Chapter 18 – The Dream of the Red Demon (2)

Ｒｅ​ａ​ｄ ｏｎ ＫａｔＲ​ｅａｄｉｎｇＣ​ａｆｅ

 

Everyone has their own goals.  

“I have become death, the destroyer of worlds.”  

Some aim to end wars.  

“Stand up! You too!”  

Some strive for equality for all.  

“I ask you, my comrades! Do you desire total war?”  

Some seek nothing but victory.  

“Long live Korean independence!”  

“””Long live!!!”””  

Even after generations have passed, some still hold onto the seemingly impossible goal of independence.  

“Please vote for me!”  

And yet others see everyone as mere pigs and aim to become leaders.  

“I want to see butterflies again…”  

And I, I have made butterflies my sole goal.  

But now, it feels like I’m rotting away in this library, like a moldy sheet, with no one on Earth who knows me, living a life where no one understands me, nor do I believe anyone ever will, much like Ahab chasing his whale alone.  

 

The Butterfly Library, despite its serene and calm image, is somehow a lively and bustling place.  

While one might expect a place filled with knowledge to be quiet and contemplative, the air here feels as if it’s pulsating with energy.  

As if to prove this, those who come here often exclaim in awe, turning the once-quiet library into a noisy space.  

Whispers float between the bookshelves, the rustling of pages being flipped rapidly, and passionate voices fill the air.  

“Oh! Did Marx really achieve such things?”  

A man named Marx began a bold speech, standing tall.  

“Yes! Those damned Prussian secret police, those idiots, can stop a person’s movements, but they can’t imprison a person’s thoughts!  

No matter how much they oppressed and tried to stop us, the flow of history cannot be reversed.  

Of course, I didn’t live to see the fall of capitalism, but surely in later generations, my ideas changed the world and led people to a better life!”  

His booming voice startled Yu Hae, who was reading, and Albert, as if forgetting this was a library, clapped while looking at him.  

“I truly hope so! No, it must be so! Even the communist state that borrowed the name of the Soviet Union was, after all, communist, so it must have endured, right?”  

“Of course it should! Surely, the leader wouldn’t talk about reform, attack the parliament, stage a coup, or cause a constitutional crisis! Unless they’re insane! Hahaha!!!”  

 

They passionately conversed, their voices filling the library like a wave.  

‘Ah, are those the ghosts Yu Hae mentioned?’  

I realized that the ghosts Yu Hae had spoken of were now clearly visible before my eyes.  

Their faces were familiar.  

Vague figures I’d seen somewhere, floating in my memory, were now vividly moving before me.  

‘Yes. I’ve seen these faces before.’  

Recalling my memories, I realized they were faces I’d glimpsed in the pages of textbooks, even when I was dozing off from exhaustion.  

The man with a rough beard, deep-set eyes, and a face filled with intense conviction was remembered as the one who “first scientifically proved his ideology.”  

He was also a revolutionary who rebelled against existing ideologies and dreamed of a new social order.  

Beside him was another man with a thick beard.  

He spoke in a quiet yet strong voice, and a bald man listened silently.  

Their presence created a scene as if they had been debating for a long time, with the dignified figure of the crown prince, Albert, watching over their conversation.  

 

“Witch. They are…”  

Shuji muttered softly as she looked at them.  

“Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Crown Prince Albert at the front.”  

I spoke as if entranced, watching them.  

Familiar yet unfamiliar faces, but here, I could clearly perceive their presence.  

It was as if the weight of knowledge and ideology had taken physical form in this place.  

They were searching for books on the second floor, the Floor of History.  

It seemed like they were simply choosing books, but it was clear they were searching for something specific.  

Above all, the entire process of finding books was incredibly noisy.  

 

“Excuse me, guests?”  

A soft voice from somewhere in the library cut through the noisy conversation like a knife.  

“Shh.”  

Yu Hae stepped forward, firmly gesturing for silence, then continued in a quiet voice.  

“You must be quiet in the library.”  

As he gestured for silence, the ghosts, who had been passionately debating, surprisingly fell silent.  

It was as if magic had been cast.  

“Sorry. When you’re suddenly submerged in a sea of knowledge, it’s easy to flail around.”  

Crown Prince Albert apologized quietly, lowering his gaze.  

Though embarrassed, he was also filled with intellectual curiosity and passion.  

Yu Hae firmly warned them.  

“Be careful.”  

He glanced toward the second-floor railing, then briefly looked in my direction.  

Then, in a low voice, he added as if giving a warning.  

“The librarian is the witch. I don’t know exactly what kind of world this is, but I believe you know what a witch is. And in the witch’s library, there are rules to follow.”  

 

Albert nodded as if he understood Yu Hae’s words.  

He gestured for them to follow him and quietly led Marx, Engels, and Lenin away.  

“…(Wink).”  

“???”  

Yu Hae turned his head toward me, winking one eye as if to say, “Did I do well?”  

Instead of answering, I briefly closed my eyes, then opened them and nodded.  

“Hehe…”  

Yu Hae chuckled softly and followed them upstairs.  

As the sound of footsteps gradually faded, I sighed deeply and leaned back in my chair.  

‘It’s fascinating…’  

It was fascinating how, despite not knowing much about the library, everything was being resolved simply by the title of “witch.”  

Whenever things got a little difficult, they would remember the name “witch,” fear me, and back away.  

‘No. Let’s not dig too deep. Sigh…’  

I slapped my cheeks lightly with my hands and looked at the book by Seok Joo-myung on the desk.  

‘Let’s finish reading.’  

 

As always, while I had some interest in people, this life felt like an unstable reality given to me by some grim reaper-like figure, allowing me to fulfill my desires before I go.  

In other words, it was a consideration for me, who loves butterflies, but since no one knows how this consideration might break, I had to enjoy happiness as much as possible, just as I did on Earth.  

My happiness lies in observing and enjoying butterflies.  

My goal is butterflies.  

Ultimately, my goal is to see and enjoy butterflies.  

And the library, filled with the scent of old paper from ancient books and the soft glow of magical blue flames instead of candles, feels like a space frozen in time.  

Countless books, covered in dust, sleep on high shelves, and the sky outside the window constantly reminds me that this is a completely different world.  

 

“Ugh… my head.”  

At that moment, I noticed Shuji across the desk, clutching her head and bowing down.  

Her slender shoulders trembled slightly, and faint groans escaped her lips.  

It seemed she was struggling under the weight of the vast past and countless memories she had absorbed through the butterflies.  

‘It must be hard. Hmm…’  

I quietly closed my book, stood up, and approached Shuji.  

“Shuji.”  

I placed my hand on her shoulder, feeling the warmth of her body against my cold fingertips.  

“It seems it was too much for you.”  

I muttered softly, kneeling down to meet her gaze.  

“The memories of butterflies are like a flowing river. If you look too deeply, you might drown. Do you understand, Shuji?”  

 

Shuji looked up at me.  

Her eyes were still dizzy, shaking.  

“But…”  

She breathed heavily, biting her lip slightly.  

“You’ve always looked at such difficult things so calmly, Witch. You must have seen much more, experienced much more than I have… How can you be so indifferent?”  

I wanted to answer her question.  

 

“Hmm.”  

But I couldn’t, because her hair sticking slightly to her forehead was distracting me.  

I wanted to answer, but the distraction made it hard to speak.  

So, I naturally brushed her black bangs aside.  

“It’s because I’m the librarian of the Butterfly Library. Similarly, you’re not a person of the library, so it’s hard for you to accept. There’s no need to rush to take in everything. If your body can’t handle it, there’s no point in gaining memories. You want to know what happened to John Menard, right?”  

Carefully pushing aside her black dress-like clothing, I held her cheeks and moved them around, checking for any other issues.  

*Snap—!*  

Then, I flicked my right finger, causing a pill to appear in midair.  

*Thud!*  

I handed her the pill that landed in my left hand.  

“Take this.”  

“…Th-thank you, Witch.”  

Shuji made a subtle expression.  

Her earlobes seemed to turn slightly red.  

“…Really, thank you, Witch.”  

I didn’t respond to her words.  

“Gulp—!”  

Soo-ji swallowed the pill and then pouted as she stood up.  

 

“I-I didn’t expect to feel better right away…”  

“It’s the power of the library.”  

“…Isn’t it just your power, Witch?”  

“Maybe.”  

She was still rubbing her temples, her head feeling light.  

It might just be the sudden relief making her feel strange.  

 

*Bang—!*  

“Hey!!!”  

At that moment, the door burst open, and a woman with a black eyepatch appeared, shouting angrily.  

“Sirius… Who killed my Sirius!!!”  

“……”  

An unwelcome guest had arrived.  

I glared at her.  

“Was it you?”  

She immediately noticed my gaze and pointed at me as she approached.  

“I’m Lieutenant of the Beta Legion! Lauten!!! I’m asking you again, did you kill him!?”  

She had clearly been crying, her eyes swollen, and her hands were rough and bloodied, as if she had been punching something relentlessly.  

 

“…He did not follow the rules of the library. As a result, the butterflies took him. He is here in this library, with the butterflies, and I, the owner and librarian, know and keep him well.”  

I declared boldly.  

‘If things get messy now, it won’t be good…’  

The people upstairs also came to the railing, watching the commotion below.  

Not wanting to get dragged into this, I thought to myself.  

‘Ah. Right.’  

There was only one way.  

“What nonsense are you spouting? You—”  

“Lauten. The child abandoned in the outskirts…”  

“…Heavenly Wolf Star?”  

It was a bluff.