In the Bible, angels are often described as beings with lots of eyes.

They are immaterial shapes whispering holiness, heavenly beasts acting as God’s representatives. It’s actually tricky to explain them with a single term since each Bible gives a different description, but fundamentally, they all serve as representatives of God.

And.

─Do not be afraid.

The angels I saw were gigantic clusters of countless gazes made of swirling letters and serene stars.

The myriad of stars in the dawn sky sparkled brightly beneath a blue sky, gazing down at the world. An overwhelming presence that had the entire night sky as its “eyes,” so massive that the term giant barely sufficed, existed solely in the imaginations of the scribes.

The universe, contorted into a human shape, was looking down at me.

─Transcendent of literature, named Homer, Herodotus, and Sophocles.

With the angel’s voice, the world fell into silence. An extraordinary stillness, never before experienced even in the womb, chilled the normally flowing time and made the moment linger perfectly here.

Not a falling leaf, not a breeze grazing my cheek, not a bewildering thought that tickled my mind dared to budge, just stood frozen.

Time stood still.

─Ascend to the heavens.

In that still world, only the cosmic letters forming the angels glided slowly.

It created a huge ladder—perhaps a staircase—connecting heaven and earth, circulating slowly.

It looked quite familiar to me.

Honestly, it wasn’t that different from the escalators I had seen in my past life.

Feeling there was no point in resisting the command of a cosmic being, I stepped onto Jacob’s ladder. Suddenly, the surrounding scenery began to shift backward, gradually accelerating but at a smooth pace.

The Earth receded, stars moved away, galaxies stretched out, and everything in the universe zipped by at light speed.

Just like that.

When I passed through the universe’s darkness, I felt everything brightening again.

I was.

“Ah! Welcome! Was your journey uncomfortable at all?”
“…I think it was a little uncomfortable.”
“Oh dear, I apologize.”

We found ourselves in a massive library, with countless bookshelves stretching to the horizon.

Amidst a scene reminiscent of the central library of an imperial capital, I called out the name of the person who greeted me.

“Long time no see, Mr. Gallen Rennion.”

The Alchemist.

The eccentric who participated in a contest with the recipe for the “Hyde Potion,” a potion that aligns the outer body with the inner mind.

He greeted me warmly.

“So, where am I?”
“Well, what does it look like to you?”
“Um, it looks like a library.”
“Then this is a library! Need any further explanation?”

After a brief moment of consideration, I responded.

“…No.”
“Haha! Truly wise, you are.”

“So, if we assume this is indeed a library… why was I summoned here?”
“Well, it’s for transcendence, of course.”
“Pardon?”
“For now, let’s take things slow, let’s walk and chat.”

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As the alchemist and I strolled through the library, I picked up books from the shelves and read them one by one.

Every book there was one I had read before. Not just those I read in this world, but also from past lives, e-books, genre fiction platforms, and online articles—all bound neatly on those shelves.

“Would you like me to wait a moment?”
“No, um, I’ve read them all.”
“Aha! Seems this place is quite evil—filled with those favorite things of yours, but ultimately, all familiar and lacking interest, ha ha!”

I returned the book to its place on the shelf and looked back at the alchemist.

“I figured I’d be greeted by something immaterial and spiritual… something transcendent, way beyond human understanding.”
“If a being transcends everything, wouldn’t its kindness also be transcendent? Speaking at eye level with someone is a divine gesture of consideration!”
“Is that why angels are described in terms of pupils?”
“I guess they just didn’t have another word to convey their gaze than that.”

The alchemist was grinning cheerfully as always.

Thanks to that, I didn’t feel all that anxious or uncomfortable. If this was ‘divine consideration,’ then perhaps God is a rather cheerful being.

As we wandered through the library, the alchemist spoke kindly.

“You probably have a ton of questions, but… we’ve got all the time in the world here, so let’s ask them one at a time.”
“Hmm. First off, what does transcendence mean?”
“It’s what you use to catch lions in the Scottish Highlands.”

MacGuffin… Hitchcock.

Though this world had neither MacGuffin nor Hitchcock, nor even Scotland.

Still, formality is key in things like this, so I decided to play along.

“There are no lions in Scotland, you know?”
“Oh, then transcendence is nothing!”
“…Um, was there any meaning to this joke?”
“It sounds plausible, but when you think about it, it lacks substance, yes. Just think of transcendence as the process where someone with authority gets that authority confirmed by God.”

“What is God?”
“Well, that’s for the theologians to figure out. I’m just an alchemist.”
“When you have your authority confirmed by God, what changes?”
“All possibilities of this world… Ah, do you know anything about magic?”
“I don’t know much about it.”
“Simply put, this world has countless possibilities. But it seems someone took a bit of a liberty with those possibilities. Be it a god or a human, it was some elaborate prank mapped out even before this ‘universe’ came into existence.”

“What kind of prank?”
“Among infinite possibilities—on the genesis of the universe, the formation of stars, the emergence of life, the evolution of apes—only the vast potential leading to the ‘human’ species was preserved. Among infinite universes, only the ones that allowed for ‘human existence’ survived.”

“……”
“Transcendence is an extension of such ‘pranks’. From the infinite possibilities, only the universe where ‘Homer exists as a literary transcendent’ survived.”

“The scope is too massive to wrap my head around. So what changes?”
“You get a glimpse of the future.”

“Pardon?”
“It’s time we arrive.”

The seemingly endless library had its limits, and before long, I found myself standing before a gigantic wall.

The brick wall had “9 and 3/4” written on it.

Seeing this, the alchemist looked a bit taken aback.

“There’s supposed to be a door here… huh?”
“If it’s the one I know from ‘Harry Potter,’ then I should be able to walk right in.”
“This… is a door? How curious. But from here on, we’re in the realm of the future.”

As we crossed the wall, a library very similar to the previous one yet a touch more modern revealed itself.

The shelves were lined with future newspapers, books set to be published in the future, and any print material I’d read in the “future,” just like the books I’d seen up until now.

“This is the future of all the possibilities that ‘Homer the Transcendent of Literature’ could reach. Literally, countless possibilities—well, in Homer’s case, infinite novels! Most transcendent beings get to spend eternity here. For someone who has delved deep enough to finally ascend into the heavens, this place can’t be overlooked.”

“……”

“Now, we’re really getting down to the core of things!”

The alchemist smiled brightly.

With his usual light-hearted tone, he asked.

“Will you indulge in infinite possibilities here? Or will you descend back to the earthly realm to live just a single life?”
“……”

Hmm.

Clearly, this was the ideal spot for me.

A place replete with infinite novels.

It could well be described as paradise. Had I just been reincarnated into this world, I would undoubtedly have chosen to live here.

In other words.

“…Let’s return to the present.”
“‘Current me’ won’t choose this place.”

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The alchemist and I climbed aboard the escalator together.

Not to ascend but to go back down.

“Looking forward to a freshly published novel from the bookstore is one of the joys of literature. I can’t stand spoilers…”
“Ha ha, is that so?”
“Yeah, it is. But by the way, how did you end up transcending, Mr. Alchemist?”
“Well, I finally completed the elixir of immortality, every alchemist’s longstanding desire! Back then, the ‘Dragon Slayer Transcendent’ welcomed me, and the reason he killed the dragon was pretty ridiculous.”
“What did he claim was the reason?”
“He thought he could kill it, so he tried, and was genuinely surprised when it actually died.”
“Hah.”
“Well, let me say this: You’ll have a tough time when you return to the mortal realm.”

“What do you mean?”

The alchemist pulled out a potion and drank it.

He gradually became transparent and flashed a smile.

“You’ll probably suffer for a few hundred years.”

With that, we returned to the present.

And.

“Homer and Herodotus are the same person?! And Sophocles too?!”
“Long live the literary transcendent! Long live the saints of literature!”
“Wait, does that mean Homer wrote a recommendation for his own novel?! Talk about confidence!”

There was chaos on the ground.

The angel’s voice seemed to echo throughout the land.

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“Indeed, the writer Homer is extraordinary!”
“Ho, you mean Homer was… Herodotus? If so… Oh, did he not publish ‘The Count of Montecristo’ at the same time as the students’ magazine just to mess with us?”
“Don’t be daft! Homer deliberately pushed us to grow through competition!”

“Is that really how it is?”

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“Hello there…”
“Uh, Chief Wizard?”
“The teleportation gate from the magic tower has linked to this location… Is it alright to build a tower here…?”
“Well, this is my home.”
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“Greetings, Lord Homer. It’s been quite a while. Have you been well?”
“Ah, yes. Cardinal Garnier.”
“Speaking of which, would you mind recording your angel sighting? The archives of the Holy See have become a bit overly enthusiastic about it.”
“Ah, yes, of course.”
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“Geez, aren’t you pushing it too far?”
“What do you mean?”
“Sophocles! You published this in Harren, not the Empire, right? I sponsored you after all…”
“…I’m terribly sorry.”
“Oh, just kidding! You’re still a man of the Empire. Essentially, you’re mine too.”
“Okay?”
“Just watch yourself moving forward.”
“…Yeah.”

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“You’ve got the kingdom in uproar because of you.”
“Yeah. Your Majestic Eternal King.”
“Ugh, just call me the Lazy King. Anyway, it seems the officials were quite shocked to discover you were actually Homer and Herodotus.”
“Is that true?”
“Yeah. Many of them are your fans.”
“Really?”
“So they asked me to get an autograph or something.”
“…….”

“Don’t give me that look.”

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“…Did you have fun?”
“Huh?”
“Was it amusing to hide that you were Homer and listen to me praise him?”
“Uh, no. I never meant for that to happen.”
“But you were secretly enjoying watching me praise him, weren’t you?”
“Of course not!”
“Well, if that’s the case, I’m off.”
“Wait, did you come all this way from the Duchy of Kapeter just to ask that?”
“…Yeah.”
“Now that you’re here, how about staying at the manor? I’m sure your father would be thrilled to see his nephew.”
“…I can’t, because I don’t know what I might do.”
“Huh?”

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Well, anyway, there was quite a commotion, but things slowly began to settle down.

It’s not unusual for a writer to use several pen names. Transcendence was a bit of a big deal… but it wasn’t the first time in history. If it’s Homer, such things are expected, kind of a leap of faith in understanding.

And personally speaking…

“Hmm, this feels much better.”

Since transcending, I had gotten a peek into the future “impact” of the novel I’d plagiarized.

They say an alchemist can find a recipe without trial and error, but in my case, as a ‘plagiarist’ focused on advancing literature rather than being an actual author, this is how ‘possibility’ seemed to manifest.

For a while, I ran the foundation trying to balance possibilities while minimizing side effects as much as I could.

I hadn’t read a novel in a few days because I was busy with the foundation work, and Shion was immensely worried. Is skipping reading that big of a deal…?

– “Hey, aren’t you reading today?”
– “Uh, yeah. My eyes feel a bit tired recently.”
– “Are you alright? No cataracts or glaucoma or anything, right?”
– “No, of course not! Stop fussing!”
– “I can’t imagine you skipping reading over tired eyes…”
– “Stop imagining and just look ahead. There’s a book right in front of your face.”

Hmm.

Now that I think about it, it seems I was similar before.

Anyway.

So, after sorting a few things out, I headed to the academy.

“Oooh! It’s the literary transcendent, Mr. Homer!”
“Long live Homer, Herodotus, and Sophocles, the savior of literature!”
“…Hehe.”
“Homer smiled!”
“He laughed at me!”
“No, he laughed because of my voice!”

What a mess.

Trying to clear the air, I dove straight into the main topic.

“I’m planning to hold a reader-voted literary contest after quite some time.”
“Uh, are you going to compete under a different pen name again…?”
“Nope.”
“……..”
“This time, all writers will participate anonymously, and I’ll also be participating anonymously.”
“What?”

Given how the entire empire is filled with enthusiasm over what has now become the ‘Transcendent of Literature.’

I plan to take this opportunity to more actively promote the ‘library revitalization’ and ‘writing culture revitalization’ that I prepared previously.

“I also intend for everyone, not just academy students, throughout the Empire to participate in this contest. The publication of the submitted works will also be guaranteed by my foundation.”
“…What?”

“Plus, to help readers participate more easily, I’ll be showcasing all of the ‘contest entries’ in a library run by my foundation.”
“……..”

“Let’s compete based solely on the works.”

Revitalizing libraries, promoting the foundation’s ‘public lending rights’ policy, and supporting aspiring authors—accomplishing all in one go.

Want to read the works of the literary transcendent Homer?

Then, read every piece that participates in the contest; one of them will be by Homer.

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[Call me Ishmael.]