It is only the power of statistics and graphs that makes this that much more horrifying than it is. The numbers of high-rank walkers are quite stable in the past decade, so that is a piece of good news. As for the lower Walkers? Not so much good is there for them, since the first steps are always the most dangerous and weak.
William has yet to understand that, and that would wait for him in the future.
At the moment, he has an overload of topics to learn in this new world that will be new for him. Increasing his common sense so he won't appear like a complete amateur is one of his goals too. That is at least his plan for the short-term future.
What about the far... like 6 weeks from now? Could he even imagine what sort of organization would he be able to choose? Academy? Federation? Any of the 6 military divisions? The similar power as the Federation in another part of the Earth? He would not be able to decide if someone asks him right now.
To his unsurprising knowledge, there are already people plotting his recruitment. A rather greedy lot with not a whole lot of shame left.
Though, they are quite powerful, to be fair. And power is a source of a lack of rules. One would be able to follow through with their wishes without seeing any repercussions.
William accepts the reality that Luke tells him about, and figures there is no time to be left. “I will figure something out... Time to go to the library. I will be sporadic with my purchases in the future.”
“I will at least make sure your meals are good in the morning or evening,” Mi-Yung assures him since her working hours are much more relaxed than Luke's. She is sooner home unless some issue or mission is not forced upon her by the higher-up. That or the Assembly members will find some issue, or if no one is stepping up to be a volunteer for some bothersome task.
“Thank you for that,” William says at last and gets up to ready himself for another learning day. In hope, or to be precise, a much less strained day, since Mi-Yung won't be here.
That means no troubles.
With a refilled bamboo bottle, knitted shoes, and a few more credits in his pocket, William goes out to the wild destination, which is the Grand Library of the Federation.
In the kitchen, the pair of lovers are waiting in silence for nothing.
Luke's voice is the one that breaks this silence. “Is what you told me yesterday true?” he asks.
“Some people are already looking to recruit him. I want him to retain some freedom. With no need to be forced into undesirable situations. All things considered, of course...”
“ Are we talking about using the connections to his benefits? I don't think that will end up well for him... If Kaufman is involved... and even he is hesitant. I can't imagine this to be anything good. You better watch out for William from time to time, or you will regret not doing so.” Luke says to her in a reassuring tone.
“That... That... doesn't help at all!” Mi-Yung quenches her hand on the table while trying to figure out something that Victor would do in her stead. He would... she doesn't know what.
“I think this is enough for his current life. Mi-Yung, those are enough.”
Releasing her fists, instead of worrying, she grabs the collar of Luke's jacket and lifts him closer. She kisses him on the cheeks and lips alike while saying goodbye for a new day.
“Good luck, soldier boy.” she glances around the closing door with a smile, while Luke is getting ready to move out as well.
Such are the places of the Walkers and the worries that come with love.
Outside of the West district, and soon enough, the Central one, William, after a jog, enters the library. What greets him is Ellie's warm smile, which makes his day a bit better. Unlike the harsh words of his so-called caretakers.
“What are you up to? I wish I could at least help you out somehow?” she smiles while expecting a good answer.
William chuckles as he sees the pleading expression of Ellie, who would rather lecture someone than greet people here.
He could understand her worries a little, but what he would do? He fears Burton's anger toward her, so he waves back at her as he makes a tactical retreat toward the upper floors.
“I am not doing this all the time, Will. I swear I will find you for this!” she pouts in displease while shouting far towards William.
Though, the smile afterward leaves no anger on her face. She knows her shifts will change to a regular schedule for the upper sections. Be it on the 2nd floor, or the rest of them apart from the 6th one. For that one, there are special requirements for library personnel. They have to follow through some protocols or whatnot in order to help a Walker with finding specific information. William doesn't need such personnel, as he learns they are pricy.
To Ellie, it almost resembles a waitress position in a restaurant. Although here, she serves knowledge and helps people find mindful satisfaction. Unlike the food, that serves more basic needs.
Sighing to herself, she couldn't get more excited about helping William. Reason? She knows her heart, but waiting a little bit would work too. Who knows how will William change upon being in the Federation for a longer time?
“No. No. Ellie! He is simpleton, but I like him. No need to be polite about yourself!” She pats her cheek while lowering her expectations of the short-term times, in order to wait it out.
On the 2nd floor, William is here once again to make due work and for his lack of Academical knowledge. He knows what to do since he has already done this a few times in his mind. He has a mental list of books from Mi-Yung and a few more from Ellie to take care of. 6 weeks to get a hold of himself, is not a small amount, so a bit of work would not hurt at all.
“Alright, Let's do this” he slaps his cheeks and goes through the motion of fierce and focused battle.
Winner or not, he will at least ends up smarter. That is his view of grabbing an economic book.
Time tickles by, with many days where William doesn't hold himself back for fear of missing out. On this day, it has been 10 days since coming to this library. During this period, Mi-Yung nor Luke made many comments or interactions with him. They all seem busy with their work.
That leaves much to William's satisfaction because he doesn't want to end up working all the goddamned time. He already did so for the past 10 years as a kid. Unfortunate as it is, he is used to doing so, but he hopes for a change. Whatever that one is.
At the moment of his 10-day streak, he is on the 3rd floor of the Cultural sector. There is quite a big sofa to lie down on the back of the floor that he hadn't discovered before. There are even rooms with TVs and seating for lectures. Many sofas like the one he is currently using are scattered around to make a comfortable place to read.
It is already his 3rd time here, and he considers this as a passing time to restart his brain. Reading fictional stories from the Library proves to be very nice for his brain.
In truth, he starts to like this way too much to his liking. Those books and stories written on the old pages or copied ones are mind-boggling. Especially the one about that Ring or how he called it for the first time.
A fantasy world of utmost glory and imagination. A tale of legends and written so well, that it sucks William into this world. It told the tale of a fellowship of a ring, in a try to stop the Dark lord from rising and lifting the earth upside down. He is already halfway through the 2nd book, and he couldn't escape his eyes away at all.
William makes a certain rule for these 6 weeks. As he becomes more familiar with the floors, he includes scheduled times for things on a daily basis.
Wake up at least at 8 AM. Getting to the Library before 9 AM. Spending 2 hours on each floor with rereading, arranging information, or reading new books. That is the gist of it. Nothing too fancy, or surprising. It is a thing that anyone would do when coming to the library.
The only difference is the 3rd floor, where he spends his time how he sees fit. Usually whenever he feels overwhelmed by the number of things in the Historical section or the complexity of the rest of them. The 6th one, in particular, is very... special for his needs, so he has no break from digging deeper into the world of Walkers, and Dark beings.
As for this sofa, this is his relaxing time on the 3rd floor. A place to calm his mind for a couple of hours. or until the night is far in the sky.
It feels kind of good for him since he has no obligation for now. There has been no Kaufman or Burton to bother him about anything.
Since the Mi-Yung incident, he has never seen Kaufman even once.
Though, it is not lonely per se, as there is something poking out of the view of William's book.
Shoving his book down, there is a bright smile of a girl that is not bothering him one bit. Quite the opposite actually, since he finds it quite pleasing to be around her.
Still, much to Ellie's dissatisfaction, he has yet to figure out any of her hints. From time to time, it completely hit her and hurts her self-confidence. What if she is not pretty enough? Is she bothersome? What about her clothes? Hair, and so on?
She has no idea about the policies for finding a boyfriend since she never had one before. It was her dream to work out in the Federation's Library, so she has no breaks when it comes to this work. Right after a few months of a salaried position, she meets someone intriguing enough.
It could not escape her mind even when she tries it.
“What is it, Ellie?” William lowers his book to his chest as he leans on the sofa.
“How long do you think you have been here?” she says while leaning forward to reach his face closer.
“Exactly 5 hours,” he answers without a speck of shame while pointing to his left wrist where is a small token of friendship. A watch to tell the time.
“At least you wear it. I took quite a bit of work to force you to buy it.” She adds with crossed arms and a look at her gift to him.
It has been a few days since her shift changed. No one so far bothered her about spending more time than necessary with William.
In fact, she is doing her work with this too. William is a visitor of the Library, while she is to attend to such guests. After all, Ellie is still giving him some feedback and lectures from time to time. Even her promise from 2 weeks ago still stands and her trying to show him the Federation is a good excuse for a date. At least... according to her logic.
3 days ago, she forced him on a "date". Asserting the dominant role by her standard is not right, but at this point, she gave up on the expectation of William to do anything for her.
It was always book and that. Lecture this or whatnot. She feels good about herself, and William's attitude makes her much more relaxed than she would admit. It feels like being in the presence of a friend that she never had... or perhaps... a parental love? She is unsure.
“I know. I know. For 4 credits, it is sure a nice thing to have.” William answers the obvious mockery of Ellie, who has the basic long dress of her casual choice. With strides around her shoulders, it goes all the way below her knees.
It is already night, and her shift ends around this time. She is dressed to go home already.
“What do you want? Aren't you usually going home after a long shift?” William asks, not knowing what her, seeking him out means. It has been like 3 days in a row that she sought him out like this.
“Why so many questions? Can I not spend my time however I want after work?”
“Sure you can. Why at work, though?” William asks with a dubious amount of clues... or lack of them.
“You... I am going home if you don't want my accompaniment.” she pouts and storms out of the 3rd floor.
William looks at her swirling dress that looks especially striking, unlike the uniform he is so used to seeing on her. This is a doubtful look of someone who is clueless... in any of the dealings when it comes to girls. Even if he likes her company, what else is there? He doesn't know.
“What was her problem?” he thinks, before returning to his reading.