(EP-83.1) Club #2
083 – Adventure Club #2
Ark’s Central Library was huge.
Ark’s slogan was, “The world may collapse but as long as Ark remains, it will rise from the ashes.”
All the knowledge and wisdom that mankind on this continent had accumulated until now was stored in Ark’s library.
At least, that was the setup.
Actually seeing it in person gave me dizzying emptiness as I stood amidst the sea of documents and scrolls.
“Why are there so many books?”
The size of the central library was comparable to that of any five-story department store building.
It was almost like a mega-museum; filled with specimens of different types of animals, tools accumulated by mankind, and various kinds of books.
And I needed to find a book in this kind of place!?
There was no such thing as a search system in this world, so how would I do that?
First of all, I headed to the library window in the 1st floor lobby.
Passing through the sparkling clean marble floor, I could see various busy librarians. Most of them were Dwarfs and Nymphs like me.
Thinking about it, there were quite a lot of Nymph staff in Ark.
「Apprentice Librarian Booknoi」
I greeted the blue haired Nymph in a gray cloak and large glasses.
“Hello, I’m looking for some records.”
“What records are you looking for?”
“I would like the list of active clubs in Ark about 30 years ago. Or, is there any record of an ‘adventure club’?”
“Is that all?”
Well.
Since I was here already, should I just borrow in bulk?
“Please let me know if there are any books about the Half-Nymphs, Magic Spells, and records about Demon King Angmar.”
“Understood…!”
Her strange tone of voice reminded me of Marmar.
Speaking of, where was Marmar right now? Knowing that she was like an octopus with hands everywhere, it wouldn’t be strange if she worked here.
While I was thinking about Marmar, the Apprentice Librarian Booknoi flipped through a very large book.
She then took out a feather pen, and wrote small scribbles on a scroll and gave it to me.
“The books you’re looking for should be all here…!”
“Thank you.”
“Be careful not to get lost…!”
Well, if the library was this big, it would be quite possible to get lost.
Taking in the huge space once more, I moved towards ‘4F-3a-41c’ that was written on the scroll.
‘4F’ would be the 4th floor, right?
Dorrrrrrrr-.
I turned my head and saw that there was something similar to an elevator. I hopped on in and picked my destination.
Entering the 4th floor, I was immediately greeted by a damp musty smell. However, it was not up to a point where I couldn’t stand it.
‘4F-3a-41c’
‘4F-3a-41c….’
I constantly mumbled the area where I was supposed to go in order not to forget it. I guessed this was where the ancient books and records were located.
Among the bookshelves lined with numerous ladders, I was finally able to find a book.
The title of the book was ‘Adventure Club Activity Records (1st)’, which had a sturdy hardcover and looked like 300 pages thick. And there was a top and bottom too?
I looked around for the (2nd) volume, but couldn’t find it.
Well, someone else had probably borrowed it.
* * *
“I would like to rent all these books.”
“Okay…! The rental period is one month. Penalties will be incurred in case of an overdue, so please return them on time…!”
I would hand over three personal development books to Aira, and a book about fairy ecology. I also got a book about the basics of magic.
I then showed Booknoi the Adventure Club Activity Records book and asked.
“Do you happen to know where the second volume is?”
“The second volume of this book….”
After rummaging through the piled up scrolls, Booknoi exclaimed in discovery, “Ah-!”
“Is there a problem?”
“The 2nd volume has been overdue for the last 25 years…! This is unacceptable…!”
… Could a book even be overdue for 25 years?
Even in the 21st century, monitoring things was still not foolproof. Much less, in a world where laws and institutions were not firmly established.
“Can you tell me who borrowed it?”
“It is written here…. But I can’t read it due to the degree of the damage….”
“Let me see.”
The scroll had the date when the book was borrowed and the person’s signature.
Although it was very blurry, my keen inspection ability and talent 《Farsight》 helped make the characters readable.
「Isaiah Gospel.」
I never thought that the name of the person I was looking for would appear here.
It was very likely that the second volume had been lost for good.
After all, the book was written by hand, there was only one of it in the world.
In the end, I had no choice but to be satisfied with just the first volume.
Well…. There should still be a lot of information recorded there.
As I was leaving the library, I suddenly heard an, “Aaah-!” then saw a small nun approaching. It was a waving Marmar.
“Comrade, nice meeting you here! We really do have a lot in common, don’t you think?”
“Marmar, what are you doing here?”
“Comrade sent me a letter.”
Marmar covered her mouth and whispered while vigilantly looking around.
“I want to look for the name Isaiah. So I came to the library.”
“I see. If that’s the case, then here. I found the Adventure Club Activity Records.”
I showed Marmar the book I had just acquired. Now all I had to do was go to a quiet place and read it.
But now that I thought about it, there was no place in Ark where I could be alone.
I had roommates in my dorm, with Elga and Mirna also coming and going as they pleased. As I was considering making something like a base, I heard Marmar say.
“Then let’s go and read together!”
Edited by: faker
