Genius Warlock-Episode 67
The old man's appearance was rather shabby..
Of course, Oliver wasn't the type of person to care about such things, but even looking at it objectively, he was ugly..
At least compared to Forrest, who runs a restaurant..
An old coat, sunken cheeks, a top of the head peeling like an egg, long hair around the edges... .. It reminded me of Cant for some reason, but he opened his mouth again..
"book… . Did you come to see it??”
Only then did Oliver come to his senses and respond..
"Ah, yes… . Is there any book? Elderly.”
Elderly. Hearing those words, the old man said, Haha! burst out laughing.
"...?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve been called an old man… . Even though he is young, he is very polite... . There are many books. When I was young, my hobby was collecting books. Would you please take a look??”
The old man pointed to a small bookstore behind him..
It was a small space sandwiched between stores, and it looked dark, cramped, and dusty..
Even though there were a lot of people in the traditional market, I could understand why there was no one here..
But, fortunately, Oliver didn't care about that..
Dark, cramped, dusty places were already a part of my past life..
Rather, I was more interested in the book inside. The books packed tightly inside..
Of course, I was equally interested in this old man in the bookstore who radiated tremendous magical power for a split second..
So Oliver nodded and went into the store..
"Well, can you take a look??”
"Of course. young friend. Take a look as much as you want.”
Oliver bowed his head in response to the old man's kindness. He said that kindness should be repaid with kindness..
When I entered the narrow bookstore, it was much narrower than it looked from the outside, so much so that it was difficult for even a single person to pass by..
Anyone with a good physique will be out of breath as soon as they come in..
But Oliver didn't care, he pretended to look at the book and focused his eyes on the old man..
Honestly, nothing stood out..
His emotional state was as normal as that of any other merchant, and he did not show any magical power seen in lightning wizards or magic tools..
As if the powerful magic I felt earlier was a momentary illusion..
However, Oliver was able to assure that it was not a simple illusion..
Just as natural disasters such as typhoons cannot be perceived as an illusion,.
With that much magical power, I didn't think Oliver could win in his current state..
"Anything fun? young friend.”
The old man in the bookstore suddenly asked.
Oliver responded in surprise, as if he had caught him looking..
"No, these are all books I’ve seen for the first time, so they’re a little unfamiliar… .. huh?”
While looking through the hardback books, something caught Oliver's eye..
Like other books, it was a boring title with a stiff font, but one word caught my eye..
“..…world tree?"
"Are you interested??”
Oliver answered the old man's question without realizing it..
"A little… . I heard it once while I was working the other day..”
"exactly? That's amazing. It's not often that the general public mentions the World Tree. May I ask what you do??”
Oliver thought.
“….I'm a restaurant worker..”
“Employee?”
"yes… .. I overheard what the customers were saying..”
The old man nodded as if he understood..
"hmm..… . Right. A restaurant worker who knows how to read... .. Oh, really, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you..”
"No, thanks… . You may be the minister, but can I ask you a question??”
The old man in the bookstore laughed again..
"It’s been a while since I’ve been asked a question… . Please tell me. young friend.”
"You seem like a very knowledgeable person. Do you know what the world tree is??”
“World tree... .. It's a bit difficult to explain. The concept is so diverse and the roles are vast..”
“ah…..”
"Well, if I had to explain it, it could be said to be a very large encyclopedia..”
"Are you talking about the encyclopedia??”
"exactly. If I had to explain it, I would say that it is the most appropriate..”
"I'm sorry, but I don't really understand. Isn't the World Tree a tree??”
"exactly. And the biggest tree in the world.”
The old man in the bookstore spoke confidently..
He meant what he said, but Oliver couldn't understand it..
A tree is a book. And the biggest tree in the world.
Oliver used his imagination.
Picture yourself looking for information by spreading out a huge tree. Is there information written on the leaves??
Still, it was full of things I didn’t understand..
For example, it was said that Forest obtains information indirectly through the World Tree, but this also did not make sense..
An encyclopedia is ultimately a record.
I don't know much about this area, but I didn't think I could figure out the members of the fighter crew with something like that..
Before he knew it, Oliver had forgotten his disappointment about the gray market and was feeling intense curiosity and curiosity..
I wanted to satisfy this curiosity as much as possible, but then the old man in the bookstore gave me some good advice..
"I see you have a lot of questions. So, how about buying the book? young friend.”
"This book?”
"exactly. Although it is very boring and difficult, I think it will be okay if you have the will. Since ancient times, it is more valuable to find knowledge yourself than to hear it from others... Of course, it may be just a useless remark from an old man, but.”
Even though he added humility at the end, Oliver felt like he heard something right that made his head clear for the first time in a long time..
The old man was right. Knowledge is something you have to explore yourself..
Only then did it become his own..
Oliver scolded himself. He asked with an easily understandable book in front of him.…..
"no. Those are great words… .. Can I ask how much this book costs? Elderly.”
The old man in the bookstore stared at Oliver..
Even Oliver, who can see through emotions to a certain extent, found it difficult to read them..
"If it's okay, I could read some books.?”
The old man stretched out his hand and asked. Oliver handed over the book..
"Let’s see… . Although it is a bit old, it is in good condition, and it is not an easy book to find these days, but if you add up the storage management fee and the list price of the book... Please give me 200,000 Randha..”
“20It's just that?”
"exactly.”
Oliver tilted his head, thinking to himself, “I’m cumming.”.
This was my first time officially buying a book..
However, according to Oliver's personal opinion, 200,000 was nothing..
It was four times the price of the existing book, but Oliver didn't know, and even if he did know, 200,000 or 2 million didn't mean much to Oliver if it could only answer the curiosity he wanted..
The old man looked at Oliver and asked.
"Is it expensive??”
"no. no. Elderly. Just wrap it up.”
"Do you think employees make a lot of money these days? That would be enough for a week's salary..”
"that… .. I received a lot of tips so it’s okay..”
He said this while recalling the story of a person who worked as an employee in a beggar gang in the past..
"tip? Oh, I see you work at a nice restaurant..”
"yes… . It's a good place.”
Oliver answered and took out money from his pocket..
10I was going to give him 10,000 Randa notes as high-denomination currency, but I changed my mind and took out twenty 10,000 Randa notes..
"Here it is.”
The old man in the bookstore did not count the wad of bills that Oliver handed him, but immediately folded them up and put them in his arms..
"Take it here. Now it's your book.”
"thank you.”
"I really appreciate it. It's been a while since I've been a guest, so it was short but enjoyable. I don't even know how long it's been since we last talked. Goodbye.”
"Yes, good luck with your business..”
Oliver bowed politely and left. But then I stopped and looked back at the old man in the bookstore..
It may have been an unnecessary risk, but as always, interest and curiosity won out over caution..
"Elderly.”
"huh? Why did you come back? Refunds are not provided according to store policy..”
"no. That's not it... .. If you don’t mind, if you have any questions after reading the book, could you come and ask me??"
The old man laughed vainly..
"I think it would be difficult for an old man from this shabby used bookstore to give a good answer.?”
"Any answer is worth it..”
The old man grinned..
".……I'll consider it if you keep one condition..”
"What conditions are you talking about??”
"Please buy some alcohol and snacks and come. It's okay to speak bare-mouthed."
With those words, the old man laughed again..
***
After returning home, Oliver had a light meal..
In the past, when I was at the Joseph Family, I would have skipped meals to have a little more time to read.,
Cant's advice to eat properly came to mind and I couldn't bear to skip it..
Nevertheless, it is an unavoidable fact that time is a waste. So Oliver came up with a good idea..
"Food that is simple to eat?”
The good-looking inn hostess asked:.
"Yes, ma’am. Is there any simple meal I can eat??”
"why? The food I carefully prepared is not delicious.?”
the hostess asked, putting her arms around her waist. She looked very displeased now.
Oliver continued speaking to her mood as best as he could..
"no. Thank you for the food you always prepare. The taste is great too..”
A crushing discomfort.
"However, sometimes I have to run errands in my room and need something quick to fill up..”
"her! No matter what you do, you don't even have time to eat.?”
The inn hostess spoke again in a strong manner..
However, Oliver was not offended at all..
I wasn't the type to react to things like this in the first place, and I had to take into account that most of the people staying at this inn were people engaged in rough work..
Emotions are surprisingly contagious, infecting those around them whether they want it or not..
There were positive examples like Cant, but there were also negative examples..
In other words, she had no choice but to become rough..
"I want to study a bit.”
“study?”
“yes.… . I quit for now due to some circumstances, but I want to study again..”
The inn hostess's heart softened at the word study..
She didn't know Oliver's circumstances, but she seemed to understand something after using her own imagination at the word study..
“what… .. I guess there are circumstances, but it’s still difficult..”
"ah.… . is that so?”
"Yes, you're not the only one staying here, so you can't give them special treatment, right? If you bring food to your room, everyone will ask you to bring it to their room too. Then, me and that girl will be treated like maids. I don't want to be a maid anymore.”
The innkeeper said, pointing to a skinny boy with straw hair. He was roughly the same age as Oliver..
"Oh, you're right..”
"Yes? So, eat your food at a restaurant. As a hostess, I can work hard to prepare food, but I cannot act as a maid..”
Oliver was silent. He definitely couldn't force someone he didn't like..
Still, I was still feeling a bit lingering, so I made a suggestion..
"How about paying more??”
"pay more?”
"yes."
When the topic of money came up, the innkeeper showed interest. She earned money to survive, so in a way, it's natural.
It was basically the same for Oliver..
Before he knew it, Oliver was concentrating on the conversation itself, not on being able to eat food in his room..
I was reminded of the scene between the merchant and the customer bargaining at the traditional market I visited earlier..
The act of eliciting desired opinions from one another through conversation.
I wanted to try it, but I was disappointed that the opportunity didn't come, but I felt like now was the moment..
Tak 1!
The innkeeper slammed the table..
"Don't talk nonsense. Eat your food at the restaurant! Don't waste any more time. I know how difficult and cumbersome it is to prepare food.?!”
"Ah, yes.”
Contrary to expectations, the negotiation ended easily..
It seemed like Oliver didn't have the talent for bargaining..
After Oliver finished eating, he put the money on the table and went up..
As I was going up, the shop girl who helped the inn's hostess approached me and asked..
"excuse me… . You were a student?”
"yes?”
"I heard you studied... ..he went to school?”
Oliver thought for a moment and said.
“I didn't go to school. He only learned a little from a teacher..”
"ah… . Then write… I guess you know how to read.?”
"Yes, why are you doing that??”
The boy worker at the inn hesitated..
The emotion of longing shone, and shame and fear shone along with it..
Then, the moment I finally mustered up the courage to open my mouth, I heard a shout from below..
“Rossburn! Where did you go again?!”
Rosburn was startled by the fierce voice of the hostess, bowed to Oliver, and then went down..
A scolding sound came from below, but Oliver quickly turned his attention off and went to his room..
Then I dumped today's purchases on the bed..
Low-quality emotions and vitality, a poor quality black magic item, and a book purchased unintentionally..
Oliver took the book to his desk and opened it..
I wonder what the world tree is..
Comments