In front of a large bookshelf, someone's hands are placing a book in its place while saying.
"Your friends?"
"Yeah, my friends"
After placing another book, he turned to another person he was talking to. Luxurious fabric swayed on each step he made; it seemed magnificent and made his appearance more charismatic.
He walked in a glorious aura, his eyes seeming full of wisdom. After each second passed, he was now in front of Kagayama with a book in his hand, before saying.
"I have not heard of a person charged because of witchery except you for over a decade."
"I see...Thanks for the information, Mr. Henry." He bowed his hand to give Henry a respectful gesture.
Kagayama prepared to turn over and walk away from the library, but he just took a few steps until Henry stopped him with his words.
"Merianth said you need a lot of money for this week, is that right?"
The word caught Kagayama's attention, made him stop in place, turn his body, and look at Henry with hope in his eyes. He has been thinking about this problem since he came back from the slave market, "it feels so hard, how can I collect all that money in one week?" he said in his mind. But now a spark of hope might have come from the person in front of him.
He nodded quickly while listening to Henry carefully, wanting to hear his next sentence.
"I need a new servant for this mansion, and I will pay him 9 Gulden and 50 Fevein a week."
It is still far away from his goal, yet Kagayama realizes how much it is and this advantage might be the only way. He seemed frustrated for a second as his mind was thinking about how to get some extra money to cover the remainder, especially if becoming a servant required full-time work starting from the morning until the morning again. He doesn't have extra time to search for other money if that was the rule, so he took a step ahead and said.
"How much time will this job take in one day?"
"You just need to work from morning until after lunch."
"Okay, I'll take it." Kagayama takes it without thinking twice. It's easy for him since he did the night shift in his previous job, and this morning till afternoon job is just like a small problem for him.
"Good, see you in the kitchen tomorrow morning for your work."
He nodded slowly as Henry said that and left the library while carrying several books in his hands.
Now he can take a deep breath and rest his body in the nearby chair, looking at the bookshelf while murmuring.
"It was easier than I thought. Maybe I should say thank you to Merianth because of this."
Dim light from the candle nearby became the only light that helped his vision. At some point, Kagayama was scared that the fire from it could burn the entire library, but after seeing it placed far away inside a glass cover, he felt safe.
Then he grabbed a book from the table near him and watched it closely. The cover doesn't have any words on it, just blank in one colour with a metal frame on the edge. He flipped the book several times, and was about to open it before a loud collapsing voice of the book was heard in his ears.
"Ouchh…"
A sound of a girl was also heard not long after that, making Kagayama throw the book on his hands and rush in the direction of the sound coming from. He passed the narrow place, turned to another direction two times, and finally he found it.
A young girl was slumped down on the floor, her face in pain, her hands rubbing her head gently. Her skin is white, her face seems familiar, and she has brown hair like someone he has met before. Kagayama stepped closer and could see her brown marble eyes that looked like the huge brown planet at night.
As his steps became louder and louder, the girl turned her gaze towards Kagayama with the same expression as him. They both feel familiar with each other but couldn't understand where they met before. The girl watching him carefully tried to remember his face, collecting shard by shard memories from her mind.
A hand has reached out, leaving no choice for the girl except to take it and raise her body.
Kagayama, watching her closely, tried to remember her as well, but his mouth slipped to its priority.
"Are you okay?"
The girl smiled at him, her face emitting a cuteness like the elf girl he had met before.
"I'm okay, thank you."
Her cheeks turned slightly red as she spoke.
He smiled back at her, his face relieved, as not even a scratch on her skin.
The girl turned her gaze, pointing her finger at a book in a high place with hopeful eyes, and said.
"Can you get the book for me?"
"Ahh, sure"
He got the book she wanted, gave it to her with a smile.
"Here"
"Ahh, thank you, sir…umm, if you don't mind, can you teach me mathematics from this book. I have an exam next week, so I must learn seriously." She said with wide eyes, like a kid who wanted a candy inside a glass.
Kagayama wanted to rest in his room, and he was never good at math. But the hopeful look in her eyes left him with no choice but to accept her request.
"Okay, maybe I could help you with simple math."
She nodded and gave the book to Kagayama. He took it, opened it, and suddenly a spark of realization punched his mind, leaving him stunned for a while.
His hands trembled slightly while his eyes widened in surprise. He watched each sentence in disbelief, not because of its meaning, but because he could not understand it. It was written with a strange symbol, strange enough to make his head throb.
He thought to himself, "What kind of alphabet is it?" while looking at the girl and the book several times. He had just one choice: admit his lack of knowledge to the girl and prepare to be laughed at by her. Or he could pretend to have an unpredictable task and leave her.
The second choice seems promising, but he cannot bear the girl's disappointment; it might hurt her feelings and make Kagayama seem like a bad person. His mind conflicted, he wanted to leave her, but some part of him didn't want it.
After thinking carefully, he took a deep breath and put the book away from his face before saying.
"I'm not able to read or write." His voice faded into a whisper.
He gave a bitter smile while switching his gaze to another direction, avoiding hers. Kagayama feels embarrassed, but his mind is ready for laughed at by her.
Eventually, the girl just watched him in silence while smiling before saying.
"I can help you with that."
"Really?" His words slipped because of excitement, and relief that she is not mocking him because of his illiteracy.
She nodded while closing her eyes, and her face remained happy.
"I will help you with the basics and we can learned together after it, because…"
Her face turned red as a shy expression was written on it.
"I'm not very fluent in reading either."
He let a relieved smile slip on his face before stroking her head gently. She seemed to enjoy it before she turned her body and reached for a book. With the book in her arms she walked towards Kagayama and showed it while saying.
"We can start with this one."
The book is colored green with a small title in the center, it seems like another book at this library, yet just a little bit different. It has a papery aroma and evokes nostalgic feelings among them. As she pulls back the book and opens it, dust flies over like a mosquito in the rainy season, almost making Kagayama sniff.
"Shall we begin?" Said the girl enthusiastically.
He smiled at her before sitting down on the floor while the girl moved closer to teach him. They studied for over 2 hours straight before they must have ended it because Kagayama's head was overloaded. But before they left each other, they promised to continue the study tomorrow at the same time like today.
Now his head feels heavy, tired, and cloudy, making him walk like a person with a fever. He held his head while trying to reach his room until suddenly someone seemed to make a step closer from behind him. Kagayama turned his gaze and saw her coming.