I glanced at Nathan, "Tomorrow? Do you not have anything planned?"
"I have but I can make time to accompany you," he suggested.
What a nice brother…
"There is no need, really. I can come here alone so then you can do your duties without worrying about me," I told him this and pried myself off of the soft couch.
It's already enough that he spent his day off with me today, for him to accompany me to the archives to read. When he could just stay at home and rest.
"Are you sure?" Nathan pressed on with a troubled expression on his face.
I chuckled at his expense.
"Silly brother.. Of course, I'm sure. You don't have to accompany me everywhere and worry about me all the time. You also don't have to neglect your responsibilities for me, you know," I remarked. "I'm almost twenty. I'm an adult now."
Nathan frowned, "But you're a--"
He was about to say something but he then stopped midway, zipping his mouth shut in an instant.
"A what?" One of my brows raised.
Was he about to say that I'm a woman? Seems like it, judging from how his demeanor got shifty all of a sudden. He even avoided looking straight into my eyes.
"Nothing," he flatly responded.
'Oh, Nathan…'
"Let's leave now so that we can get home before dark," proposed Nathan, completely changing the topic.
"Alright," my eyes then shifted towards the pile of books on the table, silently brooding-- "How are we going to return these all though?"
"We usually just leave it on the table and they will take care of it themselves," Nathaniel commented.
Truly?
I glanced in Z's direction, who for some reason, stood stiffly behind the counter, looking like a statue.
Shrugging my shoulders, Nathan and I walked away, leaving the pile on the table that I arranged neatly at the least. Even though I'm skeptical, we can't possibly return the books ourselves anyway. I'll just give Z a heads up.
After we had reached the counter, I cleared my throat to catch his attention, and yet Z wasn't budging an inch. His whole body looked like it was frozen stiff, so I squinted to see if he wasn't breathing or something.
"Z?" I called out to him.
His head suddenly jerked upward, startling both me and my brother.
Goodness…
"Ah? Hmm hmm…" Z mumbled.
"I'm sorry, are you okay?" I couldn't help but ask.
Z grinned at me, "Yes. I was just asleep. Are you leaving now?"
Asleep?
I gazed at him weirdly, not knowing how to react to that piece of information.
He's sleeping standing up? What the hell…
"... right," I muttered and decided to ignore it. "I left the books on the table."
"That's fine. I will return those later," Znodded.
"About the invitation Lord Janus sent me…" I trailed off.
I was wondering if I have to give it back to them or not, hence the silent question.
"Ah, it's yours. You can use that to freely enter the tower whenever you want. Like an exclusive membership card of some sort," Z answered.
"Oh, okay. Thank you."
That's a relief then huh. Hearing him call it a membership card sounds strangely sensible though. And it just made the value of the invitation go up a few levels higher.
Now, I can just come and go whenever without worrying if I can enter or not. That thought made my mood liven up even more than it already is.
"I still want to read those books tomorrow so I was thinking if it's fine to leave them where I can easily access them," I added.
It would be a hassle if I have to summon them all at once again, you know.
Z nodded, "No problem."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Nathan and I then went home.
--**
The next day, I came back alone and I made sure to come early as well. I was already here and it's not even afternoon yet. George was surprised to see that I was leaving so early but when I told him I'm going to the tower, he immediately understood.
Yesterday was not enough because Nathan and I came here in the afternoon. Which is why I only got to read one whole book. My goal for today is to read as many books as possible and learn new things. I even brought paper and a pen with me so that I could jot down all the important things.
I was that ready.
I found Z lounging about on a carpet. He was on his side, his right hand supporting his head while the other was holding a small book. I stopped to gawk at him for a few seconds, astonished as usual.
"Oh, you're here already," he uttered so casually. He didn't even bother to change his laid-back appearance and continued reading.
I'm not surprised to see him resting on a carpet, floating above the floor. I have never seen anything like that, at all. A magic carpet does exist.
On closer inspection, I was struck by how familiar it was like I have seen it before. And then it dawned on me that it was one of the magic artifacts displayed here. I remembered it was inside a glass box and now it's here.
I'm more surprised that he's reading a manga book which I'm pretty sure doesn't exist here. Or that he's able to read that with his blindfold still on. Like, can he even see?
And where did he get that anyway? From my world? I'm pretty sure they are from my world...
And can he really see? What is with the blindfold anyway?
"Your books are over there on the table where you left them," said Z without looking away from his manga. His voice brought me back from my wandering thoughts to the present.
"... thanks," I muttered, clearing my throat at the same time.
I want to ask but looking at him, I probably should leave it for now and ask him later when he's not too absorbed in it. I stole another glance at him before finally leaving him there on his own devices.
Just as he said, the books were still there atop the table exactly the same as I piled them.
"Mr. Couch!" I whisper-yelled in excitement and practically threw myself on it.
This is also one other reason why I'm so excited to come back. It's because this couch exists in my life. After finding a comfortable position, I grabbed the second book of the trilogy and leaned back to immerse myself.
"Now then, let's study about this weird thing inside me."