Chapter 515:
So We’re Going Together?
“IF ONLY THE BOOK’S TRUE OWNER can understand its contents, then how do you guys know what it said?”
My father had a point—how did they know? They clearly said earlier that they read about adandaras and dorya being cave guardian deities in a book… Did they peep inside?
“Just to get this out of the way, we did not sneak a peek at the book’s pages,” Zinal said, looking at me and my father.
Huh? How did he know what we were thinking?
“The accusing look in your eyes gave you both away.”
That made us smile sheepishly.
“Sorry we doubted you, sir,” I said with a hearty laugh.
“Yeah, sorry,” my father echoed. “It just seemed like something you guys would do.”
Um, Dad, that wasn’t much of an apology.
“Druid, we would never… Well, yeah, we tried several times and failed.”
So they did try to look inside after all!
“I knew it…” my father muttered under his breath.
Zinal shrugged his shoulders. “But it was funny how quickly we got caught. That bookshop was a very strange place. Think the shopkeeper is still doing okay?”
Seeing the fond looks on Zinal’s and Fische’s faces, I was starting to want to meet the old man at the bookshop, too. I didn’t even have to read any of the books; I just wanted to go to that strange bookshop in Kashime.
“So, if you didn’t sneak a peek at the pages, how do you know what was written on them?” my father pressed.
“Well, after we helped him get rid of all those pests, he must’ve taken a liking to us. So he told us we could read just one of his books, and we did. Then again, he didn’t let us choose which one we read,” Zinal said as Fische nodded merrily beside him.
“Okay, that makes sense now. But wow. Adandaras and dorya are cave guardian deities, huh…”
Hearing the words from my father’s mouth filled me with questions again. No matter how many times I heard it said, the phrasing sounded so strange.
“Was there anything about serpents in that book?” my father asked.
I thought back to the giant serpents we found in caves. Serpents were the monsters I first thought of when I heard about a guardian deity of a cave. I looked at Fische and Zinal to see if I was right, but they shook their heads.
“Wait, not a word about them?” I asked in shock.
Fische gave me a strange look.
“Um, well…I was just sure the book would say something about serpents, that’s all…”
“I see. Serpents, huh? Well, the part of the book we read didn’t mention them. But y’know, that book…” Fische cut himself off and shot Zinal a look.
Maybe they aren’t supposed to tell anybody about what they read? They did say earlier that only the book’s true owner could know what was written. Oh, but then again, it was Zinal who brought up the topic in the first place! So it must be okay to talk about it.
“So that book…most of its pages were blank.”
Its pages were blank? As in, nothing was written on them? This…this is a book we’re talking about, right?
“What do you mean? I thought you said you read the book. Did you get tricked?” my father demanded.
“Yeah, that’s what we thought, and we sure let him have it.”
I couldn’t even imagine Zinal’s party being tricked. They were more the trickster types. Then again, they did say they were in their teens, so maybe they were more gullible back then.
Zinal explained, “When we yelled at the shopkeeper, he said, ‘Oh, so that’s all you could read? Guess you’re still too young.’ And then he laughed at us real hard.”
My father and I raised our eyebrows at each other. Neither of us really understood what the shopkeeper had said.
That was all they could read? Does that mean…there was somebody else who could read more? But the book’s pages were blank, weren’t they?
“Sorry, Zinal, but I’m not really following.”
Zinal and Fische smiled sheepishly back at my father. “We didn’t really get it, either. Anyway, we asked the bookshop owner what he meant, and he said, ‘You aren’t worthy, so you can’t read the words on the pages.’”
Can’t read the words on the pages… So does that mean there are words written on the pages, but Zinal and his friends couldn’t read them?
“Do you think that book is magic?” my father asked.
That would definitely explain the inability to read words, but Zinal and Fische shook their heads.
“We would have sensed magic energy from it if it were, but we felt nothing from that book.”
So it wasn’t magic…yet some people couldn’t read what was written on the pages… This is making even less sense.
“We asked the shop owner how the book was rigged, but he wouldn’t tell us, so it remains a mystery. I remember we were even more interested in the book than we’d been before we tried to read it. We kinda regretted looking at it.”
I could see why they felt that way, but it seemed like the book from the fortune-teller was a little different. I’d been able to read that book ever since I was little, so I doubted it had the power to make itself unreadable to certain people. And, besides, my father was able to read it, too.
“Well, all this talking has made me very interested in that bookshop. Druid, aren’t you and Ivy going to the capital?”
Wait, did we ever mention that?
“Actually, we’re headed to Kashime,” my father replied.
Zinal’s face lit up. I wonder why…
“Kashime? Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“That’s the plan for now,” my father added.
Zinal nodded a few times to himself. Could it be…?
“Okay, let’s go together.”
Aha, I thought so.
“When’s the last time we saw that shop owner…five years ago? Or was it six?”
Zinal looked questioningly at Fische, who nodded and said, “Yeah, probably.”
“Okay, since we might be able to read more of the book this time, we’ll negotiate with the shop owner,” Zinal said.
“Negotiate?” I stared at Zinal, wondering what he would use to do that.
“That’s right, negotiate,” Zinal said. “He only let us read that book once. The next time we came to see him, he told us ‘no means no’ and turned us down on the spot.”
Fische smiled sheepishly. “We tried negotiating many times, but he always said, ‘You’re not ready yet. I’m sure nothing’s changed for you.’ But six years have passed since then, so…maybe he’s finally ready to let us read it?”
“Right? Don’t you wanna go see?” Zinal coaxed him.
Fische nodded. “Yeah. It might be a good idea.”
So it looked like Fische and Zinal would join us all the way to Kashime. But was it really okay for them to make this decision without Garrit?
“What about Garrit?” my father asked, sounding a little frustrated.
“Aw, he’ll be fine with it,” Zinal answered. “He had excitement coming out of his ears when he saw that book.”
My father sighed. He probably figured trying to stop them would be pointless.
So…we’re going to travel more with the gentlemen of Zephyr. It’s sure to be a lively trip. Still, I wonder what kind of book it is? I’m only a kid, but maybe I can read it? Either way, I’d love to talk to the shop owner. He sounds like quite a character.
“What’s this, Ivy? Do I detect curiosity?” my father asked.
“Uh-huh. I’m interested in the book, of course, but I’d also love to meet the shop owner.”
“Yeah, I’d like to meet him, too. Gotta shake the hand of the guy who gave Zinal a hard time.”
While Zinal sulked and the rest of us laughed, a shadow suddenly loomed over us.
Mrrrow.
“Oh, hi, Ciel. You done playing?”
We had gotten so caught up in our conversation that I forgot we were even in a cave.
Mrrrow.
Well, Ciel looks satisfied, so whatever. Wait, is that…?
“I see you’ve brought the dorya with you. Nice to meet you.”
Behind Ciel were two dorya who had apparently come to say hi. I remembered there’d been four in total, but the other two were nowhere to be seen. One of the dorya leaned in close, so I gave its head a little pat. Whoa! Hard as a rock! I had petted a dorya in the past, so I already knew how hard their heads were. My father had even suggested their heads might be made of rocks, but not even the serpents, who could smash cave rocks apart with their heads, had such hard heads. So every time I petted a dorya, I felt funny all over.
“Look at her, just petting it like it’s no big deal… Dorya are monsters, right?” Zinal asked Fische.
“Yeah. Very dangerous cave monsters, at that.”
I looked over at Fische and Zinal when I heard them murmuring something, but they just smiled sheepishly back at me.
“It’s because you’re touching the dorya like it’s a pet,” Zinal explained.
“Huh? But this dorya is very sweet. And cute, don’t you think?”
When you stared at them up close, they did have a certain charm. But for some reason, my answer to Zinal earned me a dropped jaw in response. Why was that?