I walked alongside Seris as she led the way.
As we walked, I kept stealing glances at her.
Her eyes were a dark blue, and despite her comically large glasses, her face stood out; it was...
'Pretty.'
"What?" Seris spoke, snapping me out of my daze.
I realised I was blatantly staring at her.
"Uhhh... how far are we from the library?" I scratched the back of my head.
"We're close." Her expression remained unchanged.
'Does she have no emotions or something?'
It dawned on me.
'Wait... am I attracted to her? But what about Nira? No, it's not like we're dating, and they both probably don't even see me like that... why do I feel like an asshole I haven't even done anything wron-'
"We're here." Seris's blunt voice cut off my thoughts.
Looking forward, I saw a large set of oak doors reinforced with dark steel bearing some sort of markings in a language I didn't understand.
Once we stepped inside, it felt like the atmosphere had shifted.
'Damn...'
High vaulted ceilings stretched overhead, supported by ribbed stone arches that gave the space a cathedral-like silence.
Endless rows of bookshelves lined the halls, their dark wood clearly old yet somehow smooth. They were filled with books that looked both new and old.
There were multiple floors, and at the centre stood a large circular reading area with long wooden tables and students sitting on the chairs, completely focused on the books in front of them.
None of them noticed us or just didn't care to look.
I looked toward Seris, who also seemed awestruck at the sight.
I smiled. 'I knew she'd like it.'
I tapped on her shoulder. "So where do you want to go first?" I asked.
She snapped out of her daze and gazed at me for a moment.
"...Let's split up."
"Huh...?" I froze.
"I have something I'm looking for, so let's split up, unless you wish to follow me." Her tone was practical, not dismissive.
"I heard you its just... a bit surprising, you know."
"Why?" She tilted her head.
'...why is that surprising?'
"It's nothing... let's split up, and we'll meet up here when we're done, okay?"
"Hmm." She nodded and walked away, leaving me alone.
'Why does it feel like I just got rejected?'
'Because you did.' Vaelis answered.
'Shut up.'
"Haa... let's check this place out then."
I walked through the library from section to section, bookshelf to bookshelf, until I found what I was looking for.
[Basic Geography of Virelune]
Virelune was the name of the continent I was currently in.
And although I had knowledge from the novel, it basically only explained general ideas of places, so I needed this.
I took the book and sat down at a seat within the circle. The other students completely ignored my presence, fully focused on their books.
'Hmm, this is nice.'
The atmosphere really felt like a place meant for students to study or do research.
I opened the book and began reading.
The book gave a simple explanation of Virelune.
Basically, it was a land mass that consisted of two kingdoms, namely the Thorne Kingdom and the Caldress Kingdom.
The Caldress Kingdom controls most of the mainland and has a majority of the human population within it. They protect the people from rifts that form on land and manage all major cities.
On the other hand, the Thorne Kingdom isn't technically on the land; instead, they're located on an archipelago surrounding the continent, and their main job is to protect the continent from the rifts that form underwater.
It's not yet known why, but rifts tend to form underwater more often; therefore, the Thornes have stations placed all around the edges of the continent, as well as on the archipelago.
Each Kingdom has its palace, which is where the main forces of power reside, such as the King.
'Bunch of stuck-up bastards sitting on a throne of fakeness.' I clicked my tongue.
In the North is the Northern Valley, which is essentially a wasteland full of rift creatures and constantly forming rifts.
It wasn't always like that, but due to unknown reasons, an influx of rifts opened. Because of this, the Northern Gate was built.
'It's probably the churches that forced the rifts.' I made a guess, although I didn't know whether they could force rifts to open.
The book claimed the Northern Gate 'held back the tide of chaos.' Dramatic phrasing for 'we built a big wall.'
'That is where Corvin dies, though...'
Not that I intended to let that happen this time.
On the other hand, the South is bustling with people and culture. It had its own hierarchy, separate from the kingdoms, purely based on strength. A majority of people from the kingdoms think of the southerners as barbaric and that the kingdoms never conquered them because they have no use.
In reality its not that the kingdoms don't want the south its more that they can't take it. The current Southern 'Apex', as she calls herself, is SSS-rank on par with the Kings of Thorne and Caldress.
The old Cassian was actually a big fan of her.
'She does seem pretty cool, but reality is always disappointing.'
With her as their leader, the kingdoms had no choice but to leave the South alone unless they wanted a war that would destroy the continent.
I didn't know much about this 'Apex,' besides the old Cassian's knowledge of her achievements, since she's supposed to die in a few years, according to the novel.
'Liam was in his fourth year when that happened, and it was during the InterAcademy Games, when the whole world is distracted. Far too convenient as a coincidence.'
It was most likely the churches, but I couldn't be one hundred percent sure, and even then, I don't know which church would have done it.
'Haa...' I massaged my head, sighing inwardly. 'More to think about.'
I got up from the chair and headed upstairs in search of any more information I could use.
I eventually found a book titled.
[Basic History of Virelune]
'This can be useful as a reference.'
The incident with the apostle had put me on edge and given me more anxiety than I could admit. So I needed more information, especially on dragons.
I took the book and went back to my seat.
As I walked, I spotted something that made me pause.
Exactly in the same seat I had sat, now had Seris calmly sitting in it, reading.
She seemed completely absorbed in whatever book she was reading, her eyes glued to the pages.
I walked up to her and sat right next to her.
"..."
"..."
She didn't even look at me; her eyes remained fixed on the book as she turned a page.
I felt oddly comfortable and opened the book to read.
The book explained how the two kingdoms came to be.
Basically, before humans ruled Virelune, it was the dragon's domain, and they ruled over all of its inhabitants.
However, they exploited the humans below them, so they eventually rose against them, starting a war that lasted over a century, ending in humanity's victory.
'Ha!' I laughed at what I was reading. 'I guess it's true history is written by the winners.'
The book was full of lies glorifying humanity as the victims who rose against their oppressors.
In reality, there weren't many dragons to begin with, and they never even ruled. They were peaceful creatures who spent most of their lives in solitude. In fact, they were essentially humanity's protectors.
Rifts only began appearing after they left, since they stopped rifts from forming all over Virelune as their 'duty'.
The churches couldn't allow such powerful beings to interfere with their plans, so they staged a war between humanity and dragons.
They manipulated the humans of that time into fighting the ones who protected them, and... they prevailed.