Takeshi arrived at the library the next day during the midday break.

He had read Chapter four of the book the night before—the one about perception exercises. The instructions were clearer than what he had seen the day before, but they were still the kind of directions that couldn’t be verified without practice. "Pay attention to a slight warm sensation in the center of your chest" wasn’t something he could confirm or rule out in ten minutes before going to sleep.

He returned the book to the counter and headed toward the applied magic section.

While searching, he came across another book titled: Basic Perception and Control, Practical Guide. It was on the second shelf, pushed inward by other books. He pulled it forward, picked it up, and turned around to head back to the table.

Suddenly, he felt something collide against his right side with enough force to make him take a sideways step. Then he heard a series of dull thuds against the floor, one after another—the sound of several books hitting the ground at the same time.

He turned around.

Scattered across the floor was a pile of books. In front of him stood a girl who was looking at him with her arms still extended forward, in the exact position they had been in when she was carrying the stack that now lay on the floor.

She was several inches shorter than him. Her hair was a vivid reddish-orange with pink tips, falling to her shoulders in a style that suggested it had been neatly combed at some point during the day. Her eyes were golden, but what caught the most attention were her ears, which tapered into a fine, slightly raised point.

’An elf!?’

Takeshi hadn’t seen one until now in this world, or at least he hadn’t noticed any.

The girl lowered her arms.

"Sorry."

She said, looking embarrassed.

"I wasn’t watching where I was going."

"No worries, neither was I."

Takeshi replied.

They both looked at the books on the floor. Takeshi counted nine from where he stood—some open, others closed but out of place.

He crouched down and began picking them up. The girl did the same from the other side.

They gathered the books in silence for a moment.

When they finished, the stack was back in the girl’s arms, though lower than before because Takeshi still held four books in his hands.

"Where were you headed?"

Takeshi asked.

"To the tables at the back, in the reserved section."

Takeshi continued carrying the four books and walked with her toward the back of the library. The reserved section was separated by a low divider, with individual tables assigned by number. The girl went straight to number seven and began spreading the books across the surface.

Takeshi placed the four he was carrying on a clear spot on the table.

"Thanks."

After thanking him, the girl stood there looking at the table with an expression that showed she was searching for something to say.

"I don’t know how to thank you properly."

The girl said after a moment.

"I don’t have any money on me or anything to give you."

"No need."

"Still, it was a lot of books to carry."

She paused.

"Are you a first-year?"

"Yeah."

The girl nodded and then glanced down at Takeshi’s hands.

He was still holding the book he had taken from the shelf before the collision: Basic Perception and Control, Practical Guide. He had carried it the whole way without realizing it.

"Are you studying magic?"

She asked.

"Trying to."

Takeshi replied.

"Yesterday I checked out another introductory book and read it, but the explanations still aren’t completely clear to me. There are things I understand in theory, but then I don’t know how to apply them."

The girl took the book from his hands without asking, opened it to the table of contents, and skimmed it for a few seconds. Then she closed it and handed it back.

"This one is good for the concept of internal flow..."

She confirmed, but then continued.

"But it has one issue—it assumes you’ve already done the perception exercises from the previous volume, so it skips them. If you haven’t done those, the practical Chapter won’t make sense."

"I read Chapter four of the previous volume last night."

"Did you manage to feel anything?"

"I’m not sure."

The girl nodded as if that was exactly what she had expected to hear.

"The problem with learning magic only from books is that books can’t confirm whether you’re doing the invisible step correctly. You need someone to watch you and tell you if you’re heading in the right direction."

Takeshi didn’t respond, but he didn’t deny what she was saying either, because it was exactly the conclusion he had reached the day before.

The girl looked at him.

"I can teach you the basics..."

She said.

"As thanks for the books. It’s not much, but it’s what I can offer."

Takeshi looked at her for a moment and then checked her stats.

[SOLYNMAR NYX]

[Life: 100%]

[Sanity: 100%]

[Trust: 75%]

There was no obvious reason to distrust her, and it solved the problem of finding someone who could confirm whether the internal process was actually happening.

"Alright."

He replied, prompting the elf to ask:

"When do you have time?"

Takeshi thought about his schedule.

"Can I come tomorrow during the long break? It’s forty minutes."

"I’m here almost every break, so I can reserve this table."

"Sounds good."

Takeshi nodded and then introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you. I’m Takeshi Fujimoto."

The girl extended her hand.

"Solynmar Nyx, but you can call me Nyx."

They shook hands. The grip was brief and straightforward.

"See you tomorrow, then."

Nyx was already opening one of the books from the pile before Takeshi had even finished turning around.

Takeshi left the reserved section and crossed the library toward the exit.

The break would end in eight minutes. He had enough time to get back to the classroom without rushing.

As he walked, he mentally reviewed what he had just agreed to. Studying with someone who clearly knew more about the subject than he did, for free, with no weird conditions, and nothing that immediately justified suspicion.

It wasn’t that he expected every person he met to have some ulterior motive, but the context he lived in made it hard to treat anything new as completely neutral.

’It might really be exactly what it seems.’

It was possible she was simply a student who knew about magic and wanted to return a favor in the only way she could.

Takeshi tucked the book under his arm and left the library.