The Reaper's New Beginning

34. History is not what it seems

Zatheusyl had a much shorter history than what Asher had originally anticipated. It was also unusually tame without any natural disasters nor irresponsible leaders that brought destruction and ruin. It was all roses and daisies, but it would've been almost impossible to achieve such glory without ever suffering from any casualties. It was from these casualties that people learned how to properly manage and protect a country.

"Excuse me, Professor Smickle, but how could our nation survive all these years without any type of controversy?"

It was interesting, to say the least. No disputes nor wars; just peace. It's difficult to think of a country that hasn't had any bitter discussions or bad blood both inside and outside the country. 

The classroom was mostly empty except for Asher, Dashiel, Aziel, and Prof. Smickle. Today was the first day where Asher could attend history class without having to leave and he had learned many new things; things that didn't make much sense to him. Possessing the knowledge of his other life made him compare what he had learned about history in general and how it was never as simple as it seemed.

Dashiel stood about five feet away from Asher while Aziel waited for them by the door. It was apparent that Aziel didn't feel any comfort being around Prof. Smickle, which was rather strange seeing as he wasn't that bad of a teacher. Asher actually enjoyed this lecture and felt the need to ask him a few questions after the class had ended, hence his previous question.

Professor Smickle was putting way his things as he snorted at Asher's question. "Our nation was blessed by the great Goddess' protection. I mentioned that in the previous class, but you had left because you were feeling unwell."

Asher narrowed his eyes in confusion. He had noticed Professor's Smickle attitude was much different than his demeanor during class, but he didn't think much of it. His need and want for information outweighed whatever the professor would do or say to him.

"Is that it? We are being protected by the Goddess. Then, if that statement is true, how could we have developed this quickly? With her protection, there wouldn't be a need for us to grow to such an extent to protect ourselves. If anything, our knowledge wouldn't have been as advanced as it is now because there would be no need for it since we possess the Goddess' protection."

The professor took his bag before shaking his head as if he had been asked a stupid question. He dug his hand into his bag and randomly took out an old, thick book. "It is because the Goddess has wished for us to achieve what our nation has achieved. Go read this book and don't ask me such stupid questions again. Inform yourself."

"But wait, it still doesn't make sense!"

Asher was left alone in the classroom with his two friends and a relatively thick book in his hands. It was overflowing with random notes diving deeper into certain topics involving Zatheusyl's past. The old book seemed to have been treated with great care in the past before falling into Prof. Smickle's hands. It was a disappointment that this wasn't the book that was being used during the lecture seeing as the original owner of the book had spent a lot of time researching these topics.

Putting away the thick book into his bag, Asher walked out of the classroom with his two friends. They always had some time left before lunchtime after attending class, so Zyair had advised them before to talk about the topics spoken during class as a way to revise the material.

"Did you ask Smickle what you asked me?" asked Aziel with his hands behind his head. Asher nodded and sighed.

"I did. Unfortunately, he's a big believer of the Goddess' protection, so it was all for nothing."

"He's usually like that. Why else would he have been chosen as my teacher? It was obvious that they wanted him to brainwash me into devoting myself to the Goddess."