Taking a flight of stairs up to the third floor, I walked through a corridor and came to the other side where there was a locked door. There were three, but I went over to the one that was on the far right.
With a set of practiced movements, I put my hand below the carpet before the door and caught on to the object I was rummaging through for. It was a rusty old key, which I used immediately after to unlock and enter inside.
When the door opened, I walked inside with careful strides. I didn't want to knock over the stack of books strewn all over the floor again, cleaning up was a mess when one of the librarians came over.
With a little bit of effort, I had gotten to the other end of the room. Before me, was a ring of 20-feet tall shelves, caved outwards in a semi-circle. There was an opening in the middle where I used to pass through.
Once I was inside, I threw my belongings to the side and jumped onto the cushioned sofa leaning against the wall.
Aah, how I've missed this so much... Well, it's only been a week. But I've returned, to my usual seat. This entire place that's reserved for me alone.
Was it better to call this a hideout, as this small space created from the enclosure of arced shelves wasn't a place where normal people could come into. Well, I wasn't technically allowed in here either since the the third floor was off-limits. However, it wasn't very difficult convincing a bunch of underpaid librarians to turn a blind eye to my entry. As long as I didn't cause any trouble and didn't leave a mess around, we had a deal.
Because of how obscured this place was, it was easy for me to sneak in some snacks on occasion. Those were stored behind a cabinet of books, and I conveniently went over and opened a bag of dried squid for myself. I also took the time to pull out the stash that was kept hidden here.
"This goes here. Here. And this one here... here... and done." I wiped the sweat off my forehead after exerting some effort carrying them around. While enjoying the taste of preserved seafood in my mouth, I looked around this redecorated space with a satisfied look. Almost a week's worth of paycheck had gone to these things— A coffee-maker, a music player, and a roll of super-comfy fur blanket draped around me comfortably. Is this what they call a best of both worlds? I'd almost feel like a degenerate again whenever I come to visit.
But who cares, it was my well-deserved break. Others spend it on the weekly theatrical plays in the city square, or find their enjoyment in brothels and sex. But I find most comfort in what I enjoy best. Reading.
I wore a pair of muffled gloves and started the coffee-maker. Since I had already stocked up enough cores for their mana usage before, the coffee-maker operated seamlessly as usual. A few seconds later, the aroma of rich coffee entered my nostrils. I took the porcelain cup from the stand of the coffee-maker and took a sip.
Aah... This is heaven... Thank you, Satoru-kun. Your inventions are a blessing to this world.
While thanking the otherworlder I never had the pleasure to meet in my head, I took off the gloves again and flung them to the couch. While enjoying the homely taste of Earth, I moved over to the windowsill right next to this small space.
When I looked outside, I could see the bird's nest settled in between the branches of the oak tree as usual. But there was an unfamiliar figure? What used to be two hatchlings, had now become three. Something about the sight of the mother bird pecking up earthworms near to its children's mouths, was just so endearing.
When I got my fill of how they were doing today, I came close to one of the shelves and knelt down. At the lower row, I picked out a book which was the only one there without a hard cover. I returned to the couch and sat down with the book in hand, flipping through a few pages. After getting to the latest page where there was nothing written on it, I started penning down my entry for what I did this week.
Cooking, cleaning, tending to stores and inns. Well, those were the usual. But at the end of the entry, I didn't forget to include a monster I had defeated recently thanks to Heinesia's tip-off. A Level 3 monster-squirrel called [Acorn Bearer], it ran nearly as fast the Horned Rabbits, but once I led it away from a terrain without trees, the fight became one-sided quickly.
Speaking of which, I was also slowly starting to get used to the act of killing monsters. After thinking of them as 'digital creations' that the 'game' creates, the resistance from monster blood became substantially less from each encounter with them.
—-After that, I recorded a few more restaurants I had visited, and stores in the inner district before I finished the entry with how much money I had left. With the money for today, it still didn't seem as much as I'd like to have. Even with the title ability I got as a [Merchant]:｢Merchant's Deal｣ that gave me 'discounts' to whatever I purchased, I was still only able to scrounge up a total of 4 silver and 13 copper coins at the end of this month.
If I had not bought those magic items here, maybe I would be close to 5 silver coins but I didn't think I was being wasteful with my expenses. Especially since I had told myself to live without regrets this time in this world, I was now a stronger believer in the value of self-satisfaction more than anything.
As for when I would get my custom-made equipment, I had already dropped that idea. That stuff was way too expensive.
Additionally, the number of low-leveled monsters around Halvan was going to stay low because of the freak incident where all the Horned Rabbits in a nest had gone crazy, and had attacked the city. Needless to say, all of them were wiped out, but I had never expected that monsters had their own ecosystems as well. When the Horned Rabbit was removed from the food chain, the presence of other monsters had also become unstable.
The royal scientist who came to Halvan a few days after that incident had determined that this phenomenon was only going to be temporary, and it would take another two months before the mana in the air was redistributed to create more monsters accordingly.
Since I wasn't going to be monster-active during this downtime, I didn't have an issue with re-using the [Moonsift Fang] dagger given to me. As for the camping rucksack I had purchased before, I never got the chance to use it yet, it might really have been an impulsive purchase back then that I still regret to this day. But I am properly using the weight-enchantment robe and the custom clothes I ordered before. I was even thinking of getting an extra set because of how comfortable it is. Despite what my first impression of that guy had made me believe, Richard Brownfield was a talented tailor who really cut no corners when making clothes.
I returned the journal to where I had kept it before, and sighed. Taking Shinri's advice, I had started this journal. The journal had recorded a mundane life, it was the normal and fulfilling life that I wanted. A working member of society. But as a month had passed, I found myself wanting more. Was I getting influenced from just having a taste of being 'on the edge' once? I knew that this feeling had started ever since I was chased down by the goblins. I found myself lamenting about it at times, that if things would turn out differently if I had simply stood my ground and fought them?
—-There was also the heart-pounding episode in the rabbit burrow. I left another adventurer to die and told no one about it. I saved a demihuman slave, but she seems to have already disappeared after being set free.
Would anything change if I had taken the initiative to confront my cowardly self?
Was I really going to be able to truly enjoy my second life in a fantasy world if I was stuck in a tiring cycle of being treated as a manual labourer? Slowly but surely, this sentiment of dissatisfaction crept up to me. Before I knew it, I was already hooked on the thought of what a 'true adventurer' would be like, and I felt like right now, this wasn't really the kind of life I wanted the most.
...I yearned for adventure.
But, no use beating myself over it, this was just temporary anyway. I was already a Level 6 for some time now. Remembering the fact that I would finally be able to obtain my long-overdue class in the church in a few more days, I gathered up a little more motivation again.
I stared at the book Lyndel had placed on a small round coffee table before I came—-[The World History by Devani Marcoles].
Before then, the least I could do was read up more about this new world. After playing the music player, a simple ambient piano softened the atmosphere.
I sat down cozily on the couch and began to work on the thick history textbook with a pleasant smile.