerary for the trip. He was soon about to leave the library he had spent his entire life in, and it would be a journey into the unknown for him. He was nervous yet excited at the same time; he was certain that the month-long journey would be an unforgettable experience for him.

First of all, he was thinking of visiting the viscount’s territory to look for The Epics of the Ancient Heroes, Volume 17.

At the very moment that the chief librarian was about to descend the flight of stairs, a man suddenly spoke.

“The book you’re looking for is right here,” he said.

The chief librarian, who had been engrossed in his own thoughts, looked ahead of him. He saw a young man holding a book in his hand, and the young man showed him the book. The chief librarian’s eyes grew so wide with disbelief that they almost popped out of their sockets when he read the title of the book.

[Epics of the Ancient Heroes, Volume 17]

The chief librarian was flustered. He stuttered and asked in shock, “W-Who the hell are you?”

“My name is Kang Yoon-Soo,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied in his usual dry, emotionless voice.

The chief librarian hurriedly said, “C-Come with me for a moment!”

Then, he hurriedly went back to knock on the door of the librarians’ quarters. The door opened and a librarian asked, “Did you leave something behind?”

The chief librarian let out a dry cough, clearing his throat before saying, “I found the book.”

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“Huh? What did you just say?” the librarian asked in disbelief.

“I said I found the book. The Epics of the Ancient Heroes, Volume 17,” the chief librarian said.

“What are you talking about? How could you find a book that went missing twenty-three years ago so quickly?” the librarian asked.

Kang Yoon-Soo, who was standing beside the chief librarian, showed the librarian an old book. It was only then that the librarian exclaimed, “Oh my god… This is real!”

The chief librarian proudly rubbed his nose. One of the librarians suddenly asked dejectedly, “Then what about the souvenirs…?”

“What do you think?” the chief librarian replied, letting out a laugh.

In less than a day, they had found the book that the Sage had told them to find within a month.