The town was as vibrant as ever, bustling with the chatter of its many residents. Winter had descended with its coldest fury, compelling everyone to bundle up in thick winter coats.
Even Kallous, thanks to his personal designer Allyn, sported a striking black and silver fur coat that extended to his knees.
The coat was quite eye-catching.
Kallous had successfully sneaked out of the orphanage, eluding even the watchful twins.
However, you might wonder why he didn't just use one of the system's items to turn invisible, as he had last time.
The answer was simple: while the system shop was freely accessible to Kal for a limited period, he couldn't exceed its imposed limits.
As a result, he preferred to conserve items in his system storage for use after the free 'trial' period expired.
Kallous had learned this the hard way. He had attempted to store multiple items, only to find them forcefully reclaimed by the system the next day.
As for the free trial run for those items? Well, let's just say it had expired.
To avoid this, Kallous adhered strictly to the 'ten items per month' rule, lest he be forced to use actual coins.
Now, let's return to Kallous before Allyn wonders why no one is stealing glances at his handsome self like everyone else.
✿ 'That was fun! I can only imagine Ian's face when he finds out you skipped class.' Allyn was pleased with the update she received last night. Out of gratitude, she decided to overlook the bullying directed at the young demon twin.
But only for a little while.
─ 'Class will only limit my activities. Luckily, I'm not required to attend like the others because of my age. Besides, who needs those nonsense lessons when we have an entire library of real knowledge?'
One of Kal's plans for this week, before moving to his new living quarters, was to gather as much knowledge about this world as possible.
Sure, he had written about this world and knew a lot about it. But who's to say some of his information wasn't wrong or baseless?
After all, it wasn't all from the protagonist's point of view.
So to establish a solid foundation, Kal decided to visit the library and borrow copies of history and all the important books he could find.
Ultimately, it's not as if this library held any groundbreaking secrets.
He didn't expect to find anything important in this random library Allyn had chosen, but he had to start somewhere.
Kal was taken aback by the library's enormity upon entering. Though it appeared small, shabby, and dusty from the outside, inside it was clean, spacious, and vast.
Kal's gaze roamed around; the building had three floors and seemed to extend endlessly. His eyes finally landed on the sole person in the otherwise empty library.
Due to his height, Kal couldn't fully see or identify what the man was doing. probably eating he guessed. The stranger met his gaze before Kal could take another step.
Allyn, who was mesmerized by the library's appearance, noticed Kal and the stranger locked in a staring contest and felt uneasy.
✿ 'Kal, don't tell me you've fallen for his charms!?'
Allyn's voice snapped Kal out of the stare, and he frowned.
The stranger mused over the child's reaction, slowly standing up and making his way to greet the new visitor.
"Hello there, young knowledge seeker. Are you here for a specific book?" the middle-aged man asked with a smile.
─'Status.'
Kal sensed something off about this stranger and needed proof.
Name: Simon.
Race: hybrid. Age: 38.
SB: Locked. Rank: D-.
Title: Marchent of Blood.
STR: 30
STA: 28
INT: 33
END:12
LUCK: 15
> Upgrade the system to show the rest of the status.
Kal and Allyn were both taken aback by the title's description.
✿ 'Am I reading this right? Maybe I should check for a bug in the system.'
While Allyn busied herself, Kal gave the man a skeptical look but answered him with a slight nod nonetheless.
Simon couldn't believe his luck. It had only been a week since his last prey, and now, just as he was considering luring more children, another one walked right in.
'He looks delectable. But before I do anything, I need to make sure he's alone and not accompanied by anyone.' After years of avoiding discovery, Simon knew that one mistake could ruin everything, so he never acted hastily or without a plan.
He shifted his gaze to the right end of the library, where it will be easier to take action.
"Young knowledge seeker, why don't you sit and read these books while you wait for your companion? Or did you travel alone?"
Kal glanced at the section the man pointed to and shook his head, deciding to humor the old fool.
"I'm old enough to take care of myself." Sensing the man's obvious joy with the answer he gave him, Kal left the man and went to check what this library has to offer.
It wasn't like Kal hadn't notice how the man looked at him with clear intention of doing something unsightly, it was just that he didn't feel threatened by him.
In the end, he met a lot of his kind over the years and dealing with this fool wasn't something he should waste a brain cell on.
and besides, he had already given his starlight the signal to watch the librarian and take a thorough look around the area.
In conclusion, Kal preferred to spend his valuable time reading rather than worrying about a lunatic with weird fantasies.
Believing the innocent child was hooked, Simon guided him to a large table where books popular with kids were placed.
Kal assumed from the scene that the previous victims had left these books behind. Then there was the fact that, because of his height, he could see faint signs of dry blood.
Pretending not to notice, he looked up at the man as if asking for permission to begin reading.
Simon genuinely believed Kal would be no different from his previous visitors, if not less troublesome, given his obedient behavior. Confident Kal would be occupied for a while, he left to prepare his tools.
"Fool," Kal muttered, watching the man walk away. He could sense the man's desperation and would be a fool to let him get away with it.
Dealing with him wouldn't be a problem, so Kal wasn't worried. Instead, he decided to use this opportunity to check out the books he came for. While Allyn diligently borrowed the books Kal pointed out and completed other tasks, he sat holding the book that caught his attention the most.
It looked ordinary, but its content made him stop and start reading.
To the people of this world, it might be general knowledge, something even the illiterate knew. But to Kal, it was essential for expanding his basic understanding of this world.
Information about the constellations, or as many called them, 'The Higher Lords.'
Kal knew almost everything about the constellations, especially those who will grace the land with their chosen races. But even so, he only knew what was mentioned since they were never the main focus of the protagonist's story.
The protagonist interacted with a few on separate occasions. However, the main overseers of this world were rarely featured.
Even their identities were never revealed. Despite writing the novel, he was unaware of detailed lor that weren't essential for the protagonist's development.
He only wrote what he saw, after all.
As he attentively studied the text, he noticed that it never referred to the constellations as gods.
It began by stating the widely accepted truth that only two of the three constellations were active. Their names weren't given, which disappointed Kal, but their titles were mentioned.
The one watching over the human race was called Morning Dew, while the one the demons took pride in was called Evernight.
Kal already knew some of the information, so he quickly moved on to the next few pages before closing the book. The only significant finding was their titles, with little information about the events of that period or the third constellation, but their presence was undeniable.
Even Kal knew that much, thanks to being the novel's author.
He sighed and proceeded to pick up another book titled The Thousand Year War. Kal had an idea of what it was and opened it. The conflict had never interested him when writing, and reading the book now fueled his need to fill in the blanks in his memory.
Long before the new era, demons and humans were locked in a conflict that lasted centuries. It reached a point where seeing the other meant instant death.
Not even infants were spared.
The war was quickly brought to an end when the Saint shared an oracle given by the constellation, which promised vengeance if further blood was shed. The Saint served as a mediator between the two races, and they were eventually able to coexist.
Kal noticed little mention of the Saint throughout the book. There wasn't even a description of their appearance, only that they were the first to hold the title and had no successor.
While he continued to read, Allyn offered him some simple snacks to chew on. Flipping through the pages, Kal grabbed a piece of candy and almost broke his teeth. He glared at Allyn, who giggled and then offered him real snacks.
Returning his attention to the book, he learned that thanks to the Saint thousands of years ago, the people of both kingdoms were aware of the impending visitors and were preparing for their arrival.
'No wonder the emperors acted swiftly when the gates appeared,' Kal thought with relief. This meant they were already expected, and there wouldn't be any conflict between the humans and demons side, at least.
As Kal picked up another book, Allyn notified him that her tasks were done and they could leave right away.
─'Not yet, Let's entertain this guy first.' Kal hummed, looking to his right as Simon returned with a plate in hand.
"Seems like you've enjoyed your time, young knowledge seeker." Simon offered a glass of what looked like an orange juice and smiled. "would you like a drink?"
✿ 'DON'T DRINK THIS!' Allyn warned, glaring at the man who handed Kal a glass filled with a mid-quality sleeping potion. Even though it wouldn't affect Kal because of her, she wouldn't allow him to consume anything harmful that could be used against him.
Kal smiled at Allyn's protectiveness, recalling Ivan's passing comment about orange flu when he noticed what was in the glass. He stared at the man, recognizing the tampered drink, and gave him his most innocent, Allyn-approved smile as he reached for it.
"I would love to."