I left the Apothecary unsure of where to go next. I was still feeling a little queasy from both the ice cream and the supposed ‘antidote,’ and it was barely even afternoon. I didn’t feel up to any sporty activities yet — I hadn’t even before arriving. No, today was supposed to be a day of rest and recovery.

I kind of hated it.

Oh, the town was wonderful. At the very least, my impression of it so far left little more to be desired. It was — it was pretty much everything I had envisioned, that I had wanted — better, even.

But perhaps I was mistaken in understanding what I wanted.

The recent recession hadn’t just affected this town. It hit just when I graduated, and I found myself with fewer options than I was implicitly promised. My graduation was supposed to usher in a fresh start, a transition out of my old ways.

And yet, little changed. Only now, I had some fancy new tools to play around with.

But that was then. Now? Now I could afford to open my own practice, or return to the academy for extended education. Hell, I didn’t even need to do either of those things. I could settle down and retire right now.

In this very town, even.

But I never stopped to even consider the possibility. I kept dreaming bigger and bigger. I kept putting my chips back into play, hoping for a bigger and bigger payout.

But I don’t think I was being greedy. I just liked the game.

So why did I come here?

I realized I had been staring into the bottom of the central fountain for several minutes now, lost in my own introspection. On a whim, I pulled out the coins I had gotten from William as change. Some of them escaped my grasp and rolled off over the cobblestones. I didn’t bother to stoop down and pick them up.

Shaking the remainder in my fist like a pair of dice, I concentrated on the fountain below me. Come on. Give me a winning roll.

The coins scattered across the surface of the water, sinking to the bottom while a few tiny bubbles rose up in return. I… didn’t know what to wish for. Of course, the whole thing was rather childish and melancholic. Magic didn’t work that way.

But it still left me feeling oddly empty. Maybe I should become a poet or something. Put all that dramatic bullshit to good use.

Picking up my briefcase from where I had set it down beside the fountain’s rim, I turned away and headed back the way I had entered the square. The library didn’t sound too bad. A good book might be able to take me out of this funk, and then I could get back to enjoying everything the town had to offer.

Would they let me take books out of the building? In my experience, it was fifty fifty whether they would. The bakery I passed on the way in looked cozy, and it would probably be relaxing — and comforting — to read there.

I made my way back to the library without incident — well, not entirely. The salesman Maurice — if that was even his real name — had attempted to rope me into a conversation, but I simply ignored him.

Perhaps I would give him a little tease at some point. Those types could be fun to string along, but only when I was in the right mood.

The doors to the library weren’t just massive — they were fucking heavy. I had to really put my whole core into opening them, and even then I mostly just gradually built up some momentum. It felt like I was trying to paddle a boat through a vat of honey. As soon as I could slip through, I did, letting them slowly ooze closed behind me.

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The interior was even more impressive than I had expected from the sheer size of the building. The main lobby was artfully arranged with desks, tables, and lounge chairs, and they had actual god damned floating hanging walkways crisscrossing above.

Early afternoon light streamed in from the enormous circular arrangement of window panes at the front, and from the rim of the dome arcing overhead.

They had a lot of books, too.

I knew that I was gaping, but I allowed myself the indulgence as I slowly ambled over to the front desk where a pretty brunette with a classy, elegant updo was marking down entries in some kind of ledger.

Carla, her name plate read.

Once I was within two paces of the desk, she paused and looked up. “Anything I can help you with?”

Her voice was thin and reedy, but not in an annoying or off putting way. It just kind of — resonated in a particularly crisp and buzzy way.

“Most likely,” I said while leaning one arm against the edge of the counter. “Do you have an adventure section? Or romance?” I tilted my head while lightly drumming my fingers on the desk. “Or perhaps, adventure romance?”

She set down her fountain pen and steepled her fingers. “You won’t find that combination as a distinct section, but I can recommend you individual titles.” She frowned. “Actually, that would take quite a while…”

Maybe I could help her out a little in that case. “How about a good, competent female lead — preferably she’s the one who does the adventuring — and please, let the love interest be neither a loser nor an asshole nor —”

“I think I’ll go ahead and stop you now while what you’re requesting still exists,” she interrupted me. She uncapped her pen to scribble on a little pad of paper, then tore off the top piece and handed it to me. “See that aisle between the two columns?” I nodded. “Should be on the middle shelf, near the end.”

“Thanks.”

Slip of paper in hand, I made my way to the aisle in question, casually skimming the titles as I did so. Seems they had quite the collection here. Actually, I should ask about that at some point. A lot of places here seemed oddly grand for the total size of the town.

And a-ha! There it was. Slipping the book off the shelf, I inspected the cover. It was a roughly medium sized book — probably a bit thicker than average, with fairly standard dimensions. It was also quite well worn.

I didn’t bother to read the synopsis yet. Flipping it open, I scanned the first page.

I was going to fucking kill him to death.

It was rather unfortunate then that the crown prince had gotten himself lost in a goddamned haunted swamp, because it meant that I had to wade through the muck and the mud and all the nasty things just so that I could get to him in time.

Because there were all kinds of terrible things in a swamp that could kill a hapless prince, and by god I was going to be furious if one of them managed to get him before I could drown him myself.

I didn’t realize that I had remained standing in the middle aisle like a complete fool until I got to page one hundred and thirty and my feet started to really hurt. At that point, I made my way over to one of the cushy lounge chairs to give my legs some relief — though I never took my eyes fully off the page.

By page three hundred, I really needed to use the restroom, but I suspected that Carla would frown on me taking a book with me…

So I decided I would simply suffer through it.

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It was nearly five o’clock when I finally finished. Returning the book to the very same spot on the shelf, I barely managed a nod and a fatigued smile to Carla as I stumbled towards the door.

It took me several tries to open the colossal doors in my weakened, somewhat manic state, and the outside air and late afternoon sunlight made me feel as if I were being reborn.

I was now a changed man.

In any case, I was now hankering for a real meal — something with substance, if not exactly nutrition. Something hearty, that would help me recover from the demonic fever which had so strongly possessed me.

Perhaps they could give me some recommendations over at the inn.

I started to walk off, had a brief moment of panic where I thought I had left my briefcase behind, and then felt like a complete imbecile upon realizing that it was still in my hand. I must have picked it back up without consciously thinking about it.

As I headed back in the direction of the station, past the sporting goods rental and the bakery I had seen on my way in, my mind ran back over the enrapturing events I had just experienced vicariously through the narration of the delightfully prickly heroine.

My god, if stealing cats were even a hundredth as thrilling…

It made me want to have my own adventure in a haunted swamp.