Parting Ways

"Is it so strange for rats to read books?"

Ding Dong Ear was deeply dissatisfied with the fat wizard's skepticism. Clutching a strip of dried squid, it shrieked in rebuttal, "We're all civilized folk, so why can't we read books?!"

"We're not those uncivilized rats!"

"Creatures like me, enlightened by our ancestors, can all read, write, and keep diaries! From your tone, are you looking down on our rat clan? That's discrimination! Blatant discrimination! Out there, you'd even get a summons from Danhaag for it!"

"I didn't question whether you catch lice or wear clothes, did I?"

Having vented its anger to this point, Little Rat seemed to feel that its last remark had been a little too arbitrary. It fell silent, paused, then added in a small voice, "You don't catch lice off each other when you're playing, right...?"

The expressions of the nearby wizards, including the fat wizard, immediately darkened. Only the black cat, covered in jet-black fur, showed no change in expression and appeared perfectly composed.

"Monkeys catch lice, not wizards." The black cat immediately corrected Little Rat's misconception, then stiffly explained, "The fat wizard meant no harm. He was merely surprised... After all, though we're all in the Wizarding World, no one has ever heard of bookstores in Beta Town, or any bookseller in Four Seasons Market, selling books to rats... to the rat clan."

"Oh, we don't buy books from bookstores." Ding Dong Ear stuffed the half-eaten dried squid back into its mouth and explained indistinctly as it chewed, "Normally, we read in our ancestors' library... Of course, sometimes when students from the academy go camping, we rummage through their backpacks and take a few books to read..."

"Isn't that stealing books?" Lin Guo cried in surprise.

Little Rat's eyes instantly went round, its two