12 Some Books For Kant
Howard enters the library to find Suzan missing from her receptionist desk, where she usually stays. She must be helping some of her subordinates with something. He considers walking around the place to try and find her, but in an area as large as the royal library, she could be anywhere!
As Howard really didn't want to search around the entire library, he decided to ring the bell to try and summon one of the staff members to help him. He could ask them whether he can borrow a few books from them directly. If they refuse, he could just have them direct him to Suzan, who Howard was sure he could convince to bend the rules for him
The longer Howard waited till someone came to his aid, the louder the deafening silence grew. The library seemed rather empty today, which was odd to say the least. According to Kant's memories, the library usually has replacement staff working inside to make sure the library is open from sunrise to midnight.
He strays away from the desk to scope the nearby area. He leans over shelves, twists his head left and right, trying to find any signs of life. After about 3 minutes, the only living creatures present appeared to be the small insects that called this place their home. Excluding them, Howard was all alone.
He turns around and heads back to the receptionist desk. Upon placing his hands on his desk, he successfully jumps over to the other side of the desk. If nobody was there to help him in his time of need, then Howard would just have to help himself.
Underneath the long wooden desk, Howard found a bunch of drawers and shelves holding thick books with brown covers. Each book contained vital information such as the placement of every book in the library, the dates in which they were borrowed and returned, and so on.
Howard was interested in a particular book; an employee attendance book. Thanks to Kant's memories, he knew the head librarian Suzan kept a book like it between these shelves and drawers. Kant even had interacted with it several times! Too bad all the books looked identical to one another.
After a few minutes of searching, Howard finally finds what he was looking for. He blows off the little bits of dust stuck on the cover, sits down and lay back on Suzan's chair, and starts skimming through its contents.
Each page starts with the title "The Royal Library of Rothford Palace Staff Attendance Book for Suzan Lezley" followed by the month and year written below it. Each page is dominated by two complex tables, drawn in black ink.
The first table had a total of 7 rows and 7 columns each, with the first column dedicated to the day of the week. Below these columns, Suzan had written down the time she clocks in and out, probably using the assistance of the mechanical clock present in the library.
The other table had a similar format to the table above it. However, this one detailed the times she took a break, which by the book's definitions meant anytime Suzan "ventured outside the library for personal reasons and taking time to eat and converse with others on private matters".
According to the Staff Attendance Book, Suzan has managed to clock in around 7:30 before clocking out at around 22:30 (10:30 PM) almost every single day for the past two years. Howard wondered how much money Suzan was being paid as the head librarian. It must be a pretty penny, considering she works about 15 hours a day.
Howard continued to turn the pages of the book until he arrived at today's date. He finds out that Suzan still hasn't clocked out, nor has she ventured out to eat lunch. That meant Suzan was still inside the library somewhere, alluring Howard to go find her.
Before he jumped on the other side, he took a look at the other staff members' attention book, to see if they were still around. Just like Suzan, Howard finds out that the other staff members were still in the library, and that they had not gone out for a break. Now that leaves Howard with a question, where exactly are they?
Kant's strong ears pick up the sound of multiple footsteps in the distance, heading closer and closer towards him. He quickly puts the books back in its place, jumps over to the other side, and pretends to just walk into the library. With his left hand, he waits for a minute before ringing the bell.
As the footsteps got louder, it was joined by the sounds of four wooden wheels rolling along, with the addition of some grunting by a male staff member. What the hell were they up to?
"Keep the books right over there! I will check up with whoever is at the receptionist desk," he hears Suzan's voice speak. Guess he didn't need to go look for her after all.
"Oh!?! Your highness! When did you get here?" that was the first question that came out of her mouth the moment she saw Kant leaning near the receptionist table.
"Just now, Miss Suzan. I hope I didn't come at an inconvenient time?" he asked first.
"No! Not at all your highness! In fact, I find it very convenient for you to be here!" she replied. Suzan extends her hand and points to the direction she came from.
"Please follow me, your highness. I have something to give you," she told him.
"I promise, it won't take long," she added. Howard figured that it was not a good time to ask the question now. If he interrupts her and asks her the question whether he could borrow some books to take with him to Lukeword, there was a chance that he might get rejected.
If he goes along with her, and ask her at an appropriate time, then the chances of the head librarian allowing such behavior would be higher. Sure, Kant could use his statues against her to try and force her hand, but that is not something he would usually do. Besides, she was technically under the orders of the king, one of the only positions that outranked him.
"Alright then, lead the way."
Suzan startswalking back into the library, this time Howard behind her tail. They arrive at a long wooden table, with a dozen stacks of books, all neatly lined together. Suzan pointed to the books, and just straight up told him they were now his.
"These are the spare books we have found regarding the territory of Lukeword. Although there isn't much, I hope this will help you govern that… place."
Howard was taken aback, enough to break his character. How does Suzan know about his plans to immigrate to Lukeword?
"You know? When did… Who…" Howard couldn't find the words to speak. Suzan looks at him in the eyes, and explains it right away.
"The king and queen told me about your journey to Lukeword. They informed me that you might need some reading material to understand anything going on over there, so they tasked me with finding some books to give you," she replied.
"My parents trust you enough to do that?" Howard questioned, finding it very hard to believe.
"Your highness, I am entrusted with the secrets of the entire royal library. Of course they will trust me with this secret. All our lips are welded shut," Suzan answers. Howard was still not convinced, and felt that there was something else behind it.
"Who else knows about this little secret of mine?" Howard questions, expecting her to know some answers.
"That, I do not know your highness. You may want to ask your father for that," she answered truthfully.
"I guess I will…" Howard muttered to himself.
"Take a look around! Let me know if there is anything in here you need, your highness. I will always be ready to help you."
He walks towards the stack and starts skimming through the first pages of every one of them, to grasp what they are generally about and what they cover. She appeared to have gathered books about a lot of topics, from geography, history, economics, and politics. There were some that contained information about the Kingdom of the Rothford kingdom itself!
"How long did it take you to find all these?" Howard queried.
"Thankfully not too long. These are the books I am familiar with. I might be able to find some more if you want me to."
"I see. Say, can you find me some religious texts? Do you have that?" Howard asks. Suzan stays silent, taking some time to think about it.
"I think I do, but I am not sure if they will contain any useful information. May I ask why you need them, your highness?"
"I heard from my mother that Lukeword had incorporated a different religion. I like to compare the two and see how they differ. It might help to reconvert them," Howard lied. He had no interest in such nonsense. The dude just wanted information on the religion, and thereby the belief system, this kingdom operates on.
"Alright then. Is there anything else you need?"
"Yes. A few books like this, but for the rest of the kingdom, along with…" Howard takes out a little piece of paper from his pocket and hands it over to Suzan. While pointing towards the paper, he asks her…
"... the books named on that list. That will be all."
"Can you do it?" Howard asks, feeling as if he was demanding too much from the librarian.
"I will see what I can do," Suzan replied.
