Chapter 9 – Riversides, Badges, and Dukes

Somewhere in another city, two guys were having a full-blown crisis. And by “crisis,” I mean the kind of panic that made you question every life choice you’d ever made—mostly the one where you decided to follow some sketchy orders from people with questionable morals.

“What happened? Why didn’t you bring the code?” The first guy’s voice had that lethal mix of irritation and panic, like a cat discovering that its favorite nap spot had been claimed by a particularly smug raccoon.

“I… I tried to find her room,” said the second, voice wobbling like a broken lute string, “but I couldn’t get it.”

The first man facepalmed. Or maybe he just slapped the universe in frustration. “Idiot! Without the code, we have no idea what to do!”

“Should we call the boss?” the second suggested, cautiously.

The first made a noise that could only be described as horrified laughter combined with impending doom. “Call the boss? The boss will kill us if he knows we messed up. Seriously. You know what happened to last week’s intern? Don’t ask. Just… don’t ask.”

“Then… what?”

He rubbed his temples like a man summoning all the patience the cosmos had left in him. “I heard they hired someone to find it. Follow him. Don’t do anything until he finds it. Then… steal it from him. And if he refuses? Well… finish him.”

The second gulped. “Sure… brother.”

Ah, yes. Another perfectly normal day in the life of me, Erik Thermos, accidental detective, part-time chaos magnet, and full-time confused idiot. I wasn’t involved yet, but in a few minutes, my life would get a whole lot more complicated.

I blinked and realized I was staring at a building so vast it probably had its own zip code. The library. Or rather, the library. Not the boring “silent people reading dictionaries” type. This place looked like someone had taken a noble’s mansion, sprinkled it with magic, and told the architects to “go wild.”

I stepped inside, immediately struck by a wave of smells that were somehow equal parts old parchment, polished wood, and faintly magical ozone. Light shimmered from floating orbs that hung from the ceiling like lazy stars, casting soft blue illumination over the shelves.

People—well, humans and non-humans—were everywhere. Teens? Kind of. Elves? Check. Tiny horned demons scribbling furiously? Check. A guy with a tail the length of a broomstick playing with a book that seemed way too heavy for him? Absolutely. And yes, in one corner, someone’s hair was literally on fire. Just… floating flames. No alarm bells. No screaming. Pure casual fantasy life.

I pinched my nose and muttered, “Yep. This is normal. Totally fine.”

I wandered through like a confused tourist. My attention snagged on a girl with hair that glimmered like liquid sunlight. Blonde, sharp elven features, cute enough to make your internal monologue go, Wow, how can someone look that good while cataloguing books?

Before I could overthink it, my legs moved on autopilot. “Hi,” I said. Smooth, Erik. Smooth.

She looked up from her ledger. “How can I help you, sir?”

Ah. That was easy. Right. System had sent me here, but—oh yeah—I had zero clue what I was supposed to do.

“Where… um… can I get the romance section?” I asked.

Her eyebrows rocketed upward. “Romance? Sir, this is a library, not a brothel. We provide information, not… that.”

Right. My bad. I could feel my face slowly catching fire. “Oh. Sorry. My… research is purely academic.”

I stepped away, pretending to be fascinated by a shelf labeled Beginner Magics for Overachieving Rodents. Seriously, it was a thing.

Every screamed information: extinct beasts, magic theory, pet care for everything from pixie dogs to minor demons, encyclopedias for every race you could think of. Human. Elf. Witch. Maybe even some long-lost species nobody had bothered to name yet.

But… no romance? No fantasy novels? No picture storybooks? Where was the actual fun section?

I considered writing a book myself. The idea lasted approximately 0.2 seconds before my brain screamed, Nope. Too much effort. Full-time chaos is already exhausting.

Then it hit me: Kiara had been here. She had taken something from this library, but what? I hadn’t asked. Rookie mistake. Full-on Detective Erik fail.

Decision time: I’d go to her house and ask.

I turned to leave, only to spot her again—the golden-haired librarian, now slightly shy. Cheeks pink. Eyes flicking nervously at something on the table.

Naturally, my inner detective flared. Time to investigate.

She was staring at… a picture of a couple kissing. Lips smooshed together, hands awkwardly tangled. And she looked… turned on?

“Oh,” I muttered quietly. “Well… natural reaction, I guess. Biology 101.”

She noticed me and scrambled to hide it like a ninja librarian. “W-what are you doing here?” she asked, face still red enough to roast marshmallows.

“If you want,” I said, trying my best charming grin (that I suspected only I noticed), “I can give you something. A surprise.”

Her eyes narrowed. “No. We don’t know each other. I don’t take things from strangers.”

“Then I’ll give it to the library. Consider it… a scholarly gift. Keep it if you want. Reject it if you don’t. Purely informational, I swear.”

She paused, sniffed air like a suspicious cat, then nodded. “Fine. Tomorrow, then.”

“Great. But I have to head to the riverside downtown now.”

Her eyes widened. “Wait! Mister—”

“Erik. Erik Thermos,” I introduced myself properly.

“Alicia Johnson,” she said, looking me over. “Sir, you cannot go there. After yesterday’s attack on the duke’s daughter, all the gates near the riverside are closed. Only people with royal badges can enter.”

Right. Of course. The one thing I absolutely do not have. Fantastic.

“Don’t worry,” she said, calming. “I am going nearby. I can take you there.”

I blinked. “Wait… what about the library?”

“My sister will handle it. She’s… reading anyway.”

And that’s when the universe decided to add extra spice: a loud, angry voice boomed across the library, echoing like a thunderclap. “Hey! Silent! No romance here! No touching!”

Alicia winced. “Don’t mind her. My sister… has strong opinions about library rules.”

I muttered under my breath: Thank the gods it’s the calm sister with me and not the human hurricane on the loose.

With the calm Alicia guiding me through the library chaos, I felt like a war hero—if war heroes were extremely confused, completely unqualified, and secretly terrified of librarians.

“So… the riverside,” I said, trying to sound casual while mentally preparing for the possibility of being thrown into a magical detention cell. “What’s the deal there?”

Alicia glanced around. “Yesterday there was an… incident. Duke’s daughter attacked. It’s complicated. The gates are closed. Only certain people can enter.”

“Right,” I said. And I am obviously not one of those people. The kind of people who could enter were probably royalty, nobles, or someone who looked important and wasn’t me. I wasn’t even wearing a jacket fancy enough to hint at competence. My shoes? Definitely suspiciously ordinary. I may as well have had a sign: Please stop me, I’m definitely going to mess everything up.

“But don’t worry,” she continued, smiling like this was no big deal. “I live nearby. I can take you.”

I blinked. “You’ll take me there? Just like that?”

“Why not? You’re obviously lost, and I don’t want you wandering into trouble.”

Lost. Wandering into trouble. Ha! Those were my life-long hobbies, apparently.

We stepped outside the library into a bustling street. Sunlight hit my face, and I squinted like someone had just turned on a spotlight in my eyes. Downtown, near the riverside, was… well… a mess. Barricades, guards, and some very official-looking people with royal badges were everywhere.

“You can’t just walk past,” a guard loudly muttered. “If you don’t have a badge, you cannot enter inside, Duke’s order.” and I’m not royalty.

Alicia, as calm as a cat in a sunbeam, just waved. “Relax. I’ll handle it.”

We approached the checkpoint. I tried my best to look confident. I looked like a lost puppy who had accidentally stumbled into a formal military inspection. The guards’ eyebrows nearly met in the middle of their foreheads as they assessed me.

Alicia stepped forward, giving a polite bow. “This gentleman is with me. Please allow him to pass.”

The guards at the riverside checkpoint looked at Alicia like she had just announced she was about to summon a dragon in broad daylight. One of them cleared his throat, clearly trying to look important.

“Pass… badge,” he said slowly, as if speaking to a particularly stubborn toddler.

Alicia reached into her bag, ready to pull it out. And yes, this was a massive, ridiculously overstuffed bag—the kind of bag that could probably smuggle a small library, a couple of minor demons, and a suspiciously grumpy goat if needed. It was also full of the books Kiara had ordered. Every single one.

I was silently bracing myself for the usual “Sir, you can’t pass without a badge” lecture. You know, the one that usually involved long speeches, hand gestures that could double as martial arts moves, and me awkwardly apologizing for existing.

And then something happened. Something I literally could not have predicted.

“Ahh, hail to the Duke,” said the guard, standing a little straighter, his tone suddenly reverent, like he had just spotted a legendary artifact in the flesh.

I blinked. Huh? The Duke? Here? Now? In person?

Alicia didn’t even need to fish out her badge. Apparently, badges were for peasants. Or, you know, for the guards’ amusement. The Duke had arrived. Not just the Duke—an entire entourage of guards, assistants, and someone who looked suspiciously like a trumpet player for ceremonial purposes.

And then… he saw me.

His eyes lit up in a way that made me slightly uncomfortable. Like, alarmingly happy to see me. He didn’t hesitate. He yanked something out from the cart Alicia had been pushing and waved his hands. “Make space here!” he commanded, his voice booming but somehow… friendly?

In the blink of an eye, the surrounding guards and people parted like the Red Sea. Suddenly, we were standing in a peaceful little corridor, totally cleared of any obstacles. Me, Alicia, and the Duke. No one else. Just us three.

Alicia looked… terrified. And I don’t mean slightly concerned. I mean full-on, oh no, did I just accidentally kidnap a toddler in front of royalty? kind of scared. She was clutching the enormous bag of books like it was a life raft in a sea of imminent doom.

The Duke’s gaze shifted to her, then back to me. His expression was… strange. Warm? Excited? Like he had just spotted his long-lost best friend. He leaned closer, somehow ignoring the fact that he was a duke with probably a hundred important things to do.

“Duke… Duke,” Alicia began, fumbling, “here are—”

But she didn’t get to finish. Something about her words seemed unnecessary now, because the Duke had already caught my hands in his massive, surprisingly strong grip.

“Ahhh, Erik sir!” he exclaimed, voice practically vibrating with joy. “I am so glad you came! I knew you would come to meet me! Come on—Kiara will be so happy to see you!”

Wait. What?

Before I could even process this, he started dragging me—yes, dragging me—toward what I assumed was his residence. Alicia stayed behind for a moment, frozen, looking like she had just realized that she had accidentally wandered into a fairy tale where rules didn’t apply.

“Wait—what?!” I sputtered, trying to pull my hands free, but the Duke’s grip was like a bear hug combined with a tractor. “I—uh—hello? I didn’t even know I was supposed to meet you, sir… uh, Duke, I guess?”

He paid no attention. His smile was ridiculous, almost heroic, as if he was dragging me into the most epic adventure of the year. Honestly, I was having a hard time keeping up. Every step was a mix of trying not to trip over my own feet, avoid dropping Alicia’s bag of books, and pretend that this was all completely normal.

Alicia’s expression had turned from terrified to utterly confused. I could almost read her mind: Why is a Duke calling him “sir”? Why is he taking him to his house? Is this some kind of royal prank? Did I accidentally adopt a minor celebrity?

And then we entered the Duke’s house. Or at least, I assumed it was his house. The doors opened, and my eyes nearly popped out of my head. Chandeliers, gold trim, marble floors, and statues that I could have sworn were alive—but I didn’t dare look too closely.

Then… I heard a familiar voice. One that sent a shiver down my spine and caused my mouth to drop open.

“You? …What are you doing here?”

I froze mid-step. I mean, literally froze. Like a cartoon character caught in a spotlight.

Alicia almost jumped out of her shoes. Her eyes widened like she had just seen a ghost—or worse, me trying to casually act like I belonged here.