Returning back to others was a much simpler affair than I expected. The guards and even the professor were asleep by the time I came back.

'The fairy dust is a much more potent item than I expected. I better be careful… or else I will be caught.'

I had made use of that drug more than once after all, and it had caused more than a few people to collapse. It was a disaster waiting to happen if others got wind of it.

As I went back, I grabbed a few books randomly just to show Professor Maron that I was following his orders. He had started to stir where he was sleeping, and his face frowned as he looked at me.

"I was… asleep? For how long…?"

The man asked as he rubbed his eyes. Sleep still clung to him, but he was rapidly gaining his consciousness back. I wasted no time in handing him the needed book.

"Professor, here is the book you asked for."

I told the man as I handed him what he had asked for. The professor gave me a startled look before he looked down at what I had in my hand with a frown.

"That is… the wrong book. I asked you to get me something else. Why have you brought this crap to me?"

The man asked with a frown, now throwing the book back at me. His rudeness made my eyes twitch. But I had worked in fast-food and retail industry for world-certified Karins before. This small amount of tongue-lashing was nothing to me.

"I apologise. I am not very knowledgeable regarding books since this is my first time in the library. I promise I will do a better job next time."

I told the professor, and his anger suddenly fell away as he gave me an aghast look.

"Wait—! You are not an errand boy, but an outsider? And I led you inside? What a disaster… I mean, you will not speak of this to anyone, if you know what is good for you. Do you understand?"

The professor asked, and I only smiled at him, not showing the anger brewing inside me.

"Of course, professor. I will make sure no one knows what happened here."

I no longer needed this man, so it did not matter to me what he did or what he asked me to do. I had gotten the access pass to the central library now.

The professor looked guilty that he had fallen asleep and also that he brought me here. So he just coughed to hide his nervousness before he picked up the extra books he needed to rent and decided to head out.

But Professor Maron was someone who needed to talk. He could not stay still without opening his mouth, and he was not able to keep his agitation in control no matter what he did.

So before we were even out, he turned toward me and decided to open his mouth.

"Hey kid, let me tell you something else since you are an outsider. This place that you are seeing around, it's a special place. This grove was made on top of our god, whose true nature is not known by anyone but us professors. Can you guess what our god's true nature is?"

The man asked, and I suppressed my instincts to tell him that it was a mushroom. The whole grove was built on top of a giant mushroom that governed it all.

But an outsider like me was not supposed to have this information, so I shook my head and let the professor continue.

"Of course. What did I expect from an outsider like you? Of course you have no clue what you are doing, much less of what's happening here. Now, listen up, kid. This whole grove is a giant mushroom, the likes of which the world has never seen. It is a sponge that absorbs information and remains unchanged, no matter what happens."

The professor praised the grove, and I pretended to be interested in this topic, even though I had no interest in it. As long as it kept the professor busy and entertained, it did not matter to me what I had to do.

Moreover, it was not like the professor even paid attention to see my reaction. He was happy yapping away as he wanted.

I let him speak a little more before I looked for the perfect opportunity to interject myself in the conversation.

"Excuse me, but I do believe that it is time for me to take my leave. I shall meet you again… if the gods decide to let us meet."

I told the man before turning my back to him and walking away. I felt sharp eyes looking at my back as I walked away.

For a second, I was sure that the professor would call out to me and talk to me about something. But that did not happen, and the man bit his lip before he turned away from me.

That was the end of our encounter, and I returned back to my inn.

The kids were finally awake and waiting anxiously for me to come back. Leo and Luna had brought back some food to share, but not a lot.

"I am back… and I have brought you all good news."

I told them all, and hopeful eyes looked back at me.

"Shopkeeper, you are back? Have you found a way for us to enter the grove's library?"

Luna asked, her voice hopeful but hesitant as well. She was not willing to believe me until she knew for certain that I could help her out. She was a cautious person, just the kind I liked.

"That is right. I do have a way to get inside the library now. Be ready tomorrow, and we shall have an audience with your god."

I told the sibling pair, and they still looked hesitant to believe me. I understood their hesitation and did not ask any questions. These kids deserved to hesitate and question others.

"Don't give the shopkeeper such looks. If he promised you that he will take you to your god, then you just got to believe him. He has never lied to us."

Both Leo and Luna looked at the people in front of them with an earnest expression. They looked ready to defend themselves.

It caused Leo and Luna's expressions to soften, and they gave me an almost guilty look.

"Ah, shopkeeper. We are sorry. We did not mean to doubt you at all. You are doing so much for us and we…"

Luna trailed off, not being able to take her guilt over how she was behaving. But I just saw an insecure kid in her when she behaved like this.

So without anyone saying anything, I reached for her head and ruffled her hair. It shocked Luna enough to make her look at me with a startled expression.

"Don't worry too much about it. I did what I did because I wanted to. If I did not want to help you out, then I would have made sure you knew about that clearly."

I told the siblings, and they looked thankful for my help.

The next morning, it was time for us all to head toward the library. The guard at the gate was the same, and as soon as he saw us, he frowned before a smirk covered his lips.

"So you all are back? Did something change? If not, then go back. No matter how much you try to force your way in, you won't be able to—"

"I have an identity card. Here, can you please check this."

I told the checker before he could talk more. The man looked startled but looked at the card in my hand suspiciously before his eyes widened.

He had scanned the card and seen what kind of card I had presented him with.

"T-This is… how can this be? But it should not be possible… sir, please wait—! I-I will have to get my higher ups…"

The tone with which this man spoke had suddenly turned polite when he turned to talk to us. His eyes continued to shift as he looked at us and wondered what he should do next.

I kept giving him a blank look, telling the man to hurry. The pressure must be getting to him now because I could see his breath picking up as he panicked even harder.

"There is no need to do that much on our behalf. Just allow us to enter now, and we all shall… not have more problems. Otherwise, I am afraid that I might have to lodge a complaint against you."

I threatened the panicked man. I did not feel happy doing this, but it was necessary to allow us access inside. The man in front of us flinched as soon as he heard what I had told him, and he finally relented and allowed us entry to the library.

It was a sweet victory for me and my side.

______

This book will have around 156-160 chapters and will end this month. I have a ending planned as well. So stay tuned.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.