Demon Bookshop 11

"Paul."

"…."

"Paul?"

"…."

The boss called Paul's name several times, but he did not respond. In the end, he came to his senses only when the boss approached and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh… did you call me, boss…?"

"Yeah. You've been cleaning the same spot over and over."

"Did I? I'm sorry…"

Now, Paul moved to another area and started cleaning the floor. However, he continued to clean the same spot with a vacant expression. The boss, who could not stand it anymore, took the mop from him.

"I'll do it, sit down and take a rest. You're not sick, are you? You haven't been eating properly these days, saying you don’t have an appetite."

"No… I'm fine…"

Paul went to the checkout counter and sat down as instructed by the boss. He now stared blankly at his feet. The boss spoke as he moved the mop with hand gestures.

"Paul, I don’t mean to pry, but let me know if you have any worries."

"No, I don't have any worries…"

"It doesn’t seem like nothing to me. 'Lots of worries' is written all over your forehead."

"…"

Since Paul still did not respond, the boss slightly pinched his cheek with his long fingers. It felt like slime, soft and squishy. With the pleasant feeling, he kept poking his cheeks. Paul just stood there, feeling powerless and not even meeting the boss’s eyes.

"This won’t do. Go change into your outdoor clothes. Let's go get some fresh air."

If Paul were his usual self, he would have nodded happily. However, contrary to the boss's expectations, he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but can I just stay at the bookshop? If I go outside, it's obvious that the demons will notice me and talk about me again…"

"Then let’s just go somewhere without demons."

"Is there such a place…?"

"Yes, we’re leaving right now, so change your clothes. Otherwise, I'll do it for you."

Paul was surprised and fell back as the boss used his magic to remove his apron.

"H-hold on a second! I'll be right back."

As Paul ran down to the basement, the boss took out the 'closed' sign from the drawer. This was the third time that Kshatrit had to close since its opening.

"Boss, you say we’re going to get some air, but here is…"

"Yes, there's no place with better air than here. Besides, there are hardly any demons around."

"That's true, but… What do you mean by hiking all of a sudden…?! Can’t we just go back?"

"Can't. We've come all the way here after all."

"No. If we’re going up, then please go alone, boss.' 

They were now standing at the mountain behind Moires. Hiking on a day he did not feel like doing anything? Paul stopped in his tracks with a discontented look on his face and did not even budge.

"Arghhh! This is against the rules!" Paul yelled as his body floated up into the air. The boss had used magic to lift him up by force and walked up the mountain just like that. He struggled as hard as he could. In the end, he found it futile and quit.

'This mountain is no different from before. The air is certainly good.'

The boss was not entirely wrong. There were a few demons on the hiking trail. The few that were there were surprised to see Paul floating in the air, but were busier carrying their bodies up or down the mountain. Paul felt like he was finally able to breathe properly for the first time in a while.

'So the boss had that kind of outfit as well. Anything looks good on a nice clothes hanger.'

Paul briefly glanced at the boss. He was wearing a casual tracksuit, unlike his usual formal attire, striding up the mountain with ease with his long legs.

'But why are there so many branches here… At this rate, my head will become a skewer.'

As the path became narrower and steeper, branches from all directions began to poke Paul's head. He brushed the leaves off his head and spoke.

"Boss, please let me down. I'll walk up from here."

"Sure. Don't think about running away."

"I can't go even if I wanted to after coming this far…"

Paul's feet finally touched the ground as the boss released his magic. Despite climbing the mountain while using magic, the boss still looked relaxed. On the other hand, Paul's poor physical strength quickly became apparent. It was because he only worked close to books at the bookshop while neglecting exercise.

"Excuse me, b-boss, can we take a little break before continuing? I'm tired to death…"

"Sure. Take a rest over there."

"Pant, pant… thank you."

The boss pointed to the bench in front of him. When Paul saw the bench at the tip of the boss’s finger, he became speechless.

This bench is still here… It became much older, but it was definitely the bench in Paul's memory. Sitting on the bench, he took a deep breath. 

Eventually, he spoke in a hoarse voice. "Boss, this bench was here 100 years ago."

"You went hiking? That's surprising."

"In the human world, our bookshop used to close every Sunday. My whole family used to climb this mountain on our days off. I say my whole family, but it was just me and my parents."

Paul smiled slightly as he recalled the memory from that time. The boss sat next to him and listened to his story quietly while drinking some water. In the story, Paul was only ten years old.

Paul, who had always had a weak body since he was young, was gasping for breath while going up the mountain. Ahead of him, his father carried a large backpack, and behind him, his mother was following along with a tree branch she had picked up from somewhere to use as a cane. Then, a loud noise from somewhere broke the silence. 

"Mom, Dad! Can you hear that? There must be some construction nearby. It's so loud."

"Aigoo, Paul~ It's halfway up the mountain. What kind of construction would you be doing here?"

"Then what’s this sound?"

"It's the sound of a woodpecker. Look over there!"

"Where? Wow~ that's amazing!"

Paul's eyes widened as he looked at the tree his mother was pointing at. A pretty bird with a blue body and red head was pecking at the tree just like in a book. The sound of the little woodpecker was so loud that it sounded like the noise of building a house.

"It's construction in a sense since it's building its own house,” Father said as he approached Paul with a smile and ruffled Paul’s curly brown hair that resembled his own.

"It’s working hard on the construction, so let's not disturb it and keep going."

"Yes! I'll go back to the bookshop and look up the encyclopedia. Bye, woodpecker!"

They said goodbye to the woodpecker and started climbing the mountain again.

'Flap!!'

As they went up a little higher, a yellow bird flew over Paul's head. He quickly asked his mother.

"Mom, did you see that just now? What kind of bird is that?"

But no answer came. I guess my mom didn't see it. Paul looked at the place where the bird had flown for a while and began to walk again. Just then, he heard his mother's voice from behind.

"Sibsae."

"What?"

"I said, Sibsae."

"Oh! Its name is 'Sibsae.' I thought you were swearing at me, mom. What a unique name."

T/N: 새 (sae) = bird

십새 (sibsae, combination between ssibal and saeggi) = sunovabich

Paul was asking what kind of bird (sae) it was and his mother answered sunovabich (sibsae)

Paul's father, who was walking in the front row, suddenly stopped upon hearing their conversation. He turned around and said with a troubled face, "Honey, why would you swear at your son? Paul, there's no bird like that in the world."

"Really? Mom, you said 'Sibsae'. Did you just swear at me?"

"Hahaha! Our son is so innocent. How will he survive in this tough world?"

"Meanie!"

Mother pointed at Paul with a branch and laughed for a while, while Paul grumbled with a pouty look. Father smiled while watching the two. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and laid it on the bench next to him.

"Shall we take a break here for a while?"

The three took a breather as they sat down. Paul gulped down the water his father gave him and spoke.

"Dad, can't we have lunch here? At this rate, my stomach is going to make a louder sound than a woodpecker."

"Of course, son. Hold on a second."

Upon Paul’s request, father pulled out the lunchbox he had prepared in the early morning. When he opened the lid, there were rice balls in the shape of Paul's favourite cat character. Paul, who was hungry, eagerly stuffed them in his mouth.

"Paul, you're going to have an upset stomach. Slow down and drink some water."

"They’re so good! All of dad's dishes are delicious! Mom, you should try them, too."

"Mm, I know. They’re really good. I don't know about the rest, but I got a good catch when I married you," Mother mumbled while chewing the rice balls Paul handed her.

"No, honey, I'm the one who is blessed. We have a son who looks just like me thanks to you."

"That's true~ How did we get a son with such fair skin? If he took after his mother, he would have been darker and taller!

"Don't talk about height. I’m stressed out from my friends teasing me about being small…" 

Upon hearing Paul's sullen voice, father spoke up as if to comfort him. "It's alright, Paul. If you go to bed early and get up early, you'll grow taller soon. And what's wrong with being short?"

"Yeah. Your dad is also a bit short but handsome, right? I'm sure our son will make lots of people cry out in surprise while casually walking on the street in the future. Of course, since our son is a crybaby, he'll cry more than others, though!"

---

"You don't remember much about what you did when you were young, right? Neither do I. I forgot all those memories, but strangely enough, I remember my parents’ loving gaze as they were watching me while sitting here. It might sound ridiculous, but I think I remember the air, the smell, and even the temperature of that time."

The boss observed Paul’s expression and quietly raised his hand to pat him on the shoulder. Paul stayed still while feeling his touch and listening to the birds chirping in the distance. They began climbing up the mountain again as their thirst was relieved.

"I-I finally reached the top!" Paul, who almost crawled up on all fours, finally exclaimed. It had taken him two hours to reach the summit.

"You don't have much stamina for someone who hikes every week." The boss, who had been waiting at the top, said upon seeing Paul.

"Pant-pant… Since my parents disappeared… I've never… been here… huff…"

Completely spent, Paul replied as he lay flat on the ground. His brown eyes reflected the cloudless sky. When he covered his eyes with his hand as they began to hurt, the boss came over and created a shade with his large build.

"Your parents disappeared?"

"Yes, it was the year when I became 15. It's not a very interesting story."

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"Well, I’ve already started. Would you like to hear it even if it's not very interesting?"

The boss nodded softly. Paul continued to speak while still lying on the ground, his voice a little hoarse.

"…It was my fifteenth birthday. When I came back from school, there was no one in the bookshop. I thought my parents were preparing a surprise party for me."

So Paul waited with a look of anticipation for his parents to appear. But even after waiting for a long time, they did not show up.

'Did they still not get the cake? Really, even saying directly that they would throw a party, as expected of mom and dad.'

Paul smiled and waited for them to come back with a special birthday cake. Since Paul's birthday was in the middle of summer, they always made their own cake by putting candles on a large watermelon. However, his parents did not show up even after much time had passed. Not on the next day, either.

"So at that time, I thought my parents might be travelling in time to find a book. When I went to the basement, the watch wasn’t there. I kept thinking 'let's wait a little longer, they'll be back soon' and a week had passed just like that."

"The watch in the basement?"

"Oh! Didn't I tell you that? This watch I'm wearing is a time warp item. It's completely stopped now though," Paul said, showing the watch on his left wrist. When the boss examined it closely and tried to touch it, he quickly withdrew his hand.

"I'm sorry. This watch is my family heirloom, so it mustn’t be touched by anyone else. I don't know the details, but something big will happen."

"I see."

"Anyway, I went down to the basement every day just in case and waited for my parents to come back."

Then one day, the watch returned to the bookshop via mail delivery, but the whereabouts of his parents were still unknown.

"That's when I found out that something must have happened to them. Since I was absent all that time, my teacher from school and people from the neighbourhood came to me and it was chaotic. I didn't know, but they said I fainted. I was bedridden for three days just like when Ia-nim came. I guess it was reasonable since I didn't eat anything and didn't sleep."

Paul woke up a few days later and stood in the quiet bookstore with no one around.

"I made up my mind that I would protect Kshatrit from then on because it’s the only place my parents left for me."

However, as a 15-year-old who had just dropped out of school, there were many difficult things in running a bookshop. Still, Paul did not give up. He was swindled by selfish adults, left with debts to the publishers, and was shaken by the tyranny of other large bookstores. But he never locked the door to the bookshop. He always opened and closed it on time, regardless of whether it was snowing or raining.

"Everyone in the world said that my parents should have passed away, but I believed they would come back someday, so I opened the bookshop every day. I thought it would be nice if the sign of the bookshop was always on so that my parents could see it from afar."

"…."

"Oh… I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't have brought it up. The mood became dark."

The boss shook his head and asked. "Paul, why didn't you use your watch to find out where your parents were?"

"When my dad was there, he always told me until his mouth was worn out."

"Paul, you must not use the watch for something other than finding books."

"Why not? It could be a very important thing. For example, saving someone's life?"

"Then Paul, let's say you saved A's life by changing the past with the watch. What if innocent B and C were killed because of it?"

"Uh… That's… "

"Or what if you end up losing your life while trying to save A? What if you run into your past self? You know, people often say you will die when you meet your doppelganger."

"Oh… I've never thought that far. I don't know."

"Yeah. No one knows that. That's why we use this watch only to get books." 

"I see…"

"I believe our son will do the same if he understands dad’s words. You'll promise, won't you?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Promise with your little finger?"

Mother, who had been watching with a smile next to Paul, spoke to him. "Son, do you know what it means to make a pinky promise?"

"Who doesn't know that? It means that you must keep your promise."

"But the origin is that if you break your promise, your finger will be cut off! Son~ if you break your promise, mommy can cut off your little finger, right~?"

"Honey! Don't scare the child again for no reason."

"But honey, teasing our son is the most fun thing in the world for me."

"…That’s why I've never broken my promise to dad even once. I haven’t even looked up the lottery numbers in the future. Well, I’ve told you everything now," Paul finished with a playful smile. Soon, silence fell between them, but he liked it. He was grateful that the boss was silently listening to his story.

"They say that a Fomor usually lives for an eternity," the boss spoke lowly. Paul looked at his face quietly like what he had done.

"But in fact, a Fomor disappears when all the mana drains from their body. They just disappear, leaving no trace behind. That's how my parents disappeared in front of my eyes, turning into a handful of dust."

T/N: I have been translating 마력(魔力) to magic or mana depending on the situation.

Paul was surprised by his words and quickly stood up. He wanted to comfort him just like the boss had done for him, but could not even imagine stroking his head or patting his shoulders.

"Boss…"

Paul carefully held his two hands. The boss did not take them away.

"At that time, my mother was suffering from an unknown disease that made her unable to gather mana. Rather, mana was leaking out of her, so my father continued to share his own mana with her. The two of them were smiling until the very last minute. They held each other's hands and closed their eyes at the same time."

The two of them sat silently afterwards, holding their hands for a while until the boss spoke up again. "Let's go back."

"Wait a minute! Now that we're here, there's something I have to do."

Paul quickly gathered the stones around him and built a small tower. He closed his eyes and clasped his hands together.

'I'm sorry for being greedy, but I hope my parents are also living healthily. And please help me find the <Prelude to the Battlefield>. And I hope I can fix my watch and return home safely. Oh! And lastly, I hope my boss is happy, too.'

Paul turned around and saw that the boss was already going down the path they had come from, so he hurried after him.

"Boss, why on earth do people even go hiking? Why do we even bother climbing up when we know we have to go back down anyway… Ouch!"

As Paul grumbled all the way down the mountain, he suddenly screamed in pain. Fortunately, he grabbed onto a nearby tree and did not fall, but he seemed to have twisted his ankle. The boss hurriedly approached him and checked Paul's ankle. Paul's thin, white ankle was swollen and becoming redder than usual.

"This is bad. I didn't bring anything because we came out in a hurry."

"It's nothing! Just a little sprain. Let’s go back quickly."

"Who will help me with the bookshop if you push yourself too hard? I don't want to leave it to that female human again. Paul, get on my back," he said as he knelt down in front of Paul.

"It’s really okay, and I’m heavier than I look."

As Paul continued to be stubborn, the boss turned around and glared at him without saying a word. Seeing his expression, Paul reluctantly got on the boss's back.

"Please don't make that face… It's a bit scary even for me…"

"Just hold on tight so you don’t fall off."

"…Yes."

Despite being the boss, carrying someone down the mountain was a difficult task, and his breathing became a little rough. Paul, who was carried on his broad back, called out to him in a soft voice.

"Boss."

"What?"

"I'm heavy, aren't I? No wonder you seem to have a harder time than when you used your magic earlier."

"Going downhill during hiking is usually more tiring than going uphill. Rather, Paul, tell me if the demons are bothering you. I'll make sure they won't do that again."

"No, it's okay. I'm not going to be so weak anymore. I won't care no matter what anyone says! By the way, boss…"

"What now?"

"I realized I haven't thanked you enough. You helped me on the first day, came to rescue me when I was taken by the bandits, and carried me on your back today. I'm grateful for everything."

"…."

"It's a little cringy to say it out loud. My limbs are trembling."

The boss did not answer. Paul hugged him tightly while smiling. He could smell the faint scent of soap along with the pleasant smell of sweat from the boss.

Paul closed his eyes and thought.

'I'm in big trouble. Being this close, he'll discover something from my heart racing.'

A man with a broad and sturdy back. How could his heart not be drawn to this kind and caring man who effortlessly carried him on his back? Paul's heart pounded so hard against the boss's back. In fact, he still had something left unsaid.

'I like you, boss.'

But he could not find the courage to say it.