“Good morning, Professor.”
The two apprentices walked into Siles’s office together.
“Good morning.” Siles gestured for them to sit on the sofa, then handed them a booklist. “The second booklist. There are seven weeks left in the semester.”
Jules took it, looking down at it nervously.
Dorothea appeared much more relaxed. After a quick glance, she boldly asked, “Professor, are we finalizing our paper topics today?”
Siles nodded. “Yes. But first, let’s discuss the final few questions from the first booklist.”
Jules and Dorothea both nodded. Half of the two-hour block was spent in this discussion. By nearly eleven o’clock, Siles steered the topic toward their papers.
Dorothea was more proactive, so Siles started with her paper. He asked, “Do you have any thoughts of your own?”
“I have already considered the questions you posed previously,” Dorothea said. “I still want to research the changes in the stylistic rules of Atkinia’s hymns.
“But I want to focus on a specific period and a specific nation. I don’t want to use Atkinia’s fall as the sole element and subject of research; I also want to explore changes in society, economy, culture, and customs.
“These are all things that can be felt through the changes in the stylistic rules of the hymns—the changes of the era.”
Siles nodded. “This might require collecting a lot of material.”
To some extent, Dorothea’s paper was somewhat similar to Siles’s paper on wandering bards. They both wanted to research a specific group within the context of a specific historical era.
From this perspective, Dorothea could be said to have perfectly inherited Siles’s philosophy.
“I know, Professor,” Dorothea said confidently. “I can do it.”
Siles nodded, not commenting further on her confidence. He knew Dorothea was a Revelator, and judging by the continuous flow of her grandfather’s ideas she brought back, she likely came from a rigid, long-standing family.
Still, Siles offered, “If you need anything, you can come to me.”
Dorothea said earnestly, “I will.”
Next was Jules. Jules was a diligent, hardworking student, rigid and overly introverted. But Siles appreciated the earnest, stubborn nature he possessed.
Jules said, “I plan to research and compare the different ways the topic of ‘child education’ evolved in literature before and after the appearance of Antinam.”
“Education?” Siles was slightly taken aback.
“Yes.” Jules gave a somewhat shy and nervous smile. “Perhaps you don’t know, but I’m not a native of Lamifa City. I come from Maltz, a city in the Duchy of Konst near the Ashless Lands.
“Maltz isn’t as prosperous as Lamifa City, but we also enjoy good educational resources. And according to some older folks, during the Era of Silence, we never enjoyed such a good educational environment and atmosphere.
“My parents, and other parents of the Era of Mist, proactively send their children to school to receive an education; but further back, that wasn’t the case.”
Dorothea, not knowing what exactly came to mind, wore a gloomy expression and interjected, “Yes. You should be able to tell that I come from an ancient noble family.
“In my family, up until a century or two ago, traditions of tutors and internal education were still maintained, especially for women. If it weren’t for my grandfather being open-minded…
“Professor, you might feel from your indirect communication with my grandfather that he’s a rigid, mean old man, but he’s open-minded enough within our family, at least willing to let me study at Lamifa University.
“If it weren’t for him, I might have just become a pawn for a political marriage, marrying some old noble or fool I didn’t know, spending my life chatting with other noblewomen about cosmetics, gardens, servants, and lovers, never able to leave that circle.”
The young Dorothea Grant wore an indignant expression.
Jules’s words had suddenly hooked the resentment in her heart. Most likely, something had happened recently to make her emotions erupt so instantly.
Jules looked at her, at a loss for what to do.
Siles said, “Now you have escaped such a fate.”
Color slowly returned to Dorothea’s pale face. After a moment, she said stiffly, “Sorry.” Then she softened, “I understand what you mean. I’m very grateful to you. And to you, Jules.”
Jules’s face flushed instantly. He stammered, “Uh, uh… in the future, you will… you will live the life you want. I believe it.”
Dorothea managed a strained smile.
After a moment, Jules continued, “And one of the books in the first booklist you gave us, Professor, gave me tremendous inspiration.”
Siles thought for a moment and said, “From Home Libraries to Public Libraries?”
That was actually a history book detailing the changes in libraries from the Era of Silence to the Era of Mist. It appeared on Jules’s list because the Church of the Past, which worshipped Antinam, was precisely the strong proponent of urban public libraries.
Siles secretly believed that the Church of the Past did this to move ancient books—which might carry Old God pollution or other dangers—from private family collections into public city libraries, allowing the Church to screen out some risks.
Objectively, however, the Church of the Past did promote this, and Antinam clearly supported it. This, to a certain extent, developed the public’s capacity for reading, knowledge, and education. It was the simplest form of public basic education.
This was a way to understand Antinam’s attitude toward books, especially literature, from a lateral perspective. However, Siles hadn’t expected Jules to associate this book with issues of family and child education.
Siles praised the topic and asked, “It seems you’ve already found specific works?”
Since he wanted to compare the development of concepts from the Era of Silence to the Era of Mist, he definitely needed to connect the threads using specific works, just as Siles hoped to select a specific poet among the wandering bards.
Jules nodded eagerly and named the three books he had chosen. After listening, Siles nodded and said, “They are all highly renowned novels, but no one has ever studied them from this angle before.”
He praised both apprentices’ chosen topics and breathed a sigh of relief. If they hadn’t been able to settle on a topic themselves, Siles would have had to guide them personally.
Fortunately, while his two apprentices seemed odd and unruly, they were actually quite capable.
Siles changed the subject, “Continue reading the booklist and organizing the structure of your papers. If you have any questions, contact me. You both know my mailing address.
“Also, as my teaching assistants, you have some tasks to handle in the coming period.”
Jules and Dorothea listened intently.
Although they initially thought the TA role would be a hassle, they now realized it was likely a good opportunity to stay on at the university. Jules went without saying, but even Dorothea thought teaching at the university would be a good job.
Moreover, the title of university professor was respectable enough to answer to her family.
Siles said, “First, for the specialized elective course in the basic education program, I previously assigned a class assignment. It should be submitted this Friday, and you’ll need to grade them then. I’ll bring them to you tomorrow afternoon.”
Siles considered for a moment, then added, “Grade strictly. Don’t go easy on them.”
Jules earnestly agreed, but Dorothea, having also gone through Lamifa University’s basic education, couldn’t help but glance at Siles, thinking: It’s just an assignment for an elective course… you can’t go even a little bit easy on them?
Dorothea didn’t know whether to sympathize with the students in Siles’s class or worry about whether her own paper would meet his standards.
“As for the other matter,” Siles continued, unaware of his apprentice’s thoughts, “the club activity is this Friday afternoon. You should have already received the notice.”
Dorothea and Jules nodded simultaneously.
Siles said, “The school provided club funding. I’ll give you a portion. Every Friday afternoon, buy some tea, drinks, snacks, and the like to bring over. There are 15 students in total.”
Saying this, he took a hundred-coin note from his drawer and handed it to them. Dorothea looked at Jules, and Jules said, “You hold onto it.”
Siles said, “I will hold six club activities this semester. Manage this hundred-coin note as you see fit. If there’s money left over, you don’t need to return it to me.”
Siles spoke rather tactfully. He actually wanted to say, “If you don’t use it all, keep it for yourselves,” but felt saying it so directly wouldn’t be appropriate, so he phrased it that way instead.
However, Dorothea didn’t look like someone strapped for cash, and while Jules’s family background might be more ordinary, he now received a monthly stipend as Siles’s TA, so he wouldn’t be destitute either.
Having said this, Siles thought for a moment and said, “That’s all. Do you have anything else you want to ask?”
“Professor, what exactly will your club activity be?” Dorothea immediately asked with curiosity.
Siles smiled faintly and said, “You’ll know tomorrow. Alright, go eat; you must be hungry.”
Siles’s answer obviously didn’t solve the mystery, but he was determined to leave it for Friday, and Dorothea had no choice but to accept it.
Dorothea mumbled, “You’re really suited to keeping secrets.”
The speaker had no intent, but the listener took it to heart. Dorothea’s words immediately reminded Siles of his identity as the Keeper. After the two apprentices left, Siles smoothed his expression and looked down coldly at his right hand.
That die had melted into his right hand and hadn’t appeared since, except during forced checks for the RPG characters, when it would appear before him again in that time-stopped space.
At all other times, he couldn’t see the die at all, let alone communicate with it.
This made Siles slightly uneasy and irritated.
Ultimately, he could only sigh and put the matter aside for now. After all, he had many other things to handle.
In the afternoon, after the general elective course ended, Siles stopped Kellogg.
“Professor.” Kellogg twirled her braid around her finger. “Yes?”
Kellogg possessed an exotic aura that Siles found quite fascinating. He said, “Remember the travelogue I told you about last week? I’ve already contacted Emmanuel, and he’s willing to translate it for me.”
“That’s wonderful!” Kellogg didn’t hide her joy, smiling foolishly.
Siles also smiled faintly, then changed the subject: “Kellogg, I recall your major is the history of the Era of Shadows?”
“Yes, Professor.” Kellogg nodded emphatically.
Siles said, “I said before that if you needed anything, you could ask me for help. But this time, I have to ask you for help again. I want to ask: are there any records of gods falling during the Era of Shadows?”
“Gods… falling?” Kellogg was instantly stunned.
Siles looked at her, hesitated for a moment, and said, “There aren’t?”
Kellogg shook her head and said, “Professor, the history of the Era of Shadows is not very complete, many… materials are lost. So, most of the time, we try our best to restore those materials. And then, make history connect as a whole.”
Siles nodded. “I understand. First, determine how the world changed during the Era of Shadows.”
“Right,” Kellogg said. “So… I can’t answer your question. Because the history of the Era of Shadows is… fractured, fragmented. At least in our known history, there are no records of gods falling.
“But, some gods… during the Era of Shadows, already… had no news. So, I’m not that, certain.”
Siles listened thoughtfully.
He knew the history of the Era of Shadows was incomplete, that humanity had lost much information about that era and epoch, but he hadn’t realized that even now, people still knew so little about those millennium-plus years, to the point of having historical blind spots.
Siles then said, “In that case, could you recommend some books regarding the gods of the Era of Shadows?”
“Of course! Professor, let’s go to the library together,” Kellogg said. “I need to check my borrowing records. I’ve read one before, but I can’t recall the exact title right now.”
Siles nodded, packed up his things, and walked to the library with Kellogg.
He noticed a piece of information he hadn’t known before: “Borrowing records?”
“Yes, Mrs. Longman keeps all borrowing records for professors and students,” Kellogg explained. “Of course, only the person themselves can view them, that’s what Mrs. Longman said.”
Siles grew thoughtful. He wondered, did the borrowing records of all professors and students exist?
Then, could he investigate what books Professor Cabel had borrowed from the library?
He was still very uneasy about the necklace left in the office. He had once asked Dominic of the Church of the Past if they could send an investigator to deal with it.
Unfortunately, the necklace was currently completely normal, having never shown any “activity.” In other words, to them, it was just an ordinary necklace, and they couldn’t use their usual methods to handle it.
But even if the necklace looked normal, Siles couldn’t possibly touch it. He could only set it aside for now, not touching it.
Leaving it alone for a short while was fine, but he couldn’t keep this thing in his office forever. If he could find out exactly where Professor Cabel got this necklace, that would be great.
Previously, he hadn’t known where to start, because when Professor Cabel left, he had cleaned out his belongings too thoroughly. Siles had already organized and read through the pile of papers in the office, finding no useful information.
…The only useful thing in that pile of documents was the manuscript Siles had accidentally pulled out.
But, if Professor Cabel truly had borrowing records at the library, it would be a great help and progress for Siles’s investigation into what he had been researching.
Furthermore, Siles had never thought the library would keep borrowing records. By analogy, perhaps Cabel had also overlooked this, leaving clues and traces.
Siles silently made up his mind.
They soon arrived at the library. Kellogg asked Mrs. Longman for a thick ledger, found her name in it, and flipped through it sequentially.
Before long, she said, “Found it! Professor, the book’s name is Gods and Believers in the Shadows. A very thin little book.”
Hearing it was a thin little book, Siles had mentally prepared himself. Yet when he actually got the book, he couldn’t help but be stunned, because it was truly far too thin.
It was probably only a hundred pages or so in total, including illustrations and the preface. It felt more like bedtime reading than a serious academic work.
Kellogg looked a bit ashamed and said, “Sorry, Professor. This is the only one I could think of.”
“It’s nothing, Kellogg, you’ve already been a great help,” Siles said.
Kellogg shook her head, still seeming to wrestle with the matter. She said earnestly, “I will ask my professor for you, to see if there are any other materials. But they might all be papers.”
“That would be wonderful.” Siles carefully chose his tone. “Kellogg, I am very grateful for your help.”
He wasn’t someone who was particularly good at expressing emotions like being moved or grateful; he knew this about himself, so he simply thanked this foreign student in a sincere tone.
Kellogg was taken aback for a moment, then smiled foolishly: “Thank you, Professor. I am also very… grateful to you.”
After Kellogg left, Siles thought for a moment, then said to Mrs. Longman, “I’d like to ask, do you have Professor Cabel’s past borrowing records here?”
“Professor Cabel?” Mrs. Longman asked, puzzled. “Why would you want his borrowing records?”
Siles presented his prepared excuse: “You might not know… Professor Cabel has gone missing. I am currently using his office.
“I found some manuscripts in the office, some with very interesting topics. I suspect they might be related to Professor Cabel’s disappearance, so I wanted to see if I could find any clues in his borrowing records.”
These statements were all true, though they wouldn’t necessarily connect to the borrowing records. After all, Siles believed the books corresponding to Professor Cabel’s manuscripts could absolutely not be found in the university library’s collection.
But this reason was enough to convince Mrs. Longman.
Mrs. Longman’s expression changed, and she muttered, “I knew it… that former professor wasn’t a very decent person.”
Siles paused slightly. “How so?”
Mrs. Longman said, “This might be my prejudice, but do you think a librarian could like someone who always fails to return books on time? Not to mention, the books Professor Cabel returned were always a bit dirty.”
Delaying book returns, dirty books. Siles pondered these two clues in his mind.
As he was thinking, Mrs. Longman had already found Professor Cabel’s page in the thick borrowing ledger and handed it to Siles.
She said, “Take it. You’ll have to return it later.”
Siles thanked her, then asked, “Mrs. Longman, do you know where I can hire a Scribe?”
“Right here at the school. In the small room on the side of the library, there’s a Scribe inside. But his rates might be a bit high,” Mrs. Longman said. “If you want cheaper ones, you’ll have to go outside and look for publishers.”
Siles nodded in understanding and bid Mrs. Longman goodbye.
In the end, to save trouble, he just had the school library’s Scribe do the copying. He handed the ten translation drafts and the first half of his own novel manuscript to the Scribe.
The Scribe, with a stiff facial expression and clumsy eyes, flipped through them, confirmed the quantity and word count, and finally said, “10 Duke Coins. You can pick it up tomorrow afternoon.”
…As expected, a bit expensive. But Siles paid anyway, not haggling.
With this problem solved, Siles breathed a sigh of relief. He ate at the cafeteria, then returned to his dorm, washed up, did laundry, and tidied his room. He noticed that the books and materials in his study were piling up, and the number of books he hadn’t finished reading was growing.
He couldn’t help but sigh.
The two books he got from the collector Calverley, the small book he just borrowed from the library, and Professor Cabel’s borrowing records. Just these items were enough for him to research for a long time.
Siles thought for a moment and ultimately decided to read Gods and Believers in the Shadows first. Primarily because it was light and short enough, and also what Siles was most curious about at the moment.
It was only a hundred pages or so. Siles finished flipping through it all before eight o’clock in the evening.
He pondered, wondering if the contents of this book were true or false.
Just as the vast majority of people believed, the Era of Divine Birth, the Era of Faith, and the Era of Empires were the three eras where gods and humans developed together, and they were also the times when the two-way relationship of gods protecting humans and humans believing in gods was at its most stable.
But when it came to the Era of Shadows, things suddenly changed.
Just like the name “Era of Shadows”, it was as if a shadow had suddenly covered the entire world. Gods and humans – no one was spared.
This book was somewhat similar to The Ghosts of Lamifa City that Siles had read recently.
Siles had bought The Ghosts of Lamifa City at the trade fair because of that rumor in the West City of unknown origin. Over the past half month, he had read through it intermittently.
The content of the book had disappointed him slightly, as it contained too much rumor, conjecture, and fabrication; it read more like a fantasy novel than urban legends.
Of course, from the perspective of a fantasy horror novel, the book’s content was actually quite interesting.
And the Gods and Believers in the Shadows Siles now held also felt more like dime-store literature.
It summarized the situation of gods and believers during the Era of Shadows. This was what made Siles the most dissatisfied, because some gods who vanished without a trace during the Era of Shadows were given wildly fabricated experiences in this book.
For example, regarding Ligadia, the author wrote: “As for Ligadia, this God of Leaving Home and Journeys, perhaps intending to personally practice His divine portfolio, truly embarked on a journey.”
Siles: “…”
Isn’t that a bit too casual a fabrication?
He specifically flipped to the cover to check the author’s name: Jan Calder. He memorized this name, classifying him as a giant of dime-store literature.
The entire book was filled with this atmosphere of wild fabrication and nonsense—no research, no basis, no citations, far removed from genuine historical monographs, not even comparing to seemingly serious novels.
Therefore, the more Siles read, the lighter his mood became, eventually even laughing out loud at some of the content.
This mood came to a screeching halt when he read the final sentence of the book.
“…This was the situation of the gods during the Era of Shadows, strictly for the reader’s amusement. As for the later god, I have no way to begin writing.”
The later god? What later god?
Siles stared in shock at this final sentence, countless thoughts arising in his mind.
Of course, the simplest interpretation was: the gods after the Era of Shadows. That is, the deeds of the gods during the Era of Silence. This was naturally one way to understand it, and it corresponded with the preceding text.
But… “the later god”?
This wording was very wrong. If it truly referred to the period after the Era of Shadows, meaning “the situation of the later gods,” why not be clear and say it meant the gods of the Era of Silence or even the Era of Mist?
The Old Gods have all fallen, what is there to have “no way to begin writing” about?
Siles flipped to the cover and the inner flaps again, looking for an author bio—but there was nothing. Jan Calder was like a ghost wandering through history; no birth year, no experiences, no photos, not a single bit of related information.
Siles refocused his gaze on that final sentence.
“The later god.”
Does this refer to Antinam? he thought.
After those Old Gods, the “later god” could only be Antinam, who appeared in the Era of Mist.
But if it was Antinam, why not mention His name directly? Antinam was one of the most tolerant gods, as could be seen from the Church of the Past’s conduct.
To be so taboo as to call Him “the later god”—Siles couldn’t understand it at all.
Unless…
Siles thought, unless it wasn’t Antinam.
This possibility hit Siles with a profound, sudden unease.
He knew the vast majority of people, when faced with these words, would make the first two associations. But he had happened to think of a third possibility.
The later god… the later god…
Later. God. He separated the words in his mind. Perhaps this was the instinct of a novelist, a subtle sensitivity to phrasing. The later god.
He abruptly thought of the manuscript Professor Cabel had left behind.
In that manuscript, Professor Cabel had seemingly copied down some phrases. One of them mentioned something that had always remained silent in the darkness.
…The later god?
Siles took a deep breath and jotted down these words in his notebook.
He closed the book, feeling for a moment that his earlier lighthearted, even amused mood was utterly ridiculous.
…Forget it. Perhaps this author is just playing a joke on the readers. Perhaps it does refer to Antinam, or perhaps it refers to the gods of the Era of Silence.
Siles tried to reason with himself. He also thought, not to mention, the die hadn’t given any prompts.
[Spirituality +1. Knowledge +3.]
Siles: “…”
He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling his heart fill with an indescribable emotion.
Spirituality… fine, let it rise. The main thing was that Knowledge had actually jumped three points in one go right at this moment. This was truly a bit unbelievable. “The later god.” Were these words that important?
Previously, when Grenfield told him information related to the Blessed Ones, his Knowledge attribute had also only increased by three points. Were these words enough to be compared to that complex information?
But… the die indicating such a massive increase in Knowledge seemed to, to some extent, verify Siles’s conjecture.
The later god. That referred to…
Siles took a deep breath and stopped thinking so much. He felt his attitude toward this world had become even more cautious. Or rather, he felt the secrets of this world were seemingly not that simple.
Holding this small book, he pondered.
If that final sentence was proven to have hidden depths, then was the seemingly nonsensical content before it also a mix of truth and falsehood? Or even… all true?
No, it couldn’t all be true. Siles almost subconsciously denied this conjecture.
For instance, the book claimed that Thaddeus and Luthmy had a child, and Personari harbored resentment over it and eventually took revenge on Them… What is this?! Siles absolutely could not believe such hearsay gossip.
And besides, could gods have offspring? Siles had never heard such rumors, making him even more skeptical.
Setting that aside, the claim that Luthmy had to vanish during the Era of Shadows because giving birth caused Her power to drain… actually… held a sliver of credibility.
Siles couldn’t help but sigh.
He shook his head and ultimately shelved the book. He might have benefited greatly from those few words, but he still couldn’t bring himself to believe the slightly exaggerated and unbelievable claims.
If I really must believe some of these claims… Siles pondered for a moment, then thought, if Jan Calder was truly someone who knew many secrets, then these exaggerated and comical stories were highly likely also a disguise, a whitewash.
Like taking cruel, dark fairy tales and adapting them into bedtime stories for children. Though related, they were actually completely different things.
With this in mind, he still recorded some of the claims in his notebook.
For example, Ligadia having no news during the Era of Shadows because He went traveling; Thaddeus and Luthmy having a child; Personari breaking ties with Them; Amois becoming obsessed with battle and forgetting to answer His believers…
Like Akamara oversleeping; Elco getting alcohol poisoning; Timiafa and Brancani having a meal together; Menavaca actually having a secret crush on Trisly…
With every line he wrote, Siles felt his bottom line being challenged. By the end, when he had written everything down, he simply turned the page.
It was already late into the night. Siles checked the time, thought for a moment, and finally decided to slowly adjust his biological clock.
The Deep Sea Dream arrived once every 21 days. And as long as he entered that dream, he would definitely wake up at 4:00 AM the next day.
Siles couldn’t possibly wake up at 4:00 AM every day, but he could slightly advance his usual wake-up time, so that when the Deep Sea Dream came, his body wouldn’t be too unaccustomed to it.
The former solitary novelist from Earth knew very well that to maintain good health, it was best to sleep early and wake up early, keeping a good, stable routine, trying not to break it.
For instance, the few times before, waking up at 4:00 AM consecutively made his body feel very unaccustomed. Of course, this body was young and strong; the fatigue was very slight, almost negligible.
But Siles still felt a subtle lethargy.
Usually, Siles woke up between 7:00 and 8:00 AM, the exact time depending entirely on when his biological clock woke him. Now, Siles decided to wake up between 6:00 and 7:00 AM from now on. Ideally, stabilizing at 6:00 AM.
…That was a time when you wouldn’t even see the sunrise in winter.
So, that night, Siles went to sleep at 10:00 PM. Whether it was because he had come into contact with Akamara’s power, he felt that almost as soon as he lay down, he fell asleep immediately, and the quality of his sleep was excellent.
Friday morning, 6:00 AM, he woke up right on time as he intended.
Siles paused for a moment, finally having to admit that Akamara’s power, at least when it came to sleeping, was extremely pleasant.
Friday morning, Siles had a specialized elective class. He had previously assigned classwork, which was to be collected during this session. The students’ expressions looked as if they’d rather be romantically involved with their workbooks for a semester.
But Siles was unmoved. After collecting the assignments, he began teaching and dismissed the class exactly on time.
This specialized elective course would last for two semesters, primarily covering the literature of the Era of Silence and its three representative figures. Siles planned to cover the first two in the first semester.
The final one, Conan Fremont, as well as the summary for the entire course, Siles planned to leave for the second semester.
After class ended, 1:00 PM was Siles’s club activity time. The schedule was still rather tight. Siles ate at the cafeteria, then went near the library to pick up the completed manuscript from the Scribe, and then headed straight to the activity room on the first floor of the main castle.
The activity room was uniformly assigned by the school, and Siles’s club activities would be permanently located here moving forward.
When he arrived, several people were already seated in the activity room. Jules and Dorothea were distributing some drinks and snacks. Upon seeing Siles, they proactively came over to greet him. The others also called out “Professor” one after another.
Siles nodded and handed the collected elective course assignments to his two apprentices—he noticed that a few students from the elective course, such as Angela Clayton, were staring nervously at the workbooks in his hands.
This amused Siles slightly.
It was still early, with about twenty minutes left before the club began. He saw several familiar faces. Among these students, some knew each other, while others were complete strangers; they conversed and slowly grew acquainted.
As 1:00 PM approached, all fifteen students had arrived. Siles checked the time and decided to begin this club activity.
It started with self-introductions, both his and the students’. Siles mentioned that he would prioritize selecting his future apprentices from within the club; this was an unspoken rule of professor clubs.
Afterward, Siles also asked the students what they hoped to gain from the club. Although he had already arranged six different themes, he still wanted feedback from the students.
After gathering some information, Siles officially began this club activity: Trains, Railways, and Travelogues.
There was no such term as a “road trip” in this world, but there were countless travelogues, travel diaries, and similar literary works. This was inextricable from this world’s history of once being shrouded in fog.
Because it was once covered by fog, people were always curious about what had happened on those fog-shrouded lands, and what would happen if someone traveled there.
Therefore, non-fiction travelogues were always very popular in bookstores.
As for trains and railways, these were actually modes of transportation that had only gradually become popular in recent decades. And this was also related to the development of the Ashless Lands.
With the dissipation of the fog and the revelation of the Withered Wasteland, connections between different countries gradually stabilized. To maintain trade connections and stable transportation of goods, faster, more efficient modes of transportation had to be put on the agenda.
Trains initially appeared to transport goods; at the very beginning, they even used human or animal power to pull cars on specific tracks. As transport capacity increased, passenger transport gradually made it onto the agenda.
Siles had looked into the development of railway transportation in this world. Similar to Earth, this world had also experienced a process of productive force development akin to an industrial revolution.
He even suspected that during the Era off Silence, the non-mystical side of this world had already grown infinitely close to the state of Earth just prior to the advent of the internet.
But the appearance of the fog and the fall of the gods brought everything to an abrupt halt.
The discovery of coal had indeed made railway transportation in this world faster; however, it hadn’t fundamentally changed how this world used energy. This world could boil water, but it lacked a developed industrial system and truly industrialized nations.
The soul from Earth could feel this world’s stagnation in a certain sense, as that was the path his civilization had already walked.
However, he had no intention of actually interfering and changing how this world operated.
He merely scratched the surface, discussing the Ashless Lands and the railway transportation networks between and within various countries during his club. Some students who had ridden trains shared their experiences with shining eyes, drawing envious looks from the others.
In this era, being able to leave one’s hometown, experience unique modes of transportation, and see the scenery of different regions was already a very rare thing.
Thus, Kellogg, from the Duchy of Kansas, quickly became popular among the club’s students. The students from the Duchy of Konst asked about the customs and practices abroad, curious about that unfamiliar, distant nation.
Siles was happy to see this, dedicating a portion of the club time to the students’ free discussion and chatting. This was meant to be a relaxing, leisurely afternoon anyway.
In the warm autumn sun, they conversed and learned about each other’s lives.
This pleasant atmosphere even infected Siles, relaxing his mood considerably. He realized his nerves had been overly tense and anxious for a very long time.
He had packed his schedule full of various things, but people were not machines after all.
Therefore, for this Friday afternoon and evening, Siles chose to let himself forget those troublesome matters. Keeper, Revelator, Ashless Lands, mist, secrets, history… none of it mattered.
He enjoyed a night of delightfully peaceful sleep. Then, upon arriving at Room 390 of the History Society on Saturday morning, he felt his lighthearted mood vanish in an instant.
Because his office in the Research Department had clearly been broken into.
