Tell Me, What is the Ideal in Your Heart
"Angela, I have a thing."
"Speak."
"There are so many books on the shelves on my floor, but not a single one has any words in it. Isn't that a bit of a problem?"
Angela listened and looked at Ayou with a very strange gaze before speaking: "That is your job. Did you forget?"
"Ah, what?"
"Think back to what I said to you at the beginning."
Ayou recalled what Angela had said to him at the start.
"Your job is to write fantasies into books."
"Remember now? Write fantasies into books."
"Ahaha, I remember. So, do I really have to write the books? Books written by someone like me would be hilarious, right?"
"Oh, think further back."
"Ah, think more?"
Ayou started to recall further back. Suddenly, it dawned on him.
"So, EGO?"
"Correct. The self-potential of EGO. Its potential is immense. It seems you have never studied your own EGO."
"But didn't you say books could only be used for lighting?"
"Yes, so what?"
"Then how do I write books?"
"Duh, with a pen."
Ayou felt as if his IQ had been pressed into the ground and trampled by Angela. As expected of the highest-grade AI in The City.
Angela looked at Ayou and spread her hands: "My fault? You didn't ask at the time, did you?"
"Director, have you noticed that your expressions are very rich now?"
"What?"
"Nothing. I'm going to write books."
"Rich expressions? Since when?"
In the Story Fantasy Floor, Ayou randomly took a book from a shelf and conjured a quill pen out of thin air.
"How should I write this?"
He spread the book open on the table and tried to write on it.
"The quill can indeed write on the book. But this is fucking too slow."
"Ah, no, that's not right. It's definitely not used like this. Angela said this thing has great potential."
"Right. Story Fantasy Floor. Fantasy, huh? Got it, let me try."
"Let's say I imagine a story right now."
"For example, I was dragged to drink by Roland and Net at the Art Floor. Then Angela came. We were sanctioned."
The quill lightly tapped the book, and the pages emitted a dazzling light. Afterwards, a paragraph of small text appeared on the page.
"Sure enough, as long as I imagine it, I can write words."
"Right, at the time, the other Librarians were sleeping, and they also wrote their knowledge into books. Why can't I?"
"EGO and the Seed of Light are truly miraculous. This is amazing."
"Let me think, a wonderful fantasy."
"Let's start with him."
Then Ayou recalled the scene of his first meeting with Roland. The fantasy Roland had projected onto his floor at the time, during the moment of Love and Recollection.
Suddenly, he shook his head: "No, no. That is his, what do you call it, privacy. I can't write it, and he should be busy right now."
"Let's go find guests. Let's start with the guests. The first guests were the Rats."
With a snap of his fingers, three books appeared out of thin air on the table. They were the Book of Pete, the Book of Leni, and the Book of Hammer.
Just as Ayou was about to summon the three of them, he suddenly seemed to think of something and placed several bags to the side.
After another snap of his fingers, the three were summoned again. As they were wondering why they had been called out again, they saw Ayou.
Immediately, a wave of nausea rushed to their heads. Their expressions began to change.
Ayou saw the situation and immediately shoved the three plastic bags onto their faces.
A moment later: "Have you recovered?"
"A bit better. I still can't forget that feeling."
Ayou looked at the scene of the three of them: "So, what exactly happened to me back then?"
Leni was preparing to answer, "You were…" then another wave of nausea rushed to her head. Ah, she hugged the bag and started vomiting again.
"Forget it, forget it. I won't ask. Never mind, let's get down to business."
"What do you need us to do?"
"You just need to stay here."
"Just that?"
"Or, you can tell me about your fantasies, your ideals."
Ayou pointed to the glass fragments in the sky. The few of them looked up and saw colorful images on the ceiling.
"What is this?"
Leni watched. The colorful images in the sky, and then she saw herself bowing to Hammer in one of the images.
"Hey, not this. Hammer, this isn't right, is it?"
Ayou explained to them at this time: "These are your beautiful fantasies, the things your hearts yearn for, or your ideals or dreams."
After hearing Ayou's explanation, Leni looked at Hammer with a worried face. Just as their gazes were about to clash, Pete stepped forward.
"I have something to say about this."
"My dream is to become a Finger. I want to keep climbing up. I won't be a Rat anymore."
At this time, the two on the side started complaining: "Before, we heard you nagging every day. We've almost memorized it; our ears are almost calloused."
Pete started scratching his head in embarrassment: "Is there that much?"
Ayou picked up the pen and said to Pete: "Go ahead, I'll write it."
"I will not be that lowly ascetic; I will be an Executor. I will use my sword to execute orders."
"To Pete, after leaving the house that day, walk 801 steps east and kill the seventh person you see."
After Pete babbled for a long time, he suddenly stopped.
Ayou asked: "And then?"
"Aren't you supposed to be writing? Wait a second."
"No need. I can think of it and write it all at once. Like this."
His quill pen lightly tapped the book, and then a full page of content was filled onto the book.
After the three of them saw it, they gave a thumbs up: "Awesome."
After Pete finished telling his dream, Leni pulled Ayou to the corner.
"You two, don't listen."
"Don't worry, we definitely won't listen."
Just as Leni turned around, the two of them had already crowded over.
Ayou saw this situation and casually used light to create a barrier, blocking the sound.
"Alright, speak. Now they definitely can't hear."
"Can I tell you a secret? It's embarrassing to say. Actually, I once had the same dream as Pete. Well, I also know I'm younger than that group, but what's the use? Life is too hard. Some people say Rats are a bunch of incompetent losers, not even counting as small-scale gangs, let alone joining the Wings of the World. These dirty losers only know how to chew on leftovers, but never try to make changes."
"When I was younger, I really hated that kind of talk. I considered myself different from those Rats, so I decided to join the Examination Village. Young and ignorant, how could I have known that would be the most regretful choice of my life? To realize that stupid dream, I tugged at my parents' pant legs, begging and crying. And what was the result? You're asking such a stupid question. If I had succeeded, would I still be hanging out with this bunch?"
"What I want to say is, no matter how much you dream, it's useless work, but they just won't give up. If you were a big shot who could achieve your dreams from the start, you would never step into a place like this in your life. Understand? That guy Pete, maybe he's just a fool. In the end, I'm still at a dead end."
"You can't say it like that. At least, if there's a dream to chase, everyone can fly."
Ayou packed up all the books and stretched, but it didn't seem like he used much effort.
He looked at the bookshelf that was almost filled: "None of them are like Pete, but people with dreams are worthy of respect."
Just as he intended to write something else, Angela walked over.
"How's work?"
"Mhm, very smooth. I can even listen to stories."
"Your workload is just like that. Come with me."
"Smelling the Great Fragrance Emanating from My Room, from the Sacrifice"
"In your opinion, in whose hands will the Nest that collapsed in the mist eventually fall?"
An old, deep voice spread from the darkness.
"Second Boss, please forgive me, I cannot predict. We have not been involved in a bloodbath of this scale for a long time, but we will never allow the Index to seize the core position. There is no doubt about that."
"Well said. At least the Middle, The Ring, and the Little Finger are currently unable to attend to this struggle, which is a good start."
"Have you heard of that Library that was recently designated as an Urban Legend?"
"It seems to have a close connection with the Nest we are focusing on."
"Let's hear it."
"It looks like we are gradually entering the climax."
"At the current speed, soon, The Library's rating will be promoted by the Hana Association from Urban Nightmare to Urban Legend."
"Low-grade Urban Nightmares fill every corner of The City, illusory and real, hard to distinguish. Once you trace the source…"
"You will find that the vast majority of Urban Nightmares are even more boring than imagined. That is to say, only when an Urban Nightmare becomes interesting does it qualify to become an Urban Legend."
"You've started beating around the bush and talking nonsense again."
"After the rating designated by the Association is raised, we will be able to attract higher-level guests with more valuable intelligence."
"To put it plainly, it's…"
"That's exactly what it means."