Chapter 5

After the rain, the morning dew. When Leon heard about it from Iton, he felt an inexplicable familiarity.

It turned out to be a type of tea... When the sealed memories were unlocked, Leon immediately recalled a series of memories about the morning dew after the rain. He had drunk it before. It was a green leaf tea that Jon particularly liked, with a pale green infusion. The needle-like tea leaves darted up and down in the scalding hot water, and the sight of the green color was like seeing a lush forest.

As for the taste, Leon couldn't remember. It must be a bitter water, right? Because the old man Jon liked this type of tea.

"Is there anything strange about the morning dew after the rain?" Leon asked Jon.

Jon's expression didn't change, but a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes: "There's nothing strange... It's just ordinary tea leaves. You've all drunk it, and your parents have drunk it too, but..."

"But if we really have to say what's special about it, there's only one possibility."

"What possibility?" Leon quickly followed up.

Jon didn't answer immediately but first dismissed the mute servant before slowly saying:

"The tea seedlings of the morning dew after the rain are not from this world, but came with me from another world."

Before Jon finished speaking, Leon rolled his eyes: "Alright, since Lord Iton isn't here for you but just for the morning dew after the rain, I'll send him an invitation letter to come to the manor for tea tonight."

He didn't want to hear Jon's absurd 'otherworldly theory' at all.

After saying that, Leon turned and left.

Jon looked at the tea box in Engel's hand and fell silent.

...

Steam rose, and a thin smoke wafted up.

Engel leaned on the craft table, watching the tea leaves in the transparent cup rise and fall as they were rinsed with boiling water.

—This is the morning dew after the rain. It doesn't look particularly special.

Engel privately liked to drink strong tea with a milky flavor, drinking it in large gulps, the rich milk and tea dregs sticking to his lips, and his tongue curling to lick away the last of the aftertaste, giving him a sense of immense satisfaction.

Jon always teased him, saying that only children liked to drink milk. So to appear mature in front of Jon, he usually drank bitter and grassy tea whenever he was in public.

He had drunk the morning dew after the rain countless times, bitter with a sweet aftertaste. It wasn't particularly special, but why did Lord Iton specifically ask his brother about it? Could it really be, as his mentor said, that they had doubts about the origin of the tea seedlings?

Engel thought for a while but couldn't come up with an answer, so he decided not to think about it and continued to read through some of the materials his mentor had organized.

Most of these materials were about the Golden Finch Empire and the surrounding countries, covering language, culture, history, characters, medicine, astrology, and more.

Engel finished reading a heroic epic praising the warriors of the sea, and Jon had written a comment at the bottom: "The language is beautiful, and the structure is well-organized, but there are too many praising words, making it impossible to infer any historical facts. It can serve as a supplement to the historical records of the Sea Wave Kingdom."

In his early years, Jon liked to study physical data and biological forms, but later he realized that some of the physical constants represented by the data did not follow the rules of Earth's rotation. This made him truly realize the uniqueness of this world, so in recent years, he preferred to organize and study literary and historical records.

The Golden Finch Empire and the surrounding countries seemed to have no official historians, so the historical records that Jon had compiled over the past decade were unique.

Engel was very interested in the new historical records his mentor had organized, so he read them very carefully.

After finishing the historical records, Engel saw the beginning of the next parchment, where Jon had written a note in Chinese:

"In this world, few people can read, and basic universal knowledge seems to be lacking. For example, the ancient Chinese had the concept of a round sky and a square earth, which, although incorrect, gave them a concept of the planet they lived on. In this world, people's understanding of their world is limited to the concept of their country, with no broader perspective. I hope to find the name of this planet (world) in other documents... If I can't find it, I will name it myself."

After this note, Jon began to record some universal values of the people in this world.

As a native, Engel naturally knew these values well, so he just glanced through them and moved on to the next scroll.

"Guide to the Application of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine in This World," this was a scroll entirely in Chinese, and probably only Engel and Jon understood its meaning.

Unconsciously, dusk fell, and the servants lit the fire in the fireplace. The warm firelight, the rustling of insects in the yard, and the crows' calls from somewhere far away made it another gentle night.

On the other side, not far from the town of Grul, on a plain, rows of temporary tents surrounded a blazing campfire. Particularly noticeable was a large and luxurious black tent with gold edges at the center of the tent cluster, with the other tents surrounding it like stars around the moon, protecting the black tent.

This was Lord Iton Morn's temporary encampment, but the black tent was not Lord Iton Morn's tent.

The cold wind of the frozen earth month blew fiercely, and without the protection of trees, even the knights in armor began to shiver. Seeing this, Lord Iton ordered a group of guards to patrol outside the tent, while the rest of the knights rested by the campfire.

After making the arrangements, Lord Iton slowly walked into the luxurious black tent. As soon as he entered, his commanding expression immediately softened, and he adopted a respectful and ingratiating demeanor.

The tent had few decorations, but each item carried a hint of mysterious charm. In one corner, a white-bearded old man in a black robe was writing furiously, with a crystal ball floating strangely beside him.

The crystal ball seemed to contain swirling mist, and the old man occasionally glanced at it before continuing to write. When Iton looked at the crystal ball, he felt dizzy and quickly shifted his gaze to the side.

"Have you found the morning dew after the rain?" a hoarse, low voice came from the old man.

With a hint of fear, Iton recounted his conversation with Leon Pat at the Pat manor today.

"Oh?" The old man put down his quill and blew on the blood-red ink on the paper. "Although the other party doesn't know about the morning dew after the rain, their expression changed slightly when they saw the wooden box... Could the maker of the wooden box be a problem, or perhaps a spellcaster?"

Iton secretly glanced at the pattern on the paper, which was a series of blood-red wavy lines with strange lines and symbols. Just one look made his eyes ache.

"The magical runes on this scroll are called 'Rolling Waves.' They will be useful in the war with the Sea Wave Kingdom." The old man paused and continued, "Unfortunately, you lack the talent, otherwise, this time when we return to the family, I could take you away from the Old Land Continent."

Iton's face darkened: "Father... If I can take the Allen siblings, I will be content. As for me, staying in the family is fine."

The old man sighed first but then thought of his two grandchildren, and his eyes softened: "The talent for magic is extremely rare, even one in ten thousand in some places. For our family to produce two talented individuals is a blessing from heaven. Moreover, Allen and Alina are my grandchildren, so I will naturally take good care of them."

"Unfortunately, my talent is not high, and in a few years, I will have to rely on my grandchildren." The old man finished speaking and then looked at the wooden box on the table.

"The carvings are interesting, but there are no magical fluctuations on the patterns, so it must be an ordinary person, right?" The old man shook his head. "Where could you find a spellcaster on the Old Land Continent? This continent has even its elemental fluctuations sealed, and materials for mystic and bloodline magic, which do not rely on elements, are also hard to find here... After all, this is the Forgotten Continent."

"Since Leon won't tell the truth, I can't blame him." Iton clasped his hands in a salute, a cold light flashing in his eyes: "This is a matter of great importance for Father's advancement! Tonight, I will have Mal lead two teams of iron cavalry to level the Pat manor!"

The old man didn't speak, but his silence was a tacit approval. Although he belonged to the White Mages and wouldn't actively kill ordinary people, since it concerned his advancement, killing a few people was no big deal. Besides... White Mages were seen as good mages by ordinary people, which was a joke. The opposition between White Mages and Black Mages was based on different magical philosophies, but their values were actually similar; they just didn't want to create unnecessary bloodshed.

Iton discussed some issues about Allen and Alina leaving with his father and then prepared to leave.

At this moment, Knight Commander Mal suddenly knelt outside the tent to request an audience.

"Report to the lord, just now, the master of the Pat manor, Viscount Leon, sent a messenger with an invitation letter."