The next morning, Diamond woke slowly with the sunlight. Change did the same, sitting up slowly on the sofa while rubbing his face with one hand.
"This girl makes me let my guard down," he thought somewhat bitterly.
"Good morning!" Diamond greeted energetically.
Change sighed. Apparently, Diamond was one of those people who woke up full of vitality, while he could barely find the strength to start the day. Even so, seeing her so lively brought a small smile to his face. He absentmindedly stroked her head before getting up completely and heading to his bedroom to change.
As always, he chose a button-down shirt, simple trousers, and a dark-colored jacket. A little while later, Diamond appeared in one of the dresses Change had bought her: this time it was white, with a boat neck that left her shoulders bare
Change looked at her, though without the same reaction as the last time, when he had seen her back. Perhaps because, on this occasion, he didn't have a cup of coffee to spit out in surprise.
He found her in the kitchen, rummaging among the shelves.
"What are you doing? Don't worry, I'll make breakfast," he said, interrupting her.
Diamond straightened up at his words and looked at him.
"I wanted to make something for you," she replied with a pleading expression in her eyes.
Change walked past her with a certain curiosity.
"Do you know any recipes, then?" he asked.
Diamond clasped her hands behind her back and swayed slightly from side to side.
"No..." she answered honestly.
Change raised an eyebrow.
"And what were you planning to make?" he asked with a serious expression, although deep down he found it amusing.
"Improvise..." Diamond replied, somewhat uncertainly.
Change shook his head
"Well, when you know a recipe, I'll let you cook," he finally said, accepting the idea for the future.
Then he set about preparing breakfast himself.
As they ate, within the small routine they had established, Diamond looked at him curiously.
"Are you going to help me find a job today?" she asked.
"Yes. I'll leave you with the librarian; he needs an assistant too," Change replied. Then he added, in a more serious tone, "But I won't be able to stay long today. I have some errands to run, so please be careful."
He took Diamond's hand on the table. She nodded immediately.
"Yes, I'll be careful."
After breakfast, Change took Diamond's hand and they left together. Upon reaching the street, Change picked her up and sat her on his forearm, beginning to walk along the quiet streets awakening with the dawn, heading towards the town center, towards the library.
After a leisurely stroll, they arrived at the building and Change knocked on the door. Soon, a tall ceramic man—around six feet tall—opened it and observed them silently.
"Hello, I heard you needed an assistant for the library," Change said
The librarian raised an eyebrow, amused, with a slightly mischievous expression.
"I thought explorers were paid well," he remarked.
Change waved a hand in denial.
"No, it's not for me. It's for our newest member of the community, Diamond," she explained. With the same gesture she used to shake her head, she pointed to Diamond, who waved to the librarian with one hand, half-hidden behind Change.
The man looked down at her, watching her closely.
The librarian nodded, accepting with surprising ease. It was understandable: Change had been the one to recommend Diamond.
"Well, little one, you can do a trial today. Tomorrow we'll see if you'll stay permanently," the librarian said.
Diamond smiled happily and skipped into the library. She waved energetically goodbye to Change, and he returned the gesture with a slight nod before walking away, this time for real
When they were alone, Diamond looked at the ceramic man. He was pale, with long black hair, and round glasses that framed green eyes. He had a faint scar on his forehead.
"What happened to you?" Diamond asked, pointing to the mark.
The librarian put his fingers to his forehead for a moment before answering.
"I wasn't always a librarian, but that's not something I should tell a woman as tender and innocent as yourself," he said calmly.
Diamond shook her head somewhat sadly.
"No... I'm not so innocent anymore," she murmured.
The librarian watched her curiously, but decided not to ask any more questions. If he himself avoided talking about his past, how could he demand that Diamond reveal hers?
The man preferred to change the subject and began to show Diamond as he guided her to a chair.
"You see, here you can rent books or you can also buy them. In that case, the version that is sold is a copy," he explained, pulling out a chair for Diamond to sit down. She obeyed and took a seat at a table.
"I could really use someone to copy the books," the librarian added.
Diamond turned her head curiously.
"Photocopy?" she asked
The man laughed softly, shaking his head.
"No, by hand," he corrected.
Diamond looked at him, confused.
"Don't you have a photocopier? But the seamstress had a sewing machine..." she muttered.
"We don't all have the same advantages," the librarian explained patiently. "That woman earns a lot of money; she has a generator in her warehouse, enough to run one or two machines for a few hours a day. I, on the other hand, earn less, so I have no way of powering a machine like that."
Diamond nodded, understanding.
"Here, you can start with this book. It's the simplest," the man said, handing her a short volume along with a blank notebook and a pen.
Diamond obeyed, concentrating on reading and writing carefully. Satisfied, the librarian withdrew to attend to other tasks.
Diamond had never written with a fountain pen; she was used to ballpoint pens. So, after only a few lines, the ink spilled onto the white notebook. She let out a small gasp of fright and tried to wipe away the excess with her hand, but only managed to stain her hands and white fur with dark ink blotches.
Hearing the noise, the librarian returned immediately. When she saw him, Diamond jumped, began to tremble, and covered her face with her hands, remembering the incident with the seamstress. She didn't want to be scolded.
The librarian, however, approached calmly and moved the materials aside to prevent the mess from spreading.
"Don't you usually write with a fountain pen?" he asked calmly.
Diamond slowly lowered her arms and wiped away the few tears that had fallen, leaving ink smears on her cheeks.
"No... but I thought it would be easy, like normal ballpoint pens," she murmured. "I'm sorry..."
"It's okay," the librarian denied. "I can cover the sheets with white paint and start again, don't worry."
He paused thoughtfully for a few seconds before adding,
"Hmm... how about I give you some loose sheets of paper and you practice a bit with the pen? Then I'll show you another task."
Diamond nodded silently, accepting the suggestion.
"Before we begin, here, clean yourself up, or you'll keep making a mess," the librarian ordered, handing Diamond a rag.
She obeyed, wiping away the ink stains. Although she still had traces of ink, at least she wasn't sticky anymore. Meanwhile, the librarian cleaned the table and gave her new materials. When he saw Diamond trying again, he stepped back, leaving her to practice in peace.
After a few minutes, having filled several sheets with lines and uppercase and lowercase letters, Diamond approached him. The librarian was up on a ladder, dusting the shelves
"Look, I haven't spilled anything," she said proudly, showing him the sheet of paper.
The librarian came down the ladder and took the paper to examine it.
"Very good," he said. It was true, the sheet was clean, although he frowned slightly when he noticed that the letters were shaky.
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