The dazzling light of the teleportation gate converged, and my vision cleared.
What my hundreds of pupils captured was a breathtakingly majestic and tranquil world of chalk-white - completely different from both the elegant space of the Cherry Blossom Sanctuary where I was just moments ago, and the dusty, dark abyss of my own dwelling.
The Great Tomb of Nazarick, 10th Floor.
The true heart and absolute sanctuary of this great tomb, where the Throne Room housing the Supreme Beings exists.
Due to YGGDRASIL's systemic restrictions, as well as Nazarick's defensive rules, directly teleporting into the 『Throne Room』 is strictly forbidden for any Floor Guardian.
In order to seek an audience with the Supreme Master, Ainz Ooal Gown, one must descend to the entrance area of this 10th Floor and physically advance on their own two feet, or in my case, by levitating.
Deep within my black fog, the 『Executive Summary Regarding the Magic Systems and Martial Arts of the New World』 that I had just completed was perfectly encrypted and stored.
I wanted to submit this to Lord Ainz a second sooner to solidify my evaluation as a highly competent advisor.
...That thought was naturally present, but there was still a slight margin of time before the designated hour of my audience.
Arriving too early and rushing the boss's preparations cannot be called smart behavior for a subordinate. Adjusting one's schedule is a basic skill for a former salaryman.
Looking out over the vast marble corridor, I decided to drop by a certain location.
An inspection of another department.
My destination was the massive facility existing on this 10th Floor.
The Great Library, 『Ashurbanipal』.
If the 『Vault of Wisdom』 on the 8th Floor that I manage is a massive information-processing server room where Nazarick's systemic and magical raw data is casually tossed in...
Then this 『Ashurbanipal』 can be called a genuine cultural facility that beautifully houses and manages pure literature, history, art, and grimoires in the physical form of books.
As the Keeper of Nazarick's Knowledge, I wanted to physically check the environment of another department that also handled books at least once.
I stood before the heavy mahogany doors.
When I gave an ink tentacle a slight wave, the doors read my access privileges and opened heavily without a single sound.
The moment I took a step (or rather, floated) inside, an extremely pleasant scent enveloped my black fog.
In the vast space stretching as far as the eye could see, massive wooden bookshelves reaching the ceiling stood lined up in an orderly maze.
There was none of the chaotic scenery of my vault, where pages defied gravity and flew madly through the air.
All the tomes were beautifully categorized, resting quietly in their proper places.
In the back, I could see five Overlords silently organizing the shelves and replenishing magic power.
"——Hii...!"
At that moment, a small shriek that sounded like the air itself cramping echoed through the silent Great Library.
From behind a large executive desk near the entrance, an undead figure appeared with the clattering sound of hard objects knocking together.
A skeletal magic caster wearing ancient clothing resembling a white toga.
A pale blue flame wavered with terror in his eye sockets, and his bare bone hands trembled slightly, as if to protect himself from a massive, unseen pressure.
He is the Chief Librarian of this Great Library Ashurbanipal.
Titus Annaeus Secundus.
"I-I-I pray for Your continued good health...! The Absolute Guardian of the 8th Floor, and the Ruler of the Abyss of Knowledge, Lord Tawil Balah...!"
Titus collapsed beside the desk as if groveling, prostrating himself with enough force that he nearly scraped his skull against the floor's carpet.
Clack-clack, clatter-clatter, his jawbones chattered violently with terror.
It was no wonder.
Though he held the important position of Chief Librarian, his level itself was incomparably lower than mine as a Floor Guardian.
Just the unconscious aura emitted by a Level 100 Elder Aberration must have felt like a soul-crushing pressure to a lower-tier NPC like him.
Add to that my appearance.
From within a writhing, dense black fog, hundreds of bluish-purple eyeballs were simultaneously looking down at him; if he wasn't undead, his heart would have stopped long ago.
"There is no need for stiff greetings, Chief Librarian Titus. Raise your head."
I spoke in a low, gentle voice, suppressing my magic power to avoid intimidating him as much as possible.
Matching my words, pale blue runes floated gently into the air, faintly illuminating the dim space of the library.
"Y-Yes...! B-But, for an entity far above the clouds such as Yourself, Lord Tawil, to visit such a peripheral facility... whatever could the matter be? Could it be that there was some blunder in our librarians' management...!?"
"Do not worry. I have not come for an audit or a reprimand. It is merely... let's see, an inspection and a greeting."
I extended just a single black fog tentacle and gently stroked the spine of a beautifully leather-bound book lined up on a nearby shelf.
"My 『Vault of Wisdom』 is a bloodthirsty space where the system and logic are laid bare. I simply wanted to take a moment to visually savor this kind of quiet environment where physical books are lined up in an orderly fashion at least once."
"I-Is that so...! That is an honor far greater than we, the entire staff of the Great Library, deserve...!"
Titus desperately stood up, gripping the hem of his toga with trembling bone hands.
Even so, he could not meet the gaze of my hundreds of pupils, keeping his eyes fixed near my feet.
"This is a good work environment. Unlike my place, physically maintaining and managing bundles of paper must be back-breaking work. How do you handle humidity control and countermeasures against pests like silverfish?"
I brought up an extremely mundane administrative topic, as if commiserating with the struggles of another department.
"Y-Yes! The air conditioning and humidity management are constantly locked at the optimal 18 degrees Celsius and 50 percent humidity for parchment by the environmental maintenance magic circles installed on the ceiling. Furthermore, regarding pest control, the Overlords stationed in the back regularly disperse weak purification magic, completely preventing any physical deterioration!"
Perhaps having regained a little composure from being asked about his area of expertise and his job duties, Titus answered rapidly and fluently.
"A magnificent level of thoroughness. Just as expected of the manager of the library beloved by the Supreme Beings."
I voiced my honest praise. The runes floating in the air also flickered faintly to show my approval.
"Y-Your words are wasted on me! ...U-Umm, Lord Tawil."
Rubbing his bone fingers together timidly, Titus fearfully made a proposal.
"S-Since You have taken the trouble to visit us. Is there any literature You are searching for, or any literary works You are interested in? If You simply give me the order, I shall prepare any rare tome for You in an instant...!"
I blinked my hundreds of pupils all at once.
"I appreciate the consideration. But there is no need for me to borrow books."
"Eh...? What do You mean by... no need?"
"Exactly what it sounds like."
I looked around, capturing the tens, hundreds of thousands of tomes reaching the ceiling in my vision.
"All the books housed on the shelves here - every single word and phrase, the composition of the illustrations, down to the exact locations of the stains on the pages - all of that data has already been indexed and is completely backed up in the database within my brain. If I merely think that I want to know something, the contents of that book are deployed in my brain in a tenth of a second. Therefore, the process of going out of my way to open a physical book and 'read' it is completely unnecessary for me."
The moment he heard those words, the flames in Titus's eye sockets shrank with a sharp hiss.
To him, that ability of mine must have sounded like the sheer lunacy of a deranged monster.
"...Ashurbanipal is the symbol of Nazarick's culture. Continue to bear that pride and strive to protect these archives. Also, it appears the scroll production line is operating without delay. Processing the new parchment provided by Demiurge must be difficult work, but make absolutely sure not to push yourselves too hard."
Leaving behind words like a boss showing appreciation for his subordinates, I turned my back on him.
"Y-Yes, My Lord! On behalf of all the undead in the Great Library, I offer my deepest, deepest gratitude for Your words of encouragement...!"
Behind me, I sensed Titus throw himself onto the carpet once more, desperately prostrating himself.
I gave my ink tentacle a small wave and passed through the heavy doors of the Great Library without a sound, returning once more to the marble corridor of the 10th Floor.
Well now, that was a good way to kill time and get a breath of fresh air.
Next is finally the Throne Room, where Lord Ainz awaits.
[Titus POV]
"...He has left, has he."
Confirming that the thick mahogany doors were completely closed and that overwhelming, ominous presence had entirely vanished, Chief Librarian Titus Annaeus Secundus collapsed limply on the spot like a marionette whose strings had been cut.
Clatter, a dry sound echoed as his pelvis hit the floor.
As an undead, he had no heart to palpitate, no skin to sweat, and no internal organs to ache with stress.
Furthermore, any intense emotional fluctuations beyond a certain point should have been instantly suppressed by the system's forced mental stabilization effect.
Despite this, the bones of Titus's entire body could not stop their faint, chattering tremble, as if he had been exposed to a freezing blizzard.
"What a... what a terrifying entity..."
Titus muttered to himself, staring into the void.
The entity shouldering the absolute defensive line of the 8th Floor.
The Keeper of the Vault of Wisdom, Tawil Balah.
This was the first time he had laid eyes on that form directly since Nazarick had been transferred to this unknown world.
The overwhelming pressure from the difference in their levels. That certainly existed.
But the fundamental terror Titus harbored toward Tawil was not simply due to the gap in their martial might or magic power.
It was a terror born from a decisive difference in how the two of them defined the existence of the Books they governed.
This 『Ashurbanipal』 that Titus manages is a cultural facility.
The stories, poetry collections, history books, and magical recipes for scroll production beloved by the Supreme Beings.
This is a place where knowledge is wrapped in the beautiful bindings of emotion and art, and is carefully protected. Books only hold value when they are opened, their pages turned, and read.
However, that aberration known as Tawil Balah is different.
He had stated it clearly just moments ago.
"...The data of all the archives here is already in my brain."
Titus intuitively understood. Those hundreds of bluish-purple eyeballs floating in that black fog had, with a single glance at Ashurbanipal, literally devoured completely the 'information' of every single book existing here.
To Tawil, knowledge is not a culture to be enjoyed. It is nothing more than cold, inorganic data meant to construct the world, or destroy it.
If that entity ever desires it...
Titus imagined it, making the flames in his eye sockets tremble.
If Tawil ever judged, "These physical bundles of paper are a waste of space and inefficient."
Wouldn't the functions of his [Omniscient Flesh] instantly convert all the books in this Great Library into mere dust, turning this beautiful Ashurbanipal into a literal empty box?
A walking abyss.
A bottomless predator of information.
Before that aberration, historic tomes and beautiful bindings alike would all be broken down as a mere sequence of "0s" and "1s".
"...I never would have thought Him to be an entity who would make such jokes."
Remembering the words Tawil left as he departed - 'This is a good work environment' - Titus clattered his bone jaw with a hint of self-deprecation.
For such an overwhelming superior to go out of his way to ask about the air conditioning management and the progress of scroll production in a lower-tier facility, and even offer words of appreciation.
It would be one thing for a Supreme Being like Lord Ainz to do so, but for a Floor Guardian who was an NPC, it was an overly human-like, or perhaps administrative, consideration.
Or perhaps, even that was merely a part of his cold information processing: "Collecting reaction data from the Chief Librarian of the Great Library."
"...Everyone, back to work. Do not neglect checking the humidity. We must also hurry with processing the parchment materials arriving from Lord Demiurge."
Titus staggered to his feet and issued instructions to the Overlords waiting in the back.
The mental stabilization effect had finally begun to work normally, and the flames in his eye sockets were regaining their calm.
Nazarick's ultimate brain had finally begun to move in earnest.
If a bottomless monster like that was going to wield its Omniscience for the Supreme Master...
Then the fate of this unknown world might already be completely decided within the calculation formulas drawn by Tawil Balah.
In the silence of the Great Library, Titus secretly prayed to the undead gods that those ominous ink tentacles would never open those doors again.