“Who’s that?” I asked Leon, irritation seeping into my voice as we continued the office tour.

With a mischievous grin, Leon leaned in and whispered, “That’s the Prince’s assistant—aka, the royal pain in the ass.”

Despite my frustration, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“He’s the second son of the Marquess, Lord Nixon. He holds His Highness in high regard and has become his secretary, which is why he’s so strict with His Highness’s staff. You should be careful with your words around other officials, too. By the way, where are you from? You seem a bit out of place with noble etiquette.”

“I… am not a noble. I’m just an ordinary citizen from a small city in Elthor,” I said smoothly, borrowing from what Aunty Lea had said earlier.

“Oh, that explains it. No wonder you’re unfamiliar with the customs. Don’t worry, I’ll guide you as best as I can. Feel free to ask if you have any questions. I initially assumed you were from a noble family since you know various languages and managed to decode some symbols from the scrolls. My apologies for the assumption.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I don’t mind at all. Thank you for accepting me even though I’m a nobody,” I said bashfully, earning a warm smile from him.

“His Highness appointed you. Who am I to question his orders? But if you’re not a noble, how did you learn to read, write, and decode?” Leon's voice was edged with suspicion as we stepped into a new, mysterious room.

“Oh wow! What is this room?” I exclaimed, my voice trembling slightly as I desperately tried to redirect the conversation.

“Ah, this is where we decode the Arcanographica,” he replied, his eyes narrowing as if trying to see through my facade, making my heart race even faster.

My heart pounded as I glanced at the display in the corner of the room and cautiously peered inside the glass case, hoping to avoid any suspicion. A line of scrolls, eerily similar to the one I had read earlier, lay within, beckoning me to explore further.

"I've been curious about this Arcanographica since earlier. What are these scrolls for?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. My eyes nervously darted around the room, drawn to the scattered scroll displays, each seemingly hiding a secret within its delicate folds.

“Did you decode the secret scroll without knowing what it was? That’s unusual. Doesn’t His Highness tell you anything about it?”

I shook my head.

'Just as I suspected. What I did isn’t normal at all! Am I some kind of prodigy? No, that can’t be right. I barely managed to understand those characters because I used to communicate with my friends using jejemon text.' I can feel Leon’s gaze on me, sharp as a dagger. My palms start to sweat, my throat tightening. What if he realizes I’m bluffing? What if he tells the prince? Panic gnaws at the edges of my mind. I’ve got to steer this conversation away, fast.

“S...So, what is this for?” I asked, struggling to keep my composure.

A shiver of unease crept down my spine, making me acutely aware of my precarious situation. The room seemed to darken, with shadows shifting in every corner. Leon’s gaze became intense, as if he were piecing together a complex puzzle. It felt as though an invisible weight of secrets and hidden truths was pressing down on me, all tied to the ancient scrolls I didn’t know much about but had somehow become involved with. 

‘Please don’t ask me any more questions,’ I silently hoped, feeling a wave of relief as Leon began to speak.

“Hmm, where to start? We believe the Arcanographica contains the history of our world. As you know, our ancestors believed that the mighty dragon created this world for his companion.”

‘Oh, a dragon? Really? Are we in a fantasy novel? What’s next, a talking frog?’ I silently gritted upon hearing something ridiculous.

“His Highness first learned about the Arcanographica when a princess from a neighboring kingdom offered it to him in exchange for her country. According to legend, the scroll had been safeguarded by her family for generations and was believed to hold the mystical power of the dragon.”

“And does His Highness actually believe that?”

Seriously?!

"At first, His Highness didn’t believe it—until he felt the power residing in the scroll.” Leon’s voice dropped lower, his eyes darting to the corners of the room as if making sure no one else could hear. “These scrolls… there’s something more to them. They preserve their content, yes, but there’s also a weight to them. Like they’re watching you, waiting for something. Only the mighty dragon or the prince himself can hold such power, or so they say. But there are stories—whispers, really—about others who’ve tried and… let’s just say, they weren’t so lucky."

‘I didn’t feel anything at all, so I am not as special as I thought.’ I muttered, disappointed still hoping I am some kind of important in this new world.

“Did a dragon write these scrolls?” I asked, trying to suppress a smile as Leon chuckled and moved to one of the scrolls on his left.

“No. After many years of study, we learned that the scrolls were written by someone who accompanied the mighty dragon.”

“So it was the dragon’s companion,” I replied.

“That’s what we thought too, but upon further examination, it seems the scrolls were written by someone else entirely. Someone entrusted with the dragon’s power, a power His Highness is still seeking.”

“…”

“It’s like a tiny cog finding its place—the world seems to shift from the day His Highness learned the scrolls' contents.”

““W… what’s in it?” I asked eagerly, hoping for more of the story. It felt like a fantasy movie plot.

“It’s the scroll you decoded yourself.” Leon smiled as I stared blankly at him. I had already forgotten what I had read, preoccupied with just trying to survive. The only word I remembered was ‘life.’ “And the first scroll I have decoded for years.” He added, looking at the scroll in front of him inside the glass case.

“So what does it say?” I asked impatiently, but he remained silent, gazing at the scroll as if in a trance.

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Poor child who lose the meaning of life. Can’t eat, can’t sleep, as if cursed in the past life. With the power of the mighty one, we look for ‘the one’ so a deep sleep can overcome.

“It sounds lonely, doesn’t it?” Leon added after reciting the words like a poem.

“…”

I didn’t know what to say. Everything I was hearing seemed like a scam. The content was indeed lonely, almost as if it was describing what I was feeling right now. I hadn’t eaten or slept since I arrived. Everything had happened so fast that I still wanted to believe this was just a nightmare. All I wanted was to eat and sleep.

Grrowl~ my stomach growled.

‘Talking about food just made me even hungrier.’

“Hahaha, my bad. It seems your stomach is in a more miserable state. Want to eat first before we continue?”

“Sorry, I’ve been through a lot today and didn’t get a chance to eat.”

“It’s fine. Let me show you to the dining area.”

Leon was incredibly helpful today, but I swear, my brain's starting to feel like an overstuffed suitcase. He’s been tossing information at me like confetti at a parade, and I’m over here trying to catch it with a tiny cocktail umbrella. Seriously, I need a pause button! 😵

“Here’s your room,” Leon announced, leading me to a tiny stone chamber that looked like it was plucked straight out of a dungeon. No windows, just stone walls, a modest bed, and a side table. On the bright side, there was a private bathroom, which was a huge relief. Bathing alone was my biggest concern. Despite their ancient warrior vibes, their hygiene seemed to be on par with modern standards. Thank God! 

And their clothing? Don’t get me started. Buttons made of gold and cufflinks set with gems! How much could those clothes fetch? Especially the prince’s outfit!

Leon mentioned that the entire floor we walked through was exclusively for historians. His Highness, the crown prince, is incredibly invested in our skills since he’s obsessed with the ancient scripts that are supposedly imbued with secret powers only a true king can wield.

“Really? It feels more like we’re in a high-end prison with no way out. Seriously, who’s going to buy into that dragon nonsense? I’d be more convinced if they said it was a violet-talking dinosaur.” I grumbled to myself as I flopped into the chair after Leon finally left me alone.

Great. Not only am I stuck in a land of dragons and cryptic scrolls, but I’m also the world's most clueless historian. Just what I needed—another reason to feel like a fraud. But in all seriousness, that Arcanographica Scroll is like deciphering Jejemon texts—symbols that look totally random but start making sense the more you stare at them. Only, instead of laughing with my friends over messages, I’m now somehow unraveling ancient dragon magic.

Well, it’s not exactly the same writing, but it’s similar in a way. How can I explain it? Hmm... First, the 'A' in Jeje can be represented as either 5, @, or a—each has a different character but the same meaning. The trick to reading them is familiarizing yourself with the words and then the characters; it’s more about how they visually appear. It’s a little complicated for those who don’t know since it’s an entirely different system, but having knowledge of it really helps me understand a few words of the Arcanographica. It’s really fun solving this kind of mystery, but...

“I want to go home!!!!” I yelled in frustration. I was exhausted, achy, and this room was freezing. It felt colder than a penguin’s igloo even without the fan or air conditioning.

I took a quick bath in the icy water and shivered as I dried off and wrapped myself in a towel. The room was freezing. ‘Maybe it’s the stone walls? What a day! I barely left my house, just wanted to buy new shoes, and now my shoes are gone without me ever wearing them. I better ask for a refund! My bag, wallet, and phone? Probably turned to ash. I’ve ended up in the middle of a war, witnessed a gruesome scene, and almost got burned alive, and now I’m pretending to be a man and suddenly becoming a historian. Crazy day indeed!’

As I drifted off to sleep, my thoughts were a chaotic mess. Maybe this is all a bad dream, I told myself, clinging to the hope of waking up in my own bed. But the rest didn’t last long. I barely had time to close my eyes when a loud knock sounded on my door. “You’re expected on the training field,” a gruff voice called.

“Wha—now?” I groaned, still half-asleep, but the door was already swinging open. They didn’t give me a choice. Before I knew it, I was standing in the middle of a field, desperately trying to wield a sword that felt like it weighed a ton.

“I know I said I’m not one to back down from a fight, but this is not what I meant!”

I internally screamed as I clumsily swung a heavy sword, feeling more like a ragdoll than a warrior.