Chapter 11

"I'm surprised you have so many vegetables in the fridge; are you planning to make stew?" Conner asked, as he tried to figure out what they needed.

"Umm... Not sure; just grabbed a bunch of stuff." Ariel shrugged. Who knows what he could make with all of that?

"Getting creative? Are you sure you started cooking recently?"

"Don't expect anything else to turn out as good."

"Aw, don't say that. I remember your old creations were... interesting, but if you can make one good dish, it's likely you can make another. Don't give up."

"This is all about you wanting more homemade food, isn't it?"

"Can you blame me? The food last night was delicious."

"And hard to replicate! I don't remember what was thrown in."

"So you got lucky? Works for me."

Damn it, Conner.

"Also, do you need me to leave more money for food? If you're cooking fresh, I know chicken is more expensive this way. I have no idea about prices anymore, so stop me if the price is that bad."

"I thought you were price-matching."

"But not everything is in a flyer. Anyway, I've got our initial list with cheese, some sauces, more frozen food is always good to have around, and you're free to grab any other food you want, so long as we have space to fit it in the fridge. Let's go." Conner ushered her towards the entrance. He glanced at his loafers in the closet before continuing to get ready to leave.

Jade heard the front door close and watched from the study room as Conner and Ariel hopped into their navy blue vehicle and drove off.

"So that's her brother?" he sighed. He seems to be perceptive; I'll have to be careful around him. He glanced at the runes sitting on the desk and sighed again. To his knowledge, none of the runes he had could be combined to create a portal to somewhere nearby, never mind to another planet. Am I truly stuck here? Would Orsted try to find me? His Highness... Is he okay? Are they still fighting?

Jade ran a hand roughly through his long hair and let the strands slip through his fingers. Men here seem to lean toward short hair. It would probably be better in a fight without helmets, but it's a sign of my status. Would I have to cut it to fit in? It's not like my status means anything here. Jade shook his head. It's too early to give up on returning home.

Not wanting to run into them while they're out shopping, Jade decided to head to the library to do some research with the map he drew using Ariel's supplies at home from what he could remember.

It should be this way. He walked a few streets and pulled his paper out to confirm while waiting for the lights to change.

Bam. A woman ran into him and fell back, hitting the ground.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" she screeched at him.

Jade turned to the woman with black hair and a look of disgust on her face, and raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't moving, so it is you who ran into me." He held his hand out to her, nonetheless. "I'm assuming it's that thing in your hand distracting you?" He nudged his head towards the phone she kept a tight grip on even when she fell.

"That thing? Oh, my phone." She stared at him in a daze.

"If you don't want my help—"

"No!" She latched onto his hand, and he pulled her to her feet. "Umm... Thank you." She giggled and twirled her hair around her finger. "Hey, you look familiar; have I seen you before? What school do you go to?"

"I've only arrived here two days ago, so it's unlikely I know you."

She kept her grip on his hand when he went to pull away. "No, I'm certain I've seen you. I could never forget someone as handsome as you." She swooned, hearts in her eyes.

"I have been wandering around this new town, so unless you've seen me around like that, it must've been someone else. The light I need is changing, so would you mind letting go?" Are women here normally this clingy to a stranger?

"Oh! Well... I thought." She looked at the light, and he pulled his hand away to cross. "I'm Janice, by the way!" she yelled to him. "I know I saw him somewhere recently," she mumbled to herself, and took a picture of his receding figure. "Damn, his whole figure is impressive enough to make him look good walking away. Surprised to see a guy with longer hair than me, though. Hopefully, I can run into him again." She stared at her phone for a moment. "So weird to call a phone 'that thing'. I wonder where he's from."

"Janice! Stop talking to yourself and hurry up," one of her friends called out to her from the parking lot nearby. "We're going to be late."

"Tch, I'm coming, so don't yell at me."

Why do the crazy ones have to notice me? Jade glanced back when the girls started yelling at each other. Hopefully, I never have to see her again. Even her screechy voice is unpleasant, never mind running into someone else and blaming them. How immature of her.

He stopped outside of the four-storey structure, half built out of glass walls to let sunlight stream in. I wonder how this works here.

Jade walked in, his head swivelling around as he took in the sight of the sea of books and a reading area off to the side.

"First time here?" The grey-haired woman at the nearby counter, who was busy scanning books into the system, approached him. "Can I help you with anything?"

"I..." Would it be better to look around myself first? "How does it work here? Can I sign out books to bring them home?"

"If you have a library card, yes."

"How do I get one?"

"I can help you sign up for one." She led him over to the counter. "Do you have any identification with you?"

I guess I can't tell her I have a magical stone from my world. "No, I don't."

"Well, I can still give you the paper to fill out and bring with your ID. Even without a card, you're free to read any of the books here until we close at midnight."

Jade accepted the paper and gave her a smile. "Thank you."

"If you need any more help, feel free to ask me anything; I'm here all day."

"Alright, I will. For now, do you mind if I peruse the aisles?"

"No, no, go right ahead."

"Thank you, again." Jade excused himself and walked through the aisles, glad his powers not only worked for spoken language but also written language. I'd be lost in this library without her language skills. He read the titles on the books in the fantasy section as he walked down the aisle. Where do I even start? In her world, it would be fantasy, but these are likely stories, not pools of information.

How many days will I spend in here searching for hope? He glanced up at the rows of bookcases going around the levels above him. Maybe there are books on runes, and that might lead to more magic books.

"If you're looking for a specific book, genre, or have a keyword to search, you can use the database computer over here," the woman from before called out to him.

Jade followed her pointed finger to an object similar to what he saw on Ariel's desk. Guess I can confirm what a computer looks like now. He sat down in front of it and read through the words on the screen before looking at the keyboard. Even being able to read it, this is going to take a while.