"...28th of Emberlain, 646 P.E. The tension between the Lee and Medici noble families began as a matter of territory. You see, after the War of Consolidation around the same date, both houses claimed ownership of the Iridescent Mines. The Lees argued about the mandate and the Medicis cited ancestral deeds. Petty, but most political wars are…"

  It has been hours since Yuzuriha had reincarnated into this world and inhabited the body of a dead girl. She couldn't tell the specific time, but it definitely was that long.

  Funny enough, the same logic applied in this place as well. It had been a couple of hours ever since she arrived in Grace's apartment, but she couldn't tell the specific hours that went by. All she knew was…

  'Kill me now!'

  She was extremely bored!

  It turns out the lesson Grace wanted to teach her was a history lesson!

  Yuzuriha tried, she really tried to focus, but it was just so difficult to keep up with what Grace was teaching her. So many concepts were triggering a ton of memories to overflow into her brain at once.

  It was overwhelming, she wanted to scream but contained herself. The best she could do was scratch her head while pretending to be a student paying attentively in class.

  Speaking of which. It turned out their dear neighbor wasn't babysitting her, although she was…technically babysitting, it still wasn't the reason why she was here.

  Yor Drapes was a blind 13 year old with no special or privileged background. Her family were lower class citizens, so they were barely making ends meet. In fact, they were teetering on the edge of falling to the underbelly.

  As such, sending a disabled child to a proper institution was ridiculously expensive, even more so than a regular one. That was because in this world, those with disabilities were looked down upon as…defects.

  'Of course, just the kind of societal system I need. Don't they know about Stephen Hawking, Helen Keller or the brilliant military general Yamamoto Kansuke?!'

  Yuzuriha didn't know much about international affairs, but she did know a bit of history from school. Unfortunately, just like back then, she also found it difficult to focus on this class too.

  Since schools for the disabled were expensive as hell, Grace offered her assistance in the matter. And ever since then, Yor had been studying a number of subjects and languages under her.

  'Ah, now I remember'

  At first she couldn't recall who Grace was but after that flood of memories, it was clear. She was her homeschool teacher. Her lessons were free of charge. What a kind soul.

  'But a difficult one to keep track of'

  It had been a while since they began their lesson. Yuzuriha tried to follow, however…

  'Iridescent Mines. Lee and Medici noble houses. War of Consolidation. A mandate? What the heck is all this?!'

  There was no doubt that Grace was a great teacher. She spoke like someone reciting an old poem from memory, which was expected, but Yuzuriha's brain on the other hand was doing somersaults.

  'W-wait, hold on, was the War of Consolidation before or after the race schism thing? No, wait. Was that what she said? Ok, religious allegory and a marriage pact. She mentioned those before and…Gods…focus, focus!'

  Yep, it was a lot to keep up with. At this point, her brain might get overloaded and explode.

  If such a thing was possible. Then again, they live in a world of magic so anything is possible.

  Also, another thing that was making it difficult for her to keep up was…

  'I smell something rotting'

  After finishing their cookies and tea, the two took to the living room to begin the lesson. However, this place was anything but welcoming.

  She couldn't really see it but the different smells and sounds were scattered everywhere, it made it easier for her to imagine what it might look like.

  From her perspective, cups clinked dangerously on the edge of a table. Open books lay across armrests and pillows, their spines cracked and pages dotted with notes from the smell of fresh ink.

  And then there was that foul stench beneath the couch she sat on.

  Rotting food or another failed potion? Either way, she was not having fun.

  'She's such a slob! Makes me wonder how the hell does someone like her have a partner? A husband at that!'

  In her old life, she had maids, but before that even she knew how to take care of herself. But that's not the focus here.

  The focus was learning this boring history. She wasn't into politics but if she wanted to learn more about this world, then she had to bear with it.

  As Grace droned on, Yuzuriha kept her mouth shut and seriously listened attentively this time. Kind of. It wasn't going very well, but she was still trying!

  "—and after the Third Inquiry of 703 P.E, the Church of the Cruel Sun absolved the Lees of the incident at Bloodwater Hill, but the Medicis along with 3 other noble houses never accepted that ruling. Their reasons were not clear. I honestly can't find anything that backs up their refusal, but some say that's what led to the current generation practicing—"

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "Wait!"

  Yuzuriha blurted out as she went on her feet. It was too much for her to keep quiet any longer. If she didn't really want to learn she could have just pretended to listen until it was over, but at the end of the day she would be the fool.

  With a newfound spark of curiosity, she mustered up the courage to stop the woman.

  "Aunt Grace, I—I can't keep up. You're going too fast"

  After she said that, there was a pause. Probably because of surprise, but it took a moment before Grace said something again.

  "...Too fast?"

  Grace repeated and Yuzuriha winced.

  "I'm sorry. You're not doing anything wrong, I just… There are too many big names. And dates. And concepts. And motives. I can't picture any of it, its overloading my brain"

  She purposely left out the process of how her brain is being overloaded, for obvious reasons of course.

  "It's all just words. I'm trying, really, but I just can't keep up with you"

  Again, there was a momentary silence. And then, Grace let out a brief laugh.

  "Oh my, some honesty. It's unusual but it's refreshing. I like it. That will serve you far better than pretending to understand. That's right, don't think I haven't been noticing that in all our lessons."

  "Huh, really?"

  Yuzuriha raised an eyebrow, confused.

  "Indeed. But that's a story for another day, let's wrap this up. I only have forty-two minutes left before I must leave for work. So, let's try something else"

  Her feet were audible as she stepped across the room, and then with the swoosh of her long dress, she sat down, right next to Yuzuriha.

  "Tell me my dear Yor. What do you know about the history of our world, or rather, the creation of it?"

  ***

  "God Almighty, eternal without beginning or end, existed before anything else."

  Yuzuriha spoke. She was hesitant at first since she was put on the spot, but as she continued, the words began sliding off her tongue like she was dusting off an old memory.

  "There was no sky, no land, no sea. Only God Almighty, illuminating what was with Radiant Light and Perfection.

  They shaped the firmament, the deep, and set the foundations of the cosmos. Mountains, oceans, winds, and skies. The day and the night. Light and Darkness. The stars were placed. The world was formed.

  And then, from the radiance of that divine presence came the first two deities"

  Yuzuriha lifted a finger as if she was ticking off names in her mind.

  "The first was The Mother Goddess of Immortal Springs, from Her hands spilled life. She carved half the races from breath and clay. Humans, elves, demons, goliaths, dragons, mermaids and others"

  She took a moment to pause after a realization.

  'That crab monster Marcille was talking about during dinner is starting to make sense now. And here I thought she was just overexaggerating'

  From the perspective of someone who came from a completely normal world without powers or anything supernatural like that, her way of thinking was totally justified. However, it was limiting her potential to grow and know more about this world.

  It made her seem like a narrow minded individual. Beside her, Yuzuriha heard shuffling sounds. It must have been Grace checking up on her since she suddenly went quiet.

  "Oh, sorry. I'll continue now…Um, The second deity was The Eternal Shining Star Above or Ancient Cruel Sun, who set the world alight…"

  As she went on, her memories began to become blurry and hazy. She was struggling to recall certain information regarding this particular deity, instead of fighting against it, she simply moved on to the next.

  "The third of the deities was the Lord of the End, who stepped forth from The Creator's shadow. To bring balance He brought the concept of death, to rule over stillness, over the last breath and the hidden path that waits from beyond…

  And then, God Almighty vanished"

  Fascinating. Really Fascinating. It was all truly fascinating!

  Yuzuriha had never been a religious person, but hearing something like this for the first time sounded all too ridiculous to be true. She even found herself grinning.

  It made her wonder why she didn't learn about stuff like this sooner. She was a busy businesswoman, but she still could have made time.

  'Seriously though, how could anyone believe this?'

  And that question answered part of why she didn't learn it sooner. And also, that sudden ruffle to her hair snapped her out of her thoughts. She had gone quiet again.

  "I cannot get enough of that endearing smile of yours. Simply precious, Almost makes me want to…ahem"

  Grace lifted her hand and cleared her throat before continuing.

  "...However, you forgot to mention the Howling Evil God of Chaos, the one whose Origin Should Not Be. It is madness, change without shape, destruction without purpose. In other words—"

  "The source of all Chaos in the world"

  Yuzuriha said those words with such dread she shivered for a second. They just slipped out her lips, interrupting Grace in the process. For a long moment, her dear neighbor said nothing.

  It made her want to apologize for being rude but before she could, a soft hum overlapped her.

  "That…was wonderfully put, Yor. Did Marci teach you all this?"

  She gave a small head shake.

  "I learned that when I was little. From Sunday school of the Church of the Cruel Sun. It was free so big sis didn't want me to miss a single lesson"

  Of course, Sunday school is free. With an origin like that, why wouldn't it? That way they could brainwash everyone with their bull.

  Feeling a bit of frustration rising from her chest, Yuzuriha took a calming breath and exhaled.

  Magic might have been a real thing in this world but a line had to be drawn somewhere, come on!

  "You remembered all that? That's quite a lot for someone your age. More than what most of my own learners can recall. You're really sharp compared to—"

  Grace immediately stopped herself from continuing, a moment after, there was a sorrowful moan which surprised Yuzuriha. There was more movement too, a bit of wind swaying here and there.

  "I shouldn't say that. It's terrible. I'm supposed to nurture my students, not talk down on them. I'm sorry Anne. Sorry Lily, Mabel, Bertie…and you too Eva"

  Her voice was filled with so much guilt that Yuzuriha didn't know how to respond to this situation. She simply remained quiet. The students she was talking about must have been those from the Miss Bellrose's Seminary for Young Ladies of Good Standing.

  'I still can't get over of how long and silly that name is'

  Anyways, she didn't think Grace meant them any harm. Wanting the best for their students was the motivation of every teacher. Some chose it because it was often a stable career with regular employment opportunities but still, passion was the subject matter!

  "Well!..."

  There was a slight creak in the couch just before the sudden whoosh of movement. Then came the sharp clap of Grace's hands.

  "That's enough class for today. We still have more than enough time left before I clock in, so how about we do something else?"

  Yuzuriha knitted her brows, this was the second time something like this had happened. She was feeling sad a second ago and all of a sudden she's bright and full of energy. Grace was humming, the sound of her footsteps light, like she was already walking across the room.

  "Hmm? I was thinking we do something fun"

  'I should stop thinking too much. It makes me come off as rude when I go silent when people ask me questions'

  But in this scenario, thinking things through wasn't a bad thing. Knowing what kind of person Grace was, her definition of fun was probably vague at best and concerning at worst.

  She took a breath and asked.

  "...What kind of fun?"

  Grace chuckled.

  "Oh, just a little tinkering. Some potion crafting. And I need to finish that Sacrament I've been putting off all week. The fun part is that you can help"

  Ignoring the implication of free child labor, a certain word caught Yuzuriha's attention.

  "Sacrament?"