Aron appears to be a man in his late forties, calm and well-kept, with the air of someone who has spent many years inside the library.
He has a lean build and moves slowly and carefully, never rushed. His dark hair is touched with silver and kept neatly tied back, and his face shows gentle lines from years of thinking. His eyes are warm and kind, making others feel at ease, yet there is a quiet depth to them, as if he sees more than he says.
Aron led Leonhart to his table, grabbed two mugs from a shelf, and offered a drink to him before sitting down.
Leonhart rejected the offer with respect and immediately went straight to ask.
"Sir Aron, what do you know about the Fall?"
Aron caressed the book on the table and replied. "The Fall has many names in Outer. Doomsday, Endless Flood of Beasts, Descendants of Void. However, its origin is still unknown, at least to us mortals or of lower status. If you want to learn more truth about the fall, you'll have to meet The Eternal Ones. They should know something about it. That's really all I know regarding the Fall."
'Eternal Ones. Are they supposed to be gods?' Leonhart mused inwardly, taking a mental note of the information he received from Aron.
Leonhart carefully planned his questions deeply. Just because he was receiving them for free doesn't mean Aron has all day to answer each one of them.
Leonhart was sure that Aron was busy maintaining the Library since he was the one governing the place.
'The Fall… even this library can't give me any good information, huh.' Leonhart mused inwardly before asking another question. "May I ask what this library is about? The system told us it is The Library That Predicts You, but the librarians called it Library of Fate. Is there any deeper meaning to it?"
Aron massaged his chin, thinking about what reply he should give, before an answer came just a while.
"Either name is fine, Leonhart. It's just the latter is much faster to introduce to the guests." Aron humored as he chuckled before adding. "The Library has indeed the ability to predict. It will hand you a book which contains your past, the present, and your future. In other words, it can see your fate. Pretty much the same."
Leonhart also smiled when Aron joked around, but his smile froze once the library was just as it sounded.
'A book that can see my past, the present, and future? Isn't that overpowered?' Leonhart thought, his mind still in disbelief.
Another realization hit him once that the passing idea came to his mind.
'Does that mean it can see my first regression?'
Leonhart couldn't help but be nervous as he tried to calm down by letting out a cough and asking a follow-up question. "That book… When could I see it? Is that even possible in the first place?"
"Nothing's impossible in this new world, Leonhart." Aron smiled affably before adding. "As for when you'll receive it, the Library will eventually give it to you. It varies from person to person, you see."
Leonhart's mouth formed an O shape that the only thing Aron could do while watching his reaction was laugh. It was a kind of laugh that didn't sound like a mockery but more like an amused adult finding a kid's surprise in discovering something new.
Aron then continued. "You have something more to ask?"
Leonhart thought about his next question very deeply, as it could either be his last answer he could be looking for.
Finally, as if he came to a final decision, Leonhart asked. "Then, how do we get out of here?"
Aron silently thought for a brief moment, contemplating the answer, as whatever came to his mouth was important.
He grabbed a map from under his desk, laid it out on the table, and showed Leonhart the entire detailed structure of the library before speaking.
"Do you think we chose to stay in this place because we want to?"
Aron shook his head with a defeated look. He slid his finger to the map, forming an imaginary circle in the middle portion of the library.
"The middle portion of the library is infested with monsters from the fall, there are even stronger ones called Library Guardians. What you think a safe haven is merely an illusion, so that the librarians and the guests that stumble upon the library would not freak out. However, if we have to choose a shelter that can cover us from the endless monsters outside or a few ones inside, then we'll choose here."
Aron sighed. "To get out of here, we need to clear out the monsters infesting that area. The path outside should be there."
Leonhart frowned, hearing uncertainty in Aron's voice once the explanation came from his mouth.
"You're not even sure that the way outside is in that place?"
Aron nodded helplessly. "If you think about it, there's no reason for monsters to be lurking around that area. But believe me, we tried countless times, Leonhart. Yet it seems the monsters there are just endless. We couldn't even find the breach that made them that many anyway."
He paused. "We're lucky enough that they aren't roaming at the peripheries of the library where we are staying. That's why we're able to live long enough here."
Leonhart was finally able to understand the explanation that these people are staying in the Library, and it wasn't just a very stupid point.
Leonhart darted his eyes onto the large map on the table and thought inwardly. 'The monsters outside are already posing a problem, and you're telling me there are others inside?'
Leonhart realized the Library had become a mouse trap where each side could potentially end their lives, and it developed a waiting time on whose monsters strike first.
Die in the hands of the fall from outside or the monsters that infest inside the library.
'We're going to be stuck in here forever if no actions are taken.' Leonhart mused inwardly as he stood up and said. "Thank you for at least answering all my questions truthfully, Sir Aron. I'll take my leave now. May I come back again sometime if I come to a decision?"
Aron smiled. "Of course. My doors are always open."
Leonhart changed his view on Aron, thinking that he was just arrogant before. Yet now, it seems they are in the same situation and powerless to do anything.
Leonhart bowed to him respectfully before leaving the room.
Aron's smile slowly disappeared as he stared at Leonhart's back, which was moving farther away, his face no longer resembling what he had shown earlier.
"..."
Aron whispered under his breath before fixing the map on his hands.