Chapter 141: VOL 2 - 86: We must decline.
"Dear assistants, allow me to guide you to the first area."
After separating from Kai, Olivia spoke in the Meridian language professionally, while looking at the trio of siblings without daring in the slightest to look down on them just because they were mere Initiate-levels. After all, they were the assistants of the direct disciple Erik, who was not only the disciple of two Master-levels. He was also widely known in the Arcane Order and much of the galaxy as a talent on par with Master Eldurdóttir.
On the other hand, perhaps even more importantly depending on one's perspective, the direct disciple Erik was almost a celebrity among the university staff. Since, unlike ordinary disciples, he was very kind and considerate toward the staff, especially the library staff, as it was the place where he spent the most time.
He was so popular that it was not uncommon for fierce "internal quarrels" to break out to decide who would get the shifts he most frequently visited. It was even not unusual for "high-level personnel" to "lower themselves" to public-facing positions just for the chance to interact with him. Consequently, the path for Olivia to secure her position in the station's library was paved with hundreds of her colleagues' "corpses".
Although at first, the "selection war", the name they gave to their dispute to earn the chance to serve the direct disciple Erik, was something in which only the female staff participated. That changed when the "stinky men" took an interest in the affectionate nickname the women used for him—"the cookie prince". As soon as they learned of that sweet moniker, they also discovered the great treasure that was being able to interact with him.
Although the direct disciple Erik was kind, considerate, very handsome, and nearly at the top of the Arcane Order's food chain. Only a few women among the administrative staff had illusions of having anything with him beyond a single night or, at best, being a secret lover. In reality, much of their urgency to interact with him stemmed from those "simple cookies" he used to give away.
The cookies that disciple Erik occasionally handed out when he was satisfied with the service he received were not only a heavenly delight. They were also made with rare, extremely nutritious ingredients loaded with mana, things an ordinary person could hardly acquire, which turned them into a powerful tonic for training.
When the male staff found out about this, they ended up meddling in the sacred "selection war", managing to outdo the women a couple of times and enjoy the coveted prize themselves, spreading the word afterward. But not content with that, they even dared to give him the ugly nickname of "the cookie general", something that infuriated the female staff so much that they would even strike anyone who dared to mention that nickname in front of them.
...
With great professionalism, Olivia guided the siblings to the first area of the library, where she introduced them to the different sections and explained a bit about what they could find in each. She also showed them how to choose books in the language they preferred, since the books in the first area were very basic and practically all had translations into the four main languages. As a result, the siblings began browsing the titles and some pages of the books on the shelves, searching for something to read.
While the siblings chose their books, Olivia couldn't help but discreetly observe their selections, genuinely curious about which topics would interest the first people who had managed to come under the wing of the great direct disciple Erik. Who was, without a doubt, the most outstanding figure of his generation, despite being one of the youngest—he hadn't even lived a full century, which practically made him a baby.