The Curse on Eris

Chapter 17: Library

Soon they were walking through the gate towards the castle grounds. On the left of the castle, long fields with training equipment were used by tens of soldiers. Further down, we're stables and then barracks.
It was a rather contrasting image to the elegance and graces of the castle itself; hence Nalsy looked around with curiosity. Some men were running laps around the grounds. Others were horse riding or fencing. Then few men were sharpening the weapons and tidying the equipment.
"I didn't realise that the library was around here."
"The biggest library here is the one with the royal collection," Edmund explained quickly.
"Sir Gray!" A man in a particularly fancy uniform started walking up towards them.
"Yes?" Edmund turned around with a smile.
"We received a report from our North base."
"I see." Edmund thought for a moment and then turned towards Nalsy. "Is it okay if I walk you to the library, and whilst you pick the books for yourself, I'll have a look at the reports?"
"Yeah, sure," Nalsy said unbothered.
"I will be back in a moment," Edmund instructed the man who patiently waited now in place.

Edmund led Nalsy through the corridor that screamed of grandeur and riches, with paintings, sculptures, and crystal chandeliers.
As soon as they've stepped into the library, Nalsy was in absolute awe. The ceilings were so high, with shelves going all the way up, filled with thousands of books.
Edmund was quick to disappear, but Nalsy didn't mind. She was already too focused on the stunning old bindings of the books.
"May I help you?" A kind-looking lady walked from behind the shelf towards Nalsy. Her curly black hair was tidily put in a bun, and her glasses rested solely on the bridge of her nose.
"I was just browsing," Nalsy replied quickly. "I was hoping to find some books to read."
"This is obviously the right place for you." The woman chuckled, and her belly jiggled along with her laugh. "What are the books that you're interested in?"
"I am not too sure. I've read several kinds recently." Nalsy took out the books that she read. "Which reminds me that I should return them."
"Let's see." The woman keenly picked up the books and scanned them through. "Earthian, I see. There are few more books you might be interested in, but our Earthian collection isn't that extensive."
"Earthian?"
"Books that are written in the Latin script." The woman explained as she walked through the rows of shelves toward her desk.
"Oh, I did not realise that you have so many books in other scripts," Nalsy said, looking at the lettering on the binding, which she still couldn't place.
"Here, we have a few books." The woman picked up a few card records, and soon she walked towards the shelves. "Section A, Angels and Demons." The woman passed Nalsy a book at which Nalsy furrowed her brows.
"Is that a section for fiction?"
"I'm not sure what you mean." The woman replied with a quizzical look on her face matching her words.
"Is section A for fictional books?"
"No, section A is for books with the title starting with A."
"You cannot be serious?!" Nalsy said in disbelief. "Are you saying that all of those books are organised in alphabetical order?"
"Well, yes. What other way should they be organised?"
"Dewey Decimal Classification? The most obvious library classification system?"
"I am unsure of what you are talking about."
"You don't know Dewey Decimal Classification?!" Nalsy still couldn't believe what she heard. "If someone comes to you and asks for a cookbook, let's say, how do you find it?"
"I try to remember the names of the cookbooks so I can show them the location. If not, I run through the catalogue name by name to find something that sounds appropriate."
"That's so inefficient! Dewey Decimal System allows the books to be organised by their theme, and each theme has a number. So let's say that you have an art book. It would fit within numbers 700 and 799, which are usually assigned to the arts, and you can further break it down to the kind of arts to decide on the exact number for the book."
"I'm not sure whether I follow."
"If you will allow me, I can explain it further. I do not mean any offence, but this system can be beneficial, and you don't have to memorise thousands of book titles."
"That would be quite a thing then. I'm happy to listen." The woman smiled at Nalsy encouragingly, which made Nalsy even more eager. They've returned to the librarian's desk, where Nalsy continued her explanation to the best of her abilities, and the woman nodded eagerly.