Ch.16Chapter 1. Librarian Do Sa-seo (1)

Weekend, Saturday.

But I’m sitting at the desk in the rarely visited basement level 2 of the library, reading books as usual.

The whole “go out and have fun on weekends!” thing doesn’t apply to librarians who have to work on weekends.

The library closes one day during the week, and my days off are Monday (the closing day) and Sunday.

In other words, while Friday is the last workday for others, Saturday is my final workday.

I would have complained about this terrible schedule in the past, but now I actually prefer it.

You’d think weekends would bring more visitors, but hardly anyone comes down here!

‘Basement level 2 is heaven.’

They treat me like an outsider, never inviting me to lunch, and making me stay hidden away at the desk in the basement level 2 of the library—which is absolutely perfect.

The library director probably started this isolation by telling others not to give me too much work, but I’m not the type to get stressed about such things.

There’s no reason to be stressed anyway.

I have ten literature books I borrowed from the second floor during lunch break stacked in front of me.

‘This is paradise.’

Me, living as a librarian, reading books in a world where serialized works continue until completion, or remain ongoing.

I probably can’t stay here forever, but as long as I keep working at this library, I’ll never be bored.

What?

How do I attract heroines while working at a library?

That’s something that can be built up over three years once the protagonist is eliminated.

‘This year’s goal: kill the protagonist.’

First, I need to kill the protagonist, then I can think about the rest.

Someone with immense power who becomes corrupt and drops a meteor on Earth to destroy it deserves to die.

You say it’s a future event?

That it’s not predetermined fate and could change?

Who cares?

What matters is my survival.

And if possible, returning to my original world, Earth, is also important.

So I need to gather information about the protagonist, and this librarian position is surprisingly convenient for collecting information.

With the “library card” system, I can access various student data.

Since book checkout information is linked to the Taeguk Watch, anyone can access basic data through the database.

Even the Academy Director can check basic information like names, borrowed books, and checkout history.

‘The problem is that the protagonist’s information won’t be registered in the database until next week.’

Just as Do Ji-hwan the officer received his Taeguk Watch and was registered in the database only after working for a week, the protagonist entering the Academy as a new student will also take time to be registered.

So.

‘Until then, I can just enjoy reading books.’

Regardless of whether the entrance ceremony is the day after tomorrow, Monday, today I’ll continue reading as a reader…

“I’d like to check these out.”

“…Hmm?”

A somewhat familiar face appeared before me.

Unlike other ordinary people, her hair color was a vibrant pink that screamed “I’m an ability user!”

“Student Council President?”

“Yes. I’m Yoon Yi-seon, the Student Council President.”

Student Council President Yoon Yi-seon.

She’s quite short at 150cm, but her ability is remarkably strong—literally embodying the saying “small but mighty.”

As is typical for the student council president position in academy stories, this woman is also one of the “heroines.”

The mischievous little pinky.

That’s her public image, but in reality, she’s quite competent both in terms of ability and politics.

She’s been running the student council from high school through university, essentially a “lifetime student council president.”

Yoon Yi-seon was the first to create the student council, advocating for its necessity and organizing it.

Despite the fact that a student council might appear to the public as an “ability user faction,” she organized it with the reasoning that ability users should also enjoy their youth, creating numerous events for students.

And those projects naturally became events in a harem light novel where the protagonist and heroines develop relationships, with Yoon Yi-seon herself falling prey to the protagonist’s charms.

I never expected to meet her here like this.

Winning over Yoon Yi-seon would certainly please the chairman, but unfortunately, I’m not the Goblin right now—just librarian Do Ji-hwan.

“Could you place the books you want to check out here?”

Yoon Yi-seon pointed to four books placed on the checkout counter.

I proceeded with the checkout professionally and calmly, but I could feel Yoon Yi-seon’s gaze on me.

What’s going on? Why does she keep looking at me?

Could she be like Baek Seol-hee?

“Ah, yes. Could you place your Taeguk Watch on the scanner?”

“Sure.”

Yoon Yi-seon placed her wrist on the fingerprint scanner-like Taeguk Watch reader on the desk.

Beep beep beep.

Soon her biometric information appeared on the monitor screen, along with the titles of the books she wanted to borrow.

-Mana Theory [Revised and Expanded Edition] Checkout code: {TXK1}

-How Do Humans Awaken Mana? Checkout code: {TXK2}

…

Just books that look boring at first glance.

‘In a world where imagination becomes power, these books are purely academic.’

Whether natural science or technical science, there are elements that both stimulate and limit human imagination.

-Dinosaurs can’t fly in space!

-Where’s the romance in that?

Most people visit the humanities section to improve their abilities, but there are also those who come here for metaphysical exploration of mana itself.

The so-called graduate student path.

That type of person often comes here.

Yoon Yi-seon is somewhat of that type.

But.

“…Huh?”

There are four books visibly, but five are being registered.

Finding this strange, I looked closer—

“You seem new. What happened to the person who worked here before?”

“Ah. They resigned. Left voluntarily.”

“I see….”

Is she trying to change the subject?

As I scanned the books with my eyes, Yoon Yi-seon nervously rolled her pink eyes and avoided my gaze.

“Is the checkout complete?”

“…Yes. You can borrow them for 14 days, and if you want to extend the period, please request an extension through your Taeguk Watch at least one day before the due date.”

After giving the standard response, I noticed one concerning book title among those she borrowed.

-How to Live Without Stress

…

Even the student council president has it tough.

I wonder if reading such a book might actually cause more stress, but it’s probably the student council causing her stress rather than the book.

‘She must have a lot of work.’

The student council work alone would be challenging, and thinking about the new incoming students must make it even harder.

Unfortunately, I can’t help her.

All I can say is to do her best.

“Excuse me, librarian.”

“Yes?”

“I’m preparing a thesis, and I was wondering if I could interview you?”

“Interview me?”

“Yes. About what you think about mana.”

“But I’m just an ordinary person….”

“That’s fine.”

Yoon Yi-seon looked quite desperate.

“Just answer a few questions. If you’re uncomfortable….”

“No, it’s fine. I was bored anyway since no one’s coming. Would you mind waiting a moment?”

I used the refreshments behind me to make her a cup of tea.

It’s just instant coffee, but this woman surprisingly likes it.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I made coffee without asking. Would you prefer green tea instead?”

“No, I like instant coffee. So, my first question.”

Yoon Yi-seon took a sip of coffee and asked me.

“Mana began spreading in this world from the moment the meteorite fell from space, right? Do you think there are other planets where mana is more prevalent?”

“Yes.”

A definitive answer.

“This is just my ‘imagination.’ It’s kind of like a conspiracy theory, but would you like to hear it?”

It’s a spoiler from the original work.

“What if the meteorite that fell to Earth wasn’t actually from our galaxy? What if this asteroid-like object, presumed to have come from beyond Pluto, actually came from another galaxy, another world?”

“Like from Andromeda or something?”

“Something like that.”

The meteorite arrived in 1999.

The first observation point was near Pluto, so nobody knows whether it passed by Pluto or originated from there.

I know.

It was a meteorite from “another world”—the Meteor Rain of a 9th Circle Archmage that teleported into this world’s galaxy.

“I’m one of those who believe in the ‘other world theory.'”

“…You believe another world exists?”

“Yes. A mass of mana crossed over from another world where mana exists, and spread throughout our world. Children born after 2000 became sensitive to mana because they absorbed it from the fetal stage. The concept of ‘alien’ that people think of isn’t from outside our galaxy, but from a completely different dimensional world.”

“…That’s quite a fantasy-like story.”

“I think superpowers are quite fantasy-like too.”

“…….”

As expected.

Even after spoiling the original world setting, someone intelligent like Yoon Yi-seon doesn’t seem particularly moved by it.

“Think about it this way. What if the ‘devil’s power’ that many people talked about in medieval times was actually about mana?”

“……Ha. So you’re saying we could strengthen our abilities by making contracts with devils?”

“Yes. That’s what I think.”

“Ha. So we should make contracts with Satan, Lucifer, or Belphegor?”

“No. Why make contracts with them? This is Korea.”

This novel.

This world.

“You should make contracts with gumihos or howanmama.”

Let me say it again, this is a Korean nationalist light novel.

And.

This woman is a gumiho.