The Bookstore Mage

After finishing what he had initially come for, and with nothing much to do, Lucien decided to look for Estrea. He made his way upstairs while humming a cheerful tune in an attempt to clear his mind from the disappointment that the bracelet gave him.

His eyes would occasionally glance down at the small crack causing him to resist the urge to sigh. Once Lucien made it to the first floor, he was surprised to find Estrea already there waiting for him.

She held a stack of papers in her hands with a frown. Seeing that he arrived, she briefly raised her head and asked:

"Did you forget anything?"

"No, I already finished what I came for," Lucien answered with a shrug.

Estrea nodded and replied with a chuckle:

"You are lucky that the basement is soundproof. I don't know what you have been doing there, but whatever it was it certainly shook the whole house. You even got the house spirit complaining."

An awkward smile hung on his face as he spoke:

"Ah, sorry about that, I may have gone a little bit overboard."

Estrea waved her free hand and continued:

"No, no, It's fine. I only came down to see you since the house spirit informed me that you've left the basement." She then pointed at the papers in her hands and continued:

"I'm afraid our little date will have to wait. I'd offer you some tea again, but-"

Taking the hint Lucien quickly shook his head and replied:

"That's alright, we'll leave it for next time."

"I'd like that," Estrea answered with a smile.

"Would you mind sending me off?"

"Please," Estrea nodded and motioned for him to follow her to the teleportation room.

Along the way, Lucien studied the house theme for the day. The style reminded him of that north Pamelian country Estrea mentioned before. The designs on the tiles were colorful, with a combination of blue and white that complimented each other perfectly.

The walls had a curved shape drawn into them, akin to that of a crescent moon that glowed with a faint golden hue. It was incredibly beautiful, and Lucien was unable to hold himself from asking:

"What was the name of that north Pamelian country again?"

Estrea turned around to him with a surprised expression and spoke:

"You have a good eye. I didn't expect you to know where the style was from."

"I heard about it before, but I can't remember the name." Lucien shook his head with a smile.

"Merruk, that's the name."

Lucien nodded and repeated the name to himself, committing it to memory.

"Merruk."

The duo quickly reached the teleportation room. Without asking, Estrea planted a sweet kiss on Lucien's lips and waved him off with a smile.

"I'll be seeing you, Mr. Lucien."

"I hope so," Lucien answered with a smile as the light overtook him for a second, the next he was already standing by the bookstore entrance.

His eyes quickly scanned his surroundings to see if anyone saw him. Luckily, the street was deserted, especially this late in the night. Lucien began humming the same cheerful tune, his mood turned for the better after his brief encounter with Estrea.

He rummaged for his keys in his pockets and opened the door. The light was automatically switched on before he could reach out for the light switch, causing him to quickly turn his gaze in that direction in surprise. He barely managed to make out the vague outline of a pale arm before it disappeared completely.

'That's not good for my heart,' Lucien inwardly sighed.

"Good evening." He called out to the house fairy, not expecting a reply.

Moon was nowhere to be seen so he assumed she was lazing about upstairs. Lucien took off his coat and made his way upstairs. The light turned off on the first floor once he left.

'Although scary, that's still very handy.'

On the second floor, Moon greeted him with a meow as she rubbed her head on his leg.

"Well, someone's in a good mood." Lucien smiled and scratched her head and back before he opened the door to his bedroom with Imer. Moon quickly followed after him and took her place on the bed.

Lucien didn't mind and quickly changed his clothes, he then moved to brush his teeth and came back to slip under the blankets. The magical book floated from under the bed into his hand, as Lucien began to review the spells he had learned.

After doing that, he spent the next hour trying to find a match for the spell Ian left him, yet to no avail. A yawn escaped his mouth as he grabbed his phone to check the time.

"It's 10 already. I'll just continue tomorrow."

He used Imer to send the book over to the desk by the window and turned off the lights. Moon moved over to snuggle closer to him, which caused his lips to curve upwards.

"Goodnight, Moon. Goodnight, fairy butler!"

*****

At 2 am, two headless lanky figures emerged out of the shadows in a dark alley. Their eyes were located where their nipples were supposed to be. The strange creatures walked out of the alley and glanced at the dark bookstore across the street.

"It's there."

"It's there."

They both spoke simultaneously.

"The trace."

"The lord."

The monster to the left spoke;

"Let's go greet the lord."

The other hesitated and replied:

"But our orders were to scout the area first and report back."

"What are you afraid of? We don't need to follow the orders of the bishop. The only one that can command us is the lord."

"The bishop will be angry."

"Hmph." The monster ignored its companion and made his way to the bookstore. After a brief moment of hesitation, the second monster chose to follow as well.

The duo moved swiftly and in but a second they were already standing in front of the bookstore.

"It is the lord's aura!"

"We found him!"

The monsters were unable to control their expression, their faces morphed into ones full of excitement and devotion. They were about to take a step forward when the bookstore door silently opened, revealing abyssal darkness inside.

The two monsters took that as an invitation and quickly walked in. The door closed behind them with a thud.

A distance away from the bookstore. Two masked figures were standing on top of a rooftop keeping watch.

"Did you see that?!" One of the figures suddenly asked.

"See what?"

"The door, it suddenly opened by itself!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! But...Nothing was there. It only opened for a couple of seconds and then closed. I don't know why, but it gave me goosebumps."

"Continue monitoring it, and see if anything shows up." The second masked individual ordered.

"Yes, sir!"