Morta Script

Although Merlin felt that Old Aita was a bit eccentric, since Kailisi had already vouched that the old man possessed profound attainments in authenticating antiques from the Molta Empire period, he had no further misgivings. He bowed slightly and respectfully called out to Old Aita, "Merlin is willing to follow you and learn, Teacher!"

"Very good."

The ashen hue that had lingered on Old Aita's face instantly vanished, replaced by a smile. "Merlin, come over this afternoon. You'll begin learning some basic knowledge of antique authentication."

Unsure of Old Aita's temper and not daring to object, Merlin could only nod to indicate he would come that afternoon. Soon after, Old Aita sent Merlin and Kailisi out the door.

"Miss Kailisi, who on earth is Teacher Aita?"

Merlin finally could not hold back his curiosity and questioned Kailisi.

After a moment of silent rumination, Kailisi said in a low voice, "Mr. Aita seems to have come to Blackwater City from somewhere else. He is completely alone with no known family, and his temperament is rather reclusive; he only cares for collecting antiques. I also met Mr. Aita by chance and sought his guidance on antiques—whenever I encounter items I don't understand, I come to consult him. As for anything else regarding Mr. Aita, I'm not really clear myself."

Merlin nodded, then parted ways with Kailisi and returned to the manor by carriage.

In the afternoon, Merlin arrived once more before Old Aita's small building.

The weather had cleared up by now. The heavy snow had fallen for a full day and finally stopped, though the air remained bitterly cold. Merlin wrapped his heavy coat tightly around himself, climbed to the second floor, and knocked on Old Aita's door.

The door opened shortly. Seeing that it was Merlin, Old Aita's expression remained indifferent.

"You're reasonably punctual. Not bad."

Without saying anything further, Old Aita let Merlin inside.

Merlin approached the fireplace. Old Aita seemed to favor sitting here, and Merlin noticed a thick bound volume resting beside the hearth.

Old Aita glanced up at Merlin, then stated, "Antiques are the precipitation of history. A single antique may well bear the weight of a specific historical era. Therefore, to understand antiques, one must possess broad learning and a profound grasp of their historical backgrounds. Take the Molta Empire antiques you are so fond of, for instance—if you wish to truly discern artifacts from this period, you must first understand the Molta Empire. Do you know what the most important thing of the Molta Empire was?"

Merlin shook his head, his knowledge of the Molta Empire being exceedingly meager.

"It was the script. For a unified empire, a script is indispensable. Only through writing can one comprehend the many affairs of the Molta Empire era. Naturally, the script is also an excellent method for identifying antiques from that period."

With that, Old Aita picked up the small booklet on the table and handed it to Merlin.

Merlin casually opened to a page and found it covered in dense, bizarre symbols that he had never seen before. Old Aita explained, "This is the Morta script, the writing of the Molta Empire era!"

"Morta script?"

Merlin's eyes lit up. These Morta scripts bore a stark difference from the Light Script currently used in the Bright Kingdom, which somewhat resembled the Western Latin alphabet of his past life, combining individual letters to form tens of thousands of vocabularies.

The Morta script, however, resembled rows of little tadpoles; to Merlin's eyes, it was utterly impossible to discern any points of distinction among them.

"Merlin, if you wish to authenticate antiques from the Molta Empire period, you must begin by studying the Morta script."

Thus, right here with Old Aita, Merlin commenced his study of the complex Morta script.

Learning a script is exceedingly dry work, yet Merlin burned with enthusiasm for mastering the Morta script. Perhaps his present body possessed an innate sensitivity to written characters; he showed considerable aptitude for learning the Morta script, and within a single afternoon, he had already mastered over a dozen vocabulary words.

Naturally, acquiring a new script requires perseverance, demanding several months or even years of study to truly master.

The afternoon passed swiftly. Noticing that the sky was gradually growing dark, Old Aita spoke coldly, "Very well, that is all for today. Go back and properly practice all the Morta script vocabulary you learned today."

"Teacher Aita, I will surely review diligently upon returning."

With that, Merlin gave Old Aita another slight bow, then turned and left the small building.

Hoo...

The outside was freezing and biting. Struck by this gust of cold wind, Merlin's somewhat dizzy head cleared considerably. He already spotted Moss's carriage.

"Moss, back to the manor!"

Merlin scrambled into the carriage, stretched his legs out, leaned back against the seat, and gently massaged his temples with both hands. Although studying with Old Aita today had been exhausting, it was by far the most fulfilling day he had spent since coming to this world.

Several days passed. Merlin shuttled back and forth between Old Aita and the manor every day in a simple two-point routine.

"Butler, is something the matter?"

After finishing breakfast, Merlin asked softly. He had sensed for a while that the butler seemed a bit off today.

After a moment of hesitation, the butler spoke up, "Young Master Merlin, Miss Mei Xue left the manor nine days ago. Since she hasn't returned after all this time, should we send someone to Gran City to check on her?"

Merlin froze slightly. Over the past few days, he had been so consumed with studying the Morta script and living each day to the fullest that he had indeed somewhat forgotten about Mei Xue.

He recalled Mei Xue saying that the academic exchange to Gran City would only take three to five days. It had now been nearly ten days without a return, so it was no wonder the butler was worried.

"Let's do this: don't rush to send people to Gran City just yet. I'll find some time later to ask Anson and see if he has any news."

The butler nodded, then ordered the servants to clear the table.

Hoo...

Merlin stepped out of the castle, and a blast of cold wind caused him to shiver involuntarily. Although it had stopped snowing over the past few days and the weather had cleared up somewhat, walking outside remained bitterly cold.

"Moss, take me to Teacher Aita's place."

Merlin hesitated. He usually visited Old Aita in the afternoons, but since he needed to seek out Anson for information today, he still had to inform Old Aita of the situation first.

Accordingly, the carriage slowly departed from the manor.

Merlin stood before Old Aita's door and called out softly, "Teacher Aita."

After a short wait, Merlin heard no response whatsoever from Old Aita, so he reached out to knock.

Creeeak.

At the gentle touch of Merlin's hand, the heavy door actually swung open.

Hesitating for a moment, Merlin stepped inside. He glanced around in all directions, seeing no trace of Old Aita; it appeared the old man was not at home.

Teacher Aita is really too careless. He leaves the door unlocked—isn't he afraid of burglars?

Merlin muttered to himself. Public security in Blackwater City could hardly be considered good lately, but he knew Old Aita was eccentric and mysterious by nature. Having been here for nearly ten days, he still had no idea what Old Aita actually did for a living, knowing only that this house belonged to him alone and that, aside from Merlin and the occasional visit from Kailisi, absolutely no other visitors ever came by.

Therefore, Merlin privately guessed that Old Aita might have come to Blackwater City entirely alone.

Finding that Old Aita was out, Merlin sat quietly by the fireplace to wait, taking the opportunity to review the Morta script he had learned over the past few days.

After waiting for about an hour, the temperature inside the room seemed to drop significantly, and Merlin casually added some firewood to the hearth. Just then, he heard footsteps coming up the stairs outside the door. Supposing that Old Aita had returned, Merlin hurried to his feet.

Bam.

The door was slammed shut violently. Seeing Merlin inside the room, Old Aita looked momentarily startled and asked, "Merlin, why are you here?"

Noticing that Old Aita was wearing a pair of tall leather boots caked with mud, with heavy dew clinging to his coat and a slightly pale, thoroughly exhausted face, Merlin wondered what on earth he had been out doing.

"Teacher Aita, I came to ask for a leave of absence. I might need to go handle some family matters this afternoon, so I won't be coming by later today."

Merlin watched Old Aita. To his surprise, the old man did not fly into a rage; instead, he appeared quite calm. After a long silence, Old Aita finally nodded and said placidly, "I have to take a distant journey these next few days, so your lessons will probably have to be suspended for a while."

Merlin was somewhat surprised. Old Aita usually appeared utterly leisurely—what could possibly require him to travel?

"When will Teacher Aita return?"

"Hard to say. Perhaps three or five days, perhaps ten days or half a month. But remember, even when I am not here, you must continue practicing the Morta script diligently. I have some insights on learning the Morta script here, along with translations matching it to the Light Script, all compiled over the past few years. Take them and study them yourself; they should help elevate your comprehension of the Morta script."

With that, Old Aita produced a thick stack of reference materials and handed them to Merlin.

Merlin was stunned. These materials were by no means ordinary—weren't they practically the equivalent of a dictionary from his past life? Furthermore, they were recorded stroke by stroke by Old Aita himself, making them exceptionally precious. In this era, these items alone could be considered priceless treasures. Although Old Aita was usually strict, he clearly placed a high value on Merlin.

"Don't worry, Teacher. I will surely stay home and practice the Morta script properly."

Having spoken, Merlin took the documents and turned to leave.

"Wait..."

Old Aita's expression shifted uncertainly. Finally, as if having made up his mind about something, he pulled a black ring from his bosom, tossed it directly to Merlin, and said in a deep voice, "Take this little trinket as a gift. It's the least I can do since you call me 'Teacher'."

"Teacher, this..."

Merlin hesitated, but Old Aita waved a hand dismissively with an impatient look on his face. "Go on, get out of here. Go do whatever you need to do. I'm tired and want to get some proper rest."

Without a shred of politeness, Old Aita chased Merlin right out the door.

Merlin descended the stairs, climbed into the carriage, and placed the reference materials inside. He remained in a daze even now, feeling that something was off about Old Aita today—giving away study materials and a ring all at once.

Old Aita is mysterious and eccentric all the time, and I have no idea what on earth is happening. But this ring really is strange; it looks like quite an antique...

He had no idea what material the black ring was made of. Resting in his palm, it felt as light as nothing at all, pitch-black throughout, and carved with a ferocious, multi-headed monster baring its fangs and brandishing its claws—rendered with such vivid realism that it actually looked somewhat eerie.

Surely no one would willingly wear such a ring on their finger.

Merlin examined it closely for a moment, yet failed to discover anything special about it. He therefore tucked the ring away into his pocket and instructed Moss, "Let's go, Moss. Heading to etiquette class today."

The carriage slowly pulled away from Old Aita's small building.