LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 8: Study Session
Blehhh.....my head hurtttss...
I don't know why either!!!
All I remember was everything spinning and I flopped on the table, but the pain definitely isn't from the table. It's not coming from my forehead or anything; it feels like my brain is dying.
Uggghhh...
"Are you awake, Your Highness? It is imperative that you drink enough water to alleviate your headache." [Mira]
Ahh...Mira, my savior, MY ANGEL!!!
"Here you are, Your Highness. Forgive me for my presumption, but I took the opportunity to warm up the water for you as I believed it would be more comforting. Ah, but please sit up first before you start drinking." [Mira]
"...Mmm..." [Lucillia]
*Gulp gulp gulp*
Uwaaa, did water always taste this good? Or is it because it's from Mira? I can feel it warming my soul~
Hehe~ eheheh~, Mira's water~ I drank Mira's water~
"While I am flattered by your compliments, Your Highness, I believe you are a bit young to have those kinds of thoughts." [Mira]
"BWAH?!" [Lucillia]
"Yes, Your Highness, I am afraid you have been thinking out loud this whole time. I believe it is due to your...honest-tea as you call it." [Mira]
"...I'm sowwy..." [Lucillia]
"There is nothing wrong with being honest, Your Highness. However, I believe it would benefit you greatly if you learned how to keep certain things unsaid. Now then, I believe your mother is waiting for you in the family room. Shall we get going?" [Mira]
"Mmm." [Lucillia]
Mira helped me out of bed and we went to see Mama. I tried my best to not think about anything because, well, that was really embarrassing.
*Squeak*
Is it just me or is that door's only purpose in life to squeak whenever we use it? I swear it gets louder every time, too.
"I feel the same way, Your Highness. I have tried many solutions, but none of them have fixed the squeaking." [Mira]
"Ah...again?" [Lucillia]
"Not just that, but you have been narrating our movements this whole time, starting from when you got out of bed, albeit I imagine it sounds different from the thoughts in your head." [Mira]
"Sowwy." [Lucillia]
"Once again, Your Highness, there is no need to apologize. The process has only begun, after all, and there is plenty of time for you to learn how to control yourself." [Mira]
"..." [Lucillia]
.....
*Knock knock*
"Your Majesty? The princess and I have arrived." [Mira]
"Come in." [Corinna]
"..." [Lucillia]
"Lia? Are you okay? Why aren't you saying anything?" [Corinna]
"... iss embawwassing..." [Lucillia]
"What's embarrassing, sweetie? Go ahead, you can tell me anything. I won't ever judge you." [Corinna]
"..." [Lucillia]
"Mira?" [Corinna]
"It appears that one of the effects of her...tea causes her to voice her thoughts. She even narrated our walk from her bedroom to here." [Mira]
"I see. Well, there might be some options to fix that, but probably the best one is to just get used to it and learn to control yourself." [Corinna]
"Bwut, twying not to tawlk is hawwd." [Lucillia]
"I know, sweetie, I know...well usually it's the other way around, but still. This is something that depends entirely on your own effort. We can try to help you, but ultimately you are the one who decides your fate, okay?" [Corinna]
"Mmm." [Lucillia]
"Good. Now then, I think it's time for a little studying, don't you think? Given your past experience, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to start a little earlier." [Corinna]
"Books!" [Lucillia]
"Yes, yes, lots of books to read. Go back to your room with Mira. I'll bring over your study materials in a bit." [Corinna]
"Hweh? Mama's nwot staaying?" [Lucillia]
"I'm really sorry, sweetie, but I can't put off work for too long otherwise it'll pile up." [Corinna]
"Hmph." [Lucillia]
"I'll make it up to you, okay? I promise. If you do well with your studies I juuust might give you a little treat." [Corinna]
"Books!" [Lucillia]
"Yes, yes, I'll give you lots more books to read, but only if you go back to your room first to study." [Corinna]
"Mmmmm, fiiiiine." [Lucillia]
Hehehe~, my plan worked! First, I get a bunch of books for studying, but then I also get more books after! Genius, aren't I? Mwahaha!
"Lia, you may want to save those thoughts for after you exit the room." [Corinna]
...Crap.
"Language, Your Highness." [Mira]
...Dang it.
.....
'Kay, well, now we're back in my room. No mishaps this time, nope. I didn't accidentally talk or anything once!
And now, I've already mastered the art of not talking! Mwahaha, aren't I amazing?!
"..." [Mira]
Look! Even Mira hasn't said a single thing this whole time! That must mean I've mastered it, right?!
Actually, Your Highness, you have been speaking this whole time. However, I am choosing not to comment on that any longer so as to save face. [Mira]
Anyways, Mama came in a few minutes ago with a buuuunch of books. They're really big and heavy.
Buuut, that just means there's a lot more to read, so I needed to hurry up and get started!
Ahem!
The book on the top of the stack has geography in its name so I guess I'll start with that.
...Huh? The first thing this books says is that the planet we live on has no known name. Well that's peculiar...moving on!
There's four main continents, one in each cardinal direction and named as such, and they are sized in order from largest to smallest in landmass by: West, North, East, South. They are separated by a singular, large ocean, which is called, you guessed it, the ocean. Man, whoever named these things must have run out of ideas or something.
The northern continent, generally called Dragon's Land, place of no return, forbidden territory, a bunch of other stuff, or simply the North, is home to a bunch of dragons. Wait a minute, das me! I'm a dragon! So that means we live on the northern continent?
"That is correct, Your Highness. To be specific, we are currently in Dragon's Peak which is located in the southern half of the continent." [Mira]
I see. Other than that, it looks like the book says...absolutely nothing about the North. Hmm, all it does say is that no one knows much about the continent as most people avoid it while the brave souls that do travel here never come back.
Well, then. That's not very educational is it?
"I believe Her Majesty and your sisters are planning on teaching you more about the North." [Mira]
"'Kayyy" [Lucillia]
Alrighty then, time to move on to the next continent: the East.
Apparently, it is home to a significant amount of the planet's Fae, spiritual beings that generally just coexist with nature and hardly interact with the common folk. However, because of the large mana density, lots of scary monsters live there as well, but they don't attack the Fae and just exist. The continent is somewhat small compared to others and mainly home to large forests, lakes, and rivers. Oh, and a couple mountains here and there.
It is said that deep within the mystic forests lives the Queen of Fae who is willing to grant a single wish to those that survive the perilous journey, but none have ever made it through to tell the tale.
To be honest, that just sounds like a bunch of bull. I mean, who the hell would grant a wish to a stranger that probably doesn't smell nice after murdering all those innocent monsters.
"Once again, Your Highness, I ask you to mind your language. However, your sentiment is correct in that Her Grace, Queen Titania, does not care for the folly of common-folk and would never offer such a wish." [Mira]
Heh, I bet it was a bunch of old geezers that came up with that, then. Oh? Wat dis?
What little is known about the East is that a series of islands off the eastern coast is home to the legendary Kitsune race as well as many other mystical races such as the Ogres, Oni, and Tanuki.
Once a year, they travel to the West, and through a very strict selection process, offer to bring willing tourists to their lands for the summer.
Once there, the lucky tourists are able to mingle and interact with the legendary folk and partake in their vastly different culture from the West.
During their stay, the people of the East hold what is called their summer festival and wear special clothing called 'yukatas' as well as consume various treats.
Certain Otherworlders have noted that their culture is vastly similar to a country in their home planet of Earth.
Hold on just a second, 'Otherworlders'?
"Yes, Your Highness, you read that correctly. In the past, there have been others like you who have traveled across worlds between lives. In most cases, however, their souls were caught back rogue mana waves which brought them here. Some were still alive when that happened, so they came here as adults in their previous forms, but many others have reincarnated as well." [Mira]
I see. I thought it was one of those things from the novels where a stupid kingdom just wants power and summons a bunch of innocent people to do their biding.
"I am afraid that such a thing is not even remotely possible for common-folk. Just accumulating vast amounts of mana would not be enough to forcefully rip through another planet's mana field and drag others over to here. The mana waves that do bring them here are caused by surface fluctuations from stars. I believe it is a similar phenomenon to what is called a solar flare." [Mira]
Huh, that's pretty neat-wait.
"Did ywou just shay beeg wowwds twoo a bayybeee?" [Lucillia]
"If you recall, Your Highness, I have viewed the complete recollection of your previous life's memories. Thus, I know that you have quite a bit of knowledge in areas regarding science, engineering, and math, but not as much with regard to anything else. Also, I must note that you have been oddly mature at times even for your previous age, so I cannot help but treat you as such at those times." [Mira]
Huh. Okay then, back to studying.
Uhh, well that's pretty much it for the East other than a few more sentences about the islands' unique culture. Oh, they call themselves the 'Isles of Setting Moon'. Neat. 'Kay next!
The South, being the smallest continent of all, is home to basically no one. It's full of ice and frozen volcanoes that are allegedly still active but buried deep underground. That's it apparently.
Cool, heh get it?
Last but not least, we have the biggest and 'most important' of them all: the West. I feel like this book is kind of biased.
The West, center of everything, land of conflict, hell, heaven, there are many names we call this land. But for all of us common-folk, it is home. Whether it be the beast-folk of the central plains, the elves of the northern forests, the dwarves of the mountains, the demons of the southern highlands, the scale-folk of the western deserts, or one of the many kingdoms and others scattered around that house all of the above, we all share this continent, the West, as our home.
Times are not always peaceful, for there have been no shortage of wars that ravaged our land, time and time again. And yet, despite all the tragedy and destruction, we common-folk always rebuild and rise from the ashes. It's a wonder we're even still alive, to be honest.
Fortunately, these times we live in now have been relatively peaceful. Certainly, several nations are in a state of cold war between each other, but at the very least, most of them are developing for the sake of the people rather than conquest. In fact, they often enlist Otherworlders who use their knowledge to introduce new technologies to our world.
I, for one, am a rather big fan of those newly created shower systems. However, technology is not the focus of this journal, so let's get back on track.
Now then, let's dive a little closer into the geography of the West.
As I mentioned earlier, there are many races that dwell on this continent. Starting from the eastern coast, we have what was formerly several small nations but is now, technically speaking, one single entity called the Aeheneian Republic. Owing to their very mixed cultures, one can find people of every race amongst common-folk there. Humans, elves, dwarves, demons, beast-folk, scale-folk, you name it. You might even find some sea-folk and winged-folk merchants now and then or by visiting some of the islands just off the coast.
Moving inward, we come upon the Great Plains, home to many thousands of beast-folk. Generally, they travel in packs in accordance to their respective species, such as various feline-types or canine-types. However, some adventurous ones do travel elsewhere, typically heading east to the now Republic. They also take great pride in their physical capabilities, often settling disputes through trial by combat. There is no single governing entity amongst the beast-folk; they simply coexist alongside each other.
Now, if you were to move westward beyond the Great Plains, you would stumble upon sand. Lots of sand. Coarse, rough, and no matter what you do, it gets everywhere. Beneath that sand, or atop it depending where you look, are the scale-folk, who are considered a sub-species of beast-folk. Some say they are descended from dragons, others say those people are full of shit. Regardless, these scaly friends of ours traverse the hot sand and settle near oases. While those locations themselves are safe and secure, beware what lies beneath. The desert is known to be the territory of several lesser-dragon species, including wyrms or even the mighty hydra as well as certain insect-type monsters. Only local scale-folk know the safe routes around. Should you travel there yourself, you'd best hope to find one of them quickly.
If, rather than heading west, you were to head northward from the Great Plains, you would find massive forests almost as dense as that blasted grandson of mine who still hasn't married his childhood friend of 30 years. I digress. The forests are home to many animals and creatures alike, but most notably are the elves that claim that territory for their own. They do not shun visitors so long as you do not harm the wildlife. If anything, they enjoy it when outsiders share their love of the forest with them. However, should you even chop one tree down or hunt for purposes other than survival, you will know the wrath of the elves. Just look at the former Kingdom of Venatia.
On the opposite end from the Great Plains lies the land of demons. Now don't be fooled by their name. Although they personally do not mind being called such, these folk are far more kind and gentle than you might think. Certainly, in the past, many wars were fought between demons and humans and the like, but to be honest who hasn't fought a war on this continent? You could even call a part of our lifestyle at this point. Moving on, this hilly and slightly mountainous terrain is home to many races of demons, ranging from devils, succubi and incubi, vampires, and some amount of sentient undead. Many of these folk are nocturnal, and as you can imagine, they have their own unique culture compared to us diurnal folk.
I can personally vouch for their selection of alcohol. Though not as strong as dwarven liquor, the demons sure make good cocktails. I imagine others would focus more on the 'nightly' activities rather than the alcohol, but to each their own.
Speaking of dwarves, those are the last of the major species that dwell on the West. They live within the resource-abundant Multum Mountains. Said mountains form a line that almost separates the western desert from the Great Plains. The dwarves are gifted craftspeople whose technology even baffles the Otherworlders at times. Aside from that, there are only two other reasons to ever visit the dwarves: you need a good weapon or you need a good drink.
Do exercise caution if you choose the latter; the last dwarven drink I had left me hungover for a week!
Well, that about does it for the general geography of our wonderous world. These are recollections based on the travels of myself and my companions, some of whom never came back, I might add. Should anyone take offense from my findings or like to make corrections, forward them all to my secretary, Thérèse, or either of my children, Luc and Lorraine. And if you wish to conduct more specific research, I recommend you ask around my group of compatriots. I'm sure someone will be able to help you. Oh, but do not, under any circumstance, trust what comes out of Bob's mouth. That bastard spouts more nonsense with each passing day.
I hope whoever reads this finds it in themselves to go out and see the world with their own eyes rather than trusting the words of an old coot like myself.
Gérard Blanc, Découvreurs des Connaissances1Good luck pronouncing this if you don't speak French. If you do, feel free to check my grammar. I never used 'des' that often back in French class. There probably will be more French to come, so I'd appreciate the help.
...Wow. That section had so much pure knowledge that I didn't even have any snappy comments about it.
"Indeed, Your Highness. Some areas still show bias, but that particular scholar was well known amongst his circle for being very truthful with his findings." [Mira]
"Wuz?" [Lucillia]
"He passed away a few years ago after writing this book. Gérard likely knew it would be his last, hence his final words at the ending." [Mira]
"Hmm, wat bout da othas?" [Lucillia]
"I believe his son, Luc, is continuing to travel while Thérèse and Lorraine are managing and consolidating his findings. In other words, Luc is doing the rough work while the other two polish everything afterward." [Mira]
"Wat bout gwandson?" [Lucillia]
"I am afraid I do not know the answer to that. What I do know is that the grandson chose a different career path than his grandfather." [Mira]
"I sheee...I'm hungwy." [Lucillia]
"It has been a few hours since you started reading that book, Your Highness. Let us go and find Her Majesty, then." [Mira]
"Mmm!" [Lucillia]
