40 - Chapter 37

After a lovely lunch with the three students, Sa Bina took her leave and headed out towards her next lesson, basic history. This was one of the subjects she expected to be her worst. She simply had no knowledge to leverage. Her analytical skills would always be a boon, but with nothing to analyse, where would she start.

Sa Bina also realised that her reading list was starting to get extremely long and she expected this class to add even more reading material. Hopefully this would be the last class to do so. She thought, from her various conversations, that the art class, the last one of the day, would be more practical rather than theoretical.

She made it to her history class just as the bell rang marking the start. She made her way to the Professor's desk.

“Greetings Professor,” she said. “I am Lady Sa Bina. I understand that you are expecting me?”

“Greetings Lady Sa Bina,” replied Kang Bo with a gentle smile. “I take it that Professor Hu Ru could not help himself?”

“Yes, the imminent professor did go out of his way to enlighten me,” replied Sa Bina. “I do hope that will not be an issue?”

“No, we are all used to his antics by now,” replied Kang Bo. “I understand from the headmaster that, though your fundamentals are solid, your specific knowledge is lacking?”

“Yes, that would be an accurate characterisation of my skill set,” replied Sa Bina. “I am lacking specific domain knowledge.”

“I find it curious that a child can be so adept in the fundamentals of language, mathematics, economics, and even logic,” mused Kang Bo. “And yet be so divorced from the specifics. The only conclusion I can draw is that you are either not from this kingdom, or you have been trained using a heretofore unknown teaching methodology. Would you care to enlighten me as to which of the two it is?”

“I would not, Professor,” replied Sa Bina. “I would take it as a kindness if you were to not speak of your theories for the time being.”

“Of course, I understand the need for keeping one's secrets,” responded the Professor, smiling benignly. “However, you are intelligent enough to know that your secrets are easily discovered by anyone looking closely. Whatever my actions, you will become a known entity in short order.”

“I do understand that reality, Professor,” replied Sa Bina with a sigh. “I am just hoping to leverage whatever grace period I can to prepare.”

“As long as you are aware of your situation,” said the Professor. “Now, I understand from my colleagues that your language skill is superlative. I have no desire to test your competency yet again. I have prepared a list of books for you to gain the factual knowledge you will need to pass this subject. Feel free to seek me out if you find yourself struggling to understand the nuances, however I am confident you will need very little support to catch up.” He handed Sa Bina yet another book list.

“Thank you Professor,” replied Sa Bina. “I will endeavour to catch up as soon as possible.”

“You have time,” replied Kang Bo. “As you begin to get acquainted with the material, you should take the time to help your peers. The act of teaching will help you internalise the knowledge. Now take a seat, it is time I started the lesson.”

Sa Bina took her seat and prepared to take notes. This was one class she would need to pay full attention in. As she looked around she noticed that most of her fellow students were busy with each other and it seemed that her conversation had been unnoticed.

She mulled over the Professor’s assertions that her secrets were easy to uncover, and she realised that she needed to fill the last gap in our cover sooner rather than later. She needed a mental health specialist to confirm that selective amnesia was an accepted diagnosis in this world. She did not even want to think about the impact of being accused of body snatching, though that was something she would have to research. She needed to understand what was accepted as possible, and what was considered fantasy. That would identify additional weaknesses that she would need to shore up.

The professor started his lecture, with the lesson focused on the creation of the kingdom by an offshoot of another royal family. In those times the beast waves were not such a constant danger, and many expeditions were sent out to map their world.

A daughter of a royal family, not happy with being passed over due to her sex, had set out on an expedition with her personal retinue, army and ancillary support. After more than 2 years travelling through the wilderness, they had chanced upon a massive spirit stone vein. After scouting the area to ensure no other kingdom held a claim, the duchess had crowned herself queen and established a new kingdom. This had all happened more than a million years ago.

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Though the original queen had not managed to attain the heights of cultivation to survive, she had reached at least the soul core formation stage and ruled for long enough to see her kingdom grow into a centre of power. One of her favourite descendents had reached the heights of cultivation, attaining at least the core merge stage, and was rumoured to still be around keeping an eye on things.

To Sa Bina, the idea of such long lifespans was just incredible. It also highlighted a potential weakness in the society. Depending on mindsets, in most societies she had studied, the only progress came when new generations came with new ideas .However, in a society where the existence of neigh immortal kings was not only a possibility, but a verifiable fact, how would progression work? Would development and progression be hampered by the fixed mindsets, or would the stability of such a long reign allow for more ideas to spread and flourish?

The lesson had certainly given her a lot to think about. It also highlighted how things had changed. A group had managed to survive a multi year trek across a large part of the continent, yet now even a journey to the nearest local kingdom was considered an impossible feat. It also highlighted the sheer size of the continent that Sa Bina found herself on. Travelling for two years at superhuman speeds only to explore a part of the continent painted a picture of either an immense continent, or massive dangers. Perhaps the truth was an amalgam of the two.

It was a contemplative Sa Bina who made her way to the last lesson of the day. She had already decided that she would need to make two stops on her way back home. She would stop by a book shop and pick up all the recommended books, plus some additional reading material. She also needed to expedite her search for a mental health specialist.

She not only needed to be able to provide an explanation for her ‘loss of memory’ that made sense to the locals, but she would probably need support to properly process everything that had happened to her. She had been so busy, she had not had the time to deal with the impact of dying, then finding herself alive in such an alien world. If she did not deal with the fallout from that, then it could lead to unforeseen consequences down the line.

Sa Bina was not arrogant enough to believe that she could deal with everything herself, especially without support. The issue she would need to navigate would be how to keep her secrets safe. Still no problem was insurmountable. She would just need to find a way to manage the risk while accruing the benefits.

She reached her last class of the day and entered. She had arrived early having come directly and not taken the time to interact with her peers. Yet another oversight she would need to address. She could not remain so insular and dismissive of the other students. She still saw them as little children, and needed to accept that, at least from an external perspective she was a part of that group now. She needed to make an effort to fit in, or at least be more friendly with them. If nothing else, it would stop her from standing out more than she already did, and that in turn would provide a modicum of misdirection to anyone looking into her.

“Greeting Professor,” she said. “I am Lady Sa Bina. I understand that you are expecting me?”

“Greetings Lady Sa Bina,” replied Deng Qing. “Yes, welcome to basic arts. I have heard much of your prowess in certain subjects, yet nothing that related to my subject. Would you care to enlighten me as to your aptitude?”

“To do that Professor,” replied Sa Bina. “I would first need to understand the scope of the subject. I am unsure if this is a class that covers the practical skills in the performing arts, a class covering the history and appreciation of the arts or some blend of the two. Without that context it would be impossible to provide an accurate description of my aptitude for the subject. Would you be so kind as to provide the missing context?”

“At least you are not jumping at the first opportunity to proclaim your greatness,” replied Deng Qing. “I am impressed that you are able to ask the right questions before wanting to show off. It shows maturity beyond your years. So yes this class is a blend. The curriculum will cover the history of the arts, both music and more traditional arts such as painting and sculpting. The class also covers plays and other forms of artistic entertainment. Then there is the opportunity to learn the arts themselves. This includes learning to paint, sculpt, sing, play instruments and take part in productions of plays. Though I have to say, nobles tend to not take part in the last option, generally seeing it beneath their dignity.”

“I can see how that would be the case,” mused Sa Bina. “I would think if presented in a different light, then it would be possible to get everyone to engage in all activities.”

“Oh, and how would you present it then?” asked Deng Qing, curious to see how this girl saw the situation.

“Well, one of the roles a noble has to undertake is to deal with disputes,” replied Sa Bina. “I can think of two ways that could be used to get the nobles, and their parents interested in taking part in productions. First, they could be used, in conjunction with the law class, to create a mock court, where mock cases could be presented to be adjudicated. With a senior noble present to help point out issues with judgements. This would give nobles practice in adjudicating disputes. It could also be expanded to show the impact of good and bad adjudications. The inclusion of the law would also help ground it as a good training exercise.”

“And the second way?” asked Deng Qing, intrigued by the idea.

“The first way would be folded into the second way,” replied Sa Bina. “One would be the formation of a mock council, where important matters could be debated, to give the students a chance to learn how to interact in such forums, but with the inclusion of ‘plants’, students with a set motive or agenda, it could both be entertaining and a way for the nobles to learn how to spot when they are being manipulated. It would certainly add additional value to the subject.”

“Those are both intriguing propositions,” replied Deng Qing. “I will discuss it with my colleagues, as I can see applications well beyond your stated cases. For now, take a seat and welcome to the class.” She was impressed with Sa Bina’s foresight. If implemented, it would certainly lead to some interesting changes. She wondered how the other students would react.