A bored bookmancer rested her head on a hand while observing a former homunculus and possibly blessed treefolk clean the tables. Anne had been doing it for over an hour without any gains if not by learning Spring cleaning habits. She still couldn’t put her head around how the being ‘transformed’. Although she knew all the steps involved, the matter was far from comprehensible.

Once she figured out the route, she would write a book on it and her craft would probably improve gifting her another couple of pages. The homunculus design was a good start for the investigation; woodmancy and a spring summon bound to a soul tree. Though the combination had been one of her proudest works, it didn’t explain such an outcome. Now that she looked back, the first transformation had already been unusual.

Still, only the ‘blessing’ of life could truly account for ‘treefolking’ her servant. The three unknown symbols from the scroll should be the key to solving the mystery. Her craft had allowed her to ‘sense’ their general effect, but the specifics remained unknown. The memory was still fresh on her mind, but she couldn’t draw them, that would require understanding and mastery.

“Hey, Spring... Are you treefolk?” Anne asked playfully. The answer was unimportant, not that Spring would capable of giving one.

“Tree…folk?” The former homunculus blew. ‘She’, as Spring decided to be addressed, was learning how to speak, or the equivalent of using wind magic to emulate voice. Anne had tried to find records of how treefolk communicated, but the literature on them was terribly scarce.

“Yes. I think you’re treefolk, at least you look like them.” The bookmancer explained.

“Spring… Treefolk.” She said contemplatively while doing something akin to a smile.

Anne decided to leave the matter for later, she could hear some customers coming. She thanked Spring for cleaning the tables and asked her to go inside. The voices became louder, and then a group of five entered the bookstore. After bathing and sleeping, the golden trio and Rick looked much better. However, someone else quickly dragged the storeowner’s attention out of her customers; a tall and beautiful silver-haired elf lady.

The resemblance with the other silver-haired customer was undeniable. ‘A daughter’, Anne thought before inviting them for tea. The lack of adornments was an obvious distinction between the two, but the seemingly simple yet sophisticated light-green tunic matched her expectations. Another piece of the puzzle of Mrs. Ailen’s story had appeared. However, when she noticed those deep and dark green eyes, Anne faltered. What a strong gift the girl had.

The tea was served and the customers sat happily. They exchanged some greetings and an introduction before Asha couldn’t restrain herself any longer.

“Miss Anne, who left the room before we came in? I felt…” The elf asked politely but found it difficult to explain her reasons for asking.

“Oh, I see… It’s not surprising that you can feel Spring. The strength of your natural anthomancy is remarkable. I can introduce her if you want to.” The bookmancer commented.

Instead of feeling flattered, the elf felt a sting of disappointment. She had come here looking for a new path, but even the storeowner was biased toward her natural power. The frustration didn’t pass unnoticed by Anne. She could guess that Asha had a problem with her anthomancy, but the reason was still unclear. Thankfully, Iris barged in with her usual nosiness.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“She is our candidate for beastmancy training! Her soul is much stronger than ours and she’s definitely headstrong.” Iris explained without minding her words. She was no longer bothered by having a weaker soul, after all, it didn’t mean that she was weaker. Hakon was proof of that, she could kick his hide without breaking a sweat any day.

“Oh, I see… And would you like to learn beastmancy, Miss Asha?” Anne asked. The elf’s motives were now clear, she was being pressured to follow her ‘natural’ path.

Again, Asha became surprised by the storeowner’s words, but in a good way.

“I’d love to.” She could barely contain the excitement, but then she still had to face an obvious obstacle.

“But, how about my gift?” Asha asked uncertainly. She hoped Anne would give her a way out.

“What about it? It’s a gift, you should use it. But it doesn’t mean you have to follow that path. If you want to learn beastmancy, just do it. The anthomancy comes to you instinctively, anyway… Between us, a girl can use some secret weapons.” She answered while winking at the elf.

“Yes, we can.” Asha agreed. She felt the woman was cueing at something else, maybe even against her parents. The thought earned a mental laugh, but also brought a sense of kinship with the bookmancer.

“Well, everything worthy always starts with a good book, so let me get you one.” Anne said while disappearing into the back room. She didn’t bother asking if Asha knew how to read. The Mrs. Ailen that she met would never allow otherwise.

Although Anne wasn’t a specialist in beastmancy, she had a nice training book on the subject. However, going with it directly would be the same as brute forcing into a delicate job. Foundation was everything. So, her beastmancy guiding list had four books. The first was for comprehension of the soul, the second on binding techniques, the third would give her some knowledge on beasts, and last, the training book.

Actually, she was far from satisfied with this crash course. Unfortunately, she lacked a good compendium to discuss and compare ideas on the craft and a biography of an experient beastmancer to tie the knot. Still, she would have quite some time before Asha finished studying the four books. Who knows if Ceres wouldn’t bring her what was missing in time?

Anne always treated her customers with care and respect, but she was happier than usual. The other customers were great, but the elf would bring something new. She was a customer that Anne could guide from the start of a path. This would earn the bookmancer a few more pages, but it also meant establishing an excellent foundation for the girl.

There was also a possibility of starting a group study in the future, after all, Asha’s third book would be the very same beastiarium Rick was studying. Most times, studying a book would be a lone task. But other times, collective research and group discussions would potentialize learning. So, she was excited about that.

Soon, the bookmancer returned holding a purple-covered book that gave the customers a sense of mystery and confusion.

“This is the ‘Magic of the Soul’. You should start by trying to understand how the soul works, and how magic can access it. The book can’t be taken out, so you need to study it here. Its reading price is a little higher than my usual books, eight silver per day, but the magic and knowledge on it are worth it. You can order a copy for one gold, but it wouldn’t be nearly as helpful as the original, but if you can spare the coins, it would make for a nice reference nonetheless. It’s written in Crohnish. I hope that won’t a problem for you…” She explained while passing the book to the anxious elf. The compendium would become essential for her craft.

Asha accepted it carefully and felt a strange sense of comfort. This was what she had been looking for, her true calling.

“That’s… perfect! Please make me a copy too, Miss Anne. Also, I’d like to start studying it right away.” She smiled without taking her eyes off the book.

“Good. You may help yourself to that soft blue-covered book on the…” Anne was pleased with the girl's eagerness, so she decided on giving her a welcoming gift.

“That’s a ‘Minding Book’. You can write your notes on it, and it’ll help you organize your thoughts better… Don’t worry about the price, it’s my welcoming gift to you.” The bookmancer said kindly.

With such a good customer, her bookstore shouldn’t be seeing any more ‘quiet’ days.