"It’s around here, right?" Arthur glanced around a street labeled 3F. "Found it."
The building in question was a rundown wooden shack that looked like it hadn’t been touched in years.
Used books of different kinds were sold in it, and since most people who ca to Central were either from great families or had made a na for themselves outside, the store didn’t have many custors.
Arthur slowly opened the door that looked like it could fall apart at the slightest force.
’It’s pretty run down.’ His eyes scanned the single room once more.
Cobwebs served as decoration, and even the wooden walls were starting to be eaten up by termites.
However, Arthur knew he was in the right store.
The store owner that had a perverted habit of staring at people while pretending to be asleep.
In that naless bookstore, the "study notes" of the student who graduated at the top of Central Academy, Lysandra Au Lefebvre, were hidden.
Even she didn’t know where she had hidden the notes that not only contained hers but also her group’s knowledge.
While Arthur had knowledge about subjects connected to Earth and also had his Authority that increased his comprehension of things...
In real life, textbooks were important, especially for more complex classes.
On top of that, depending on the textbook or notes he used, the rate at which his grades improved would differ.
In the beginning of the ga, he had bought books from famous stores in the academy, but after the fourth route, he realized there were good books in other stores.
If he used the notes of the principal, then he was sure he wouldn’t just increase the probability of getting a high score but also improve his understanding of magic.
’Though my Authority and talent for study will get good grades, it won’t be bad to have one extra card...’
He moved to the third shelf. "Here it is."
Arthur’s eyes locked on a small blue book tucked at the end of the shelves. It was easy to single out since the rest of the books looked ancient.
But as he stretched his hand to pull it out—just like every cliché K-drama—
His hand t that of another.
"Huh?" he muttered, turning to face the beautiful young lady beside him.
’What the hell is she doing here?’
The person beside him was none other than Ellie Reinhardt.
He knew she wasn’t rich, but he thought that as a rcenary who made her na in the west, she would have so money.
Ellie hesitated for a mont, then withdrew her hand and gave a polite bow—eyes flicking downward, avoiding his.
’Seems my good luck has kicked in.’ Arthur shivered at the thought.
Him having good luck just ant that a very bad thing would happen to him.
Still, this was a chance to complete his mission before it got complicated.
’But first, the book. My niceness hasn’t reached that stage yet.’
Another thing he knew about Ellie and girls in general:
They loved free things but didn’t like when you gave them free things, especially when they looked broke at the mont.
So giving her money and setting her on the right path was out of the question. Not like he would have done it to begin with.
That ant the only viable option was to show her good books she should buy. Though that would reduce the number he would have, it was a fair price to pay.
After that, he could volunteer to help her with her modeling career.
Because it was precisely in one of her photo shoots for the newest won’s brand that she would die to the stalker.
’Why am I getting cold feet now?’ He leaned on the shelf. ’It seems having four wives doesn’t remove the tension one feels when talking to a new girl.’
He turned to her, then back at the shelves. ’Girls sure have a presence to them.’
He took a deep breath, grabbed a few extra books, and moved over to the shelf she was at.
Lowering his gaze, he took note of all the books she was about to grab, swallowed hard, then spoke up:
"Don’t take that one. The second book in the third row will be a much better option."
Ellie stared up at him, shuffled through the books until she found the second one.
She turned it around, stared at the price, then smiled. "Thanks..."
Arthur nodded and turned to move away. ’That’s enough for stage one.’
As he took a step forward, Ellie called out to him. "Uhm... Prince Arthur."
Arthur turned, slightly surprised by the use of Prince before his na.
"You can call Arthur."
She shook her head. "You almost killed that guy for not calling you Prince."
’Should I tell her, "You can call whatever you want, beautiful"? Would that work?’ Arthur imdiately felt the urge to throw up. ’No, even I would look at with disgust.’
He nodded. "Okay, suit yourself. But why did you call ?"
She lingered for a mont. "Can you give so recomndations..."
Arthur nodded imdiately.
She then continued. "If possible, can you lend so money?"
"Yes I can... Wait, what?" He asked, pointing at himself. "You want to lend you so money?"
She nodded. "I knew it, it’s a lot to ask since we just t."
Arthur shook his head. "I just thought girls hated guys looking at them with pity." He then whispered, "Or was I wrong about that?"
Ellie chuckled softly. "Sorry, the way you talk is kind of cute. I get why girls flock to you."
"No, that’s because of my face, and I have a soft baritone voice."
She laughed again. "Did you just call yourself handso?"
"Aren’t I though? All my problems go away when I look at my face."
Ellie smiled softly. "Yeah, that happens to too." She hugged the book to her chest. "You’re different from how I thought you’d be."
"How exactly did you think I would be?" he asked, genuinely interested.
"Well..." She began, pointing at the sky with one hand as if showing him her imagination.
"A stuck-up young master who kills people on sight, hates commoners, is a racist, has an evil laugh, and commits heresy and every evil act."
Arthur’s expression darkened. "Well, that’s a lot."
"Yeah, like there’s no way soone like that exists."
Arthur imdiately responded. "No, soone like that does exist, and he’s closer than you think."
Silence lingered between them for a mont.
Arthur cleared his throat. "I’m happy we cleared that up."
He removed half of the six books he was holding and handed them to her. "That’ll be enough for now."
He then channeled energy into his dinsion ring, not to remove anything, but to check the contents.
After confirming that nothing important except coins was inside, he handed it to her.
Ellie flinched as he extended his hand. "Prince Arthur, I can’t possibly take that. I won’t be able to pay it back."
Arthur gently took her hand and slipped the ring on. "You can pay whenever you—"
As he raised his gaze to complete his sentence, he stopped. Ellie’s face was bright red.
He frowned, then looked at his hand.
The way he held hers gently and the ring he was placing on her finger...
He imdiately withdrew his hand. "Sorry."
She turned her head away. "Mmm..."
Silence lingered for another mont before Ellie spoke again.
"Thanks for your help today. I don’t know how I’ll repay you."
Arthur waved his hand. "You’re in my faction, right? So take your ti paying back." He smiled. "And I can help you pay back—that is, if you have a job."
’I know her pride won’t let her ask for help to pay back, but it’s better to let her know I’m always open to helping.’
However, Ellie’s next words contradicted his thoughts.
"Then..." She began, making Arthur’s eyes widen. "Can you beco my modeling P.A.?"
Ding!
『 Side Quest: Modeling Assistant 』
─── ✦ End of Chapter ✦ ───
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