44 · The Call of the Ritual

Outside the Moonlight Cafe on Lubo Lane.

Gallo had just seen off a university student from the foreign languages department who was studying languages of the Southern Continent.

The student was nearing graduation and had come to Gallo to prepare for his thesis.

He had happened to hear rumors about Gallo from his classmates and had come to Lubo Lane to give it a try, hoping Gallo's consulting service might help him find materials for his thesis.

"Books about languages of the Southern Continent... I've only seen them on the shelves of a handful of bookstores, and there weren't many. He's probably planning to head to the Empire's colonies in the Southern Continent after graduating." Gallo put away the two one-Fenso coins on the table. At least he'd completed the consultation.

The midday sun struggled to pierce the thick fog hanging over Xiting City. The Clock Tower on the grounds of Imperial Industrial University struck twelve.

When the noon bells rang, Gallo's morning work was over. The customers gathered around him began drinking their coffee or chatting in earnest. When they had nothing else to do, sitting here and listening as Gallo explained the contents of books to clients seeking his help was a pleasant way to pass the time.

Once, someone sitting close to Gallo had even fallen asleep with his head on the coffee table while listening to him explain a book to a client. Most people here genuinely enjoyed the feeling of letting knowledge pass through their minds without leaving a trace. If Gallo offered his services in the evenings too, he'd be a wonderful sleep aid.

Gallo rubbed his aching temples. Searching through and interpreting complex technical terms at such a high intensity took a toll on his mind, even with [Learning Lv3] to help.

As he took out the buttered white bread he'd brought from home for lunch, the owner of Aofan Bookstore—a perpetually smiling old shopkeeper—carefully set a small parcel wrapped in clean waxed cloth on the table before him.

"Mr. Gallo, a friend just sent me some fresh local butter from my hometown in Nankan County. I've divided it up so I can share it with my friends. There's also a little homemade wild-berry jam. It's nothing valuable, but give it a try. It'll taste even better with bread."

The owner of Aofan Bookstore smiled at Gallo as he spoke.

Gallo felt a little helpless, but accepted it politely.

"Mr. Aofan, you're too kind. I told you, you really don't have to..."

"Ah, it's just a small gesture, a little something homemade for you, Mr. Gallo." Mr. Aofan waved a hand, then lowered his voice. "I can't stay here long. If the owners of the other bookstores see me, they'll all come crowding over, and then they'll say I'm playing dirty again. Hahaha."

Gallo smiled. Just as the man rose to leave, he called after him and lowered his voice. "Mr. Aofan, you might want to try stocking more books on the languages and language families of the Southern Continent. Based on what my recent clients have been looking for, most foreign language students are considering the Empire's colonies in the Southern Continent as their next step.

"Traditional diplomacy is no longer on the minds of these foreign language students. After all, the Empire has never had good relations with its neighbors in the Northern Continent.

"You could also stock some dictionaries for the languages spoken in the Empire's colonies in the Southern Continent. The official Imperial editions might be worth considering."

Gallo paused, then continued. "You could also stock some books on hydraulic engineering, construction, and electrical engineering. I get the feeling that the Empire's leadership is increasing its investment in the Southern Continent's colonies, and students at Imperial Industrial University tend to be the most perceptive about where to put their talents to use."

He finished with a smile. "Graduation season is almost here. I have a feeling those kinds of books might sell out."

"Really? Then I'm very grateful for your advice, Mr. Gallo." Even when Mr. Aofan exclaimed in surprise, he kept his voice extremely low, as if he were afraid the people nearby might hear him.

He hurried out of the Moonlight Cafe, then carefully scanned the area in case he ran into one of the other shopkeepers. Ever since he'd tried to recruit Gallo as the manager of his bookstore, the other business owners on the street had ganged up on him.

Only after he returned to Aofan Bookstore did Mr. Aofan let himself feel pleased. "I've run a bookstore here since the days of the kingdom. It's been decades, through an emperor and now a head of state. How could doing business be the same no matter who's running it? You have to use your head."

Watching Mr. Aofan leave, Gallo took a deep breath.

On the surface, the bookstore owners had accepted his impartial approach to working with them. In private, though, they were always trying to curry favor with him in the hope of getting a larger share of his clients.

First it had been coffee and pastries; now they were bringing him local specialties. They always insisted these gifts were "nothing valuable," but their enthusiasm still put a little pressure on Gallo.

He offered his services on Lubo Lane, but he also had to maintain the delicate balance among the businesses there and avoid becoming tied to any one side.

Even though Gallo had firmly told the bookstore owners to stop trying to win him over, they still did it on the sly. After all, merchants never took other people's attitudes at face value. If they did, they'd only end up at a disadvantage.

He opened the parcel wrapped in waxed cloth. The cloth felt particularly stiff, but it was one of the ways people in this era kept food fresh.

Gallo had a few pieces of waxed cloth at home too, which he used to wrap bread and butter.

Waxed cloth served much the same purpose as the plastic wrap he'd used in his previous life.

Inside was a tempting slab of pale butter, rich with the scent of cream, along with a small jar of deep-purple jam.

He asked one of the cafe staff for a butter knife, then spread butter and jam over the white bread he'd brought, ready to enjoy his late lunch.

The soft bread, smooth butter, and sweet-tart jam briefly soothed his hungry stomach.

As he ate, Gallo gazed around the street without much thought.

Lubo Lane was much cleaner and more orderly than Valen Street. The air smelled of coffee instead of coal dust and foul sewage.

If he could rent an apartment nearby and move his mother and Lily over, that would be his first choice. Now that he had money, he didn't want to spend another moment on Valen Street.

Just as he took his second bite of bread—humm!

A faint tremor that came not from outside but from his own Spirituality made his whole body stiffen!

A familiar pull of Spirituality, with no warning at all, reached through his connection to the Subspace and acted upon his own Spirituality!

It felt as if someone were shouting his name in an almost brutally forceful way, trying to drag part of his Spirituality toward some distant place!