I’m crunching the nuts and organizing the information in my head. I feel like I’ve accumulated a lot of information in a day, but only puzzle pieces are piling up. And there is no finished picture. I feel like that jigsaw puzzle which is all white.
I crossed my arms and thought about it when Lily called out to me.
“Did you understand anything, Mr. Werner?”
“To be honest, it’s still in bits and pieces.”
He tilted his head in the direction of the war and I gave him a brief history of the two countries of Zelmbeck and Walbach and Finoi. I don’t think he’s interested in war records, but he listens intently.
In order to talk to others, I have to organize the information in my mind, so in that sense, I am sure that it helps me to organize the information.
So this Zerumbek is an ancient kingdom?
“That’s a possibility, but I brought this volume to confirm it.”
For the time being, I would like to confirm what I can find in this book. But there is the biggest problem with this kind of literature survey. The time needed to make a book is a kind of time lag.
For example, there are diaries of the Tokugawa Shogunate written by the same period, and there are official records of the Edo Shogunate written during the Edo period, but the process from the leaning of the Edo Shogunate at the end of the Edo period to its fall is not written during the Edo period.
It is certain that the kingdom of Zelmbek is dead… but whether the ancient kingdom destroyed by the Mad King is the same as Zelmbek or not is a matter of record. I’m sure of it, but are there any records of its destruction?
The Vine Kingdom is only recorded as having emerged from a period of warring factions that followed the fall of the ancient kingdoms. We don’t even know how long that period of power struggle lasted. After the fall of the ancient kingdoms, there’s a lot of confusion. It’s all a mystery.
It’s only natural that it’s different from the world in my previous life, where there was too much information. This world may have more information than the medieval world of my previous life.
“To be honest, I can’t help but feel that I’m missing something. It’s like I’m holding only an arrow and not a bow.
“I see… I don’t really understand…”
Well, it’s not like we’re gonna find out everything we need to know in a day.
“Yes.”
I’m really thankful that we’ve been given the task of dealing with the attack on King’s Landing. That’s a higher priority, but in terms of authority I can only offer advice and suggestions. We’ll just have to take the stance that we’ll cooperate with you if there’s anything we can do.
However, I wonder if there is a facility nearby that maintains the wards, or if it’s not possible to use these wards properly. In the game, the event of the attack on King’s Landing happened even if the wards were in place, so I guess it doesn’t make much sense as it is.
I’ve been reading some books on magic to see if there’s any way to do this, but as it turns out I don’t really know anything about magic.
“Well, I guess I’ll read a while longer.”
“Yes.”
It’s hard to say how long it will be. Clock please. When I’m concentrating on reading a book, I often don’t notice when the sand has completely fallen out of the hourglass.
I open the second book, and Lily seems to be continuing her reading of mythology. She seems to be choosing books with nice illustrations. I’ll ask her to tell me if she notices anything.
Ignore the names of the characters and read through the two volumes. Roughly speaking, at the end of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the lord of Finoi Fortress, who was on the side of the Southern Dynasty, turned to the North with the fortress in hand, and the balance of power collapsed. After that, there were some twists and turns, but Zermunbek united the continent.
About 100 years after the unification, the name “Mitsuiseki Koseki” appears, which seems to be a magic stone. It’s a bit complicated, so I’m going to convert it into a magic stone.
This was invented by a genius in the research facility of the royal city of Zermunbeck in the north, in what I understand is now the middle of the sea, but it seems to have crystallized the power that exists in nature and made it possible to be converted into various kinds of power.
I’ll skip all the technical explanations. In my previous life, I know that solar panels can charge batteries, but it’s not something I can explain technically, too much jargon. Anyway… that kind of magic stone manufacturing technology has been invented. It’s a kind of industrial revolution.
In this world, you’ve made it possible to use nature instead of electricity.
The progress of technology and living environment seems to have been remarkable, but it seems that the northern part of the country became richer, while the occupied southern part did not benefit so much from it. I wonder if it should be called the North-South gap.
And things start to change. The man who wrote this book also wrote critically about it, but it seems that nature has changed as a result of the mass production of the magic stone. The water dried up, crops became harder to grow, and the environment was destroyed.
“… I’d like to say, “What is it with people?”
“Yes?”
“Well, I guess there’s no limit to luxury.”
“You can do as much as you want if you want.”
That’s not what I meant, but maybe that’s part of the truth. But I didn’t realize that different worlds caused the destruction of nature. For a moment I wondered about the theory of evolution in this world.
But what bothers me is how conveniently things are going. Well, when you read history later, it seems as if the people in power run the world in a calculated way. I can understand that it is easier to write historical novels.
Anyway, as you continue reading, your hand stops when you come across a strange notation near the end of the book. It says that the world is going to be improved by pouring in power from the neighboring worlds as a means of restoring the world which is practically all abandoned lands.
In my previous life, I often read novels about summoning heroes from other worlds, but in this world, they summoned only energy, not people. But in this world, they summoned only energy, not people.
The word “update” suddenly came to my mind. I think it is right as a metaphor, not as a fact. Let’s assume that this world brings in technology and knowledge from other worlds whenever a problem arises, and updates them.
And when there’s no mention of kings or rulers summoning heroes, it seems like the gods or the world itself is automatically updating itself. At least that’s my impression, and it makes the most sense. If you replace the word “god” with the word “management”, it makes me want to say that this world is a game world after all.
However, it would be dangerous to jump to a hypothesis with only the information gathered today. I want to organize the information, and there may be some information that is still missing. I will not make a definite conclusion until I finish reading the rest of the article, but the amount of information is a bit too much. That’s enough for today.
I’d better get back to it.
I understand.
I put my books away for what must have been quite some time now, and pull out my magic bag, along with a list of supplies and some papers on stockpiling. These are the documents I’ve been given in advance for the work I’m supposed to be doing today. A government-sanctioned cover story. The press would have a field day with this, but let’s not dwell on it.
I greet him at the guardroom and walk up the long spiral staircase back to the castle, stopping along the way before heading for the office assigned to me. There’s a bathroom in the guardroom, but there’s no bathroom in the library. I have a feeling that the stacks are designed for storage only, not for prolonged browsing. Then, is there another facility somewhere nearby? I don’t want to think about the existence of such a ruin.
Neurath and Schunzel stand up to greet me as I enter my office. They’re basically my bodyguards, and in the morning they go to work with me and Lily at the castle. After that, they go to the castle with Max, Augen, Barkei, and the rest of the Zehrfeldt Knights to do their duties and training, and then come back here to pick me up when they’re done.
Max seems to be giving me a hard time while I’m in the basement stacks, but neither of us seems to be hurt, and Max is pretty good with his hands. As long as he doesn’t turn into a reckless, black-ops boss, he’s certainly better than I’d ever be.
Schünzel presented me with the papers and the letter that were on his desk.
“Herr Werner, the Prime Minister has entrusted me with this…”
All right, I’ll look it over right now.
A letter means it’s either not urgent or he’s too busy to reply. A Prime Minister has a lot of things to do, I can understand that. At any rate, I read through the contents of the letter, and I found myself making a difficult face.
I’ve been going through the documents and it seems my imagination is correct. This is another troublesome job.
Mr. Werner, what is it?
“All I’m asking is that you visit the temple to discuss the dueling trials.”
Is this a new thing?
I understand Neurath’s reaction and Lily’s slight concern. But the contents of this document tell a different story.
“That’s the cover story. The royal family is seriously planning to launch an investigation into the church.”
We all gulped. It’s unprecedented in the history of this country, at least, so it’s not surprising.
“It seems that not only I, but several other nobles associated with the Church have joined the Church for different reasons and will be involved in the investigation.”
Is he going to be okay?
“It’s not like the whole church is against us.”
In fact, the High Septon and High Priestess Reppe seem quite satisfied with the raid. Perhaps, but it’s clear that the royal family’s position and the reputation of the aristocracy must be taken into consideration.
On the other hand, a major investigation would have given rise to a different kind of publicity: that the relationship between the royal family and the Church had deteriorated. So they’ve decided to go this roundabout way. Maybe they accepted the Church’s point of view.
“The High Septon’s response is that he has no choice but to let the pus drain out of him.”
“I see.”
I think they’re just trying to get rid of the troublesome ones. I think it might be a part of the faction war, but I don’t really care about that.
It probably took this long because of the back and forth between Finoi and King’s Landing between the royal family and the High Priestess. Maybe there were some conditions or rights or something that went on behind the scenes, but it makes me sick to my stomach to think about it so I won’t.
“It’s not today or tomorrow, but until then, please don’t say anything.”
“Ha.”
I understand.
I’ll just concentrate on my own work until the day of the event.
