It turned out that Lonely Ridge Village did have a library, and quite a big and well-equipped one at that, but there was one problem, it only allowed outsiders to read books inside its walls, not even allowing them to borrow those books.

  The citizens of the village could borrow them, but as for buying, the library was a public space and all the books inside it were the property of the people and weren't allowed to be sold at all.

  "So how are we going about this?" Brittany asked as they stood outside the library.

  "The village does have a bookstore, but from what I've found out, it's not as well-stocked as the library," Mary said.

  "We will first go to the bookstore, and get whatever we can from there before returning here," Mrs Raily said, they were using English whenever they discussed anything that would put eyes on them. "I've brought my phone with me, I should be able to take photos of the books we find interesting in the library, we just need to be careful about that."

  "Sounds like a plan," Mary said as she started leading the way, seeing how no one disagreed.

  As they had expected, the bookstore didn't have that many books and was quite barebones. They still got a few books about the Dynasty's history and a few low-quality maps from it.

  Considering how they hadn't yet gotten their hands on the local currency, they ended up using a bottle of wine in exchange for what they had chosen. The store owner was more than happy to close the deal after hearing about how rare it was.

  Of course, they didn't forget to remove the paper from the glass bottle, fearing that people might be able to get a hold of the languages from Earth using it. It was a long stretch, but they didn't want to take their chances with that.

  Done with their shopping, they made their way back to the library.

  "Spies stealing knowledge from within the enemy's land!" Mary whispered as they walked, "How exciting!"

  "Don't be that dramatic, Mary." Brittany sighed. "We're just about to take a few pictures of some books, it's probably not even illegal."

  "But where's the fun in putting it like that?" Mary asked, giving Brittany a sour look, "Let's enjoy the moment~"

  The whole time while they walked and talked, Mrs Raily never let her guard down, her eyes scanning all around. She didn't want them to find themselves surrounded or stuck dealing with an unwanted situation because they weren't careful.

  She did know that Mary wasn't as carefree as she made herself to be, from the way her eyes kept scanning their surroundings, she must have been quite worried too. Hank was just as careful, his skills and disposition helping with the mindset needed for such a mission.

  As they walked, Mrs Raily was glad that she had been that paranoid, they were being watched. The people watching them were wearing civilian clothes and didn't show any signs that they were part of the guards or the like. From how stealthily they were going about it, they might have been undercover.

  Their mannerisms, emotions, and feelings were enough for Mrs Raily to figure that they weren't exactly a target, it felt more like they had a few faces they were keeping an eye on.

  It took her a couple of minutes to figure out who it was that they were keeping an eye on. Outsiders who had come to the village recently. It was easy to catch up to that after noticing some of the people who were with them at the gate were also under surveillance.

  Linking that with how the pieces of paper were given to any outsider entering the village, it wasn't hard for Mrs Raily to guess that they were most likely trying to find out who might be able to activate that piece of paper, or anyone who seemed to be acting suspiciously.

  Unfortunately, Mrs Raily only found out about them later on, and at that point, she was sure that the attention those people were giving them was more than what they were giving the others. That most likely had to do with them visiting the bookstore and the library, after all, that had been what the group did the last time when they hit land for information.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  If they acted based on the fact that the piece of paper was meant for them, then those people for sure were searching for a target that would give the same tells that they were giving. The only thing stopping Mrs Raily from spiraling into panic was how it seemed that even with them exhibiting those tells, the ones keeping an eye on them weren't coming after them so strongly. It was as if even if they had someone who might be a person of interest, they seemed to be only taking note to pass it on to their superiors.

  As they walked, Mrs Raily found herself in a bit of a dilemma. Should she put an end to their coming plans of going to the library and prioritize leaving the town and retreating safely? Or should she continue as is while keeping an eye on the people watching them?

  She would have told the others about what was happening, but she feared that they wouldn't be able to hold themselves back from reacting suspiciously, therefore giving the other party a reason to react if they thought that they were found out.

  In the end, she decided to go with the best choice for the moment, telling only those she trusted who were able to hold themselves from showing anything, mainly Mary and Hank.

  "Mary, Hank," she called to them, "Can you come with me for a second, I need to talk to you about something."

  "Okay," Mary replied happily, while Hank just nodded. Both of them showed nothing.

  Mrs Raily just gave Brittany and Luke a light nod, telling them that everything was alright before stepping back a bit and updating the pair on what she had noticed in English, just in case someone was listening to them using a skill or the like.

  "... What do you think we should do?" She asked after updating them.

  "I think we should go on," Mary said, clapping her hands happily, as if Mrs Raily didn't just tell her that they were being watched and might have caught someone's attention. "As you said, they don't seem to mean us any harm, we should continue as is; head to the library, scan a few books, leave, and have a look around town, maybe eat something then leave as if everything is alright."

  "What about you? What do you think?" Mrs Raily turned to Hank.

  "I believe we would be able to retreat if it came to it," the stoic man said slowly, "I'm sure that I'll at least be able to release the flare, letting the guys know that they should close in on the town while we run to the edge of the cliff. It should be doable."

  Mrs Raily thought for a few seconds as she regarded them. She felt that they might have been a bit too optimistic, but with how those people didn't seem as if they were going to push for anything else, it might have been the right choice after all.

  "Okay," she finally said, "We will continue as is."

  After that, they caught up to the other two, waving off their worries as they continued on their way to the library, acting as if nothing had happened.

  At the library, they mainly focused on books that mentioned the waters on that side of the Dynasty, the forbidden zones around there, and all the different maps that they could get their hands on. The librarian gave them a few weird glances, but she didn't stop them as they kept on taking books to a certain secluded corner and returning to get some others. The most she did was make sure all the books they had returned were good and they weren't tampered with.

  As they left the library, Mary didn't forget to drag them to a local restaurant where they had a late light lunch. Mrs Raily would have believed it if someone told her the whole reason Mary wanted to join this mission was because she wanted to experience this new world, and what it had to offer.

  Then came the moment of truth, they were going to leave. As they walked through the town, Mrs Raily kept making the people watching them put their attention on other things as they passed by, it wasn't hard considering how bored they seemed to be. She just had to suggest for them to glance another way where a more interesting person was, and they would do so gladly. It was a bit hard for her, but she managed to do it, her third skill was made exactly for that after all.

  Mrs Raily also wasn't worried about the other party remembering their faces. Ever since the beginning, she had been steering whoever dealt with them slightly, making them pay more attention to tiny details about them other than their faces. She was sure that if anyone tried to question those who dealt with them about what they looked like, they would only get a few inconsistent details, and nothing concrete.

  At the gate, they fortunately didn't meet the same guard as before. It was much easier to trick a new person with a random reason for why they were leaving at that hour, than to do the same with someone who was already under the effect of their skills before. Who knows if his subconscious noticed something after the whole day passed?

  As they left the village without any problems, they headed to the location they had decided on as the pickup point, being as careful as possible. Brittany used her illusions to mask them and cloak them from any hidden eyes, while Hank made sure that they weren't being followed. Even Luke used his metal senses as a way to keep an eye on people who might be behind them, they wouldn't come after them with no weapons after all, right?

  Mrs Raily was almost sure that no one was after them, she hadn't noticed anyone with that interest in town, but she was happy with how careful they were being.

  It seemed that her judgment was on point as they made it to the pickup point safely and with no problems. The watchers looked to be interested only in keeping an eye on anyone who might be them, not interfering with such a person.

  As they got on the Phantom and started their journey to Voyager, Mrs Raily held the piece of paper she got from the guard, wondering what it might show after they activated it.