There wasn’t much to speak of regarding the second floor. The most I would end up doing was some light sweeping or dusting, seeing as most of the floor consisted of private rooms. I wouldn’t be allowed in the rooms of the saints, as it was their job to clean their own rooms, although with some light interference from the High Father for those with less-than-cleanly inclinations. Similarly, there was no reason for me to clean an adult’s room, because they were adults. They could take care of themselves.

How much time had passed since the start of the tour? Before long, others would start to wake up throughout the church. My current exhaustion would surely end up multiplied when I started fielding others would most likely have regarding me.

Wait, others would wake up soon?

“Hey. When does Milet usually wake up? I hadn’t considered it before, but I figured we were the first two to wake. Is she a night owl or something?” If I could emote, I bet I’d have a dumb look on my face right now. Did she hear me hanging out with Heira? Or knocking on the front door?

No, none of that was important. All I needed to know was when she’s awake, not what she heard under the assumption she was.

“Ahh, that woman, she doesn’t really have a set sleep schedule. Are you worried she might’ve spied on you as you slept? I guess even you would be interested in knowing if a woman fancies you, hmm?”

“Huh? No, that’s not it, I just—” I cut myself off before I could dig myself further into this weird situation he conjured up in his mind. “Forget it. It was a silly question anyways. I just felt a bit uncomfortable with the thought.”

What the fuck was he even babbling about? How would I respond to that? On second thought, it wasn’t the right decision to ask him in the first place. I can bring it up to Milet after the tour. I could pick out a book or two to read in my spare time while I was at it. I needed to start developing a way for me to sense mana, so it would be good to look into methods listed in different textbooks.

“The thought?” Father Korrinn poked at my final words. Hoping he didn’t glean some unfounded hidden meaning in what I said, I just shrugged my shoulders at him.

“I dunno. I’m just worried over nothing. Despite my calm, I’m still adjusting to this whole thing. I can’t help but be overly concerned.” I gave a half-assed excuse.

“Well, I doubt she cares enough. She isn’t officially a member of the Church of Verus, so I wouldn’t worry about it. Much like you, she’s an outsider. Though obviously not in the same way, as I’m sure you can guess.” I nodded at Father Korrinn’s words.

“With that, I think we can conclude your introduction to the Church of Verus here. I’ll prepare a written guide for you before we set off with instructions on how you should handle cleaning every room in detail, so please be patient. I’ll need to go prepare for the morning prayer and the Saints’ classes, so if you would excuse me.”

“Sure thing. Thanks again, Father. I’ve got what you told me rooted in the brain, and I’ll make sure to pore over your instructions when you hand ‘em to me,” I said, extending my hand to him. We exchanged a handshake before parting ways, him staying on the second floor and me heading back downstairs.

Despite only just parting ways with her, it was time to see Milet again. I couldn’t leave an unknown factor alone.

“Oh! Rain, before we part” — I turned back to face Father Korrinn as he continued — “I noticed a candlestick missing from beside the common room’s couch. Would you happen to know where it went?”

Hmm.

“No clue, sorry. Hope you find it.”

“I see. Those kids, always causing trouble… Sorry for bothering you. Let’s speak again later.”

Sorry, Heira. I’m sure you’ll be able to defend yourself from the Father’s punishment. It’s just fate for a curfew-breaker to get in trouble, if you ask me.

***

Stepping back into the library, I could see Milet was still reading her book. Her hand partially covered the title on the front, but I could make out the words on the spine. In small, cursive text, it read ‘The Late Memoir Of The Charlatan Judge.’ I was impressed they could even fit the entire name on the spine, but it wasn’t a title I was familiar with. I wasn’t the biggest fan of biographies, and didn’t have the time to read much anyways in the past. While the title was rather catching, I put it aside for now, instead turning my gaze to Milet herself.

Her wavy, platinum blonde hair curled in at her shoulders; a stylish bob, gently shaking with every little movement of her head. Her right hand held the book by its bottom while her left hand turned its pages. Her clothes were rather eye-catching, with a jacket, lined with fur at the neck, covering an oversized gray sweater. Her round, ocean-blue eyes were half closed as she kept her attention on the book in her hand. The desk covered the lower half of her body, so I couldn’t make out much else.

“If you’re going to stare, just leave. I’m not interested in guys that look like they’d break their back if they lifted a box wrong,” Milet growled. “Love at first sight is a bit overdone at this point, don’t you think?”

“It’s cool. I don’t think you’d ever have to worry about someone falling in love with you with a personality like that.” So I said, but I’m sure there were men who were into being berated. It wasn’t something I understood, but I respected their taste at least. “There’s a couple of books I’m looking for. Could you point me in the right direction?”

Closing her book, she looked me over before asking, “Can you even read our language? Ah, maybe you can’t read at all?” She snickered as she looked at me. “Well, whatever. What were you looking for?”

“‘Defining The Rock’ and ‘Lotte’s Magical Refinement Scenario.’ What do you think?”

“Follow me. But, you’re interested in learning magic? You just arrived, didn’t you? I’m surprised someone’s already trying to get you to learn after you were just summoned. Seems like they’re gonna make you work hard, huh?”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Well, she wasn’t entirely wrong. Just that the one forcing me to work hard was myself.

Remembering my lack of writing utensils, I decided to bring that up to her. “Would you happen to have any spare notebooks, quills, and ink? I’ll need to take a lot of notes on what I read.”

“None at the moment. The nearby village should be visiting to see the High Father off on his little adventure or whatever, so you can request what you need from them. They usually bring gifts for the church, so there should be no problem taking those for yourself.” Despite the minor confrontation earlier, our conversation had turned amicable quickly. I didn’t like to boast, but it’s easy to tell when you’ve met someone of a similar persuasion to yourself. She was definitely someone with a one-track mind.

Maybe it was because she was the librarian, but the speed with which she took me to what I was looking for was commendable. While there weren’t too many bookshelves, each shelf was completely filled with books. I’m sure being the one to sort everything here helped, but I was certain that she held a lot of respect for books. Enough to pay attention to every detail of their keeping.

“When are you usually working?” Not considering the timing, I blurted out what I wanted to know.

“Oh, so you were trying to pick me up? You know, no one else is brave enough to even try that sort of thing around here. I think it’s the country air making the men around here shy, personally. I—” I raised my hand to interrupt her. While it was fun to make such baseless chatter sometimes, I couldn’t care less right now.

“You’ve got the wrong idea. I don’t sleep often, so I’d like to know what times I can come in to exchange books. I’ll be doing a lot of reading in my personal time. Ah, would it be okay for me to field some questions at you if something confuses me?”

“You know, I only said it as a joke, but you can actually read the books here?”

“I’ve been talking to you the whole time. How is that surprising?”

“Oh. Good point.” Reaching up to a shelf just above her height, she pulled a book down and handed it to me. “This one?”

“Yup, thanks.” Taking the book from her hands, I took a quick look at the cover to check the title. ‘Lotte’s Magical Refinement Scenario’ was a book for learning how to move mana through and outside the body. Due to the simple prose and easy-to-understand explanations, it was one of the most popular starting points for many wannabe mages. it was usually read by people who were just beginning to learn about mana sensitivity, generally around ten years of age. It wasn’t uncommon for late bloomers to also pick it up, but it still wasn’t something you saw too often in person.

Due to being from another world, I was physically incapable of moving mana within my body. In that regard, ‘Lotte’s Magical Refinement Scenario’ would only hold a few relevant passages for me. However, what it covered would be integral to learning to control environmental mana.

“‘Defining The Rock’, right? It should be over on this shelf, give me a second.” As I opened the book to take a quick look within, Milet walked to the next bookcase and pulled another book off its bottom shelf. As she handed it to me, she brushed her bangs out of her face and gave me a weird look. Lips pursed, she said, “I’m not sure how effective these books will be for you, though. I understand ‘Lotte’s Magical Refinement Scenario’, but why ‘Defining The Rock’? It’s more of a theoretical text than anything.”

“I’m just doing what I was told, how should I know?” I’m going to develop a habit of shrugging at this rate. Maybe I shouldn’t be so dismissive, but I wanted to move fast. Dozens of thoughts were swimming in my head when I was alone, each a new addition to my plans for saving the world from the creatures of the abyss. I didn’t want to put too much time into every little detail when there was so much to go through. It was nearly impossible to categorize every little idea I had come up with in the past day.

I felt I had started to get a little ahead of myself, pushing so quickly to start learning magic without setting up an alibi for how I knew about these books, but it couldn’t be helped. With my body in this state, I couldn’t fret over these minute details all the time.

Rather than create an alibi, I decided to bet on the personality of this woman. She didn’t seem like the gossiping type, and even less the type to care about anything that happened outside this library. She was far too serious and secluded for that. Even if I was wrong, I’d handle it when the time came.

“Well, whatever. You were asking when I went to bed? Just to make sure, you’re not asking for some nefarious reason, right?” This again? That’s fine, I guess. Is teasing other people that fun though?

Stupid question. I knew it was.

“I already told you why, I just need an answer please.”

“I’m really not sure why I should tell you, though? You can find out for yourself by just coming in and checking the library. I usually sleep in the back. Oh, I keep the door locked, obviously.” I was a little surprised, but there was no point in questioning it. I myself had strange habits, so how could I judge where she chose to sleep?

It didn’t seem like I’d be able to coax the info out of her, sadly. I’m not entirely surprised, but I had to try at the very least. Crossing this idea out in my brain, I decided to try a different approach: rather than learn when she slept, I can take a stealthy approach and wait for when the attic-dweller left the attic instead.

This was probably a better approach in the first place. My initial idea had been breaking into the attic ‘by accident’ when she left to get food and meeting her while pretending to clean up. I was constantly poking holes in this plan since thinking of it, but I hadn’t come up with a reasonable alternative yet.

Of course, any plan had its flaws. I had to iron them out in the time between then and now. Inevitably, time was the greatest accessory to fabricating knowledge where none previously existed. While I considered myself to have little time, the fact of the matter was that I was still at the starting point. Rushing ahead at full speed would get me nowhere.

Slow steps. Step slowly. I’ll drive it into my mind like a stake. Mistakes at the very start would be the most costly, after all.

“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, didn’t mean to come off as weird. If I need anything I’ll check in, thanks.” I gave an apology, empty as it may have seemed.

“It’s whatever. I’ll just kick your ass if you do end up being some sort of freak, after all. But, since Korrinn and Teres are putting some level of trust in you, I’ll just assume you were serious about wanting to come in for help whenever you needed it. Is your sleep schedule really that bad, though?” Hands crossed, she questioned me as we walked back to the counter. I placed the books I was carrying on the counter and opened up the notebook for sign-outs.

“Yeah. I don’t sleep much in the first place, so I’ll be spending a lot of time studying. Don’t be surprised if I try coming in at three in the morning with a question.” I let out a chuckle as I signed my name in the notebook. Closing it, I picked up the two books and walked to the door.

“I’d prefer if you don’t do that. I stop working around midnight, so just keep it before then and I’ll accept any questions you’ve got. So long as they’re reasonable, of course.”

“Hmm? So wait, you work from this early in the morning until midnight?” Was that even legal? Did R’am even have labor laws? As my concern started to grow, she shook her head.

“Of course not. I’m not technically on the clock until four in the afternoon, when the kids finish their studies, but I don’t see any reason not to help you out right now. Just don’t make it a habit, okay? Just because I spend all my time in the library doesn’t suddenly mean I want to be checking in and checking out books all the time. I need time to myself like anyone else.” She replied as I began walking towards the door. I looked back to her and gave a brief bow before I stepped out, closing the door behind me.

I nodded. Unexpectedly, I had received the information I needed. Midnight would mean that not only was she not awake when I was downstairs last night, but it also gave me a starting time for when I could start setting up my encounter with the woman in the attic.

How much longer would it be? Half a week, maybe? If I worked hard, it might even be possible on the night the High Father’s entourage leaves. Though, that might seem like too much of a coincidence to simply push off as one.

Even so, I was ready. I could see our meeting in my mind.

Narune. Victim of my first failure. I hope I don’t mess this up. Be meticulous. Be calculating. Don’t let anything get in the way.

I repeated those words in my head as I headed to my bedroom.