Chapter 34 - Scholar
Meirin could hardly believe her eyes. Adam? Reading? She knew clear enough that Adam hated reading while growing up. He would only do it when he was forced to by his father.
Although Zhao had done some amazing things recently, Meirin thought that it was because he had become more sensible, which wasn't the same as learning to love reading.
What she didn't know was that in his past life, Zhao was an otaku who loved books. The reason he didn't start reading a few days ago was because when he first came here, he had to face a lot of threatening situations, so he naturally wasn't in the mood.
Zhao didn't notice Meirin. He was concentrating on the book. Although the book just had miscellaneous topics, there were many things to learn, with most of them being traditions, which was very useful for Zhao.
Adam wasn't one to abide by traditions and he didn't bother to learn a lot of things about the Continent. According to the book, the Continent was quite large, led by five Empires, large and small, which contained a total of thirty two countries. That, and a few tiny settlements, described this vast territory.
Along with the Aksu Empire that Zhao was in, there was also the Rosen Empire, the Lyon Empire, the Buddha Empire, and the Blue Dynasty Empire.
Zhao now had a fief in the Black Waste, which was long discarded by the Continent. Behind it was the carrion swamp, one of the five forbidden areas, and something that no one wanted to talk about.
The other four forbidden areas in the Continent were Raya Hill, the North Pole, Fire Island, and finally the last one was a place of deep magic, where legend has it that the Devil lived there. But these rumors have never been confirmed.
All of these places, along with the carrion swamp which was known for its undead spirit beasts that were poisonous, were known as the five forbidden areas.
Adam's memories of these places were vague, and there were few records about them in this miscelleaneous book, but it was enough for Zhao.
In his past life, you weren't considered an otaku unless you read something about a world that had magic, elves, dragons, dwarves, and a lot of other things.
After reading all this, Zhao even further made up his mind that he had to be low key. He didn't know much about the powerful experts in this world, but after seeing Meirin's powerful water spells, he probably had some idea. Ah, dealing with people as powerful as Meirin would not be easy.
Zhao slowly put down the book. Although a lot of stuff wasn't of much use, he now had a better understanding of the this world.
This world wasn't like the ones in those poorly written novels he had read in his past life, where the mages didn't have any close combat ability, and the warriors couldn't attack from a far distance. This world was completely unlike that.
A mage's body wasn't as tough as a warriors. But if they use simple spells, like within the first three levels of magic, they would be able to instantaneously cast it. There would be no need to chant a long spell. So warriors wouldn't dare to look down on them in a fight.
But even if the warriors held a grudge against that, it doesn't mean that they would easily lose a fight. Don't forget that even the most average warriors could use bows and arrows, or spears and other long-range weapons. A warrior's strength shouldn't be overlooked.
Zhao slowly stood up and took a breath. After reading the miscellaneous book, he had determined that being low key was correct. He couldn't imagine how powerful the people were in this world.
He then walked to the window in the study, which was closed with paper shutters. Only a few commoners in the Continent had paper shutters, while the nobles had glass windows. But glass windows were too expensive, not something Green would buy.
Zhao opened the window and looked out. The study was on the third floor, and the light was good. From here he could see the castle square, where there were many women weaving weed mats.
Looking at those hard working people, Zhao's heart couldn't help but smile. These people were so happy and satisfied even though they were facing a huge crisis.
This time Zhao really hated himself for not having the strength to protect these people. The most he could do was let them escape into his spatial farm, but you couldn't always run away from everything.
Just then, a knock came from the door. It was Meirin. "Master, it's time for lunch."
Zhao froze for a moment. He really didn't think that time had gone by so fast, but after looking outside, sure enough there were people going back inside to eat.
He opened the door, only to find a look of joy on Meirin's face. "Grandma Meirin, why are you so happy?"
"It's nothing, Master. Time to go eat."
Zhao nodded and followed Meirin downstairs. Meg and everyone else was already waiting for him in the dining room.
After everyone sat down, Zhao decided to give out his instructions. He turned to Blockhead. "Blockhead, you will help Meirin with the weed boat. You have to lead people to cut the weeds and help them with your strength."
Blockhead nodded, then Zhao turned to Rockhead. "Rockhead, you will help set up the stones as soon as possible after they have been mined. When you reach a certain number, call me back. This will save a great deal of time."
Rockhead nodded, then Zhao turned to Ann. "Ann, you must be careful when mining. Pay attention to everyone's safety."
Ann nodded, then Zhao turned to Daisy. "Daisy, continue to teach everyone how to weave the weed mats. Then you and all the women will go along with Meirin to build the weed boat, one that is big enough to seat a dozen people. Do not be afraid to fail and waste weeds. The mountain should have enough of them."
Daisy nodded, then Zhao turned to Meirin. "Grandma Meirin, you had said that we should build a guard post on the hilltop overlooking the carrion swamp. Not only would this allow us to pay attention to what's around the castle, but it would also help us prepare in advance for any undead spirit beasts."
Meirin nodded her head. "Yes, Master. A guard post should be built, but you don't have to worry about that. You should spend your time reading more books."
Zhao didn't expect her to say that. "Don't worry, Grandma Meirin, I will."
Meirin and Meg nodded, but Blockhead and Rockhead were in shock. They had grown up together with Adam, so they couldn't believe it when he said that he was going to read.
Once discussions were finished, they soon began eating. After he was done, Zhao immediately went up to the study. He wanted to know more about this world.
When Meirin saw Zhao going up to the study, her eyes shined. Although this world respects strength, a man of learning could also be respected. Even in the Aksu Empire, the king knew that there were many important aspects that could only be left to a scholar.
This was one of the reasons why Meirin was happy. Because Zhao drank the Water of Nothingness, it was impossible to learn magic and martial arts. And his space was only useful as life insurance since people could escape into it. But that wasn't enough.
He would also need the respect of others. If you couldn't learn magic or martial arts, then if you wanted respect, the only way was to become a scholar.
Translator Notes: This chapter was edited from an MTL. Please leave a comment if you've spotted anything that looks wrong.