Before the call in The Cabin was connected, before the three consecutive nights of battle on the Atlantic Ocean,
on the third day of the New Year's Day holiday,
Fies Erde - Imperial Manor.
In the vast space beneath the soaring dome, there was no design besides a road nearly a hundred meters long running straight to the far end. Yet on both sides stood dozens of rows of shelves, every spine stamped with gilded lettering.
The bookshelves, taller than two stories and towering like walls, stood in orderly rows like an ancient, lofty forest.
Together, they formed a kingdom of books!
The classical, weighty tones of the wood, the luxury and sense of time hidden deep within every decoration—though they did make one wonder how much effort it took to retrieve a book from the highest shelf—
still made the somewhat fantastical sight, illuminated by sunlight the instant the doors opened,
fill Fang Ran with profound awe.
The quiet, magnificent, faintly sacred feeling of being surrounded by a sea of books made him feel as though he were gazing up at monuments to humanity as he walked down the central passage and looked at the enormous bookshelves on either side.
"Are libraries in rich people's homes all this big?"
Seated at one of several ideal spots selected by the designer based on the scenery beyond the windows, the seasons, the light, and other factors, beside an elegant long table and classical chairs that looked outrageously expensive,
Fang Ran stared speechlessly at the figure leisurely turning pages before him.
"This library was built on a whim by the master of Fies Erde in the 1960s. Over the past half-century, it has collected books in hundreds of languages from around the world—every book that has stood the test of time or