In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 8 Page 3

  The rows upon rows of bookshelves were all at least ten meters tall. The place almost felt like a maze of literature.

  Plus, I couldn’t see any kind of ladder or stepping system, so I had no idea how I was supposed to even reach the highest shelves.

  I walked around on the fancy red carpet, attempting to make my way to the center of the building. Naturally it wasn’t so easy as just walking there in a straight line, I had to navigate the awkward bookshelves. I wondered whether or not that was intentional.

  Still, looking up at the ceiling helped me get an idea of where I was headed.

  After a while of exploring past book after book, we came out in a clearing amongst the shelving. There was a single desk and chair. There was a huge pile of books on top of the desk, and buried amongst them was a girl.

  She seemed to be quite engrossed in one of the tomes, refusing to look up for even a moment. Her hair was cut short, colored an icy blue, and she wore glasses on her face. Overall she looked similar in dress and stature to the others I’d encountered before, so I made the assumption she was the Library’s Terminal Gynoid.

  “Uh...”

  “I will be finished with this book in approximately thirty minutes. Until then, do not attempt discourse with me.”

  “Uh, right...” She’s cold. Treating me like a pest, huh? I mean... Should I just wait?

  I sat in the quiet room, the occasional sound of a turning page haunting my ears. I was bored, so I decided to pick up a book and look through it.

  As I turned the page, the paper quality struck me as unusual. Hm... What’s with this? This is a seriously old book... Wait, what’s with the letters?

  “I can’t read this at all...” Hm... What language is this? It doesn’t look like spirit script or the ancient magical tongue... Is it the language they spoke in Partheno? “[Reading]: Ancient Partheno Language.” Oh, got it. But... Oh. I can’t even understand what it’s talking about... Some kinda complicated report about magical beasts or something...?

  Still, I’d cast the spell now, so I could freely browse the titles of the nearby books and finally have an idea of what they actually said. That meant that every book here was in Partheno’s ancient tongue.

  “Mystical Fluid Manipulation For Dummies...”

  “Secret Magic Herbs and Spices...”

  “Sure-fire Naughty Night Tips, Beginners Manual...” Hm... The title had caught my eye, so I reached out to that one and gave it a look. It was, as it had first seemed, a simple how-to guide.

  “The primary issue is alleviating tension. You can both indulge in one another if you’re more relaxed... Provided you’re of age, try drinking a little alcohol to loosen up. Not too much, though. Too much alcohol will cause a disaster, so practice intoxication in moderation. Step Two: How to touch their...” Hmhm... Hohoho... I... I see, yes... This is good... This is... Surprisingly... Informative, yes... Oh my... Wait, you can do that? That... That goes there? Hm... This is difficult, being casual seems to require a lot of prep...

  “Enjoying your book, are you?”

  “Gah!!” I jolted upwards at the sudden voice. Woah, what?! Agh! H-Has it really been a whole half hour already?! The girl looked at me, clearly puzzled, as she tilted her head.

  “Welcome to the Babylon Library. I am the Terminal Gynoid of this institution, Irisfam. You, however, may refer to me as Fam.”

  “O-Oh, right... I’m Mochizuki Touya. Nice to meet you, Fam.” I put the book I had taken back on its shelf, desperately hoping the girl hadn’t seen what it was.

  “Well, you’re here... That means you’ve solved all of the Doctor’s riddles. Thus, Airframe Number Twenty-Four, Irisfam, will have her ownership rights transferred to you. I look forward to working with you, Master.” Just as I’d thought, Doctor Babylon really was responsible for those stupid questions. Why would she even do that? It was just annoying... Still, it’s much better than all that dumb erotic stuff she made me do earlier... That was the w— hagh!! Before I could finish that thought, Fam’s lips were pressed up against mine. Our saliva mingled as she penetrated past my lips with her sticky tongue, swirling it around my own. Unlike Liora, however, she kept the union rather brief.

  “Registration completed. Your genes are stored in my bank, Master. Thus, the Library is formally your property.” I should’ve expected this. Why didn’t I prepare for this? Well, it’s not like I had any choice in the matter... She’d have extracted my genetic sample one way or the other, so kissing was probably the best outcome for everyone.

  “Well then, I’d like to know. How many Babylons have been assembled?”

  “Hm? Oh, uh... I have the Garden, the Workshop, the Alchemy Lab, the Hangar, the Tower, the Rampart... Now I have the Library! That makes seven.”

  “Oh. Come with me, then.” Fam typed something into the terminal at the central desk, and the Library suddenly came alive. It began moving, probably to dock with the others over Brunhild.

  “Master. I’ve a request. The Library requires more books, you see.”

  “More? Aren’t there enough here already?”

  “The Library is currently stocked with twenty million books.” What?! Even the National Diet Library in Japan only has around ten million... Although if you include stuff like newspapers, magazines, and stuff like that, it’s probably over thirty million.

  “I have read everything in the Library. That is why it is urgent that I have some fresh material.”

  “Wait... You’ve read twenty million books?”

  “On average it takes me two hours to read a single book. I have been doing so for the past five-thousand years.” That’s absolutely insane. Do you not sleep or something?! Cesca and Flora were sleeping or in stasis or whatever, and even Noel sleeps regularly... What are you made of?! “I do not move much at all, so I expend little in the way of energy. That being said, I have operated autonomously for five-thousand years. Once we have the Research Lab, I will require necessary maintenance.” Reading books for over five-thousand years... She’s pretty hardcore. Guess she must really love literature... Still, not exactly the kind of person I expected to meet here.

  I decided to return home and report in that I’d found the Library. After all, Leen had been waiting for this for a very long time...

  ◇　◇　◇

  “I-It’s time!! It’s happening! It’s finally happening!!” A girl dressed in gothic lolita fashion was jumping around excitedly, waving her arms in the air. Naturally, it was Leen.

  Standing next to her was a stuffed bear, equally excited and dancing around like a maniac.

  “We will now dine upon the delicious fruit of forbidden knowledge! Ancient history once unknown! It’s all mine now, mine I tell you!”

  “...I know you’re getting excited and all, but I need to tell you that I’m putting a temporary ban on reading books from the Library.”

  “What in the blazes did you just say?!” Leen stared at me, fire blazing in her eyes.

  We were currently in Brunhild castle. I hadn’t yet taken anyone to the Library. I had decided to bring Leen (and Paula, apparently) to my audience room. I broke the news about my discovery there and then.

  “I need to think about this pragmatically. You’re an ambassador from Mismede. It’d be irresponsible for me to give you untold ancient knowledge. Plus, what exactly are you going to offer me?”

  “Oh, so that’s how it is... Well, I can understand that reasoning, so... Let me make a proposition. I’d like to become the Court Magician of Brunhild.”

  “Eh?” Wait, what? I mean I guess our country doesn’t have a court magician, but... Hm. I mean... she’s the Matriarch of the fairies, so her ability is definitely high...

  But she’s an ambassador from Mismede, I feel like that’d complicate things. She’s a clan matriarch and an influential figure from a foreign nation.

  “It won’t be an issue. It’s true I’m Clan Matriarch to the fairies, but that’s more an honorary title than anything else. Eris is the one who actually handl
es most of the work back in Mismede.”

  “Eris?”

  “Mismede’s court magician. I was thinking of handing clan matriarch status to her anyway, so this is fine. I’d like to retire and devote myself entirely to the pursuit of knowledge.” Hmph... If it’s an honorary title then I guess it’ll be fine... Not like I’m stealing state secrets or anything.

  I doubted that the Beastking would care, either. He wanted Demi-Humans to be more respected the world over, so taking one as my court magician would do good for public relations. Honestly, there probably wouldn’t have been any issues.

  “Hm... I shan’t be rude. This obviously isn’t enough to convince you. I promise to use any knowledge I find in the Library for the good of Brunhild. And, to sweeten the pot, I’ll become your wife as well.”

  “Nope, no thanks. Actually, come to think of it... Are you not married yet, Leen?”

  “Incredibly deft dodge of a rare confession, Touya... You won’t even consider it?” She was complaining, but I wasn’t going to entertain her nonsense. She’d been alive for six-hundred or so years, so I was sure she’d have been married at least once. I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn she had kids. “I’ve never been married, nor have I given birth. Like I said, the growth of a fairy body stops between late teens and early twenties. I was a bit of an early bloomer... As a result, I haven’t really been considered marriage material. I get unusual propositions from dubious men now and then, but I’ve my pride. I won’t bow to their fetishes.” That made sense enough. Leen would look the same until she died. Not to mention the Clan Matriarch would have to think carefully about choosing a partner.

  There was an old saying about pursuing an older woman until your shoes wear out, but... I wasn’t quite so sure I was that keen on the idea.

  “...Do you dislike older women?”

  Leen looked up at me with a somewhat cute expression.

  “Ah, well... No. Not in your case, I suppose, but, I mean... You don’t feel all that older to me. But as far as marriage goes, it’s a whole other ballgame. I do trust you, Leen, and I like you a lot, but... Well...”

  “Hm? I find you quite satisfactory, though. I’d be more than happy to marry you. Didn’t you notice? I like you a lot, Touya...” Gah! D-Don’t say something like that...!

  Leen jumped up and peered right into my eyes. There was chaos behind her gaze. Mischief. I couldn’t look away. I felt like a little frog, mesmerized by a predatory snake.

  Just as I was about to comment on her closeness, I felt a little kiss.

  “Gh!?”

  “Hehe... You’ve gotten all scared, like a little baby... You have seven fiancées, don’t you? You should be used to little gestures like that.” Despite her youthful looks, she definitely had a kind of charm that could only come from years of experience...

  This is dangerous. My face is getting red, this is really bad... If she was a stranger, I wouldn’t be feeling so conflicted, but... She’s Leen! I know her, this is really weird and awkward!

  As I stood there, frozen, unable to think of any way to retort, Leen smiled. “You don’t have to give me an answer right away. If it suits you, I’ll be quite fine as your mistress or on-the-side lover... But I would like to get married at least once in my life. You’ll find I’m quite the devoted type, you know...” She drew back entirely, but not before pecking me on the cheek. Gh... That’s dangerously cute. I almost forgot you’re like six-hundred or something...

  “So then, darling... I can use the Library at my discretion if I’m your wife, yes?”

  “That was your goal all along, wasn’t it?!”

  “Well, not entirely... I wasn’t lying about liking you, promise. Did you think I wasn’t telling the truth?”

  “H-Hey now, that’s enough... You can look around the Library. But don’t share anything that you learn in there.”

  “Thank you, darling... I love you.” Suspicious... Wait. Crap. Did she just trick me? Did I get seduced?! ... No, let’s just say that I successfully recruited a powerful ally. Even if I was totally just tricked right now, it’s better if I justify it like this.

  As I sighed softly, mulling over complicated matters in my head, Paula slowly shook her head as if to say “Goodness me.” Hmph...

  “Ooh...”

  “Wow...” Leen and Hilde let out their surprise as they stepped into the Library. The others were amazed too, but not quite as much.

  Leen was astounded by the Library and its shelves, but Hilde was more surprised by Babylon itself. It was her first trip up there, after all.

  “How can this be?! I-It flies in the sky...?! Incredible! Amazing! Are there Frame Gears, too?!”

  “Be silent. This is a Library. Silence in the Library, please.”

  “Oh... Sorry.” Hilde spoke up loudly, only to be shut down immediately by Fam, who was relaxing on a nearby couch, nose heavily stuck into a book. She was currently reading books I’d had delivered from Moon Reader. Though I did make sure none of the more... unsavory titles arrived in this place.

  “Oh, how am I supposed to get a book from the top shelf? Is there a step-ladder?”

  “Oh, just touch the shelf and picture the shelf you need.” Leen touched the shelf as instructed, and one of the rows of books slowly sank down within reach.

  “Amazing... So it can do that, eh? Wait, this book...!” Leen’s eyes went wide as she snatched one of the books up. I couldn’t read the title, and I assumed Leen couldn’t either. Regardless, she began furiously flipping through the pages.

  “What kind of book is this?”

  “It’s an encyclopedia of ancient magic! It’s written in ancient magical tongue, but I can read that... Sort of! Can’t you see how amazing this is?! It has entries not only on modern magic, but magic that was lost to time!”

  “This is a Library. Shh.”

  “Ah, sorry...” Fam gave out another warning. She didn’t even look up from her book. It was a little rude of her, but at least she was enjoying her literature.

  “The number of books here is incredible, it is... Would it not be difficult to find a book here?”

  “Nope, that’s fine, watch. Library... search for books about swords.” In response to my words, an arrow rose up to the surface of the red carpet. Now all we had to do was follow it and we’d reach the book we wanted.

  Also, putting a book back on any shelf brought it back to its proper position. Basically, there was an automated sorting service. It was plenty convenient.

  Yumina pulled out several books and started flipping through them before promptly discarding them. I wondered if she was trying to make Fam mad.

  “These books are written in a language most of us can’t read... We’ll have to have Touya create reading glasses for us.”

  “Making them isn’t an issue. I just need to know what languages to tune them to. Little help, Fam?” I called out to Fam and she rose her head. The girl toddled over to me. I was her master, after all, she couldn’t refuse my bidding.

  Incidentally, I had given her a selection of clothing from Zanac, just like I had with Cesca and the others. I didn’t know why she ended up choosing a sailor-style school uniform, but it was simply a matter of taste. She looked like a very studious girl.

  “What languages are available here?”

  “We have books available in ancient magic tongue, ancient spirit script, Parthenese, Remilia’s hidden lettering, Divine Lastian, Godspeak, Deigarese Blabbermouth, Lorad frontsmanese, the gospel, Esteba hieroglyphics, Abanese, Karnar language, Markur, Salieri Tradespeak, Urdenian, Gazur lettering, the tongue of the Continental Fiends, and... I don’t recall any other books in any other languages. I’ve read everything here, after all.” That’s insane! But I guess compared to the languages back on Earth, we have more. This world’s a little more united than the world I come from.

  If I recalled correctly, the Doctor was from Partheno, an ancient magical kingdom that ruled half of the continent. With that in mind, it was easy to see why most of the books wer
e written in Parthenese.

  It was a kingdom that flourished around five-thousand years ago. But it was ravaged by the Phrase. Oh, there’s an idea.

  “Show me books related to the Phrase.” I tried searching as a test, and an arrow appeared on the carpet. That was easy.

  The country was devastated, but the survivors surely must’ve written something.

  I followed the arrow and made my way towards the designated shelf. I took out a book, which was slightly protruding from the row. Then I invoked [Reading] so I could understand the ancient tongue of the Partheno people. Thus, the book’s title was visible to me.

  “The Magic Crystals.” I skimmed through the contents of the book. It mentioned how they hunted humans, discussed their weak points, talked about their ability to regenerate and absorb magic, but ultimately it was nothing Ende hadn’t already told me. There was no mention of the Sovereign Core or the fact that they came from another world, though.

  It talked about villages, towns, and even cities ravaged by the Phrase, but the information was largely useless to me. It seemed that the Phrase had simply vanished from the world before a real solution could be found. All they left behind was carnage and destruction, so really that’s all that could be recorded.

  The Phrase had annihilated mankind. Humans, Demi-Humans, and Demonkin alike... Many nations lost their capitals, and the great leaders of the world were all mostly killed as well.

  There were a lot of recorded accounts about the last stands of great heroes, but none of it contained new information I could use to my advantage. The authors had simply regarded the Phrase as mysterious magical beings. It made sense, really.

  “Oh my...” I reached the end of the book, and found several illustrations. Each known kind of Phrase was drawn, with a little black star next to it denoting its strength, size, and speed.

  Just as I’d expected, they hadn’t sat around doing nothing. They really were working on ways to prevent the catastrophe.

  The types that Ende had called Lesser Constructs were here. I could see a cricket, a snake, a beetle, a mantis, an ostrich, and various other little ones. There was a lot of variety in their forms, but they were certainly the easiest to slaughter.