CH 116

There was only one cardinal who would call me by name.

<It’s Cattleya! Leya!>

“Hello, Your Grace.”

Agnes and I made no secret of our delight. Cardinal Cattleya sighed as if she could not stop us.

“I finally see you.”

“How have you been? I should have said hello first, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t say that you are sorry. Rather, I think I should speak more formally with you……”

“Don’t do that. You’re the grandmother of my best friend and a dear friend of my swordsmanship master.”

There were whispers all around us. Clovis sneaked into the talk as a representative of everyone on the scene.

“Do you two know each other, Your Graces?”

“Yes. My family has been indebted to Count Gillette for a long time.”

“If we are talking about grace, I’m the one who should be indebted. Thank you for saving my precious granddaughter’s life and also being a good friend of hers.”

As the words came out, Cardinal Cattleya, who recalled that time, told me.

“Now that I know who you are, everything makes sense. The day Bia’s lifespan was supposed to end was the first day Descent was revealed in the Grand Chapel.”

“At that time, we fell into the A-class dungeon of the Count’s castle.”

“The mystery from the dungeon sink that happened 10 years ago in the Vatican has also been answered. At the time, people wondered how the protagonist of Descent of Divinity entered the dungeon, defeated the boss, and came out without no one knowing. However, turns out she was caught up in the sink from the beginning. It was truly dark under the lamp.”

“Haha…”

Cardinal Cattleya let go of my vagueness with a smile as if she had no particular intention of interrogating me.

Then, her gaze reached Thesilid that was right next to me.

“It’s been a while, Your Grace.”

“……Long time no see, Sir Thesilid.”

There was a slight gap before she replied. It was a very small reaction that could only be seen by those who knew the situation.

Cardinal Cattleya’s gaze was not on Thesilid’s eyes, but pointing over his head.

It was her unique ability to see the lifespan one has lived and the remaining lifespan they have, The Eyesight of Vitality.

Thesilid in front of her has accumulated as much as the seventeen lifetimes he lived in the past episodes.

It was only natural that Cardinal Cattleya was startled when the number floating above his head suddenly changed.

<Leya must have noticed that Thesilid is a regressor.>

It was a content that always came out in the original work. There was no ripple effect in her position, which is bound to be a bystander.

There was nothing new.

“Our private chat was long. I will guide you to the forbidden book storage.”

Cardinal Cattleya took the lead, followed by, me, Thesilid, the two Captains, and fifty-eight paladins.

Before I knew it, we came to the end of a long underground corridor.

An iron gate with a clear signpost of ‘Forbidden Book Storehouse’ blocked our way like a dead-end alley.

Kiiihh. 

When Cardinal Cattleya touched it, the iron gate opened by itself.

The musty air characteristic of a long-neglected closed room spread out of the door. Prohibited books were piled up haphazardly without being managed at the bare minimum, befitting the name of forbidden.

Standing in the doorway, Cardinal Cattleya said.

“I don’t see the dungeon gate.”

“It’s hidden inside a certain book.”

“We’ll have to find that book.”

“Yes.”

Immediately after answering, I went inside the storage. When Thesilid and the Captains followed after me and tried to cross the threshold together.

Cardinal Cattleya stopped them.

“Everyone except for the Holy One is to wait here. These are evil books that can poison your soul just by reading the title.”

Since the final destination was the library of the demon world anyway, there must be many worse books than the ones here.

I thought so, but I didn’t bother to spit it out. Cardinal Cattleya would only be conveying the council’s decision.

Without further ado, I went in alone and started looking for the book. The books were unmanaged but fortunately well categorized. I went through categories such as Praises to the Devil, Blasphemy, Graphic Novels, Crime Novels, and so on, and arrived in the Uncategorized section.

“Found it.”

The moment when I opened the book titled ‘Organic Cultivation of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil’.

Wheein. 

A gust of wind engulfed the area and opened the entrance to the dungeon. The gate emitting considerable demonic energy swirled as if beckoning people to go inside.

“Everyone get ready. We enter the dungeon.”

Clovis and Rex urgently asked.

“Are you going to enter immediately without scouting again this time?”

“Could you please explain a little in advance? Things to keep in mind or something……”

They were much more anxious than when we went inside the ice castle.

I felt the willingness to make sure that they would not be out of military discipline and cause stupid accidents like last time. 

Overall, it was not a bad attitude from them. Besides, now I had a bit of a sense that I had to take care of the two orders anyway, so I decided to generously release tips.

“I told you that the name of this dungeon is ‘Library of All Things’.”

“Yes.”

“Everyone knows you shouldn’t make a fuss in the library, right? That is enough.”

“……”

“Come on, let’s go.”

I went straight over the gate without much to say.

[System> You entered the S-level dungeon ‘Library of All Things’. ]

The changed environment was a magnificent antique library.

All the walls and pillars supporting the high ceiling were bookshelves in themselves. Everywhere the eye could see there was a collection of books.

The central ceiling was illuminated by a bright light through a large glass dome. In a place that receives plenty of sunlight, which is unlike the usual demon world, a huge tree was growing as if it was going to pierce the roof.

“I-Is that the World Tree?”

When one of the knights, overwhelmed by the size of the tree, chanted so, a figure that had been blending in the shade of the tree appeared.

“No, this is an apple tree. But you lowly humans are a species that call it the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.”

(Note: For those that don’t get the ref, it’s the apple tree of Adam and Eve.)

A woman with mystical light blue hair was watering the tree, albeit she didn’t need a watering can for it. With one gesture of her hand, water came to life in the space her palm passed by and gushed out.

[<System> Dungeon’s temporary owner, ‘Chief Librarian Elantia’, ranked 477th in Demon World has appeared.]

Although there was a strange title of temporary owner, she was the active owner of this dungeon. 

“Bo, boss……!”

The knights who recognized the opponent’s rank immediately set up a vigilant stance. Of course, their own blades too.

Sureureung! Chunk!

Elantia furrowed her brows at the sound of metal and iron that reverberated through the walls and ceiling of the library.

“Are you going to make a fuss in the library? That’s why humans are a vulgar species. You are troublesome.”

When she pointed at us with her index finger.

Peeing-.

[<System> Warning. ‘No Bad Manners Allowed’ is activated.]

A powerful debuff wrapped around everyone.

Dungeons have their own rules. This takes precedence over the laws of the real world and applies to all beings within the dungeon.

The stronger the owner of the dungeon, the more enforceable the rules became. Moreover, the boss here was a high-ranking demon who has been entrusted with the authority to rule the place by one of the three Demon Kings.

Thus, she had a great deal of coercion to exert.

The knights who realized the change in their bodies were astonished.

“Wh-What…! Why is my strength……!”

“Oh, this can’t be……what nonsense is this…”

The light of the aura that dwelled on their blades was extinguished and the connection with the divine power was severed.

The rules and debuffs that spread throughout the library were to blame.

[<Status> ‘No Bad Manners Allowed’

A debuff created by Librarian Elantia to prevent disturbance in the library. Seals the target’s aura and divine power.

Note: The Chief Librarian’s power has also declined due to the reaction of a fairly unreasonable rulemaking.]

Among the three major powers, only Aura and Divine Power are sealed. Magic was an exception.

The reason could be understood just by looking at Elantia, who drew water from her hand again and scattered it over the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. It’s because she herself is a wizard.

<Is she a 7th circle? It doesn’t seem like she only uses water.>

As expected of Agnes, that is correct. Elantia was proficient in all types of magic.

Of course, there were no wizards among the members of the Vatican. Around the time when the paladins who suddenly became civilians could not escape from the shock.

Elantia’s motherly voice rang out.

“When you come to the library, read a book quietly. A lot of great new books just came in.”

“……”

The Boss here had no will to fight.

Clovis and Rex came to their senses, cautiously approached me, and whispered.

“Your Grace, what do we do now?”

“Do as the Boss says. Put down your weapons and pretend you are reading.”

At my command, the paladins immediately began snooping around the bookshelves. However, the problem was that there were no normal books, befitting a demon’s library.

“Hiik! What is this from the first page!”

“Oh, my God! Guard me against evil……!”

“Please purify my eyes for seeing these illustrations……”

It was a much more intense reaction than when they saw the masterpieces on the second floor of the Ice Castle.

Elantia’s voice echoed bleakly.

“I must have told you to read quietly…” 

“Hiik!”

The library became quiet in an instant. The paladins put their heads into their books and began to read them eagerly.

As the condition continued for more than ten minutes, Elantia relaxed her expression as if satisfied.

She put on the face of a kind Chief Librarian and told everyone.

“That’s the desirable form to enjoy knowledge and literature. Since you are qualified as a visitor now, I will say hello.”

“……”

“This is the ‘Library of All Things’ established by Inferinos, one of the three great Demon Kings, and I am the head of the library, Marquis Elantia Levant. Welcome, lowly humans.”

The moment she straightened her bent waist, her eyes flashed with demonic energy.

Unlike her sky-blue hair which was lightly pigmented, her eyes were bright red.

“As you may know, like any other dungeons, you are free to enter this place, but not to leave. I’m sure everyone is prepared, right?”

“Gasp……”

“Hik……”

The paladins, who were crushed by the Boss’s pressure, swallowed their breath.

They lost both aura and divine power, becoming helpless civilians. Frenzied amusement filled Elantia’s eyes as their fear spread like a sweet scent.

“Ufufu……Listen carefully, humans. If you want to keep that insignificant life for a little while longer, what you need to do next is……”

The moment when I heard the sound of dry saliva being swallowed here and there, Elantia adjusted her glasses in an intellectual manner and continued.

“Read one book through to the end and write a book report in 10 parchments or less. I will never open the exit until you submit it. By the way, if you damage the book, you will have to work for the rest of your life in this library, so please take special care.”