"Uncle Denver will be here shortly,"
Elara answered, her gaze unintentionally shifting towards the books that she hadn't finished reading, lying on the wooden table. Elara walked into the living room and reached for the book to return it to an empty space on the bookshelf.
The wooden shelf, which originally numbered just one, now amounted to five large wooden bookshelves, each filled with various different books.
Yes, these books contained fundamental knowledge from all corners of the world, especially explaining everything that existed in the largest continent she currently inhabited, the continent of Okeanos.
Moreover, there was complete knowledge about the three Kingdoms that inhabited this vast continent, which encircled the territory of Galatea at its center. With the knowledge acquired from these books, Elara comprehends various information about this foreign world well.
As an additional note, the village where Elara resides is called Flora Village, one of the two villages permitted to settle on the eastern and western edges of the Galatea territory.
However, Elara chooses not to explain this at the moment due to other pressing matters that need her attention.
Elara's sparkling brown eyes gazed at the bookshelves that almost filled the narrow living room of the wooden house, adorned with expensive and important books.
'How could the daughter of a baker in the outskirts of a small village like this have such a diverse collection of thick books, which must be very expensive and hard to obtain, ultimately accessible only to nobles?'
That was one of the mysteries that Elara had not known up until now. She genuinely had no clue. The books seemed to appear out of nowhere, as if created by some mysterious magic.
Initially, Elara thought she and her mother lived near a large city with an extensive library, where her mother could easily borrow these books in large quantities.
But how bewildering it was for her to realize that their current living location was surrounded by dense forest and sea.
Feeling frustrated and intensely curious, three-year-old Elara decided to ask for the first time.
"Mother, where do you actually get all these books from?"
Her mother answered without any surprise upon hearing the form of the question from her toddler. She even explained as if she had been waiting for that question to come out of Elara's mouth.
"Oh, these books? I sell bread to the nobles who pass through our village on their way to Galatea, and they are willing to buy it because they've run out of food supplies. And ta-da~ These books are the payment!"
"... not money, but the payment is these books?"
'Aren't books more valuable than a stack of bread baked by an unknown baker...?' Elara thought, unable to comprehend.
'Was the mindset of this world really so backward...?'
"Money is easy to find. But these books are hard to come by for us living in seclusion like this. Besides, we need to take advantage of the nobles who are exhausted after a long journey to reach the dreamed-of Galatea!"
"Ha..ha... Ta, taking advantage of the nobles...?"
Elara could only shake her head, observing her mother's peculiar behavior as if she didn't care about her status as a commoner who worked hard every day to bake bread, yet secretly dared to exploit the terrifying nobles.
It was as if her mother was accustomed to living without concerning herself with such trivial matters, or perhaps, since long ago, no one had ever forced her to bow down to those who held higher positions and power than her.
Realizing the peculiarity, young Elara wanted to ask her always mysterious mother something more, but in the end, she gave up and chose to let it be.
"I don't want to dig into my mother's past for now." That was the conclusion three-year-old Elara reached, and it remains the same until now.
So, as Elara had been given books since the age of one, where her mother handed her a thick and boring book containing knowledge about reading and writing in a language that a one-year-old couldn't and wouldn't possibly be able to read.
At that moment, out of curiosity and half-boredom, one-year-old Elara decided to read it to pass her free time. Thanks to that book, she quickly understood foreign sentences spoken by her mother in just a week.
Since then, perhaps because her mother was pleased to see her child grow quickly, she began bringing various thick books filled with basic knowledge suitable for the academy school of noble children to Elara.
Yes, for nobles.
Not stopping there, her mother even encouraged her to practice using polite and courteous speech, complete with the etiquette of noble families.
Though not understanding why her mother was pushing her to learn complicated things that had no relation to her, Elara diligently learned.
There's no harm in studying important knowledge like this, right? That's what Elara thought, secretly concealing her curiosity about the life of a noble.
Afterward, Elara eventually grew up to be a recognized genius in this village, all thanks to the books her mother had gathered by exploiting those unfortunate nobles.
The villagers of Flora Village, who often came to buy bread at El Family Bakery, frequently heard stories from her mother proudly boasting about Elara's early brilliance, as parents often do. These stories eventually led the entire village to start calling Elara 'the child prodigy'.
Elara, who found out about this late, felt bewildered and surprised by the nickname given to her by the villagers. To her, the title didn't fit.
Although in the eyes of the villagers in this world, she was considered a super genius, Elara, whose soul had been mature from birth, felt guilty for deceiving many people who believed in her, including her own mother.
"Will Lara continue reading?" Her mother's gentle and calm voice broke Elara's reverie.
Elara turned towards her mother, who was wearing an apron and preparing to knead the dough.
"No. I'll help you bake the bread, mom." Elara replied, gazing at her mother's face intently. Despite the scars that marked her face, she looked remarkably beautiful.
"No need. Just sit and rest. You must be tired, going up and down the hills, right?"
At first, Elara was thoroughly surprised and complained about why they had to live atop a clearly dangerous hill with a forest behind it, compared to residing on flat land like the other villagers.
However, gradually, she grew accustomed to it and stopped commenting, as she also enjoyed the tranquility far from the hustle and bustle.
'Besides, the air up here is incredibly refreshing and invigorating,'
"I'm not tired at all, Mom," that's what Elara wanted to say. Unfortunately, her mother had already gone back to the kitchen, leaving her alone in the living room.
Elara could only sigh and sit on the wooden chair, stretching her short legs comfortably, with a soft cushion supporting her back, just as her mother had instructed every time she had to go up and down the hill.
"Ah, I just remembered, I got another new book yesterday! Let me fetch it for you!"
Elara chuckled at her mother's exuberant voice.
Ring!~
The small bell that was hung on the entrance door as per Elara's suggestion to alert when customers entered the bakery rang.
The middle-aged woman's face lit up as she welcomed the costumer.
"Welcome! What kind of bread would you like to buy?"
John, an elderly man known by the village's residents as a Traveling Merchant, had become a customer of the bakery after realizing the unique and delicious taste of the bread here, unlike most bakeries he had encountered during his travels across the continent.
"Hmm... Any new bread? I like them all, but today I feel like trying a new kind." John mumbled with his mouth nearly watering as he caught the enticing aroma of freshly baked bread.
"Yes! We just made a new bread! Uh, what was its name... Ah, Cro... que... Lara. Yes, it's Croque Lara."
"Croque Lara... What a unique name. I'll take two then."
'It's actually Croque Monsieur, Mom.'
Elara, who had been quietly listening, could only shake her head with a blush of embarrassment upon hearing her mother mispronounce the name of the bread.
Croque Monsieur, a classic French sandwich that anyone could make at home. Bread with melted cheese topped with ham and a savory, creamy sauce.
It was a bread that Elara had successfully recreated using ingredients not too different from what existed in her previous world.
"Alright. Anything else? For lunch?"
"No need, this should be enough to satisfy me until lunch." John declined. If he only ate bread all day, he'd end up feeling hungry all the time, not full, due to remembering how delicious the bread from this bakery was.
As his gaze swept over the display of delicious bread, it halted at a book placed next to the cashier.
A green-covered book with intricate designs; it was unmistakably an expensive book that seemed out of place in a remote town like this.
He asked without thinking, "... Is that your child, Lara's book?"
The middle-aged woman nodded briefly. "Yes."
"Hmmm...." John scratched his mustache as if in disbelief but also feeling impressed.
The stories he had heard, originating from the small village he had passed through years ago during his trading days, spoke of a young genius girl living there.
At first, he didn't believe it, thinking the villagers exaggerated to attract attention from the crowds heading towards Galatea territory. But when a Professor from a renowned Academy confirmed it, his curiosity peaked.
Eventually, he and his fellow merchants decided to visit the village, or more accurately, visit the home of the little girl.
There, he met a 3-year-old girl who was intently reading a thick book filled with knowledge that should be reserved for Academy Professors.
"Excuse me if my question sounds intrusive, but is her father a noble?"
Galilea's mother shrugged in response.
John awkwardly laughed, but he had suspected he wouldn't get an answer from the woman who exuded an air of mystery.
"... If one day Lara wants to find her father but doesn't know who to go with, I can help her, accompany her to one of the capital of the three Kingdoms. But on one condition, I want you to let her become my Apprentice in the future."
"..."
John, the leader of the largest Traveling Merchant Guild operating with caravans, renowned across the continent, couldn't miss the opportunity to recruit the young genius girl into his guild if Elara was indeed a noble's child.
It would be a great honor for his Caravan Guild named WheelWorld.
As if anticipating the end of John's sentence, the middle-aged woman handed over a bundle of purchased bread, opening her mouth nonchalantly.
"Thank you for the offer. That will be 500 Coin."
"This...." John took the bread while heaving a sigh. He had half-expected this response from the woman before him.
"Thank you very much! Don't forget to come back to buy more bread." She said kindly, showcasing a typical salesman's smile.
John looked back at Elara's mother, hoping to see the girl he was referring to. Unfortunately, she wasn't there as before.
'I'm still uncertain, but the rumor that the owner of this bakery is also a noble might be true,' John thought back to his first visit when he inquired about the woman with the scar on her face.
The woman had just smiled and answered, "Just call me Lara's mother."
His conviction solidified, especially after seeing a face adorned with scars, as if intentionally 'injured' to prevent anyone in this world from recognizing her.
John shook his head.
Perhaps he could reconsider if the little girl ever became curious about her father.
Ring!~
The door closed, and Elara, who had been intently eavesdropping on her mother's conversation with John, returned to her original position as though she hadn't eavesdropped at all.