A Background Character’s Path to Power Chapter 12 12: Scholar In Disguise

I followed after the scary looking guy.

Not that I had much choice.

The mont he spoke, the girl behind the counter had practically shrunk into herself, her earlier enthusiasm vanishing like a candle snuffed out by the wind. She dared not even glance in his direction.

It was obvious—he was soone people avoided. Well, give his face and the way he spoke, it should be obvious.

And yet, here I was, trailing after him as he silently led the way through the tall shelves of books.

His movents were unhurried but with purpose.

He didn't glance back. Didn't ask any questions.

Instead, he would stop at a shelf, scan the books with cold, calculating eyes, and then—without a word—he'd pull one out and hand it to .

I accepted the first book hesitantly. Then the second. Then the third.

...Despite how he looked, he definitely knew his stuff.

A scholar in disguise? A librarian? An assistant?

Or just another student?

It was hard to tell. He didn't seem older than , but his aura—the sheer pressure around him—felt unnatural for soone my age.

Still, I had to admit…

I was beginning to see him in a new light.

That didn't an I wasn't wary.

The silence stretched between us, heavy yet not uncomfortable. It was only broken when he finally spoke again, his voice carrying that sa cold sharpness as before.

"Why are you searching for these books?"

I blinked at the sudden question.

His tone wasn't one of curiosity. It was more like an interrogation.

Is he suspecting ?

The way his gaze locked onto , unblinking and assessing, made it feel like he was seeing straight through .

"Haven't you learned them before?"

...

He's definitely suspicious.

"...I'm new here," I answered carefully, not sure what he exactly ant by that. "I just wanted to check these books, see if there's anything more to learn."

I couldn't just say, Actually, I know nothing and was hoping these would save .

He studied for a mont. Then, without breaking eye contact, he gave a slow, deliberate nod.

And then—

"Then be careful."

My grip on the books tightened slightly.

…Be careful?

What the hell does that an?

I resisted the urge to curse out loud.

Why did everything he say sound like a cryptic warning?

Was I supposed to be worried? Did he find out sothing? Or was this just… his way of speaking?

Either way, I had a feeling this wouldn't be my last encounter with him. I was going to co back here again for a while. A long while.

So, why don't I get to know him?

I hesitated for a mont before speaking.

"...What should I call you?"

He turned his head slightly, his sharp gaze locking onto like a hawk assessing prey.

The silence stretched just long enough to make question if I should've even asked.

Then—

"...Zephyr."

A simple na. Yet, there was an air of dominance in the way he said it, as if it held weight beyond re letters.

Zephyr.

It sohow suited him.

I gave a slow nod. "Alright then, Brother Zephyr—"

His eyes narrowed slightly.

I coughed. "I an, Zephyr. What do you suggest soone who knows nothing should start with?"

The mont I said it, I realized my mistake.

A flicker of confusion crossed his face.

His eyes lowered ever so slightly, glancing at the stack of books he had handed . Then, he raised a brow.

"...You know nothing?"

Shoot.

I quickly corrected myself. "I an—I know soone like that."

"..."

Zephyr's eyes squinted slightly, as if silently assessing whether to believe or not. Then, he gave a slow nod, letting the matter slide.

Without another word, he plucked a book from the pile in my hands and set it on the nearest table.

"This one."

I followed his lead, placing the rest of the books down before flipping open the first page after reading the simple title.

"Why this?" I asked.

Zephyr leaned slightly against the table, crossing his arms. "It covers the fundantal principles without assuming prior knowledge."

Oh? That was actually… reasonable.

"And next?" I prompted.

He exhaled slightly—maybe a sigh, maybe not—and pointed at another. "This one expands on the first, with practical applications."

As he spoke, I took out an empty notebook from my bag and began jotting things down. I wasn't sure why, but sothing about the way he explained things made it easy to follow.

He wasn't exactly good at teaching. His explanations were direct, sotis overly brief. But—

I found I could understand him.

Maybe I just had a knack for learning. Or maybe… we were both the type to get engrossed in things like this.

Before long, the tension from earlier had vanished entirely.

The conversation flowed naturally, my questions t with his answers and his instructions followed by my notes.

Zephyr's voice, which had initially carried an icy sharpness, no longer seed as harsh when he was speaking about these topics.

The heavy atmosphere from before?

Completely gone.

Now, it was just the two of us. A pair of studious lunatics, flipping through pages and exchanging words like nothing else in the world mattered.

I didn't even realize how much ti had passed.

Until—

Ding-!

A sharp bell tone rang through the library.

The sound snapped out of my focus like a splash of cold water.

I blinked.

Zephyr, too, lifted his gaze slightly from the book he had been explaining.

The sky outside was no longer a bright afternoon hue. Instead, it had deepened into the soft glow of early evening.

I see...

…We probably had been at this for hours.

I glanced at Zephyr. He seed just as unfazed by the passage of ti as I was.

Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that this study session was the first of many. Which might be a good thing.

And for the first ti, Zephyr didn't seem quite as scary anymore.

And I can guess his personality - he is probably an introvert who struggles to voice out his thoughts correctly. As for his scary aura and the way he speak, he is either oblvious to it or don't know how to fix it - as they are natural.

A soft, gentle voice echoed from behind.

"Sorry for disturbing you two… but it's already dinner ti. I thought you would be h-hungry…"

Both Zephyr and I turned toward the sound.

Standing a few feet away, partially hidden by the tall shelves, was the librarian girl from earlier. Her hands fidgeted in front of her, fingers curling and uncurling as if unsure what to do with them.

She wasn't looking at .

Her gaze was glued to the floor, her face slightly flushed, as though she had mustered all her courage just to speak up.

Or rather… she was deliberately avoiding looking in Zephyr's direction.

I glanced at the book in front of , then back at her.

So it was her who rang the bell.

And—

Why is she acting like this…?