The once dusty wooden floor of the library was now shiny, albeit a little slippery. The cobweb riddle corners were no more and the bookshelves were spotless.

“Done.” Said Lazarus with a soft sigh. He looked at the windows and judging from the soft orange hue beaming through the windows, it must’ve been late in the afternoon already.

The door clicked open. Lazarus turned to look at the old librarian who closed the door behind her and upon the sight of the newly cleaned room, her jaw dropped.

“Oh my gracious…You did all of this..?” She muttered in disbelief.

“Of course, that was the job, right?” Lazarus clarified.

“Y-yes..but–” The old librarian went to the window and gently ran her finger across the newly cleaned glass. “It’s spotless.”

Lazarus just waited as the old librarian evaluated his work. She sometimes made little comments like ‘oh my’ and ‘oh my gosh’. Was that so strange? He wondered. The last time Lazarus had to clean was when his drill sergeant told him to do so, and he’d need to keep on going until it was spotless. Just thinking back on those days made Lazarus wince internally.

The old librarian seemed to be done with her inspection and she stood in front of Lazarus beaming happily.

“Thank you so much boy! Here.” She balled up her fist and dropped two silver coins in Lazarus’ open palm. His eyes widened.

“Wasn’t this job supposed to be 300 copper?” Lazarus asked.

“While yes, that was the agreement but you’ve even cleaned the windows, the corners and even the reception table. You’ve done so much!”

Lazarus wasn’t sure about the conversion rate, but 2 silver coins sounded like it was worth more than 300 copper coins. At least that’s what he thought from her slightly excited and generous tone.

Looking at the coins in his hands made Lazarus feel butterflies in his stomach. It was the very first thing he earned in this world and while it was a very small step, it was still a progress to building the comms tower. He could practically feel the weight of these silver coins in his hands.

“Thank you.” Lazarus said, giving the old librarian a soft smile. She seemed to be shocked but quickly regained her composure and waved her hand.

“N-no no no. I should be thanking you boy. I thought this would’ve taken you two days! If you want to read some books, you’re free to come here anytime.”

Lazarus felt a jolt in his spine and tried his best to suppress a snicker.

“Really? Then can I take you up on your offer?”

“Of course! However, the books are upstairs, I plan to organize them and put them back in the shelves so maybe you could come back tomorrow when I’ve done so?”

Lazarus couldn’t wait. He needed to see those books to fill-in any gaps in knowledge he had of the world and so he held a hand and tried to put on his best gentlemanly smile.

“Perhaps I could help you right now?”

“Oh no, I couldn’t possibly trouble you any further…” Said the old librarian, waving her hand.

“Please, I insist. You’ve been very generous to me after all.” Lazarus tried. The old librarian quickly glanced back and forth between him and the shelves, seemingly unconvinced. But Lazarus kept his firm gaze on the old librarian, wanting to make sure she got his determination. Thinking she needed one more push, Lazarus continued, “I’d feel bad to be overpaid, so this will really help me get that load off my chest, how about it?”

“M-my… you really make it hard to say no. May I ask your name again?”

“It’s Lazarus. Lazarus Hargreave.”

“Thank you, Lazarus.” Said the old librarian happily, as she placed a hand on her chest. “I’m Ema Millstone.”

“A pleasure.” Lazarus said casually. He wasn’t sure if this was the etiquette in Valeria but giving out names quite late in the game was a bit weird to him.

“So, perhaps we could start tomorrow?” Said Ema to which Lazarus shook his head.

“Why wait when I can start now?”

“Well, aren’t you tired after cleaning everything?”

“Not really, no. I barely broke a sweat.” Said Lazarus flatly. It was then that Ema furrowed her brows and looked at him from head to toe when she finally realized that while a bit dirty from cleaning, the man in strange clothes didn’t really look tired or sweaty at all.

“How…?” Ema muttered under her breath in pure disbelief, still inspecting the strange man.

“Can I start?” Lazarus managed to squeeze out which seemed to snap Ema out of her trance and nodded very quickly.

“Y-yes. Then, let us go upstairs.”

After he was given some instructions, Lazarus quietly brought the books from the second floor down to the first and put them in the necessary shelves, but not before quickly flipping through the pages which at first, made Ema curious as she asked,

“Are you really reading them? There’s no point in just flipping through the pages.”

“I just like to see if any topics interest me.” Replied Lazarus casually.

What the old librarian didn’t know was with a neural chip and advancement in technology. Flipping through them was all Lazarus needed to copy every contents of the book in a recorded memory where he could just review the video for later.

Lazarus could even make a snapshot of what he saw and save it for later. It was quite convenient to have eyes that worked like a camera.

While the action seemed to be strange to the old librarian, although a bit disappointed that Lazarus never took time to read any of them, she was still happy that he organized everything neatly and efficiently.

After everything was done, it was already dark out and Lazarus finally placed the last book on the shelf, wiping his forehead out of habit even though he never sweated.

“Done.”

“Thank you so much for helping this old lady” Ema said with a very happy smile. But she couldn’t help but ask. “Be that as it may, I’m still saddened that not a single book in my collection has taken your interest…”

“Oh…well, I-..uhmm.” Lazarus tried to think about how to respond to that but Ema just shook her head.

“Oh, you don’t have to take it seriously. I’m still quite happy that you went out of your way for little old me. So thank you, Lazarus.” Ema lowered her head, making Lazarus frown.

Was this a custom of Valeria? Should he lower his head too like in Japan? Thinking it was the right action to take, he did the same and said,

“I’m also very grateful that you gave me this opportunity.”

“Oh my.. You’re too polite. You didn’t have to.” Said Ema with a chuckle.

After saying his goodbye, Lazarus left and squinted his eyes at the sheer darkness of the night. He could barely see the street from the dim illumination coming from houses and establishments.

He glanced around and noticed the people walking along the road carried a wooden container with a glowing stone as a light source like primitive lamps from the medieval times.

-’So they don’t have lamp posts huh…’-

Maybe they didn’t need it, as some of the passersby didn’t have the lamps like the others, but instead their fingers were growing a faint light and they used it to light their way.

“Light magic...I see.” Lazarus muttered to himself. If everyone could make their own light, then they wouldn’t need any light source. It did make sense, but it just didn’t feel right.

Lazarus closed his eyes.

-=”Activating night vision”=- A deep robotic voice echoed in his mind. When he opened his eyes, he could see everything clearly, though dyed in green. He began walking down the road.

It felt surreal. Everyone around him was using some form of magic, and he wasn’t. Instead he was using technology and they were none the wiser. Lazarus snickered. He couldn’t exactly remember much from his childhood, but he knew he envied mages. But now? He couldn’t care less. He had something that nobody else had. That was enough for him.

Lazarus quickly took out the hand in his pocket and gazed at the silver coins and smiled.

-’Now, what can I buy with these?’-

There was a lot he could think of but the first order of business was to get out of his military clothes as it attracted too much attention. Then Lazarus stopped and looked at a wooden sign with a carving of what seemed to be clothes.

After entering the shop, a young girl with a dress and apron, with a napkin covering her ponytail walked over and asked,

“Can I help you?”

“I want that.” Lazarus pointed at a simple white T-shirt and leather pants hanged with a wooden hanger by the entrance. “How much?”

“That’ll be 250 copper coins for both!”

“Right…Uhmm. I only have silver coins.”

“No worries, we have change.”

“Hmm..” Lazarus looked around. “Or maybe I could buy more. How much is that?” he pointed to a brown leather cloak hanging at the counter. The girl glanced over made a soft ‘hmm’ before looking back at him and said,

“That’s 1 silver. Sorry if it’s a bit expensive, but it was also made to prevent rain from seeping in. It’s designed for adventuring so–”

“I’ll take it.”

After paying for the items, Lazarus was given 750 copper coins as change. With that kind of information, it was safe to assume that 1,000 copper coins is 1 silver coin. Would that also apply to gold?

In any case, time to try on a new set of medieval styles villager clothing.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In a paved path amidst the vast sea of grass, were two horses tied to a tree, drinking from a crystal clear puddle of water that had formed close to the tree.

Besides the horses was a man with long purple hair that reached down to his waist, his eyes were also of a purple color. His ears were the size of human ears but were pointy in the edges. He wore a simple white vest and white leather pants, but even then his wiry muscles were still apparent beneath his clothes despite his slim build. The man adjusted his glasses and tapped his companion wearing a white expensive hood with golden lacings that waved around to form an elegant, soft and gentle design.

“Hmm?” The hooded woman muttered, glancing at the purpled haired man.

“Princess, we should get going soon.”

“I know. Yet, must I keep on wearing this?” She gestured to the hood, making the purpled haired man sigh.

“Yes. Unfortunately, your mere presence alone will cause an uproar wherever you might go. And besides, his majesty the King will murder me if he knows I’m bringing you along with no guards.”

“I see…”

“You don’t sound convinced? Do I have to remind you that you’re the youngest person ever to receive the title of ‘Twilight Princess’ and when have you gone to a place where there wasn’t anyone fussing over you?”

“In that case, why make me wear something that makes me stand-out? Surely people will know we are one of the nobility with these kinds of clothes and cloak.”

“That’s fine. While we may not want anyone to know who you are, it’s best to give them an idea of your status. That way, no one will dare to approach unnecessarily.” The purple haired man sighed, “Still, you’ve accomplished so much and yet, it might not matter if you get infected.”

The woman seemed to be taken aback. She clenched her fist and lowered her hood, revealing her long lustrous black hair that fluttered in the wind. Her emerald green eyes that looked soft and gentle were now eyeing the purpled haired man with a deep frown.

“That matter is of little concern to me. Have you any idea what I’ve endured throughout these years!?” Reisha raised a voice, clenching her fists. Then her eyes widened upon realization and she put a hand to her mouth and stepped back. “I apologize. But please, do not question my resolve anymore.”

“So you’re dead set on this, no matter what?”

“I am.” Reisha said firmly. For a moment, the two stared each other down. Falon was the first to break eye contact, turn and sigh.

“Then let’s go. The quicker we get there, the quicker this farce ends.”

The two mounted their horses and went on their way. As the two traversed the vast grasslands, Reisha couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed at Falon. He made it seem like this trip was really a hassle despite knowing how much this meant to her.

While Reisha never forgot, just a recent incident made her remember how strongly she truly felt.

The houses of the village had their doors opened. Bodies lying in a pool of blood littered the streets and the air was filled with the scent of smoke and iron.

Reisha, wearing her combat-attire, applied a bit of mana to her sword. A blue transparent light pulsed from the sword and bubbled-up, carrying the blood and fats that were sticking to the sword before popping. The blood and oil dripped to the ground and she heaved a sigh.

Villagers were peeking from the corner of their houses and when they realized that a lone princess stood at the center of the village and the corpses of the bandits had riddle the ground, they came pouring out and erupted into cheers.

“Reisha! Reisha! Reisha!”

“You saved us!”

“Thank the heavens the Twilight Princess came to our aid!”

After the crowd calmed down a bit, with a little bit of persuasion from Reisha, they began rebuilding their homes and the others were gathering up the bodies. There were also a few mourning the death of the unfortunate one that was killed by the bandits.

Reisha didn’t want to keep on distracting the villagers as wherever she went, they stopped whatever they were doing to give her their thanks and praise and so she decided to patrol the village and stand on guard while awaiting for the Knights to arrive.

After she reached near the outskirts of the village, she felt her heart chest tighten.

There was a little boy holding a little girl in her arms, hiding behind the well.

From their hair color, it was obvious that the two were siblings.

Reisha wanted to call out to them. But she felt a lump in her throat. She couldn’t take her eyes off of the little girl that was clutching her brother for dear life. The little girl had something that she had always yearned for.

There was a muddy murky sensation filling up Reisha’s chest. Heaving a sigh and shaking her head, Reisha took a deep breath and slowly approached the kids,

-’How unbecoming of me…to think that I’d be envious of a child.’- Reisha thought, smiling bitterly to herself.

“Hey, are you two alright?” Reisha called out. The kids at first, flinched. But seeing her armor sword and shield crest carved on her chest plate, their look of horror turned to relief and admiration.

“It’s the Twilight princess…” Muttered the boy in disbelief.

“Y-you took care of the bad guys..?” The little girl sheepishly asked. Reisha nodded and beamed a smile.

“You’re safe now.”

At that moment the two kids ran to her and practically jumped. Reisha caught them and just embraced the two, trying to calm them. They wailed for a while but eventually calmed down.

After she reunited the kids with their parents, Reisha handed them off to the Knights that arrived and headed off.

Reisha opened her eyes. She could feel the wind in her hair as the horses clopped forward.

“Princess, we’re already close to the town of Celes. Hmm? Is something the matter?” Falon asked, giving Reisha an inquisitive look. The princess just shook her head and smiled bitterly.

“I just remembered something…that’s all.”

“I see.”

As they were approaching the town. Reisha could feel her chest pounding. They were getting closer and closer to where her beloved brother was actually exiled to.

[-’How about I tell you a story?’-] A childish voice played in her mind and Reisha’ eyes widened. A torrent of emotions whirled in her heart and she had to cover her mouth to try and suppress the rising sensation she felt.

-’Why..? Why is my heart aching so much..?’-

Was it fear of finding out that her beloved brother had long since passed? Or was it the fact that he might’ve harbored hatred for her throughout the years? Perhaps all of them.

Just thinking about him after all these years was making it harder and harder to breathe.

“Please…please be there…” Reisha softly pleaded in a low tone that only she could hear.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the outside it looks beautiful, rustic and cheerful. Timber and thick, hardwooden logs make up most of the building's outer structure. It's hard to see through the darkened windows, but the music and voices from within can be felt outside.

“This should be the place…” Lazarus muttered, entering the Tavern. The thick alcoholic scent, the loud talking and the loud clacking of wooden beer mugs was quite the sight. It was packed and there was only one empty table by the corner.

Still wearing his cloak, Lazarus made his way through the rowdy crowd and sat down. Not long after, a girl with brunette hair and freckles approached. Lazarus looked at her and he could see she was wearing a brown skirt coupled with a white shirt with a green apron over her clothes. The girl smiled,

“Hi! Welcome to Celes’ one and only tavern! I’m Tiffany! So, what can I get you?”

“Hmm… Well, do you have any eggs?”

“Eggs..?” The girl repeated, a bit surprised at his choice of food given the kind of place he was in. And seeing Lazarus nod, she forced a smile and assumed that it might’ve been the only thing he could afford. “Aannd, will that be all?”

“Well, can I ask you one thing?”

“Sure!”

“I’ve heard an Azalea flower can heal grievous wounds and might fetch for a high price. Do you know what else it can do and for how much it can sell exactly?”

“Hmm..An Azalea flower huh.” Tiffany put a finger on her chin and looked up. “I think it usually fetches around 50,000 thousand gold or more…as for its other uses uhmm…I think the Elves usually need those to keep their forest healthy. The flower somehow makes trees bear fruit in just a couple of weeks instead of waiting for months on end. Basically, it helps with their food supply as Elves mostly eat fruits.”

Tiffany paused, slowly turned her gaze to the hooded man and smiled knowingly. “And it’s so rare and Elves are very protective of them that it’s sometimes used by nobles to propose! Kyaah!” Tiffany began wiggling around, making Lazarus wince. “The Azalea flower signifies first love and eternal commitment! It’s so romantic, isn’t it, right??”

“I-..see”

-’No wonder those Elves were so pissed…’-

“Thanks for letting me know.” Said Lazarus, which Tiffany seemed to ignore whilst grinning.

“Hey, you gonna propose to someone with that flower?”

“No, but can I get those eggs now?” Said Lazarus. He really didn’t feel comfortable talking with this waitress anymore.

“Okay~” Replied Tiffany as she turned and left, but not before shooting Lazarus some cheeky glance after every 5 steps she took, making him facepalm a bit.

After waiting for a bit, the door to the Tavern slammed open.

The crowd stopped and stared, and so too did Lazarus. Then their eyes widened.

There were two hooded individuals wearing silky white robes with golden lacings in the entrance. One was tall, the other was shorter and looked to be a young-woman.

-’Nobles…great.’-