NOVEL NEXT [Vol 1] Chapter 19
My name is White, an 18-year old NEET... or used to be.
I am what most people call, a transmigrator---- An isekai-jin. In a strange twist of fate, I was thrown into a world that closely resembled a VR game that I had played. I am going to skip the boring stuff, because I didn't exactly have a good time while I was figuring things out.
[If you want to know what happened, read Volume 0, the prologue ✧]
I'm currently resting in a coolly-ventilated lounge room in the guild.
"Hu-aah..." A fatigued yawn escaped my mouth as I laid my elbows on a spruce table. I sat on a black leather couch and waited. But she was taking so long, I started nodding off.
I guess overnights are bad after all. Almost fell asleep again.
I contemplated the wayward tendencies that kept me from sleeping every night when the familiar sound of high heels tapping along the glazed surface of the floor kept me from idling any further.
The door to this private room opened, and a woman with dark brown hair carrying a stack of papers and a pouch walked inside, settling down on the seat across mine. Taking a casual glance at my face, the woman narrowed her eyes and asked,"You've been looking quite tired lately, are you sure you're properly taking breaks?"
"...Well... I am. I've just been studying lately." Shaking my head, I leaned back against the sofa with a slump.
"Studying?"
"Well... I was just curious, about magic." I took out a book that I had been reading last night and placed it on the table. A large pentagram was drawn on the front cover, giving the aged tome an antique feel to it.
"Magic..., looks like you still haven't given up huh." The woman smiled wryly at me.
"...I did. I'm just reading it out of curiosity." I scratched my head as she gave me an unchanging smile, and of course, I knew what she was referring to.
"As long as you understand. Anyway, it took longer than usual but I've processed the quests you have completed successfully. Here, thirty-four copper coins in total." Heinesia handed me a tray that held the small pouch, and I kept it without bothering to double-check the amount of coins that was inside.
"Thank you."
"It is my job after all."
After having me tap my card against the documents that dictated the terms and conditions of the quests, the papers were absorbed into the silver-plated card of an Iron-rank smoothly.
That’s right, I am now an Iron-rank adventurer.
Though not very impressive on the whole, it was still an achievement that I was proud of. A month has passed since I settled down in this city after all. It didn't take long for me to clear the requirements for the rank-up examination, and I was finally able to accept the quests on the guild boards.
However, my initial excitement faded away soon enough, as quests in this world wasn't as exciting as I had thought. The requests were practical, but mostly disappointing, oftentimes padding into simple part-time vacancies in the city that had nothing to do with monster subjugation. I quickly understood that in order for the guild to realistically stay afloat from its expenses, it doubles as a work agency that opens and allocates its resources to normal people. In a way, this also allowed adventurers to co-exist well with the citizens so conflicts rarely happened.
----That said, the pay was considerably decent as long as you were up for the task. And since those were mainly the ones that were available, I would take them. On the bright side, I became a little fitter from all the toiling and ever more acquainted with the city through these commissions.
"With that, marks the 100th quest you've finished within a month."
"You're right. I guess I should be taking it easier, shouldn't I?" I joked.
Heinesia observed my relieved expressions pleasantly, almost as if looking at her own child. But I think Heinesia was a splendidly attractive woman whom I'd rather have as a girlfriend instead...
"Well, it would be troubling if the adventurer I'm rooting for is taking it too
easy."Something suddenly slid up my leg, prompting me to move it away in a violent jerk.
Heinesia, who still had her elbows on the table was staring at me with a playful smile.
"Today is your rest day... right? If you're free, why don't we take the day off to go out together? I heard that the new trading route is completed yesterday and the guys are celebrating tonight for a job well done. Why don't you participate in that, meet some faces in the guild?"
"It's a chance for you to, you know... loosen up." She made another pass at me under the table, but I edged myself away from the table slowly, breaking off her advances. She pressed on aggressively anyway, and soon her movements became very obvious. After shifting my legs away again for the fourth time, her smile gradually turned into a frown.
"What's wrong, you don’t like it?"
That idea of socializing was vehemently rejected in my head. I didn't want to be seen by those people, not to mention if I were to go with Heinesia. Was Heinesia aware of what the other male adventurers were capable of? If I were to act the part as her steady, I would be a dead man by dawn.
In fact, I already knew about Heinesia's favourable impression towards me for a long time now, and it wasn't as if I didn't like receiving her attention like this. It made me happy even, that I would sometimes resort to using her as a material for my nightly delusions.
Then what was I waiting for, you may ask?
You might call a man who can't grow some balls his age a coward, and you may be right. I am a coward, but so what? I am not some protagonist of an ero-novel, I don't feel comfortable boning every female that I see. I enjoy a normal pace to romance myself. And seeing as how things were going, it was progressing way too quickly for me to comprehend how and where her affection points had nurtured from. It was just downright suspicious for her to find an introverted jellyfish like me attractive in her eyes. I wasn't being overly self-deprecating when I said so, because I knew that I was only starting to change. There was no reason to like someone like me as I was now. So until I was sure of what Heinesia's actual intent was, I was sure to keep our relationship as it was now.
Heinesia was a guild acquaintance that I could always rely on, and I didn't want things to change now.
"...I-I actually have some plans for today, so... another t----"
The best way to maintain this basic level of familiarity between us was to make a half-lie on the spot---
"---Another time... you said that before too."
"E-Eh?"
Heinesia's face darkened, and even her eyes behind her specs were starting to give off an aberrant look. I gulped, realizing that I may or may not have misspoken. When I was about to say something to explain myself, she continued with an even daring squint,
"You know, lately... it seems that you've been seen spending a little too much time around the library."
My face stiffened as she looked up at me coldly, all semblance of her once amiable tone were now gone. It had now turned into a voice as dry as frost. How did she...? Did she send someone to investigate about me?
"Shera told me all about it, that you were trying something with the librarian at the counter." She explained, but that accusation made me a little angry so I tried to explain myself in a hurry.
"B-But... I'm just there to---"
"---May I remind White-sama that I am in charge of your actions while you are in this city? Any form of strange behaviour by a Stray that can be inferred as acts that may threaten the peace of this country, must be reported to the overseer immediately. That is my role, yes?" Following that long-winded explanation as if she had memorized it a few times beforehand, Heinesia presented a golden-gilded film before me.
"...Y-You're right..." I lowered my head weakly.
This was something that happened right after the incident with the Horned Rabbits. I was audience to the king’s representative a month ago. It turned out that my identity as an otherworlder was exposed, but it didn't turn out to be a big deal as I had expected. However, I was told to abide by the words of a royal decree if I wanted to preserve my life in this country. Since I wasn't the first and surely not the last, it seems that otherworlders in this world had set a bad precedent before and it necessitated the establishing of official laws concerning them.
There were a few complicated terms that I couldn't remember off the top of my head, but the decree stated a few important rules that I had to abide by. Though, it seems that I wouldn’t run the risk of infringing on them as long as I didn’t make an effort to, and it showed after I was subjected to a suspenseful month of being monitored----I found out that close to nothing had changed to my lifestyle in this city.
I took on quests like always, ate at the same restaurant as usual, and slept in the cheap inns which gave me back aches when I woke up in the morning. In short, as long as I didn’t cause any trouble like before, the king would turn a blind eye to me being in his country. So if it wasn’t for Heinesia reminding me of it, I wouldn’t have recalled that I was still being bound by some troublesome laws.
And here she was, using it to scope out whatever she wanted to know from me again.
“So spit it out, in detail. All of the things you’ve done this week. ...Hey, are you still listening? White-sama?” Her voice snapped me out of my thoughts again.
At times like this, Heinesia was like a completely different person, and I had no choice but to concede to her willful nature. As I stared at the figure standing overhead of my cowering body, I couldn't help but feel that maybe I should really take the break that she had mentioned before.
Through Heinesia's inquisitive and relentless questioning, I was left feeling even more exhausted than before. In order to cool off my head, I decided to head to the library as planned.
The library was located in a populated area in the inner district, and I had since learnt that there were some dress code that I had to follow in order to not stand out. Dressed in a lustrous black robe that made my body appear slimmer than it is, I came to a large building standing out self-importantly from the rest. The library was redbrick, Victorian, it was easy to tell from a glance.
I pushed open the heavy swing door, and the a burst of cool air surrounded me. My steps regained their liveliness and I entered a room with a tiled chessboard floor and about fifty shelves fanning out from a central reception area.
Six or seven people were sitting sparsely at tables, working. There were also those who were reading silently until I came. A man raised his head and glanced at me before he settled his eyes back on to the book he was reading again.
When I walked forward a little bit more, I saw a girl at the counter. She appeared to be reading but as soon as she noticed me approaching, the girl hurriedly put down the book she was reading and self-consciously swept her hair to the side, a skittish countenance so fragile that it would break even with the softest touch.
"A-Ah, you're here again..."
The counter girl smiled while stammering, a rosy tint blush appeared on her cheeks. She was smiling politely as she would to greet a guest who visited the library, not scared but not relaxed enough for a genuine smile.
"Yeah... How are you doing today, Lyndel-san?"
Lyndel was the name of this introverted librarian at the counter. I first met her on her day at the job two weeks ago and since then I had seen her around frequently, either cleaning the dust off the top of shelves, or reading quietly in a corner on her own. Holding herself like she's trying to take up even less space than she already did, Lyndel's reserved expression gave her a distinctive feminine appeal that couldn't be hidden from behind the counter.
If Heinesia was the mature milf that acted as the older sister in a relationship, then Lyndel was the needy little sister who would let her brother pamper her selflessly. She would become the woman in their life that they wouldn't date, and also the symbol of a well deserved virginity.
"A-Awro'---"
Ah, she bit her tongue. When I returned her with a patient smile, Lyndel blushed furiously and didn't speak for a good minute. I didn't rush this girl, however. In some ways, Lyndel resembled me from the past. Was that the reason why I felt a kindred spirit in her and was more comfortable speaking to her?
I took the time to observe her. Lyndel had a mop of dark green hair that dominates her narrow face. It hung loose and messily in a bob cut, sticking close to her pale skin so striking that it even seemed lit up from the light reflecting it through the ceiling.
When she regained her confidence again, Lyndel looked at me with similarly-tinged eyes under her long bangs. We stared back at each other for what seemed like hours until she finally dropped her gaze first, “I'm fine, how about you, White-san,” her voice was quieter now, less sure. Lyndel looked back up at me; a gentle flush of pink had arisen in her cheeks that made her look vulnerable.
"I'm alright. I just came from the guild, and well... that's not important." I smile. "You know me, I'm just here to read."
Lyndel nodded while still having her gaze cast downwards. "R-Right now, the library doesn't have much people... s-so I've reserved your usual seat."
"A-Also, I've left the book you've requested there as well. [The World History by Devani Marcoles], the latest edition."
Oh, is it here already? Looks like I can spend some quality time here today filling up on the loose bits of knowledge I learnt from all the reference books I could read here.
"Thanks, I'll take a look." I found a strange courage to pat her shoulder as I started to leave the counter. When she had finally regained her bearings from being touched, Lyndel turned towards me and replied in a small but enthusiastic voice: "...Y-Yes, please take your time during your stay!"
Smiling to myself at how perfect that exit was, I began to walk towards my usual seat in the library with a pleasant grin.
Row after row of neatly lined up books with their spines facing outward filled the surroundings, colour coded with dots, fiction section arranged in alphabetical order, young adults section, children's section with low shelves and floor cushions, comfortable leather arm chairs and tables for quiet study. This hushed atmosphere would be punctured by the occasional coughing and flipping of pages, yet the muffled stillness would never be completely drowned out.