Chapter 21: When Trouble Walked In

Soon, Cia threw that man to the back of his mind. He made his way to the library, this time already a bit apprehensive because of that woman cloaked in black fog.

SHING!

The wind chime above the door made a crisp sound as Cia went inside. The old man was still sleeping on the rocking chair.

After putting the bag underneath the counter, Cia sat down and pulled out a new book that he just borrowed from the library.

It was such a boring day that Cia felt guilty. He had a lot of things to do, but he did everything except what he was supposed to do.

Cia was about to doze off. He didn't get proper sleep last night. His head kept bobbing up and down, then he heard the chime cling.

He snapped back awake immediately. He looked at the very skinny man walking inside. The man was tall and slender. He is wearing a brown jacket and a huge top hat. A very weird attire even in this place.

Although many educated men here dress formally, wearing a hat, especially a top hat, is still very formal.

The man's jaw was sharp and long. His forehead was almost the size of his entire face. His eyes were very defined, as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. If Cia hadn't seen him blinking, he would have thought that he doesn't have an eyelid.

[Host! Here's the excitement that you are looking for.] The system was rejuvenated. Cia noticed that it was starting to have a penchant for being happy whenever he was in trouble.

Hmm... I should correct that later.

The system suddenly felt a chill. All its fur was up. It looked around and there didn't seem to be any danger. It forgot about the ominous feeling and excitedly watched Cia's interaction with the strange man.

"Hello sir, is there anything I can help you with?" Cia flashed his signature 'formal' smile. The man gave Cia a three thousand mile death stare.

It was a bit uncomfortable being stared at with those unblinking eyes.

The man opened his mouth. Cia's smile almost fell off when he realized that the man's mouth seemed to spread more vertically than horizontally. One could imagine that with the man's long sharp jaws, the moment he opened his mouth it was so wide that Cia got an uncanny valley feeling.

"Do you sell books here?" His words were stretched as if he was talking in slow motion.

Cia went silent. He was almost certain that this man is not an ordinary civilian.

What are the chances? Seeing a supernatural entity in this world is described as the same chances of getting struck by lightning. Cia met a lot in the past few days. Does that mean that he's an unlucky bastard?

This should be a good thing since his fertilizers are sinners, but hey, who would've wanted to be known as a magnet of trouble?

He took a glance at the old man. The old guy was still sleeping.

Is that complacency, or was the old man also relying on him to get rid of troubles? He really hoped not because if that's the case then the two of them, oh wait, four including the cat and the system, would be doomed.

He calmed down and acted like nothing happened.

He took out a list from the counter drawer and placed it on the table. "Yes sir. These are the books that we are currently selling. You can choose one that you like." He better not alarm this strange man. There's no one inside this library that could stop him if this guy goes berserk.

Cia is an awakener, but he had no idea what this person's level is. Heck, what if this guy is a hidden boss? No need to ask for trouble.

Well, not at least in broad daylight.

[Host only acts at night!] The system also chimed in.

The man's long bony fingers grabbed the list. Seeing the man calmly reading through the names, Cia thought, maybe I was overthinking?

"This. The Art of Dauthi." Still with that voice that seemed to be in slow motion, the man placed the list back on the table, his fingers pressing on a book name in the list.

The Art of Dauthi? That book title sounded unfamiliar. Cia took a closer look at the list. Then he realized that these books with red marks were placed on the back of the shelf behind his counter.

"Okay sir. I'll get it for you." Cia scurried behind the shelf. He was already itching to get away from this man even for a second.

Very uncanny.

But before getting the book, Cia pulled out a list with names and 'pictures' of the awakeners in the town.

After flipping for some time, he finally found it: Iuson.

No last name, arrived at the town two years ago.

For Cia, it looked utterly sketchy. But since the old man told him that it was alright to sell books as long as the awakener is listed, there should be no problem.

Now, Cia searched the shelves for The Art of Dauthi.

Cia finally found the book. It was coated with dust. He cleaned it off with the duster and walked back to the counter. "This is the book sir. It would be three silver coins. But before anything else, you are required to sign here before taking the book." He took out a small notebook from underneath the counter and placed a signing pen beside it.

The man stared at the book with excitement. He tossed three silver coins at Cia and hurriedly picked up the book.

It was sudden, and the way the man grabbed the book was so anxious that it caught Cia's attention. He quickly pulled the book, not caring about the coin. "Sir, you need to sign first before you can take the book." Cia had been briefed by the old man to ALWAYS LET THE BUYERS OF BOOKS WITH RED MARKS SIGN.

The old man repeated that again and again. He looked very stern and scary as he said that, telling Cia that the consequences of it are something that he couldn't imagine. Although Cia thinks that it's just an exaggeration, it really paid off, as Cia sensed that the signing part seemed to be important.

"Is that really necessary? I already paid," said the strange man. His eyes seemed to burn holes in Cia's body. "I won't sign."

Cia's heart raced, but the old man's words stuck in his mind. He yanked the book away from the strange man and directly stated, "Then I can't give you the book."

He pushed the coin to the man. "Please take your coins away and leave. If you are not happy with our rules, then maybe this is not the right place for you."

Cia's mouth went dry after he said that. It's not that he was thoughtlessly provoking this man who seemed to be something.

It's just, the old man's words stuck to his head. The ominous warning about the consequence and the repeated reminder matched together with this strange man.

It just didn't sit right with him. It felt like he was talking to something that wants to evade responsibilities. It's bad if it's human and it's disastrous if it's not.

Cia glanced at the sleeping old man, about to ask something, before swallowing his words. The old man was awake. He was staring at Cia. His eyes are more hair-raising than those of the strange man.

He seemed to be scrutinizing Cia's actions, behavior, and even his looks, just like when they first met. Such intense evaluative gaze made Cia feel that he had been seen through.

Fortunately, the old man's gaze shifted towards the strange man. "You're a healthy man and you're picking on an old bone like me? I'm running a business here and just like others we follow the rules. If you don't abide by that, then don't blame me for also executing proper measures for those rule breakers."

The old man's eyes were half open and his back was hunched. He doesn't look intimidating and his voice sounded soft. The cat on his lap hissed at the creepy guy.

The strange man looked at the old man for a second before picking up the sign pen and writing his signature on the small notebook.

Then he looked at Cia who was still hugging the book.

Cia saw that he finally signed. He double checked the name and after confirming that it was legit, he placed the book back on the table and the strange man grabbed it.

He was quick to walk out of the library, but Cia noticed that his knee joints didn't seem to bend.

"..."

[Host, that—] the system was also horrified. After seeing those unbending knees, the man now kinda resembled an inanimate object pretending to be human.

"You did a great job."

Cia snapped back when he heard someone praising him. He looked at the old man in surprise, his fingers tapping on the table. "Sir, was that really alright? That man seemed to be strange." He really couldn't shake off the anxiety inside him.

The old man dismissed his concerns. "It's fine. Don't worry, nothing will happen." Then he closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Just as Cia thought that he would be like a statue again, the old man opened his eyes and looked at him. "You're strong."

Strong? Where?

"Your ability is unique. Cherish it."

Yeah, it did feel unique. Cia gave the old man a polite smile that looked very forced.

He continued his shift filled with worry. When his time was finally over, he waved goodbye at the old man and ran out of the library.

"System, based on my understanding from the original owner's memory, awakeners and demons are a rarity. I don't know if I'm just too involved now, but this town feels like it's on the verge of explosion." Cia had been feeling this crisis when he was at the arena. At first he thought he was going paranoid, but the feeling seemed to be becoming stronger.

I guess this is it huh? Cia knew that he was still too weak to feel comfortable. He finally made up his mind.

Tonight... He'll overcome his mental hurdle. Being in punisher mode will make him lose his empathy, right?

Rampage tonight, regret later. It sounded very pathetic, but what could he do?