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Monica Reyn was an introverted eleven year-old girl.
She didn't have many friends, and that was fine with her. She didn't quite like spending time with a lot of people. Spending time with her father was more than enough for the timid little Monica.
One day, she received a tape measure as a present from her father, Venedict Reyn. Her father was someone that others could only call as a kind and gentle soul, he gave back to the community and town he lived in without expecting anything back. She spent so much time measuring everything in her house with the tape measure, from the length and width of the table legs, to the dimensions of her father's coffeepot, to even her own proportions.
Her father had always told her that 'The world is filled with numbers' and Monica clung to that saying. She used the tape measure given to her by her father so much so that the increments on the tape wore out. By that point, she could already tell the dimensions of things at a glance. After all, she spent her entire childhood preferring to read math books, when other children were happily playing outside.
Despite not fitting in with the rest of the children in town and never really making any friends, she was happy. Monica Reyn was happy.
On her thirteenth birthday, her father hadn't given her anything as a gift, but instead took her to a library in the Capital of the Kingdom of Ridill; The Ascard Grand Library, one of the largest and most well-known libraries in Ridill.
Monica had always been an avid bookworm, and her father is one too, so she'd often go to the town library with her father, of course constantly staying near him and avoiding others. She would be visiting the Grand Library for more reasons than just wanting to read more books on mathematics. Her father was also going to borrow a book or two for his own research.
After arriving at the Capital by carriage, Monica clung to her father desperately as they made their way through busy streets and food vendors. Eventually, a grand and majestic building appeared in the distance, emitting an aura of grand sublimity.
Monica clung to her father as they entered the majestic library. Rows upon rows of bookshelves were immediately visible as they entered, and Monica was enraptured by the sight.
His father turned up his lips into a smile as he spoke to the librarian out front. "Good day, could you tell us where the biology section is?" Venedict spoke before turning his head to the still-nervous yet excited Monica. Smiling kindly, he said "And also, where would the mathematics section be?"
The librarian—a kind-looking old man—pulled out a building layout schematic for the library, pointing to a few places so that it'd be easy to remember where the books are located. "On Aisle Thirteen, you'll be able to find books on human and animal biology, though it's mixed with magical creature biology as well. On the second floor, you'll find the Mathematics section on the second Aisle to the right." He spoke with no hesitation nor doubt in his voice, as if he had memorized the layout of the building, most likely due to his many years working at the library.
"Thank you, Mr. Librarian." Venedict spoke with a kind smile before turning back to Monica, who had a nervous yet determined expression on her face. Her father knew this expression, and pushed Monica lightly on the back to the front desk where the librarian was.
I want to say it too..! Monica gulped and fidgeted with her fingers before slowly turning up to look at the librarian. Then, despite herself and her nervousness, she stammered out "T-thank you.. M-mishter Liblalian..!" Monica mumbled out, her voice barely above a whisper. Despite mumbling and stammering her words, Venedict leaned down proceeded to pat her head affectionately as the librarian responded with a comforting nod, before returning to the ledgers on the desk.
I-I said it..! Monica's heart beat fast as she clung to her father's hand harder than ever as they went to read the books they sought out.
Three and a half years later, in her room on the second floor of the small house she and her father had lived in for years, Monica softly woke up. Sleepily rubbing her eyes open as she yawned and went downstairs, greeted by her father who had already prepared breakfast for them, of course along with one of their many shared palates; a cup of bitter black coffee. She was now sixteen, but even before then, she had always loved coffee.
"Thanks, dad.." Monica muttered as she sat down at their dinner table and drank the rich coffee. Monica's sleepy expression turned to one of joy as she sipped the coffee and ate her father's delicious homecooked meal, despite it really only being a simple sandwich.
Her father, Venedict Reyn, sat at the desk as they both quietly ate their meals, the noise of newspaper flipping could be heard as Venedict flipped through newspapers. "Oh, wow, a Black Dragon appeared in the Eastern Territory of Kerbeck.. that's scary." Venedict said as he absentmindedly sipped his coffee, reading through the newspapers.
"A Black Dragon..? In the east? That's really far.. at least two thousand kilometres…" Monica said quietly as she dug into her food. All she ate was a sandwich, but that was enough for Monica. She never was one who ate a lot of food, prime example being her small and childlike body. Though her father had warned her time and time again, she continued to eat just the bare minimum. Eventually, she finished her breakfast and drank her coffee.
"Mhm, they said one of the new Sages, the Windhand Mage, repelled the dragon, they don't know where it went though.." Her father muttered out as he finished up his breakfast as well, taking both their plates to the kitchen to wash them. "In any case, it shouldn't affect us. A Black Dragon can't get far without being spotted."
"Mhm.." Monica mumbled out as she finished her coffee, bringing it to the kitchen as well. "Thanks for the meal, dad…" She muttered out as she helped her father with cleaning the dishes, wiping down the cups as her father cleaned it, earning a small 'thanks' from the man.
A week passed, and on a rainy evening, Monica heard meowing as she sat at the living room of their house. Monica turned up from the sheet of paper filled with formulas and calculations in her hands as she slowly walked over to the window. Beyond the glass, was a black cat with golden eyes, drenched all over with water as it clawed at the window.
"A c-cat..!?" Monica quickly opened the window a little, letting the drenched cat in as she closed the door once more. She grabbed a nearby towel and wiped down the cat before picking the cat up shakily and clumsily with her hands, since she's never picked up a cat before. The cat meowed and opened it's mouth. She noted that there seemed to be a small bird bone wedged in-between it's teeth. She picked out the bird bone as the cat meowed in happiness.
"Thanks for the clean-up, measly human. That bird bone's been stuck for a while and it's been making me pissed."
The black cat spoke. Monica's brain flipped over for an instant, shutting down all functions as it rebooted. She quickly yelped as she let go of the cat. "T-talking c-cat..!? H-how..! Eh..? Ah..! Whuh…" Monica muttered out in rapid succession as she racked her brain for an answer to this problem.
"I'm just that great after all." The cat spoke once again, licking it's front paws deftly before wandering around the house. "Hey, where's the food? I'm starving, I haven't eaten anything in a week."
"M-m-more i-importantly! W-what are you!? W-why are you here..?!" Monica stammered as she backed off. Her father came out of his study and walked to the living room, only to see Monica on the floor in front of a black cat.
"Monica, did you bring a cat in? It's raining really heavily outside so you should dry it off with a towel. Also, who was that second voice I heard?" He muttered out, sipping a cup of black coffee as he stared at her on the floor.
"It was me." A voice not belonging to Monica rang out as the cat stared at Venedict intently. "She already dried me off." It muttered again. For a moment, both Venedict and Monica were shellshocked until Venedict had the exact same reaction as Monica. A mumbled mess of ehs, whuhs and whats.
After jumping on top of the table and, somehow standing up on two legs, the cat folded it's small arms in front of it's chest and puffed out in admiration, though the admiration was purely for itself. "I am the mighty and fearsome Black Dragon of Worgan! Rejoice, humans, for I have chosen this house as my new nest and you two as my caretakers!"
Monica, still sitting on the floor, eventually blacked out. Venedict rushed over to her side and lifted her onto the couch before rubbing his forehead in exasperation, staring at the uninvited black dragon. "Nest and caretaking aside, you're meaning to tell me that you're the Black Dragon that rampaged across Eastern Ridill…? I don't understand why a talking cat would be here, but I've never heard of a dragon transforming into an animal.."
"Sure we can, dragons and spirits are both creatures of Mana, so we both can transform. I didn't rampage though. I barely even attacked, a bird bone was stuck in my teeth so I roared in pain. Some human mage tried shooting me down but his wind bullet was weak. It was getting annoying though, so I just left."
Monica, having come back to reality, stared blankly at the cat. "H-harboring a d-d-dragon is punishable b-by death…!" she muttered out as she slowly sat back up. Venedict held back a migraine as he stared at the cat situated on the table, letting out a long sigh.
"Anyways, where's the food, I'm hungry!" The black cat looked around the house for any food. "Oh, and my name is Nero. I'm hungry so feed me already, humans."
Another three and a half years have passed since the 'Black Dragon' disguised as a cat entered their house on that rainy night, sopping wet and hungry.
Monica and her father were obviously shocked at the emergence of this uninvited pet, but they quickly got used to it after three and a half years of living with the cat named 'Nero'.
Monica was writing something on the desk in her room, hunched over as she scribbled and did calculations on a sheet of paper. Her room was now littered with papers here and there. A knock on the door of her room broke her focus as she slowly stood up and opened it, seeing her father on the other side of the door.
Venedict softly smiled as he gave her a sheet of paper. The paper was a job listing for an accountant position at the Ascard Library Society. "You've been looking for a job, right? Mr. Porter is a member of the library society, he told me about the job listing and all, and I thought you might be interested. After all, you'll be working at the Ascard Grand Library."
Mr. Porter, one of Venedict's long time friends, was a rising novelist, popular even outside of Ridill. Monica knew about his novels and his penname 'Dustin Gunther' but she was never interested in adventure and action novels, preferring to read research papers and math books. A job at one of the biggest libraries in Ridill would give her no shortage of the books she wanted.
"E-eh..!? T-the Ascard Library Society..? I can work a-at that grand library?!" Monica gasped as she read through the paper he had given her, detailing about the position. She had, up to now, been doing odd jobs involving mathematics for the townsfolk and doing her own independent research, but a stable job would be much beneficial to her and her father.
"Mhm, the Ascard Grand Library opened up a new position right as you were searching for a job, it's a match made in heaven. Though, you will have to start living alone in the Capital to work there.." Venedict softly ruffled her hair; a habit she enjoyed even in adulthood. He smiled softly as he spoke "I'm sure my talented daughter can do that and more."
"B-but—"
"It's up to you whether you want to take it or not, Monica." He softly pulled back his hands before staring at Monica with the same brown with a green tinted eyes. "But I know that you're strong enough to go out there and make a name for yourself in the world. I believe in you, Monica."
Monica didn't speak for a few moments. Throughout all her life, she had always clung to her father, never leaving his side, even until now. She was always dependent on him, and she thought it'd be fine to leave things the way they were. But a small part of her, a tiny flicker, wanted her to try new things, To try living alone, and to try to make human connection.
She clenched her fists tightly as she spoke, earning a soft smile on Venedict's features. "I-I will, um, try my best..!"
Venedict's smile deepened as he patted her head again.
A black cat crawled out of the underside of Monica's bed, meowing intently as it moved out of the corner. It meowed, the sound reminiscent of a yawn. It had clearly just woken up. "Monica, is it dinner yet? I'm hungry."
The daughter and father duo chuckled at the sight before Venedict spoke. "I'll cook dinner, it's almost evening, afterall."
"Okay!" Monica spoke as he closed the door, smiling softly as she began thinking of what to bring. Despite her previous nervousness and unwillingness to leave, she was now quite excited to be living alone, and to make some friends and meet her coworkers.
"Nero, are you coming with me?" She muttered out as she picked up the black cat.
"If you feed me three meat skewers for breakfast, lunch and evening each, I'll follow you." Monica chuckled a bit before letting him down, nodding at his words.
A week had passed since she began working at the Ascard Grand Library.
She'd gotten used to talking with her coworkers, the previous accountant, the kind elderly man that she had met many years ago, doubled as the Librarian. However, after his passing, the role was split into accountant and librarian, so she didn't have to talk to people at the front desk or anything.
She hadn't met the librarian yet as he was apparently quite the busy man, however from what she could hear from others, he was the heir to the March of Highown, the son of the Marquess of Highown, a high ranking member of the library society.
One day, she was sitting at a staff room in the back of the library, doing her work as she wrote down numbers on the ledgers in quick succession. She was focused on her work and didn't notice the door opening.
Then, she felt a tap on her shoulders, she was jolted and looked back, only to meet a pair of beautiful deep blue eyes and long silver hair draping down his shoulders. "Accountant Reyn, am I right? There's a shipment of new books coming today, so I'd like for you to add them to the ledgers."
She was surprised by his appearance, not only because he had suddenly appeared, but because of the beautiful gem he wears on a brooch and his effeminate features. She felt a slight gush of cold air as he looked over her, to the ledgers on the table.
"U-um..! Y-you're t-the librarian, r-right..? Could I a-ask for your n-name since we're going to be working t-together..?" Monica asked nervously as she slowly stood up.
The effeminate man spoke up and cleared his throat, before extending his hand to her. "Forgive me for the late introduction, I am Cyril Ashley, the son of Marquess Ashley and the current Librarian of the Ascard Grand Library. May I ask for yours?"
She was surprised for a moment before quickly shaking his hand and stammering out a reply. "U-um..! I'm M-Monica Reyn, i-it's nice to meet you, Cyril-sama!" She muttered out in an excited tone of voice before she turned back to the ledgers on the table.
Cyril looked at the ledgers on the table, noticing the neat handwriting on the ledgers that were used to make clean and precise records. "Good work, Accountant Reyn. I expect much of you."
"T-thank you..!" Monica didn't know why, but being called 'Accountant Reyn' by Cyril just felt right for her, and being depended on for once made her happy too. She could tell that Cyril was a kind man, and she was glad she went here.
A few months after she started working at the Ascard Grand Library, she had met Cyril everyday and worked in silence as he worked the front desk, while she either sat beside him or in the staff room. For some odd reason, whenever she thought of Cyril praising her or calling her by 'Accountant Reyn', she was filled with an unexplicable happiness and warmth in her heart.
After staying overtime in the library and tredging through the streets of the capital at night, Monica returned home, a small bag in her hands as she pushed open the door to the building.
She, of course, didn't have enough money to buy even a small house, so she decided to rent a room in a multi-story building. Her room was on the third floor, the first floor being a family diner bustling with customers, the second belonging to the family diner as their living place, and she lived on the third floor alone.
She walked up the three flights of stairs with heaved breaths, a sign of her well-unkept physical fitness. She eventually made it up and pushed open the door. Her room was messy, littered with papers and books despite it only being a few months into her stay here.
Nero greeted her with a meow. "Monica, meat skewers!" he gleefully declared. She softly smiled and took out meat skewers wrapped with paper for transportation. Nero transformed into a human, something she had always been surprised by.
She gave four of the six meat skewers and handed it over to the man dressed in old robes yet with seemingly young features, black hair and striking golden eyes. She ate two of the meat skewers along with Nero as they sat on the floor. "Mm. It's really good, Monica!"
Nero happily smiled, and in turn, Monica did too.
She'd wanted to write a full letter to her father about her time in the capital, so after eating dinner with Nero, she got up and quickly wrote a letter in her neat handwriting. She had really only sent a few small letters to her father.
The letter read:
"Dear dad,
How are you doing? I'm sorry for taking so long to write a full letter, I've been busy with reading, work, taking care of Nero, and mostly just reading at the Library!
Funny thing is, I found a few of your books in the library! I already memorized the numbers in your books but reading through them again just makes me so happy that people read your books.
As I've mentioned before, I found a nice elderly couple who owns a family diner. They let me rent out the top floor on their multi-story building, so that was nice. I even help out on my days off! It's this place called 'Sally's Place' and apparently her parents also owns another diner in Ragliszilbe, near Minerva's!
A lot of things happen at work, but I usually just keep to myself and do the accounting for the library. A lot of things are wrong and commas are misplaced a bunch so I've been fixing up the ledgers.
Speaking of work at the library! Dad, I made my first friend (I think..)!, his name is Cyril, and he's apparently working at the Library to be more familliar with the contents since his family is really high ranked in the Library Society. Apparently he's the heir to some March of Highown?
Nero has been strangely obedient, only going out during the day. I hope he hasn't been causing trouble for people by stealing food again, especially since I already give him food..
In any case, I'm really glad I came here! I hope that you can come and visit me soon, dad.. When Shelgria comes, I'll definitely visit! Definitely!
With much love and care,
Monica Reyn, your daughter."
Monica has never been one to write detailed reports or letters, but she wrote out her honest feelings in this letter addressed to her father. She couldn't express verbally in words how grateful she was to him, so she decided to write it all out some day.
Monica knows that her future may not be this happy, but for the present, she hoped nothing would change, and that she'd make more connections and friends.