The old man's appearance was ugly.
Of course, Oliver wasn't the type to care about that, but objectively he was ugly. At least compared to Forrest, who runs a restaurant.
An old coat, sunken cheek, an egg-like top on the head, long hair around it.
He even reminded him of Kent, and the old man opened his mouth again.
“Did you come to see a book, mate…?”
At that moment, Oliver came to his senses and asked.
"Ah, yes… What books do you have? Mister."
“Hahaha!.”
At that moment the old man burst into laughter.
“…?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve been called Mister…. You have good manners even though you are a young man…. There are many books. Since I was young, I have been collecting books as a hobby. Would you like to take a look?"
The old man pointed toward the little bookstore beside him.
It was a small space between his shop and the next shop, and it looked dark, cramped, and dusty.
Oliver understood why there were no people even though there were many people in the market.
But, fortunately, Oliver didn't care about that.
The dark, cramped, dusty place was already part of his past life.
Rather, he was more interested in the books that are tightly packed inside them.
Of course, he was also interested in the old man, who radiated a tremendous magical power for a second.
So, Oliver nodded his head and entered the store.
“Then, can I take a look?”
“Of course, mate. Feel free to take a look.”
Oliver bowed his head in response to the old man's kind words. Kent said that kindness should be rewarded with kindness.
When he entered the narrow bookstore he felt that it was much narrower than it looked from the outside, and it was difficult to even for a single person to pass through.
If you are a person with a good physique then you will be suffocating as soon as you entered.
However, Oliver focused his attention on the old man while pretending to look at the books.
To be honest, there was nothing about the old man that stood out.
His emotional state was as common as other merchants, and he did not see the magical powers he had seen in the Lightning Wizard or the magic tools.
It was as if the powerful magical power that Oliver had felt before was just a momentary illusion.
However, Oliver could assert that it was not an illusion, like how one could not make a mistake about natural disasters such as typhoons.
Oliver thought he would not be able to win against the old man if he had to fight him in his current state.
"Is there anything interesting, mate?"
The old man asked suddenly.
Oliver replied, surprised to find out that the old man was looking.
“No, these are books I’m seeing for the first time, so it’s a bit unfamiliar… huh?”
One thing caught Oliver's eyes as he peered through the books.
Just like other books, it had a boring title stereotyped with difficult words, but one word caught Oliver’s eye.
“… World tree?”
“Are you interested, mate?”
Oliver answered the old man's question while lost in his thoughts.
“A little… I heard about it once at work.”
"Isn't that great, mate? It's rare for ordinary people to mention the world tree. Can I ask what job you're doing, mate?"
Oliver thought.
“…a waiter at a restaurant.”
"Waiter?"
“Yeah… I happened to overhear when the customers were talking.”
The old man nodded his head in understanding.
“Hmm… I see. You are a waiter who can read… Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mock you, mate."
"No, that's fine… instead, can I ask you a question?"
The old man at the bookstore laughed again.
"It's been a long time since I've been asked a question… Tell me, mate."
“You seem to be knowledgeable, do you know what the world tree is?”
“The world tree….it’s a little hard to explain. The concept is so diverse, and the role is vast."
"Um…."
"Well, to put it bluntly, it's a very large encyclopedia."
"Encyclopedia?"
"That's right. If I had to compare it, I'd say that's the most appropriate word."
“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand it, isn’t the world tree just a tree?”
“Yes. And it is the biggest tree in the world.”
The old man at the bookstore said with confidence.
His words were sincere, but Oliver couldn't understand them.
He said the tree was an encyclopedia, and then he said it was the biggest tree in the world.
Oliver used his imagination.
He imagined a huge tree where people look for information.
He wondered whether the information was written on the leaves.
It felt like a puzzle he could not solve. Forrest said that he gets information indirectly through the world tree, but the old man’s words that it was an encyclopedia felt contradicting.
An encyclopedia was just a document of pre-recorded events or things, and Oliver did not understand how it can have information on Fighter Crew.
All of a sudden, Oliver forgot about his disappointment with Gray Market and was now feeling intense curiosity.
Oliver wanted to satisfy this curiosity as much as possible, and at that moment the old man at the bookstore gave him a piece of appropriate advice.
“You seem to have a lot of questions, then how about buying this book, mate?”
“This book?”
“Yes. Although it’s not very interesting and difficult, I think it will be fine if you have the will to learn. It's worth finding knowledge on your own rather than listening to it through someone else's mouth……huh, think of it as some old man’s grumbling."
Although he said it in a humble tone, Oliver felt like he had heard the right thing to clear his head.
He felt what the old man told was right.
It was for the exact reason he came out into the world on his own instead of using the Joseph family disciples to satisfy his curiosity.
He could not believe that he asked about the World tree while the book about it was in front of him.
"No, that's a wonderful saying… Can I ask how much this book is, Mister?"
The old man at the bookstore looked at Oliver.
Even Oliver, who could see through others’ emotions to some extent, was not able to easily read what he was thinking.
“If it’s okay, can I take a look at the book, mate?”
The old man stretched out his hand and asked. Oliver handed him the book.
"Let's see… Although it’s a bit old, it’s in good condition, and it’s not easy to obtain. So if you add the storage and maintenance cost… …please pay me 200,000. "
“200,000?”
"Exactly."
Oliver tilted his head while thinking inside.
This was the first time he had bought a book.
However, if it was 200,000, then according to Oliver's personal opinion, it was worth it.
Although it was four times the price of an existing book, Oliver did not know, and even if he knew, 200,000 or 20 million was meaningless to Oliver if it could solve the questions he had.
The old man looked at Oliver and asked.
“Is it expensive?”
"No, it's not. Mister, pack it up."
“Does a restaurant waiter make a lot of money these days? That amount would be enough for my week’s pay.”
"It's okay, I get a lot of tips…"
Oliver said while recalling the story of a man at the beggar's den, who used to work as a waiter in the past.
“Tip? Oh, you should be working in a good restaurant.”
“Yes….it's a nice place.”
Oliver answered and took out the money from his pocket.
He tried to give the 100,000 Landa bills, but he changed his mind and took out 20 of 10,000 Landa bills.
“Here you go.”
The old man at the bookstore folded the bundles of banknotes without counting and put them in his pocket.
"Take it. It's your book now."
"Thank you."
"Thank you too. It's been a while since I've seen a guest, even though it was brief, it was enjoyable. I don't know how long it's been since I had a conversation with someone, Goodbye."
“Yes, goodbye, Mister.”
Oliver bowed politely and prepared to leave. But he suddenly stopped and looked back at the old man.
Perhaps it was an action that would pose unnecessary risks, but, as always, his vigilance could not stop his curiosity.
“Mister.”
“Huh? Why did you come back? Refunds are not accepted by the store policy.”
“No, that’s not it… If you don’t mind, can I come and ask you if I had any questions after reading this book?”
The old man grinned.
"I don't think it's going to be easy for an old man like me to give a good answer."
“Any answer is better than no answer.”
The old man grinned.
"… I'll think about it if you meet one of my conditions."
“What kind of conditions are you talking about?
"Buy me some alcohol and snacks. I don't answer for free. It comes with a charge, mate."
Saying those words, the old man laughed again.
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
After returning to the inn, Oliver had a light meal.
In the past, when he was in the Joseph family, he would skip meals to increase his time to read books. But now, he couldn't help but remember Kent's advice to eat properly.
Nevertheless, the fact that time was scarce was inevitable. So Oliver came up with a good idea.
"Simple food to eat?"
He asked the innkeeper with a good appearance.
“Yes, Madam hostess. Can you send some simple meals to my room to eat?”
“Why? Is the food that I carefully prepared taste bad?”
The hostess asked back while putting her arms around her waist. She looked very displeased now.
"No. Thank you for the food you always serve. It tastes great."
Oliver felt a bit of discomfort.
“But, sometimes I have to do things in my room, so I need something to fill up my stomach.”
"Oh! You don't even have time to come down and eat because you're working?"
The hostess spoke sarcastically with a strong attitude.
However, Oliver wasn't offended.
He didn't react in the first place, and he had to consider the fact that most of the people who stayed at this inn were people who were engaged in dangerous things.
Emotions are contagious, and it would affect people around them whether they want to or not.
There were positive examples like Kent, but there were also negative examples.
In other words, she had no choice but to be rough.
“I want to study.”
"Study?”
“Yes… I quit for some reason, but now, I want to study again.”
The word of study softened the hostess' heart.
She didn't know Oliver's situation, but she seemed to understand something when she used her own imagination, hearing the word study.
“Well…it seems like there is a situation, but it’s still difficult.”
“Ah… is that so?”
“Yeah, you’re not the only person staying here, so we can’t give you special treatment, right? If we allow you to take food to your room, then everyone will ask us to bring their food to their rooms too. Then, that boy and I will be treated like maids. I don’t want that to happen.”
The hostess said while pointing to the straw-haired, skinny boy, about the same age as Oliver.
“Um, I see.”
"Yes. I can cook food as a hostess, but I don't like to play the role of a maid."
Oliver was silent. It certainly wasn't something that he could force a person to do.
He nevertheless made a suggestion, as she remained a little apprehensive.
“What if I pay more?”
“You’ll pay more?”
"Yes."
When the story of money came out, the hostess showed interest. Everyone makes money to make the ends meet, so it was natural.
It was essentially the same with Oliver.
All of a sudden, Oliver was focusing on the conversation itself, not on the food he could eat in the room.
It reminded him of the merchants and customers bargaining at the market he visited earlier.
The act of eliciting desired opinions through dialogue between people.
He wanted to try it, but it was a pity that the opportunity did not come, he suddenly felt like this was the moment he was waiting for.
The hostess knocked down at the table.
"Don't talk nonsense, eat your food in the restaurant space! Don’t waste any more time, do you know how difficult and troublesome it is to prepare food?!”
“Um, yes.”
Contrary to his expectations, the bargain ended easily.
Apparently, Oliver did not have the talent for bargaining.
After Oliver finished eating, he put the price of the food on the table and went upstairs.
On the way up, a straw-haired boy who helps the hostess came up to him and asked.
“Sir… Were you a student?”
"Pardon?"
“Because you said that you wanted to study… Did you go to school?”
Oliver thought for a moment and said.
“I didn’t go to school. I just learned a little from someone.”
"Ah… Then… can you read articles?
“Yes, why?”
The boy who works at the inn hesitated.
The emotion of longing shone, and with it came shame and fear.
Then, as soon as the boy tried to open his mouth, he heard a scream from downstairs.
“Rosbane! Where the hell did you go, you runt?”
Startled Rosbane bowed to Oliver at the voice of the ferocious hostess. Then, he went down.
Scathing shouts could be heard from below, but Oliver did not pay attention to them and went into his room.
Then, he pulled out today's purchases on the bed.
Low-quality emotions and Life-force, poor-quality black magic items, and an unintentionally purchased book.
Oliver picked up the book, went to the desk, and opened it.
He wondered what the world tree was.
(To be Continued on OCT 03{MON})