I Don't Know the Original, I'm Too Busy Trying to Make a Living-Chapter 167

"But she quickly changed her mind. If she ever came across soft peaches again, she'd just give them to Ahwin. It wasn’t hard for someone well-off to respect another’s preferences.

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'Ahwin, you can have some plums then.'"

Penelope purchased a bag of ripe plums and added more peaches to her order. As expected of someone wealthy, she went big.

"Please deliver twenty crates of peaches to the lord’s castle. If you show this voucher to the steward, he’ll take care of the payment."

"T-Twenty crates?"

The fruit vendor exclaimed in shock, prompting Penelope to casually nod as she stamped and signed the voucher. Handing it to the vendor, she said, "Here’s the voucher. Now, hand me the plums. I’ll take those myself."

"Y-Yes, of course!"

The vendor, flustered, quickly handed over the bag of plums, which Penelope passed to Ahwin.

The vendor alternated his gaze between Penelope and Ahwin, before suddenly drawing a sharp breath. Penelope raised a brow.

"What is it?"

"Well, now that I get a closer look, you resemble our lord a bit. And this gentleman looks like someone I’ve seen in the newspaper..."

"Do I? I get that a lot," Penelope replied with a nonchalant shrug, flashing a relaxed smile. Her easygoing demeanor prompted a chuckle from the vendor as well.

After all, it was ridiculous to think the lord of Halo would leisurely roam such a busy market.

'If this lady were the lord, then the man beside her would be... the Tower Master?'

The vendor chuckled at his own absurd imagination, amused by the thought.

Meanwhile, Penelope bit into a peach, its crisp texture yielding a juicy sweetness. She finished the entire peach on the spot and casually tossed the pit into a trash bin nearby. Ahwin, standing beside her, watched with a bemused expression.

"Please ensure the fruit is delivered without issue."

"Don’t worry, milady! You can count on me!"

The vendor, now brimming with excitement, ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) confidently responded. After all, securing a week’s worth of sales in a single transaction had him in high spirits.

Penelope looped her arm through Ahwin’s and whispered quickly, "If we stay here any longer, we’ll get recognized. Let’s go."

"...Okay."

Penelope took the lead, prompting Ahwin to follow close behind. His ears had turned noticeably red.

The two disappeared seamlessly into the crowd.

As the vendor happily packed the peach crates, a stray thought crossed his mind.

'Delivering peaches to the lord’s castle? Even if she’s not the lord, she must be someone important... Wait.'

He froze mid-motion, staring at the voucher in his hand. His eyes darted to the signature.

"Penelope Ash Halo."

The vendor’s eyes widened in disbelief. By the time he turned to look back, the pair had already vanished.

"Phew, that was close! I guess people haven’t recognized me since it’s been a while since I’ve been in the territory. I’ll have to be more careful from now on."

"...Ahwin?"

"Yes?"

Startled, Ahwin turned toward her, looking as though he hadn’t heard a word she’d said.

'What’s he been thinking about, zoning out like that?'

Penelope released her hold on his arm and took a step back. Only then did Ahwin’s tense expression ease—though it immediately stiffened again.

Penelope rose onto her tiptoes, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "We’ll get found out at this rate. Let’s go somewhere with fewer people. It’s too much hassle otherwise."

"Alright, let’s do that."

Ahwin’s response came out rapid-fire as he firmly took her hand. Without another word, he strode forward, leaving Penelope momentarily startled.

She hadn’t expected him to take off so suddenly, let alone with such an odd gait—his hands and feet moving in unison like a malfunctioning automaton.

'Is he panicking about being recognized? Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?'

Penelope couldn’t figure out what had caused Ahwin to malfunction.

Unable to stop him, she followed his lead, allowing him to guide them to a quieter alleyway.

Relieved by the lack of people, Penelope sighed.

"Wait, why are we going that way?"

"Where are we?" Penelope asked, her voice tinged with confusion. Ahwin had led her to the back door of a building in the alley and stepped inside like he knew the place.

*Does he know this spot?* the thought crossed her mind.

As soon as he pushed the door open, an unfamiliar space came into view. Ahwin entered without hesitation, and Penelope followed, caught off guard.

*Clank.*

The door shut behind them.

"Uh...?"

Penelope stood frozen. She had expected a shop or some kind of public office. This was neither.

The floors and walls were made of solid brick, and the room was lined with densely packed bookshelves. It was clearly someone’s personal library.

So far, it seemed like an innocent mistake. Surely, a quick apology would smooth things over. But that assumption was utterly wrong.

The library looked ancient, its design unlike anything modern. The dark brick walls and floor were a testament to its age.

*This doesn’t make sense. Most of the buildings in this alley are newly constructed.*

But that wasn’t the strangest part.

Penelope’s mouth fell open in shock.

Through the window, she could see a sprawling forest, its edges bathed in the glow of a crimson sunset.

"A sunset?! The sun was overhead just a moment ago! Why is it setting?"

"Oh, this is the Tower of Magic," Ahwin said casually.

"...What?"

Penelope was stunned into silence. Ahwin continued as if it were no big deal.

"The longitude here is different, so the sun sets earlier. The latitude and altitude are also distinct."

*Is that supposed to be a proper explanation? Really?*

Penelope wanted to grab him by the collar.

With a sharp glare, she growled, "Before you opened the door, did it not occur to you to explain where we were going?"

"Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. My head’s been all over the place lately..." Ahwin mumbled, rubbing his flushed cheek.

Penelope was flabbergasted. *Does he think being cute excuses everything?*

"I’m the one who’s completely thrown off here! I never imagined we’d end up at the Tower of Magic. Wait, we’re in the Tower of Magic?! This is it?!"

"Yes," Ahwin replied matter-of-factly.

Penelope’s eyes widened before she clasped her hands over her mouth.

"Wow. Oh my gosh. This is incredible."

She hurried to the window, gazing out at the scene beyond. Dark green forests stretched as far as the eye could see, and surrounding the tower was a beautiful city.

In the city below, orange lights were beginning to flicker on as magical power coursed through them. Overhead, the sky had turned a deep shade of purple, blending with hues of violet. The place looked like it had leaped straight out of an old fairy tale, the kind with dragons breathing fire and princesses cursed at every turn.

*Wait. What’s that?*

Her thoughts were interrupted when something pale and misty brushed past the window.

"Ah! What was that?!"

It was a cloud.

Penelope’s eyes widened even further as she realized just how high up they were. The forest and city below seemed impossibly far away. Clouds drifted past the window, just outside.

Her knees buckled.

"Penelope!"

Ahwin caught her around the waist, his face unusually serious and filled with concern.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"No, I’m just startled! I didn’t realize the Tower of Magic was this high up."

"Not all parts of the tower are this tall."

That seemed to check out, given they appeared to be on the very top floor.

"So... is this your room?"

"Yes. Well, technically, it’s my library."

His personal library, the Tower Master’s sanctuary.

A space only Ahwin had permission to enter.

Penelope found herself too exhausted to feel more shocked.

*No wonder he likes high places so much. The altitude he’s used to living at is absurd.*

"Let me go. I can stand on my own now."

"Are you sure? If you feel dizzy again, let me know immediately."

"I will," Penelope replied firmly.

She stepped back from the window, putting as much distance as possible between herself and the edge. Then she began exploring the library in earnest. Her curiosity flared as she examined the books lining the shelves, wondering what treasures the Tower Master kept here.

Runic text, elven script, ancient languages... Most of the books were written in characters she couldn’t understand. Though she’d learned some ancient language in her etiquette lessons, she couldn’t even decipher the titles on the covers.

In this library, Penelope realized with dismay, she was effectively illiterate.