Ancient Language Class (Seeking Follow-ups!)

The next morning, Ivan hovered by the bedside early, waiting for Diana to wake up.

Last night, while she was fast asleep, he had quietly flipped through the Book of Rituals and discovered that, aside from the page regarding the Lord of All Spirits which remained relatively clear, the other pages had been eroded by time into blurriness, as if the history had been deliberately erased.

Having found no new clues, Ivan could only pin his hopes on finding more information regarding the origin of this book.

"Miss Diana, if you don't get up now, you'll be late for school." Knock, knock, knock... It wasn't until the maid's third round of knocking that the young girl on the bed slightly opened her sleepy eyes and lazily rolled over.

Ivan took the opportunity to let his grand, ethereal voice resonate within her mind:

"Diana, go. Seek out more ancient texts of this nature and grasp their meanings; you will gradually come to understand the truth of this world."

In his heart, he left the second half of his thought unspoken: Your Lord also needs to rely on you to understand...

That grand, ethereal voice drifted into Diana's mind like a dream.

She mumbled a hazy, "Got it~"

She rolled over again, seemingly about to fall back into a deep slumber, but the next second, she snapped her eyes open and sat up in bed, her breathing slightly rapid.

"Was that... the great Lord of All Spirits giving me a revelation just now?" she whispered to herself in disbelief, then clenched her fist, feeling the power within it.

"Everything yesterday wasn't a dream..."

"I shall follow your revelation!" she whispered a devout prayer, excitement shimmering in her eyes.

Diana quickly got up to wash, and while tidying her appearance, she repeatedly confirmed her goal in her heart.

An unprecedented sense of mission was enveloping her; after all, this was the first task assigned to her by the great Lord of All Spirits.

Ivan was also contemplating his own plans.

He decided to accompany Diana to the school's library archives today, where many ancient documents were stored; perhaps he could find traces of the Lord of All Spirits or other Old Gods there.

The morning sun spilled through the blinds at the end of the corridor, casting a layer of warm golden light onto the second-floor hallway.

The wooden door to the young girl's room opened from the inside, and Ivan drifted out slowly, following in Diana's footsteps.

She leaned over the carved railing on the second floor to look down, where two maids were busy preparing breakfast.

"Good morning! Ms. Louise! Good morning! Ms. Sophia!" Her voice was crisp and melodious, like a lark in the early morning.

"Good morning, Miss Diana." The older Louise responded with a smile; her movements were meticulous, as befitted the villa's head maid.

"Miss looks especially spirited today." Young Sophia blinked her bright, large eyes, carefully carrying a tray of steaming croissants in her hands.

Diana walked down the stairs quickly and naturally took the tray from Sophia's hands: "Let me help you, be careful, it's hot."

"Miss, this is our job..." Sophia said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"It's alright, I'm just... feeling especially energetic today!" Diana winked playfully, nearly bumping into a vase in the hallway as she turned, but her powerful control over her body allowed her to stop just in time.

In the dining room, she stuffed bread into her mouth while asking indistinctly:

"What... time is it now..."

"No rush, Miss, eat slowly. If Mr. Logan sees you like this, he'll lecture you again." Louise watched Diana wolfing down her food and couldn't help but shake her head.

"It's fine, Father should have already left for City Hall. If you don't say anything, no one will know."

Dong~ Just then, the clock on the wall struck eight.

"Oh no! I'm going to be late!" Diana exclaimed, quickly stuffing the last bite of bread into her mouth and draining her milk in one gulp.

Outside the villa, a steam carriage had been waiting for a long time. Its vertical chimney puffed out white mist, the carriage body gleaming with an elegant dark green luster in the sunlight, and the muffled thrum of the boiler mixed with the hissing of leaking steam, as if urging the young girl to hurry.

Diana lifted her skirt and stepped into the carriage with quick, small steps; her movements were becoming increasingly agile, as if she were gradually adapting to her own strength.

Ivan followed her silently and slipped into the carriage as well.

Inside, deep red leather seats were paired with polished handrails on both sides, and a small gas lamp hung in the corner, emitting a warm glow.

In the driver's seat outside the window, the coachman slowly pushed down the control lever, and the steam engine let out a low, restless rumble. A plume of white mist erupted from the iron chimney above, followed by a crisp, long whistle.

The carriage pulled onto the road smoothly, and the rubber-clad wheels didn't feel bumpy even when rolling over the cobblestones.

Through the window on the carriage door, Ivan looked at the bustling streets outside and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Tsk, it's good to be rich; even the transportation is the latest steam carriage.

The carriage soon arrived at Diana's school. The heavy iron gate outside was entwined with vine patterns, and bronze owl statues stood on both sides.

Inside the gate was a wide lawn with a fountain in the center, and the exterior of the teaching building behind it was made of dark brick, with arched windows at the top inlaid with stained glass similar to that of the church.

Diana walked quickly to the door of the first-floor classroom and pushed the back door open gently. Inside, the Ancient Languages class had already been in session for some time.

The professor was writing mysterious symbols on the blackboard with chalk. Catching the movement at the door in his peripheral vision, he paused his chalk and gave a light cough.

Seeing this, Diana, who had intended to sneak into her seat, had to stop and offer the professor an awkward smile:

"Sorry, Professor! I, I was reading too late last night and got up a bit late this morning."

The professor sighed and nodded slightly: "Take your seat, Diana. Although your grades are excellent, you must still be mindful of attending class on time."

Diana nodded, stuck out her tongue, and sat down at an empty desk.

She quickly took out her notebook and focused her attention on the content of the lesson.

Ivan drifted in the classroom, waiting for Diana to finish her lesson while curiously observing the strange symbols on the blackboard.

Unlike the Rheinish language, which consisted of strings of words resembling Roman letters, these symbols looked more like ideograms, with odd curves clustered together to form distinct block characters.

It looks a bit like hieroglyphics.

He began to study the symbols, comparing the characters in Diana's notes to their Rheinish translations while listening to the professor's lecture at the front.

"This symbol, with a simple semi-circular arc at the top, represents a supreme existence."

"Below it are two symmetrical, winding curves, resembling two people kneeling on the ground with their hands raised high above their heads in a gesture of worship."

The professor paused for a moment, adjusted his glasses, and continued:

"According to the consensus currently accepted by the academic community, the meaning of this symbol is 'God'."

Dong~

The bell signaling the end of class echoed through the classroom; the morning session had come to an end.

Ivan's tentacles took turns rubbing his "head." He already felt dizzy and lightheaded, as if those ancient characters were little people dancing and leaping before his eyes.

Phew~ This ancient language is just too abstract. I have no idea how Diana managed to study with such focus all morning and still look so happy.

Watching Diana's bright smile and excited expression, he couldn't help but recognize the gap between himself and a top student.

Diana had not forgotten the task assigned to her by the Lord of All Spirits, and she skipped her way to the school's library archives.

Pushing open the heavy oak doors, a scent mixed with aged paper, leather, and camphor wafted toward her.

Towering bookshelves reached all the way to the ceiling, leaving narrow aisles between them that required the use of a movable iron ladder to reach the top levels.

The librarian was an old man wearing round-rimmed glasses, currently hunched over his desk organizing library cards. Seeing Diana push the door open and enter, he looked up, adjusted his glasses, and spoke in a flat, indifferent tone:

"Miss Diana, didn't you take an ancient text last time... and fail to register it?"