Anna didn’t wear the robe of the mage, which was regarded as an anomaly here, and naturally attracted a lot of strange eyes. Fortunately, the dress she wore today was just bought, barely enough to squeeze into the ranks of a “rich family”, and it could be possible to pass as some down-and-out noble, so those eyes didn't stay on her for too long.
When passing another bookshelf, Anna saw a blond girl sitting on the edge of the bookshelf, with her head buried in her knees, as if crying, her shoulders shrugging.
Recognizing that this was the girl who was stopped and mocked just now, Anna paused, still hesitating whether to leave or stick her nose in some business, she saw the girl named Natalie raise her head as if she noticed something.
Seeing Anna standing on the side, staring at herself, Natalie blushed instantly and stammered anxiously: "You, what are you looking at...Go away!"
"I’m sorry."
Anna felt embarrassed to see someone crying, and the other person even asked her to go, so she should leave as soon as possible.
Anna turned around to leave, but just as she took a step, she found that her skirt was pulled. She turned her head and looked down; a red-eyed Natalie had grabbed her skirt. When Anna turned her head, Natalie’s face became even more red, but she didn’t say anything.
Anna hesitated, she should hand over a tissue at this time, right?
She took out a linen handkerchief and passed it over and said, "It’s clean."
Natalie took the linen handkerchief, wiped away the tears from her face, and blew her nose, and said vaguely: "I will give you a new one..."
But she still did not let go of Anna's skirt.
As long as she didn’t wipe her nose on her skirt, anything was fine. It cost five silver coins, okay?
Because she was almost finished touring the library and there was nothing important to do, Anna good temperedly waited for Natalie to calm down.
After a few minutes, Natalie finally calmed down.
During this period, her hand kept pulling Anna's skirt, so Anna couldn't leave. Anna waited for her while taking a book on the shelf to read.
"You..." Natalie said, but stopped after saying a word.
Anna put the book back, looked down at Natalie and said, "Do you want to stand up and talk? Squatting like this for a long time will make your legs numb."
"Really?" Natalie frowned when she heard Anna’s words and stood up, causing her to sway in the next second. Scared, she hugged the bookshelf, "It’s really numb!"
Anna: "...Let's go out and talk so as not to bother the others here."
Natalie nodded repeatedly.
Anna took Natalie out of the open-shelf library and sat down in the corner of the study room.
Some voices were allowed in the study room, and there were also young mages who came together to discuss with each other, so it didn’t matter if Anna and Natalie were whispering in the corner.
"Let’s hear it, why were you holding me and not letting go?" Anna asked.
At this time, she looked at the badge on Natalie's chest. There were no stars on the black background; she was still a mage’s disciple like her.
Who figured that Natalie was also looking at Anna’s badge at this time. Her tone carried a bit of joy, “You are still a mage disciple like me; how many times have you participated in the promotion assessment?"
Natalie was fourteen or fifteen years old. A normal mage disciple would have already been a one-star mage at this point, but she was still a mage disciple. It showed that her talent was subpar.
But when she saw Anna, a mage disciple who was older than her, she probably felt that she had found an ally, so she was very happy now.
Anna couldn't bear to tell the truth to this little girl who was crying sadly before, and said vaguely: "Is the promotion examination difficult?"
Natalie didn’t even notice that Anna didn’t answer her question. When she heard Anna’s words, she grabbed Anna’s hand excitedly, as if she had found a companion: "Yes, you think it’s difficult too, right! I’ve taken it seven times and still haven’t passed. I don't think I will ever be able to become a one-star mage in my lifetime!"
As she rambled, her eyes became red again.
Natalie explained her situation without needing Anna to ask further: "My father said, if I can't pass the next examination, he will marry me off…… But I don't want to marry an old man, that old man has seven dead wives!"
Anna thought silently, then you guys are pretty destined, both having dealings with the number seven.
"That's pretty coincidental, I was forced to marry an old man who was about to die, and ran away to here." Anna said. The demon was a few thousand years old; it wasn’t too much to say that he was an old man about to die, was it?
Hearing that someone had it worse off than herself, Natasha instantly gave Anna a sympathetic look. She seemed to be inspired by something, and suddenly said: "I understand, are you saying that I can run away too?"
Anna: “......No, I mean, there are people in this world who are worse than you. What problems can you solve by crying? Didn't you say you’d be married off only if you couldn’t pass the exam? Then just pass it to prove it to your father!”