Glan Natural Science Academy

Evening. 

Enid, Adva, Satro, Ryger and Cayleigh sat on two sides of the dining table while waiting for Kubo to return from work. Fragrance of sumptuous food filled the air. 

Shadrach looked at his awakened junior brother. 

On one hand, he felt guilt. His little junior brother had only just completed his initiate lesson with him before sustaining such serious injuries. On the other hand, he felt joyful that his junior brother had completely recovered. 

“Junior brother, thank goodness you’re fine! Ever since the news of sorcerers infiltrating the Academy spread, the Academy these days has been under a complete curfew while the arbiters the Church sent over turned the Academy upside down. The whole Principality is in a state of tension and has arrested a large number of wanted criminals! Now, the Academy is on edge, and mentor has been extremely busy these days!” 

Although Ryger had expected this, he still couldn’t help but make a solemn face when he heard of the ‘arbiters’. 

“I’ve made senior brother worry.” 

Ryger responded in a small voice. 

“What are you saying! It’s not just me, everyone has been worried sick watching you being unconscious these past few days.”

 

Satro revealed his trademark simple, honest smile again. The white teeth and dark skin formed a sharp contrast. 

Ryger looked at Enid and said with embarrassment, “Thank you for taking care of my the past few days, I…” 

“Hehe!” 

Enid stuck her tongue out and laughed. “Junior brother, it was father who was taking care of you for the past few days. I wanted to take care of you but father was worried and said that I’m sloppy and careless.” 

Adva smiled gently. “Yes. He doesn’t show it normally but when it counts, your mentor still cares a lot about you all. You don’t know how worried and agitated he looked when he brought you back and how much he did. Only after confirming that you won’t have any aftereffects did he begin to deal with the Academy’s affairs.”   

Hearing of how the usually unsmiling Mentor Kubo treated him with such care while he was unconscious, Ryger felt a warmth in his heart.   

Cayleigh rolled his eyes. 

“Don’t forget, that when you were unconscious, the one who spent the most time with you was me. Me! The first thing you saw when you woke up was also me! Me, me and me!”   

“Ah! Thank you, Mr Cayleigh!” 

Ryger hurriedly apologized.

The room temporarily quieted. But because of the Starcore’s fusion with his body, Ryger’s mind was in overdrive.

 

If what he saw when he was unconscious was true, then wouldn’t that mean that the humans of this world actually originated from a world called Aurora? 

Aurora! 

The name of the Church’s holy city of light is none other than Aurora. This can’t just be a simple coincidence! 

The human ancestors of this world, after crash-landing accidentally into this world, warred incessantly with that Gu Lan civilisation, exterminating some of the small tribal civilizations and liberating some of them in the process. Humanity also separated because of this. 

The golden-armoured warriors are the predecessors of the Church and wanted to proselytise faith and become god  whereas the hexagram warriors are the predecessors of the sorcerers, who opposed the plan of proselytization and deification, and who then plundered resources rampantly to return to Aurora? 

The Starcore is the central device of that metal fortress and records information regarding the ancient human’s exploration of resources in this corner of this world’s continent. At the same time, returning to Aurora would require the ship’s communication device to first leave the Starveil barrier then use the Starcore to contact Aurora to be possible?

In that case, the reason why the sorcerers kept killing humans and even unleashed the terrible Black Death was because they opposed the Church’s rule of faith and wanted to weaken the faith towards the Light God by killing believers? 

“Senior brother, what is the Gu Lan civilization?” 

Ryger suddenly asked. 

Satro froze, as though he was unable to think of anything regarding the Gu Lan civilisation. It was Adva, who was astonished, who replied. “How do you know of this ancient civilisation that disappeared tens of thousands of years ago” 

Tens of thousands of years ago?! 

It was also at this time, when footsteps came from outside the door. 

As if stimulated, Ryger and Satro instinctively sat up straight and looked towards the door. 

The wooden door of the hall creaked. A haggard Kubo opened the wooden door and looked at those at the table. After seeing Ryger’s excited expression, he expressed nothing, went to the table and sat down.   

“You’ve awoken?” 

“Yes.” 

Ryger responded in a soft voice. 

Seeing Kubo act so cold and calm, then thinking of what Enid and Adva just said, Ryger knew that Kubo was reluctant to express himself. Ryger himself could only pretend to not know anything, as if the 9 days when he was unconscious was just a brief nap. 

Indeed, Kubo didn’t mention anything about Ryger and was instead muttering to himself, “Those arbiters are getting more and more out of hand. Asking to enter the Royal Sciences Laboratory Laboratory to search the Academy’s treasured handwritten notes? Pah!” 

Adva frowned slightly. “Has the Academy agreed?” 

Satro, Enid and Ryger also showed a worried look. If the Church was really intent on oppressing the academy, they could find just about as many reasons as they could think of. 

“Of course not! The Royal Science Laboratory is one of the linchpins of the Principality’s royalty in maintaining power and is under the direct purview of successive generations of the royal family. Even the Church can forget getting their hands on it easily. Currently, both sides are in a stalemate. It’s no longer something that me and the arbiters can solve.”  

Adva, who was serving soup, was startled and muttered, “Could it alarm the Pope?” 

The Pope!

The pinnacle of human secular power and the direct spokesman of the God of Light in the world. In spite of the rise of the natural sciences academies and mercenary associations which are supported by the principalities, in spite of the numerous failures of the Church’s crusader’s expeditions towards the Land of Night, in spite of the decay of traditional power, no force dares to directly, openly oppose the Church’s majesty.  

In the human territory as well as in the edges of the territory which are controlled by foreign races, all that dared defy the Church has been crushed easily by the Church. 

Kubo shook his head.

“That, will not happen. They’re merely remnants after all. Compared to the soon-to-be inducted new Pope’s establishment of the crusaders and expedition towards the Land of Night, this matter isn’t much. But it’s unavoidable that a cardinal will come. At that time, imperial power will inevitably suffer some setbacks. It’ll depend on how those royal fellows choose how to deal with it.” 

“Ahh…”

Adva sighed. 

The principalities’ natural sciences academy had developed in recent times. But compared to the Church’s power… but when they think of the pioneer who defended the truth and was burned to death, scholars, ultimately, could only lower their heads and compromise silently.

An hour later. 

Dinner was spent amidst silence and oppression. 

From start to end, Kubo didn’t say anything to Ryger. 

But compared to before, Ryger had straightened out his thinking. To this, Ryger felt no dissatisfaction and was instead able to feel his mentor’s heart even more closely. He vowed to work day and one day, make mentor be proud of him, just like how mentor treated Peerless!” 

“Mentor, ma’am, junior sister, we’ll be off then.” 

After dinner, Satro and Ryger got up and said goodbye.

  Kubo, who had been silent since the beginning, raised his head abruptly and glared at Ryger. “Still going back there? Do you have a death wish?!” 

Umm? 

Ryger did not know what to do. If not there, then where? 

Kubo grunted, “I’ve already prepared a room for you on the second floor. Stay here for now.”   

“Huh?” 

Ryger said with incredulous surprise, “Stay here?” 

Enid and Satro also showed an astonished look and were unable to believe that such words were spoken by their mentor.