4: Finished Reading
Gil had honestly underestimated Lizel.
No matter how much of a noble he was or how little he knew of the world, Lizel had become a member of the general public. But, Gil only realized at this moment that all of it was done by Lizel to match up with him.
“I would like to purchase all the books in your establishment. How much would that be?”
“Hey, stop.”
He should have expected that Lizel wanted to go to the bookstore from how he interrupted Studd’s explanation despite usually having proper manners. Lizel’s enthusiasm was clear from his mannerism alone.
On closer inspection, his eyes appeared to be sparkling and his tone was somewhat lively. Leaving the matter of the flustered store owner for now, Gil looked down with a troubled smile at Lizel.
“Why are ya actin’ all innocent?”
“It’s not like I wasn’t thinking of anything.”
“Rather, what were you thinkin’ to make ya say that?”
“Weren’t you the one who said that there’s no library, Gil?”
It was true that along the way, Lizel said that he wanted to buy books and go to a library. In contrast, Gil’s response was “What’s a library?” So, even if Lizel were to explain, such a place didn’t exist.
By the way, Lizel was presently quite dejected inside. In his previous world, his previous student (the present king) commented, “You’re always reading something,” to Lizel, so it certainly wasn’t an exaggeration to call him a bookworm.
“That’s why I was hoping that there was a similar place.”
Lizel was fully aware that if he bought and carried away all of this store’s inventory, it would cause them trouble. This was how his previous statement connected to the conclusion based on his consideration.
Lizel calmly looked at Gil’s furrowed brow and intimidating face and said with a somewhat bragging tone.
“By purchasing all the books in advance, wouldn’t I be able to come and borrow any book I like at any time?”
“……”
“Any book I finished will be returned to the store. In the first place, a majority of the books sold in the bookstores are second-hand. My actions shouldn’t produce any harm to their business.”
Lizel casually announced that if he wanted to, he could buy them even at their market price. Hearing this, Gil thought, “This guy’s an idiot.”
Since meeting Lizel, Gil learned that this man was always considering various matters behind his gentle manner. His display of naïvety must be based on some kind of logic, so Gil didn’t believe that he was someone who openly showed weakness.
This was neither the first nor second time Gil knew that he was being led around by Lizel. He could call this notion a conviction at this point. Still, he had no problem as his enjoyment of this situation coincided with his interest.
“You…”
“Eh?”
“No, forget it.”
However, that was a different matter. After a week, Gil was still convinced that Lizel was an idiot. An idiot who thinks. A clever idiot. An idiot as troublesome as much as he was aware he was.
An idiot who smiles in satisfaction knowing fully well the thoughts going through the mind of the person looking down on him completely astonished.
“…You aren’t really gonna read ‘em all, so just go negotiate on a price.”
“Okay.”
Lizel obediently nodded and approached the store owner, who was still frozen in place. He conveyed to them what he had discussed with Gil just before and coaxed them, who could only utter incomprehensible words in their utter shock.
Once the store owner accepted Lizel’s proposal, only the price negotiation was left. As there was absolutely no disadvantage to the store, the owner was actually hesitant to accept at the highest price.
In the end, it was decided that Lizel would borrow the books at a cheaper price. The negotiations smoothly concluded, and the store owner and Lizel exchanged warm smiles.
“Then, I’ll borrow all the books on this shelf in the meantime.”
“Eh, at least half…”
“Gil, please grab the books at the top.”
“Y’know there’s a stepladder, right?”
Gil said while sighing, but he nevertheless extended his hand. The store owner wanted to say something, so Lizel reassured them that he would immediately return the books as he mercilessly emptied an entire shelf.
Lizel was fundamentally someone who excelled in acting considerate, but when matters dealt with books, that restraint was removed. He thanked the melancholic store owner, bid farewell, and left the store with Gil.
No matter how many books were put in, the quality and size of the pouch remained unchanged. Lizel patted it in admiration as he walked. The two of them walking side by side attracted attention for various reasons, but they were accustomed to it.
“It’ll be lunchtime soon.”
“Yes. I would like to try walking around and eating at the stalls.”
“Still doesn’t fit ya… Well, whatever. Let’s go.”
For the next three days, Lizel spent his ordinary life together with Gil. The days were bland and filled with the necessities to live, but Lizel made sure not to act anyway out of place that would show he was from another world.
He still stood out from his surroundings, but everyone in the area near the inn had gotten accustomed to seeing him. They stopped reacting, so he somewhat managed to blend in.
And, since then, Lizel cooped himself in his room and let Gil do whatever he wanted. During the first three days, Lizel appeared to be doing nothing but reading when Gil wasn’t watching. And, on the third day when Lizel said he wanted to return all the books and borrow new ones, Gil looked at him with a face that said he couldn’t understand.
However, Lizel said that this was only the beginning and immersed himself again in his reading.
“I’m borrowin’ this.”
“By all means.”
Gil entered the room to borrow a book, but while Lizel was unresponsive to that, he at least responded after being addressed. Lizel said himself that he was capable of some self-defense, but if he was attacked in this situation, even a child could manage to kill him.
Gil was given free time by Lizel, so he took requests and occasionally went out so his body didn’t dull, but when he was bored, he would read books together with Lizel in his room. He never hated reading, but he also wasn’t particularly fond of it either.
If there was a book Lizel didn’t know about in his original world, he would immediately purchase it. He had finished reading practically all of his collection and was waiting for a new one, so his current situation felt like heaven. This mountain of undiscovered knowledge could be called a mountain of treasure to him.
“Ngh~…”
Such days continued for ten days. He only went out to borrow and return books and when Gil took him along to go eat.
Lizel loudly placed his last book on the desk and stretched. Gil watched him from behind his book on top of the bed. He glanced down on the opened page and recited.
“I could not hide my utter surprise. He was a fish who lived and swam through a sea of bookshelves, consuming its knowledge.”
“I thought he was beautiful, but others didn’t see the same. …Did you find it lovely?”
Lizel smoothly recited the rest of the quote from memory. His teasing smile made Gil flash a look of exasperation from deep in his heart. He was certain that Lizel had read this book several days ago.
Despite reading several books of various genres in between that time, he couldn’t have possibly memorized everything. Still, such a feat wasn’t strange for a man like Lizel as he waited in excited anticipation for Gil’s response.
“Thought he was stupid.”
“That’s the first time I’ve been told that.”
The two looked seriously at each other.
“Then, shall we go accept a request now?”
“Usually, folks go first thing in the mornin’.”
“Hm? I can accept it today and start it tomorrow, no?”
“There’s a lot of new requests in the mornin’, and the good requests are first-come, first serve.”
“I see,” Lizel nodded. However, Lizel was presently a beginner F-rank. He could accept F- to E-rank requests, but there was no point in competing for such low-rank requests.
The current time was just past noon, and the guild was practically empty with only a few adventurers. Since this would be his first request, he wanted to slowly look over them before deciding.
“Or rather, a request right after readin’?”
“If you don’t move much, your body will grow dull, yes? Additionally, we have yet to understand each other’s abilities. It’ll be difficult if we’re in a pinch.”
“Abilities, huh…”
Gil stood up, fastened his sword leaning up against the bed to his waist, and glanced over at Lizel. Lizel showed no indication that he was wearing a weapon as he put his coat on.
Even if he possessed a bag with spatial magic, it was standard to have a weapon on your body in case of an emergency. Lizel said that he could protect himself, but it was highly unlikely that he specialized in hand-to-hand combat.
Gil recalled the casual clothes Lizel wore to bed, but his muscles seen underneath that thin piece of cloth and his unblemished hands were not that of a warrior’s.
“You can’t accept an excursion-type request now, so choose one nearby.”
“Okay.”
In that case, Gil supposed that Lizel must be proficient in magic and wondered about the jobs he would accept. Based on Lizel’s words, he seemed willing to fight, so he should be fine with harvesting or subjugation.
As they descended the stairs, Gil looked at Lizel walking ahead of him. Even if Lizel were to accept a request, it would only be a low-rank one. There would be no chance of danger if he were to accompany Lizel.
“We’re going out~”
“Oh, Mr. Lizel. Can I get a tip?”
The hostess of the inn cleaning the entrance called out to Lizel, and the two exchanged smiles. On Lizel’s first day staying here, he left several copper coins when receiving his keys, surprising the hostess.
By the way, Lizel was the only one the hostess addresses with “Mr.” Though, in the very beginning, she used “Lord.”
“Are you going to get more books again today?”
“No, I’m starting my debut as an adventurer now.”
“That’s great! Gil, make sure you take good care of Mr. Lizel.”
“Aye.”
“Um, I am the one accepting the request, though.”
Lizel gave a strained laugh at the hostess who instructed Gil. Gil was someone, who on top of being completely boorish, was famous for his strength, so many were troubled when interacting with him. However, this hostess was one of the few whose attitude didn’t change.
Gil also preferred this kind of interaction over the timid approach. That was why he chose this inn to be his base. Though, he had his doubts about how she treated an adult man as a child.
The hostess saw the two off as they headed for the guild. Naturally, they didn’t forget to stop by the bookstore along the way and return all their books.
“Studd.”
Studd was organizing documents when he raised his head at the voice calling him. He had just finished registering a new adventurer, and as there weren’t many new people registering these days, he thought no one else would come and he would help with the usual reception work.
This familiar voice belonged to the person who recently sparked shock in everyone in the guild, so Studd unhesitatingly turned towards the source’s direction.
“Ah, it’s you.”
“I’m here for the continuation to your explanation from before and to accept a request.”
“It’s rare for someone to leave this much of a gap between registering and accepting a request.”
The usual, indifferent tone made Lizel wryly smile. He was aware that the person definitely had no malice, and Lizel personally preferred, for multiple reasons, information to be clearly conveyed. However, he couldn’t help but feel that this behavior must have done some harm to the person’s character.
“The bookstore you told me about before had quite a fine selection. It took some time for me to read them all.”
“All…”
Studd glanced over at Gil. He sensed the whole situation from Gil’s eyes expressing grand astonishment and resignation and his posture looking down on Lizel.
Studd nodded once, convinced that the man in front of him really didn’t resemble an adventurer.
“It’s fortunate that it was to your liking. Now then, I will continue the explanation from where I last left off, but I have prepared this for you.”
Studd opened his desk drawer and took out a booklet. Its slim yet large size and the proper measures to prevent tearing made the booklet look different from ordinary books.
He opened the cover and turned the opened first page for Lizel to see.
“The guild’s regulations are written here. I assumed that you most likely wanted to know such, so I borrowed it from the guild leader after our last interaction.”
“Just what I wanted. Thank you.”
Studd continued to look at Lizel’s smile with his expressionless face.
Lizel noticed that Studd looked like he was waiting for something, so he tried raising one hand. Studd twitched in response, and his gaze followed that hand.
Convinced, he moved his hand towards Studd, and after seeing that Studd showed no signs of avoiding him, he patted the young man’s head two to three times. There was no resistance.
“Lending this out is forbidden, but you are free to read it here.”
As Lizel’s hand touched the smooth, soft hair, he indicated to Gil without any reference, “See? He doesn’t hate it.” But, Gil stood behind them, slightly disgusted, and wondered if Lizel had used brainwashing.
That was how much Gil couldn’t accept the sight of Studd actually enjoying having his head patted. After all, this was a guy who would verbally destroy anyone who tried to touch him, and if someone tried to pat his head he would immediately stab that hand with his pen.
Naturally, he wouldn’t act so violently towards his coworkers, but in the past when a drunk coworker, whom he fought with, wrapped his hand over his shoulder, Studd flashed a glare as cold as absolute zero, sobering up the man immediately.
“Can I read it here? I think there’ll be questions I want to ask.”
“There probably wouldn’t be any more people registering, so I do not mi—”
“Hey, hey, he’s really here! ‘One Slash’ has really fallen, hah!”
The loud slam of the guild door opening echoed, interrupting Studd’s sentence. Gil’s brow twitched, and he looked over his shoulder in annoyance. Studd, although still maintaining his emotionless expression, had a bulging blood vessel appear on his forehead.
A man entered, spewing out jeers. He grinned as he approached Gil. He had a muscular build unlike Gil’s thin body, and he carried a bulky claymore on his back.
The adventurers in the guild weren’t surprised as they were accustomed to seeing him, but they looked back and forth between him and Gil, their curiosity on full display.
“I came ‘ere after hearin’ that One Slash teamed up with someone, but it looks like he’s partnered up with one hell of a pansy!”
“What kind of bastard goes around callin’ people’s names like that? Who the hell are you?”
“…You lookin’ down on me?”
Gil wasn’t completely unaware of the man’s existence. After coming to this country, he was frequently invited to join this man’s party so much so that Gil couldn’t forget even if he wanted to.
The man’s party was B-rank, and he repeatedly asserted like an idiot that if Gil joined, S-rank was within reach. Frankly speaking, Gil wanted to ignore the man as usual and promptly leave.
However, when he looked over at Lizel to ask, he instead saw that Lizel hadn’t reacted at all since the man’s entrance and continued to look over the booklet. His relaxed behavior despite probably noticing the commotion hinted that he didn’t even think that the man’s mockery wouldn’t reach him.
“Is this the rule about resigning from the guild?”
“…It is this one.”
Even Studd was momentarily in a daze after seeing how calm and composed Lizel was when asking his question. It was almost as if he hadn’t noticed the man coming in. However, it seemed to have successfully put Studd in a good mood, and the cold air seeping out of him was dispelled the same time the question was clarified.
Lizel didn’t seem willing to move and if Gil left the building, the man would surely start an argument, so he let out a sigh and faced the man.
“Accompanyin’ your master, eh? How noble.”
“You must have come here for some business, right? We ain’t exactly close enough to just chat, so hurry up and finish what you gotta do.”
Gil crossed his arms and leaned his back against the unused back part of Lizel’s chair to maintain his posture. He didn’t hide his disinterest which angered the man as he raised his voice.
“You completely denied all my invites, but you go and pair up with an amateur?”
“We’re not party up or anythin’. He just hired me.”
“I guess a lone wolf like yourself can’t win against money, hah!”
Gil had no intention of hiding his annoyed behavior at the man mocking him.
Gil’s appearance was definitely very boorish, but he wasn’t childish enough to quickly start fights. Even if he were to provoke the man to run away, things would become troublesome, so it was better to ignore him and escape. Gil was the type to wave his hand away at others if they ridiculed him as a coward.
To Gil, the man in front of him was nothing more than a terribly childish existence. Simply put, Gil was upset that his worth as an adventurer was judged as less than the absolute beginner adventurer, Lizel.
“About the accountability regarding the adventurers of this guild.”
“We do not excessively interfere, but we may interject in times of emergency. For example, when there is damage to the surrounding area that exceeds the adventurer’s scope, we guild personnel shall…”
From Gil’s point of view, the comparison itself was wrong, but it appeared that the man thought this way. As he listened to the peaceful Q&A happening behind him, he properly dealt with the shouting man.
This behavior might have been too blunt. The man clenched his teeth before breaking out into a smirk.
“Looks like you’re quite fond of that pansy and lost your backbone, eh? HA!”
It appeared that his evaluation of Gil headed downwards. Even he was to highlight how foolish he was acting, the surrounding spectators would naturally not believe it. After all, there was no one out there who would seriously believe a rumor that was spread as a joke.
The one who took it seriously and denied it would be seen as suspicious. Gil sighed at this thought, but right after, he felt Lizel turning towards him from behind. Gil turned around and looked down, wondering what happened. There, he was met with a serious face so forced that it looked painful.
“Were you that kind of person, Gil? I know that our contract is for a month, but I can end it today…”
“He’s disgusting. The worst. I cannot believe him.”
“Idiot.”
Lizel had joined in the conversation for some reason, so Gil lightly slapped the back of his hand against Lizel’s forehead. It made a nice sound, but it shouldn’t have hurt at all. After all, he had superb control over his strength.
He knew that Lizel didn’t believe the man’s words at all, but the gaze from Studd looking at him from inside was simply cold. Studd should have known that the man was speaking nonsense, yet he wouldn’t let the wonderful chance to abuse Gil escape, and Gil couldn’t help but wonder why.
“But, it’ll be a problem if Gil’s reputation falls by partying with me.”
“Hah? No one’ll take that guy’s words seriously.”
Gil had wondered why Lizel, who up till now had paid no attention to the man, suddenly interjected, but it appeared that this was the reason. The Q&A session had continued without any interruption, but it appeared that Lizel was properly listening to Gil’s conversation.
When Lizel poked his side, Gil surmised his intention. He lifted himself up from leaning against the chair. When he moved over, the seated Lizel was finally face-to-face with the man.
“I understood what you have to say. However, Gil and I are only together temporarily under a formal contract. I believe you are addressing your complaints to the wrong person.”
“What the hell is a guy using the power of money got to say?!”
“Sir, do you believe that Gil is someone who solely acts on monetary value?”
Lizel’s astonished tone made the man speechless. The man had been mocking and labeling Gil as such a person for some time.
In other words, the man was indirectly throwing a jab at Lizel for being a person of that level for recruiting Gil. Though, Lizel wondered if the man truly understood that far.
“Well, if you truly believe that, why don’t you try enticing him with more money than I had offered?”
Lizel smiled and gently narrowed his eyes. The gazes of Gil waiting on the side and Studd sitting inside like a model pierced the man.
The man fell silent. The intimidating feeling from these two accompanying Lizel resembled the same pressure as standing before an S-rank adventurer.
“Though, I don’t believe he could be attracted to you.”
Lizel’s beaming grin frenzied the man the moment he understood what was said to him. The noisy adventurers in the guild muttered amongst themselves.
They deemed the giant, muscular man as clearly lower than the effeminate Lizel. Lizel didn’t shrink away like most beginners.
His constant smile and composed attitude made him look as calm as a veteran warrior. At that moment, the onlookers no longer thought of Lizel as a young master who used his money to hire a professional.
At the same time, they realized that there must be some reason why Gil had never worked together with someone and grew curious.
“Bastard… Who do you! Think I am!!! I’m the same B-rank as the bastard you’re payin’ for!”
“B-rank, how wonderful.”
When words of affirmation finally came out of Lizel’s mouth, a twisted smile appeared on the man’s face as if saying, “You finally understand who you’re challenging, so bow down or something.”
He didn’t realize that he was alone in believing without a doubt in such a future. He glared at the person in front of him, vowing to prevent Lizel from fixing his broken pride.
However, he finally realized that there was a continuation to Lizel’s statement.
“However.”
Lizel tilted his head. This gesture would look cute if a young girl did it, but here, it resembled the signal for execution. The sensation of the air rippling felt so distinct as it encompassed the whole place. It was most likely because of this person.
“Comparing someone of your level with one of mine is utterly unpleasant.”
The man screamed in indignation. Though, what was said with that voice mixed with anger and humiliation couldn’t be comprehended.
His giant hand drew the block of a claymore from his back. Lizel continued to smile as he watched it happen. He was still, not showing any signs of disturbance.
The slash, befitting a B-rank, would reach Lizel in less than a second, but it took less than half a second for Gil to draw his sword and slash his opponent to block it.
The sword was severed from the grip and danced in the air. Gil grabbed the blade with his fingers as he raised his long leg.
“GAH…!!!”
The kick sliced through the air as it thrust straight into the man’s solar plexus, flinging the man’s giant body backward. The guild door, which was supposed to catch that giant body, made a terrible sound and buckled under the force. The man disappeared outside the building.
The man moved so quickly that the wind pressure blew through everyone’s hair a beat later. The silence didn’t last long until everyone regained their senses.
“Hey now.”
Suddenly, there was a calm voice amid the echo left behind by the sounds of destruction. Gil dropped his leg back to the ground, sheathed his sword, and turned around as if nothing had happened.
In the corner of his eye, he saw Lizel with his hands behind his back. He most likely was kindly holding back Studd from raising his hand.
“Guild employees cannot involve themselves in disputes among adventurers as a principle. Such is written in the rules, correct?”
“…We simply cannot respond to requests to arbitrate. We are not exactly forbidden from getting involved.”
“That’s fine, I guess. I thought you would be punished and became worried.”
Studd looked at Lizel smiling before dropping his gaze down to his left hand. He felt slightly disgruntled that he was suppressed right before he activated his magic, but he obediently backed down because Lizel was concerned.
Despite not paying any attention to the man blown away in front of him, Lizel worried about Studd. What the unfeeling Studd felt was a childish sense of superiority. Though, his face remained as indifferent and emotionless as usual.
“He’s a guy who would calmly organize his docs when a fight breaks out in front of him.”
“Based on his trajectory, I feared that the attack would make contact. It was on impulse. Shut up.”
Although Gil retorted, Studd hadn’t even thought about defending himself that moment. There was only a single thought in his mind: remove the outside invader threatening Lizel.
Even he himself didn’t understand why he thought that. The only reasonable explanation was that he was instigated by Lizel’s behavior.
Gil must have figured out Studd’s thoughts. His crooked smile and the way he was looking down on Studd made Studd look up, full of disgust.
“If you’re capable of understanding, then you must have also felt the same way.”
“Well, it’s my job.”
Gil avoided the questioning gaze and threw the blade portion of the claymore in his hand on top of the desk. Lizel had gone back to reading the guild rules before either of them noticed. When he finished, he suddenly looked up.
He noticed Gil had sheathed his sword and began, “That reminds me.”
“You couldn’t cut him, huh? Well, I was still pleased with that.”
“It clearly was gonna be a problem, and I’ll have to clean it. It’s damn annoying.”
“Eh? Then, we will have to fix the door?”
“You can just pay the cost for repairs.”
Lizel looked down at the booklet, wondering if there was such an unspoken agreement. There was nothing like that written, so it must have been some kind of established rule.
There was still much for him to learn. As he felt excited at this prospect, he thanked Studd and returned the booklet. His sole purpose today was just the booklet.
“Now then, your first request…”
Studd was ready to search for one, stood up from his seat, and looked around. There were still the restless atmosphere and the adventurers who observed each of the actions Lizel and the other two.
In short, it was really hard to do anything. Lizel didn’t mind, but as expected, it felt awkward when onlookers were constantly watching.
“Shall we leave it for tomorrow?”
“Yeah.”
“Studd, we’ll come again tomorrow, so please send us the repair bill at that time.”
Lizel said and left the guild together with Gil. The unconscious man lying on the ground was surrounded by observers, but these two pretended not to notice and returned to the inn.
<Translator’s Comments> I’ll probably stick my comments here at the bottom.
Anyway, I was so tempted to write “femboy” instead of “pansy” but it didn’t fit the tone xD
Also, another one joins Lizel’s “harem” 😛
Towards the Sky 
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