The Bookstore Mage

Estrea didn't take long before she came back with the tea. She placed his cup on the table and settled next to him. Lucien thanked her with a smile and took a small sip, his eyes instantly widened in pleasant surprise. The hot mint tea tasted extremely sweet, and refreshing. The sweetness might not be for everyone, but he liked it a lot.

"It's a very nice tea." He commented.

"I'm happy you liked it. It's the national drink of a certain north Pamelian country. You should visit there if you ever get the chance to."

"I'd love to." Said, Lucien before he asked, "So, Estrea, tell me a little bit more about yourself. How did a beautiful lady like you end up as the leader of the Hermits?"

She smiled sweetly at his compliment and answered:

"Well, my father founded the group. I took over after he passed away."

"I see and is that what you've always wanted to do? Or was there something else?"

Estrea chuckled before she replied, "You are the first to ever ask me that, you know?"

"Haha, I find that hard to believe."

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"Well, most people find me difficult to approach."

"Ah, so I take it you don't invite just anyone over for tea?" He grinned.

"Only the ones I like." She answered with a mysterious smile.

The mood between the duo was light-hearted as they engaged in idle chatter, with the occasional flirty remarks. Estrea tried to pry some information from him, but Lucien masterfully evaded the subject without giving out too many details.

The hours passed as the duo's laughter resounded throughout the empty bedroom. When the clock hit 11, Lucien excused himself. He was already quite tired. Estrea was the same. She spoke with the same charming smile:

"You can use my teleportation array, it should be more convenient."

Hearing the word teleportation, Lucien's eye gleamed with curiosity. He knew teleportation existed, so the fact that he could try it already made his heart thump in excitement. Lucien nodded and followed Estrea to the second floor. A hallway with four closed doors greeted him. She guided him to the first door.

The normal-looking wooden door opened revealing a stone-walled room with countless complicated magical ruins on both the floor and walls. The room had no windows and was quite dark. The only source of light was some strange-looking glowing stones in the four corners of the room, bathing it in a gentle blue glint.

Estrea motioned for him to stand on top of the magic circle in the middle of the floor. Once Lucien was situated on top, Estrea gave him a light peck on the cheek, causing him to smile, before he could say anything the mana particles gathered around the circle, and the world suddenly turned hazy.

By the time Lucien blinked, he was no longer standing in the stone room and was instead in front of his bookstore. His eyes widened in fascination. Lucien had thought that he would feel dizzy or something, but the teleportation was smooth, it gave him no inconvenience whatsoever.

Lucien then moved his hand to touch his cheek where Estrea had kissed him, his lips curved upwards in satisfaction. Humming a happy tune, Lucien unlocked the door and made his way upstairs. He used Imer to pull the book from under his bed and placed it next to him, he then slipped out of his clothes folded and put them back in the closet before he wore his pajamas.

Still humming his happy tune, Lucien went to the toilet and brushed his teeth, took care of his business, and went to bed. His stomach growled in protest, and it was only then that he recalled he had no dinner. Lazy to order anything since he already brushed his teeth and was under the blankets, Lucien closed his eyes and tried to forget his hunger.

Sleep overtook him mere minutes after that.

*****

The next day, Lucien woke up rather late at almost 11, still, he was in a quite good mood. He got ready, changed his clothes, and made a quick trip to the neighborhood supermarket to buy some groceries. Once back home he fixed himself some breakfast along with a cup of coffee to start his day.

By then, it was already noon. With nothing planned for the day, Lucien started by cleaning the bookstore and dusting the shelves, and counter. After that, he wiped the windows from the inside, and then the outside. It was then that an acquaintance dropped by.

"Hey, Lucien!"

"Oh, morning Anna." He smiled.

"Morning? It's already noon." grinned the blonde girl.

"I had a rather busy night yesterday. So I was a bit tired."

"Sounds fun! I just finished my Uni classes for the day and decided to drop by, I hope you don't mind? I know you said you still didn't open yet. I just miss the place."

"Not at all, I was just doing some cleaning. Please, you already know the place," he answered while gesturing for her to step inside.

Anna smiled sweetly and nodded before she walked to the bookstore. She took a deep breath before she began to gently touch the books on the left shelf. Lucien moved behind the counter and grabbed a chair and placed it down for her.

"Oh, thank you, you didn't have to. I usually just sat on the floor."

"No, it's the least I can do." Saying that Lucien decided not to bother the girl and left her to continue with his cleaning. By the time the hour reached 1 pm, he was already sweating and quite hungry. He walked behind the counter, passing by Anna who was immersed in a fantasy novel. She didn't seem to notice his presence. Lucien then grabbed his phone and ordered lunch, after the cleaning work he was too lazy to cook.

Anna's phone suddenly rang making him turn to glance at her. The blonde college student stared at her phone in annoyance before she released a sigh. Standing up, she looked at Lucien and spoke:

"I'm afraid I have to go. I'll see you soon, Lucien! I hope that you won't be closed by then."

Lucien simply nodded with a smile and added:

"See you, Anna."

With her gone, Lucien locked the front door and glanced at his phone to check the ETA for his food. Seeing that he still had some time left, he quickly hopped into the shower. By the time he finished, his delivery was also almost there. Lucien grabbed the book with him and went downstairs.

"Let's check and see if I can find a new spell today. I'd love a teleportation one. That'd be great." He mumbled.