Oops, Caught Copying Books!

Knight Balen left with immense gratitude. Even though his condition wasn't healed, and treatment hadn't even begun, Gret's efforts were enough for him to be sincerely thankful.

Gret paid his thanks no mind. Before he left, he held Knight Balen's hand and repeatedly, unceasingly, advised:

"Don't smoke! Absolutely don't smoke again when you get back! -- If you smoke, your hand won't heal easily!"

"Why?"

"Just listen to me!" Gret forcefully pushed him out the door. Tobacco, nicotine. Nicotine causes blood vessels to constrict, making wounds difficult to heal. The most obvious symptom is necrosis in re-implanted fingers. Although Knight Balen was only having surgery on his wrist tendons, it was always better to minimize any negative impact.

But did he want him to explain what nicotine was?

Thanks, but no thanks. Just obey!

After seeing the guest off, Gret returned to his desk and began drafting. -- It felt good to be rich. Two thousand sheets of paper piled up at home, write whatever you want, tear one up and use another, no need to scrimp and save by filling every inch of the paper!

He organized his thoughts, first writing the medical records with swift strokes, then dipping his brush deeply in ink and writing line by line on the draft paper:

Anesthesia, Hemostasis, Disinfection, Surgery.

Anesthesia: Inquire if the Temple of the God of War has any ready Divine Arts. If so, conduct experiments to confirm the results. If not, consult an Apothecary. Hemlock, Mandrake, Belladonna, Henbane; inquire about corresponding Magic.

Hemostasis: Tourniquet, hemostatic forceps, Divine Arts for hemostasis.

Disinfection: Wash hands, prepare strong liquor, sterilize all instruments and clothes at high temperatures beforehand.

Gret put a question mark next to the word "instruments." Swear to Hippocrates, he wasn't asking for the moon. He only prepared two hemostatic forceps and three tissue forceps. What if something unexpected happened, and the instruments became contaminated, what then?

Holy Light disinfection?

Fire disinfection?

If only Mage Hand could replace tissue forceps... That thing isn't physical, so contamination probably isn't an issue...

Sigh, still need to study Magic!

He recited the vocabulary lists he had copied today and yesterday, then fell into bed. The next morning, he got up, went to the City Guard barracks to pick up a horse, mounted it, and headed straight for the Magic Tower.

The horse was borrowed from the City Guard -- or rather, Captain Flynn did him a favor and assigned it for his use. He'd keep it at the Magic Tower's stables, paying the stable hand five Silver Coins a month, and return it to the barracks for upkeep when he went back to the city. The time saved would allow him to copy an extra twenty pages of vocabulary words each day!

He had money!

He could afford to board a horse!

And his living standards had improved!

His monthly salary had increased from five Silver Coins to fifteen Silver Coins, he had received a large lump sum of ten Gold Coins, and he didn't have to worry about the cost of copying books in the short term! Gret took a bite of bread with cheese and another bite of cured meat, feeling quite pleased.

After finishing this lunch, he would hurry back to copying the dictionary! Once the dictionary was finished, he would translate the Magic books and see what Magic within them could be used for surgery!

As he was happily thinking, a creaking sound came from behind him, and the door opened wide. Gret turned around and saw a little boy hopping into the room. His attire marked him as the child of a wealthy family: a shirt with a bow tie, riding breeches and boots, and a velvet coat adorned with a row of shining silver buttons.

Seeing Gret looking at him, the child immediately slowed his steps, put on a stern face, and clasped his hands behind his back. Although he was not yet ten years old, he carried himself with an air of precociousness that made Gret want to laugh.

Newcomer?

Damn, can't copy books today!

Don't know how long this child will stay. If he stays here the whole time, I'll have to find other ways to copy books... Fortunately, I put everything away during lunch...

Gret thought quickly and casually greeted him, "Hello." As he spoke, he looked up and saw the person following behind the boy, and immediately stood up:

"Magister Eliot."

Magister Eliot nodded at Gret and turned to leave. The boy watched him go, then suddenly darted to Gret's side and made a face at him:

"Who are you?"

"I am--"

The boy clearly had no intention of waiting for Gret to answer. After making the face, he darted into a corner and began rummaging through Gret's backpack on his own. After only a few moments, he pulled out a stack of papers and flipped through them with a rustle:

"What are you doing? Wow, you're copying books!"

"Shh!"

Gret quickly stopped him. He wanted to snatch them back but was afraid of tearing the draft papers, so he raised his hand and then stopped himself. He suddenly turned his head, and outside the library, Magister Eliot happened to be looking over. Their eyes met, and he casually walked away as if nothing had happened.

Gret felt a little relieved. Looking back inside, the boy was already giggling, shaking the draft papers with a loud rustle. He held them in front of him for a moment, then hid them behind his back, running around the room:

"You're copying books? You're finished! Mr. Magister said you're only allowed to read, not copy!"

The paper, already not very strong, was shaken back and forth by him, and with a "riiiip," one sheet immediately tore. Gret became anxious:

"Hey, give that back!"

He lunged to grab it. The boy dodged and weaved, giggling, then suddenly slipped under the table with a "swoosh." Before Gret could bend down, he heard the child shout:

"You dare try to take it back! You dare try to take it back after copying books! -- Mr. Eliot, someone is secretly copying books! Mr. Eliot!"

The child's voice was loud and sharp. With a great shout, the entire first floor of the Magic Tower echoed with the sound. Gret couldn't stop him in time. Just as he was about to rush over and cover the boy's mouth, a stern voice rang out from outside the library:

"What's going on?"

Gret stopped and turned his head. Outside the door, Eliot was already bowing:

"Teacher."

Oh no... Caught red-handed by the main party. Gret inwardly groaned, and could only follow suit and bow:

"Your Excellency, Magister."

"What are you arguing about?" Magister German strode in. He was still wearing that red robe that clung tightly to his belly, and his eyes still gleamed with sharp intelligence. With just a glance, several scattered manuscripts floated up and flew into his hands automatically.

There's no escape... I originally wanted to achieve something before asking for help through someone else, but it's only been two and a half days! Can he figure out what I'm doing in two and a half days? Can it impress this Magister?

Or, is it still not too late to defect to the Necromancer? Maybe I'll be killed by a Fireball spell? No, probably not a Fireball spell, this is a library after all, they're afraid of burning things...

Gret thought chaotically. His heart pounded wildly, his breathing grew more rapid with each breath, and a cold sweat broke out on his back. It seemed he was indeed nervous, Adrenaline was being secreted in large amounts, constricting his blood vessels and increasing his heart rate...

Gret was surprised he still had the capacity to think about these things. He took a step forward, head held high, chest out, looking directly into Magister German's eyes. His tone was steady as he defended himself:

"I wasn't copying from the book. I was just organizing and taking notes to help myself remember."

"You're still copying!" the boy shouted. Magister German, however, raised a hand, stopping his rebuttal. His thick eyebrows furrowed slightly as he read through the manuscripts in his hand and suddenly said:

"What about the others? Bring them out."

As expected, he didn't forget about the smoking cessation, I'll give myself a thumbs up.

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Yesterday, only 15 new favorites were added, while the old book gained 18, sob sob????