The Fat Aristocrat Waltz in the Labyrinth - Chapter 102
Chapter 102: The fat aristocrat seeks knowledge
There is a building called “The Place Where Wisdom Rests,” which is an ancient name. It is a top-notch library that the nation oversees. Inside the building, bookshelves line up so high that one has to look up, with countless books seemingly on display.
Anyone in the city can use it, but guards are stationed at its entrance and examine visitors’ baggage both when entering and leaving.
Books are considered precious possessions, and not only will stealing them result in punishment, but dirtying or causing any damage to them also comes with severe penalties. One cannot even enter the library with dirty hands.
It was a place with strict rules, to the point where onlookers would jeer it as “the palace of the paper king.”
When he lived in the mansion, there was a library inside, and if he found a book he liked, he could easily have it. If he wanted something new, he would simply ask the butler to bring in a merchant.
But that is a distant memory now. When he wanted to read a book, he had to go to where the books were by himself.
If the destination and purpose were clear, the burden of taking action would be lighter. Mitrof returned a disappointing book and began searching for the next one, walking slowly between the bookshelves.
Despite the category-organized shelves, Mitrof had trouble locating the kind of book he was looking for. Searching through the titles, he eventually found a book that caught his eye and went to find a seat to read it.
Few people sat at the reading desks in the large library. The bathhouse was likely more crowded. Beyond the walls, the noise of the city was muted in the quiet and shaded space, and Mitrof could smell the musty old paper.
He settled into a comfortable chair and opened the book.
An “alchemist” was the author of it. While “magicians” used their knowledge and magical power to manipulate events of the world, “alchemists” used their knowledge and observations to analyze the structure of the world.
Mitrof had heard of their existence before.
The story of their attempts to create rare metals like gold and silver from iron and copper was well-known, but the church labeled them as a cult because they believed in healing miracles. They claimed diseases were caused by microscopic creatures called “bacteria,” and this belief led to their being labeled as heretical. He learned this from studying history.
In general, those referred to as “alchemy practitioners” aim to interpret this world from a different perspective, which they call a new discipline called “science.”
Mitrof flipped through the pages. While there were many interesting topics, what he was seeking was information on “lightning.”
In previous books, insights into lightning were not obtained. In fact, there were few references to lightning, and even if they did, they were often linked to religious anecdotes, with nothing written about lightning itself.
What Mitrof was seeking was not the symbolic role of “lightning” in the Bible as defined by religious scholars but rather, as a practical matter, how to prevent lightning strikes.
To achieve this, knowledge of lightning was needed, not as a mythological representation of the power of the gods but as a weather phenomenon that produces lightning on stormy nights.
Having been taught how to learn from a young age by his private tutors, Mitrof had acquired the foundation of wisdom to think about things.
Living day by day with just the act of surviving is already a struggle, and having the luxury to think and acquire knowledge is an indulgence. Thanks to his nobility, Mitrof had the “question” of “What is lightning?”
Finally, Mitrof found a page about lightning. At first, he just scanned the letters with his eyes, but before he knew it, he was absorbed in reading them.
Reading is like eating—both have their own unique taste, and once you find something satisfying, you can’t stop.
After finishing reading the page, Mitrof sighed, saying, “Oh.” For Mitrof, the research of the “alchemist” had more persuasive power than a single word such as “divine power.”
“So lightning is ‘electricity,’ huh?”
There is a tingling sensation in the hand in the winter when wearing woolen clothing and touching a metal doorknob, which is allegedly due to “electricity.”
The “alchemist” who wrote this book apparently flew a kite on a stormy day. By threading a key through the kite string, “electricity” flowed through the key…thus, “lightning” is not divine power but a massive accumulation of “electricity.”
His assertion was refreshing, but it made Mitrof furrowed his brow.
The booming thunder and flashes of lightning evoked a sense of awe with their divine aura. It is not difficult to understand the feeling of believing that it is “divine power” flowing from beyond human comprehension.
According to this “alchemist,” lightning tends to strike objects protruding from the ground. This is why lightning often strikes the spires of churches and castles.
Lightning strikes have destroyed countless homes throughout history. To prevent this, the “alchemist” has devised…
“This is…I see…very interesting…”
There were hand-drawn pictures, and the explanations were straightforward. Whether it actually works or not remains to be seen, but it is more hopeful than going in without any plan.
After repeating the contents in his head, Mitrof closed the book and checked the author’s name.
“Benjamin Franklin, huh—I’ll remember that.”
Putting the book back on the bookshelf, Mitrof went out into the town in search of tools to protect against lightning.