Cozy Muscles

[CozyMuscle]

Cozy Muscles #7

1. The Library

Professor Plumb led them to Lichtburg's massive public library, which no longer functioned as a library, nor was it public. It was an imposing Gothic building in the city's historic old town. It boasted six floors of reading rooms, but now the ground floor was barely operational. The walls were lined with half-empty bookshelves, and instead of readers, the room held only office clerks.

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"Only a few university professors have access to the books now," Plumb informed Susan.

"It's a shame," Susan said. "The place was beautiful and always full of student life."

"I can't believe this whole place used to be a library," Asuka said, fascinated. "It makes me want to study."

"And you will," Susan said under her breath. "One of Luka's conditions for accessing the funds you inherited is that all five of you sign the papers and enroll in the university."

"What?!" Asuka shouted.

"We'll talk about that later," Susan cut her off.

The group then walked down a side hallway until they reached a small room that served as Plumb's office.

"This place has really gone downhill," Susan observed.

"The books are being shipped bit by bit to the Organization's archives in Betonwald. Since the university tuition is so exorbitant, there's no longer much demand for the library," Plumb explained.

Professor Plumb squeezed in behind the small desk that barely fit in the tiny room, put on his glasses, and began flipping through several folders.

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"I was given access to the library records as a favor. We can't stay long. Marin found something that might interest you."

The group waited patiently while Plumb muttered to himself, painstakingly searching through the papers.

"Eureka!" he called out. He pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Susan.

The page displayed the borrowing history of a library user registered as U. S. It included the user's work and participation as a cadet, formal complaints and observations, and small payments issued, as well as fines imposed:

- Helped organize the new collections. Payment.

- Filed a formal complaint against the Organization for disrupting students' studies. Fine.

- Cleaned all six floors of the building. Payment.

- Threw an officer through the air for blocking access to the second floor. Fine.

"Can we see the books checked out for personal reading?" Asuka asked.

"Of course," the professor replied, turning back to the papers on his desk. "Here you go," he said, handing her a folder containing over forty pages of book listings.

The group gasped in disbelief.

"Sounds like Uzu..." Asuka whispered as she read.

Books checked out and returned:

- Stormy Heights

- Lane Yerre

- The Governess of Marrowmere

- The Lady of the Crystal Lamps

- The Knight of the Broken Lily

- Rhymes in the Winter Garden

...

"It's her!" Asuka shouted. "They're all romance novels!"

"How can we find her?" Susan asked.

"Unfortunately, there are no residential address records in the archive," Plumb answered. "Her activity stopped just a few months ago, right when the Organization began relocating the books. And all the staff from that time were fired. I tried contacting a few, but had no luck."

"How strange..." Susan commented.

"So we're back to square one," Gina said, dejected.

"At least we know she was in the city," Fletcher noted.

2. The Search

After saying goodbye to Professor Plumb, the group decided to split up to cover more ground. Lichtburg wasn't a large city, and they had a general idea of where to look. If Uzuhara had stayed in town, she would need to be working locally to get by.

Susan headed toward Lichtburg's famous publishing houses, thinking Uzuhara might have taken a job there.

Asuka decided to search the bookstores, reasoning that Uzu couldn't stay far from books.

Fletcher and Gina took down the addresses of the various departments at the University of Lichtburg that worked directly with the library.

The group set off in different directions to locate Asuka's friend and bring her back to Betonwald. They agreed to meet back at the hotel for dinner once the city's evening activity wound down.

Asuka was captivated by Lichtburg's bookstores. Not only did they feature a far broader catalog than those in Kaltmark, but they were packed with tourists, and the staff were true literary experts. Luka had sent Uzuhara into her very own fairytale. She thought about how wonderful some of the aesthetic choices and ideas from these picturesque bookstores of the City of Light would look in their own café.


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As night fell, Asuka left the last bookstore, frustrated at having found no trace of Uzu, and couldn't help noticing that someone was trailing her.

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The group met up for dinner, disappointed at having turned up no leads. They decided to try again the following day. Asuka mentioned her feeling that someone was following her.

"And you're right," Susan said, lighting a cigarette. "Marin called. The Organization knows we're here."

3. The Lawyer

In one of the apartment blocks built by the Organization for Lichtburg residents, a rising boxer was celebrating his latest fight. The previous day, he had defeated a tough opponent who had been undefeated in the Eisenfeld region until then. He had bought several six-packs of beer and now sprawled out on the couch in front of the TV. In the apartment's kitchen, a woman moved diligently yet nervously.

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"Can you be any more useless, Clara?!" the boxer yelled from the couch. "The game's already started! How hard can it be to cook a few burgers?!"

The woman peeked out from the kitchen doorway, looking distraught.

"You told me the game started in an hour," she said.

The man stood up, fueled by alcohol.

"Are you calling me an idiot?!" he asked menacingly, stepping toward the kitchen. "Are you saying I don't know when the damn game starts?!"

Terrified, the woman apologized without looking at him, pretending to focus on the food.

But the man didn't stop. He closed in and slapped her across the face, sending her to the floor with a split lip.

"Do you know how many women would love to be with me?" the boxer spat. "Do you have any idea how lucky you are? I don't know why I ended up marrying such a useless woman."

"I know..." the woman sobbed.

The man hauled her up by the neck as if she weighed nothing. Just as he raised his hand to slap her again, someone knocked on the door.

The boxer grunted and let go of the woman.

"Who the hell..." he muttered, heading toward the door.

When he opened it, he found a girl propping a bicycle with a front basket against the curb of the cobblestone street. She wore a cropped lace-trimmed blouse and a tight tartan miniskirt. Her dark brown hair fell to her shoulders. Her body was lean and remarkably muscular for someone so young.

"Oh, hi there!" the girl said. "I'm Clara's lawyer. I'm here to finalize the divorce paperwork. May I come in?"

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"Divorce?!" the man bellowed in shock.

[CozyMuscle]

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