The Store Beneath the City
The old downtown district, home to grand department stores, had given way to narrow, single-story buildings instead. From the outside, the once-bustling streets of the old city appeared worn and faded, yet the hidden gems tucked inside them were so numerous that even the gleaming new downtown could not surpass them.
In short, if the new downtown was the sunny side of the street, the old downtown bustling with vice and nightlife was the shady side.
Tilia glanced at the abrupt change in atmosphere after only two blocks and turned her gaze forward.
Whoever it was, a tall man strode ahead with perfect posture. Women in deep-necked dresses stole glances at him, and the feeling was so unmistakable that it reached even those not directly involved.
Yet Elex seemed entirely unfazed by those looks. He continued walking as if nothing had happened, heading straight for his destination.
Several moments later, the sign of the bookstore came into view.
Elex reached for the door handle of the new bookstore plastered with advertisements, then turned his head as if only now remembering that he was not alone, and gave Tilia a small nod from a distance.
Come in.
Tilia, however, could only watch the bookstore-like figure of Elex with unease.
Is it really all right?
The reason Tilia had decided to accept Elex Davenport’s help was simple.
As he had said, she truly wanted to learn Ontar language properly.
Regardless of his doubts, she had to use him to achieve her goal.
Elex Davenport was, without question, far superior in Ontar language. If she studied the books he chose—books far from mediocre—she would surely get much closer to passing.
But…
An unsettling feeling gripped her steps.
Will it really be all right? Will there truly be no harm?
Tilia looked at Elex with suspicion, then let out a deep sigh.
Enough. I have no choice but to accept the help right now.
Tilia walked toward him, recalling her clumsy Ontar.
Elex, one hand in his pocket and the other gripping the door handle, pulled the handle outward as Tilia approached.
The bookstore had a different air from the very entrance.
Books lined up neatly along the walls that reached toward the ceiling looked spotless, as if brand new.
Tilia, wandering the wide space with its clear openness, muttered to herself without realizing it.
“Why open such a large bookstore in the old downtown? The area near the department store should have been better.”
“Because the store isn’t the main business.”
His reply came lazily to her half-question.
“There’s a low-class social club down below. The bookstore serves as a cover to hide the dirty underground.”
Elex spoke the hidden truth casually and gave a light warning.
“So, unless you want trouble, don’t come here alone. Crazy people don’t care about day or night.”
Tilia narrowed her eyes as she watched Elex’s back crossing the bookstore toward the foreign-language section.
How did he know about the secret social club down below?
Those crazy people who don’t care about day or night… isn’t he one of them himself?
Tilia recalled Elex’s flashy rumors and that remarkable day, her eyes now suspicious.
Elex found the section of Ontar books and turned to look at her as if asking what she was doing.
Tilia cleared her throat once, pretending nothing was wrong, and walked over.
While she browsed the corner books, Elex’s hands moved without hesitation, pulling out volumes.
“The grammar is perfect, so you don’t need a plain conversation book.”
A book was placed gently on Tilia’s hand.
“It looks like you don’t use the endings properly and choose words badly… so…”
As he trailed off, his thick fingers brushed the spines and pulled out another book.
“Instead of classics, you’d do better with a recently published novel. Your goal isn’t to study literature but to learn the language. It won’t be as efficient as real conversation, but indirect experience is still experience.”
More books were placed on Tilia’s hands.
“You want to use everyday vocabulary well? Words needed for daily life, conversation, or travel?”
“Yeah… probably.”
At her answer, Elex’s arms moved again. Tilia reached up on tiptoe to grab a high shelf book that was unreachable, and Elex caught it, then dropped several more into her arms.
Thud. Thud. Thud… and the stack grew heavier.
Tilia stared blankly at the titles, her arms already aching. Only later did she remember her pocket money.
“You don’t need this many.”
Only then did Tilia snap out of it and speak quickly, pressing the books into Elex’s arms.
Elex caught the heavy pile in one hand with ease. Even if it had nearly made him stagger earlier, it was now light.
The easy manner and bewildered expression on his face were mildly irritating, so Tilia pulled the top book from the pile with a rough face.
“One is enough for me.”
But Tilia’s eyes remained fixed on the books Elex held, despite her words.
If I read all of these, my skill will surely improve.
…
Elex’s lips parted as if he wanted to say something while watching Tilia’s regretful expression.
“Hey. You said your brother is very pretty, right?”
The quiet bookstore echoed with a loud voice.
Tilia’s head turned naturally toward the sound as she stared at the books.
Elex’s words had been true.
From the building’s hidden basement, a flight of stairs led up. The scent of alcohol drifted as several men climbed toward them.
Club members who didn’t care about day or night.
Tilia, scanning the men with clear disgust, widened her eyes in surprise at something she noticed.
“Hey, tell me. Is it really true? Your brother’s pretty? Cute? Innocent?”
The man standing out among them, his face painfully familiar.
“How old are you? Didn’t your father say he cherished his daughter a lot?”
Because the biological older brother he was speaking of was George Ambrose.
That bastard.
Tilia hid behind Elex’s back at the sudden appearance of George, who seemed to appear everywhere dirty.
If there had been another hiding place, it would have been better, but the bookstore, which valued openness, had no high shelves except along the walls.
Naturally, Tilia crouched behind the nearest tall one, biting her lip hard.
She had come out pretending to visit Judy’s house.
Last night, having avoided violence under the excuse of meeting Wells’ daughter, she had been caught alone in a bookstore.
Or not even alone, but with a man.
… I don’t even want to imagine it.
She had no idea what fate awaited her. Tilia simply clung to her books and waited anxiously for them to pass.
“No matter how pretty Bread’s brother is, it’s still just Ambrose’s daughter, right? Tilia, wasn’t it? George’s sister, a scholarship student at the Royal Academy, right?”
“Scholarship? She’s just cheating, that’s all.”
“Hey, how are you cheating there? Didn’t you hear about the big scandal this time?”
While the men were puzzled by Tilia’s strange behavior, Elex, who had been shielding her, only understood her situation after hearing their conversation.
…
Elex’s expression was calm as he stared at George Ambrose. He gave no sign of what thoughts crossed his mind or what plans he was forming.
But at that moment, he had no interest in his emotions.
Just hurry and leave, hurry.
He only wanted to prevent the disaster of George spotting him.
The men crossed the wide bookstore while chattering endlessly.
“Before that, there was Gregory Myers. Didn’t he get expelled for cheating this time? The Myers Baron family, too!”
“It wasn’t cheating, was it? They found sacrilegious books in his room.”
Sacrilege?
Tilia’s eyes lowered as she listened to their talk while waiting for George to leave.
She did not know why that scene suddenly came to mind.
The old library bathed in sunlight. Elex Davenport leaning against the window. And the holy ethics book in his hand.
Tilia’s ears rang with a voice mixed with laughter as she recalled the book’s contents.
“Anyway, the Myers Baron family is finished. They exposed the dean of the academy, and even banned books were found in the eldest son’s room. They’d have a wanted poster out by now, right?”
Wanted posters alone? Last week, Tilia had been studying the introduction seriously and knew exactly how severe the punishment for the Myers family would be.
When a book directly challenged the temple’s authority was found, the entire estate—and if lucky, the title itself—could be confiscated. The Myers family’s collapse was already inevitable, just like the saying “totally bankrupt.”