Mingtian couldn’t stop the smile that rose to his face. “Hey! What’s so funny?” Of course, that just made Mingtian snicker harder— and after a moment, Janus joined in too. “I take it you’re having a good day?”
“Now that I’m away from the academy? Certainly.”
“Yeah…” Janus grinned wryly. “I can see the appeal. Lexi always complains about Yuxan whenever she has a moment free. I can’t imagine what it’s like to put up with the man on a regular basis— much less have him as your superior.”
He shrugged. “It’s not as bad as it seems. As for the moment, he wants to ingratiate himself to me. I’m valuable to him, and he knows it— and while our relationship is… tense, he knows better than to bite the hand that feeds him.”
“Formations?”
“I imagine me teaching there is rather a bit of a feather in his cap, in a lot of ways. I wouldn’t want to overestimate my own expertise—” he really had to try, to keep not from smirking as he said that— “but I would imagine that I’m pretty decent, at least, when it comes to formations studies. He doesn’t want to lose that.”
“You don’t want to teach there?”
He sighed, stretching a bit, the last remnant soreness from sorting the books fading away. “Not particularly. I have… views, when it comes to the proper course of teaching. Information— especially formations information— should be passed from master to student. It is a sacred duty of the master to teach their disciple to the best of their ability, and the sacred duty of the disciple to continue the work of their masters.”
“Sacred?” Janus chuckled. “I didn’t take you as the type.”
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“Perhaps sacred is the wrong term for it, here? I don’t entirely know what you would use to describe it, but… it is an honor and a burden, to be the disciple of a formations master.”
“What about Lily, then? You seem to like teaching her a lot.”
“That…” he shook his head, scowling. “That’s a different thing entirely. She’s a hard-working, incredibly talented young woman disadvantaged by the circumstances she grew up in. Providing her a little aid is entirely different from being coerced to teach formations to strangers.”
“A little?” Janus snickered— then wilted under the glare Mingtian sent his way. “Fine, fine, it is different, just…” he opened his mouth to say something, then just sighed and looked away, awkwardly. Very, very awkwardly… “anyways. We should get back to work. These books aren’t going to place themselves on the shelves!” He shot him a weak smile, and Mingtian just snorted, nodding. “Great, I’ll take the second floor, you work on the first?”
“And deal with the students more?”
“Yup.”
Mingtian shook his head amusedly. “You’re incorrigible.” He was already taking the cart for the first floor. “This should be the last of it for today… though, keep a look out for those copies of Ulan’s Introductory Biology II, I know there’s some students that really need to look at those.”
“I’ll tell Lexi to consider putting them up with the other textbooks. A few more copies in the non-checkout section would do wonders…” and he left, and Mingtian once more stood there, in silence— alone, but for the comforting aura of all the librarians of years gone past. Of those who had come before him, and those who compared to him, were such small existences…
He sighed, and got back to work, and tried to put Janus’s thoughts out of his mind.
He was almost even successful.
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