Eina Tulle.
An outstanding employee of the Adventurers Guild.
A half-elf.
With her pleasant appearance and a gentle, caring personality, she's quite popular among male adventurers. Not to mention, she's highly capable when it comes to handling official duties.
On busy workdays, her colleagues often say that if she ever skipped work, the Guild would surely grind to a halt—piles of documents left unfinished and unattended.
She loves books and learning, so on her days off, Eina can always be found spending time at the library.
Even though most of the books there are nothing but shallow biographies, in this world, who could really dislike a good heroic tale?
Just like any other day off, Eina made her usual trip to the library.
But this time, something was a little different.
Eina had spotted someone who'd been 'lingering in her thoughts'.
Well, maybe 'lingering' wasn't quite the right word, but she really was intensely curious about this incredibly beautiful girl named Alice.
The Library.
No matter what kind of books it held—even if they were all storybooks—the people who came here were undeniably book lovers.
Among adventurers, ninety-nine out of a hundred were the type who never touched books; many couldn't even recognize a single written character.
So, it wasn't exactly crowded inside.
Alice had been in the library for an hour and hadn't seen another soul apart from the old librarian.
Since there was no one around, she'd kept her cloak on but hadn't bothered with the hood—it just felt awkward to wear it indoors anyway.
So when Eina stepped into the library, she caught sight of Alice—a stunningly beautiful girl—standing on tiptoe to return a book to the shelf.
"You're Lady Hestia's… Patchouli, right?" Eina's voice sounded softly beside Alice.
"?!" The sudden voice made Alice jump.
She turned and recognized the guild employee, then let out a sigh of relief. With the library so empty, Alice hadn't been on her guard.
"I remember you—you're from the Adventurers Guild," Alice said, looking at Eina. "Even though we're not acquainted, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't startle people like that when saying hello."
"Sorry… I didn't mean to scare you." Eina realized her approach had been a bit awkward.
"So, was there something you needed?" Alice shook her head and asked.
"Ah, well…" The moment she saw Alice, Eina's first instinct had been to greet her—but she hadn't thought about what to say after that.
So, faced with Alice's clear, direct gaze, Eina felt her cheeks warm, her heart beat faster, and a flutter of nervousness.
Oh—right!
"Ahem… How is Lady Hestia doing? Just the other day, she mentioned she was going to earn some money. I offered her a few decent job leads, but she didn't take me up on them. How's she getting on now?"
Eina was certain: this girl wasn't really named Patchouli, and she wasn't really a member of the Hestia Familia.
What Eina wanted was to learn this girl's real name and which familia she truly belonged to.
So, maybe by asking about things an imposter wouldn't know, she could tease the truth out of her.
Eina looked at Alice expectantly, taking a step forward to gently press the advantage.
Though Eina herself didn't notice it, her gaze felt intense to Alice—almost burning—and that, combined with the sudden closeness, made Alice instinctively take a step back.
Eina noticed that retreat, and her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"..."
"..."
"Why did you step back?" Eina asked cautiously.
"It felt… a little dangerous," Alice murmured. "You're too close."
"We're both girls, it should be fine, right?"
"No. I remember someone—a certain black-and-white individual with no sense of personal space—who caused a lot of trouble. So please, don't stand so close to me…"
Alice stated bluntly.
"Uh…" Eina felt a little stung.
"If you just want to know about Hestia, I can tell you: she went to apply at the potato croquette stand this afternoon. She seemed pretty confident, so she's probably got the job by now."
"Anyway, I've told you what you wanted to know, so if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way."
Something about this half-elf gave Alice a strange feeling—like she had some odd ideas in mind—and it felt vaguely dangerous. Better to leave sooner rather than later.
"Huh?" Hearing Alice was about to go, Eina panicked slightly.
Her mind raced, trying to come up with a reason to make her stay.
Then she remembered: just moments ago, Alice had flipped through a book, sighed, and put it back on the shelf.
She must have been looking for something and hadn't found it.
Eina's eyes lit up.
"Um! Miss Patchouli, it looked like you were searching for a book but couldn't find it, right? I'm very familiar with most of the books in this library. If you're looking for something specific, I could help!"
Hearing that, Alice paused mid-step.
Seeing her hesitate, Eina felt a surge of delight and pressed on: "Besides, even though this library has many books, most are just heroic tales. There aren't any on magic or combat techniques."
"The Adventurers Guild's collection is open to the public too, and there's a lot of worthwhile material to study. If you'd like, I can take you there."
That did it—Alice stopped leaving. She turned back and looked at Eina skeptically.
"You're telling the truth?"
Seeing Alice turn around, Eina breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
"Of course. As a guild employee, answering adventurers' questions is part of my job. Many of the books at the guild are meant for newcomers who've just received their blessings and started out as adventurers."
"So, Miss Patchouli, you're welcome to come anytime. I may not know exactly what you're looking for, but if you're willing to share, I'll do my best to help."
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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