Nereus hates being taken advantage of. Of course, who would actually enjoy that?
But he’s probably thinking something like this right now.
‘Wait, didn’t she handle everything smoothly and sensibly at the boutique last time? Then why is she acting like this here?’
And after hearing what I just said, he must have pieced it together like this.
‘She said she wants to record the formula. And since she’s been saying she wants to be a doctor since before…’
At first, he might have laughed it off as a child’s whim.
But I’ve already proven myself.
I saved the sailors who were on the brink of death from illness.
I even created an antidote for Angel’s poison.
Now, Nereus is quite the doting father.
So naturally, his thoughts would follow this path.
‘My daughter is a genius. As her dad, shouldn’t I fully support her?’
I made my eyes sparkle as much as I could.
This was my final trump card—pulling at his fatherly instincts.
“Daddy, Daddy! Lala has a talent for medicine, right? Don’t you think so?”
“…….….”
Now, this is where he shifts to. ‘Ah, my daughter has been so excited lately that she’s not thinking straight~’
I’ve lived with him for a few months, so I know.
When it comes to family, Nereus is a complete pushover.
Especially when it concerns me, he becomes the easiest man in the world to persuade.
So, if his one and only daughter gets so carried away that she makes a foolish mistake with money, gets ripped off, and later realizes it and feels depressed…
Would Nereus be able to stand by and watch?
‘Absolutely not.’
Even though I only suggested that we go together, I know for sure—
Nereus will take charge of selecting and paying for everything himself.
Normally, parents teach their children the value of money by letting them handle transactions.
But Nereus? There’s no way he’d be that rational about it.
“Of course! My princess is an absolute genius of a doctor! Why even ask? So, with that in mind, Daddy wants to buy Lala’s first medical journal.”
“Really?”
“Of course! I’ll get you the best one. Let’s go together.”
Nereus grabbed my hand and confidently led me toward the land.
As we weaved through the sailors carrying cargo, I spotted Gilbert.
“Ner, where are you going?”
“Our princess wants a notebook. Just send word if you need to know where we are.”
Caelum usually had one magic logbook that was shared among the crew.
But since Nereus and Gilbert were the captain and the first mate, they each had their own separate one.
“Just don’t come back too late.”
“Ohhh, got it, got it. Lala, do you want to go get something delicious with Daddy? I heard there’s a place that sells amazing Pavlova over there.”
“I want to buy the notebook first.”
“Oh my~ Who did my princess take after to be so decisive?”
“Well, it’s definitely not from you, Dad.”
“You little brat.”
Somehow, this kind of conversation was starting to feel standardized. Maybe I was just getting used to it—it just came naturally now.
Gilbert handed me a pouch filled with dried fruit, along with a nagging reminder not to let Nereus spoil me too much and to eat properly at home.
“Oh, this is delicious.”
It wasn’t just dried fruit—it was rolled up with cream cheese inside and dusted with sugar. It was absolutely amazing.
I started to wonder if Gilbert really expected me to eat this, plus a Pavlova, and still have room for dinner…
“Let me try one too.”
“Here.”
“Oh, this is really good.”
Nereus kept accepting every piece I fed him, mumbling under his breath, ‘That brat Gilbert never gives me stuff like this…’
After finishing off the dried fruit together, we finally arrived at the bookstore.
Usually, blank notebooks for recording were sold at general stores, but high-quality paper notebooks were found in bookstores.
And I needed to come to a bookstore anyway if I wanted to find the information I was looking for.
Since Nereus would be picking out my personal notebook seriously, all I had to do was pretend to browse around and ‘accidentally’ stumble upon what I needed.
Being in Tenus made it even easier to find.
Tenus was an estate located near the Dead Lands, so many people avoided it.
But despite that, it was quite developed. No, not just ‘quite’—it was actually thriving.
The population was large, forming a big city with well-established infrastructure and a lively atmosphere.
Which is why, when the head of Terminus went on a rampage, so many lives were lost…
Normally, people would avoid a place called the ‘Dead Lands,’ right? But thanks to that, we were able to safely sneak in—ahem, I mean, dock.
The real issue, though, was simple.
This place is ridiculously huge.
The bookstore was a two-story building.
If you included the basement, it was actually three stories high.
Is this a bookstore or a freaking imperial archive?
I started worrying about whether I’d even be able to find the book I was looking for.
“Lala, stay here and wait quietly.”
“Okay. Take your time, Dad.”
“…And don’t go handing out sparkly things to strangers.”
“Yeah, yeah, I won’t. Just go already.”
“And don’t follow anyone just because they offer you something tasty.”
“Do I look like a little kid?”
“How old are you again?”
“……….”
Right. I’m six years old.
Since I couldn’t argue, Nereus smirked and let out a little chuckle.
“Oh, so you like winning against a six-year-old? That makes you happy?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m thrilled. So happy my face might split from grinning.”
So childish.
Laughing to himself, he walked off toward a store clerk.
I glared at his retreating back before sighing deeply.
This is no time to be fooling around.
I quickly started looking for my target, but this bookstore was way too big. I got exhausted before I even got close.
“Huff… Huff…”
Seriously, this place was unnecessarily huge.
If I kept wasting time like this, Nereus would buy my notebook before I even found what I needed.
Just as I sat down on the stairs to catch my breath, a shadow loomed over me.
“Oh my, little miss. Why are you sitting here all alone?”
“………..”
“Are you tired? Where are your parents? Is there no guardian with you?”
“……..…”
I figured if I didn’t answer, she’d just assume I was an impolite kid and leave.
But instead, the woman sat down right next to me.
“Hehe, do you want one of these?”
She held out a small, worn-out pouch.
Inside, it was filled with jewel-like, translucent candies.
“These are really delicious. My sisters always eat them while working. I actually ran out and came to buy more, and then I ran into you. If you let them melt in your mouth, the flavor slowly changes…”
Even though I wasn’t saying anything, she kept rambling about the candy in great detail.
“You’re not supposed to eat in a bookstore.”
“Oh, come on, a little candy won’t hurt, right? Even if it’s not allowed, no one will notice. And even if they do, you can just deny it.”
That’s such a pirate-like way of thinking.
Before I could say anything, she suddenly shoved a candy into my mouth.
It was so big that just one piece puffed out one of my cheeks.
…Well, it does taste good.
As I quietly rolled the candy around in my mouth, she smiled.
“So, why are you sitting here all alone?”
“I’m looking for a book, but I can’t find it.”
“Oh my, what kind of book? I’m not a store clerk, but I know this place pretty well.”
“A fairy tale book.”
“A fairy tale? Hmm~ Like Princess Clara or The Cookie Crown?”
Those were definitely two of the most popular fairy tales among children.
Even I had them read to me when I was younger.
But that’s definitely not what I’m looking for.
Honestly, even if I go to the fairy tale section, I might not find exactly what I need.
So, maybe accepting this person’s help wasn’t a bad idea…
“……..…”
But Nereus told me not to follow strangers.
“What’s your name?”
“Me? It’s Selene.”
Her deep night-sky-colored eyes curved into a gentle crescent shape.
It was a look full of kindness, no doubt about it.
Having dealt with countless criminals before, I could tell whether or not she had an ulterior motive.
I stood up, brushing off my clothes.
Well, once you know someone’s name, they’re not really a stranger anymore.
“I’m Lala. Do you know a book called The Loner of the Black Forest?”
“Oh my, of course! Every child in Tenus grows up reading it. You must not be from around here.”
“Well, I just arrived recently.”
“Hehe, I see, I see. It’s always nice to have more children around—it makes everything livelier! Come on, this way.”
Selene didn’t grab my hand, but instead, she maintained a comfortable distance while leading the way.
Thanks to her guidance, the previously overwhelming and confusing bookstore layout suddenly seemed much easier to navigate.
“Here, this is the one, right?”
“Wow.”
I took the book, which had a beautifully illustrated cover, and let out a small gasp of admiration—or at least, I pretended to.
Yeah, this is the version they’d usually give to kids who ask for a recommendation.
The Loner of the Black Forest had two versions.
One was the brightly illustrated edition I was holding, filled with sparkling, adorable artwork.
The other was a darker, more somber version, with only a single illustration at the very end.
The latter was the original.
And that’s the one I’m looking for.
The first edition of The Loner of the Black Forest had such a heavy atmosphere and ending that it was unsettling to call it a ‘fairy tale.’
That’s why they tweaked parts of it and altered the ending for this new edition.
But the revised version was useless to me.
What I needed was the weight and depth of the original.
“Isn’t there another version? I heard there’s a really scary one.”
“Oh my, do you like scary things?”
“Even if it’s scary, my family will protect me, so it’s okay.”
I had simply stated the truth, but Selene blushed and let out a little ‘Oh my~.’
She probably thought I was just another naïve child who believed their guardian was the strongest.
But Nereus really is strong.
Unless something drastic happens, in about a decade, there won’t be a single person who can defeat him.
While I was thinking that, Selene giggled and retrieved a book from a storage shelf tucked away in a corner.
Wait… can regular people just walk into places like that?
“This one isn’t searched for often anymore, so it’s just been sitting in storage.”
She handed me exactly what I was looking for—the original edition of The Loner of the Black Forest.
The cover alone radiated a dark, ominous atmosphere, nothing like a typical fairy tale.
“Wow, this is it! Thank you so much!”
“Hehe, now you really look happy. This book is actually the original version of the pretty one I gave you earlier. The people of Tenus don’t really look for it anymore because it’s such an old story, and outsiders usually don’t even know it exists.”
She was basically asking me why an outsider like me was searching for it.
“I met a little friend on my last voyage. They said they had heard about this book from a traveling merchant, so I got curious.”
Of course, I’d never actually had a conversation like that with any of the kids on Odlo Island.
But who would know that?
Selene, whom I had just met today, certainly wouldn’t.
Neither would anyone from Caelum.
“So, I wanted to read it together with my dad…”
“Lala—!”
From a distance, I heard Nereus calling out for me.
He ran up, looking frantic.
“Hey, you little rascal! What if something had happened to you?!”
“I was inside the bookstore the whole time.”
“That doesn’t matter! You’re so cute that someone might try to take you away!”
“Do you really think something like that would happen here?”
Just as I was about to explain that I had met a very kind person, I suddenly realized—
Wait…
Selene had vanished.
Without a trace.
Why is the chapter not showing?