"Come on, you can do it!" Sophia called out from behind.
Jan turned and shot her a worried look.
She just smiled and flashed him an encouraging thumbs-up.
Aeris, standing to the side, sighed loudly.
They were like two parents watching their son on the top of a slide: the mom cheering him on, the dad growing increasingly irritated… Give it enough time and he'd just push him down.
Which was exactly what happened.
Jan froze awkwardly at the door for far too long, until Aeris groaned, marched forward—
and kicked it with all her strength!
"GROOOOOOWWWLLLLL~~~"
"What the hell was that?!" Aeris recoiled. "Are you keeping monsters inside?!"
*Thump—* *Thump—* *Thump—*
"He's coming!!!" Jan shouted—and immediately bounced back, diving behind Sophia, trembling like a leaf.
"Who's coming?!" Aeris lowered her stance, eyes darting around.
Then—
*BAM!*
The door burst open with a thunderous slam.
All three jumped.
Even Sophia tensed, her confidence wavering.
A towering giant filled the doorway. Half his face was in shadow, steam hissed from his mouth—like a dragon, and his eyes glowed faintly with a deadly glare.
"Who. Made. That. Noise?" he growled, voice low and thunderous.
"Eek!" Jan whimpered, clutching the back of Sophia's cloak.
His hoarse voice sent chills crawling down Aeris' spine. She stumbled backward until she was beside Sophia again.
"...Should we attack?!" she hissed.
"G-Guys—relax!" Sophia stammered. "He's just the librarian!"
With a cold stare in his eyes, the librarian loomed silently in the doorway.
His hand drifted slowly to the side.
Sophia tensed.
Without thought, her hand reached for her sword. But before she could draw—
The librarian had already grasped what he was reaching for.
From his coat, his hand emerged… along with a pair of glasses, which he began to clean meticulously with a soft cloth.
The tension popped like a bubble.
All three stared blankly, barely keeping themselves from falling to their knees.
"I told you, guys, " Sophia said, chuckling helplessly. "He's just the librarian."
Once the glasses were spotless, the gargantuan man put them on and then leaned in slightly to get a better look at them.
His face brightened into a warm, cheerful grin!
"Oh! Princess Sophia! What a surprise!" the Librarian beamed. "And—Mr. Jan, the hero! You're here as well? What a pleasure! Please, come in!"
"Ah, we'll wait here," Sophia said with a smile. "But Jan wants to borrow a few books. Can you help him out?"
"Of course! Anything for the hero who saved my life, and my library!"
"Hear that?!" Sophia turned around, her smile warm and teasing.
Jan peeked out from behind her, then let out a breath and chuckled.
"Come in, Hero! I have something to show you!" The Librarian gestured with a friendly wave before heading inside.
"Alright," Jan said, turning to Sophia. "I won't be long."
She nodded gently.
Inside, he found the librarian behind his desk, moving with surprising grace as he rummaged through a stack of neatly arranged volumes. After a moment, he pulled out a thick tome and strode over to Jan.
"Allow me to introduce myself," he said, standing tall but speaking with surprising warmth. "My name is Basil, librarian of Valkeries. It's an honor to meet a hero like yourself, Mr. Jan."
He handed the book to Jan and continued, "I wanted to thank you personally for what you did last night, so I took the liberty of binding the book you left behind. I hope you don't mind."
Jan's eyes had already been locked on the book from the moment Basil brought it out.
"Whoa…"
The spine was now reinforced with a firm binding, and the old, fraying cover had been replaced with polished, seal-pressed leather. The once-loose pages had been carefully trimmed and stitched into the new cover.
Truly the work of a skilled craftsman.
"This is... great! Seriously, your work is impressive."
"Haha! You're flattering me!" Basil chuckled, puffing his chest a little. "I'm glad you like it. But tell me, what are you planning to do with it? The thing's basically unreadable."
Jan's lips curled into a sly smile. "I'm going to decipher it."
Basil raised a brow. "You know how?"
"Of course. I've practiced deciphering before, out of boredom. I've never started from absolute scratch, but I know the process."
"Is that so?" Basil blinked. "People here don't care much about old knowledge. I've heard of scholars who could 'restore' ancient texts, but I've never met one myself. If you can actually pull it off, then… maybe you're the answer I've been hoping for."
Jan tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"I have more manuscripts," Basil said, his voice softening. "Dozens of them, tucked away in the archives. My late wife kept telling me to throw them out… I guess I'm glad I didn't."
"That would've been a crime!" Jan said, then grinned. "I'm glad you didn't as well."
Basil chuckled, shaking his head. "I would never. I've always believed they'd come in handy someday. Most people only see swords and spells as power… but sometimes, a mere footnote could change everything."
Jan nodded earnestly.
"That reminds me—before you left last time, I noticed you'd reorganized the history section."
"Haha, you noticed?"
"Of course I did. Honestly, it's been bothering me for years. I wanted to do it myself, but my back's been killing me lately." He gave a weary smile. "Would you like to finish the job? I'd make sure you're properly rewarded."
********** Mission: Help the Librarian **********
The Library is a mess due to the Librarian's chronic back injury. Help reorder the books and clean the archives.
Difficulty: E
Objective: Reorganize the Library (0%)
Time Limit: None
[Accept] [Refuse]
*********************************************
'I was going to do it anyway, so...'
Without hesitation, he tapped the [Accept] button.
"I'll be busy for a while, but since you don't mind how long I take—gladly."
"Wonderful!" Basil beamed. "Thank you, Hero."
***
"What took you so long?!"
Sophia's voice hit Jan like a gust of wind the moment he stepped out.
"Sorry about that."
"You've got some nerve keeping a princess waiting like this!" Aeris dramatically flicked her hair.
"I got carried away..." Jan muttered, clutching the three books in his arms.
Aeris huffed and turned away, but Sophia raised a brow at him.
"Carried away, and you only came out with three books?"
"That's all I need for now. I'll come back for more later."
"Hmmm… I just hope you're not planning to spend all your time reading and neglect your training."
"Of course not." Jan smirked. "In fact, reading is part of my training."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You'll see soon enough."
Sophia narrowed her eyes. "I don't like that smug smile. It usually means you're about to do something reckless…"
Then she glanced at the sky and paled. "Never mind—we need to hurry. If Maria finds out we haven't opened the guild yet…"
"..."
The three picked up the pace.
Soon they arrived in front of the guild. As always, Jan couldn't help but look up in awe. No matter how many times he saw it, the sheer scale of the place still got to him. Even Aeris paused beside him, silently fascinated.
Sophia stepped forward and pushed open the door, and the scent of old parchment and aged wood washed over them.
Inside, the guild was quiet—eerily so. Dust hung in the air, undisturbed from the night before. The front desk sat unattended. A few chairs were overturned, but otherwise, the place looked untouched.
"...It's kinda creepy in here without Maria," Jan muttered, stepping cautiously inside.
"It feels haunted… Are you sure this is the right place?" Aeris whispered, hugging her arms.
Sophia ignored them, striding confidently toward the front desk like she owned the place.
"Alright, Jan. This is your domain now," she declared, slapping the counter with both hands. "Hero or not, you're still the new guy—so congratulations, you're officially our guild receptionist."
Jan sighed. "Alright… but you're going to help with the cleaning, right?"
"Managing the guild includes cleaning," Sophia said cheerfully. "Don't worry—you'll get used to it!"
Aeris giggled, "This is getting better by the second."
Jan groaned, dropping his stack of books on the desk.
"Fine. But I'm reading when I'm done."
"Sure, sure. Just make sure the place is up and running before Maria storms in. I'll be training down in the arena."
With that, Sophia took her leave.
Jan turned to Aeris.
"So… you gonna help?"
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not cleaning. Do you know who I am?!"
"..."
"Hey! Stop looking at me that way—I said I'm not helping, alright?!"
...
"Whoa… how did you do that?!"
Jan stood stunned in the now spotless guild hall.
"S-Shut up! It's nothing special! Just water and wind magic…" Aeris looked away, arms crossed. "I can't believe you tricked me into cleaning this place!"
"Still! It's amazing. You cleaned the whole thing in minutes!"
"W-Well, you better be thankful. I'm only doing this to repay you for saving me last night. That's all!"
"You don't need to. Anyone would've done the same."
"Not rea—whatever. Thank you. There! Happy?!"
Jan smiled warmly. "You're welcome. And thank you, too."
"Hmph. Whatever." Aeris turned sharply and walked away.
'She's not that bad after all,' Jan thought, settling into his new desk.
There were no reports yet. The place was spotless thanks to Aeris, so he finally had time to read.
He glanced at the three books stacked in front of him.
The first—Across the Endless Stairs: Seraphon's Chronicle—was the old, partially illegible tome he planned to decipher.
The second was titled Threadlines of the Tower: A Study of Interfloor Communication and Passage. Since Sophia refused to explain things, he figured he might as well follow her advice and read up.
But it was the third that drew his attention most: The Writings of Master Loris Thorne, Former Archmage of Sunrina.
'Magic,' Jan thought. 'It's only been four days, but I've seen enough to know—it's the most important skill in this world.'
Magic could heal, illuminate, cleanse, or devastate. It could turn the tide in battle or be used for something as simple as cleaning a room. Even more physical fighters could wield it effectively—Erza, for example, channels elemental magic into her strikes.
'If I could combine it with my swordsmanship...'
He remembered the lightning spell—He could only redirect it when someone else cast it first.
'But if I could do that on my own, whenever I wanted…'
Tempting.
Still, deciphering Seraphon's book tugged at him. It was a mystery—one that might hold answers he couldn't afford to ignore.
'So much to do… and only two months to prepare.'
The weight of the countdown pressed on his chest.
His gaze shifted between the three books.
'Magic it is. If it can make me stronger, it'll be worth it.'