Welcome to the Demon Bookshop!

Welcome, this is Kshatrit Bookshop!

As dusk fell, the lights of the single bookshop in the countryside were lit up brightly.

Paul, the owner of the place, was sitting at the counter and humming. His young-looking face was full of joy. Well, who would not be happy when it’s the closing time they have been waiting for? Fortunately, today’s accounts were well settled, and now it was time to turn off the signboard lights of the bookshop.

‘Ding-dong’

The bell on the door rang at that moment.

“Welcome, this is Kshatrit Bookshop!” Paul greeted out of habit. Ah, he should get off work quickly and finish the book he had been reading. He felt disappointed, but he couldn’t kick precious customers out. The other party, whether they knew this or not, slowly came towards Paul’s direction.

‘What are they doing…?’

Paul corrected his posture and closely watched the other’s movements. The customer wore a black robe from head to toe as if they were trying to hide their existence thoroughly. Other than being exceptionally tall, he couldn’t tell whether they were a man or a woman. Now, the disappointment turned into unease, which spread throughout his heart.

“Is, is there a book you’re looking for…?”

Paul placed his trembling hand on the burglar bell beneath the counter. If necessary, he might have to press it before this thief attacks. However, contrary to Paul’s expectation, the big thief passed him a piece of paper that he leisurely took out of his chest pocket.

‘Is this a bookshop that can get you any book?’

Paul felt relieved after reading the note. At least the person didn’t seem to be a thief.

“Yes, that’s right. No matter how hard it is to obtain the book, we at Kshatrit will definitely get it for you!”

Although he did not lower his guard, his voice was full of pride before he knew it. The person nodded at Paul’s words and handed him another note.

‘I want to find a book that will come out in the future.’

Gosh, you’re crazy! Indeed, it wasn’t that there had been no customers of this kind at Kshatrit before.

“Hey, get me the next volume.”

“I’m sorry, but the next one will be out in at least three months.”

“What? You said you’d get me any book?! What a sham!”

“How can I get a book that hasn’t come out yet? Please wait for a little longer.”

“That means I’ll read it at the same time as everyone else! I want to read it much faster than anyone so I can brag about it!”

“Sorry… customor, no, customer.”

Begging for the next volume of a popular series that wasn’t published yet, wasn’t there a person like that today as well?

“What do you mean by the book in the future?”

In response to Paul’s cautious question, the person pulled out another note.

‘A book that will come out in 100 years.’

‘Aigo, my head.’ He was desperate to go up to the room and lie down more than ever. Paul pressed his temples while replying, “Customer, I’m not doing strange magic like a demonic spell, how am I supposed to get a book 100 years later?”

He could see them slightly flinching at the word ‘demon’. Either way, Paul kindly opened the door and said, “I’m sorry, but we’re closed for the day, so please go back.”

‘Thud!’

At that moment, the person put a heavy pouch on the counter along with a note.

‘I’ll give you 50 million gold as a deposit.’

Paul’s eyes grew tremendously large as he read the note once again. He had never seen even a thousand units of gold in his life, let alone touch it. But, 50 million gold as a deposit…!

‘If you get the book for me, I’ll give you 1 billion gold.’

In fact, Kshatrit Bookshop was in a difficult situation. Paul’s parents were missing, and due to his, who took over the shop at a young age, poor management, the bookshop was on the verge of closing. However, if he earned one billion gold, he could keep Kshatrit as it was for the rest of his life, or he could slap the bad customer who came today with a bunch of checks, and stay unemployed.

“…How can I know if you can pay as much as a billion gold, not just a hundred thousand?”

It was half a genuine question and half a denial. Even a dog that was passing by could see that this was a suspicious request. However, as if expected, the man immediately handed over a crest. Paul’s hand trembled as he received it.

The royal crest! According to what he had seen in some books, it was a crest of the royal family that was governing this country. Ordinary people could be punished severely just for owning it. In other words, this person was a member of the royal family, the 50 million gold on the counter was real, and they were easily able to pay 1 billion gold.

“Also, if it’s a book of the future, I don’t have any information…”

‘<Prelude to the Battlefield> is a book that will come out in 100 years. I’ll come to get it soon.’

The other party disappeared after the last note. Literally, by the time Paul came to his senses, they were gone. He felt like he had been possessed by a ghost. However, the large gold pouch on the counter remained in the very same place.

‘This is unbelievable…’

What was with the attitude as if they knew the secrets of our family? Paul bit his lips. He took off his round wooden frame glasses and wiped them.

Paul had no choice. He wanted to protect Kshatrit, the only property left by his parents. In addition, if he had that amount of cash, he might even be able to find out about his parents’ disappearance.

Paul, who was sitting in a daze even after the customer left, soon turned the sign lights off as if he had resolved. He tightly locked the creaking wooden door and slowly went down the stairs to the basement.

The secret of the Kshatrit bookshop was hidden in the basement. It was a device passed down as a family treasure that could travel back and forth in time. It was thanks to this device that Paul could get any book. If the book was out of print, he would travel to the time when the requested book existed and buy it directly. He would move to the year the book was published and leave a note in the basement, and a few days later, he returned to the original time zone with a book saved by the bookshop owner at the time. There was no direct encounter with other people.

On the outside, the heirloom looked like an ordinary wristwatch, but there were a total of three circles on it. Among them, Paul moved the number pointing to the year and set it to 100 years later, which was what the customer had said earlier. His heart was pounding like crazy, but he consoled himself that Moires of the future wouldn’t be much different from the present.

‘Even if this remote village changes, how much different could it be? Yeah, our bookshop will still be the same. Let’s find that fellow’s battlefield something book and come back quickly.’

Paul, who wore the watch on his left wrist, closed his eyes.

‘Tick-tock-tick-tock’

In the quiet basement, only the second hand of the watch was ringing. It meant that the clock was working properly. The second hand gradually grew louder and faster. Paul felt a little dizzy, feeling as if his body was being sucked away.

As time passed and his dizziness finally subsided, Paul slowly opened his eyes and looked around. Even though the atmosphere changed because the building became old, he still stood in the same basement. Moreover, the date displayed on the watch was exactly 100 years later. Anyway, it was a successful trip to the distant future.

After a moment of joy, Paul hurriedly took out a paper at the thought that he had to get the book. It was a request to get <Prelude to the Battlefield>. Fortunately, there were traces of someone using the basement recently. Perhaps it was Paul’s next descendant, and they might simply get him the book. Paul hurriedly put the paper on the table and winded his watch in fear that someone would come. No, he intended to wind it.

“Eh…? Why is it like this?”

He didn’t know because there wasn’t much going on a while ago, but the second hand kept budging in the same place, and eventually stopped while Paul was watching. It’s never been like this before! Paul sank to his knees and pulled on his brown curly hair with his hands.

After doing so for a moment, Paul barely managed to come to his senses. When he checked, the basement door was locked tightly and couldn’t be opened from the inside. He had to find a way out of here instead of just doing this. Paul decided to look around the basement calmly. The basement was nothing much to look at, all there was a luxurious table and chair, a bottle of black ink and a fountain pen, and a black notebook made of leather.

‘Is someone writing a secret diary? It seems that’s something they really don’t want others to find out. Look, it’s written in strange letters.’

He couldn’t read the contents at all but was reminded of escape rooms in mystery novels while he was rummaging through them.

There was a sound outside the basement door. Paul was so surprised that he gasped. He held his breath and leaned his ear to the door. It sounded like a cat meowing.

‘Meow’

Sure enough, it was a cat sound. Paul loved cats very much so it was fine up to this point. The problem was the fact that someone else was coming down the stairs after the cat.

“Lego.”

Said the voice outside the door. Paul grabbed the note he was looking at in a panic. The basement door opened and headed to his face.

“…”

“…”

‘Meow’

Amidst the silence, only the cat’s meowing sound echoed in the basement. When the other party was silent, Paul gently lowered his notebook that was covering his face and glanced at the other side. At that moment, Paul’s heart almost popped out.

Paul had never seen anyone with that kind of aura. The man was entirely black from head to toe. Jet black hair, black shirt, black pants, neat black shoes, and even black cross-shaped earrings. Even the black pupils inside his pointed eyes that were staring at Paul were darker than the ink on the table. Nevertheless, it was ironic that his handsome face shone brilliantly.

“ขโมยงั้นเหรอ?”

Paul returned to reality with a low-pitched voice. He was so flustered that he didn’t even realize that the other person had spoken another language.

“I, I’m not a weird person, I just time-traveled from 100 years ago to here. Of course, a time warp may sound absurd…”

While Paul was flustered, the other party made an expression of interest.

‘Seeing that he doesn’t have any mana, it seems that he’s not a demon.’

The other party found Paul’s existence fascinating. It was really funny to cover his face with a book like a child who thinks that only their eyes need to be covered when playing hide-and-seek. A small human acting like that was like a cute sparrow.

“Are you human?”

If I’m not human then what am I? Paul was puzzled by the man’s words, but he had no choice but to nod his head.

“Of course. We’re all humans, right…!”

“But the humans were extinct.”

Paul doubted his ears for a moment. Humans were what?

“Pardon…? What did you just say…?”

“No, there are still humans who work as slaves, so the word extinction shouldn’t be used. Then should I say endangered?”

“Your joke is too extreme. Why do you say humans are endangered?”

“See for yourself.”

The other party stepped aside from the entrance he was blocking. His expression was too serious to be a joke. After a moment of hesitation, Paul ran up the stairs.

Strange. The smell of books he had smelled since he was a child was nowhere to be found. No, there were no walls left in this building, where the Kshatrit bookshop was located, in the first place. As such, Paul could only take in the sight of the village in front of him without any preparation.

In 100 years, Paul’s hometown, Moires, had changed into a completely different appearance. The river passing through the village and the low mountains surrounding the village in a circular shape remained as when Paul had lived. But the river was too murky to see through, and the mountains were covered with grey fog. Above all, there were no signs of humans in this neighborhood. The streets were full of monsters with strange appearances. They were all demons that Paul had only heard of in rumors.

“This… the heck is this…?”

Only then did Paul turn around and look back at the place where the Kshatrit bookshop used to be. Everything was smashed and disastrous to the point where no one would know it was a bookshop unless someone told them. Paul lost the strength in his knees and sank to the dirty floor.

“What’s your name?”

Before he knew it, the man followed him upstairs and talked to him with his arms crossed. Paul felt his nose burning and honestly replied.

“It’s Paul… Teeter…”

“You’re really from the past. Why are you here?”

“I came to pick up a book called <Prelude to the Battlefield>.”

The man accepted that he came from the past without any doubt. He thought it over and responded.

“I’ve never heard of such a book but I should be able to help you find it. Among humans, what work did you do?”

Paul responded to the man’s words, holding back his tears that were about to burst.

“I ran a bookshop right here.”

“Is it fun?”

“What…?”

The man slightly raised his eyebrows and asked again. “Is the place called bookshop fun?”

Why does this guy ask that out of the blue? Still, as he talked to him, Paul’s moist eyes were drying up.

“Bookshops are neither as romantic nor as lucrative as people think. But the joy of me choosing a book to become someone’s pleasure is certain.”

Paul suddenly realized the awkwardness during their conversation, like being able to communicate with a foreigner, but that foreigner has a rather awkward accent.

“That’s nice. Run a bookshop with me here.”

Paul was dumbfounded. On the other hand, the man looked the happiest ever since he encountered Paul. The man slightly raised the corner of his mouth and continued.

“Since you have experience in a bookshop, it will be helpful to me. And I’ll help you get that book.”

“But… How can I open a bookshop in this building that looks like it was hit by a bomb? And bookshops don’t just cost a penny or two…”

“Is that a problem?”

Paul gave a fake laugh. However, considering the man’s relaxed demeanour, it might not be a bluff.

“Excuse me, may I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“You look like a human being on the outside, are you of the same race as the ones wandering outside?”

“Yes and no. I’m the ‘Fomor’ among the demons, different from inferior demons out there. I’ve studied about humans, and thanks to that, I can converse with you like this.”

“Fomor?”

Paul asked about the term he heard for the first time.

“High-ranking demon. In human context, I’d be a fairly high noble?”

Paul accepted what he said. So that’s why Paul couldn’t recognize the demon language in his notes in the basement, and he felt a sense of alienation from the conversation.

“But are you really helping me?”

“Didn’t you say you were going to only ask one question?”

“…I’m sorry.”

He nodded with his still expressionless face. The movement was slow but it was a clear sign of affirmation.

“So I can’t wait for you to entertain me,” he urged. Again, Paul had no choice but to comply.

With Paul’s agreement, the bookshop was restored in no time. Gold seemed to represent the highest status among monsters, no, demons. When the man handed over the gold, demons with three arms or four legs came to move things and do labour work. Occasionally, some demons realized that Paul was a human, laughing or gossiping in their language, but as soon as they made eye contact with the man next to him, they quickly shut their mouths. They were all afraid of this man.

Meanwhile, Paul spent several days in the basement during the construction, fiddling with the clock several hundreds of times. He even tried getting a tool and fixing it, but the stopped clock didn’t budge from that position.

“Boss, how come it’s completely different from what I told you?”

At some point, Paul started calling the man Boss because he didn’t hear his name properly. Even so, it was somehow embarrassing to ask his name now. The man asked in response to Paul’s words.

“How is it different?”

“The Kshatrit I used to run had white walls and bright lighting. It was a bookshop with large windows, and the sunlight coming into it gave a cosy feeling.”

However, the restored bookshop turned out to look completely different. The high walls and ceiling were black, and there was a dark red carpet spread under the counter. The high, dark brown bookcases were still empty and looked lonely, and the lighting wasn’t quite bright so it was dark overall.

“It’s how I like it though.”

Somehow it resembled the boss’s disposition, so Paul thought this wasn’t bad either. Moreover, to his surprise, he had unleashed his magic to make the books fly around the ceiling like birds. The boss seemed to be able to move things freely using the magic from his fingertips.

Paul was astonished when the building was completely renovated in five days. Then he realized what was missing.

“What’s the name of the bookshop, boss?”

“Anything.”

“Boss, do you know how important the name of a bookshop is? The bookshop I had been running had such a cool name that people hearing from another village came to visit.”

“Then we’ll go with that name.”

Hence, Kshatrit was reborn again as a bookshop for the demons. No, it was still missing something that was much, something much more important for it to be called a bookshop.

“By the way, how will you get the books?”

“How is it usually done?”

“I either deal directly with the publishers or get them through distributors, that is, wholesalers.”

The man brought his slim and long fingers to his chin. He picked up a parchment, scribbled something, and then went out and blew a long whistle. A black owl flew from somewhere and landed on his hand. The boss tied the letter to the owl’s leg and sent it off somewhere.

“It’s solved.”

How did you solve what? Paul was puzzled, but he soon had no time to ask as he received the clothes that the man handed him.

“A guest will come in the afternoon, so wash up cleanly and get changed.”

Paul dazedly accepted the clothes and went upstairs. Once Paul’s cosy hideout, the attic was now an antique-style room for the boss. When he took a peek, everything that used to be in the basement was also moved to his room.

As there was no bathroom in the basement, Paul’s appearance reflected in the mirror was a mess. After taking a meticulous shower from his toes to the top of his head, Paul wiped himself with a towel and wore a white shirt, black pants, and a neat black apron prepared by the boss. Of course, clean underwear was also included.

When Paul wore the watch he had taken off while washing and put on his wooden-rimmed glasses, the boss was already standing in front of him. He dressed similarly to Paul, but still wore a black shirt. Paul had never seen the boss wear anything other than black during the days he spent with him. Before long, he bent down, directly folded Paul’s overlong sleeves, and said.

“I got it in a hurry so the size doesn’t fit. I should call for a tailor next time.”

Paul somehow felt a ticklish sensation in his ears from his low voice. Paul was shorter, thinner, and also had shorter limbs than his peers. Compared to him, the boss was tall enough for him to look up, large, and his arms and legs stretched out coolly.

‘Meow’

Paul, who left his ticklish heart behind, first came down and found Lego. This cat was raised by the boss, and unlike its owner, who was dripping thin layers of ice, it always made a stupid face. Its body was cheese-coloured, and there were two black stripes on its back. At this time, cat-loving Paul carefully approached Lego.

‘…!’

Lego was startled and ran away.

‘Ding-dong’

At the same time, the bell on the bookshop door rang. It was the bell Paul insisted on hanging even though the boss said it wasn’t necessary since he knew someone was coming only with his senses.

“Welcome!”

Paul greeted him in his own language even though the demon guest had no way to understand. However, soon, he couldn’t close his open mouth as he saw several elephants through the open door.

All the huge grey elephants stood still with loads of stuff on their backs.

“Prince Ali…?!”

Well, there’s nothing normal in the future. In addition, the person who just opened the door and came in looked so unusual that he stole Paul’s attention at once.

Although he clearly looked like a human, wolf ears on his head and a rich tail were visible. It was the first Paul had ever seen a beastman since he was born.

“สวัสดีขอรับ ข้านำสิ่งของที่สั่งมาให้แล้วขอรับ”

The man’s words didn’t enter Paul’s ears. Of course, he also couldn’t understand it in the first place.

“…?”

When Paul blinked only his big eyes dimly, the man scratched his back, as if embarrassed. Then he spoke in human language.

“Hello, I brought the goods you ordered.”

Paul finally came to his senses. He was about to call the boss upstairs with a shout but he was already coming down. Paul tactfully moved out of the room for the two demons to have a conversation. While pretending to prepare refreshments, he peeped at the man from the kitchen.

The stranger was tall and had a big build for a boy, and an immature face for an adult.

His skin was dark, but his hair and eyes were bright greyish-white. Above all, it was so cute that the big ears on his head were twitching and the tail behind him was swaying every time the boss spoke.

Paul loved dogs as much as cats, so he had to suppress the urge to catch his big tail. When he served tea and snacks, the man who was talking to the boss in demon language smiled, revealing his white and even teeth. Contrary to expectations, there were no sharp fangs.

“Hello. My name is Pablo. I work for the Wolf Trading Company.”

His speech was as stiff as if talking to a machine, but Paul couldn’t have been happier that there was one more person who spoke his language.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Paul Teeter.”

“The rumour that the boss has a human sla… no, assistant, was true.” Pablo sniffed as if trying to scent a human being that could only be from Paul.

“You came earlier than I thought. I’m sure you brought that, too?” the boss asked, holding a teacup. The two races continued to use the human language as if they were considering that Paul was listening next to them.

“Of course. Where else would you get those precious things if it weren’t for us, the Wolf Trading Company?” Pablo replied in a confident tone.

“I’m giving it to you because you’re the boss. We have brought all the books of humans owned by our company!”

Paul ascended to heaven at Pablo’s words and didn’t know how to come down. This was because one elephant he led was loaded with only human books. There seemed to be about five hundred books estimated by looking. The rest were all written in the demon language, which was several times more.

“Good job. Put the money in front of me,” the boss spoke as he finished signing the documents Pablo handed over. Paul was impressed by his wealth as he watched him pay for thousands of books without even blinking. Paul vowed to be closer to the boss in the future.

“There’s one more thing I’d like you to take care of.”

“Please do tell,” Pablo replied politely to the boss.

“I’d like you to spread a rumour among the demons.”

“In what way do you mean?”

“There’s a bookshop in Moires that sells books by humans.”

Indeed! Pablo clapped his hands. It might be a different situation for a mere rural bookshop, but a bookshop where a ‘human’ was in would surely pique the interest of many demons.

“That’s a piece of cake. Please leave it to me.”

The boss, who saw Pablo’s reaction, nodded as if he was satisfied. As their conversation seemed to be ending, Paul stepped in thinking it was time.

“Pablo-nim, did you also bring a book called <Prelude to the Battlefield>?”

“Teeter-nim, I’m sorry, but I couldn’t check it all because I came in a hurry. I’ll send you the ledger soon, so please check it.”

Paul somehow had a feeling that this beastman in front of him would get better. This was because he was different from the other demons, he felt respect.

After a while, the two races finished the conversation and rose from their seats. “Then please call us again next time,” Pablo gave a remark with his hands together. Looking at the wolf ears on his bowed head, Paul seemed to know why Lego ran away in a hurry. Even though it looked foolish, a cat was still a cat.

After unpacking all the books and finishing their work, the elephants stomped back the way they had come. Paul’s heart fluttered endlessly as he looked at the books piled up at the entrance. Maybe <Prelude to the Battlefield> was among them? That book was the only clue to going home in the current situation.

“It’s not here.”

However, the boss, who carefully checked the ledger, said something different from his expectations. Paul was very disappointed, but he soon got over it. He had to organize all the books that came in today. Thousands of them. But he was at a loss as to how he could identify and organize the demon language that he had never seen before.

“How do you shelve the books?” The quick-witted boss asked Paul first.

“You can simply put them in order of the title. That way, we can find the book the customers need right away.”

“I see. I’ll take care of this side.”

Two people, no, one person and a Fomor, began putting books onto their respective bookshelves. Paul naturally took on human books. Even if it was a familiar language, it was more difficult than he thought because they were mixed up in a jumble.

How long has it been, Paul picked up a book that stood out. It was a large-sized children’s book. Normally, he wouldn’t have been interested, but this time he opened the book with an interested expression.

<World Interspecies Encyclopedia>

It was a book that contained simple explanations and illustrations of different races from all over the world. Paul chuckled when he saw that while the book was drawn in a cute style because it was meant for children to read, there was a ‘Warning, Scary’ written on it. He first turned to the page about the demons.

‘Demon is a collective term for a race that lives based on the magic flowing through their body. Demons can be divided into various kinds.’

Turning the pages over quickly, there was indeed also an explanation of ‘Fomor.’ Paul opened the page straight away and began to read.

‘Fowor (Fomor) is a manipulative and brutal aggressor. Among the demons, they’re the only type that can materialize their magic outside their body. They resemble humans, and some say they possess a stunningly beautiful appearance to the extent that makes them blind.’

The last sentence was so accurate that he thought the author might have personally seen the boss, who had a superior appearance. Paul closed the book because there was no other particular information else to gain from it. The smell, touch, basically everything about the books was perfect. Sorting books at Kshatrit a few weeks ago felt like it happened years ago. Paul, who was lost in thought for a moment, shook his head vigorously and began to shelve the books again.

“Ahh~! It’s finally over!”

After a while, Paul finished organizing the bookcases and stretched. There were obviously a lot more books the boss had to organize so he hurried to him. But what was this? The boss was using black smoke coming out from his fingertips to lift the books in the air and put them in effortlessly. Thanks to this, the books were easily arranged up to the tallest bookcases. Paul looked at the ladder he had used and felt it was unfair for some reason.

“Boss…”

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing…”

Paul was used to working in a bookshop, but there was so much work to do that it was late at night by the time they finished preparing. Paul barely managed to fall asleep that night after staying up, half-excited and half-worried. The next day, the bookshop for the demons finally opened.