The next day, as had been determined, Norm-san went early in the morning to the library.
That morning, the air was still very cold, plus the sun had not fully risen yet.
Norm-san only wore a blouse with a long skirt and a dark brown coat.
——
"Arven-san, what should I do?" , asked Norm-san who was already impatient.
"First of all..." , Arven-san looked around before pointing to a book that was on one of the shelves.
"Try to lift and carry that book with your magic."
Norm-san had never tried magic that could lift an object, but she wanted to try it this time.
Norm-san focused her mind and began imagining the object she wanted to be lifted.
BOOM, with just one attempt the book was successfully taken by Norm-san.
Arven-san looked a little surprised, because usually people had to try several times before they could master this magic.
"Try putting that book back on its shelf." , said Arven-san who wanted to make sure once again.
Norm-san nodded and followed his instructions. As expected, Norm-san was also able to return the book to its original place.
"What is this magic used for?" , asked Norm-san to Arven-san.
"For example, if we want to clean and tidy up books, this magic is very useful and makes the work finish quickly." , explained Arven-san.
Then they moved to the central hall of the library.
There were many chairs placed there, provided and used by the library visitors.
The chairs' shapes varied: some were long so that many people could sit, and some were just single chairs for one person.
If counted according to the capacity of the chairs on the first and second floors plus the long benches in the front yard, this library could accommodate around 600 to 700 people.
No wonder, considering the size of this library which was so large.
"This time use clean, you already know this spell, right?" , asked Arven-san.
"Clean...oh, the one usually used to clean dust in a place?" , asked Norm-san back.
"Exactly, now you just need to try cleaning all the chairs here." , Arven-san wanted to see Norm-san's ability again.
Norm-san felt a little nervous and worried, she usually used the clean spell only when she cleaned walls.
Well, she didn't know why she cleaned walls, but clearly this time the object was different.
"Just relax if you're nervous, especially since this is your first time... but if you do it slowly you'll definitely be able to." , those words from Arven-san made Norm-san feel a little better and calmer.
Norm-san exhaled slowly, then approached the long bench she wanted to clean.
Note: the requirement to perform the clean spell is that the user must touch the object they want to clean. If they don't touch it, the spell will not work.
She held the edge of the bench and began trying the clean technique.
Slowly, light appeared around her hand, which meant the clean technique succeeded and began cleaning the bench.
After a while, the light dimmed and disappeared. Norm-san quickly lifted her hand and looked at the bench.
She only managed to clean the part of the bench where her hand had touched, roughly forming a circle from her hand.
"Woah! You can do this too, huh?" , asked Arven-san whose eyes looked slightly sparkling.
Instead of being happy because she got praise from her superior, Norm-san lowered her head sadly.
"I...just failed, didn't I?" , said Norm-san in a slightly sad tone.
"What do you mean? This spell is indeed a bit difficult when first tried... but if you keep doing it over and over, later your ability will improve." , Arven-san tried to encourage Norm-san.
Norm-san lifted her head and looked at the bench she had just tried to clean.
"That's why don't feel like you failed already, next time you'll surely get better at it!" , said Arven-san.
——
Arven-san continued teaching Norm-san what needed to be done.
Starting from sweeping the yard full of leaves, tidying up the bookshelves, greeting visitors who came, making sure no books were missing, making sure no books were taken without permission from the library.
And many other things Norm-san had to do.
Finally, around 7 in the morning, their training was completely finished.
Norm-san bent down and held her knees with her breath ragged from exhaustion.
"D..do I really have to do this much every day...?" , asked Norm-san with an almost hoarse voice.
"Because there's so much work... no one wants to help in this library..." , said Arven-san while looking at the books on the shelf.
"If you count, only 4 people manage this library, and that already includes you and me." , said Arven-san.
Norm-san was shocked to hear that statement from Arven-san.
"Only 4 people!? Who are the other two?" , asked Norm-san in disbelief.
"My wife sometimes helps with the work here, and the other one you should already know, right? The one who was at the cashier yesterday." , Arven-san explained who worked here.
Norm-san looked around at the huge library, but the people who managed it could be counted on fingers.
"How long have you been taking care of this library, Arven-san?" , asked Norm-san.
It turned out that Arven-san's family had maintained this library for generations, starting from his grandfather up to himself now.
The plan was for Arven-san's child to take care of the library next, if his child wanted to.
Because Arven-san realized that his child had not liked reading books since childhood. His child preferred magic and eventually became an adventurer.
"The condition of this library now is helped by its position being in the middle of the city... but what I worry about is when this library is quiet of visitors." , said Arven-san with a slightly gloomy face.
"If this library is quiet, then according to the regulations... the library will soon be closed." , said Arven-san while taking a book.
The number of visitors now averaged around 40 people per day, with the most on weekends.
This number had continued to decrease since a few weeks earlier, if the figure approached 0 then the library would be closed.
Moreover, many rumors spread that this library would be converted into a new government office.
Because according to them, the land size of this library was larger than their current office.
Because he loved books so much and wanted to pass it down, Arven-san didn't want this library to be closed.
He was very happy when he saw people coming to this library, then reading books... for him, that was joy he couldn't get anywhere else.
——
The library opened from 8 in the morning until 10 at night, this was a long time.
(5 minutes before the library opened)
Norm-san waited while standing behind the door.
Suddenly someone tapped her shoulder from behind which made Norm-san startled.
"Miss, you're accepted to work here!?"
Norm-san looked back, and it was the girl who was at the cashier yesterday who helped her meet Arven-san.
"Starting today, I look forward to working with you." , said Norm-san.
"Your name...Norm-san, right? Earlier Arven-san already told me." , said the girl.
"Just call me Norm, it's fine, especially since we work together... it would feel a bit awkward otherwise." , said Norm-san who didn't want to be called too formally.
"Norm-chan, just call me Elze-chan, okay?" , said Elze.
Norm-san was a little confused and surprised. Plus, she was a little embarrassed.
"W-why do I have to call you with that -chan addition, huh? Why does my name become like that too..." , said Norm-san.
"Doesn't it feel cute to use -chan? Norm-chan's face is red like that means you like it, right?" , said Elze.
Norm-san turned her face away as it began to redden in embarrassment.
"Y-yeah, yeah! ...Elze....chan" , said Norm-san while blushing.
Elze, realizing Norm-san was embarrassed, hugged her from behind.
"Norm-chan is cute~" , said Elze while rubbing her head against Norm-san's back.
"S-stop that!" , Norm-san became even more embarrassed.