Chapter 15

"This is Marquess Cedric Ere, the founder of Pilantrop." Samantha stood in front of the statue and pointed at it, but most of the children seemed uninterested in who it portrayed, except for a certain older man who stared in intrigue at the beautiful sculpture. "Could you tell me more about this man?"

Being well prepared to take hours to explain their founding Father Samantah could tell everyone else seemed out of it. "We've already gone through a lot of history about the city today, and it looks like everyone could use a break. When we take one, I can always go more in-depth if you are interested Eiji."

"That sounds great I would love to hear more."

Moving on, the group continues their walk through the city. At every point of interest, Samantha did try to educate everyone a little, but she skipped most of the details as they would just bore the children. She also knew that the point of this trip wasn't to teach them history but to experience the city and the world they were living in now.

Due to the lack of activities for children in the city, it started to weigh down on them. All they did was walk and walk and that wasn't fun, so they continuously bothered the adults around them.

"Miss Rose, when are we going to do something?"

"Headmistress, my legs are hurting; can we stop somewhere?"

"I want to do that!" A young boy shouted, as if there was no tomorrow, and pointed at a group of kids inside an alleyway. Among them, one child was holding a metal ball. While they were tossing it back and forth, one of them dropped it, causing sparks to fly off the object. When they kicked it, a layer of blue covered the ball, making it rebound when it collided with a wall.

Rose could feel her head spinning as she pulled the boy along. In the orphanage, they were usually calm, but now even their small numbers began to exhaust her. She had to make sure they kept following; they didn't get into trouble, get lost, or whatever else they would do. It was continuous action and at no time could she stop at least she wasn't alone, but they weren't any better off than her.

Rena thought as hard as she could to find a place where these children could play, but nothing came to mind until she saw a certain building. "We can go there. I'm sure I can get a hall for us." It wasn't the ideal place for kids to play, but if they just left her alone, she would be happy. "I'll go check quickly all of you wait here."

The boy at the counter heard the door open but continued to look at something with intrigue in his gaze. "I'll help you in a moment."

Due to him not looking up when she walked in Rena got interested and looked over the counter. "That looks nice."

"Yeah." The boy froze up when he realized something when hearing their voice. It was a woman, Raising his head he saw it wasn't just any woman. "It is an honor to meet you I-!" The boy began to speak but stopped when he saw Rena laugh to herself.

Rena couldn't help herself when she saw the boy quickly raise his chest and hold his straight hand to his head. "You don't have to salute me, I'm currently not here as the second in command but customer."

"How could I not show my respect, mam? You're a great inspiration."

Rena diverged the conversation, feeling awkward about his words. "Are you a student at the academy?"

"Yes, I am a 1st year, mam."

She nodded and then glanced back down at what was in front of him. "Anyway." Rena pointed behind her at the front door. "I'm not here to be praised. I need a hall for nineteen kids to play in. I know you normally have to make a reservation, but we won't be using it for too long."

"Let me check if I can get you one." He scans through the system, searching for an available room they could utilize.

"I have found one, but you'll have to leave in an hour and thirty minutes."

A quick glance at her watch revealed that it was 16:04. "We'll only need it until 17:00."

"Okay, I'll put you in then."

When he registered her in the system, Rena looked back down one more time and couldn't help but smile. "Camille Ante that's quite the taste you have there, but I'll be leaving then, so you can continue with your important matters."

Confused for a second by what she said, he lowered his gaze down at his electronic device. However, as soon as he saw it was still on, his eyes grew wide and his face flushed with embarrassment. The device still displayed a luminous image. The picture, visible, portrayed a seductive woman with an alluring physique wearing an enforcer uniform not in its intended way.

He switches it off and gazes at Rena, who had just walked outside and now returned with children trailing behind her. 

When she smiled at him, he averted his gaze as they walked past. As she teased her junior, memories of her past at the academy flooded her mind, causing her smirk to grow even wider. A great inspiration huh, She somewhat understood the underlying meaning that those words held.

Inside the training hall, children ran after each other.

"You're it!"

"No, you!"

While the rest sat by the side and enjoyed a moment of respite.

"Samantha, now that we're here can you explain a few more things in further detail?" Eiji sat down next to her, but instead of answering him, she took a circular device out of her pocket. Once the device was turned on, a map appeared on the screen. By pressing a button, all of it popped out, showing a 3D image of the entire city.

"There's a museum close by, we can go there. I can tell you more with visuals." She quietly muttered to herself while examining the key details that indicated significant places. "Here it is. It's three minutes away."

Eiji's face showed surprise as he gazed at the holograph, and his eyes shined with curiosity. "Sounds good to me." Eiji turned his head and glanced at me seated while leaning against the wall with my eyes closed. "Samuel, do you want to join?"

Since he didn't receive a response, he nudged me. "Samuel?"

"What is it?" I woke up confused where I was.

"Do you want to go to the museum with me and Samantha?"

As I looked up at Eiji, I recollected where I was and turned to the children playing. "Sure."

While walking towards the museum, Eiji stopped when he noticed a bookstore. "I'm going to check for some books fast." Not giving us a chance to say anything he runs off.

Samantha noticed me gazing emptily at the people passing by. "aren't you going to check as well?"

"I guess I could." No reason not to, I walked into the small bookstore, the smell of old books filling the air. As I move from shelf to shelf, my fingertips graze the spines of books, searching for the perfect one.

"Are you interested in fiction?" Eiji appeared by my side, struggling to balance a stack of books in his arms.

"I don't know."

As I stared at the cover of a book, I could feel my hand trembling. Putting it back on the shelf, I make my way towards the checkout counter.

"What do you want?" The woman behind the counter seemed annoyed at my very image standing in front of her.

"Do you sell empty books or blank sheets of paper?"

"I do, anything else?" 

"Do you also have a pen?" Confused at what I asked for she stared at me like I was some crazy person. "A pen, what's that?"

"I mean a quill and ink."

My earlier words still perplexed her, but without another thing said she walked away and came back a few minutes later, holding a journal, quill, and ink. "Is that all?"

Not minding her, I quickly grab the quill and closely inspect it. It was more advanced than the ones I was used to but it still looked antique. As for the ink, it wasn't a pot that was filled with it, but four staves that you could click into the handle of the quill. Their design said a lot about how I felt about everything else I had seen in this city. Things were kept crude and not simplified for the common person. But when it worked, and could be replicated by specialists. it was in its truest form a perfect product.

"Hey! Is that everything?" The woman leaned in closer and waved her hand before my eyes. "Oh, yes, I got what I wanted." 

"That'll be two silver bolts and thirteen brass nuts." I reached into the supply pouch from the first expedition and got the money she asked for. As I gather all the items, I proceed to open the pouch and lift them above the hole. Within seconds, they are all pulled in and disappear out of my hands.

Happy with my purchase I was relieved I decided to join this trip. Before we had left town, we were handed some money we were allowed to use when we were inside the city, which made this purchase possible.

Outside, Samantha looked at me as I came through the door. "Did you buy anything?"

"I did." She expected more from me when she heard me speak, but I remained silent.

Not long later, Eiji appeared out of the store.

"What did you buy?"

"I bought some biology books and a topography book."

"Do these subjects interest you a lot?"

"Yes, the moment I found myself here, my interest aligned very much with the strange wildlife."

"Then you should come to the extra lesson I give to the expedition team. It's from 16:00 to 17:00." While saying this, Samantha kept her gaze focused on me.

As I was distracted thinking about what I would write into the book. I picked up on her words making me realize she was from this world, so my first impression of her was wrong and she just didn't like my presence because I didn't come to any of her lessons.

"I'll be sure to come." Eiji smiled Samantha happy he could learn even about this world.

"Let's get moving we don't have that much time left."

Upon reaching the museum, Eiji had a sudden recollection of something. "Samantha, I might be out of money." He hesitated somewhat to say the last part, but Samantha didn't seem to care.

"You don't have to worry, it's the history museum. It's free to the public."

Eiji sighed in relief hearing her words. "That's generous of them."

As we walked through the halls, Samantha shared snippets of information about everything we passed, while leading us quickly to the topic she was most eager to discuss. Despite her desire to thoroughly explore the entire museum and share every detail with us, she had to prioritize an incredibly important topic due to time constraints.

As we found what she was searching for, we stopped in an area that was completely devoted to the forefather of Pilantrop and his descendants.

"Marquess Cedric Ere, son of Marquess Marcus Ere. The Ere family was a noble family from a lost kingdom in the south. From what is known, most of the kingdom's nobles were very corrupt. They clung to their power and trampled over anyone under them. But there was one important thing that differentiated them from the Ere's, their disdain for change. The Ere family was a house of innovators, people who sought to better the lives of those around them, and that required progress, but progress can destroy the old and that's what the other nobles feared the most. The possibility that their rule could one day cease."

While she spoke Samantha pointed at various objects, journal pages, and paintings.

"Cedric was a man who believed his inventions were made to help all, commoner and nobility alike, but others did not agree. He tried to change their views on this so they could see the benefits. Yet it didn't help as they began to stifle his research, hindering his progress. Cedric, feeling frustrated by their actions, had a lot to contemplate. Ultimately, he decided to resign from his position as lord by passing it down to his bright younger brother. When He left the kingdom, he felt the weight they placed on him disappear off his shoulders, allowing him to unleash his creativity in the secluded house his brother built for him. Throughout time, he gained fame as some of the things he created sold for extraordinary prices. His immense newfound wealth attracted people without anywhere to go, they gathered at his house hoping to receive his generosity but to keep up with the demand for his products he became engrossed with working in his laboratory until the amount of people became so great. Cedric was a man who struggled with his communication skills, so faced with this difficult situation he turned to the guardian of his family - the goddess of innovation. He sought her guidance on how he could help those in need."

The story she told us could also be seen, painted on a wall in front of us.

"When he walked out of his house, he hadn't left in many years; he helped them build fields, gather animals, chop wood, build their houses, and so was the small town Pilantrop born. With his wealth, he enticed merchants to exchange vital commodities with him. Using these products, he provided nourishment to the impoverished, clothed them in fresh garments, and equipped them with tools. The people, overjoyed by his actions, regarded him not only as a kind-hearted soul but as their lord, and unwillingly he became their ruler praised for his selflessness. Instead of taking the seat, he sought like-minded nobles to assist him in governing the rapidly expanding town. Regrettably, Cedric's younger years were devoid of these events, and it was only towards the end of his life that he experienced them. With no child to call his own, he adopted a boy with the same love he always had, to progress, to innovate. On his deathbed, Cedric pleaded with the goddess of innovation, to forever safeguard this city, while urging his son and his people to never let his vow fade from their memories."

These last words were written on an old piece of paper.

"For when the sun appears on the horizon, it brings a new. A day to realize our hopes and dreams. A moment for progression towards an uncharted future. A sign to never stagnate in this loop everlasting."

Concluding her tale, Samantha shifted her focus to Eiji, who was captivated by her words and simultaneously studied the assortment of items on the other side of the glass.

looking at her watch, it was now 16:55 "We should get going."

"Okay, let's go."

Eiji was the only one to answer Samantha, making her glance around, wondering where Samuel had disappeared to. "Eiji where is Samuel?"