"That reminds me, what are you reading?" Her gaze fell to the book. Shun lifted it slightly so she could get a better look. Her eyes slowly moved to the right. "The Chronicles of the Chosen Family."
"It's the history of the Yomnoire family. Since Alden's conflict is with the Yomnoire family, I might be able to gain something from this book."
"What could you possibly learn?" Akira frowned slightly. Just as Shun was about to open his mouth, she quickly added, "If this book is made public, it only has general knowledge about the family. I don't think it'd serve any purpose to use it against them."
"Even if that's the case, learning about them a bit better is still more beneficial than nothing at all."
Akira grunted in acknowledgement. Her gaze flickered curiously. "What have you gained so far?"
"I didn't read everything, only the important points. For example, the eldest son, Froyd Yomnoire, has some issues with the family's core belief."
Akira frowned slightly. "That's odd."
"What's up?"
"Normally, books about a royal family shouldn't have any unfavourable words."
Shun gave the book to her. "See for yourself."
She accepted and read the page within seconds.
"You're right."
As soon as she said those words, she turned to the back and saw the author's picture, his name, and the book's brief summary.
The name was long gone, but the picture was still there.
"Do you know who he is?"
"No clue, but with the eldest son being exposed to his different beliefs, it is safe to assume this book is propaganda from a faction that held malicious intent toward the Yomnoire family, and planned to write misinformation to spread anxiety among the public." She gave the book back.
"Well, wouldn't that be a good thing? If the Yomnoire family's situation got exposed, Alden would have a better chance to marry his crush."
"That is true…" Akira fell silent. Her brows furrowed deeply instead of relaxing.
"What's wrong?"
"No, nothing. It might be just my feelings, but until I get more information, I won't be able to tell you."
Shun grunted as he understood. "I see, just tell me if you need help."
"Alright."
With that, Shun shifted his eyes back to the book and continued reading until the end; this is what he gained.
The Yomnoire family came from a normal shepherd family but grew tremendously after one of their members, Triz Yomnoire, managed to drive away a demon from invading the land by engaging in a fierce duel.
After that, he made great contributions to the kingdom by fending off foreign forces and expanding the territory, but that's not all.
Under the land he controlled, his people were happy and the land was thriving.
Within thirty years, the family became powerful and highly influential due to their benevolence toward the lower class and their fair spread of resources, health, and education among their people.
Following that, Shun felt a bit conflicted. They didn't seem to be bad people.
He then sighed and contemplated, No, I must see them for myself.
With that in mind, he continued sorting the newly gained information. They might prove useful later, and delving into them now wouldn't do anything.
His glabella throbbed after absorbing so many things at once. Shun pinched his fingers between his brows and stretched them.
He repeated the motion. Pinch, stretch. Pinch, stretch.
The beating in his head slowed gradually before coming to a halt. At the same time, he took a slow breath.
His mind calmed, and the exhaustion from studying something new alleviated a bit.
Feeling calmer, he shifted his attention to his surroundings.
At some point, Akira had left, and he was so absorbed in reading he hadn't noticed.
Akira entered his line of vision. She carried a few buckets of water—three in tow, one just above her head, balanced.
She didn't seem to struggle.
"Do you need help?" Shun asked politely.
"No need."
Hearing that, Shun watched as she poured the bucket into the tub, refilling the water.
With nothing to do, he got up to make his next move, but then his premonition acted up. His guard soared as he focused on his surroundings for anything different.
A sharp frost bit his legs. He looked down and caught a glimpse that the earth had changed color from brown.
Each second the ground pulsed, and with each pulse, the ground changed to white as though snow covered it. As time went by, the pulses grew faster and faster.
Accompanying this, sweat trickled down his body as the atmosphere gradually became humid.
Not only that, his legs couldn't bear the ground as it felt akin to standing on red coals. He rushed onto the bed frame and looked at his surroundings.
"Akira, something's wrong!" Shun yelled and looked at Akira. His heartbeat calmed slightly, seeing she was safe as she sat on the bathroom stall.
"You got any clues on what's going on?"
"There are no records of this in the books, or I may not have found it yet, but do not touch the ground."
"Where do you think I'm at?"
Above, clouds as white as summer gathered and covered the sky. The sunlight dimmed immensely.
As soon as that occurred, the ground pulsed once more. This time, it was bigger than the rest, like a boulder falling on a serene lake, creating a giant splash and huge waves.
In a second, the ground turned white as the wave swept.
"Have you seen Micchan?" Shun asked suddenly.
"No clue! Why do you care anyway?"
Shun turned his head and saw the monster girl in the distance riding the canine nightmare.
However, as time went on, her nightmare slowly dissipated.
"Her nightmares!" Shun pointed his finger toward Micchan.
"They are disappearing…" Akira said slowly as she pinched her chin, seemingly falling into thought. Then she turned her head to Shun. "Can you use your abilities?"
Shun didn't ask further and heeded her words. He touched the bed frame of earth.
[Echo of the Divine Forge has been activated.]
He immediately felt new nerves and spread them further. After that, he poured mana into them, allowing him to manipulate the earth, but an unknown force akin to a tangled mess of thread labored his mana flow and disrupted it into nonsense, making him lose control over the earth.
"I can't use mine." Shun turned his head to Akira and said, testing her ability in mind, "I'm actually gay."
"You…" Akira eyed him suspiciously.
"I'm actually not!"
Wiing!
A high-pitched melody akin to a soft bell rang throughout the land. This snapped their attention to the matter at hand.
"What's happening now?" Shun watched for any changes and prepared to use the Living Alloy form.