Library

"It is a mail from the main office of the Investigation Bureau. I was given the task of sending it to you ASAP."

Gerty's eyes widened, and he immediately opened the paper. And as he read all the content, he couldn't help but be silent for a moment as he digested the surprising content of it.

"What is it, uncle?"

Gerty slowly looked at Rose and shared the news he had got.

"The monsters that attacked you were orchestrated by someone. And seeing that they were coincidentally formed into a group, someone must have controlled them."

The topic was dragged to the front, which made Kaian stop his walk in an instant and listen to their conversation. The nobles didn't mind it either, giving him the luxury to eavesdrop on the topic.

"The number of population and class of monsters appearing in the forest were suspicious. And as they found traces of monster-taming magic, it is safe to assume that the monsters were being controlled.

...

Kaian went into an inn and used the money that the remains of his previous village had left. He wanted to live normally when he made a plan in his head of how he would be living in the city.

'First of all, I don't have enough money. I think that this money is just enough for a week, so I should start finding a job that suits me well.... But first, I must visit the local library to get some common information. Other things can be learned naturally, but I should not appear to be too naive in the eyes of those around me.'

Kaian left his inn room and went to the local library. The library contained plenty of books and shelves. And as he passed through one shelf, he started browsing the next shelves he passed.

At first, he was mesmerized that he wasn't able to move normally around. The enthusiasm of being a book reader inside of him roared loudly, but after controlling it, he was able to read normally and get what he needed.

He discovered that he could easily find a book by asking a librarian who was near the doors of the library. Furthermore, he also discovered that every book in the library was published by the kingdom for academic and educational purposes. And even though he was having a hard time blending with the people inside because of their quietness, which he wasn't used to and comfortable with because of the questions in his head, he gave it a slow go and made an effort to answer the questions by himself.

Although he was not familiar with the concepts in the library, more or less, the library, he seemed to be a normal scholar browsing the library. He was also fast at reading, which made him look more like an academic student at some institute.

After a few hours, he stood up from his seat and walked toward the shelves to return the fifth and final book of the day. He diligently learned the categories of each shelf, and as he put them one by one with effort, a young lady approached him.

"You know, you don't have to do that."

Wearing a cream-colored simple dress with a white belted sweater on top, fair skin, and also lengthy hair reaching her buttocks, Kaian's eyes fell on this lady that spoke beside him.

"What?"

"You don't have to do that."

Kaian didn't answer immediately and turned his gaze back to the shelves. He then slowly put back the books, fitting them in a gap, and then faced the lady as she just scoffed at it.

"I already told you that you don't have to do that."

"You mean by that? Ah... I just wanted to return the books since I was the one who took them."

"There are servants around. They can do the job."

"But it doesn't harm anyone if I do it, right?"

The young lady smiled as she was suddenly paused by his response. As if it was her first time being answered like that, she followed Kaian around the library as he returned the books to their respective places. Kaian simply ignored her and continued with his job.

"You are weird."

"..."

"You know, people who read in libraries are only academic students. Are you from an institute? Perhaps Magic Tower?"

Kaian's eyes didn't budge, but his mind had already moved and reacted to what the young lady had just mentioned.

'Magic Tower...? I read it earlier... It is an institute for magicians and also philosophers or scholars to further widen the present knowledge of knowledge. Their influence in the kingdom is the equivalent of a ducal family, but only the elders and executives have that privilege. Normal students and magicians are just the same as others.'

"No, I am not."

"Then why are you here?"

'Do I have to answer her? If I don't answer her, am I becoming disrespectful again? I am still preoccupied with what I read and I want to digest it completely. But if I ignore this lady, then I will be disrespecting her and I don't know who she is. Her identity might bring problems for me, and I can't handle social problems right now. I am still naive.'

Kaian had no other choice but to answer the young lady who had been pestering him for the past few seconds. As there was no harm in socializing, when he finished putting the books away, he addressed the young lady in a humble tone, saying, "I am simply here to learn. How about you? Why are you here? Ah! Sorry for the late introduction. I am Kaian. And you are...?"

The young lady took a moment before looking at Kaian's right hand.

'I was the initiator of the conversation. Why is he introducing himself first? Is he perhaps interested in me? No... that's impossible. He was rude earlier, but now suddenly he has a sweet tone. Did he perhaps take a liking to me? What the hell?! I was the first one to speak with him in the library because I didn't want any other people to have an eye on what I liked. He is cute, and his body is quite slender compared to those skinny nobles that kept pestering our family.'