Policeman and the cat

6 - Library

The library reminded of a pantheon in design with white walls and marble columns, huge windows, and a grand staircase leading up to the entrance. Being the main library in the city, it was a magnificent building.

"There's an... extra floor?" Mandy's voice asked.

Ian stopped and lowered the glasses. While the building didn't change outwardly in height, the placement of floors differed. Through the glasses, it looked like each floor was higher, without glasses each floor looked a bit shorter forming another floor.

"Spatial adjustment," August confirmed. "Expensive to set up, but a common type of barrier otherwise."

Huh? Looked like Ian would need to do a lot of glasses rising and lowering not to miss anything. He let out a sigh and did so and it looked like the ghost shared his sentiment.

As they walked in and downstairs to where the wardrobe was Ian spotted a difference already - the glasses showed an opaque door further in with toilets for disabled and an emergency exit, but without the glasses there was a transparent door showing a staircase leading up.

"Just how much of this is real, I mean..." Mandy asked.

Now that he thought of it, Ian realized that this was Mandy's first time coming here as a ghost. Her previous questions implied that she knew how this place looked to normal humans. For how long had she been a ghost? Yet rather than asking, he listened to what August replied.

"If you remove the barriers, then the staircase ahead would lead up to a fifty centimeters high service floor with no windows in the middle between third and fourth floor," August replied.

No one paid them any attention whatsoever as they passed the door leading to the staircase to this supposed 'service floor'. Yet neither August nor Ian looked even remotely similar to service personnel.

"Is there a reason no one minds us going there?" Mandy asked a question Ian was curious about himself.

"Misdirection charms," August replied. "Normies subconsciously avoid this section and lose interest in anyone or anything passing through. It's also a dead angle for security cameras and in photos, it shows up as an emergency exit and a toilet for the disabled." August added something Ian already knew but Mandy probably did not.

"How do they match up security footage?" Ian asked. That was something that wouldn't make any sense if anyone bothered to compare people coming in and going up.

"No idea," August replied with a shrug. "Ask Kenneth."

So inspector Kenneth would know that... yet Ian wasn't sure it was a good idea to bother Kenneth with that. By the same token - it would make more sense to bother Kenneth than August, however.

As they headed up, they reached a reception counter with a few librarians and three passages - two were open and unobstructed, the third was directly behind the counter and one would need to pass through to get there.

As Ian checked over the rim of his glasses, all the librarians had bright colored hair and bunny ears on their heads. They looked up noticing the people entering, but didn't say anything for now, even if a couple of them revealed a vary look upon spotting Mandy. Ian was impressed that rather than letting out terrified shrieks the girls looked only vary.

"I'd like access to the advanced sections," August said as he walked up to the counter.

The librarian August was talking to passed him a black obsidian slate and August placed his hand on it.

She was looking at something below the counter and her eyes sparkled over. "Garold August, platinum, is the group behind assisting you today?" Her tone was professional, yet there was an apparent amount of admiration in it on top. Other bunny-eared librarians made similar expressions and all wariness towards Mandy poofed without a trace. In fact, now they cast immensely curious looks toward all of them.