The old man's projection exchanged a glance with the bookstore proprietress, both somewhat puzzled, unsure what "Red Sage" meant.
But Walter did not dare ask further. He merely took out a massive photo album half as tall as a person.
Rustle, rustle.
He flipped through several pages before stopping at one.
Then he turned the album around to show Gilan, extending his thick index finger to point at several photographs in the upper-left corner.
"Mr. Gilan, these are interior views of Great Library No. 1. These others show the surrounding environment."
These photographs had originally been among the Solidified Book Bureau's most closely guarded secrets and were never to be shown to outsiders, as they would expose the Great Library's precise location.
But the "Red Sage," Gilan Iros, was an exception.
Leaving aside the fact that the Solidified Book Bureau simply could not afford to offend someone of this legendary figure's status and power—
The fact that he had personally stepped in to settle the Book Bureau's feud with its archenemy, the Withering Nobles, preventing them from causing trouble for Moran Bookstore again, was enough to warrant an exception.
What was more, over the past century, the Book Bureau had received only a dozen or so distinguished guests. All had been outstanding figures of their era, masters in their respective fields, worthy of being called "Ascendant seeds."
Yet the Red Sage before him was a genuine Ascendant!
As an administrator of the Book Bureau, how could Walter dare show any neglect?
Gilan glanced at the photographs in the album.
The interior of Great Library No. 1 was exceptionally spacious and steeped in history. Its decorations and furnishings were rather antiquated, leaning toward a medieval style.
As for the surrounding environment, it was situated on an idyllic island. A lighthouse, suspension