In the eastern district of Turingen, opposite diagonally from the Church of Knowledge's Temple.
The Pan-Athena Knowledge Hall.
A woman with brown hair, dressed in a plain robe, moved gracefully among the shelves filled with books and leather scrolls, followed by a handsome young man.
The symbol of a half olive branch stitched onto her chest indicated her identity—a preparatory priestess from the Church of Knowledge.
A preparatory priestess is not a formal godhood practitioner, and although there's no difference between them and the official priests in terms of knowledge and training received, the actual difference lay in whether they received a calling from the Goddess or not.
To put it realistically, they were still purely mortal lacking the power of divine arts; to put it idealistically, since their faith hadn't yet earned the Goddess's recognition, they might as well be responsible for running the church's institutions first.
"Sir, these are the sections in the Museum of Knowledge related to history, heraldry, and lineages... There may not be much content here, but I'm sorry, Turingen is not Athens after all," she said with a smile.
Although the preparatory priestess was apologizing, Laine could still see the pride in her eyes. After all, in this era, literate individuals were a tiny minority, let alone collectors of books.
The content recorded in the Pan-Athena Knowledge Hall was probably more than all the other writings in Turingen combined.
"The first and second floors are the archive rooms, the basement contains preserved antiquities, and from the third to fifth floors, there are specialized reading rooms with refreshments and drinks provided... Of course, alcohol is not served here as it's against the teachings of the Goddess.
Also, you may borrow up to five different books or scrolls at a time, and I hope you will take good care of them—if they are unintentionally damaged, compensating at the listed price is sufficient. But if the damage is intentional..."
The priestess didn't finish her sentence, but Laine nodded in understanding.
Although he was well aware that Athena did not possess the authority over "knowledge", "wisdom" and "knowledge" were indeed closely linked and suitable for her. Moreover, with "Hydrology" inherited from his mother, it was no surprise that she would develop an interest in it.
Perhaps she sought to touch related domains and powers through faith, or perhaps she merely aimed to enhance her prestige in the mortal world. Either way, Athena's church was even named after "knowledge", and following that, her followers regarded the vessels of knowledge as extensions of the Goddess's will, considering any deliberate destruction of them as sacrilege.
"Thank you for the reminder, miss. But I suppose no well-educated person would treat them harshly," he responded.
"Knowledge is the ladder of progress, and the rise and fall of civilization hinge upon it," Laine said, extending his hand to take a book labeled "New Chronicle—Updated 849" from the shelf: "From ten thousand years ago, since the first humans looked up to the starry sky, knowledge has been inseparable from mankind."
"Just like the stars and moon against the night sky—if the all gods are the moonlight illuminating the night, then knowledge is the pilot through the darkness."
"...A perfect metaphor, you truly are an erudite aristocrat," the priestess remarked with a hint of admiration in her eyes. Were it not for protocol, she would have liked to converse more with this young nobleman from afar. Compared to those uncouth Turingen City dwellers who only knew how to wield swords and spears, he was more akin to what she had always imagined.
However, prolonged conversations were prohibited within the Museum of Knowledge; if one wished to exchange ideas, they should move to the designated reading rooms to avoid disturbing others... Thus, upon realizing, with regret, that Laine had no intention of inviting her to sit, the priestess returned to her own duties.
"Heh, an aristocrat? I don't have any deity's bloodline... No, as a mortal 'created' by 'myself', I guess I could also be considered 'of noble lineage', couldn't I?" Laine mused with a chuckle as he watched the preparatory priestess depart.
Though he had spent the past three days sorting out his residence and identity, today was his first visit to the hall for reading, and he already had a deeper understanding of the social structure of this era.
Leaving aside distant nations and focusing within the most advanced and developed area under Athens's influence in the modern world, it was a political system with a dual track of classical republicanism and feudal aristocracy.
Composed of male citizens, craftsmen, merchants, and professionals residing in the cities, forming the 'citizen' class, and those of divine lineage—separated by birth, exalted and orderly, they represented the upper echelons of this age.
Both classes stood in opposition yet intermingled with each other... As to why this model had formed, one had to look back to the objective factors that began with the Great Migration and continued to the present day.
You see, as a transcendent world, the wilderness of the Mortal World in Chaos teemed with beasts and demonic monsters. After the catastrophe of Typhon and the Blood Sun, this situation worsened unimaginably.
The idea that 'rulers must be strong' and 'only the strong can protect the citizens' easily took root among humans. Thus, the initial monarchs of the Mortal World were often legendary figures who could carve out habitable territories in the treacherous wilderness.
However, as the Great Migration ended, the first cities were built, and populations grew, outward expansion became inevitable... But there was only one King, and other strong individuals were needed to protect citizens elsewhere, with inconvenient wilderness travel making a centralized official system unworkable. Therefore, the concept of feudalism gradually became a logical direction.