They all call me an Outer God.

Chapter 10 Black Feathers
"Do they worship the sun god, or the sun sphere itself?"

Do the people here have a concept of stars?
Lia calmly handed the customer the paper bag containing the black bread, and at his suggestion, the black bread was sold in limited quantities.

He is quite profit-oriented, but he wouldn't go so far as to ask poor people to use their entire savings or even take out loans to buy bread.

In certain eras, the evil capitalists should be hung on streetlights.

Mrs. Stir pursed her lips, still stubbornly believing that the bread's popularity was solely due to Ria's striking appearance.

In such a poor and desolate place, there are already few people who are good-looking, and even fewer good-looking young people of marriageable age.

Having regained his complexion, Ria looked youthful yet scholarly. Even when he wore a mask that only revealed his eyes, his light gray-blue pupils were enough to attract people from all over the town to flock to him.

Mrs. Sterling considered him a junior, so it was perfectly normal for her to worry about his future happiness.

But after observing secretly for a while, she discovered that Ria, that blockhead, didn't say anything extra to anyone except for polite business dealings.

He maintained a polite smile for the entire hour he set up his stall.

Polite and easy-going, yet with a hint of aloofness.

The customers took the black bread from his hand and paid in an orderly manner. Everything was in perfect order, but Mrs. Sterling felt that the scene was somewhat mechanical, as if something was strange, yet everything seemed normal.

She must not have been resting well lately and is overthinking things.

Recently, the number of monsters outside at night has inexplicably increased, and their roars have almost kept people awake. If it weren't for the church's rule that residents cannot go out at night, Ste would have liked to grab a broom and go out to beat those monsters until even his grandmother wouldn't recognize them.

Mrs. Sterling.

A timid voice came from the stairwell.

Sterling turned around and saw that Angela had run down from the third floor. Her target this time was Ria, and the "Mrs. Sterling" was just a simple greeting.

She ran happily behind Ria. Although she was somewhat ordinary-looking and had crooked teeth, her personality completely made up for these shortcomings, making people overlook her simple and ordinary appearance.

When Angela smiles, she evokes the image of a fawn in the forest, with sunlight casting a thin layer of gold on her brown curly hair.

“Brother Kelcha, my brother loves those books! He asked me to tell you that he is very grateful to you.”

Lia smiled and reached out to touch the little girl's head, pressing her unkempt hair back down.

"If you like it, that's fine. Reading more books is always useful."

"Mmm!" The child nodded cheerfully, talking much more than yesterday.

Then, she began to tell Ria her purpose, taking a cloth bag from the pocket of her linen dress and showing Ria fifty Swarth coins.

"My younger brother needs more books, the more the better."

"So, which books do you want me to buy this time?"

"Not those, just one."

A book worth around fifty Schwarzschilds?

Ria was a little wary, and Angena also lowered her voice as if afraid of being overheard.

"This is my brother's meager savings. He hasn't eaten anything good or bought any new clothes in a long time because he's been saving up for this book."

As she spoke, she became somewhat frustrated, but Ria did not expose her.

He had already asked, and found out that only Angela lived on the third floor; the so-called "brother" did not exist.

What books does your younger brother need?

"The Encyclopedia of Mysterious Items"

As a newcomer, Lia didn't quite understand what was so special about this book, but he could still sense something unusual from its name.

This world truly contains bizarre creatures and fantastical scenes. Since a book dares to use such a title, its content is very likely to exist in reality. "It seems necessary to take a look... but I have a feeling something is off about that bookstore owner."

I kind of want to punch him.

Ria felt inexplicably annoyed with the shop owner, but she still picked up the floor rag from the ground, wiped her shoes a few times on a clean edge, straightened her clothes, and went out again.

The alley is still the same alley.

The boss is still the same boss.

When Ria saw him again, the fat man wearing a bird-beak mask was dusting the bookshelf with a feather duster.

He wasn't surprised to see Ria again, as if he had already guessed that he would come back.

"Welcome, sir. What would you like to buy?"
Everything here is available for purchase except for myself and the quill pen on my table.

Ria's gaze lingered on the quill pen on the black wooden table. The quill itself was jet black, and just looking at it gave one goosebumps.

The color was unlike any other; it seemed to contain thousands of colors that were incomprehensible to humans, all condensed together to form a deep, dark black.

Ria immediately shifted his gaze. He was now very averse to substances like feathers, and just thinking about them automatically brought to mind the feathered creature that had crawled into his throat the night before.

That thing made him want to vomit but he couldn't. He wanted to cut it out but was afraid there would be nothing inside, and all his efforts would be in vain.

It's really a hassle.

not to mention……

As Ria was preparing her words and about to ask about the feathers, she suddenly turned around and found the bookstore owner standing behind her.

His leather mask had a strong odor; the smell of some animal fat that hadn't been properly cleaned, mixed with the stench of sweat, made Ria take a step back, feeling physically uncomfortable from the bottom of her heart.

"Hey!"

The boss chuckled twice, then took a feather duster and patted Liya's clothes a few times.

"You need to take a shower; you've got a lot of dust on you."

“I just washed it yesterday. Your lenses are probably made from microscope lenses.”

Lia told the shopkeeper what books she wanted to buy, and without saying much, the shopkeeper clumsily took them down from the ninth shelf and handed them to her.

"Why are you still looking at my quill pen? Do you really want it?" The shopkeeper's tone was slightly displeased. "I found it; I can't give it to you."

"I just felt that feather looked familiar."

"Familiar? It must be familiar. I picked it up last night while following you."

Ria: "..."

With just one sentence, the atmosphere reached a freezing point.

The young man in the oversized brown coat had an increasingly sinister look in his eyes, and his skin began to twitch noticeably.

It was clear that Ria was trying her best to restrain herself from showing her eyes inappropriately.

He spoke slowly, his voice hoarse.

"I don't know what you're talking about. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

Now that the other party has brought up what happened last night, regardless of whether it was a test or not, Liya must leave now. He dares not gamble on whether the other party wants to kill him.

Although, judging from the current situation, the other party does not seem to have any malicious intent.

Ria paid the money, too lazy to even accept the faith, and turned to run away. However, the next second, he saw the bookstore owner blocking his way, pointing a quill pen made of black feathers at his neck.

(End of this chapter)