The Main Characters That Only I Know

Chapter 9:

Chapter 9

As soon as I heard the word “patrons”, I shivered with a chill running down my spine.

Patrons meant, of course, that the spirits liked a teller’s library and supported it with points.

Of course, not all patrons were the same. 

There were different levels of spirits, and accordingly, the level of support they gave was also different.

But, the man in front of me was a top-tier spirit who had existed since the beginning of time. 

It was not an exaggeration to say that he was one of the seven leaders of Pandemonium.

‘He wants to be my patron. Am I dreaming right now?’

I had no idea how much value that one word meant. 

If he was a spirit as powerful as Satan, he would have a huge impact on my library just by his presence.

‘The tellers who just opened their libraries would do anything to make connections with the spirits. They would go through all kinds of hardships and if they could get one mid-tier spirit from the third generation, they would be ecstatic.’

But, this one was from the first generation. 

And he was the top of the top.

This was an opportunity.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

To be honest, I was a bit wary of his name, Satan. 

But, it was ridiculous to judge him by the standards of good and evil. 

The myths that were known on Earth only showed one side of him. 

They did not reveal everything about him.

‘What are you doing, Kang Yu-hyun? Hurry up and take his hand.’

If you take his hand, you can have a great life ahead of you.

My mind was screaming loudly.

But strangely enough, my hand did not reach out to take Satan’s hand.

It was a strange feeling. 

My reason was perfectly convinced that this was the right time, but somewhere in my heart, something was stopping me.

‘Is this really okay?’

Like throwing a stone into a calm water and creating ripples.

I asked myself.

Then, my excited mood quickly faded.

‘Really?’

No way.

I finally said with difficulty.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can do that.”

At my refusal, Satan withdrew his hand and looked puzzled.

“Can I ask why you rejected my offer?”

It was not that he was offended. 

He was not so petty that he would get angry at being rejected. 

Rather, he seemed genuinely curious about why I refused his offer.

“If you become my patron as you wish, it will certainly be a great help for my library. But, in that case, I will lose the freedom of my library.”

“The freedom of your library?”

He must have guessed what I was trying to say.

A strong patron was not always a positive influence. 

Especially if it was a spirit like Satan who had a huge influence. 

Just like a major shareholder had a strong voice in a company, a patron also had a say in a library.

Of course, as soon as I signed the contract, his presence would make my library grow rapidly. 

But the driving force behind that growth would ultimately be nothing but the spirits of Pandemonium.

The spirits of Pandemonium were… 

To be honest, most of them were unpleasant beings except for a few. 

They were vicious, cruel, and self-centered.

They might not act recklessly in my library because they had to respect Satan’s wishes, but their existence alone would determine what kind of path my library had to take in the future.

‘And if my library is full of Pandemonium spirits, only his followers will come to my library and other factions will not even look at it.’

Especially the spirits of Eden.

They were at odds with Pandemonium, so they might even see my library as an enemy.

There was as much to lose as there was to gain.

“That’s why I refuse. I believe you are wise enough to understand what I mean.”

As I finished saying what I had been holding back, I felt a relief in my chest.

At the same time, I regretted what I had done. 

I had politely refused his offer, but it was no different from outright rejecting him.

But.

“Puhaha. Hahahaha!!”

Satan burst into laughter.

Rather, he made me flustered.

“Are you saying that you have a bigger ambition than carrying Pandemonium on your back? What kind of madness is this!”

“N-no. That’s not what I meant.”

“Ah. Don’t worry. I’m sincerely complimenting you. Yes. You are right. If I become your patron, I will also have ownership of your library. If that happens, you will give up your potential. That’s a very big price to pay for a momentary benefit.”

The fact that he said this meant that he knew this too.

Maybe, he was aiming for it. 

Even if his attitude and tone were gentlemanly, he was the ‘snake’ from the Bible.

“But, you didn’t do that. You left the easy path and chose the hard one. No one would do that unless they were a fool.”

He was right. 

I did a foolish thing. 

I would never have done this if I were my old self.

‘But’ he continued.

“Maybe that’s why you caught my eye.”

“That’s…”

“Let’s end the conversation here. I’m hurt by your rejection, but I’m not so barbaric that I would force you to do something you don’t want to do.”

“So, are you giving up?”

“Giving up? Hmm, well. To be honest, I became more greedy.”

Satan smiled slyly like a snake.

“I want to take you by force.”

“What?”

I felt a cold shiver down my spine. 

As I flinched, Satan waved his hand and told me not to worry.

“Of course, I won’t do such a thing. It’s ungentlemanly. But let me just say that you are very attractive. And I’m looking forward to the stories you will show me. Let me ask you again, are you sure you don’t need my patronage?”

“…Yes. I’m sure. At least, I don’t want to receive your patronage through a deal.”

“You don’t want to receive it through a deal?”

“I want the spirits to voluntarily offer their patronage. Not in exchange for something, but out of their own will.”

“Hehehe. You wish for them to offer it voluntarily. That’s quite an ambition. If any other teller had said that, I would have punished them for being arrogant.”

I knew that too. 

But what I said was sincere.

What I wanted was something that was only mine and not swayed by anyone else. 

It was better to resist the temptation of the moment for that.

‘I vowed not to have any regrets in this second life.’

If so, I will do my best.

I had already made up my mind.

“But, I can’t just let this go without anything. A bet is a bet and you won, so you deserve a reward. I can’t do it right now, but I’ll give you a gift with my name on it.”

“…If you give it to me, I’ll appreciate it.”

I couldn’t refuse this either, so I bowed my head with gratitude.

Satan shook his head as if he was sorry.

“I’d like to stay longer, but they’re not fools either. They must have noticed something strange by now. So, I’ll be going now. It was really nice meeting you today.”

“Ah, yes.”

I didn’t enjoy it at all.

I had to swallow this word that came up to my throat. 

He said he would give me a gift after forcing me into a bet, who would say anything about that?

“I’ll visit your library soon. Bye.”

Satan left the place like smoke. 

Even the smoke that disappeared looked like a snake wagging its tail.

As soon as I confirmed that he was completely gone, I sighed with relief and wanted to collapse on the spot.

“Hoo.”

I shouldn’t do this here, I had to leave this place quickly too. 

There were many tellers who would come looking for me because I hadn’t been back for a long time.

‘Let’s get out of here first.’

What I needed now was reading.

***

‘Not bad.’

I nodded with satisfaction as I looked at this space where no tellers came and went.

This was another building connected to the huge building where the party was held. 

It looked like a huge museum, and in fact, it was used for a purpose that suited a museum.

‘The Record Archive.’

A place where the stories shown and collected by the tellers were stored. 

In other words, this place was like a warehouse of stories.

It contained almost all the history of the mixed world, so it was not an exaggeration to say that it was a ‘small Akashic Record’.

But now it was considered a relic of the old times, and hardly anyone came here.

‘It’s damn spacious.’

The Record Archive was filled with storage boxes from ceiling to floor. 

The storage boxes were piled up so high that this space itself was almost like a maze made of storage boxes.

It was hard to find the data you wanted even if you wanted to, because there was no proper index and because of the Genesis Network that could be accessed through the Genesis System.

But the more no one came here, the more I liked it.

Thanks to that, I could read the books I borrowed as much as I wanted.

How long had it been since I started reading? 

After reading all the books I brought, I stretched and got up from my seat.

‘How much time is left… About 30 minutes?’

When I came to Celestial Corporation, I took a space train, but when I left, it was a semi-forced dimensional transfer. 

When the time limit expired, we would automatically return to where we came from.

That meant there were 30 minutes left until we returned to Earth.

‘I’ve already read all the books. It’s a bit awkward to just sit still for the rest of the time, so maybe I’ll look around.’

Even though it was overshadowed by the Genesis Network, this place recorded all the stories from the past to the present. There might be some interesting stories that I didn’t know.

“Hmm?”

How long had I walked?

Across the long corridor, I saw someone coming towards me.

‘What?’

I squinted and tried to see who it was, but I couldn’t see clearly because of the dazzling halo behind him.

Light? Is he carrying a flashlight or something?

‘No. That’s…’

I belatedly realized what that light was.

That light was not a simple flashlight or anything like that.

It was.

A bright and brilliant light that flowed from a golden book.