Siles put all these troublesome matters aside for the time being.
He chatted with Lorenzo for a few sentences, then returned to his room to tidy up his closet and small study. The bathroom here was much larger than the one at 13 Milford Street and had both a shower and a bathtub, which greatly relieved the Earthling.
He was still used to showering while standing under the showerhead.
While organizing his room, Siles thought that this world, in many ways, especially in terms of life, was actually very close to Earth. For example, the sewage system here was very developed, as was the hot water supply.
However, in many other areas, especially cutting-edge technologies—such as the transportation system and weapons system (think of Knight Commander Bunyan’s armor)—it seemed exceptionally backward.
Siles couldn’t help but wonder, could it be that the descent of the Mist caused a regression in the technology of this world?
This might require researching information related to the Sardin Empire.
…Wait, doesn’t he have a roommate majoring in archaeology?
For dinner that day, Siles went to the cafeteria with Lorenzo.
As soon as the two appeared in the cafeteria, they attracted the attention of many students. Some students whispered, seemingly having already learned of Siles’s identity—yes, the strange name Siles Noel appeared on the schedules some students received.
However, neither Siles nor Lorenzo cared about the students’ reactions.
“The Sardin Empire?” Lorenzo asked slightly puzzled, “Why do you want to know about this?”
Siles came up with a reason: “For this year’s academic requirements, I plan to write about literature related to the Sardin Empire, so I want to know some information about it.”
“I see.” Lorenzo thought for a moment, casually named a few academic books related to the Sardin Empire, and then said, “The Sardin Empire is quite a marvelous country.”
“Marvelous?”
“That country, if what the historical records say is true, might have been much more advanced than our Duchy of Constance. It’s said they already had transportation tools capable of flying in the sky, while we’re still stuck in the carriage stage.”
Siles was slightly surprised and couldn’t help but ask, “So, after the Silence Era, our technology regressed?”
Lorenzo tilted his head, carefully pondered the question, and then said, “That’s a hard question to answer because the Mist cut off our channels of communication with other countries. Until now, we still haven’t been able to establish contact with many countries that should exist in theory.
“We also don’t know what stage their civilization is at.”
Siles nodded thoughtfully.
Lorenzo spoke with a hint of boredom in his tone: “Perhaps that’s also why the Grand Duke wants to develop the Withered Moor. With the Mist slowly receding now, the first country to seize the Ashless Lands will always gain more advantages.”
Siles said, “That is indeed a very practical reason.”
“—Benefits. That’s what I mean.” Lorenzo said this, looked at Siles thoughtfully, and then laughed, “You are the first person to agree with me so much.”
Siles smiled slightly.
He thought, a strategic buffer zone. Those vast wilderness areas… could become a great help to the Duchy of Constance.
However, Siles did not intend to voice these thoughts.
Lorenzo steered the topic back to the Sardin Empire: “However, many materials from the Shadow Era and the Silence Era are still incomplete. I really hope a ruin pops up now for us to verify and study.
“People prefer to study the Era of God’s Birth and the Empire Era. Who knows how many secrets the Shadow Era and the Silence Era conceal.”
Many, many. Siles thought to himself.
“Fortunately, Antinam appeared in the Mist Era,” Lorenzo said. “Otherwise, we don’t know how long humanity would have been trapped in the Mist.”
“Are you a believer in Him?”
“Fifty-fifty, I guess.” Lorenzo said with a smile, shrugging. “Actually, everyone’s attitude towards Antinam is about the same: awe, gratitude, faith… can’t really call them believers. But that God does protect us.”
Siles nodded thoughtfully.
Antinam was not a harsh God, which gave Him a very high reputation among ordinary civilians. It couldn’t be said that He had everyone’s faith, but He certainly had the goodwill of most people.
Perhaps this was also related to the harmlessness of His titles.
God of the Past and History. Keeper of the Space-Time Rift.
Keeper of the… Space-Time Rift.
Siles took a deep breath and suppressed that thought: Could He be related to his own transmigration?
This was truly a question better left for later consideration.
After dinner, the two returned to the dormitory without interfering much with each other’s private space, returning to their respective rooms. On this point, Siles felt that he and his roommate seemed to be in sync.
That was good; at least their future cohabitation would be smoother.
Siles felt exhausted, not only because of running around all day today. He walked slowly in the room for a while, getting familiar with the strange environment, and then sat down in the small study connected to the bedroom.
He liked this small study.
He sat at the desk and took out letter paper and draft paper.
He first wrote a letter to his mother, informing her that he had moved to the dormitory of Lafami University and attached his current address. After organizing his language on the draft paper, Siles copied the letter neatly and planned to look for a carriage company near Lafami University tomorrow.
Then, he wrote another letter, this one addressed to the folklorist Alfonso Carte.
He mentioned the Sardin Empire in the letter, wanting to ask if there were any contemporary countries that followed the customs and traditions of the Sardin Empire. He finished writing the letter but hesitated for a moment, putting it in the drawer, not planning to send it immediately.
He had to confirm his thesis topic first.
The Sardin Empire was a popular topic in academic circles related to the Silence Era. This prestigious past empire could always attract the attention of countless scholars.
Of course, the vast majority of previous research was done by historians.
For Siles, he needed to find a suitable entry point from a literary perspective. Honestly, he hadn’t decided yet.
So, although he wrote a letter, he finally decided to keep it for the time being and talk about it later.
Then, Siles took out his lesson plans.
He planned to sleep in tomorrow morning and take a good rest; in the afternoon, he would go to the Historical Society to learn a new ritual. The day after tomorrow, he would have to face students.
By the way, until now, he still didn’t know who his apprentice was. Hadn’t the college made a decision yet?
Siles was puzzled for a moment but didn’t think much about it. He reviewed his lesson plans, rehearsed the class content in his mind, then stood by the window, pretending to face students, and explained it in a moderate voice.
His voice involuntarily became tense and dry.
…Making a novelist who originally stayed at home all day on Earth face dozens of students was truly a cruel decision.
Siles sighed.
It seemed he could only act more aloof and strict. He wasn’t very good at laughing and mingling with students anyway.
Siles made up his mind secretly.
Then, he practiced a few more times, confirming that he was completely familiar with the class content, before breathing a sigh of relief.
It was getting late, so Siles went to wash up, do laundry, take out the suit he needed to wear the day after tomorrow to air out, and then fell into a deep sleep.
On the first day of August, Siles woke up in the warm morning sun. The intense sunlight shone on his face through the window, making him suddenly realize that this was August after the rainy season of July.
“Oh.” Siles rolled over, muttering sullenly half-asleep, “I hate summer.”
It wasn’t until nearly ten o’clock that Siles finally emerged from this rare indulgence—it was Monday, after all. He washed up slowly and found that his roommate had already left when he went out.
So he went to the cafeteria for brunch, cheerfully went to the carriage company near Lafami University to post the letter to his mother, then took a public carriage at the university gate, arriving at the Historical Society about an hour later.
The first day of his new life actually began with the Revelator class at the Historical Society.
When he arrived at the Historical Society, it was only twelve o’clock, and he still had more than an hour to read the books on that wall. He thought for a moment and this time directly selected a general history of the Sardin Empire, flipped to the literature section, and browsed through it generally.
This knowledge existed in his brain, but it was difficult to think of it out of thin air, so he used an academic monograph to help recall.
The literature of the entire Silence Era, and its literary theory, practically only discussed one issue—the social function of literature.
In the Silence Era… or more precisely, before the Shadow Era, the greatest role of literature in the Fisher World was to praise the Gods and record various deeds related to the Gods, the Church, and believers.
At that time, Gods were as vast and complex as stars; different Gods had different believers and different ways of recording. In this process of writing that approximated “a hundred flowers blooming,” different forms of literature were born.
Whether it was poetry, novels, or prose, the vast majority of literature was related to Gods and could not sever this essential connection.
In the Empire Era, some literary works about humans, countries, races, and history appeared, but they could not avoid the influence and role of Gods. When people praised the Empire, they would invariably praise the Gods behind the Empire along the way.
This was a world with Gods in the true sense, and this situation was unavoidable.
But in the Shadow Era, and after the Silence Era, things underwent a subtle shift.
Gods gradually fell, and records of their deeds seemed to no longer hold such powerful significance. People unintentionally carried out blasphemous acts—in their literature, the God part disappeared, and the human part grew.
The function of literature also saw further discussion in the Silence Era. The difference between sacred texts and secular texts had never been so distinct and severed before.
In modern times, that is, the Mist Era, with only Antinam, this lenient God, alive, the academic atmosphere of public opinion became more relaxed and free. People could freely study history and literary works related to past Gods, and even papers were not devoid of words that would have been judged as blasphemous in the past.
Secular literature, secular culture, secular fashion—these were the popular things of this era.
This was an overwhelming, irreversible trend. With the progress of the times and the development of technology, human civilization itself was enough to shine brilliantly without the embellishment of Gods.
Siles zoned out for a moment, his gaze fixed on a passage in the book.
“…For the writers of the Sardin Empire, praising the Empire was far more practical and useful than praising the Gods. A large part of them were patriotic politicians.
“And they preferred to pin their hopes on the ruthless Emperor rather than wishing for those falling Gods to intervene in the Empire’s internal affairs again.”
Siles closed his eyes slightly, thinking, in the Silence Era, did Gods interfere in the Empire’s internal affairs?
…For what?
Before he could figure it out, the door was suddenly pushed open, and someone walked in.
