Whispering Verse

Putting on his coat, hat, and picking up the cat, Shade quickly came downstairs. After opening the door, an extremely shabby-looking carriage stopped outside. All the metal decorations on the outside of the carriage were rusted, and the coachman in black seemed to be integrated with the carriage. There were small cracks everywhere on the reins in his hands.

The carriage is made entirely of wood, but there is no smell of rotting wood. Instead, it has the smell of earth common in cemeteries. When Shade stepped on the extended black iron steps to board the carriage, he heard the entire carriage creaking, which made him particularly worried about the safety of the journey.

The coachman, who was definitely not human, did not communicate with Xia De, but the St. Byrons school emblem hanging in the carriage, as well as the travel bookshelf prepared by the college, the fixed teapot and snack tray, were all in the style of the college, Xia De De was not worried about getting on the wrong carriage.

The interior decoration of the carriage is particularly elegant, even if compared with the carriages of nobles' private carriages, it is not much different. The interior of the carriage is covered with cushions to prevent collisions, and the seats are antique upholstered sofas fixed to the floor. A total of four small and exquisite gilt copper kerosene lamps were hung on the four sides. However, as the carriage started to start, the lamps were all extinguished.

There is a white oak coffee table in the middle of the two sofas, and a brown patent leather high-leg round table on one side. I tried to pick up the teacup, and found that the teacup seemed to be firmly attached to the table. Although I could lift it with force, I didn't have to worry about the tea falling on the expensive red cashmere carpet due to bumps.

"It's really good. It looks like this is the means of transportation used by the big shots in the academy. It seems that I got on the wrong bus. However, that kind of big adventure caused by a misunderstanding is not my style of encountering things. Iluna is easy to encounter. to this kind of thing.”

He thought to himself as he held the cat steady, who was reluctant to go out, and saw that the car windows were closed and the curtains were nailed directly to the car. And as the carriage slowly started to move, Xia De knew that his journey had officially begun.

Even though Shade had extremely strong spatial talent, he still lost all spatial perception abilities five seconds after the carriage started. He couldn't tell the difference between east, west, north, and south, and he couldn't construct his current approximate location in his head based on the memory of the terrain near his home.

You could only hear the whining wind whistling outside the carriage, but if you listened carefully, it was clearly like a huge thing, crying and howling in the distance.

The bumpy carriage made Shade and the little Mia he was holding vibrate at the same frequency. The bumps made the cat extremely interested. For a while, Shade not only felt the carriage vibrating, but even felt that little Mia herself was shaking. Actively vibrating.

But fortunately, the vibration only lasted less than half a minute and ended.

After driving smoothly, the kerosene lamp on the round table in the carriage was the first to light up, illuminating the roll of parchment hanging down on the round table. The arrangements for Shade's next trip were written in cursive letters.

Shade, who had "never seen the world", looked at the lit interior of the car with Cat, but soon Shade became more interested in the outside:

"Tell me, what's it like outside now?"

"She" replied with a chuckle:

[Maybe you can try to take a look through the gap. 】

Of course, Shade was just curious and didn't really explore what was going on in the outside world.

He poured himself tea and cut a red apple for little Mia. By the time the late-night snack for one person and one cat was almost eaten, the thirty-minute journey had come to an end.

There was no prompt, but Shade could feel that the outside of the car was returning to the normal world.

Sure enough, after the kerosene lamp in the car went out again, bumps followed. Now Shade was sure that Mia must have taken advantage of the bumps in the car to vibrate intentionally, because the cat obviously vibrated at a different frequency than him.

With the last vibration, the carriage landed smoothly on the ground, the kerosene lamp lit up, and the carriage drove forward for a while before slowly stopping.

"arrive."

There was no need for Shade to open the door himself, and someone opened the car door from the outside:

"Is this Mr. Shade Suellen Hamilton?"

The head of a young man with messy light brown hair stuck out from outside the car. Shade nodded immediately:

"Yes."

“Oh, welcome to St. Byrons!”

The young man in the robe spoke in non-standard Drarian language. Shade jumped out of the carriage with the cat in his arms. Then he looked up in surprise at the clear stars above his head. The stars were so bright that they seemed like they could be picked with just one hand. arrive.

The temperature outside is cooler than in Tobesk, but it doesn't snow here. The air is exceptionally good, especially for Shad who lives in Tobesk, the "Steam City". The air here is as fresh as the forest.

The night was quiet, and the gas street lamp with the emblem of St. Byrons illuminated the carriage. The carriage stopped in a semicircular square. In the center of the square stood a huge stone statue looking like a book. And this square It is the front platform of the towering, brightly lit giant library.

The library is at the top of the building complex, and around the semicircular square are white stone steps descending step by step. The steps are evenly divided into different sectors by metal railings decorated with tree vines. Looking down, the classical castle-like buildings stand under the starry sky of the quiet night, and the spire towers complement the classical covered bridge architecture.

Looking far into the distance, street lamps outline the outline of the city extending into the distance of the ice sheet in the dark night. Old-era castle buildings and classical buildings stand here on the ice sheet in the far north, just like they did in the previous era. There are blurry black shadows of icebergs and glaciers on the horizon, and there is not even a trace of dark clouds under the brilliant sea of ​​stars.

"Surprised, aren't you?"

The young man who came to greet Sha De asked with a smile. He introduced himself as a fourth-year student in the School of History, and was arranged by the professor to guide Sha De:

"St. Byrons Comprehensive College is a veritable Academy City."

"Has this library building always been here?"

Shade asked curiously.

"Yes, it has been here since the beginning of the academy. It is one of the few buildings in the academy that has never seen major changes. After all, the library has the oldest ritual matrix and large-scale alchemy construction technology. The successors of the academy so far, No one can replicate the power that built libraries.”

Shade nodded, facing the night wind, holding the cat and looking at everything in the distance:

"Before countless suns and moons alternated, they once stood here and saw everything in front of them."

This is the second time that Shade has truly used his own body to set foot on the land of St. Byrons. This land and this city have already established a connection with him at the other end of time. Since I had just met Miss Feliana and Miss Olanode not long ago, when I thought about crossing time and breathing the same air with them, I couldn't describe the sadness in my heart.

"Mr. Hamilton, let's go into the library first. The administrator, the dean of the School of History, and the deputy dean are all waiting for you."

Although I have entered the large library of St. Byrons Comprehensive College several times through projection, this is the first time I have actually entered through the door. Before entering, Shade politely asked if pets could be brought into the library. The response he received was that it would be okay as long as little Mia didn't run around.

The door of the library is five huge double-open metal doors connected to one wall. Shade has only seen similar doors in churches. The center door is engraved with the name of Saint Byron in the ancient language of the late Fifth Age. The school motto, and the rest are written in the bilingual languages ​​of Delarion and Kasonric, the rules of the library.

When you step into the door, it feels like you have suddenly come from winter to warm spring. The marble floor is so smooth that it seems to be able to reflect light. The red carpet on the floor extends to the deepest part of the library, and the area of ​​the entrance hall is almost half the area of ​​Saint Teresa Square.

Of course, the library was quiet at this time. Although Shade could see the huge star map circulating on the ceiling and the candlesticks floating above the bookshelves, it seemed that there were only a few people in the library, but now It’s just 8:30 p.m.

"The exam week has just ended. Except for a few people, few people come to the library at this time. After all, I think you understand."

The young man leading the way said that Xia De wanted to ask about the other party's year-end exam results, but felt that it was inappropriate to ask so hastily.

Walking forward, it seems as if you are going deep into an ancient maze constructed of bookshelves. But it is completely different from Sir Prisha's library labyrinth, because there are traces of "living" everywhere.

The ancient library, even now in the Sixth Age, is still full of vitality, passing on knowledge and wisdom to the next generation of young people. Miss Olanode's wish in the Cadiz Library has become a reality in Shade's eyes. She really assisted Miss Feliana in building the greatest library on earth.

The meeting place is still in the center of the library, under the high ceiling with the rotating planetarium suspended. In the past, when we met, there was always a chair and a red sofa sitting across from the coffee table, but this time it was a group of four red sofas surrounding the coffee table.

The young student who led Shade left after Shade entered the open space between the bookshelves. When Shade walked in, he saw four people sitting on the sofa waiting for him.

Miss Daniste, the "Red Moon Witch", is still the same. Even her sitting position has not changed. She is sitting alone on a sofa.

Professor Garcia, the deputy dean of the School of History, who had given Shade a lot of help, was sitting with another middle-aged man with silvery hair on his head. The latter was wearing a pair of monocles. When he looked at Shade, Shade vaguely understood that the other person was Professor Odias, the current generation dean of the School of History.

The two professors sat on the sofa to Miss Danister's left.

When he first met Professor Garcia, Shade felt that his ears were a bit pointed. Now it seems that this is a sign of elf blood.