The Otherworld Antique Bookstore is a Life-Risk Chapter 8

 

Chapter 8: First Day at Work Turns into an Overnight Stay

 

"Good morning, Lady Yuki," said Butler Yuke, standing right next to me as I rose from bed.

Didn't I lock the door? How is he here?

"I knocked several times but received no response," he explained.

No response, so...?

"I passed through the wall to enter," he said, standing unfazed in the sunlight flooding the room. When I asked if he was alright, he smiled, showing his white teeth, and replied, "My training differs from the other servants'."

Apparently, only Butler Yuke, Chef Maro, and the three Dire Wolves kept as guard dogs can move about during the day in this mansion.

Until now, they only needed to work at night, so there was no need to wake up early. But since my arrival, Yuke and Maro have been waking up and working from the morning, I was told.

However, Chef Maro had gone back to sleep in the basement today, as the breakfast he prepared went to waste. Huh?

"Yuke, what time is it now?" I asked.

"The noon bell will ring soon," he replied.

"What?! I overslept. I can't be late on my first day of work. I need to apologize to Bergana right away," I panicked, rushing to leave the room, but Yuke caught my arm.

"Lady Bergana left at the morning bell to attend a merchants' guild meeting today," he informed me.

"That's even worse. I need to get to work immediately," I insisted.

"Lady Bergana left a message for you. She said it's fine as long as you show up at the main store today, and that you should use today to gather necessary personal items," Yuke said, handing me two gold coins.

What? I just need to go there today? What a relaxed work environment.

Yuke saw me off at the entrance as I departed. The three Dire Wolves, which I thought would be scary creatures, were lying down wagging their tails. How cute.

The three escorted me to the mansion gate. I wonder if they have names?

I walked down the slope to town. I felt light. After trying to run, I realized my body was indeed light.

I hadn't noticed much before since I used to drive even for short shopping trips, but my body in my previous life had been gradually aging.

I remember now. This feeling is like my teenage body - a youthful body that doesn't know fatigue, feeling like I could run endlessly.

I tried jumping like a long jumper using the downhill momentum, then stepped lightly side to side before suddenly dashing. It's fun! Hahaha!

If I go to the main store first, knowing my personality, I might get completely absorbed in work. So, let's gather some necessities first. It's scary to hold onto two gold coins, so I at least want a wallet and a bag.

I should probably buy good quality items, but since I don't know the market prices yet, I'll settle for cheaper options for now.

I don't need the sturdy items adventurers use, so I headed straight to the central plaza area where commoners' daily goods are sold. The main store is nearby too.

I bought two sets of secondhand clothes, four sets of underwear, a shoulder cloth bag, and a small and large cloth pouch for a wallet.

It's been a while since I went shopping, so I thoroughly enjoyed myself, going back and forth between the same shops multiple times. Don't underestimate a woman's shopping!

But one thing common to all stores - they only had the company name on their signs, so I couldn't tell what kind of store each was as a first-timer.

Displaying the company name probably guarantees the products' reliability, but it's inconvenient.

I should head to the main store soon before it gets dark.

One street behind the main street of the central plaza... Ah, is this it?

A fairly large three-story building with the White Trading Company sign. Bergana said the royal capital's main store faithfully recreated an old bookstore based on the memories left by past otherworld summonees, but...

"Excuse me~" I called out, timidly opening the door to the dimly lit store. The walls were packed with books, and piles of unsorted books were stacked high on the floor.

How long have they been unsorted? The stacked books were all covered in dust.

Just inside the entrance was a slightly raised platform-like space where a grumpy-looking old man sat, smoking a pipe.

"Is this the Showa era?!" I couldn't help but exclaim to no one in particular.

This store looked exactly like a Japanese used bookstore from the Showa era or earlier.

Walking through the narrow path barely wide enough for one person between the stacks of books, I greeted the old man, who seemed to be the only staff member.

"I heard about you. As long as you don't dirty or damage the books, do as you like," he said.

Even if he says to do as I like, where should I start? For now, let's try to understand the store's layout.

With that decision, I began to navigate through the sea of books.

The main store building actually had one basement floor and three above-ground floors. In this world, servants are said to have rooms in the basement while those of higher status have rooms on upper floors, but here, every floor was crammed with books, leaving no room to step.

What concerned me most was the general toilet situation in this world. Opening the door to the only toilet on the first floor of the store, I made a face like I'd bitten into something sour.

"As I thought, it's this," I muttered.

It was a so-called squat toilet with a hole in the floor. Unlike toilets in my previous life in Japan, there was a sewer flowing underneath, washing away waste. It might be closer to ancient Roman style.

The problem is wiping after use. Although paper seems to be common since there are books, there's no toilet paper. Instead, there are leaves or sticks with cotton or cloth attached for wiping, which are then rinsed in a bucket of water.

For nobles, there were even dedicated servants for wiping, who would carefully clean with cloth.

There's no way I can accept such backward toilet conditions with my modern Japanese sensibilities.

I now fully understand why modern children dislike returning to the countryside because of the old toilets.

Well, the undead don't need toilets anyway. Undead are really strange.

While I was pondering this, the night bell rang.

The old man stood up, saying he was going home, and handed me a bunch of keys before leaving the store.

"Um, what should I do?" I asked.

"Who knows? I heard you're the new person in charge here. So do whatever you like, I guess," he replied.

In charge? Am I not just a regular employee?

"Miss, are we done?" he asked.

"Ah, sorry. By the way, where can I find history books?"

"There are various types of history. Which era are you looking for?"

"If possible, something from around when this country was founded..."

"Hmm, I think there are two books on the second shelf from the back, third row on the second floor, and one in the pile right below it."

"You remember the inventory here?"

"Well, there's not much else to do," he shrugged.

I bowed and thanked him, and he raised a hand in response before leaving the store.

I forgot to ask the old man's name.

He said I was in charge, but there might be a misunderstanding. Even if that's the case, if the current setup is profitable, it wouldn't be good for me to change things based on my own ideas.

First, I should check the store's financial situation.

Deciding to call it a day, I went up to the second floor of the store and retrieved the history books from where the old man had indicated.

I sat down among the sea of books near the window where the setting sun was streaming in, flipping through the pages. It feels like it's been a while since I was a reader. Before I knew it, I was absorbed in the text.

"Lady Yuki," a voice called.

"Eek!" I squeaked. Butler Yuke was hanging upside down from the ceiling. It's bad for my heart.

"You were late returning, so I came to check on you. Are you staying here tonight?"

"Eh? Is it that late already? But it's so bright..."

"You're probably using your night vision ability now, Lady Yuki. Please close your eyes and calm yourself. That should return things to normal."

I did as he said, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. When I opened them again, I was in complete darkness, unable to see even my hands.

"If you concentrate on trying to see in darkness, your night vision will activate. However, I don't recommend doing this in front of people. Like this," Yuke explained.

His eyes changed color to red and glowed. Indeed, this is eerie. I'll need to be careful if I'm living among humans. And so, another of my hidden abilities was revealed.

"So, what are your plans for tonight?"

"I'm at a good part in this book, so I'll stay here tonight. I have a lot of questions for Bergana tomorrow, so I plan to return to the mansion in the morning."

Yuke bowed to me and then disappeared through the wall with a flapping sound of wings.

Looking around the pitch-dark floor, I decided it was impossible to search for a light source now, so I sat down and turned on my night vision.

I resumed reading the history book I had in hand.

Long ago, in the southern part of this continent, there existed a great nation called the Kingdom of Freesia, rivaling the Romusgalhi Empire in the north. About 500 years ago, a party of four adventurers appeared in this kingdom like a rising star.

The adventurers, who called themselves Warrior Calito, Dual Swordsman Pinus, Archer-Priest Wisteria, and Cleric Viola, were of unknown origin. Some say they were heroes summoned from another world by the northern empire for the war against magic countries.

After weeks of exploration, they successfully conquered the dungeon known as the Abyssal Labyrinth in the western part of the Freesia Kingdom. For this achievement, Warrior Calito was granted the title of baron and appointed as a knight, receiving the Abyssal Labyrinth and its surrounding area as his territory.

Baron Calito appointed a young girl who had been traveling with his companions as the administrator of the Abyssal Labyrinth. From then on, the efforts of these two greatly developed Baron Calito's domain.

Baron Calito continued to accumulate achievements and was promoted. However, during the reign of Marquis Calito II, the Freesia Kingdom's capital, Christa, suddenly fell to an imperial invasion in a single night, and the kingdom was destroyed with the extinction of the Freesia royal family.

There are no detailed records of how this battle unfolded, but the current prevailing theory among historians is that it involved mass slaughter using forbidden magic.

The capital Christa became a den of monsters gathering to feast on human corpses and still exists as ruins deep in the forest, never having been rebuilt.

With the fall of the Freesia Kingdom, the local territories that belonged to the royal family each integrated surrounding areas and became independent, giving birth to four small kingdoms: Calito, Saphio, Garnets, and Pador.

In the first year of the kingdom's calendar, Calito II named the new capital Zero, meaning "the beginning" in his father Calito I's otherworld language, and declared the founding of the Calito Kingdom.

Yuki let out a big sigh and closed the history book in her hand.

She closed her eyes to deactivate her night vision and opened the window on the store's second floor. A breeze carrying the dull scent of the city slowly wafted in.

"So this country was founded by the descendants of people summoned from another world. And the administrator of the Abyssal Labyrinth mentioned here must be Lady Laviola in her younger days," she mused.

Realizing that the country she was in had been formed this way gave her a profound feeling.

While imagining the otherworld summonees who had roamed these lands hundreds of years ago, she renewed her determination to live firmly in this world.

The bell in the clock tower of the central plaza rang, announcing the arrival of morning. It was the beginning of a new day.

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