Chapter 164 - Meeting

"Oh, y-you were listening?" Von stuttered after getting a little bit embarrassed by his interest in history that he had never shown to anyone before, even to Lei.

"I hope for that too, Sir." Fily smiled at the old man as if she was comfortable with it.

Von didn't understand at first because they were literally having a deep conversation about the topic, him and Fily, but why was Fily comfortable about strangers hearing what she has to say about the topic when he's too embarrassed to even expose himself for liking history?

But as his mind became clearer and his emotions calm down, Von was able to realize that it must be because of the fact that Fily's family is known for being geniuses in book knowledge so her being open about her findings to strangers wouldn't be so surprising anymore.

"But why haven't I heard of this book before if your grandfather, the previous king of this country, was the one who wrote it?" Fily asked Von while looking at him like she had just seen him in a better light because of his knowledge that Fily didn't have yet.

"It was opposed by a lot of people, particularly the ones who believed that the heavens shouldn't be commended by giving us a chance but rather should be despised for trying so hard to make us extinct," Von said what was on his mind and shrugged.

"That's so unfair. They wanted us to think that the heavens were the bad people here?" Lei added as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing while Gem was just lost in her own thoughts because of their conversation.

"I see, so that's why the book never got installed in my memory," Fily said and nodded before stopping again to ask Von something, "One last thing, was it handwritten or written with the use of technology?"

"It's handwritten and the only copy of that book is in our castle," Von said before proceeding to walk with Lei and Gem beside those old men that were sent to escort them after Fily suddenly stopped on her tracks and even made him stop with her.

"I see," Fily muttered before catching up to them.

"This way please," the leader of the old men club (What Gem decided to call these people who were escorting them to the cabins) said while bowing slightly to show them his respect.

The sun was already nowhere to be seen and the men had just brought them to a traditionally inspired set of Japanese houses just beside the frozen lake where some kids were even skating with ice skates and playing with the snow. 

The houses were built with dark wood and red accents that made Gem and the others feel as if they finally belonged here with their red-colored attires, in contrast to the cold-looking surroundings.

"Wow, this is unexpected," Fily said while ogling the different yet familiar view in front of her.

"This is what my clan's family house looks like," Lei said as if he could not believe it.

"Really? Weren't you still young when you left your house? How come you can still remember that?" Von asked him.

"I was young enough to remember that at the time," Lei only said as if he was disappointed in Von for assuming that he wouldn't remember such an important part of his childhood.

It was even the house where he started to train with his cousins, of course he could remember what it looked like.

"Okay," Von replied with a shrug before following his mother and the old man's club inside the biggest house of the subdivision.

"What's wrong?" Gem asked Fily after noticing that she wasn't talking much and was still caught up in the view even after Von and Lei's short discussion in front of them.

After a few seconds of staring at Fily's face, Fily finally came back to her senses and asked Gem what she was saying again so she could answer.

"Huh? Uhh, nothing. Hehe, let's go?" Fily answered the question she thought was important for Gem before holding her hand and dragging her inside the house as if there was no problem.

But instead of making Gem think that everything was fine, Gem even further suspects Fily because of her sudden jumpy but obviously fake behavior and smile.

"Are you sure everything's okay? You looked like you have seen a ghost earlier outside, what's wrong?" Gem insisted.

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong, I was just reminded of something that I have read in a book somewhere before about a place like this, it's not really that serious," Fily said and even tried her best to smile and laugh in front of Gem just so she wouldn't ask her again.

And Gem being Gem, took the sign and stopped asking Fily if she was okay anymore since she looked very uncomfortable with the question.

So instead of putting all her unwanted interest in Fily's problems, Gem just decided to pay attention to the details of this place that they were in instead and make some impressions about it.

The hallway was big enough for all of them to fit in, somehow, it even felt like a castle and not a real house because of the same feeling that she felt while walking on the aisle of the room that she could easily recognize as the throne room, but in Asian version.

"Shall we proceed with the meeting first?" Venedette said before sitting down on the floor along with all the old men who also sat in front of her.

When Fily and Lei sat beside Venedette comfortably, Von and Gem looked at each other in confusion before copying Fily and Lei's posture.

"Why are we sitting down on the floor?" Gem whispered to Fily who had her eyes closed while bowing just like everyone else.

"Just do it," Fily whispered to not interrupt the customized greetings that these Edelweissians created for themselves, deriving from the old customs of the Japanese people but with a different twist of their own.

After hearing what Fily said, Gem looked at Von with the same confused eyes before agreeing to just do what everyone else was doing so they wouldn't be branded as disrespectful by these people.

"We have invited all of the different tribes that may have the information that you need with us today, so what would you like to discuss first?" the eldest man with a white beard and almost bald hairline said. His expression was soft and serene, actually, most of their expressions were, which further proves the rumor that this village was the most peaceful among others here in the Alps.

"We would like to start with the tale of the Salamanders, Sir Heidi," Venedette replied with a courteous bow which the elder immediately agreed with.

He asked for the two female servants behind him to offer us a drink with just a few simple hand gestures and looked at us with a smile first before starting off with a once upon a time.

***

Once upon a time, there was a man whose love for snow and flowers led him to meet the love of his life in this exact same place, whose love for snow and flowers were also immaculate.

They both love the same things and soon became in love with each other, even dedicating their lives to creating a new kind of Edelweiss flower that looked just like an ice sculpture.

They survived half of the Great Doom's threats, including the plagues and floods that happened to most of the populated cities on the planet. The flower that they created even survived the crash of the Iyuba meteor that killed both of them spot on. 

Not long after, the lake of Iyuba was discovered. It was full of liquid substance that was proven to be carrying a new alien element in it to which was called Phyxies by the first scientists who discovered it.

And yes, it was the same element that made the Salamanders, the only survivors of the meteor crash in this place, special and powerful.

With the new element in their veins, the Salamanders evolved into a more advanced species, capable of taking over the world with their superpowers, but because they did not know that such a world existed beyond their underground homes, Dr. Lectric and his team used this knowledge to their advantage and made a deal with the Salamanders in exchange for their energy slimes.

"If the Salamanders were capable of taking over the world because of their superpowers, then why did they become extinct?" Gem suddenly asked, interrupting the old man's story which made Venedette and the other old men nervous for doing something disrespectful.

"Let us hear the rest of the story first, young lady," One of the old men calmly said, which made Gem cower in embarrassment.

"O-Okay," she said and looked down to hide her face, "Ah, why did I do that?"