Increase the Fort’s Offensive Capability – [Complete!]
Increase the Fort’s Morale – [Complete!]
Attain Full Control of the Fort – [Complete!]
All in a day’s work…
“Now, then. Where was I?”
I spun my attention on Onna. She jerked straight like a student who’d been called out by a teacher. “Seven fingers.”
“Y-yes, Lord Janus?”
“We’re off to complete our stroll.”
Erzili cleared her throat. “Lord Janus –”
“Relax.” I waved my hand. “Onna and I are only going to have a casual chat.”
At the end of the day, I would end up killing an entire flock of birds with one single stone.
Chapter 15: Antiquity
[Path A: Janus]
Having a split personality – not a split personality! – helping me complete tasks in a separate timeline was something I initially held my reservations about, but ultimately could not argue with the results. Sunny was me – but not me – in that he said and did things I wouldn’t bother saying or doing, but would not deny that there were all things I could have feasibly said or done. Making the streets gold though?
I chuckled as I scrolled through Erzili’s books, the Slithercreep hovering over my shoulder, and raising an eyebrow in a surprisingly detailed understanding of human micro-expressions. “Does the history of Alamir’s world amuse you so much, Lord Janus?”
“It’s rather convoluted,” I said, picking up the book. “Humans seem to be in agreement that the world was created by the Prince and His Nine, but the Elvani disregard the view of them as gods and insist they were mortals from a higher plane of existence, the so-called ‘Fourth Dimension.’”
I ran my hand through my hair, grabbing another book. “The Midwarfs agree with the Elvani, but claim that the Prince was a Midwarf who traveled through worlds, and would one day come back on the Ship That Sails Through Stars, Skithblathnir. And then, he’ll take all of his chosen with him to their true homeworld of Fólkvangr before the prophesied end-of-times.”
I dropped that book and picked up another. “And then, the Leporinians don’t even give a damn about the Prince, and instead worship their God-King Haresen, who vanished, and thus began the Leporinian Great Pilgrimage. Every single one of them believes that they’ll be the ones to find their missing Messiah.”
Erzili laughed. “It seems all rather straightforward.”
I dropped that book as well, rubbing my eyes. “Why does no one agree on a single true origin point?”
“Why do you desire to know about Alamir’s origins so desperately?”
“Because of this,” I gestured my hands into the air, summoning a piece of chalk with [Earth Control] and then writing, in the air, two words:
Hello, World.
Despite writing it out in the air, the words appeared and hung, white with chalk. “The Antediluvian Hieroglyphs. Or Mothertongue. Or Lost Language. Or Cursed Language. Or whatever different name it has. Someone or something was the one who put this system in place, the Nightscripts, the levels, domains, minions – etcetera.”
Erzili walked over to the shelf, grabbing another book and furrowing her brow. “You believe that Alamir’s creator is responsible for the Mothertongue?”
“They have to be,” I said. “I found it odd that none of the books or creation myths mentioned the language, or even hinted at this possibility. At least, none of the books you have here.”
Erzili’s gaze snapped to the neat stack of books I arranged on one side. “…how did you go through all those books?”
“I’ve always been a fast reader.”
“Erzili thought you did not know how to read.”
“I know how to read. I just couldn’t read Alamir’s languages. But there was something I could use that helped me.”
I grabbed another dusty book with ineligible squiggles that told me the language was Jezik and wrote out with chalk on the book:
TRANSLATE
[Recognizing Command Prompt…]
[Analyzing…]
[Checking Authorization Level…]
[Authorization Found.]
[Demiurge: Janus]
[Command Authorized.]
Upon opening the book, the squiggles and lines had English text superimposed directly above it, enabling me to read and know what words meant what.
“That is… useful.”
“Very.”
I wiped off the chalk, and the superimposed English text vanished, returning the squiggly lines to be their normal self. Erzili glanced at me out of the corner of her eye, and I glanced back.
“Is something wrong?”
“Oh, nothing at all, Lord Janus – Erzili is merely… impressed.”
‘Read: she’s pissed that we don’t have to rely on her.’ Sunny’s voice quipped.
“It’s nothing at all.” You think so?
‘If she’d taught us how to read, she’d be able to shape and choose what we learned. Mold and form our ideas and opinions, and make sure they align with her motives. But by reading and learning without her, we can avoid that. All we have to be on the look-out is for the biases in the book, not the biases in the teacher.’
“It seems Erzili’s collection is incomplete,” Erzili lamented. “The knowledge you seek must be within the far older, far more antique tomes. The Grand Archives of Saint Marie du Médecin may have what you’re looking for. It is touted to be the largest collection of knowledge in the world, though Erzili cannot vouch for those claims.”
A library? “And why not?”
Erzili turned to the map posted on the wall, pointing to a single spot. “The Holy Empire of Maris is… restricted, in who may enter and who may not. The country chose the Saint as their patron goddess, taking one of the Nine and making her into a deity revered above all others. The rest of the world found it baffling to worship a servant of the creator rather than the creator himself, and shunned them, thinking it would make them rethink the error of their ways.”
I rubbed my nose. “Let me guess, it didn’t.”
“The Marisians were convinced that their persecution was a sign of being on the right path, and entrenched themselves further in their beliefs. They developed, rapidly. There is a saying,
