Chapter Two: Information is everything

We entered the first room on the left if you were facing the staircase heading downstairs. The room was filled with bookshelves and a large table in the middle. It looks almost like a library, not that I have ever been to one. Mary guided me to the table and put me in the chair with a pillow for a booster seat. An assortment of papers, books, and a pen and quill is on the table. "Now, Lenka, we're going to start with the alphabet again." She points to a paper that has foreign letters on it.

I am surprised that Mary is the one teaching me. I would have figured that someone of her status would not be able to read and write. Then again, this is a different world. Maybe the literacy rate is much higher, or maybe there is a reason she can. I recall that the literacy rate in medieval times was a little higher than what was reported because you would need to learn if your profession needed it. For instance, a blacksmith and a carpenter might know how to read and write to fill out order forms, or a gates guard might know because he has to read documents.

However, it does seem odd that a maid would know. Maybe she's a lesser noble. I have heard that some ladies in waiting were lesser nobles and that being a lady to a high-ranking noble was a huge deal. Now that I think about reading and writing, it's a miracle that we even speak the same language, and I guess asking for the writing to be the same would be asking for too much.

Looks like the letters on the paper are based on a twenty-six-letter phonetic alphabet. Mary pointed to a letter and sounded out the letter. Following along with her, I realized that the letters themselves are different, but the sounds are similar to my language. If remembering new letters is all I need to do, then this won't be too hard.

Mary handed me the quill and a new paper and pointed to the letters. I began copying the letters while sounding out the letters. As I continued down the list, I caught a glance at Mary, and she was glaring at me with both surprise and annoyance.

Well, it's not like she knows that the me now knows another language very similar to the one I am learning. Then again, not to brag, but I am also very smart, so I probably would have figured it out even if it wasn't similar. I mean, I didn't become one of the most wanted terrorists by sheer luck alone.

I finished the last of the letters for a third time and then looked at Mary. "Well, at least I know you're not a complete fool. Why don't we start trying to read." She responded somewhat dejectedly, as if she wanted to be mad at me but was also glad to be over it. Mary grabbed a book from the table and put it before me. The book was somewhat small but had leather bindings and embroidered letters on it.

"The legend of the phoenix." I read. I wonder if a phoenix is real in this world or if this book is just a fairy tale. I opened the book and saw that the first page had a very nice, detailed drawing of a phoenix. Turning to the next page, I see that the words are pretty large and the passages are short, which would suggest that this book is probably made to help first-time readers.

"The phoenix is a large, beautiful bird that is bathed in fire. It spends its life flying around the world searching for something. It never stops, it never rests, and even in its death, it will rise from its ashes and continue searching. No one knows what it is searching for, but people believe whatever it is searching for must be very important to this world." The rest of the book goes over stories of phoenix sightings and how people who witnessed the phoenix were blessed in some way.

I will admit that it took me a little while to finish the book, and every time I got stuck on a word, Mary quickly came in to correct me. I look over at Mary. She is sitting there speechless. I guess hours, if not days worth of frustration, are finally over for her. Again, I would feel bad, but it's not like I remember what my previous self put her through. I am curious about the story, and since I am technically a kid, it wouldn't be too odd for me to ask a dumb question, right?

"Mary, have you ever seen the phoenix?" "No, I haven't, but I believe our mothers have." Wait, so the phoenix is real and not some fairy tale. That makes me wonder what other crazy things this world has. "When did they see it?" "I'm not sure exactly when, but I do know it was right before you were born." Of course, it was. It's almost like there was some divine intervention. Then again, that failure of a god did say that she has limited control over this world, so maybe it was just a random event.

Well, my name is the same in this world as the last, so maybe that failure of a god has some strings that she can pull. Well, sitting here questioning things won't get me the answers I need. This room has many books, and I have a ton of free time in this world, so I guess I should get to work finding those answers.

"Mary, is it alright if I start reading some of the other books?" She looks at me and gives me a smile. "Of course, all of these books belonged to your mother, and I believe she absolutely would enjoy you reading her books."

I get down from my seat and start browsing through the bookshelves. After reading some of the books' titles, I noticed a large variety of books. There are story books, political, history, medical, and even books on plants and animals. My mother in this world had quite a collection of books. I grab a few different subjects and place them on the table.

"Lenka, you know these are some pretty advanced books to read." "I know, Mary, but I would like to be able to read all of the books here." She looked at me and gave me a smile and a soft chuckle.

"You are just like your mother. She read almost every book in here. Well, I will leave you to it then. I still need to do a lot of cleaning, so if you need me, just call out." Just like that, her attitude toward me changed. Maybe it's because I am showing interest in learning, or maybe it's because I reminded her of my mother. Either way, I have a lot of reading to do, but before she leaves, I might as well tease her a little bit.

"Aren't you worried that I might escape?" she turned around and looked at me, then laughed. "That sounds more like you, but I do believe that something in you has changed. I only hope that it's for the better." On that note, she turned around and left the room.

I may have the wrong impression of her; she is a very diligent person and serious person when it comes to work, but at the same time, she seems more like a caring sister who is just trying to make sure I don't turn out as a bad person. Well, if she knew how horrible I was in my past life, she would be acting a lot differently to me. Either way, these books won't read themself. Time to get to work. After all, information is everything.

It's been about a month since I was reincarnated, and I have learned a lot about this world through reading many of the books in the study. It was a lot to process, but at least this world isn't some hellscape full of monsters. From what I read, there are only a few creatures like the phoenix. However, the other ones don't seem real or aren't around anymore. I learned that this world has other humanoid races. The races of this world are humans, elves, dwarfs, beastkin, demons, and sirens. There were a few more, but it doesn't seem that they are around anymore.

First off are the humans; despite the fact they have no advantage like other races, they do, however, have one of the largest kingdoms. The elves are just what you would expect, pointy-eared people who can use magic, and from what the books say, they are very prideful and arrogant.

The dwarfs are a little different than what you would expect. They are hardworking, strong, natural-born craftsmen living in underground caves. The thing that makes them different is their height. You would expect them to be very short; however, in this world, they are just somewhat short. The average height of a dwarf is about five feet, which would definitely make them on the short side but not the small people you would normally think about.

The beastkin are humans with some animal characteristics like cat ears and tails. They seem to have enhanced senses, but other than that, there is not too much information on them, and that is likely because the beastkin empire is isolationist and very rarely goes outside of their empire.

The demons are a very strong and tough race. They are basically built like tanks with hardened skin and bones. Apparently, they also have some type of magic, but it is somehow different than the one the elves use. Again, there seems to be little information on them, and what I can gather is that they are a very loose group of clans that are constantly at war with each other.

Lastly are the sirens, which seem to be the most dangerous of them all. The sirens look very angelic and have wings that allow them to fly. They also have some type of psychic powers that they use to manipulate people, and the reason for that is that they are an all-female race. They use their psychic powers to make men have children with them. However, it seems that their powers work on everyone and every race. Truly terrifying people luckily, they seem to only randomly show up to places to attack one person and then leave everyone else alone. Their home is somewhere in the ocean on a floating island.

That pretty much sums up the races of this world, and for my family, local politics, and the town I'm in. My family is of higher nobility and manages the Blue Coast as well as the Blue City. I was wrong in assuming this was a town, but it is considered a city, and the Blue Coast is a large territory that has some of the best farmland and a major port. Needless to say, our territory's main export is food, and with that, we are considered the backbone of the human kingdom.

My mother of this world was the heiress to the Bluerose house, and my father was married into the house. I don't know too much about the marriage or what my father was before he married, but since there is no other family in the picture, that would make me the heiress of the Bluerose house.

From poor terrorist to the heiress of a major noble house. Not that I mind, but that whole you can't escape the wars that will come hasn't exactly made me happy about my new position. Also, the reason this place is called Blue Coast and Blue City is because there is a blue rose that blooms here. Apparently, when they do bloom, they cover most of the land in blue, hence the name. I have also heard that sometimes, at night, when they are in full bloom, they will glow blue.

This world is unique and full of crazy things, but it's not unwinnable like that god was saying. The road ahead may be difficult, but I believe that with the right planning and people, I can survive the wars that will come. The humans are at a complete disadvantage compared to the other races; however, the humans are still stuck in the past. If I want a chance, I must find a way to advance their technology. The problem with this is that it would take a long time and a lot of resources, and I also don't have the power or influence to make it happen yet.

*sigh* Maybe I should just enjoy the time I have here. No, I can't allow myself to do that. I mean, I can't even feel emotions, let alone continue on like my past never happened. I could just end it all and jump off the roof, then tell that failure of a god to screw off, but I don't think I would be able to do that. It's not that I fear death or pain.

What I fear most of all is the possibility of meeting my family again. I don't think I could handle the guilt and their disappointment. I did whatever it took to survive but, at the same time, lost everything that made me human. So, my only option is to push forward into whatever hell awaits me. There is so much to do, but let's hope that I have the time to do it.

I walk past the study to the door on its left. This room is my father's office, and to the left of this room is his bedroom. I knock on the door to his office. "Come in." I open the door and walk into his office. This is the first time I have been here.

The room was somewhat smaller than the study. It had a big desk in the center and several chairs and sofas in the front of it. On the back wall were a set of windows and bookshelves. There was also a fireplace on the left side of the room. My father of this world was sitting at the desk with some papers scattered around it.

"Oh, what is it Lenka." "Father, I would like to learn what it is to be a noble and how to run the court like you do." He gives a long pause. "Lenka, you are still young. You shouldn't worry about it yet." I figured that would be the response; however, I'm pressed for time in this world.

"I understand, father. However, I have been excelling in my studies to the point where there is nothing left for Mary to teach. This is why I want to learn from you. It will not only benefit my future but could also help reduce your workload." He let out a sigh and put his hand to his forehead.

"You know you're just like your mother. Never know when to back down, and always have some logical reason that I can't deny." He sat there quietly for a while, thinking about what to do. "Fine, but you are only here to shadow me. During any meeting, you are not allowed to speak. Understand."

"I understand, father." I bowed as I said it. He stood up, grabbed a chair, and moved it beside him. Then he grabbed a pillow off one of the sofas and put it on the chair. He patted the chair to gesture to me to sit there. I sat on the chair and could see the many documents that he had on the desk.

My father grabs a few of the documents on the table and shows them to me. "These documents with the golden stamp are order forms for food. The ones with red stamps are letters of importance from other cities, guilds, or lesser nobles. The purple stamps are letters of high importance from the king or other nobles. The last one is black, and they are usually letters of complaint or recommendations from the guards or local citizens."

That seems simple enough. I guess you would need some sort of organization when you get so many letters. He hands me some of the order forms. "The order forms will have the place that ordered and the amount of goods they ordered. The price for the bill will depend on the item and the supply and demand of that item."

I look at a few of them, and they are just basic trade things. We need ten bags of flour and two barrels of smoked fish and deliver them to this place. I did see one that stood out because it was marked with a gold and purple stamp. I took a closer look at that one, and the person who ordered it, as well as the large amount of goods, was odd. It says that it is for the elves, and they are ordering ten times as much as the other orders.

"What about this one?" He looks at it and then lets out a sigh. "Don't worry about that one." He grabs it and sets it to the side. "It said it's for the elves." He let out another sigh. "You saw that?" He thinks for a second. "That order came from the king, so I can't turn it down."

"Why is the king ordering for the elves?" "It's... complicated. Let's just say that it's to keep the peace even if it makes us poor." It seems like someone is already pulling the strings to start a war with orders that large; it's no wonder father is always working and holding meetings. It seems that I will have a lot more to learn and a lot more to deal with.