The Adventurous Vagrant

Walter the Bookworm (2)

Hmph. I'm gonna stop that degenerate, that source of the lewd noises, from turning this institution into a laughingstock. I won't have any of this!

A man with a fair brown complexion, who appears to be a spell-caster judging from his clothes and his staff, is nonchalantly playing the lewdness in the sphaeramnis in a discreet manner.

He is situated three seats to my right, and those seats are empty.

I make several hand gestures, non-verbally begging him to stop.

But he doesn't budge at all.

Those noises won't even stop even after I repeatedly dissuade him.

“What a mouth you've got there! Just shut up and take it!”

“Ummmph!”

“Yeah, that's the way! This is incredible!”

Nope. Nope. Nope.

If Belle were with me, she would greatly disapprove of this like I do!

One day, she and I held hands, walking together along the Poblation Central Park.

We were gaily seeing the bountiful flora and fauna in this park, when...

...we spotted a couple, sitting on a bench, blatantly french-kissing each other like they didn't have a care in the world.

While we didn't want to disturb their... uh... quality time, our faces were lined with disgust.

“Walter, this is a prime example of a public display of affection.”

“Not that I've never heard of that term before, Belle, but this is practically the first time I see one with my own two eyes.”

“And as someone who upholds a traditional yet open-minded view of intimacy, these acts are an affront to decency. Not because of their supposed immorality, but... the passion that is burning inside the couple's bodies... it's swallowed them whole and made them lose all semblance of reason, even for a short period of time.”

“Uh... I get your point.”

“And if you ask me... there is a right place and time to express our affection for each other.”

“Nighttime. At your bedchamber or mine. With mutual consent.”

“Of course, Walter.”

Even in the midst of disgust, she did her best to smile, in a pragmatic way.

The situation I'm into may not be classified as a public display of affection; but lewdness is lewdness, no matter how others may perceive this.

With my patience running low, I stand up, approach the spell-caster, and tap his shoulder.

“Hey dude... what's wrong with your sphaeramnis?”

“Uhh... that? I just can't turn it off. If you think I'm doing a prank, then you're sorely mistaken.”

I take a look at his device.

From what I can see of the transparent magic circuitry, it seems one of the circuit's traces has been broken.

I then ask him...

“Since when did that went haywire?”

“I think that happened... once I entered the library. I even double-checked it back at home to ensure it works fine, but I guess there's the element of unpredictability.

“Alright then. I suggest bringing the device to a sphaeramnis repair shop. There's at least one in the Industrial-Financial District, right?”

“Will do. Thanks, bud.”

The spell-caster then rushes out of the library, with his sphaeramnis in hand, to prevent a brewing lascivious scandal.

Alright, now I can resume reading in peace.

Where I last left off...

“It is a fact of life that no man is an island. It is especially true in business, because for a single person to manage a business is buying a surefire ticket to obscurity. That is why multiple people must be involved in business, and to make sure that they run smoothly inside the system, team-building is needed. Team-building is important for organizational development.

“A way of team-building comes in the form of forming-storming-norming-performing. A team is formed, the members’ ideas are presented and discussed, the team is adapted for its members to work harmoniously, and finally, the team has to work as one. When the work is done, the team is either disbanded, or retained, ready for another round of work.

“Intellectual property (IP), though effective in theory, gets a bit wobbly in practice. Some people claim that IP is an evil concept cooked up by big corporations and their government allies so that they will eternally dominate their ideas and creations. But still, if something is conceptualized or created by a certain person, it is natural for that person to have ownership of that thing; and that any form of permission or acknowledgment is needed if that thing will be used in another thing created by an another person.

“Negotiation is all about settling differences between two or more parties. Whatever form of negotiation is implemented, it must be fair to the parties involved, and that good relations between parties are vital to effective negotiation.

“Finally, on presentation, meticulous steps are given. The reason is this: Presentation is a form of communication (and an important one in the business world), and screwing up on it alone nets disastrous results to the endpoints of the presentation spectrum (namely, the presenters and the target audience).

“Overall, the topics given in technological entrepreneurship are simple enough; but then, there’s a huge difference between knowing the thing and actually doing it.”

Alright. Done.

And right next to that entrepreneurship book is something different.

The title is Is It a Horror Novel?

Considering there's a rising number of fans of horror novels in this kingdom, this essay will prove to be helpful to them.

On to the text, then.

“There are many notions as to what constitutes the concept of 'scary', what makes us shiver, what raises our hairs in fear. It is already proven that what scares one does not affect another, due to the way the concept of fear is processed differently into each individual. So before you return the horror novel you just bought because it just wasn't scary enough for you, here are the ways we can know how we can understand the concept of fear naturally imbued into every horror novel.

“First, horror adapts to what is currently happening. What's scary thirty years ago may not be as scary today. The prevailing social climate, as well as the issues that define such climate, inspired horror novelists of each generation to entertain their own audiences by scaring them outright according to the trends of the time. Sometimes, there are novels written a hundred years ago that will scare us today because what happened then can be happening now – a manifestation of 'history repeats itself.

“Second, know if the novel is intended to scare people. There are many things that people generally fear – ghosts, ferocious monsters, wild beasts, the undead, and other malevolent beings. As they unfortunately roam this world, placing them in the title is a surefire way to scare readers the good way.

“Third, the definition of 'horrifying' can vary from person to person. As said before, the concept of fear is processed differently inside each individual. Fear is shaped by many things that are unique to each person: Experiences, beliefs, and even their gut feelings.

“Fourth, weird can be scary. It is natural for someone who has never seen something before to be perceived as scary at first. But this shape of fear propels adventurers to explore new frontiers, knowing that those initial fears will be dissipated once they get used to those frontiers.”

“Finally, reality can be scary. Despite our best efforts to better our lives, there are some aspects of reality that makes us uncertain of ourselves and makes us rethink our futures. This shape of fear usually comes along with two other concepts: Uncertainty and doubt. Combine all three, and one's fear can be the driving force to commit acts outside the boundaries of the law.

“With those five ways, we horror enthusiasts will get more mileage out of the horror stories we consume.”

Now that I've had my fill of leisure reading... I'd better leave this library and take a rest at my own house.

I bid the receptionist goodbye; and I'm now savoring the chilly late afternoon winds as I'm walking quite a long distance from the Educational District to the Residential District.

I'm home.

My house is quite small; as my now-deceased parents sold off our old house as part of their last will and testament and also handed me quite a huge sum of money that I could use to buy a smaller housing unit for myself.

It's also as spartan as it can be. Besides the mandatory furniture (which I bought second-hand), sparkgrid conduit, and food in the pantry and icebox, there's not much else to it.

Well, those and a framed painted picture of Belle on my bedside table.