Daina

"Then come find me at the City-State Public Library on the first Monday of next month. I still have official business to attend to, so I'll be going now."

Carter gave Ace a bear hug, then turned and left.

That was unexpectedly good news. Watching Carter's retreating back, Ace thought that he had long wanted to collect more books, especially books on all kinds of extraordinary things—knowledge about magical creatures, magical plants, and heroes. This was the perfect opportunity to learn about them in detail.

Over the next few days, Morton told Ace to visit Teacher Peter's study when he had time. It was time to discuss his specialized field of study.

Ace had also been planning to tell his teacher that he was compiling a dictionary. Peter was the best channel for promoting it. He was a City-State Scholar and was on speaking terms with high-ranking City-State officials, enjoying enormous prestige in cultural and academic circles. With his help, compiling and promoting the dictionary would take half the effort for twice the result.

"Ace, you've been with me for a year now. I've seen your talent and diligence, and you've practically gone through all the books in my collection. It's time to determine your more specialized direction of study. What do you want to learn?"

"Respected Teacher, I intend to study medicine."

Among ordinary professions, medicine allowed one to openly study extraordinary creatures without arousing suspicion, making it the best possible choice.

"I thought you would choose law or language. Why do you want to study medicine?"

"I like law and language too, but too many ordinary people suffer from illness or are harmed by extraordinary creatures. I hope to help them escape their pain," Ace said with righteous solemnity.

"A noble aspiration. I'm not particularly skilled in medicine myself, so begin by learning the basics with me. Next year, Tailos, the City-State's finest doctor, will be taking students. I'll recommend you to study under him. I hope you can always preserve your sincerity."

"Thank you. I'll remember that. Also, I've noticed that many beginners struggle with reading because the definitions of many words are not clear enough. Why not write a book to help beginners understand word definitions?" Seeing that Peter intended to end the conversation, Ace hurriedly added.

"Interesting. Do you already have a solution in mind?"

"I have a few ideas. I want to compile a dictionary in two volumes: one for commonly used words and one for rare words. First, I'll arrange several thousand common words alphabetically, summarize and mark their definitions, then gradually collect rare words. I may need to consult you often in the future, Teacher."

"Of course. If you succeed, it will be a tremendous help to beginners. Are you sure you won't reconsider specializing in language? I think it may better suit your talents."

"No. Becoming a good doctor is my lifelong ideal," Ace said with a straight face, though inwardly he was thinking about how to dissect extraordinary creatures and trick heroes into giving him their blood. After all, bloodletting was remarkably effective.

Compiling a dictionary was meticulous, laborious work. Ace planned to finish the first volume, list Peter and himself as the authors, then have Peter submit it to the Ministry of Culture and Education. At that point, fame, wealth, and contributions to the City-State would all be his, and Citizenship would be within easy reach.

It was a fine plan, but the work still had to be done bit by bit. Sorting words and clarifying precise definitions would both take time.

A month passed in the blink of an eye. Ace arrived at the City-State Public Library. Located on the west side of City Hall Plaza, the public library was built from gray-and-black marble. It stood three stories high, grand and imposing. As Ace approached the entrance, he spotted Carter standing outside in the distance, waving at him.

"Hey, Ace. I was worried someone might stop you at the door because you're so young, so I came out to wait for you." Carter looked particularly cheerful today. He strode toward Ace, grabbed his hand, and led him inside.

"You're Ace? You're so young!" A girl of around seventeen or eighteen blurted out. She seemed rather shaken by the revelation and looked dispirited.

She had fluffy flaxen hair and delicate features. Her clothes were somewhat worn, while her exposed calves were straight and shapely. She radiated youthful vitality. A white literacy badge hung over her slightly raised chest, bearing a large character for excellence.

"Don't get so worked up, Daina." Carter waved his fan-sized hand. "This junior of mine passed the literacy exam in the same year as you. Don't let his age fool you—among Teacher Peter's students, he's known for being both smart and hardworking."

"I remember you. You came first in our literacy exam. I've always admired you. I never expected you to be so young and beautiful," Ace flattered her. Saying pleasant things did not cost him anything, so why not make everyone happy?

Most of Daina's delicate face turned red. She fanned her cheeks with one hand. Being praised by a little boy five or six years younger than herself unexpectedly made her a little shy.

"After passing the exam, Daina came to work at the library. She's especially eager to learn and is determined to become a female Scholar, hahaha." Carter waggled his eyebrows at Ace.

Ace was somewhat speechless. He had no idea what Carter was trying to convey with those eyebrow movements. If he laughed along, it would seem like he was mocking Daina, so he simply kept a blank expression. Daina appeared accustomed to Carter acting this way, and her expression did not change at all.

"Daina is also participating in this book selection and collection work. Let's report to the librarian together, then get started."

After the group reported to the librarian, they went up to the second floor. More than a dozen people were already flipping through books.

"The process is this: first, collect the books donated by citizens and register them. That part has already been completed. Then, briefly read through the citizens' books and classify them according to the Ace Book Management Method. Next, carefully read the classified books, select those of value, and finally copy them out. You can pick a stack and get to work."

Carter slapped Ace hard on the back as he spoke heartily.

Ace rubbed his back, picked a stack, and immediately threw himself into the book classification work.

About two weeks passed, and Ace had become familiar with everyone at the library. He first chose books on medicine, the field he intended to specialize in, and read them carefully. During the day, he classified books at the library, while at night, he went to Teacher Peter's house to discuss precise definitions for commonly used words. His days were exceptionally fulfilling.

After reading professional books for so long that his head felt a little muddled, Ace wandered over to Daina's area, intending to read some biographies and legendary tales. He casually picked up an untitled booklet that had been set aside by itself.

"Why is this one kept separately?"

"It's a military diary written by a doctor, describing some of his experiences during the thirty-year war to conquer the barbarians. It doesn't really meet the standards for the collection. I checked the records, and the owner of this diary sold it to the library for twenty Silver Talers. It seems it can only be used as waste paper now."

Daina answered without even looking up.

"My head could use a break. Let me have a look."

"No problem. It's yours."

If you think it's not bad, please add it to your collection and send a few recommendation votes!