The Bookstore Mage

The rest of the day was uneventful. A few regulars dropped by the bookstore and Lucien ended up selling a few books as well. With the stock running low for certain genres, he contacted the suppliers his grandpa used to work with and arranged for a new shipment to be delivered next week.

Lunch was homemade by Tamellalt, and was as fantastic as ever, though he needed to do some grocery shopping.

After that, he contacted Estrea, and the two of them talked a little bit over the phone. He also tried to see if he can get any information about world hopping spells from her, but the result was her laughing and thinking he was pulling her leg when he mentioned it.

That didn't discourage Lucien, he just laughed it off with her and ended the call shortly after. This time, however, he did invite her on that 'date' they've been talking about all the time.

Although the venue he chose was his bookstore, he believed he could make it work.

Thinking about his upcoming date, and the spell he still hasn't cracked yet. Lucien stood by the large window next to the door. The sound of rain outside was like a calming melody to his ears.

He used Imer to turn off the light switch and stood there in the darkness watching the world outside. The occasional car, and passerby running to get home. It was already late.

He grabbed his phone from his pocket.

"9 pm, huh."

With a nod, Lucien lowered the window blinds and locked the door for the day. He then threw the bookstore one last glance and used Imer to take the magic book with him upstairs.

"Tam, a cup of coffee, please," he asked to which the butler fairy's voice replied immediately.

"Right away, sir."

"Thank you."

Lucien then changed into a more comfortable set of clothes and sat down at the desk in his bedroom. He was once again momentarily lot at the beauty of the rain hitting on the window and its calming sounds.

It was then that Tamellalt appeared by his side with a cup of coffee.

"You need to buy coffee as well, my lord," the fairy added.

"Ah, right. Forgot we didn't have much left in the first place. Thank you."

The fairy bowed and asked:

"Would that be it?"

"Uh, now that I think about I never asked you. Can you read this?" Lucien asked as he nonchalantly pointed at the magical book.

The fairy hastily lowered her head and replied:

"I can not, my lord."

"Is it the language you are not familiar with or is it something else?" He asked.

The fairy hesitated for a second before she pointed to her eyes:

"I don't have your eyes, my lord. I can not see anything in the grimoire."

"Grimoire, so that's what you call it? And you don't have my eyes..." Lucien contemplated Tamellalt's words for a few seconds before he asked again.

"So, I suppose there's no one I can ask for help. Grandpa expected me to figure everything out by myself?"

"I'm sorry, my lord but I'm afraid I can not say anything more."

Her words caused his brows to twitch as he took a deep breath and asked in annoyance:

"Why? Why can't I know more? Don't you think it would be a little bit safer if I knew what I was doing? Dabbling in magical spells I never knew existed was all fun and games until I became trapped inside my own body!" By the end of his speech, Lucien was roaring.

"I'm sorry." He apologized quickly after with a sigh and waved Tamellalt away, and then buried his head in his hands.

The butler fairy looked at him for a second with a complicated expression before she gently tapped his shoulder and spoke in a reassuring tone:

"You are going on the right track, my lord. I can not tell you anything because the more you know the more dangerous it would be for you."

Lucien glanced at her and gave a weak smile. The fairy nodded and bowed before she disappeared. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling before shaking his head and glancing at the spell he was about to try.

Lucien was scanning the symbols with a frown when his phone suddenly rang.

"Huh?"

He took a glance at the call, only to pause in surprise.

"Hello, Estrea?"

"Lucien!" She called out, her voice laced in anxiety.

"What's wrong?" Lucien asked as he pushed himself up from the chair.

"Ryan is dead..."

"Ryan?" Lucien mumbled in confusion, the name sounded familiar but he did not remember from where.

"He was a veteran Rogue. He sometimes worked for the council, other times with fellow Rogues. The point is, he's the one that told us about you, which made me extend our invitation to you."

"Huh, Ryan was it..." Lucien mumbled as he tried to recall where he heard it from when it suddenly clicked.

"Ah!"

'The creepy dude!' He almost muttered. It was the guy he met in the hotel lobby when he just came back to the city. Lucien completely forgot about him as it had been far too long since then.

"So that's how you found me?"

Estrea quickly replied:

"Of course, didn't you meet him before? I thought you wanted us to find your, no?" Estrea asked.

Lucien frowned. He almost forgot that in their eyes he was still that high-mage with infinite wisdom and strength.

"Ah, yes. What happened to him?"

"That's the thing, nobody knows. Ryan was always very careful that's why he managed to survive as long as he did, working with both the Rogues and the Council, but they just found him murdered in an apartment on the outskirts."

Lucien's frown deepened, although he did not know the man, the news of his death still felt rather heavy considering his killer was still at large, not to mention he was a fellow mage.

'I guess that would mean he is the one that must have told the Council about me then.'

​ "I see, and how come you are telling me about this?" Lucien suddenly asked.

"Well...did you kill him?"

After a moment of silence, Lucien finally regained his bearings and asked:

"Huh?! Why would I do that?"

"Well...the thing is, Ryan died while searching for more information about you..."

"..."

"How do you know that, Estrea?"

"I have some connections inside the council." She answered without hesitation.

Lucien paused before he replied:

"I see. No, I didn't kill this Ryan," he answered with his frown deepening.

"The Council will come to you, Lucien. You'll be invited back to their headquarters for questioning. I—I just wanted to let you know."

A long sigh escaped his lips before he replied with a chuckle:

"Thank you, Estrea. I guess our date will have to wait until I sort out this mess."

"Good luck..." Estrea's voice was strangely solemn.