Ch.362Unexpected Encounter (1)

Ariel made her presence strongly felt before leaving. While Ariel herself was something, the reactions of others were even more impressive.

The way they looked at Arwen with sympathetic eyes or gently patted her shoulder as if they completely understood her feelings.

I couldn’t help but laugh at how quickly someone could be reduced to trash in such a situation.

Of course, Arwen spent the entire day trapped in depression due to the overwhelming guilt.

Not only was her true feelings exposed to Ariel, but she felt like garbage for having such thoughts in the first place.

Anyway, Ariel returned to the Empire of Minerva with the two women. She planned to go straight to the dormitory to explain everything to her father and Adelia.

I’m not sure how those two will react, but they’ll certainly be shocked. After all, it’s not just any race that appeared, but an angel.

Until then, Arwen and I just need to enjoy the remaining time together.

Since we lost two days due to the unexpected situation with Ariel, our stay will be extended. One week was too short for enjoyment anyway.

The reason for visiting Alfheim was not only to connect with Arwen but also to explore various institutions.

I’ve already visited the World Tree and Elodia, so what remains is the ‘Holy Ground’—the world’s first library where all books in the world are gathered.

Today is the day we decided to visit that Holy Ground.

“Wow……”

Visiting the Holy Ground with Arwen, I couldn’t help but exclaim at the spectacular view before my eyes.

Libraries typically require silence, but the sight of the Holy Ground was so beyond imagination that I momentarily forgot that rule.

The high-reaching ceiling, bookshelves tall enough to touch it, and books densely packed on those shelves.

There wasn’t even the typical musty smell of books; instead, the fragrant scent of flowers filled the air.

This alone would justify the title of the world’s greatest repository of knowledge, but what stood out even more were the floating bookshelves.

As if by magic, floating bookshelves existed throughout the Holy Ground, which was as large as a soccer field. It was truly a fantastical spectacle.

“If the World Tree is God’s blessing and gift, this Holy Ground is the pride that we of Alfheim have achieved ourselves.”

Arwen explained proudly as I looked around the Holy Ground with sparkling eyes.

She’s currently half-leaning on me because, as you might have guessed, she has almost no strength in her legs due to last night’s aftermath.

If I were to relax my strength even a little, she would collapse to the floor. But one can’t stay in bed every day.

Besides, unlike the first night, she’s somewhat adapted and isn’t completely unable to walk. I also showed some restraint for tomorrow’s sake.

There’s no need to be self-conscious; we can simply enjoy a cozy date. The only drawback is that the location is a library, but that’s enough.

“How are the books classified?”

“First, they’re basically classified by 100-year periods. Those floating shelves up there contain ancient texts recorded when civilization was just established. However, they’re written in ancient language, so they need separate decoding.”

“Oh, I see. What else?”

“The history you like is classified separately by period and by race. The books I’ve been sending through Cyris are just a tiny fraction.”

My heart began to race as I heard the explanation I had been hoping for. The floating bookshelves were a feast for the eyes, and the design itself was beautiful.

Roughly estimating, the place was much larger than a soccer field, and the white-themed design emphasized cleanliness.

Despite the passage of time, there were no signs of discoloration; everything remained pristinely white.

They must have used preservation magic. For elves, magic is as natural as using hands and feet, so preservation would be easy.

“Was the Holy Ground designed to be this large from the beginning?”

“Yes. Since we receive God’s blessing, we elves will never fall to external invasions. If such a thing were to happen, the world would have already perished.”

“Come to think of it, Alfheim preserved its forces during the Demon War, right?”

“Instead, humans and beastkin made many sacrifices.”

As Arwen explained, humans and beastkin faithfully fulfilled the role of tanks during the Demon War. The dwarves desperately supported them.

That’s not to say elves didn’t make sacrifices. At that time, humans and beastkin had enormous populations due to their prolific reproduction, while elves also suffered many casualties.

However, humans had just established civilization, and beastkin were living in tribal communities, so they were helplessly slaughtered.

There’s a prevalent hypothesis among scholars that if the World Tree hadn’t been born at the right time, humans and beastkin would have gone extinct.

‘But it’s quite lively for a library.’

I mentioned earlier that silence is a rule in libraries, but the Holy Ground seems different. I notice people discussing and debating throughout the place.

It’s more like a hall for sharing academic knowledge rather than just a library. Originally, the Holy Ground is an institution where only authorized personnel can enter.

During the manuscript theft incident, I didn’t ask Arwen to supply books from the Holy Ground for nothing.

“How do you retrieve books from those floating shelves?”

“We elves can fly there directly using magic. For humans like you, you just need to ask another scholar.”

“Ah. By the way, do many human scholars visit here? Is there any discrimination?”

That’s a prejudice that arises because we’re talking about elves, not any other race. Only scholars recognized by Alfheim can enter, so I wondered if humans face stricter standards.

But surprisingly, Arwen shook her head in denial. She looked around and pointed to a group engaged in discussion.

Looking in that direction, I saw two elven men of indeterminate age having a friendly… no, an argument.

Behind them stood people, and here I noticed something surprising.

Humans and elves were mixed together. The ratio was roughly equal, and they were each contributing to the conversation.

“As you can see, there’s almost no discrimination when it comes to scholarship. Setting foot in the Holy Ground means you contribute to that field of study regardless of race. So there can’t be discrimination.”

“I see. But don’t elves have more influence? Humans have shorter lifespans, so their accumulated knowledge must be significantly less than elves’.”

“That’s true. But humans have something that elves don’t.”

“What’s that?”

“A different perspective.”

With that one phrase, I immediately understood. Elves have good memory and long lifespans, so they accumulate a lot of knowledge, but as mentioned repeatedly, they are quite conservative.

In contrast, humans have strong progressive tendencies and a spirit of challenge. Combined with their excellent learning ability, they grow stronger with each passing generation.

Because of this, they often put their lives at risk, but they never stop.

“That single spark has often revolutionized entire fields of study. Particularly impressive is astronomy. The theory that it’s not the sun and moon orbiting this planet, but rather this planet and various others orbiting the sun.”

“Ah. That… huh?”

I looked at Arwen with round eyes. The academic theory she mentioned is the most famous heliocentric theory in astronomy.

Thinking about it, something seems odd. Chronologically, people in this world should believe in the geocentric theory rather than the heliocentric one.

Yet both in books I’ve read and from academy professors, the heliocentric theory is adopted.

‘That doesn’t make sense?’

In my previous life, the heliocentric theory was only proven in modern times. It was a hypothesis that emerged after Newton’s law of universal gravitation was revealed.

This alone is surprising enough, but there’s an even bigger issue: the existence of ‘gods.’

Luminus symbolizes light and thus represents the ‘sun’ of this world, while Mora represents the ‘moon.’

Finally, Hirt is the goddess of nature, symbolizing this planet itself.

Naturally, Hirt should be at the center, with Luminus and Mora revolving around her.

The reason people in this world should firmly believe in the geocentric theory rather than the heliocentric one is largely due to the existence of gods.

“I imagine there must have been strong opposition from the church? Were there any problems?”

“Many, too many. The person was immediately executed for blasphemy. But that human never wavered from his claim.”

“And yet they adopted the heliocen… I mean, that theory?”

“There was an elven scholar who delved deeply into that claim. After 300 years of research, he discovered many things. Why objects fall vertically even though the world is spinning, why we can’t feel the planet rotating, and so on. Especially, he studied solar and lunar eclipses for 300 years and even calculated distances. As a result, everyone came to accept it.”

What kind of obsessive elf is that? I was speechless with amazement, but I had to give a thumbs up for his dedication.

Given that the first person to make the claim was executed for blasphemy, one would normally avoid such research out of fear, but this elf didn’t care.

Though elves are known for their conservative mindset and stubbornness, their racial characteristics worked positively in this case.

With an expression that didn’t hide my admiration, I suddenly remembered something curious and asked her.

“What about theology? I imagine theology would have been overturned as well?”

“It began to change, stating that symbolism and scientific facts should be treated separately. That scholar didn’t deny that it’s the gods who support mortals.”

“It sounds like there must have been a lot of conflict.”

“That’s why the religious and scientific communities dislike each other.”

It’s similar yet different from my previous life. In times when science was lacking, people trembled at the sight of lightning, claiming it was the descent of gods.

But as science developed and reasons for these phenomena were revealed through scientific facts, such beliefs faded.

As a result, religion became closer to true faith. It doesn’t matter whether you believe or not, and unlike here, there are many atheists.

But this place is different. The religious and scientific communities would fight to the end even if this world were to perish.

“The Holy Ground contains knowledge that might interest you. From the study that the brain controls our organs and body to the existence of tiny beings invisible to the naked eye that threaten our lives. There’s so much that it’s headache-inducing to decide what to check first.”

“History is enough for me.”

“Hehe. That’s just like you.”

Arwen responded to my straightforward answer with a gentle laugh. I returned her smile.

I’d like to read all the books in the Holy Ground, but that’s practically impossible. After all, this is a library that has continued from the founding of Alfheim until now.

So rather than trying to read everything, it’s better to delve into history, which I love the most. And occasionally read other things.

“Will you stay with me?”

“If you wish, I can step away for a while. I’d like to read a book too after so long. Ah! You don’t need to worry about any potential attacks. Magic use is strictly prohibited in the Holy Ground, and God’s eye is watching.”

Then I can read with peace of mind. The security magic installed in the Holy Ground is much stronger than that in Halo Academy.

Moreover, the fact that God’s eye is watching means that violent acts are impossible. The moment violence is committed, one would not just be expelled but would face divine punishment.

I nodded at her explanation and moved on. The section with history-related books was a short walk away.

“Hmm? Hey, isn’t that person…”

“Judging by the red hair, it seems so. And seeing the Queen beside him, it’s certain.”

“Did he come to see the Holy Ground?”

“Well, since he’s a scholar, I think he came to research materials.”

Since entering the Holy Ground, I’ve occasionally heard such comments, and they’ve increased. Between Arwen and my distinctive hair color, it’s impossible not to stand out.

Still, they must all be distinguished scholars, as they didn’t readily approach me. They either continued with their work or resumed their momentarily paused discussions.

In fact, this is normal; scholars typically ignore everything except their areas of interest.

Especially those who have made progressive achievements in their fields. They are true monsters who focus solely on their research.

‘I hope those people don’t have strange misconceptions.’

Or see me as a research subject. I deliberately ignored the gazes that were beginning to fix on me and headed towards the history section.

As long as I have Arwen as a strong shield, they won’t approach me first. They probably know well why I came to Alfheim.

That thought made me feel more at ease. Now, let’s dig into some history books.

“…Wow.”

As soon as I arrived at the history section, I was overwhelmed. There were just too many books.

Typically, history books focus on modern and contemporary periods, with ancient and medieval periods explained briefly.

But look at what’s in front of me now. History books are meticulously classified by era.

From texts recorded thousands of years ago to the most recently published books.

‘This… this is amazing!’

What a beautiful repository of knowledge. And it’s not just simple history books; they’re further classified in detail.

Race, culture, politics, society, religion, art, science, and so on.

The basic framework is history, so they only show how things developed and changed, but that’s more than satisfying.

I stood there with my mouth open, staring at the countless stacked books, before quickly coming to my senses.

Glancing to the side, I saw Arwen proudly puffing out her chest.

“Do you like it? These are books you can freely borrow from now on.”

“Can I really borrow them freely?”

“Yes. But I hope you won’t forget to return them. Even if you are Xenon, the loss of knowledge is a sensitive issue for scholars.”

“That won’t happen. But what should I read first…”

The quantity is one thing, but the variety makes it a challenge to decide what to read first. For now, I’ll skip books from ancient times.

Ancient books are written in ancient language, making them almost impossible to read. Unless there’s a translation, but this library is full of ‘originals.’

Even the Biography of Xenon, if possible, would have the ‘first edition’ stored here. If they were to announce that they would keep the original manuscript, it could even lead to war with Helium.

‘I should think about where to store the original manuscript.’

This part should be clearly established. It’s an essential process to prevent conflicts.

“Look around. I’ll go get a book for a moment.”

“Alright.”

After that, Arwen left to find a book, and I started examining the books alone.

Let’s start with the most recently published ones. And I realized how many books I had already read.

‘I’ve read most of these?’

These are only the books that Cyris had delivered. There’s no book that isn’t in the Holy Ground, which means I’ve read that many.

Moreover, I’ve read all sorts of books for data collection from Elena.

I briefly looked through the recently published books and then glanced to the side. The further to the side, the older the publications.

‘Books related to the Race War…’

The most interesting is still the Race War. The greatest war among wars, the essence of history.

A history where various opinions come and go depending on perspective and race. Today, focusing on the Race War seems best.

‘Not from a human perspective, but from an elven perspective… Huh?’

While searching for books, I found one that caught my eye.

The title itself was ordinary, but the author was familiar.

[Icare Lightsinger]

Icare, who was the elven commander during the Race War but was imprisoned for actions that violated ‘laws.’

Many scholars unanimously claim that if he hadn’t been imprisoned, the Race War would have resulted in an elven victory, or at least they wouldn’t have suffered a humiliating defeat. He’s considered a tragic hero.

A history book written by such a hero was intriguing. Moreover, the title explored the typical elven arrogance.

‘Is this related to history too?’

Since it’s interesting, I should take a look. I pulled the book from the shelf.

The books stored on the shelves were so well-maintained that not a speck of dust was on them. By the way, I didn’t know such a book existed.

I took the book and headed towards a table. There was an elf who looked like ‘Thor’ reading at the table, but I casually ignored him.

Finally, with anticipation, I turned to the first page and…

[These fucking pointy-eared bastards. I wish they’d all die.]

“…?”

A sentence filled with shock, horror, and self-loathing entered my eyes.