Abandon the past, focus on the present (4)

Levinte progressed from meticulously reading the book to flicking through the pages, gradually feeling bored. The book simply explained the tip of the iceberg, it felt like one of the books he read during his adolescence; one in the hundreds of books he perused to create the file.

A sigh escaped his mouth as he closed the book, putting it back into its original place. His eyes scanned the collection of historical books, wanting to read more but his intuition told him that the others had the same boring content.

Puffing his cheek, he decided to meander around the library until a particular signage caught his attention.

With a hand under his chin, an amused smile spread across his face as his gaze raked over the interesting titles: 'Irene X Euluc angst', 'I reincarnated as the villainess!', 'How to gain the emperor's affection!' and 'The heartbroken empress and her shadow knight'.

"Interesting..."

Going back to his seat, he placed down all the fanfiction books on the table, putting aside the file.

Fully focused, he could not feel the sensation of someone lightly tapping on his shoulder. The person tried again, exerting more effort to gain the boy's attention. "Levi," he whispered.

"Dear heavens!" A wave of shock struck Levinte as he looked at the man standing behind him. This kind of thing would always give him palpitations. Realizing it was none other than Acre, his face scrunched and his palm felt his rapid heartbeat. "God you scared me."

The man took a seat beside him and looked at the pile of books. "You like reading this kind of book?" Acre did not have the slightest intention to make fun of the boy's selection of books, he was just genuinely intrigued.

Levinte suddenly felt embarrassed and embraced the books. "I was just checking it out," Levinte said in a muffled voice, his face buried behind the books.

Acre giggled, "No need to be embarrassed." When he saw the familiar file being put aside, he figured that the boy must have been researching the history of the World Clash. He suggested, "If you want to read an authentic ancient book, the public library is no place to do so. The empire would've filtered the books before displaying them to the public."

"Then where should I go?" Levinte asked, lifting his head with a sad expression. "So all of the books I've read in my homeland could be filtered and inaccurate?" The mere thought of his pointless journey made him feel worthless.

The boy looked so downcast Acre took pity on him. "Your efforts aren't entirely meritless. I didn't say that everything was false to begin with. If you can fathom the flaw, then you can grasp the actuality. You're still young and kicking, you have a long way to go."

"Mister," Levinte straightened his back, suddenly feeling motivated and determined. "I want to go to an ancient library."

"Okay," Acre smiled and nodded. Receiving such a nonchalant response with no sign of struggle, Levinte looked at him and furrowed his brow. "Why are you being so nice to me? You're agreeing to everything I want."

"I'm just an old man who doesn't have anything to do. Besides, I understand your feeling. I was once a young boy like you..."

There is it again — the it-was-such-a-long-time-ago nostalgic smile. Nevertheless, seeing that smile made Levinte feel very grateful and relieved. It finally came to him to impugn the dream he had and inquire about it to the most reliable source.

"Mister, I have something to ask you." He said with a meaningful look. Though noticing the boy's expression, Acre said, "Let's go outside and talk, I'm starving."

Levinte sighed, knowing it was not convenient to talk in a library. "Fine."

The boy hugged his bag filled with fanfiction books he borrowed from the library, looking very confused as he glanced around, similar to a clueless child. "Wait, where are we going?" Levinte asked. He did not expect that Acre would rent a horse carriage to reach their destination. His surprise escalated to seeing a real horse for the first time.

Acre said, "It's a surprise! I wanted to give you a try at sword riding, but seeing that this method of transportation is still available, I couldn't help myself but reminisce about my young days."

"What? Sword riding?" Levinte asked with great peculiarity mixed with fear of the new knowledge.

"There's still a lot of things you need to know about the world." Acre nonchalantly said, like what a grandfather would say to his grandson.

Levinte asked again, "If sword riding is common here, then why haven't I encountered someone riding on swords?"

Acre tilted his head and said, "You mean you don't see the people flying up there?" He pointed at the sky. Shocked, Levinte leaned forward and looked out the window to get a nice view of the sky, covering his eyes from the sun. When he stared carefully, he could see small figures at a high altitude, like an eagle soaring in the sky.

Unbelievable! How could I have missed this the whole time? Levinte ought to scan his surroundings the next time they go anywhere.

Acre clapped once and began explaining, "Now let's talk about the real deal. The identity of this empire is magic swords and that hasn't changed until now. The Qiang Empire was known for its talented magician. The Arnayisa Empire is known for its extremely powerful military force. Before the Qiang Empire set out to every corner of the world, the empires pretty much did not care about each other. Aside from Lord Zuopi, people tend to forget about Emperor Yamin, the emperor of Arnayisa during that time. He was, undoubtedly, a jerk. He devastated the monarch's reputation and his corruption affected many innocent people. I don't understand why people talk less about him."

When Levinte thought about the 'The Imperial War between 4 Empires' book at the library, he raised a question, "Why did you leave out the Eryndorian Empire?"

The Eryndorian Empire was an empire of great riches and abundance ruled by the Great Cairo Seth before its dissolution years after the World Clash. The land was unprepared to handle the power vacuum left behind after his sudden death. His children fought for the throne and eventually split the empire into four parts, each of which was ruled by its own Seth.

"It's... very complicated." Acre nervously chuckled. "After we finish solving the problem of the World Clash, I'll tell you in detail about it. For now, I can say that it's far beyond your expectation, so we'll take it slow alright? Besides, the Eryndorian and Machaera Empires did not play a major role in the war. Just remember these names—Lord Zuopi, Yano Rui, Jeanius, Ewis Mado, Emperor Yamin, and General Kurl. The rest are just cannon fodder."

With nothing to rebuke, Levinte whined but was willing to obey.

"We've arrived gentlemen." The outrider reminded. "Where do you wish to make a stop?"

Acre thought for a second. "Anywhere that has food would do sir, I'm not familiar with this place." He said in a friendly tone.

Levinte darted his eyes at Acre. "You haven't been here before?"

"Nope, it hadn't existed way before. The empress suggested this place to me earlier."

"Oh," Levinte had assumed that everywhere Acre took him was a place for him to reminisce about his younger days. "It's great to look at new things." Acre drew a deep breath, relishing the cool and fresh air.

The Imber Highlands, a district located northwest of the central city is a popular tourist destination. To the north, its boundary touches that of Xiphos; to the west, it shares part of its border with Kopis. From scenic beauty to entertaining activities, the place has every significant thing to impress visitors.

"The district is owned by the Duke of Xiphos. We might have the chance to meet him here." Acre winked with a mischievous smile. Levinte shivered, "No more meeting aristocrats please, just thinking about it makes my stomach twist."

The man laughed at the boy's bashful nature. "You'll have to learn to communicate with new people."

"This is Imber Tea Valley. I hope you enjoy." The outrider said, determining their first stop. "Beautiful," Levinte said. The temperature dropped and the wind could almost make him shiver. "We'll be back in an hour, you should enjoy while waiting." Acre thanked the outrider.

One could see a tree house overlooking the tea plantation with the stairs as a route. Both of them strolled up the stairs at a slow and relaxed pace, gazing at the scenic view of lush greeneries. For Levinte who has hardly seen the outside world, it was truly a unique experience.

Acre let the young one choose their seat and Levinte picked a spot where they could see the breathtaking nature. After ordering their choices of foods and drinks, Acre could finally settle his mind out of food. Then he asked, "What is it that you want to tell me?"

"So you see," Levinte coughed, suddenly feeling embarrassed to say it. "I dreamed of Empress Irene and Emperor Euluc, as well as Lady Gloria Amaryllis."

Acre fell silent, appalled by his words. He was pretty sure that he had not mentioned the name of the mistress of Emperor Euluc to him. Acre was momentarily dumbstruck and Levinte felt a little scared to hear his reaction, so he said a line he remembered vividly from the dream, something that could make sure he was not spitting fiction.

"May the people of Machaera have justice. The truth shall prevail and the lies shall quell." Levinte gazed at Acre intently, meeting eye-to-eye to convince him he was not joking.

A long silence followed his words, thus Levinte spoke again. "You were there, weren't you?"