The Bookstore Mage

The day passed uneventfully. A few customers came to return the books they rented, while others stumbled upon the bookstore for the first time. Lucien did not leave the bookstore and instead cooked his, and Moon's lunch at home.

The rest of his time was spent reading the ancient book and studying the one about magical creatures. For some reason, what granny Loreni said popped into his mind.

"Cookies," Lucien mumbled as he stood up to close the bookstore for the day.

His mind recalled a certain creature he had read about. "Could it be, a house fairy?"

A House fairy. Mostly harmless, and rarely aggressive unless they lost their master. The best way to calm and approach a house fairy is by giving them cookies. Lucien remembered finding the whole thing quite funny when he read about it.

Now, however, granny Loreni told him to leave cookies out on the counter. Why? Lucien's mind went on overdrive as he came to a sudden conclusion.

'Maybe granny Loreni is also a mage.' He inwardly noted. It would make sense considering how close she was to his old pops.

"This could mean she could explain more about this whole situation!" Lucien's eyes lit up at that thought before he heaved a sigh.

He had no way of contacting lady Loreni. Although she had been a regular for years, Lucien had never figured out where she lived.

"I guess I just have to wait and hope she'll come back soon." He mumbled.

Standing up from the chair, Lucien lazily stretched and pulled his phone towards him using Imer. The clock pointed to 9:30 pm. It was already quite late and he had yet to have dinner.

A yawn escaped his lips as he made his way to the door. Lucien first glanced at the already deserted street. After making sure that everything seemed alright, he locked the door and pulled down the curtains before making his way upstairs.

Lucien contemplated whether or not to order food. "Eh, I'm too lazy to cook. Pizza, it is then." He mumbled.

After placing the order, Lucien changed his clothes into his nightwear and moved to the kitchen to search for cookies. "I'm pretty sure I bought some. Let's hope house fairies like cookies from the store." He chuckled.

His search finally yielded results when he found the bag of cookies hidden away above the fridge. "There we go,"

He then grabbed a plate and placed a few cookies there. Lucien was about to go down when he paused, deep in thought.

"It's missing something." Moon meowed by his side in reply.

"You think so too, right?" He nodded and scratched his head.

"Ah! Of course, how could I forget that!" Lucien smiled and bent down to pet Moon's head before he opened the fridge and grabbed the milk.

"Cookies should go with milk." He nodded in satisfaction.

It was then that his phone suddenly rang. Lucien made it fly to his hand and glanced at the unfamiliar number.

"Hello?"

"Hello! It's your pizza, I've been knocking on the door for a while."

"Ah, sorry! I'll be right there."

*****

After dinner, Lucien brushed his teeth and grabbed the plate of cookies and glass of milk, before he made his way downstairs and placed them on the counter. His eyes scanned the empty bookstore with a mixture of excitement and concern.

After a few uneventful minutes, Lucien sighed and turned around to leave.

"I guess you are still shy. I hope you like the cookies though." He said before making his way through the door behind the counter and closing it as he passed.

Lucien's steps immediately halted. He carefully placed his ears on the door and waited. "Nothing." He clicked his tongue and walked upstairs with another yawn.

*****

The next morning, Lucien woke up at 8. By the time he got himself ready and made breakfast for both him and Moon. The clock already reached 9.

He lazily made his way downstairs, still feeling a little bit sleepy. The second he opened the door, however, his steps stopped abruptly. The scene before him dispelled all of his drowsiness.

Lucien regularly cleaned the bookstore, even more so since he learned Imer. Still, it was never to this degree! The floor was almost shining. The books that usually littered the floor were neatly arranged to the sides in a way that did not take up any space, if anything they added to the charm of the bookstore.

The windows that had some old spots were cleaned. Heck, Lucien was unable to find a speck of dust in the whole place! His eyes were subconsciously drawn to the empty and cleaned glass of milk, and plate of cookies.

They were placed on the counter, where all of the paperwork Lucien had was neatly arranged. A wide smile overtook his face, as he kept scanning the whole place. His fingers traced the shelves with a look of admiration as he continually nodded in satisfaction.

"Amazing!" Lucien muttered.

He had his doubts and suspected that a house fairy did indeed live here. His old pop was a mysterious old mage after all, so it was not that shocking. What he did not expect was the efficiency of it all.

Lucien did not hear a single thing. He wasn't a heavy sleeper, yet the house fairy did not seem to make a sound.

"Amazing!" He couldn't help but blurt out again, his eyes shining in excitement. This changed everything! He thought.

'No more dishes! No more laundry! And no more cleaning!' He almost shouted, yet restrained himself.

"Ahem, dear house fairy? Are you there?" He called out in a gentle tone, yet got no response.

"Ah, give me a second!" Lucien called out before he grabbed the empty glass and plate and ran upstairs.

Moments later, he was back with a full glass of milk and the now full plate of cookies. Moon was following behind him with a strange expression on her face. After observing him for a few seconds, she turned her attention toward a particular spot before she quickly lost interest and made her way back upstairs.

Lucien, on the other hand, carefully placed the plate and glass on the counter, his eyes continued to scan his surroundings in excitement, as he spoke:

"Please consider this a thank you for the amazing job you've done!"

Lucien then slowly sat down behind the counter and patiently waited. House fairies seemed to be masters at hiding. Even with the help of his eyes which were able to see the mana particles, Lucien could not figure out where the fairy was at.

'Come on, don't be shy.'