Chapter Three: 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 like a library, although I've never been to one, well, one that wasn't destroyed. I've always enjoyed reading and have made an effort to read during my limited downtime. However, most of the books I read were related to war. I once tried to read a romance novel, but I couldn't understand it, so I...

"Stop spacing out and take a seat." Mary guided me to the table and helped me into the chair, placing a pillow on the seat as a booster. An assortment of papers, books, and a quill and inkpot are 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 wouldn't have figured that a maid would be able to read and write. Then again, maybe there is some reason she knows.

Now that I think about it. 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. I took a look at the odd-looking characters on the paper. It appears that 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 piece of paper, pointing to the letters on it. I began copying the letters while sounding them out. 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, I've had to learn an entire cipher to decipher communications in Dustka, so I am pretty used to learning new writing systems.

I finished the last of the letters for a third time and then looked at Mary. "Well, you’re not hopeless after all. Let’s see if you can handle a book." 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 in front of 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 quite large and the passages are short, which suggests that this book is probably intended for first-time readers.

"The phoenix is a large, beautiful bird that is bathed in fire. It spends its life flying around the world in search of 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 trying to hide her annoyance. I guess hours, if not days, worth of frustration are finally over for her. 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, not just a fairy tale. That makes me wonder what other crazy things this world has. If this world had magic, then I would have to rethink how I approach warfare. "I'm not sure exactly when they saw it, but I'm pretty sure 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 devil 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 devil 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 lot of free time, so I suppose I should get to work finding those answers. I should probably start with the elves. My father in this world did receive some kind of letter from them, and if they are anything like the elves from my world's fantasy, then they would be a very strong adversary.

"Mary, who are the elves?" I asked. Mary gave me an annoyed look and then let out a sigh. "It's good to know that you pay attention to my history lessons." I continued to stare at her, awaiting an answer. She sighed. "Fine. The elves are a race of people who live in the north. They have pointy ears and light blue hair. They are also one of the two races that can use magic." "Magic?" I accidentally blurted out in surprise.

"Yes, magic. The power to alter the world around you without any physical input. Unfortunately, only the elves and sirens have this power." I suppose that's why that failure of a devil said that humans are the weakest. Magic is a significant advantage that I will need to counter. However, she said that both the elves and the sirens possess this power, which makes me wonder how many other races there are and what makes them strong.

"Mary, who are the sirens?" She looked at me again with an annoyed expression. "We are here to learn how to read and write. Not play one hundred questions. You need to start paying attention to my lessons, and today we are reading and writing, so start rereading the book." She said sternly while tapping on the book in front of me. I started to reread the book, but we were interrupted by the door opening.

Annabelle walked into the room. "Mary, come with me. I need your help with the guests that arrived." Annabelle said. "Mother, what about Lenka's..." "Oh, there is no need to worry about that. You see, the locksmith already installed the lock." Annabelle held up a key in her hand and gave off a devious smile. Mary gave a slight grin. "I see. Well, Lenka, you won't be able to escape and cause any trouble this time, so please continue your studies while I'm away." Mary said.

Both of them left the room, and then I heard the sound of the door locking. Now I have some time to explore this room full of 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 storybooks, as well as books on politics, history, medicine, and even books about plants and animals. There is quite a collection of books, and I probably will have a ton of free time in this world, so I might as well try to read up on everything that I can.

I reached up to grab a book, but stopped when I saw the sunlight shine through the curtains next to me. Curiosity about those guests hit me, so I peeked out the window. Outside was a caravan of carriages loaded with boxes and goods. I suppose some merchants arrived here to sell their goods. I was about to return, but then I saw some of the merchants get out of their carriages.

The merchants had animal ears and tails? One of them had wolf-like ears and a fluffy tail, while another one had cat ears and a cat tail. I really am in some kind of fantasy world. It's very surreal, and it makes me curious about what other oddities this new world has. I wonder if... I shook my head. I need to focus on gathering information. After all, no matter what I do, the wars will come, and I don't know when, so I can't stand idly by and not learn what kind of enemies await me.

I grab a few different subjects and place them on the table. I tried to find things related to this area and other races. However, it appears that specific books related to those topics are not available here. I'm going to have to dig into history and other books to help piece together all the information. Well, I have always been dealt very challenging tasks, and at least this one doesn't involve injury or death.

It's been a few hours since Mary left, and I have learned a bit about this world through reading some of the books. It's 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 also learned that the other races of this world include elves, dwarves, beastkin, demons, and sirens. However, I could only gather a few small tidbits of information from the books I read. Like the beastkin have enhanced senses, or the demons are incredibly strong.

I will need to read more books to fully understand this world, but at least at a glance, it doesn't seem like it's unwinnable, as that devil was saying. The road ahead may be difficult, but I believe that with proper planning and the right people, I can survive the wars that will come. Humans don't seem to be at a complete disadvantage compared to the other races; however, they 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 require a significant amount of time and resources, and I also lack the necessary power or influence to make it happen yet.

Even though I'm in a new world, it seems like I haven't left Dustka. I don't have the power to change the world, and I only have the power to simply survive. Locked in a room with only my mind and limited information. While I wait for another endless war to continue. I stared at the ceiling and let out a sigh. Perhaps I should simply make the most of the time I have left here and avoid overexertion. No, I can't allow myself to do that. 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 devil 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, I lost everything that made me human. So, my only option is to push forward into whatever hell awaits me, just like I did in Dustka.