Chapter 86
While keeping an eye on Felix as he eagerly rummaged through back issues of 'The Fountain of Minerva,' Monica looked around the shop.
Though Felix's shocking remark had made her stomach ache a little, the antiquarian bookstore was certainly a place that set Monica's heart aflutter.
From relatively recent publications—so-called used books—to old books from eras when printing and bookbinding techniques had yet to develop, the shop had every kind of book imaginable.
A quick look around revealed that about half the books on the shelves were popular entertainment novels, while the other half were practical or academic works. Some were rare books that had gone out of print.
Monica really wanted to pore over the books on magic, but if she did that in front of Felix, he would realize she could use magic.
As Monica walked along, looking up at the shelves and wondering whether she should search for books on mathematics instead, she stopped in front of one particular shelf.
This shelf held collections of books on medicine and biology. It had caught Monica's attention because she thought she had glimpsed a familiar name.
Calming her pounding heart, Monica slowly ran her eyes over the titles lining the shelf.
"...Ah."
Monica's eyes became fixed on a single book.
It had been published five years ago—and then banned, recalled, and burned.
'Reading Magical Properties through Hereditary Traits, by Venedict Rain'
Drawn to it as though by an invisible force, Monica picked up the book and opened the cover with trembling fingers.
The book began with a sentence Monica had heard countless times.
—The human body is made up of an enormous number of numbers.
The book's contents were difficult to understand without knowledge of both biology and magic, and since biology was not Monica's field, she could comprehend only about half of it.
Even so, Monica remembered the numbers in the tables and graphs perfectly.
"18473726, 385, 20985.726, 29405.84739, 235, 2108877, 25..."
Proof that her father, executed as a heretic, had lived.
The book going up in flames. Fragments of pages turning to ash.
The numbers she had burned into her eyes—at least those—were here now, complete and intact.
Monica hugged the book to her chest and hurried over to Porter.
"A-ah, um, this... this book... I-I want it! Please, let me have it!"
Porter looked up from his manuscript paper and saw Monica. His gaze shifted to the book's title, and his eyes widened slightly behind his glasses.
"...That book was left behind by a friend of mine. I won't sell it cheaply."
Monica was surprised to learn that Porter had been a friend of her late father.
But she could not bring up her father in front of Felix.
Suppressing her agitation, Monica leaned forward and asked,
"H-how much is it?"
Porter held up two fingers and thrust them out in front of Monica.
The going price for a specialized book of this sort was about one silver coin.
Monica thought he was asking for twice that amount—two silver coins—but...
"Two gold coins."
Monica gasped.
Two gold coins was enough for a commoner living modestly to get by without working for quite some time.
In truth, as one of the Seven Sages, Monica earned a respectable income and had enough savings to afford a house in the capital. However, since she rarely had opportunities to shop, she did not normally carry large sums of money. Let alone two gold coins.
"I-I-I'll definitely come back and pay you someday, so... c-could you hold on to it for me?"
"How many years would it take a child like you to earn two gold coins?"
"Ngh..."
It wasn't that Monica couldn't pay the two gold coins.
But if she said so outright, her identity would be exposed.
As Monica desperately wondered whether she could at least persuade him to reserve the book, Felix, who had appeared beside her without her noticing, placed two gold coins on the counter with a soft clink.
"That settles it, doesn't it?"
Monica's eyes widened as she looked up at Felix.
"N-no, no! I can't! I can't let you front me that much money...!"
"You can think of it as hush money for my late-night escapades."
Saying this, Felix bent slightly and peered into Monica's face.
"You probably wouldn't be happy if I gave you an accessory... but doesn't this make you happy?"
"Th-that may be true, but two gold coins...!"
"I don't know what that book is worth, but for you, it's worth that much, isn't it?"
The moment Felix said this, a tear slipped from Monica's eye.
Everyone had mocked her father's research and the book burning before them as worthless.
They had trampled it, torn it to shreds, and thrown it into the flames.
No one had listened, no matter how fervently Monica pleaded for them to understand its value. Worse, she was not even allowed to explain it, and her uncle had beaten her.
He kept telling her, again and again, not to say anything unnecessary—so relentlessly that Monica eventually lost the ability to speak.
Felix did not know the value of this book.
Even so, he had acknowledged how much Monica treasured it and accepted that she did. That alone made her happier than she could express.
Monica nodded over and over as tears poured down her cheeks.
This book was worth that much. It was proof that her father had lived.
Felix bent down and wiped the tears from Monica's eyes with his fingertips.
"This is a problem. I didn't mean to make you cry... Won't you smile for me?"
When Monica gave him a crumpled smile, Felix gently narrowed his eyes.
Porter picked up the gold coins with a sour expression.
"Two gold coins. Payment received."
Porter put the coins in a small safe, then held the book out to Monica.
Her father's book—the book that had been deemed worth two gold coins.
"This book is yours."
Monica wiped her tears with her sleeve and accepted the book with trembling hands.
Then she hugged her father's book to her chest and bowed deeply to Porter and Felix.
"Thank you for... putting such a high value on this book."
"Shouldn't the person who was overcharged be getting angry and calling it a scam?"
At Porter's exasperated mutter, Monica shook her head vigorously.
Her father probably would not have cared about the assessment of his book or the value others placed on it. Even so, Monica was far, far happier that his book had sold for a high price than she would have been if it had been sold cheaply.
Felix gazed gently at Monica as she cried with a bright red nose, clutching the book to her chest and smiling happily despite her tears, as though he were looking at something nostalgic.
＊ ＊ ＊
At Madame Cassandra's House, a grand banquet was being held that day. A particularly generous guest had given the establishment a large sum of money.
The guest was staying in the establishment's finest room with a young woman.
The guest had said there was no need to send one of the house girls, but providing no service at all would be a disgrace to Madame Cassandra's House.
Doris, one of the house's most popular girls, slipped away from the banquet and headed to the guest's room with light snacks, a platter of fruit, and some exceptionally fine liquor. She knocked on the door.
If the two of them were having fun in bed, she could join them. And if that innocent-looking young woman was not managing very well, Doris could teach her a thing or two.
With those thoughts in mind, Doris opened the door—and her eyes nearly popped out of her head.
The guests were sitting on the sofa in the establishment's most luxurious room, both of them silently engrossed in their books.
"Hey, hey! Two young people, a man and a woman, having a book club this late at night!? A perfectly healthy young man and woman ought to have more fun things to do!"
"...Oh, Doris. Just leave the drinks over there, will you? I'm at a very good part right now."
Doris did not know the real name of this regular customer. He called himself Baron, but she had gradually realized that he was probably someone of an even higher status.
What mattered to Doris was not the man's identity but his behavior in bed and his generosity with money. In both respects, Baron-sama received a perfect score.
He never looked down on the establishment's girls or treated them violently, and he was smooth in bed. On top of that, he was handsome and paid well, so quite a few of the girls had fallen seriously for him.
This Baron-sama, who knew exactly how to enjoy himself at night, was having a book club with a young woman despite the two of them being alone together!
"Hey, miss! Are you really okay with this!? It's like he's telling you he doesn't find you attractive!"
"Yes! Until now, hereditary traits were thought to be things that blended together like liquid, but this book proposes that they are tiny particles called hereditary particles. These particles are like a blueprint for human beings, and through them, magical capacity and elemental affinities..."
"Enough with the unsexy talk!"
Doris poured some liquor into an empty glass and thrust it at Monica.
"Here, drink this!"
"Ah, okay."
Monica tilted the glass as it was offered to her. She must have been thirsty from concentrating so hard on her reading, because she gulped down about half of it in one go.
When Doris filled Baron-sama's glass as well, he took a small sip and narrowed his eyes.
"Ah, this is good wine."
"See? It's the finest stuff. Madame told me to bring it in."
"Mm. Wine while reading isn't bad, either."
"That's not what the wine is for!"
Just as Doris shouted, Monica closed her book and stood up without a word.
Her eyes were glassy and unfocused.
"...Monica?"
When Baron-sama set aside his magazine and spoke to her, Monica worked her lips sluggishly.
"...Mmm... hot..."
Saying this, Monica abruptly threw off the clothes she was wearing. It happened in an instant, before either of them could stop her.
Her strange behavior did not end there. She approached Baron-sama with unsteady steps, took his hand, and patted his palm repeatedly.
"...No paw pads."
There were surely better places to touch if she wanted to please a gentleman. Why his palm?
And what was with that mysterious comment about paw pads? Doris had no idea what it meant.
As Doris stood speechless, Monica pressed Baron-sama's hand against her own cheek again and again. Then she lowered her eyebrows sadly and murmured,
"...No paw pads..."
Monica sniffled sadly, then staggered over to the bed and curled up on top of it in her underwear, like an animal.
Finally, she left them with the cryptic words, "I want to be a cat..." and began breathing softly in her sleep.
Doris slowly turned her head and looked at Baron-sama.
"...Sir, did you pick up a cat somewhere?"
"Yeah, I'd never seen that before, either. I'm honestly surprised."
"By the way, what are paw pads?"
"Who knows?"
When they both looked toward the bed, Monica had an utterly blissful expression on her sleeping face and was mewling softly in her sleep.