Chapter 6 - The Second Day

After an unpleasant first experience at the communal latrines, Peter promptly went back to Beatrice's bookstore for more work.

He cleaned the bookstore, armed with a bucket and mop, until the floors shined with a brightness he didn't know wood was capable of. He split the books he brought in yesterday in alphabetical order, which she then took to the shelves. And finally, some outside errands for him to run. His job took up the entire afternoon, but he didn't mind. After all, he could've been mugged or, even worse, stabbed again.

On his breaks, Beatrice allowed him to go upstairs into the study room. There, he could read up on whatever he wanted until she needed his assistance again. Sitting at a table in the middle of the room, he engrossed himself in a Hylokans history book. He needed to amend his lack of knowledge, lest people grew suspicious of him. And if what Hemofemina said was true, the less eyes on him, the better.

As he reached the middle of a passage about past tensions with nearby kingdoms, the door opened.

He turned his head, expecting Beatrice. But in the doorway, a young unfamiliar woman stood. She had long black hair that reached her shoulders, and a simple white shirt and pants combo.  Bandages wrapped around the left side of her head, covering one of her eyes. Bandages also covered her left hand, bringing attention to her missing ring and pinky fingers. Dirt and dried blood caked both her sleeves and her bandages. With her left, she held her black coat. In the other, she gripped a book with a brown cover, similar to his book. Slung over her shoulder was a flintlock rifle, well-used but well-maintained. His eyes widened. Guns were not something he expected to exist in this world yet.

The two stared at each other in awkward silence. Then, the woman began backing away slowly, boring holes into him with her eyes. She only stopped when she bumped into Beatrice, making her yelp.

"Now, now, what's the matter?" Beatrice gently rubbed her shoulder. She looked up at him, then to her. "Ah, I forgot to tell you! This is Peter, one of my new assistants. He's been helping me since yesterday. Sorry, I forgot to mention him when you came in."

The girl looked at him, playing with her fingers, then nodded. "I see. Sorry."

He nodded his head. "It's alright."

"Well, you two can talk to each other if you want. I need to go back downstairs. Be nice with each other!" Beatrice left, leaving the two by themselves. The girl shut the door behind her, then placed her rifle against a clear wall. She sat at the table, across from him, then started reading. Thinking of nothing to ask her, he went back to his book too. If anything, the past hostilities between Hylokans and Phegolan was quite the fascinating read.

. . .

Soon, sunset approached Holdenville, and as he put away his book and prepared to leave, the girl approached him, rifle slung over her shoulder again.

"Hello," she stammered. "Are you going now?"

"Yeah."

Her eyes darted back and forth for a bit before holding her hand out. "I'm Maya. Sorry for not telling you earlier. Beatrice always said it's rude to not introduce yourself."

He took it, shaking her hand. "Peter. And don't worry about it. You come here often?"

She nodded. "I like coming here whenever I come back from hunting."

"You're a hunter? That makes sense, I was wondering what that rifle was for."

She nodded again. "Lots of big animals die in one shot from a gun. It's not very good against rabbits, though. Too much power."

"I see," he responded, trying not to imagine a rabbit exploding from a bullet. Noticing she still held the book she had from before, he pointed to it. "What's that book about, if I may ask?"

"This?" She shook the book a bit.

"Yeah."

"Magic."

"Magic? Like fireballs and stuff?"

She nodded. "Nothing like fireballs though. Too complex. It's beginner tricks, like sparks."

"Ah. Do you know any?"

Silence.

"My bad."

She shook her head. "It's okay. Just need to keep practicing."

"Are there any other books like that here?"

"Not really. Magic books are expensive. This book cost 500 silver."

His eyes widened. His pay for today was ten silver coins, food costed about one per meal, and his room cost four. It would take him about a hundred sixty seven days to obtain such a book if he continued like this. "Um, are there any other places I can get jobs? Like an adventurer's guild or something?"

"Adventurer's guild?"

Crap. Did he just assume adventurer guilds existed in this world? "Uh, yeah. You know, where parties take jobs and get paid for doing them."

She looked him up and down. Suddenly, she walked over to the door and opened it. "I know one," she said.

After hurriedly finishing his preparations, he followed behind her, Beatrice waving goodbye to them as they left. They rushed through the main roads, squeezing through people and carts, before finally arriving at their destination. In front of them stood a big double-story building, a large sign with "Holdenville Guild" emblazoned on it hanging in front. Instead of the regular oak doors most buildings had, this one had lacquered mahogany doors. Big windows flanked the entrance, and through it he could see multiple people, from all walks of life, drinking from mugs and chatting loudly. He shook his head. How did he miss a building like this coming in?

"I've never gotten a job here, but this is probably your best bet."

"Have you been inside before?"

"A little bit. I've never talked to anybody inside before."

He nodded in understanding. He would've ignored places like these back then too. "Did you want to try adventuring?"

She stayed still for a couple of seconds, then slowly nodded. "I want to wait until I become a proper wizard. Only then can I be worthy of joining a group."

"I'm sure there's some folks in there who'd appreciate someone with a gun."

"I haven't needed to reload fast though."

"Can you aim good?"

"I can. But you need to shoot fast too."

"You have a point."

As he grabbed the door handle, she asked him something. "What skills do you have, if I may ask?"

He thought about it for a second, then shrugged. "I don't know. Guess I can carry things for people? I'll just have to see." He entered the building, leaving her outside.

After a few seconds of deliberation, she too entered the Holdenville Guild.