Chapter 31: The Creation Myth

Black Wolf Castle, the library.

After pushing open the heavy oak doors, what greeted Xia Mingyu was a sight that seemed to engulf the entire space: row after row of towering bookshelves stretching all the way to the ceiling.

The air was filled with a faint scent of old paper and raw wood. Sunlight filtered through stained-glass windows, casting mottled patches of light and shadow upon the floor, a scene so tranquil it made one... sleepy.

"Just woke up and already feeling drowsy. In a sense, libraries really are a sanctuary for the insomniac."

Xia Mingyu’s mouth twitched. He had not forgotten his purpose here; he needed to acquire the "common sense" of this world's nobility as quickly as possible to gain a clear understanding of his current situation, identity, and the duties he was expected to perform.

"There are far more books here than I imagined."

As he wove through the layered aisles, looking at the dizzying stacks of volumes, Xia Mingyu could not help but sigh. It was easy to imagine that for the past century, generations of the Hughes family must have spared no effort in collecting these works to amass such a hoard in a world with a setting akin to the Middle Ages.

"But with so many books, how am I supposed to find the ones I need?"

Xia Mingyu rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought. The shelves in this library appeared to be unorganized; if he were to search one by one, he feared he might not finish even by nightfall. If only there were a librarian...

While pondering a solution, he unconsciously wandered back and forth between the shelves.

"Wait, what is that..."

He stopped in his tracks, his gaze fixed on a narrow gap between two bookshelves. Through the opening, he caught sight of an exquisite hammock, and lying upon it appeared to be a person.

"Could Viscount Hughes have actually arranged for a librarian to be here?"

With this thought in mind, Xia Mingyu rounded the shelf and headed toward the hammock. As he drew closer, he saw the person’s appearance clearly.

It was a girl who looked no older than thirteen or fourteen. Her long, silvery-white hair cascaded like a waterfall over the edge of the vine-woven hammock, the strands shimmering with a soft halo under the sunlight from the window.

Her face was barely larger than an adult's palm, her lightly pursed lips as delicate as a budding cherry blossom. Beneath her porcelain-white skin, faint blue veins were barely visible, and her long, silvery-white eyelashes fluttered slightly. She was curled up on the hammock, her pale pink silk nightgown slipped down to her knees, revealing calves as white as fresh snow and shapely, delicate bare feet.

"What a cute girl!"

Xia Mingyu couldn't help but marvel inwardly. Although Anlia was also beautiful, her beauty was of a gentle, soft, and divine nature—the kind that made one infatuated, yet prevented the birth of overly profane desires.

But this girl was different. That silver hair and her petite, perfect figure were like a "super-effective" trigger for a certain demographic back on Earth; she possessed a charm that was... devilishly captivating. Xia Mingyu had no doubt that if this girl were born on Earth, she would only need to post one live photo on social media for countless game developers to come begging for her to be their spokesperson.

"However, it seems she is likely not the librarian."

Xia Mingyu glanced at the white text hovering above her head and sighed softly.

"Noble."

If his guess was correct, this girl must be a member of Viscount Hughes's family—likely his daughter or younger sister.

"I’ll just have to go back to flipping through the shelves."

Just as Xia Mingyu was about to leave, the sleeping girl's eyelashes fluttered. She let out a few whimpers like a young kitten, then slowly straightened her body and stretched. She opened her eyes, revealing a pair of somewhat dazed, heterochromatic irises. Her left eye was a vibrant, blood-like crimson, while her right eye was as pale as ash. The two vastly different colors created a breathtaking sense of beauty on her small, exquisite face.

The girl propped herself up, the strap of her nightgown slipping slightly from her shoulder to reveal a hint of snow-white skin. Perhaps because she had just woken up and her mind hadn't caught up yet, she stared blankly at Xia Mingyu, as adorable as a cat.

"Such beautiful eyes," they both said in unison.

"Eh?"

Both were stunned, a flash of surprise crossing their faces.

"You... You!"

The girl was about to ask a question, but suddenly she noticed the text above Xia Mingyu’s head: "Heir to a Kingdom of Fourteen Billion Citizens."

Her pupils constricted sharply, and the casual "you" she was about to utter instantly shifted to a formal honorific. She performed a nimble flip, jumping off the hammock and standing before Xia Mingyu with a respectful bow.

"Greetings to you, honorable Your Highness."

The girl spoke softly, her voice sweet and delicate, giving one the urge to embrace her.

"Who are you?" Xia Mingyu asked first.

"I am Elise Hughes, daughter of Viscount Hughes," she replied.

"May I ask, why is someone as noble as you appearing here..." Elise glanced around, confirming they were indeed in her family’s library, before asking cautiously. "If you do not wish to answer, that is fine. As someone of your status, it is I who should be answering your questions."

In the brief pause, she snuck several glances at the status blessing above Xia Mingyu’s head, then pinched her own waist behind her back to feel the pain, confirming that she was not dreaming.

Yet, if this were not a dream, why would this young man with eyes as beautiful as obsidian possess such an unbelievably high-status blessing? Fourteen billion... even the combined populations of the three great human kingdoms of Socia, Milan, and Rhine did not reach such a terrifying number. Furthermore, for such a prominent figure to appear in their private library was simply too bizarre.

"I am Mingyu Xia. At the invitation of your father, Viscount Hughes, I will be staying at Black Wolf Castle for a time," Xia Mingyu said calmly.

"I see. This is the supreme honor of the Hughes family. I wish you a pleasant stay."

Elise instinctively wanted to lift her skirt to curtsy, but after extending her hand, she realized she was wearing a nightgown. Her snow-white face turned slightly red. Her hand hung awkwardly in the air; to curtsy would reveal too much, but not to curtsy might be seen as a sign of disrespect by this noble Highness—a social death in noble circles.

"No need for formalities. Could you do me a favor?" Xia Mingyu asked, seemingly sensing her embarrassment.

"It would be my honor, Your Highness," Elise replied hurriedly.

"I am looking for books on mythology. Do you know which shelf they are on?"

"Books on mythology are generally on the third row of the seventh shelf," Elise answered after a moment’s thought.

"Thank you."

Xia Mingyu’s eyes lit up, and he quickly headed toward the seventh shelf. In a world where gods truly existed and looked down upon the masses, what could be more compelling than mythology?