Chapter 12: Past Events Of The Mountain Kingdom
A new day.
After eating breakfast in the morning, Xilutiya and Talil arrived at Winnie’s home, where little Randy was also playing in the living room, holding a very large ball of yarn.
“You’re here.” Winnie came out from the kitchen, bringing freshly baked biscuits and handing them to the two.
“Have some.”
Then she picked up Randy, put him back in his room to play by himself, and began the first formal lesson for the two.
“First, I need to confirm Miss Tiya’s proficiency with writing.” She placed a very thick book on the table.
“This is the graduation gift from Scholar Heide《 Fir Tree’s Rings ~ Past Events of the Mountain Kingdom》, authored by the famous scholar Arcanas 300 years ago. This book recounts the early history of the Regas Kingdom, how Knight King Regard Bouilly conquered the mountains, and how he established the Code of Law, appeasing the mountain tribes and gaining their loyalty.”
“Now, Miss Tiya can try reciting the chapter ‘Battle of Snowfall Mountain’ on page 235.”
“I understand.” Xilutiya took the thick book with great interest.
She quickly turned to the specified page and tried to make out the text. She recognized most of the characters, though a few phrases were obscure—words that her original self had probably never learned.
‘The heavy snow fell for five days and four nights, breaking the branches of the pine trees under the thick snow. We had to dismount and trudge through the piled-up white snow, seeing nothing but vast desolation…
The accompanying “Wind” hunter Heide told me that there was an undissipated “Sleeping Winter” aura in the wind, suggesting this blizzard might be man-made, which filled me with worry.
Malange and Pris said they would find ways to assist me in resolving the blizzard issue, but I thought to myself, what could these scholars from Candle Keep do? They were only suited for organizing knowledge from books and transcribing traces on ancient artifacts. The only thing worth rejoicing about was their skill in arithmetic and building siege engines, which solved many problems for me.
…
Over the course of two months, we never found the enemy’s main force, wandering aimlessly in the mountain forest. Many froze to death in the cold nights, and today Knight Holling reported to me again that 13 soldiers did not wake up last night.
I think we are probably lost.
…
Facing Knight Reid’s corpse, rage filled my body, making me want to burn and erupt like the Blazing Sun. Unfortunately, I am not the “Blazing Sun,” so I could only thrust my sword into the rock and soil beneath my feet.
I could wait no longer; this could not continue. I had Scholar Malange leave my tent temporarily, then walked toward that birdcage covered with black cloth, inside which stood a strange bird. It would convey my determination…
…
The black-crowned magpie cried out; on the 432nd ring scar of the brown-blood red fir, under the black pine of Snowfall Mountain, I executed Kexale. He fell with a curse, and the heavy sword in my hand was full of nicks.
Regardless, we achieved victory, defeating the last and strongest tribe in the mountains, beheading their leader. Those snow mountain ghost hags who assisted Kexale were also nailed to wooden stakes and drained of their blood.
Twenty-one years ago, I led my family’s retainers south to settle in the town by Ear Lake, then opened up the land through alliances and conquests, finally sweeping away all obstacles. This long journey has finally come to an end.
It is time to go back. My family is still waiting for me, as are those warriors.
We will build a castle here at the convergence of these mountains, make a covenant with the Foundation Stone, and establish our kingdom.
May he endure evergreen like the fir tree; may our knights have armor forever strong, longswords forever victorious.’
After reciting the poetic ending with a slight chant, Xilutiya put down the book.
Winnie clapped lightly in approval: “Not only was the pronunciation exceptionally standard, Miss Tiya’s voice is also so melodious and rhythmic, drawing one in.”
“If full marks are 10 points, I would give Miss Tiya 9.6.”
“Sigh, not even full marks?” Talil did not understand.
“Well, Miss Tiya was not born in the Regas Kingdom, so she doesn’t know some local unique words and slang, skipping a few characters and words, so points must be deducted.” Winnie explained.
“I see.”
“However, it’s gratifying that Miss Tiya accurately read out some of the uncommon obscure words in the book. You see, the author, Scholar Arcanas, had a habit of showing off his foundation in writing, liking to use rare words to display his vast knowledge and taste.” As she spoke, Winnie shook her head slightly, as if she had suffered much while studying this book before.
“So Miss Tiya’s clerical foundation no longer needs further testing. Next is arithmetic.” She took out a sheet of paper with various arithmetic problems and handed it to Xilutiya.
Before taking the paper, the maiden was a bit nervous—after all, most of her university math knowledge had been forgotten, especially advanced calculus.
However, upon seeing the problems on the paper, she instantly relaxed. These were just elementary school level, with at most some junior high knowledge added.
She wrote the answers almost without thinking, finishing the page in less than a minute.
Winnie had just been preparing to test Talil while Xilutiya worked on the problems, but unexpectedly, the latter handed in her paper right away. She had to check Xilutiya’s answers first.
“All correct.” There was a hint of hesitation and disbelief in her voice.
Talil also leaned over, looking at the various numbers and problems on the paper, and immediately felt dizzy, turning her face away.
“Now there’s no need to worry about Miss Tiya’s foundation.” Winnie felt relieved and had the maiden wait a moment while she examined Talil’s situation.
During this free time, Xilutiya continued reading the earlier book《 Fir Tree’s Rings ~ Past Events of the Mountain Kingdom》 with great interest.
This book was authored by Scholar Arcanas 300 years ago. It quotes parts of Knight King Regard Bouilly’s autobiography, records from early accompanying scholars, and accounts from local people, pieced together through investigation into a long epic describing the founding of the Regas Kingdom.
Regard Bouilly was born in the Goulenga Mountains of the Central Continent, the second son of a local noble. Though unable to inherit the nobility title, he showed exceptional talent from childhood and became a knight of “Third Order – Castle” nature at age 24. Afterward, he gathered a group of like-minded companions and retainers, coming to the southern mountain lakeside as a starting point, gradually expanding territory until, at age 56, he cleared all obstacles and founded the Regas Kingdom. Those knights and companions who followed him in campaigns became the earliest nobles of the Regas Kingdom.
The founding of the Regas Kingdom was not smooth sailing. Knight King Regard spent twenty-one years conquering the mountains, and after establishing the kingdom, another nearly twenty years to stabilize it initially. Various public security, economy, and construction issues arose during this process, often leaving this Knight King overwhelmed. Fortunately, the Candle Fort School continuously sent scholars for decades to this harsh mountainous land as staff, advisors, and mentors to local nobles, gradually civilizing, teaching skills, and casting castles and tall towers, finally solidifying the nation.
Scholar Arcanas was also from the Candle Fort School, Xilutiya thought at the end, guessing the author’s stance and background. Though there were complaints and teasing about the Candle Fort School earlier, the various praises later made those flaws seem like deliberate buildup.
Perhaps there was some bias, but without these scholars from the Candle Fort School recording it, later generations would have no way to understand the past history. Overall, Xilutiya had a good impression of the Candle Fort School—they were indeed expanding the boundaries of civilization and improving the living conditions of local residents.
