It was a question that wasn’t part of the original work.

A face that had become expressionless, with emotions frozen. However, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the eyes could not contain the rising heat and silently wet both of her cheeks.

"I... I am here, Ayleth. But where are you...?"

The Bible, being a pursuit of truth, answered without a hint of deceit.

"I do not exist in your world."

As if the last light had been extinguished, the screen went dark.

[ Cinematic video "Fragments of Memory (3) — 94th Cycle's Dialogue (Memory Synchronization: Low)" has ended.]

"..."

The title of the video etched itself into my vision.

94th Cycle's Dialogue.

He had been Tesilid Arzent of the 94th cycle, a distorted world of my tutorial. Only now did I understand what Reid had said to me earlier that day.

"It was probably from around the 94th cycle. It would have been nice if you had shown up then."

How much despair had been hidden under that calm voice?

"Ayleth."

Reid didn't miss my brief flinch caused by the interference from the cinematic video.

His hand gently rested on my shoulder, and the worry in his eyes was filled with kindness.

"Are you okay?"

That’s the question I should be asking you.

A deep breath pulled me back to reality. I was barely able to smile as if nothing was wrong.

"Oh, it’s nothing."

"If you don’t feel well, tell me."

"I will."

I wanted to treat him with the same kindness.

At this moment, if there was anywhere he wanted to go, I wanted to go with him. If there was anything he wanted to do, I wanted to do it with him.

Wherever, whatever.

So I asked with a hesitant tone.

"But, Reid. Why the Library of Infinite Knowledge? Do you have something you're curious about?"

"Not really. The purpose is bigger than that."

"What purpose?"

While Reid hesitated with a smile, the system window chimed first.

Since we had just watched the cinematic video, it was time to receive a quest.

[ "Final Black Mask - Stage 6 (Difficulty: Unknown)"

Help Reid with his scheme.

Success Reward: ???

Failure Penalty: World Destruction]

Wait, hold on. Why is the mission description like this?

Help with his scheme? He’s the final villain, can I just help without knowing what kind of scheme he’s planning?

At that moment, Reid, the scheming man, spoke.

"To meet Infernos."

"......"

The Library of Infinite Knowledge also went by another name: "The Royal Library of Infernos." There was a peculiar detail that you could summon the demon lord Infernos by causing a ruckus in the dungeon.

[‘The Secrets of the Overseer’ gasps in horror as the demon lord’s confrontation so early violates the story’s pacing.]

I agree.

I’m not sure if this is fine, but...

"Alright, let's go. We should do what we want, go where we want."

"You're truly a wonderful accomplice, Ayleth Rodeline."

As I looked at his handsome face smiling back at me, I felt reassured that nothing could go wrong.

Having sided with the final villain, I was allowed this calmness of mind. I decided to savor it to the fullest.

Chapter 9: The Harem of Chaos

The Library of Infinite Knowledge was located in the forbidden section of the Grand Temple’s basement, which, as the name suggested, was a place strictly off-limits to outsiders.

Even though the Grand Temple itself was a well-guarded sanctuary, this area, with even higher security, wasn’t easily accessible. But that wasn’t a problem.

‘Because we have the perfect final villain with extensive preparation on our side!’

I believed in Reid’s all-powerful magic. So I trusted him completely and went along with him...

"Only trust you, Ayleth Rodeline."

"Yeah?"

He gave me a gentle smile as his hand rested on my shoulder.

"Since it's the Grand Temple, all the important security is set up with holy power. With you being a 9th-tier Holy Power Awakener, you hold the master key."

"Can that work, even though we serve different gods?"

"We’ll find out as we test it from here."

"..."

"Oh, I hope you understand. It’s not long since I’ve deviated from the belief in a singular god."

"That’s true."

Even though he acted casual, Reid must have prepared at least five backup plans in case I failed.

Thankfully, the door to the forbidden section of the library opened in response to my holy power, without any major issues.

It seems that the security system had left a weakness because it didn't account for the presence of another god.

I guess that Hilde Marcelion is an extremely rare exception, and normally outsiders can’t reach the cardinal level, so it hasn’t been a problem until now.

"Apologies for the unauthorized entry."

"My accomplice is remarkably polite."

The musty smell of old books filled the air. Reid, with his experience from visiting the Library of Infinite Knowledge dozens of times, quickly found a book titled "How to Cultivate Organic Good and Evil Fruit."

His proficiency, honed over many visits, was impressive, but instead of admiration, I felt pity.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

I nodded, checking my harness.

As Reid opened the book with graceful fingers, a dungeon gate appeared along with it. He reached out his hand to me, pulling me into the demon realm.

"Ayleth."

Caught off guard, I grabbed his large hand and was pulled through the gate into the demon realm.

[ Entering S-Rank Dungeon "Library of Infinite Knowledge".]

A grand and ancient library greeted us.

The sunlight shining down through the glass dome ceiling was unusually warm for the demon realm.

In a spot perfect for photosynthesis, an enormous tree, presumably the Tree of Good and Evil, added to the indoor garden’s atmosphere.

We waited for a long time, but the dungeon’s owner, the librarian, never appeared. Clearly, they were slacking off.

[‘The Architect of Trials’ looks at the grandfather clock and comments that it seems to be lunch hour.]

I wondered if demons cared about such things.

"It looks like they’re absent."

"Yeah."

"Shall we eat some fruit while we wait?"

At the spot Reid gestured to, branches laden with the forbidden fruit of good and evil hung from the trees.

The fruit wasn’t inherently poisonous or cursed. However, the act of eating it was considered sinful, and it was seen as a forbidden fruit.

It was clear what Reid’s intentions were.

"Again, again. You’re trying to subtly corrupt me."

"Maybe it’s fine if you’re a bit slow to catch on. Pity."

"The fruit’s for you alone. I’ll look around and check out some books since I’m here."

"The books of this place?"

Reid’s eyes narrowed.

"Demon realm knowledge is far more capable of corrupting a human soul than the fruit of good and evil. There are many books here that will tarnish your soul just by reading their titles."

"It’s fine. I have resistance."

"Resistance?"

[‘The Cynical Satirist’ comments that modern people have a worn-out soul, so it’s only natural.]

[‘The Eyes of Chaos’ corrects that it’s not resistance, but already corrupted.]

I had no rebuttal for the gods’ words. The opposite of corruption is purity, and purity is easy to maintain when one hasn’t been through the bitter taste of the world and remains unaware of humanity’s deceit.

‘I’ve experienced a world overflowing with information. The more indirect experiences you’ve had, the less pure you are.’

But does that make it bad? I’m not sure.

Pure souls are the flowers that adorn the gods’ garden and are considered delicacies for demons. However, just because they are valuable from the gods’ and demons’ perspectives doesn’t mean they’re necessarily good from a human perspective.

From a human standpoint, being too pure just means you’re easily deceived and betrayed, leading to a twisted fate.

To avoid bad things, it’s important to be able to peer into the abyss of a criminal’s soul.

Knowledge itself doesn’t corrupt humanity. It’s about how you use that knowledge.

‘I believe the more indirect experiences you have, the better.’

[‘The Scales of Soul Judgment’ praises your novel books in your integrated library as a form of enriching indirect experience.]

...Anyway, they always tease me when they get the chance.

"I’ll be back soon, Reid."

"So, you’re really planning to browse around."

"If you get bored, feel free to look around too."

"I’m not really a fan of demon realm books."

"You’ve probably changed your taste after being corrupted. Come to think of it, demons are really serious about world destruction, aren’t they? Maybe indirect experiences can provide some vicarious satisfaction."

"...I’ll think about it."

"Yep, yep. See you later."

I waved my hand and walked between the towering bookshelves. As I read the spines of the books, it wasn’t long before I received the reaction I had expected from Agnes.

<Oh my. What kind of titles are these? They’re horrifically vile.>

"It’s a demon realm library. It’s just basic."

As a library, the books were very well organized.

There was a section on humanities, studying how to corrupt humans.

A section on sacrilegious content about "Strict Order and Goodness."

An apocalyptic section dealing with prophecies about the "Newborn Chaos Demon."

As I scanned around, nothing particularly piqued my interest. Just when I was about to head back to where Reid was...

[ A guerrilla event quest for the Library of Infinite Knowledge has occurred.]

‘Hmm? A sudden random quest?’

It was the same kind of quest message I had seen before when I was dealing with the Dragon Lord in the Tower of Trials. I checked it out.

[ "Must-Read Romance Passes (Difficulty: C)"

You can’t just leave the demon realm library without doing something! Find and thoroughly read the books recommended by "The Scales of Soul Judgment" from the demon realm's literature.

Recommended books (0/4)

Reward: Converts feverish cold sweat from the divine descent’s aftereffects into hypothermia.]

I should’ve known they’d prepare something like this after boasting about changing penalties.