Within the manor, the afternoon sunlight shone through the windows onto the carpet, every fine strand of its pile clearly visible. Leather shoes stepped onto the carpet's edge. Wearing a shirt, Merkel leaned forward over the table and took the globe down from the display rack.
The globe had gone unused for a long time, and a thin layer of dust coated its surface. Merkel took out a cloth and gently wiped it clean. Then he heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw Schiller enter.
"Good afternoon, sir... Oh, what is that?" Merkel greeted him as usual, then looked curiously at the object Schiller was carrying.
"Victor and I visited an antique shop in the West End yesterday and found something interesting." Schiller shook the object in his hand, producing a clattering sound.
It was a wooden frame strung with many small wooden beads. When Schiller lifted and shook it, Merkel saw the whole thing clearly. "Is that... an abacus? Why are you interested in one?"
"An abacus, an ancient calculating tool. I love it more than calculators. Both make sounds, but the clack of abacus beads is far more pleasant than a calculator's electronic tones."
As he spoke, Schiller carried the abacus to the desk and sat down behind it. He narrowed his eyes and glanced at the clock on the wall. Merkel stepped slightly aside to make sure he was not blocking Schiller's view.
But Schiller merely gave the clock a casual glance before lowering his head and beginning to fiddle with the wooden abacus.
It was clearly an antique, but fortunately, polished wood made it smoother to handle. Schiller propped his head up with one hand while continuously sliding the beads with the other.
After watching for a while, Merkel realized Schiller was not moving the