The chimes hanging overhead rang as soon as I pushed the wooden door open and I was greeted with the familiar smell of old books and pages which immediately put a smile on my face.

'Ah… I missed this…'

The tower has a lot of books but it doesn't smell like this. Like pages tightly bound together and aged by years. Given that the room is massive and is magically restored all the time, it's understandable that there would be no lingering smells.

"Well, well... Look who's back,

" Nine remarked upon laying eyes on me.

One other person was also looking at me as I welcomed myself in and she was smiling so brightly this time as well.

"Lady Nadia!

" That was Estelle..

"Hello, good afternoon,

" I greeted and walked further in.

"I didn't see Lady Nadia for more than a week, is everything well?

" Estelle asked, concern dripping in her voice.

'She's such a sweetheart, isn't she?'

Well, it's because I was holed up in the tower and eating away on books.

"Ah, that,

" I muttered and let out a faint smile.

"I was busy researching something and had just recently got a breakthrough. But now I'm free… well, kind of...

"

My research is not done after all.

Estelle looked convinced but I could also tell that she's curious.

"Ohh... That explains it then.

"

"Yep, I dropped by because I have nothing to do,

" I replied,

"--currently…

"

I have been going back and forth to the Arcane Tower these days and have hardly done anything else except reading. That's why I wanted to take a break first and enjoy whatever I was enjoying before. Actually, I just came from the cafe I am fond of before coming here.

Then tomorrow, I plan to spend my time in my garden back home, drink tea, and enjoy the sun. Do nothing, in general. That's what I was good at anyway.

'Oh shoot! I have forgotten to come to my occasional tea session with the Empress!'

I got so absorbed I didn't realize I had missed one meeting. I even forgot to send a message...

"Lady Nadia actually came just in time!

" Estelle suddenly divulged, grabbing my wandering attention.

"Oh, I do?

" I muttered and came back to now, looking at them expectantly.

Estelle then pouted.

"You see… Nine is going to leave soon.

"

My eyes immediately went to the always smiling woman leaning behind the counter.

"What? You're leaving?

"

'Is she going on vacation or what?'

"Mhmm…

" was her only response.

My brows knitted together.

"Does that mean the bookshop's going to close? Why are you leaving?

" I couldn't help but ask.

Is that rude?

Nine grinned at us. Her eyes turned into two half-moons.

"Well technically, I'm taking a vacation,

" she replied. She then shrugged her shoulders,

"A long one? Who knows?

" and chuckled afterward.

'Ah, so that's it.'

"So you'll be back?

" I inquired just to make sure.

Instead of answering like a normal person, Nine just tilted her head to the side, her hair flowing down like waterfalls from the movement, and continued grinning like a cat.

"...

"

Goodness… I should already be accustomed to this. I mean, she always has been dodgy as heck even from the start, so this is not new anymore.

She kind of reminds me of that walking gold aka Janus the damn magician.

'Hey, I have a lot of nicknames for him huh…'

"She said she will leave Rosenthal for good,

" Estelle piped in. Her voice was low and she sounded really sad.

One look at her expression and I could tell, she truly is sad. After all, she had known Nine longer than me and had maybe got attached to her. It's pretty reasonable that she would feel remorse upon knowing that one of her friends will be going away, one that won't come back.

If that were me, I would be the same too. Just imagining Gwen or Bea leaving would be enough to make me mope for days… or months… or years… Who knows.

'Oh, she looks like she's about to cry…' I thought as I watched Estelle's frown go deeper.

Nine chuckled.

"I've been here for a long time already. It's time for me to go,

" she said.

"I have a lot to do, you know.

"

I have known Nine for probably two months at best and I'm still learning things about her. I still can't say confidently that I know her because I don't. The time given was short and I really don't have a lot of given opportunities to be closer to her.

So her leaving doesn't honestly make me that dejected. Maybe a little. It's more on the regretful side because just what I said, I didn't get to know her longer.

What I do feel disheartened about is the fact that I'll probably never get to buy good-quality books again. Seriously, in the capital, only this shop has what I want. There are other much bigger book shops than this but my author is not there so what is the point?

"So you really are leaving for good…

" I repeated.

'I'm not sure what to feel now…'

Looking at our expressions, Nine started laughing.

"You two don't have to be sad about it. I can visit from time to time.

" She looked at the still pouting Estelle,

"Also, I told you this already, it's not going to happen this season, nor the next.

"

What she said only made Estelle go more emotional.

"Hey now, don't start crying because of that. I'm still here,

" Nine uttered, amusement sparking inside her eyes.

"It's because Nine will eventually leave us,

" Estelle sniffed as she tried her best to not let more tears fall.

Nine chuckled yet again.

"You make it sound like I'm going to die,

" she remarks ever so casually.

Her words obviously made me nervous.

"Goodness! That sounds like a big red flag to me,

" I immediately stepped in.

"Let's not talk about deaths, shall we?

"

I'm worried because I am a big jinx, as you all know by now.

Even if the words aren't uttered by me, I'm still not going to trust myself. I'm a walking negative vibes magnet so this talk about dying is uncomfortable, albeit just a joke. Plus that sounds like such a bad omen no matter how you look at it.

"I don't mean it like that,

" Estelle quickly defended herself.

"We know,

" I replied.

"Mhmm, I never die so rest assured,

" Nine said so as to appease the literal damsel in distress in front of us.

Yeah, we hope so, Nine. So let's stop talking about deaths again, alright? Thank you.

Geez...