episode_0003

After much thought, Glenn was faced with a great limitation in judging the truth of the saint’s request. Why would she ask him, who was practically a hermit, to do it, leaving everyone else aside?

Defeating the Demon King? That doesn’t make sense. The Demon King has already been destroyed by the heroes.

For the same reason, it makes no sense to defeat the demons. Even if the Demon King is dead, not all of the demons are dead, and remnants still remain here and there. However, her divine magic is a fatal natural enemy to the demons, and she has a history of advancing to the Demon King’s castle without any special training such as ‘fist techniques’.

So, there must be another reason behind it, but unfortunately, it was not easy to deduce it under Glenn’s way of thinking. Honestly, I had no desire to dig deeper.

He was a commoner after all. A lucky commoner at that. Other commoners were not born with the qualities or talents to become adventurers like him. So when the Demon King arrived and the continent fell into chaos, he was grateful that his village was not attacked, and he had to live each day in silence. Like him, training in the dojo, developing his talents, and defeating demons and killing them were nothing more than a story of imagination.

Of course, he was in a much better position than other commoners in that he could read and write and was smart enough to be able to read even difficult books. However, this was largely due to his long-standing past activities.

‘Anyway, I shouldn’t accept it until they tell me what the circumstances are.’

So, the morning after sharing a drink with Grimes, Glenn went to the library as usual, returned and borrowed books, and went to work at the Adventurer’s Guild. He considered his meeting with the saint to be just a minor variable.

But, something felt off from the morning.

“Closed?”

Glenn was shocked by the sign hanging at the main entrance to the Royal Library: The Royal Library was closed.

What’s going on? The Royal Library, located quite close to the Adventurer’s Guild and with excellent accessibility, was a place that was difficult to enter unless you were a noble or a person who had received royal favors like Glenn. Commoners had to pay a high entrance fee and were even charged extra for borrowing books. Of course, Glenn, who had been directly recognized as a high-level adventurer by the king, could enter for free.

“Hey, Red-Eyed Mister! Are you doing bookworm stuff again today?”

“Um, Tiller. Manny. Saika. Long time no see.”

Glenn calmly answered the voice that suddenly came. Tiller. He was a 17-year-old male adventurer who aspired to become a swordsman. He was a newcomer who had registered with the guild at the end of last year and was officially recognized as an adventurer. Next to him were Meni, who was the same age as him and used a spear, and Saika, a magician. The three of them had been hunting monsters together for a while.

“Oh, sir, it would be good if you went out hunting monsters often. Are books that good? Rather than this, hunting monsters would make you more popular and better. Like me!”

The sly Meni approached Glenn and spoke. Glenn just smirked. The three were born in the same hometown and entered the capital to become adventurers. Meni, who was good with women, had a slight interest in Saika, but Saika only had eyes for Tiller. And Tiller was an adventure fool.

“Menny’s right, sir! I’m going to the forest east of the capital tomorrow to fight slimes. How about joining me? It would be so much easier if you had your own magic!”

“I’m sorry. But more than that, it’s really uncomfortable to say “uncle, uncle” at the end of every sentence. I’m still in my 20s? Even in my mid-20s.”

Saika, who was laughing at Glenn’s grumbling, joined in. As the only woman, she was sticking close to Tiller.

“Hehehe, what are you talking about when you’re 9 years older than us? Even if you’re 5 years older than us, you’re still called uncle or auntie!”

She was a cheerful person, and was especially friendly to Glenn, who left a good impression on her despite her shabby appearance. In the past, when the three of them were in danger when they were new recruits, Glenn had accepted a request from the Adventurer’s Guild and saved them.

“Apologize to the youth who are just entering their 20s, my dear.”

“Hehehe.”

“But, are you trying to go into the library? I think it’s closed today.”

“I have eyes too, so I know that much…”

“Really? Are you getting presbyopia? I heard that’s why you wear glasses that are as big as those bells.”

“My eyesight is bad, but it’s not to the point of presbyopia!”

Glenn made a decision, trying hard to ignore the pitying gaze. These three people were busy teasing him like this after they became close to him. Despite his shabby appearance and gloomy atmosphere, Glenn often showed a soft side to those he was secretly close to. In other words, he was the type of person who was easily fooled by jokes and teasing. Of course, if they crossed the line, he would definitely punish them.

“More than that, sir, I heard a rumor from the guild yesterday. Is it true?”

“Oh, I was wondering that too!”

At Tiller’s words, Meni suddenly approached Glenn with a slightly excited expression. Judging by his excited appearance, it seems he has already heard rumors about the saint.

“Yeah. That’s true.”

“Wow, really. That beautiful saint herself gave me the request. I’m jealous, sir!”

Tiller said that with an impressed face, and Saika made a face that didn’t like Tiller’s attitude. This guy, why are you jealous of something like that? Meni spat out nonsense to Glenn, who found Saika’s jealousy ridiculous.

“Oh, so it’s true that the old man said to the saintess, ‘I’ll take your body as compensation’ and dragged her to a dark back alley and harassed her here and there!”

“No, this kid? Where did you get that nonsense from? Who are you? Who told you such nonsense?”

“Mr. Grimes said yesterday that this would be certain…”

Okay, Grimes. I’ll definitely cut you to pieces tomorrow. Glenn sighed and shook his head, swearing to himself.

“Ignore everything that idiot says. Saint Militia Airgrants just came to me, gave me a request, and I refused. That’s it. ”

“Wow…”

“The Saint’s request…”

“Rejecting…you pervert…”

“Huh? Pervert? Why?”

Glenn immediately reacted to the words Saika uttered. Why, why do I have to hear such obscene expressions? Saika, who was easygoing, clung to Tiller and muttered quietly.

“Obviously, he refused because he wanted to enjoy seeing the saintess’s desperate and desperate appearance. He wanted to hear something like, ‘If the compensation is not enough, then my body…’… And then, losing his senses at the saintess’ desperate appearance, he took her to a back alley…”

“What do you have against rumors and back alleys? I just didn’t like it, so I declined.”

No, what kind of girl is so good at making dirty jokes? I should have known since she was a childhood friend with that guy, Meni. I don’t know what’s on her mind, but our hearts are connected, is that it? The three of them laughed at Glenn, who was getting angry, and walked away.

“Then, we’ll go to the guild to report. See you later, mister!”

“Okay, okay. See you later.”

Glenn waved and started walking. Then he heard someone’s voice.

“Oh, right, sir.”

It was Meni. He just turned his head and spoke to Glenn.

“If such a beautiful woman asks for a favor, it’s not a chance that will come again, right? How about giving her a handkerchief next time and meeting her?”

“What, a handkerchief?”

Meni’s face lit up with a smirk. Hey, that kid looks like he’s laughing at something? Glenn felt that way.

“When you listen to a woman’s situation, you have to bring a handkerchief. Don’t you know that? I’ll go.”

“What are you talking about? Goodbye.”

After watching Mennie walk away for a moment, dismissing it as some kind of nonsense, Glenn moved on. If the Royal Library wasn’t going to work, there was only one other destination.

“Uncle Brazy’s bookstore…I wish they had new books in it.”

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Tinkle, tinkle.

The small bell hanging at the front door of the bookstore rang. Then the body of the man standing at the window shook. Judging by the saliva gathered at the corner of his mouth, it seemed that Glenn had arrived at the moment he was dozing off.

Sigh. That’s why business isn’t going well. Glenn raised his hand in lament.

“Good morning, Uncle Brazy.”

“Oh, welcome…Huh? Glenn…No, Glenn? What brings you here?”

The shop owner, who had been calling Glenn’s name in a half-asleep state, blinked his eyes in surprise. It seemed as if his sleepiness had disappeared in an instant.

“You’re usually stuck in the library at this time! Like a bookworm! Even though you’re a bookworm! But you’re coming to our bookstore!”

“What a noble expression. What is a bookworm, a bookworm.”

“If I look at you now, I’d believe you’re not a bookworm, but a book mold.”

Glenn could only shake his head at the old man who was spitting out harsh words with a puzzled look on his face.

Uncle Brazy’s bookstore was a store that I rarely visited except because it was close to the guild. In the first place, the best alternative and the holy place of knowledge, the Royal Library, was right nearby, so I had no reason to visit this shabby bookstore. Above all, most of the books in this bookstore were actually supplied as second-hand books from the Royal Library.

“The Royal Library was closed. That’s why I came here.”

“Huh? There? Today? I had no idea. What’s going on?”

“How would I know? Anyway, the new book must have arrived while I was away, right?”

Mr. Brazy smiled with a confident face. He looked full of confidence.

“Hahaha! It’s been three months since you stopped coming here! In the meantime, there aren’t any new books in our store! Not even one!”

“Why are you shouting so confidently when everything is going to fail!”

Glenn threw a strong protest without realizing it. But Uncle Brazy had a proud face.

“Going under? You don’t know how to do business. Glenn! This store, after all, is responsible for supplying used books from the Royal Library and reselling them to the citizens at a reasonable price. What I mean is, if we supply used books at a low price and sell them at a higher price, all the people who like books but can’t enter the Royal Library will flock here! In other words, I won’t suffer a loss, and our store will have a bright future where it won’t go under until my daughter dies of old age! ”

“You’re completely struggling in a dream!”

Although he shouted like that, in fact, Uncle Brazy’s strategy was good.

Even if they were used books, the books managed by the Royal Library were in much better condition than those in other shabby libraries. Furthermore, since it was a Royal Library, there was no reason to take on a deficit by selling these books at a low price. If it was a library established by nobles or merchants, it might be different, but the Royal Library, which received support from the national treasury, was the best sanctuary except for access. The only drawback was that access was restricted except for some authorized people, nobles, and royalty.

One day, Mr. Brazy realized that he could maintain sales without any problems by selling books that he had obtained at a low price from such a holy place at a slightly higher price. This was because the books themselves were valuable items, and books published elsewhere were of relatively better quality but more expensive.

Even if Brazy himself sells it at 0.4 times the price he bought it for from the Royal Library, people still buy it because they think it is cheap. That strategy has worked well for the past five years.

“It’s just that they haven’t been selling well lately! It’s just that there aren’t any new books! It’s just that there are more people who are skeptical about the price! Spring will come soon!”

“Winter is coming, you rascal. If you keep doing this, you’ll end up buried in a pile of books and die. It’s time to start doing business with a clear conscience, doing business.”

“This guy, you’re bringing up my conscience again! This won’t do. I’ll sell all the books to you at double the premium! Consider it an honor!”

“You’re being sarcastic.”

Stopping the ridiculous banter, Glenn asked.

“But really, there are no new books? Not even one in three months?”

“That’s right. You were wasting your time. Of course, it would be even better if you bought the book I already had. But twice as much.”

“No, but it’s been several months now without a new book. Something’s strange.”

Yes, it was a strange flow that was hard to find in Glenn’s daily life. No, in the past few days, there were just a lot of changes in his daily life as a whole. A saint whom he would be honored to see once in his life came to visit him and said she would come again today, the royal library suddenly closed on its own, this old man didn’t have any new books… It was as if the world was openly expressing its desire to interfere with Glenn’s hobbies.

“Well, that could be true. It’s all a matter of your usual behavior.”

“Is that so? Well, considering the old man’s situation, that could be possible.”

“This guy, I’ve told you before, I’m a model merchant! And a model father! I have no shame in front of my daughter!”

“How can someone who tries to rip off someone they haven’t seen in a long time be considered exemplary? Will he tell Reina everything later?”

“That, daughter, will understand too, right…”

“Oh, no. It’s embarrassing for me to suddenly become so sagging.”

Aww, that was pointless. Glen decided to stop talking nonsense. He left Mr. Brazy standing there frustrated at the counter, and began to browse through the bookshelves that were jam-packed with books.

Still the same. Here. Glenn was astonished to see the same layout of books he had seen before. Here and there, really here and there, there were empty spaces that seemed completely unfilled, so it seemed like there really were no new books.

No, let’s say there are no new books. Are there any books left in the warehouse? It’s uncomfortable for me to look at it like this, with it so empty. Sighing deeply, Glenn just looked through the books here and there with a sense of duty. Without any particular expectations.