How should Cia describe it? His first impression was that the library looked too gothic. The Town of Syrencrest used a special kind of gravel to make bricks. Their walls typically looked bright, leaning more towards beige before getting painted.
The library, however, had black bricks. Even in Cia's memory at the city, black bricks were still very uncommon.
[Host, t-this is not a villain's lair, right?]
"It's the library." There was a sign above.
It didn't really feel eerie or dangerous, so Cia was just curious. He pushed the door open and the bell that was hooked on top rang.
It was bright inside, all the windows were open. Although it was a bit dusty, the books on the shelves were organized.
"Meow."
Both the system and Cia were startled. They looked to the side and saw that, in the dim corner of the library, there was a person standing and watching them.
The shadow didn't look tall, even a bit hunched. The person walked out of the darkness. He was holding a cane with his left hand on his back.
Cia held his breath the moment he saw the older man. It wasn't because he was scary, but because Cia was afraid that one single move of his would send this old man to the afterlife.
Very old!
When looking at an elderly person, you might think that they looked fragile, but once you have seen this old man, your first impression would be: this old man is ancient. One wrong move and he'll turn to dust.
His face was barely visible from all the wrinkles covering it. He was hunched, like his face was about to kiss the floor. Aside from that, his arms were as thin as twigs, with loose skin draped on them like a rack of skin. He still had hair. It was grey, very sparse, and dry.
He walked very slowly, like a turtle. At his feet was a black cat. It also looked elderly. The fur was no longer as lustrous as before, but its eyes were still very sharp. It stared menacingly at Cia as if assessing whether he was dangerous.
[Host, let's leave. Grandpa looks like he would die anytime now. What if we land ourselves in trouble?]
"That's not a very nice thing to say. But even if he dies, people won't probably suspect it as murder."
No matter what Cia was thinking, he remained polite on the surface. He smiled and politely greeted the old man, "Old Sir, are you the owner of this library? I'm here to apply for a job." He was a bit worried that he wasn't audible to this elder.
"Did they send you?" The old man asked. Despite looking like he was about to set foot in the grave, his speech was not sluggish at all aside from a bit of huskiness.
Cia thought that the old man meant that someone referred him to this library. He shook his head, "No, I came here on my own after I heard about the hiring from my friend."
Although deep down he also thought... This sounded like a conversation in those spy movies. (Menacing eyes* "Who sent you?!")
The library owner surveyed him up and down to the point that Cia felt a bit unnerved. Shouldn't he ask for his qualifications or something? Why did it feel like he was judging Cia based on physical criteria?
"You're hired." The library owner suddenly stated. "I'll tell you the rules. Remember them carefully."
"Hah?"
Wait, this was a bit fast. He didn't even listen to Cia's self-introduction. Heck, he doesn't even know Cia's name.
Didn't they say that it was hard to land a job here?
The old man didn't care about his reaction and continued briefing him as to how the library worked. "There are three types of books. First are those you can sell, second are those only for rent, and third are those books with red marks on the list. Those books could be sold or lent, but there are certain conditions."
"Lent books with red marks need to be returned before the due date. If it exceeds the promised time, you need to forcefully retrieve the book from those who borrowed."
Forcefully?
Cia's insides were filled with "Eh?" and "Ah?" He couldn't articulate what he was feeling. It was very complicated.
His logic told him that he probably entered something that he shouldn't have, and his survival instincts were telling him to either run or play along. It was a very contradictory feeling.
"Ahm, sir. I think I might not be the right person for this job." Cia tactfully said while his body was ready to run the moment the old man showed malice.
"No, I think you're the most suitable one for this job. Your 'ability' is very good for this type of work." The old man didn't even give him a glance as he walked towards the counter. He picked up a thick book and tossed it at Cia.
"That is the list of books. Anything that is marked red are books with conditions. Your job would start tomorrow."
Cia caught the book. He was a bit off guard as to how heavy it was.
Listening to the old man, it seemed that he knew that Cia was an awakener. Cia's heart skipped a beat.
[H-host... Are we in danger?] The system was quick to cower under the fear.
"I had no idea." Cia wanted to take a bite out of the system. Did it forgot that just like it, Cia was also a newcomer in this world?
"Okay..." Cia gave up. Since it had already reached this point, might as well go with the flow.
[Hah? You accepted it that easily?] The system was taken aback as to how quick Cia adjusted his mood.
"Should I have a mental breakdown and cry? There's no use crying over spoiled milk."
[...]
The two of them were bickering as the old man didn't notice what's going on within Cia's mind.
"Now take a seat, I'm going to tell you the rules of this library." The old man pointed at the dusty chair in the corner.
"This library is open for ordinary people and those not so ordinary. The books with marks are not available to normal civilians. You can only give those to awakeners."
"There are rules. They need to pay as usual, but they also need to sign their names in the log book. Make sure it is their real name."
Cia, who was wiping the chair, felt conflicted. That sounded easy, but it was actually difficult. "How can I know it's their real name?"
The old man rubbed the cat that was lying on the counter. He looked at Cia... or so Cia thought, since the wrinkles made it hard for him to see where the old man was looking.
"There is a list of awakeners in the counter drawer. But that is only for the awakeners in this town. Since you are weak, just don't sell books to people that aren't on the list."
...
"Now, remember to come here tomorrow\..." With a voice laced with threat, the old man narrowed his eyes. "If not..."
"Okay... I won't be late." The scary moment was over. All Cia could feel was helplessness.
He walked out of the library feeling very desolate.
[The job doesn't seem very hard, right?] At least in the system's point of view, it was very similar to ordinary library jobs but with a twist.
"It would only be easy if no one messed with the rule. What if someone doesn't return the book on the deadline? That would be my business to take the book back." What Cia wanted was an ordinary job.
"No wonder this bookstore is very picky when it comes to applicants." Cia shook his head. Should he say that he is 'lucky' to be chosen? He didn't want this kind of luck at all.
He felt very burdened. Let's take one step at a time.
The siblings were still safe and the library job looked stable on the surface. He should first do the mission.
The deadline was six days and he needed to kill ten sinners. He better move now since he was not even sure if he could kill one in a day.
[YAAAY!] The system felt what he was thinking and was very happy. Finally!
The system was actually worried that Cia's mental barrier might make this task difficult. Although the resistance was there, his initiative meant that he was willing to change to survive.
Host wanting to survive means the system survives too!
"I want to take a bite out of you." Cia was sweating from worry while this system was just riding on his coattails. How unfair.
...
After coaxing Rena to sleep, Cia made sure that Sam and Eri were also deep in the dreamlands.
[How do we catch sinners, host?] After the excitement subsided, the system finally realized the main point.
"I can activate Punisher Mode instinctively for now. I'm not really sure what I'm doing, but let's go to sketchy places and put myself into danger." Cia felt stupid saying that, but what else could he do? Wait to be medieval tortured? No.
He grabbed a hooded brown cloak underneath his bed. This was used during winter, but now, it became his cover.
Aside from the cloak, Cia also found a dusty mask in the corner of the room. A white half-mask that could only cover the upper half of the face, leaving the mouth and jaw exposed.
Each eyehole was painted with a stylized, downward curve, representing a sorrowful, crying eye. There was a single painted teardrop trailing down from each side, giving the mask a permanent weeping expression.
Hmmm...
Sigh. This seemed to reflect his inner dilemma. Let's wear it for good luck.
"Since my chains only work instinctively, should I actively provoke the enemy to attack?" Cia thought that this was probably one of the hardest parts.
At this point, he was relying on the fact that he couldn't feel any remorse during Punisher Mode. He seemed to be heading towards the danger zone, but he'd figure out a solution later.
"This should be it." He also brought the fire poker just in case.
Cia had been trying to become a law-abiding citizen and a 'good person' in the previous world. It seemed like all his efforts were about to crumble like brittle wood.
Tonight, the hunt begins.