I started to read in the midst of my aimless journey.
However, the well-bounded books were bulky and so, I couldn't carry a lot of them. Even after I had John transform into a "rolling shoe" form by changing from a walking form to a rolling form, it wasn't a good idea to carry too many luggage than necessary for the wanted me, Elysia Wentworth.
Thus, I started to read paperbacks sold from locomotive stands rather than specialized books such as those on machine engineering and mathematics. I often used to indulge in books that weren't like those specialized books up until I was in high school. But after entering university, I stopped reading them because of...
...No. No. That wasn't it.
It was from that day onwards that I stopped reading them.
Ever since the day you vanished, Alan.
This way, I would sometimes feel of what I was reading from the kinds of stories I no longer read. It was something for me to remember. Of what kind of person, what kind of girl I was before my heart shattered into pieces and I buried them under cold soil.
A girl who would have never thought to be involved in romance with someone, but still came to admire him, looked up him, and be full of girliness. From a time when I was called Ellie. How about now? At least that was before I visited New York. But now? What of now?
If Vivi was here, I'd ask her "What should I do?". But right now, I am alone.
So I sat here, on a chaise lounge at a bus stop waiting for a double-decker steam bus heading for 3rd Kyoto City as I unfolded my paperback book. The bus comes just a mere two feet away from me, and the child who smiled at me asked "Where are you heading off to, beautiful young lady?". I smiled back at them and spoke in their local language, which was similar to Kadathian. I, Elysia Wentworth, went by a false name nowadays.
"I'm heading to Kyoto. I'm going to meet someone there."
In this Far Eastern Country, I was fortunate to learn that some of the English language was spoken here.
In this country, which had developed an alliance with the United Kingdom, English studies was included into elementary despite not being the official language, and though I can hardly speak anything else other than in English, I was able to travel here just fine.
I closed the paperback novel and turn to the child who spoke to me. What should I talk about? What can I say properly to them? Staring into their dark eyes, I hesitate for a little and then,
"...Do you like reading books? What sort of stories do you like?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
There's been a subtle change in my Queen recently.
Their opportunity to display an active desire to learn has increased.
My Lady Lily. It's a clear fact that she possesses characteristics of an Independent Cracking Being with extremely powerful abilities based off the previous incident with Hypnos, but I presume this has to do with her special characteristic of "ignorance" or rather her "innocence".
This judgment is based on the knowledge gleaned from the late Alan Akeley's personal library, which was a major factor in giving me form.
In other words, it was based on heretical books that describes certain cosmological interpretations such as "Asteroid Mechanics" and the "Necronomicon (English Version. Incomplete, with about 20 clippings)". Additionally, there was a description fo the Black King.
It described an existence that could be the core of the universe. In other words, the center of infinity, the amorphous dark shadow of the chaotic abyss, the unimaginable lightless end that transcends time. The one who sits there, the center of the universe. The nucleus. The King or Queen of the "Outer Ones" that is the universe itself. The Golden Eyes that stare at everything from the center of the end have already vanished from the Throne (In a digression, I conclude that the Black King is a representative or knight close to the spirit of this King or Queen).
I will refer to them as A.Z.T.T.
That characteristic of theirs is "ignorance" or "innocence".
These are characteristics that match that of my Queen.
However, therein lies a big problem with my hypothesis.
Following our escape from the Underground World, I obtained a new form of power called Critter Howler in Darkness, with a piece of information revealed to me that perhaps belonged to the Black King. It was clear that the knowledge and attributes I have were of a greater or lesser degree in my manipulation of "shadows" and "black", but now that amount has increased. Thus, according to my upgraded brain information, Lily is missing a key element that would show her connection to A.Z.T.T.
In other words, the Golden Eyes.
My Queen has not inherited a single piece of the Golden Eyes of A.Z.T.T, who was once said to have existed---
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Lately, she has gotten a little obsessed.
It was Lily the Stranger's daily routine to have A read her a book every night, which was her basic form of "reading". But lately, "occasional special" forms of reading were added.
In other words, she had A carry a pile of books that were seemingly related to the field she was interested in inside the "room" of the sole subway car, where she would "skim read" them one by one. In response to A's comment about her skim reading was like eating small portions of various dishes at a party,
"It's not that big of a deal."
These were the words Lily spoke after several minutes of thinking.
Skim reading. Skim reading
These were just a skim, so she figured it wasn't that big of a deal.
She wasn't reading to increase her knowledge per se, but rather to learn about a certain something. But she didn't quite understand the expression the book described it as, so she went to read another book, and another book that explains that unknown expression...and so she kept on skimming. Reading. Skim reading.
"Hmm. I guess it's okay for the coca gene to be dangerous, after all."
Tonight, she learned of the existence of cola and decided to some skim reading.
She placed a finger on A's lips saying "no" as he attempted to explain in a sentence.
So she tried to look into it herself---
"Hmm...hmm?"
"Listen, Lily. This is..."
"Wait! Not yet. I haven't given up yet!"
"Really?"
"Yes...uhm, Coca Cola Company? That's?"
"Yes."
"Can I see more books on this company?"
"Yes."
"Uhm...what are the ingredients for making such stimulating ingredients? What are those ingredients?"
"It's on the next one."
"No. Don't give me the answers."
A finger.
She points a finger at him (she hadn't yet learned the etiquette that pointing was rude), and said in a stern manner.
It was still early.
There were still many things she didn't understand.
She knows that A knows a lot of things, so he'd surely be able to easily teach her. But she felt a little disappointed. She wanted to be able to at least develop an interest on her own and find things out herself if possible.
Because as she thought out---
"I want to be able to try my own best.
But I also don't want to keep delaying it forever. So just give me five minutes. Five more minutes. If I can't find it in that time, you'll teach me it."
"Yes My Lady."
"Five minutes."
"Yes."
In the end, it took her about half an hour.
(To be continued)
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