Silvia stood there, stunned. Glyffe blinked. I just stared, speechless.
"What's wrong, Reno? You look like you've seen a ghost," Glyffe said, his eyes gleaming. "Don't tell me you've fallen for the first girl your age you've seen."
"Eh?" I choked. "What—no! That's not—
"It's alright," Silvia said, her tone warm. "Mama will support you no matter what, Reno. You know that, right?"
Huh?
"I... of course I know that, Mama," I replied quickly, trying not to turn red. I couldn't believe how easily Glyffe had gotten under my skin. "But that's not it. Didn't you say the shop owner was a recluse? No contact with people in years?"
"Exactly," Glyffe nodded. "And did that girl seem socially confident to you?"
"Well, no." I admitted. But she's clearly just a socially awkward kid, not some ancient hermit.
"Obviously that's not the shop owner." Silvia cut in, offering me a lifeline. "Stop teasing him, Glyffe."
"Alright, alright." Glyffe relented with a smile. "I think it's best we just head in."
"Agreed."
Plan A, knock and wait, had failed, so it was time for Plan B: enter and hope for the best.
Glyffe stepped forward, pushing the door open. We followed.
"Oh, wow... "
The words escaped before I could stop them.
Rows of shelves stretched endlessly, packed with books of every shape and genre. Novels, diaries, poems, textbooks, fairytales. The scent of wood and paper filled the air - a warm, nostalgic fragrance. I perused the collection leisurely, my fingers grazing countless spines as I waltzed by.
I didn't realize I'd wandered off until I found myself alone. I had stopped at a specific book, already lost in its texture, its aroma. Outside, everything was uncertain—but here, everything was shelves, stories, and silence.
As an avid reader in my past life, books were something I took refuge in. They comforted me since my parents couldn't. I owed books my life.
Back at Grandpa Stox's smithy I was in awe. But here, I felt at peace. This was a place where I could find solace.
I'm home.
I looked up and saw a girl watching me from the far end of the aisle. The same one as before. Her eyes had widened with surprise, she must've seen me rushing around flipping through books like a maniac.
How embarrassing.
"Reno, don't run off like that," Silvia's voice echoed behind me.
"Just where did that cheeky brat go? Ah he's over there. Wait, what's this?" Glyffe rubbed his chin, "So that's why you ran away." He was looking past me and straight at the girl opposite me.
The girl startled awake. Her eyes darted from me to them, and then she was gone. She bolted behind a shelf, peeking around the corner every now and then.
How cute.
But when I thought about it… also a little sad.
She wasn't just shy, she was scared too. That much was clear from the way her eyes jumped and from how fast she scurried off—not to mention her stammer. Was it me or people in general? I couldn't be sure.
But even with that anxiety… she still opened the door. She still tried to speak and that took courage. Courage beyond words.
I looked at Glyffe. "I just got carried away, is all." I couldn't explain it, being surrounded by books just made me feel lighter.
"Sure," Glyffe smirked. "Let's go with that."
"What books are we here for again? Just The Heroic Tales of the Paladin Hero, right?" I asked, sheepishly. I'd forgotten if we were looking for anything else too.
"Yep, that's the one," Silvia confirmed. "Though, if you find one or two others that you like we could get them too."
My eyes lit up. "I want them all."
"So, you want one then." Silvia smiled.
"Two please." I adapted.
"None."
"One please." I conceded.
"Okay."
I sighed in defeat. Silvia wasn't easy to negotiate with by any means and she wasn't going to permit any sort of spoiled behaviour.
"Any idea where the fairy-tale section is?" Glyffe asked, scanning the endless rows.
"Left." A voice replied. Dry and brittle like cracked parchment.
I froze. That wasn't Silvia.
"Huh?" I jumped up in surprise. "I mean—sorry, what?" I turned, trying to locate the voice.
"Didn't I just tell ya' it's on the left?" The voice rasped. "Ain't cha a bit dumb to be reading books if ya' can't follow simple instructions?"
Ya'? Ain't? Cha? Dumb? This informal way of speaking - I'd heard it before. But just where exactly...
What was the description again? A recluse who prefers not to interact with anyone who has long since lost touch with reality and social conventions. And he supposedly hasn't seen the light of day in years. Yeah, something tells me we found the guy.
Silvia's face twitched in annoyance.
"Did he just call Reno... dumb?" Silvia asked in disbelief.
The shop owner's comment came straight out of left field, so I could understand why she was this surprised. It couldn't be good for business if he made insulting his customers like this a habit.
Glyffe just scratched his neck. "Yeah, it seems like it." He said, clearly also quite surprised.
"What sort of shopkeeper talks to their customers like that?" Silvia asked, but from the looks of it her mind was already made up.
"A rude one." Glyffe answered.
Steeling herself, Silvia walked forwards. Me and Glyffe exchanged glances.
"Silvia..." Glyffe warned gently.
She ignored him. "I'm just going to talk to him," she said, already walking toward the counter. "Someone needs to say something."
Hearing Silvia's final words the girl peeking around the corner shook. Her face went pale with fright.
I looked back at Glyffe. "Was she also like this when you were younger dad?" I asked.
"Hmm." Glyffe thought for a moment. "Yes—she's always been the protective type." Glyffe nudged me. "Look."
I followed his gaze to Silvia, who currently stood motionless. And in front of her was a small, trembling girl. She stood in front of Silvia - blocking her path.
"P-please…" the girl stammered, arms spread wide. "P-p-please don't hurt my grandpa…"
What? Had she gotten the complete wrong idea?
"Hurt?" Silvia repeated, confused. "So you're the shopkeeper's granddaughter... don't worry I won't hurt him." She added. "Can I get past sweetie?"
The girl trembled still pale with fright, as if Silvia's words had gone in one ear and out the other.
"N-No," she whispered.
Silvia stopped.
I blinked. What's wrong with this little girl? It wasn't normal for her to start acting like this out of nowhere. Had other people—customers maybe, hurt her grandpa before?
Silvia tilted her head slightly. "Why not?"
The little girl swallowed, her lips shaking with fear.
"B-Because it's not grandpa's f-fault!" Her voice cracked on the last word. She looked ready to collapse - but she stood anyway.
What?
"I heard w-what my grandpa said and..." The little girl paused. "And I... I'm sorry!" She apologised but it wasn't what Silvia wanted to hear. At least, probably not from her.
"T-the townsfolk. Y-you're with them aren't you..." She asked.
The townsfolk? What did they have to do with this?
"No?" Silvia replied, confused.
"P-people from town a-always make fun o-of my grandpa. T-they say he doesn't go outside and that he doesn't know h-how to talk to people." She stumbled.
Oh. So that's what this is about.