{Yorknew City}

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"This is the Auction Hall in which all the bidings and transfers will progress. The area is still under preparation for tomorrow's event. I'm afraid you can't go any further than this." The auction staff explained to the red-haired woman in front of him.

Aurora wasn't exactly paying attention to what the staff was saying. She was more captivated by the interior and people bustling in and out. Her sharp eyes were trying to take in anything that might prove to be helpful at a later date.

"Did you know?" Aurora inquired and leaned in with a whisper.

"There's an underground auction going on, Sir." Aurora said. "Or so the rumors..."

The staff member blushed and retreated back to distance himself from the assertive redhead.

"That's nonsense, miss." He responded and shook his head in denial. "This auction takes place every few years, and there's nothing to hide. We pride ourselves in the transparency and quality of our work. I assure you. No such underground auction exists." The worker said as he looked Aurora up and down.

She was a woman in her twenties, with soft features and vibrant red hair. There was a nice sweet scent coming from her. It was very subtle and one you wouldn't notice until you paid attention to it. After her initial stunt earlier, he couldn't help but feel interested in her.

"You're right...," Aurora responded with a leveled stare. "I should have known a low-ranked staff member wouldn't know about it. Silly me, hahaha."

Her light, innocent laughter was sweet. Decepting and misleading enough for the staff member to question his hearing, if only for a short second.

"Y-you-!" He replied when he realized that Aurora had just toyed with him. He was stumped when he saw her gone. He looked around, left and right, but that vibrant red-colored hair was nowhere to be seen.

Aurora strolled through the downtown area of the city. Left and right of her, the buildings squished against each other like slices of cheese. Their height towered high into the sky as if they were battling for dominance up there. It was a cold and grey city in Aurora's eyes. On rainy days this place looked no different than those popular action dramas she knew from movies. She had passed by multiple stores, and took many turns as she wandered around aimlessly. She sighed.

Her talent as a journalist had led her here. And Aurora found herself excited at the big event and scoop she would find here! Nevertheless, the scope of her ability was but a mere hunch. A simple dreamlike scenario with keywords and little scenes if she was lucky... Except for the guaranteed accuracy that something in relation to her keywords will happen, her ability, overall, wasn't much different from an instinct, gut feeling or foresight, whatever you may call it.

Aurora was left to puzzle and fill in the gaps by herself.

In search of information she had decided to visit the venue first. And yet, ...

"The results were a little disappointing," Aurora thought.

"But nothing I can do about th-"

She suddenly paused.

A flash of inspiration struck her when she noticed a store to her side.

This place was located further away from the main street. It was a secluded area with barely any people around. The store itself didn't even look like a store. Its appearance resembled an old and run-down shack. Except for the light that glowed in there and the shield that said "OPEN", Aurora would have thought of it as an abandoned store.

Once she was inside, Aurora saw rows of shelves, books and... dust. The books had to be of extraordinary age, given the way most of the covers were barely holding on. Some were even coverless and just a remain of paperstacks.

"Irasshaimase." A bestacled man greeted her.

"Konnichiwa!" Aurora greeted.

"Are you looking for something special?" He asked. "Finding what you need might be hard here without help." He explained with a sheepish neck rub.

"I thought so." Aurora said and glanced around. The store was rather messy and crowded. She wasn't sure about the back, but she swore she saw a heap of books on the floor. Still... It had an unique charm and appeal to it. Looking towards the back, Aurora saw that the store was quite big. It was much more spacious compared to how it looked on the outside.

Aurora paid a bit more attention and noticed how the floor was neat and well-traversed with barely a layer of dust upon it. Despite the obvious negligance in certain corners, traces of this place being used regularly remained. An air of life and stories breathed in here.

"This place is nice." Aurora concluded.

"... I see. In that case, feel free to have a look around." The bestacled man said. "Most of the books here are for sale, but if you need to scan or print anything there's also a printer in the back."

Aurora nodded after his explanation.

This was a non-profit bookstore that lived off from charity and community work. She had unexpectedly found a rare gem in this metropole city! What a great find!

"Actually," Aurora said. "...Do you have any records of this city?"

"Records of... Yorknew?" The clerk repeated. " You mean history? In that case, would journals suffice? We often have people offer us those since they have no use for them anymore... I'm fairly sure there were some..." He said and started to browse around.

"I'll look around too." Aurora said and disappeared.

"Ah, yes. Of course, sure-" The clerk responded, not noticing that Aurora had already disappeared until he looked up and saw her gone. He looked around, but that flashing red of her hair was nowhere to be seen.

Baffled the clerk concluded that today was just strange.

From the day he inherited this store, barely one customer came a week. Most people didn't even know the store was open with how desolate and rustic it looked. Against all odds, however, it had to be today in which not one, but TWO customers entered this humble abode of his.

Notes

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