The next morning came like any other. Rion and Lie both rose and changed into their clothes.
"Ready to head out?" Rion asked.
Lie nodded, shoving on her shoe. "Yeah, let's go!"
They headed downstairs, returned their room key to the innkeeper, and thanked her for the stay.
As they walked out, the innkeeper smiled warmly to herself."They're such a nice-looking couple," she said.
The morning streets of Waneir were bright and bustling as Rion and Lie made their way through the city.
"So, are we going to the library first?" Rion asked.
Lie shook her head. "Nope. The Guild."
"What for?"
"You'll see," she replied with a teasing smile.
Rion shrugged and let himself be dragged along.
At the Guild, Lie stepped forward, gently pulling Rion up beside her. Behind the counter stood the receptionist—an older gentleman who smiled when he saw them.
"He's here to collect his reward for yesterday's quest," Lie said, stepping aside.
The receptionist perked up. "Of course! May I see your Adventurer ID?"
Realizing what was happening, Rion grinned. "Here!"He handed over his card.
The receptionist studied it carefully, nodded, and handed it back. "Perfect. Give me just a moment."
He disappeared into the back room, and after a few minutes, returned with a decent-sized pouch of coins.
"Here you go," he said warmly. "Thank you for all you do."
Rion beamed. "Of course!"He accepted the reward with both hands and bowed slightly in thanks.
Outside the Guild, Rion stared at the bag of coins. It wasn't a fortune— and definitely didn't make up for his near death experience with the Clamshell. But still, he was happy, thrilled even.
"Alright!" Lie shouted. "Now let's get you that history book!"
Rion nodded, and Lie led the way back toward the Mahi Library. When they arrived, Rion stared up at the building in surprise.
"Woah, the library's here!?"
Lie smirked. "I thought the same thing."
They climbed the steps up to the room and entered. The peculiar librarian was there again—this time seated on stack of books like they were a throne.
Lie gave a small bow. "Thank you so much for yesterday!"
The librarian glanced at her, then returned to her book without a word.
Lie sighed. "Ah…"
Rion stepped forward. "Hey, lady, you got any history books?"
The librarian glared at Rion over the top of her book. "Keep it down."
"Huh? But no one's even here," he replied—just as loudly.
The librarian let out a long sigh… and chucked the book she was reading straight at Rion.
"Woah!" he said, catching it mid-air. He looked down at the title: The History of Accia and the Larger World.His face lit up. "Sweet! How much?"
"one silver coin," she said flatly.
"No problem." Rion reached into his reward pouch and tossed the coin up toward her.
The librarian snatched both out of the air like a cat.
"Alright. Now get out of my shop. You—'girl who abuses her power.'" Lie blushed.
"And you—'boy who is far too loud.'"
Rion chuckled. "Thanks for the book."
Lie gently smiled. "Thank you again—for everything."
The librarian gave a subtle nod and watched as the two left. Then, an ever-so-slight smile crossed her face before she reached for another book from her book "throne" and opened it up.
(And thus, Rion's adventure continues…)