After putting on his coat and hat and picking up the cat, Shade walked downstairs quickly. After opening the door, a carriage that looked extremely shabby was parked outside. The metal decorations on the outside of the carriage were all rusted, and the driver in black seemed to be integrated with the carriage, and the reins in his hands were full of tiny cracks.
The carriage was made entirely of wood, but it didn't smell like rotting wood, instead it smelled like the dirt that is common in cemeteries. When Shade stepped on the black iron steps that extended down to 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 a human, did not communicate with Shad, but the St. Byron's school emblem hanging in the carriage, as well as the travel bookshelves prepared by the college, the fixed teapots and snack trays were all in the college style, so Shad was not worried about getting on the wrong carriage.
The interior of the carriage was decorated with great care, not much different from the carriages of nobles' private carriages. The inside of the carriage was covered with cushions to prevent collisions, and the seats were antique cushioned sofas fixed to the floor. There were four small and exquisite copper-gilded kerosene lamps hanging on the four sides, but as the carriage started, the lamps went out.
There was a white oak coffee table in the middle of the two sofas, and a brown lacquered leather high-legged round table on one side. I tried to pick up the teacup, but found that it seemed to be firmly attached to the tabletop. Although I could lift it up with some force, I didn't have to worry about the tea falling onto the expensive red cashmere carpet due to the bumps.
"That's great! It looks like this is the transportation used by the big shots in the academy... I didn't get on the wrong bus. However, I don't like adventures that start because of misunderstandings. This is something that Yin Luna is more likely to encounter."
He thought to himself, holding the cat who was reluctant to go out, and saw that the windows were closed and the curtains were nailed to the carriage. As the carriage started slowly, Shade knew that his journey had officially begun.
Even though Xia De had a strong spatial talent, he lost all his spatial perception in the fifth second after the carriage started. He could not distinguish east, west, south, or north, and could not construct his current approximate location based on his memory of the terrain near his home.
All one could hear was the whistling sound of the wind outside the carriage, but if one listened carefully, it was clearly the sound of a huge monster howling in the distance.
The bumpy carriage made Shad and Little Mia, who was in his arms, resonate at the same frequency. This kind of bumpiness aroused the cat's great interest. For a while, Shad not only felt the carriage vibrating, but even felt that Little Mia herself was vibrating actively.
But fortunately, the vibration lasted for less than half a minute.
After the carriage was running smoothly, the kerosene lamp on the round table in the carriage lit up first, illuminating the parchment hanging on the table. The cursive letters on it contained the arrangements for Shad's next trip.
The "unworldly" Shade and the cat looked at the lit interior of the carriage, but soon Shade became more interested in the outside:
"What do you think it looks like outside now?"
She chuckled and replied:
Maybe you could try looking through the cracks.
Of course, Xia De was just curious and did not really try to find out what was going on in the outside world.
He poured himself some tea and cut a red apple for Xiaomia. When the two of them had almost finished their midnight snack, the thirty-minute journey had come to an end.
There was no prompt, but Xia De could feel that the world outside the carriage was returning to normal.
Sure enough, after the kerosene lamp in the car went out again, turbulence followed. This time, Shad was certain that Mia must have taken advantage of the bumpy car to shake intentionally, because the cat was obviously not shaking at the same frequency as him.
With the last vibration, the carriage landed steadily on the ground. The kerosene lamp lit up, and the carriage moved forward for a distance before slowly stopping.
"arrive."
There was no need for Xia De to open the door himself, and someone opened the car door from the outside:
"Mr. Shad Suren Hamilton?"
A young man with messy light brown hair poked his head in from outside the car, and Shade nodded immediately:
"Yes."
“Oh, welcome to St. Byrons!”
The young man in the robe spoke in the non-standard Draerion language. Shad jumped off the carriage holding the cat, then looked up in surprise at the clear Milky Way above his head. The stars were so bright that they seemed to be able to be picked with the hand.
The temperature outside was lower than in Tobisk, but it didn't snow. The air was exceptionally good, especially for Shad, who lived in Tobisk, the "Steam City". The air here was as fresh as the forest.
The night was quiet, and the gas street lamps with the St. Byron's emblem illuminated the carriage, which stopped at a semicircular square. In the center of the square stood a huge stone statue of a man flipping through a book. The square itself was the front platform of the towering, brightly lit giant library.
The library is located at the top of the building complex. The semicircular square is surrounded by white stone steps that lead down one after another. The steps are evenly divided into different sectors by metal railings decorated with vines. Looking down, the classical castle-style buildings stand under the starry sky in the quiet night, and the spire towers and the classical covered bridge buildings complement each other.
Looking far into the distance, street lamps outlined the outline of the city extending into the ice field in the dark night. The old castles and classical buildings stood on the ice field in the far north, just like in the last era. There were dark shadows of icebergs and glaciers on the horizon, and there was not a single dark cloud under the brilliant sea of stars.
"Surprised, huh?"
The young man who came to greet Xia De asked with a smile. He introduced himself as a fourth-year student in the History Department, and was arranged by the professor to guide Xia De:
"St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy is a veritable academy city."
“Has this library building always been here?”
Shade asked curiously.
"Yes, it has been here since the academy was founded. It is one of the few buildings in the academy that has never undergone major changes. After all, the library has the most ancient ritual array and large-scale alchemical construction technology. So far, the academy's successors have not been able to replicate the power of building the library."
Xia De nodded, facing the night wind, holding the cat and looking at everything in the distance:
"Before countless suns and moons, they had once stood here and seen everything in front of them..."
This was the second time that Shad had truly set foot on the land of Saint Byrons with his own body. This land and this city had long been connected to him at the other end of time. Since he had just met Miss Feliana and Miss Orlanod not long ago, the thought of crossing time and breathing the same air with them at this moment made the sadness in his heart indescribable.
"Mr. Hamilton, let's go into the library first. The administrator, the dean of the School of History, and the vice dean are all waiting for you."
Although he had entered the library of St. Byrons College several times through projection, this was the first time he actually entered through the door. Before entering, Shade politely asked if he could bring his pet into the library, and the response he got was that it was okay as long as Mia didn't run around.
The library's doors were five huge double-opening metal doors connected to one wall. Shad had only seen similar doors in churches. The center door was engraved with the school motto of St. Byrons in the ancient language of the late Fifth Age, while the rest were inscribed with the library's rules in both Draerion and Carsenric.
Once you enter the door, it's like you've stepped out of winter and into the warm spring. The marble floor is so smooth that it seems to reflect light, and a red carpet stretches to the deepest part of the library. The area of the lobby at the entrance is almost half the size of St. Teresa's Square.
Of course, the library was quiet at this time. Although Xia De could see the huge star map flowing on the ceiling and the candlesticks floating above the bookshelves, it seemed that there were only a few people in the library. But it was only 8:30 in the evening.
"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 the other party about his year-end exam results, but he felt that it was inappropriate to ask so rashly.
Going forward, it seems like entering an ancient maze made of bookshelves. But it is completely different from Sir Priss's library maze, because there are traces of "life" everywhere.
The ancient library, even in the sixth era, is still full of vitality, passing on knowledge and wisdom to the next generation of young people. The wish that Miss Orlanod made in the Gaddis Library has become a reality in Shade's eyes. She really assisted Miss Feliana to build the greatest library on the earth.
The meeting place was still in the center of the library, under the high ceiling where a rotating planetarium was suspended. In the past, they always sat on a chair and a red sofa across the coffee table, but this time, a group of four red sofas surrounded the coffee table.
The young student who led Xia De left after Xia De entered the open space between the bookshelves. After Xia De walked in, he saw four people sitting on the sofa waiting for him.
Miss Danister, the "Red Moon Witch", remained the same, even her sitting position had not changed, she sat alone on a sofa.
Professor Garcia, the vice-dean of the School of History who had helped Shade a lot, was sitting with another middle-aged man with silver hair. The latter wore a pair of monocles. When he looked at Shade, Shade vaguely realized that the other person was the current dean of the School of History, Professor O'Dias.
The two professors sat on the sofa to Miss Danister's left.
When he first met Professor Garcia, Shad felt that his ears were a little pointy. Now it seems that this is a sign of his elven bloodline.