A strange world

Martin, who looked strange, passed by Annan, who looked strange, and asked Evelin, who looked strange, for a bottle of wine to give to the strange-looking guest.

Fast guessed wrong.

The guest still came. Unlike yesterday, today he was sitting in a conspicuous position in the pub, wearing neatly washed clothes and a bow tie that looked like that, looking at Annan at the counter.

"What happened to that guest..."

Annan stood behind the wooden pillar to avoid the blazing gaze.

"Even men can't stop our Annan's charm."

Evelin leaned on the counter with her chin in her hands, still peeking at Annan's reaction when she said "we".

Martin said with unprecedented seriousness: "Cousin, we must sleep in separate rooms."

"Great idea, are you ready?"

"what to prepare?"

"I was driven to sleep in the yard by Aunt Susan."

The slightly curved moon was gradually shrouded by broken clouds. The guests were worried about the rain late at night and hurriedly stepped onto the moonless bluestone road outside the tavern.

The guest also left in despair.

The bard stopped his story and strummed the strings. As if it was a signal of agreement, Annan came over with a glass of rye.

"How's your new job going?"

"I won't go to the interview until tomorrow."

Wanting to seize the opportunity, Annan visited the shops around the bookstore during the day. At first, the neighbors' accounts fit what Fast described as "a wise sorcerer's apprentice." However, as time went by, Mr. Victor was labeled as having a stubborn temper, a strange old man, and eccentric hobbies.

To verify this, Annan observed in the morning and saw an old man with gray hair sticking to his scalp meticulously and a neat and wrinkle-free shirt under a sleeveless sweater coming to the restaurant next door.

He frowned and pointed at the waiter's crooked tie, and then relaxed his brows after the waiter straightened it out.

Seeing Fast, who never buttoned up his collar and was dirty and yellow, he might throw a fireball at him. If only he could.

At noon, Victor walked out of the library on time and went to the adjacent restaurant to order mashed potatoes and broccoli. Annan sat in the corner, watching Victor frown whenever someone spoke eloquently or made a loud noise.

An old man who is a bit mystical and doesn't like making noise.

"A small place like this actually requires an interview?" the bard was surprised.

"Mr. Victor is an admirable magic apprentice. His accumulation of knowledge puts many mages to shame." Fast came over.

"If the most knowledgeable mage apprentice was selected from the Kingdom of Ruikan'er, Michael would rank him in the top one hundred."

"Top 100? Are you just a mage apprentice?" The bard even felt that these words were used to humiliate people.

"Michael asked me to tell you, if you say 'I am only one hundred apprentices', let me tell you that some mage apprentices are more knowledgeable than the mage and are suitable to be mentors."

Knowledge is a valuable asset and the cornerstone of magic. The old guys who have been wandering in the ocean of knowledge for a long time are not comparable to the confident young people who have just become mages. What restricts them is only their qualifications and luck.

This also explains why Victor's temper is so weird - facing a door that has not been opened for him for decades, it is strange to be calm.

And there are rumors that the old magic apprentice is looking for a mantle.

So why Fast said he was just giving Annan a chance. Because there are other opponents - rich men's sons, nobles, and mage families.

So Fast allowed Annan to go back an hour early today.

Annan said goodbye to his colleagues in the tavern, put down his apron, and returned to Aunt Susan's house to have an early rest.

…

The first ray of sunlight in the morning shines into the room.

Annan woke up leisurely. The linen coat he had asked Aunt Susan to iron last night was neatly folded beside the pillow. Martin was lying on his bed, his buttocks bulging, revealing the outline of the board stuffed with it.

Putting on clothes without wrinkles and stains, Annan set out in the morning light without smearing ashes, and stepped into the library filled with the fragrance of paper and ink.

Noise did not disturb this peaceful place, and the library was a little different than expected - there were no high ceilings and bookshelves that required stairs to reach, it was more like a bookstore. But there is no doubt that Annan likes it here.

Annan soon saw his rivals: a young man wearing dazzling clothes with six gemstone rings on ten fingers, a young man wearing a dark red dress with unique trimmings unique to the nobility, and a young man with long brown hair wearing a mage's robe. A girl with a loose tie.

The two young men seemed to reject the new country bumpkin at a glance.

It's definitely not because of this guy's looks that make them jealous.

"Who came first?"

Mr. Victor sat alone at another desk.

The young man in aristocratic clothing stood up, adjusted his collar, came to the table, and saluted respectfully: "My uncle Master asked me to express my sincere greetings to you."

"Master?"

"Yes, uncle often mentions you..."

"What did you mention about me?"

"Uh...your erudition..."

Mr. Victor shook his head: "Who is the second one?"

The lost aristocratic young man walked away, and the young man full of nouveau riche air came forward.

"...My father Chikesi asked me to express my sincere greetings to you." He greeted cautiously.

"What can you bring to the library?" The old man got straight to the point.

This question happened to be what the young man was good at. He regained his confidence: "We can buy both land and books."

"Then what can you bring to the library?"

"Well……"

The young man was speechless, sweat dripped from his nervous forehead, and he raised his sleeves to wipe it.

He's out. Annan thought.

Sure enough, Victor showed his disgust: "Who's next?"

The girl in mage robe stood up and came to Victor's table.

Still the question: “What can you bring to the library?”

"Order." The girl said calmly.

Victor's brows relaxed slightly and he continued to ask: "Do you know what is the most important thing in the library?"

"These precious books."

Victor was satisfied with this answer. When he was about to make a choice, he remembered something and looked over: "There's another one, right?"

So Annan appeared last like all protagonists, but it seemed that it was too late.

The old man reached for the kettle and looked at Annan sitting in front of him.

"Coffee or water?"

"Water will do."

Annan was still thinking that this old man was not as difficult to contact as he thought.

"You guessed it wrong, it's coffee."

As the warm coffee gurgled into the water cup, he continued to ask: "What can you bring to the library?"

At this moment, Annan suddenly gave up his original plan and answered in a different way: "A librarian."

The wrinkles on Victor's face stretched like daisies: "Do you know what is the most important thing in the library?"

"Shh..."

Annan put his index finger on his mouth and pointed at the quiet reminder hanging on the bookcase: "Please keep your voice down."

Victor stood up suddenly on crutches, then sat back down and said in a low voice:

"You passed, come to work tomorrow."