Year 7: The Stranger Part 2

Searching the back ends of the bookstore proved fruitless. We did find some references to alchemy, but what text we found didn't rely on chemistry. It seemed this world was still unfamiliar with the idea of molecules. The closest concept they had was the concept of an alloy and purity, and even then that was reserved for ship/armor building since magic was sufficiently universal among nobility and easy enough to do for a child to learn on her own (Livia) that applying such techniques for anything like swords or farm tools was pointless.

The only other chemistry related topic I could find were on distillations. Got to love how universal alcoholism was.

It looked like if I wanted to perform any experiments, I would need to figure out how to do them myself with the risk of exploding. God, how I wished I had paid more attention in my chemistry class. Finding out the molecular composition of water never seemed so important until you actually had to confirm if water was water.

The aisle was filled with the sound of oohs and ahh. Looking over to Livia, I saw her awestruck face as she poured over the texts of various advanced in magic. At least someone was enjoying the trip, which alone made the trip worthwhile.

It was funny. Livia opted for the "scientific text" over fantasy. She had quickly become bored of looking through the alchemy books since they were dry and had little discernible results a child could appreciate (even immortality elixirs flew over head since the concept of death was still meaningless to her).

As I watched Livia, I noticed she would rub her eyes every now and then. She must be getting tired. It was late. I had opted to explore the town with Livia before the bookstore as an extra precaution since a stranger knew where we would be.

Now that I was thinking of strangers, I noticed the townspeople acting odd today. When I had went out to buy my farm tools, they had been pleasant and helpful. Today, their smiles seemed strained, and I got the inkling that they immediately gossiped behind my back.

Perhaps it was just my imagination. Livia didn't seem to sense anything unusual. Maybe the townspeople had only been so welcoming the first time since I was obviously buying in bulk. Merchants could be two-faced like that.

Regardless, it was time to bring Livia back to her mother.

" Found anything you want to buy, Livia?"

I was met with excited rambling as she presented me with various texts on different elements. It was rather astonishing how many affinities she had.

I was getting extremely frustrated with the proprietor. For whatever reason he was giving Livia the stink eye, and in general being difficult.

Getting my book on alchemy and distilling had been simple enough and cheap as advertised. The proprietor was demanding significantly more the books Livia was interested in. It was to the point that I could no longer afford one of hers.

"You cheat! Why do you insist on robbing a child?!" I angrily yelled as my childish impulse took over.

"Leon," Livia muttered as she tugged my sleeve. Her eyes were tearing up.

"Are you proud of yourself making a little girl cry?!"

The man, looking unmoved, said, "I would not for a child, but she isn't just that. It would be best for you to distance yourself from her."

"And why would I ever ditch Livia?"

"It's not my place to say," the man said pityingly.

"Whatever is the commotion?"

Looking to the source of the interjection, we all saw the man from earlier with a couple of old books.

"Nothing to worry, Sir. Just some children trying to buy something they shouldn't be buying," the proprietor simpered.

The stranger looked at us and picked up the books. After inspecting the titles, he raised an eyebrow.

"Rather advanced for their age."

"Yes, poor children are more than likely to get themselves killed if they aren't too careful."

"That's a lie!" I yelled.

The old man gave me a quizzical look before returning his attention to the seller.

"How much for the books?"

I felt Livia clutch my clothes tighter.

"Sir?"

"You know how children can be. Tell them no, and they will go out of their way to disobey. Best to nip the bud entirely."

"You are most wise, Sir."

When we saw the price written up, Livia made a quiet whining sound. It was the price Livia and I had calculated before.

Rather than stick around, we decided to just go home. Neither of us wanted to be in the presence of these adults.

Livia and I were having dinner at her house. It was a miserable affair since Livia had not gotten over the incident. Not even her favorite foods were able to lift her mood. The only consolation was that she wasn't crying.

In any case, her mother and I were at a lost over what to do when we heard knocking at the door. Livia's mother went to open the door.

While she was gone, I felt helpless. What could I do to cheer up Livia? I was never a parent, and I had no idea what to say to her. I doubt telling her to man up and to tough it out to be a good thing to say. I also knew how telling her to cheer up was equally as worthless.

Knowing that my words would fail me, I did the only thing I could think of. I moved closer to her and just held her. Judging how she nestled into my arm, I guess I did something right.

After a few minutes, Livia's mother came into the room with a familiar man.

"Good evening. I do apologize for the lateness, but getting directions here was quite the trial."

"Mister?" Livia asked.

"Olivia, correct?"

"Yes."

"I do believe I have something that belongs to you," he said while presenting a bag.

Livia got up and slowly approached the man. She looked into the bag, and looked back up. The man quietly nodded with a smile.

She hugged the man's leg and rapidly said her thanks multiple times.

"Why don't you stay for dinner, Sir? We have plenty of food," Livia's mother said.

"I couldn't possibly intrude."

"I doubt you would be intruding," she giggled while gesturing to Livia.

"I would hate to disappoint the young lady, but I'm afraid I have some business to attend to with the Baron. I would not wish to arrive at the manor at too late a time."

"You're looking for Dad?" I asked.

"You're Lord Bartfort's son? Odd, you look too young."

"You must be thinking of Rutart. He's Dad's son from his official marriage."

At the mention of official marriage, the man nodded his head. The presence of an illegitimate line was not uncommon.

"In any case, did you let my Dad know you'll be arriving?" I asked.

"Pardon me for the rudeness, but I came here unannounced. I'm somewhat of a traveling scholar, and my research has lead me here. I've currently ran out of leads and was hoping if to see if your father kept any records."

"And you sought the local bookstore instead of my dad because?"

"... I don't know how to say this politely."

"Zola?"

"Yes, the Baroness does not have the most stellar reputation."

"Well, in any case, the manor is empty."

"Pardon?"

"It's reserved for Zola and her household. Dad and my family live in a subsidiary housing. If you didn't inform either Dad or Zola, the manor would be empty."

"I see the rumors around Zola aren't exaggerated," the man chuckled mirthlessly.

"Yeah, but I can take you to Dad after dinner."

He chuckled as he knew what I wanted.

"Then I suppose I must take you up on your offer for dinner, Mrs. Gardenia."

Side Plot

"The boy is rather loud. I do hope my actions don't incite some parental wrath," I fished.

"It's just Balcus's boy. So long as your not a pirate, the man has no bite left. You need not worry about anything, Sir."

"So he is just an ill-tempered child?"

"Not at all. From what the other villagers say, he's the quiet and diligent sort. Precocious as well. Pity he got involved with that girl."

I quirked my eyebrows. I had come to the right conclusion then, but I found it odd. The girl seemed nothing but sugar. What had she done to earn his ire.

"The girl?"

"I shouldn't have said as much."

How odd. He clearly had enmity for the girl, but opted not to elaborate. It would make more sense for him to spit an insult.

While I wanted to question more, I decided to cut my questioning here.

"Ah, I was more curious about who she was. I mainly wish to avoid people and areas which may cause me problems during my stay here. Wouldn't want to accidentally step on any toes or wander off where I should not."

"Ah, I suppose that is fair. You best avoid the manor or the gardening store then. The baroness is in a right mood even on a good day."

What wasn't said was that the girl resides in the local gardening store. The fact her guardians ran a legitimate business also ruled out the girl's family of being a pariah.

AN:

1) Writing Y-Ann-Dere got me thinking of this story again.

2) This was a small chapter to focus on the world building a bit and to establish the professor's foundation with the two.