"You want to look for a job? Why so sudden?"
Auri shifted comfortably on the bed to face Maryam properly. "Well, my wounds are already healed. I can't stay holed up in your sister's clinic when I'm no longer a patient, can I? I think I've intruded enough."
"I think it is admirable that you are already thinking of work now that you have recovered. But as I see it, you still haven't regained your strength fully." Maryam gave him an empathetic smile. "You don't need to rush, Auri. We are not kicking you out."
"Even so, I feel like I'm already indebted to a lot of people in just a span of two days. To Darius, to you and your family, and now, even to Captain Kaleo. I need to do something so I can repay you all somehow."
"You don't need to repay us. We helped you, not only because it was his request, but because it's the right thing to do. So don't worry about it."
Auri exhaled, unable to argue back, but he's not about to give up yet. "Then please let me know if there's anything I can do."
"Auri—"
"Just think of it as another way of helping me. I appreciate everything you've done, but I also need to stand on my own feet. I need to earn my own money so I can find a place to settle and buy my own needs."
Maryam paused what she was doing so she could look at him, her eyes soft with consideration. She was silent for a moment until she sighed and finally yielded. "Well, what skills do you have? I need to know what you can do so I can help you find a job suitable for your talents."
Auri wanted to say with pride that he could shape mountains, create rivers, design buildings, or even construct a new world, because that's exactly what he does as a game developer. But Maryam might think he's crazy and delusional, so answered with the talent that the system had given him.
"I can repair books?" Auri said, sounding uncertain himself. "I mean, I can mend torn pages or remove stains from it. I can also fix damaged leather covers or strengthen their bindings. I guess I can also restore the ink if I have a reference? Anything about repairing books, I can do it, probably."
"I-I see." Maryam pressed her lips together, her expression a mix of hesitation and apology. "Auri, I'm going to be honest with you but..."
Auri already knew it was bad news. The way she tapped her fingers against each other, it was probably her mind thinking of a way to tell him the truth without hurting his feelings. Despite that, he still held his breath as if he's waiting for the announcement of a game contest, hoping it was just her way of building suspense.
"I don't think there will be people who need such services here."
"Oh." Auri blinked. "Really? You mean, there are no books here?"
"I wouldn't say there are none. But you see, Ruhad Fortress is just a small village on the desert border. It is home to the guards stationed here and a temporary resting place for travelers and merchants. You will rarely see people carrying books here. They are heavy, after all."
Auri nodded, remembering the codex Bastian was carrying with him. That was the first book he had seen in this world, excluding his own codex repository, so he had assumed it was just something divine healers would carry. Assuming the books here were normally as large as a stone tablet, then it would make sense that no one would bring them around unless necessary.
"Are you okay?" Maryam asked. "You've suddenly gone silent."
"Oh, I'm fine. I was just thinking."
"I didn't mean to dampen your spirit. But I didn't want to give you false hope."
"It's fine," Auri said, grinning. "I just didn't expect it, but that doesn't mean I'm giving up. I'm sure I can think of something else."
"I like your determination." Maryam returned the smile, but her brows suddenly furrowed, as if she just remembered something. "Actually, there is something... My sister should have kept it somewhere here."
Auri watched Maryam rummaged through the cabinet, moving from one shelf to another, until she pulled what looked like an aged, worn tome. He forced himself to sit and reclined against the wall as she turned to him with the large book in hand.
"This is my late mother's," Maryam explained, showing him its leather bound cover. "It's filled with notes about medicine. My sister and I read this a lot when we were younger, but when it the pages started falling apart, we've decided to just keep it away so the damage won't continue to get worse."
"You've never thought of fixing it?"
"We did, but didn't know how. We're afraid we will cause more damage if we try to fix it."
"May I see?" Auri took the tome from Maryam and flinched at the weight pressing down on his weakened arms. "Damn, this is heavy."
Maryam laughed. "It is."
Auri traced the intricate pattern on the tome's worn leather cover, its texture rough and was already peeling. When he opened it, his nose immediately picked up the unmistakable moldy scent of paper on the verge of decay. The yellowed pages had faint water marks staining its brittle edges, as if someone had accidentally poured liquid on it.
"Do you think you can fix it?" Maryam asked.
Before Auri could answer, a system notification popped up.
[Quest Unlocked: A Healer's Legacy]
[Book Grade: Uncommon]
[Task: Restore the decaying book of Ruhad Fortress' previous healer.]
[Rewards: 10 Gold, A Healer's Legacy copy, Skill EXP, Maryam's trust]
[Failure Penalty: ???]
Auri stared at the floating parchment with wide eyes. He turned to Maryam, who gave him a confused stare, then back to the tome in his hands.
"I-If you can't do it, then—"
"No, I'll do it," Auri said. "I'll fix your mother's book."