Lie carefully navigated the city streets, following the map in her hands. Her destination was marked her destination—The Mahi Library. Surprisingly, even with a map, the place was difficult to find. She had to cut through several alleys, and at one point, she had to blast a creep with a jet of water just to get him out of her way.
Eventually however she arrived at a small, two-story building that was clearly an apartment complex of some kind. "Could this be it?" she muttered, glancing around before cautiously making her way up the stairs to the second floor. Once there, she double-checked her map. In the corner of the paper, a note read: Room B5. Lie turned to her left, scanning the doors. Each had a plaque displaying a letter and a number.
B1… B2… B3… B4…
Finally, her eyes landed on B5. Underneath the plaque, a small sign was taped to the door: "The Mahi Library."
Lie let out a sigh of relief. Without a second thought, she pushed open the door— skeptical after all how strange it was for an entire library to be contained inside someone's apartment. But stepping inside, her breath was completely taken away.
Lining the walls were hundreds, if not thousands, of books packed tightly together. Shelves even hung from the ceiling, loaded with books, and laid across the floor were multiple towering stacks of books—some taller than Lie herself. "Wow…" she murmured, her gaze darting around the room.
Just then a voice called out from behind one of the book piles. "Can I help you?"
Lie turned toward the voice and a pair of hands appeared from between one of the stacks. The hands then pushed aside the stack of books to create a path. Several books on top tumbled to the floor, but the person walking through didn't seem to care.
Moments later, the figure stepped into view—a woman holding an open book in one hand.
"Um… y-yeah, actually," Lie said. "I'm looking for a book."
The woman, who was presumably the librarian, didn't miss a beat. "No duh... What book? If I have it, I'll remember."
Lie then hesitated before giving her the title. The librarian thought for a moment before rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Ah… Dorthy Zapp, huh?" She sighed. "Sorry, but someone just took that book recently."
Lie frowned. "Do you know when the borrowing period is up?"
"Sorry again," the librarian replied, "but they didn't borrow it. They bought it off me. For a hefty price, if I may add."
Lie clenched her fists in fists in frustration but kept her composure. "Do you know who they were?"
The librarian nodded, "Yeah, they're a regular here. Well… if showing up once every few months makes you a regular."
Without thinking, Lie then blurted out, "Can you tell me their address?"
The librarian gave her a look—clearly surprised—before sighing. "Sorry, no can do. I can't just go around giving out my customers' information."
Lie gritted her teeth. Ugh, come on… Guess I'll just have to resort to that—. She reached into her pocket, pulled out her Adventurer's ID, and held it up to the librarian.
"Please," she said firmly. "It's important that I get that book."
(And thus, Rion's adventure continues...)