16. Beginning

The village of Wartwood. A small village located in the Frog Valley. Her motto was "Slowly accept and respect even more slowly.". About 88 residents lived in the village, much less than the average. And Adam would never have paid attention to this village until he found out that one of his wards would arrive here.

Even at the beginning of his journey, the crazy newt Valerian gave a hint on her account. When he got Mdr and Sol, he recognized all three places at once. Adam chose Wartwood because two stars will appear here at once. One is near the village, the other is a little further away in the Toad Tower.

The Toad Tower, which speaks the name by the way, is an outpost. There are warrior toads who come once a month and collect taxes from villages all over the valley. They clean the area from monsters, giving the inhabitants of the valley peace and comfort. And that's where the second star will appear.

As they say, two birds with one stone. Adam wasn't worried about Newtopia. He had already warned Yunan and Olivia, so they would take the third star into custody. And he will be able to stay here without worries and teach the other two. He can't collect them all at the same time, because the rock season is coming soon. The whole valley will be covered with huge rocks covering the passage. And it will last from 1 to 2 months.

So, Wartwood. A village built on marshes where everyone knows each other by sight. People here don't trust outsiders, but what's there, they don't trust each other. And then the question arises, how can Adam join the village without problems? The answer to this was found quite quickly.

Library. Yes, the library. And don't look at me like that, is there something you don't like?

There was a ruined library in Wartwood, which was attacked by giant herons a few years ago. And yes, there are not only huge beetles here, but also birds with fish.

So, the library has been destroyed and abandoned for more than 10 years. That's where Adam comes in. He sent a letter to the mayor, on behalf of the Primordial family, with a proposal to rebuild the library for their money. To which the mayor sent a letter a week later, in which he gladly gave his consent. Everyone loves freebies, even amphibians.

Olivia allocated a budget and poisoned the workers there more than six months ago. The library was rebuilt during this time, replenished with books and revived by his arrival. And if anyone is worried that too much money has been spent, then you are delusional.

The Premordial family is the richest family after the royal one. When Olivia showed him the treasure house of the family, he was almost blinded by the bright glitter of gold coins.

By the way, the exchange rate of coins:

1 silver – 1000 copper

1 gold – 1000 silver

And Olivia's treasury was completely filled with gold coins. Now do you understand what kind of wealth she has ? This is not counting gold bullion, jewelry and precious stones. Olvivia could have built at least a million such libraries and still be a rich socialite.

Adam will arrive disguised as a librarian. He will live in the library, his living room is located on the top. The library itself was a two-story building. Each floor was filled with bookcases with different literature. Starting from fairy tales and ending with school subjects.

"Welcome to Wartwood, Mr. Librarian. I'm Mayor Toadstool, and this is my assistant Toddy. We are glad to welcome you." – the well-fed toad extended her hand to him, which Adam carefully shook

Mayor Toadstool was quite an interesting shot. According to the information gathered, he is a very cunning toad. He has been in this post for a very long time and he is re-elected every year. And most importantly, he never has any competitors. It is always only his candidacy that is put up for a vote.

He also runs the village carelessly. A lot of buildings are in terrible condition, roads have not been repaired for several years, and the entire budget goes into his pocket, a little bit at a time. The team spends the allocated budget on people, but very, very little. Everything else settles in his pocket.

It's not worth saying anything about Toddy. He is only a faithful accomplice of crimes, who is happy to help the Toadstool.

"And I'm also... very glad. I would like to get to work as soon as possible. "

"Yes, yes, of course. Please follow me, I will give you a tour. "

Why did Toadstool treat him so respectfully ? Everything is simple. In her letter, Olivia indicated that the librarian would be a subordinate of her kind. That is, to be under the direct guidance of Olivia. And it's better not to be rude to such people, you don't want to make such an enemy, do you?

Grebe gave Adam a quick tour of Wartwood. While he was pompously telling how Vartuvud flourished under his leadership, all the residents of this city looked at Adam with great curiosity.

He was still wearing his helmet with a hole in the middle, but his clothes were different. On top of him was a robe, under which was hidden a light armor with iron inserts. In his hand he held a book randomly selected from Olivia's library. The weapon was hidden under the robe, so as not to destroy the image that he is now building.

"And here is your abode. Get to know each other, so to speak, and I'll go. I have a lot to do. " – Grebe quickly said goodbye to Adam and left in the direction of the city hall.

Adam took a key out of his pocket and opened the library doors. The smell of books and dust, which shouldn't be here, immediately hit my nose. He went inside and sat at the counter reading a book, waiting for the guests. The work of a librarian had its advantages, one of which was peace and quiet. No one will bother him for nothing, only when necessary.

Here he could safely wait for the plot to begin. Everyone in their right mind in the village will go to the library? In the village, people are serious and strict. All their efforts are spent on the improvement of the farm, and in their free time they rest. No one will go up the hill in the middle of the working day and read books.

" Hey ! So it was true ! The library is really reopened ! " – more precisely , Adam thought so

Adam looked at unexpected guests because of the book. They were two children, a boy and a girl. The boy was a pinkish shade, wearing a jacket and a hat with glasses. The girl was dressed in a dress and a hat with her orange curls sticking out from under it.

" And who are you ? " – the pink frog came up to Adam

Adam sighed heavily and put the book down. Adam hates a lot of things in his life. Betrayal, Alcohol, Pineapples When they are commanded and much more, and this long list includes children. Children for Adam were something he would like to keep a very long distance from, about 2.5 miles.

"I'm Adam, the head of the library. I am responsible for all these books and for their safety " – he waved his hand pointing to the shelves

"Wow... it's a big responsibility. " – the frog nodded importantly

"I'm Sprig, that Ivy girl. Nice to meet you," Sprig held out his small palm, which Adam quickly shook

"Me too. So, what can I help you with? Ask any questions "

"Ooh, ooh! Why do you have a helmet on your head ? " – Ivy jumped up to them

"Because on me..."

" Are you ugly behind the helmet ? Do you have scars ? Oh ! Your heart is broken ! "

A vein began to appear on Adam's forehead

"No, no and no. There's a curse on me. Anyone who look at my face...."– Adam approached them

" He will die ! " – he sharply knocked on the table, startling the children

"That's why I wear this helmet. "

[ DIN ! DIN ! ] – he tapped it for an example

" You don 't want to die so early , do you ? "

" Mmmm ! " - they quickly shook heads

"That's nice." - He returned to his seat and opened the book

" You can still walk around and choose any book. You can take it home, but you are obligated to return it within a month. If the book is damaged or lost, you will be required to pay damages."

The children quickly went deep into the library. In fact, Adam didn't care about the books, he could burn them himself and not raise an eyebrow. But now, he was trying on the role of a nondescript librarian, so he had to play by the rules.

( I'm sure they'll soon get tired of being here. In their years, Sasha and I climbed abandoned buildings in search of ghosts, or I learned to cook Thai food with Ann. Oh. I remember the look on her mother's face when she saw all the mess we made. )

"Heh. " - He chuckled with nostalgia

(Yeah... it was a wonderful time. I remember the only one with whom I did not find adventures on the ass was Marcy. We mostly hung out at home and played D&D, plotting, playing video games....I think I've relaxed too much.)

His face behind the helmet quickly regained its calm look and he continued to delve into the book. It was an interesting novel, telling about…

"Mr. Librarian, Mr. Librarian! " – he was distracted, again

" Yes ? " - He looked at the children

They were standing near his counter and holding a collection of short stories. It was an average volume, telling about various adventures with a lot of pictures. But what puzzled him was that the children looked sad.

"We found the book we want to take, but..." – Sprig shuffled his foot in embarrassment

" We don 't understand a damn thing ! "

[ BAM ! ]

More confident, Ivy slammed the book down in front of Adam. He raised an eyebrow, put down his book and turned his full attention to them.

" In what way ? "

" We don 't understand anything ! We can 't make out any of these squiggles ! " – she pointed to the title of the book

" You mean the letters ? What 's complicated ? The word you pointed to reads like "A collection of short stories and fairy tales." "

"....I still don't understand! " - Ivy stamped her foot and walked away from them

Sprig looked sadly at his girlfriend, then moved closer and began to speak in a whisper.

"We don't really know how to read. We weren't taught that. Ivy is the daughter of a tea shop owner and I am the grandson of a farmer. They don't want to teach us "unnecessary things"." – he whispered out loud

"... so, and on this, let's go into more detail " – Adam got up and approached them

"You've had a library before, right? "

" Yes ! For more than ten years it stood destroyed, until suddenly half a year ago it began to be rebuilt. " – Spirg nodded

"Good. But why do you need a library... if you can't read?! Adam waved his hands indignantly

"Not everyone here is illiterate. Some residents can read, for example, my grandfather or Ivy's mother. They always read us fairy tales before going to bed. Ivy and Sprig nodded

" But they don 't want to teach you ? Seriously? Oh..."– Adam grabbed his temples and began to mutter to himself

" Of course I knew that I was in the Middle Ages, but to be in such a miserable place? If you continue like this, you can forget about the role of a lazy librarian. "

" What did you say ? "

Adam looked at these two children and sighed inwardly.

(Well, I don't have anything to do here anyway. I think they will make a good new project. At least I'll do something for myself, I'll be here for a couple of months anyway. )

"Follow me." - Adam called them to follow him into the depths of the library

Ivy and Sprig exchanged glances but followed him. After walking a little deeper and to the side, they came out to the tables where people are reading. Adam pointed at them with his hand and the children took a seat at the same table. He walked away for a while and brought a blackboard with him.

"Okay, listen to me carefully. " – Adam took the chalk and began to write on the blackboard

" So you are my first visitors, I will teach you how to write. Is free. "

" Yes ? And what is your interest ? Grandpa always says there is no free bug in the ground. " – Sprig folded his arms on his chest

"I will have a direct interest. From the number of visits, my salary is paid. And how will I get money if visitors can't even read? " – he turned around for a moment and continued to write

"Plus, I don't like to sit around. I love peace and quiet, but not when it surrounds me all the time. So you will help me to liven up this place a little and dilute my boredom. " –he finished writing and put down the chalk

"It sounds pretty depressing. " - Ivy looked at his back

"I'm giving you knowledge, but you keep coming here and advertising this place. And it will benefit you and me an extra copper coin in my pocket. Well, is that settled? " – he turned around and looked at them

The children looked at each other and then began to whisper. Adam rolled his eyes at their game.

( I can see by your eyes that you already agree. Even Ann plays better than you....No, I jumped to conclusions. After all, no one can overtake Bunchui in an awkward acting game. )

" We agree ! " – they held out their hands forward, which Adam immediately shook

"Perfect. Now, let's get those started. " – it is unknown from where he got a pointer in his hand and pointed to the board on which the entire alphabet was written

" Let's start with the basics. With letters. Letters turn into words, words into sentences, those into paragraphs and then into books. Today we will start with the first half of the letters." – Adam pointed to the first letter

"Repeat after me. A, B, C, D…. "

And so Adam's special program on "socialized farming society" began. And while he entertained himself as best he could, time passed unnoticed.

There is a week and a month left before the arrival of the main characters. The clock hands began their turn. The story has begun.