Koji Fights The World - Chapter 19 The Royal Library

Small footsteps approached the courtyard. Mindful of the king’s edict that only members of the Royal Family may enter, the person stood outside and called out, “Princess Zelea! Prince Consort! It’s time for lunch!”

Koji’s stomach rumbled. He heard a delightful giggle as Zelea’s body shuddered in laughter. “Can’t blame me for being hungry. After all, brother-in-law had given me a physically intensive practice drill,” the bonder pointed out.

Zelea sighed. “That’s true. Heretrios went overboard. He wanted to test your talent in the saber. I think he became even more jealous of you,” she remarked and sighed again.

Koji climbed to his feet and turned around. With a mischievous grin, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her up.

She playfully slapped him. “Hands off, buster!” Zelea said in mock anger. Frankly, she didn’t mind physical intimacy with her husband. However, the princess was mindful of the presence of the servant standing nearby, who will surely set the palace ablaze with more steamy gossip of the newlyweds! Zelea grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the courtyard. The couple followed the servant back to the banquet hall.

As usual, the king and queen were already at the table.

Once the young couple took their seats, King Aphraphus asked, “How was your saber training, Koji?” He was impressed by how alert and attentive his son-in-law looked. Prince Heretrios had a fearsome reputation amongst the guards for being a saber-fanatic and a merciless drillmaster. Thus, King Aphraphus knew his son wouldn’t be lenient in training Koji.

The young man smiled. “It went okay. Brother-in-law gave me his saber as a gift, and then I learned the eight basic attacks,” Koji answered.

The eyebrows of the king and queen rose at this unexpected answer. Heretrios hoarded his weapons and rarely allowed anyone to touch them. For their son to give away a saber of his volition, this meant Heretrios made a peace offering to Koji.

“For practice, Brother Heretrios made Koji swing his saber eight hundred times,” Zelea interjected with a frown.

Aphraphus and Herecia finally understood why their son gave away his saber. Heretrios gave Koji a difficult task. If Koji fails, this will provide Heretrios with a convenient excuse to declare Koji unworthy of Heretrios’ tutelage. Naturally, their son would take back the saber!

With a grimace, the king asked, “How many swings did Koji manage to execute?”

The young man’s eyes blinked several times at this question. Did everyone expect him to fail this easy drill?

Zelea giggled at the question. Soon, the giggle morphed into uncontrollable laughter.

The parents turned toward Koji expectedly.

“I finished the drill,” he answered meekly with a shrug.

King Aphraphus clapped his hands and laughed boisterously. Now, he understood Zelea’s reaction. Suddenly, he felt a pain in his thigh and stopped laughing.

Queen Herecia had pinched him. “The servants have returned with our meals,” she stated calmly.

Koji looked at the bowl placed before him; he saw thin yellow noodles with duck meat and bok choy.

“Go ahead and eat, Koji!” the king urged with a big grin. He knew how hungry the young man was after successfully performing the practice drill.

Koji bowed and started eating. The meat was very tender, and the noodles were soft but not soggy. The white-colored soup comprised of pork bone broth, which Koji knew was very nourishing especially for a martial artist. Bone broth is rich in calcium, magnesium, and phosphorous. It contains gelatin, which breaks down into collagens in the body and protects the joints. The soup also reduces inflammation and helps maintain weight loss by supporting calorie restriction.

Zelea, on the other hand, did not like the taste of bone broth soup. She ate the duck meat and the noodles but left the soup alone. She quietly pushed her bowl toward her husband. “You can have the soup,” Zelea told him and blushed.

Koji looked up from his bowl and stared at the proffered bowl of soup. His hunger knocked aside his hesitation. “Thank you, Zelea,” he replied with a smile and took her bowl. He drank the soup without using a spoon.

The servants gasped and covered their mouths as they watched. The women couldn’t believe how intimidate Princess Zelea and her Consort became in such a short period! They wondered if she was already pregnant with his child. Some of the women became weak-kneed at the thought.

“You like pork bone broth, Koji,” Queen Herecia remarked with a smile. She had witnessed the reserved son-in-law finish two bowls of soup in short order.

Koji nodded his head. He was too embarrassed to speak.

King Aphraphus came to his rescue. “You should walk off the meal, Koji. And be sure to visit the Royal Library. In addition to the Dual-Cultivation scroll, you may look for a Saber skill technique, too.”

Koji raised his hand. He thought of an embarrassing question. “Um, will I be able to read those books?” he asked gingerly.

The king drew a blank before his wife rescued him. “Yes, Koji. When the vortex pulled you into our world, your mind changed including your language comprehension skills. That’s why we can communicate verbally. The words in our books will also be legible in your mind when you read them,” the queen explained.

Koji bowed deeply. “Thank you, mother-in-law and father-in-law!”

The king laughed and waved his hand in dismissal.

Zelea and Koji stood up and left the banquet hall.

Once the young couple was gone, Queen Herecia turned toward her husband. “Aren’t you jealous?” she teased him.

“Not at all!” King Aphraphus retorted. “If Koji can execute eight hundred saber swings to Heretrios’ satisfaction, then our son-in-law is ready to learn his first saber technique,” he explained.

“I see,” his wife replied. However, Herecia worried about her son’s reaction to this news.

***

To Koji’s surprise, the library was the building to the right of the forecourt. But when he thought about it further, this made sense because the library was open to the public; thus, it needed to be close to the front gate.

The building housing the library was made of wood and stood on a raised platform. However, several guards stood attentively at the entrance. “Princess!” the men saluted as Zelea approached.

She nodded politely and entered unchallenged. While the Royal Library was open to the public, a person can’t just walk in and enter. He must seek a pass from the Royal Librarian, Mao Luyang. Additionally, the librarian granted only two dozen passes per day, and he recorded the identity of each visitor. If more visitors sought entry on a particular day, then Mao drew lots and granted passes accordingly. Of course, the king already informed him of the planned visit by Zelea and Koji. Thus, the librarian instructed the guards to permit the newlyweds entry without delay.

Koji saw rows and rows of wooden bookcases. Each case was elevated and stood a foot above the floor, and there were three shelves in each cabinet. Atop the cases were scrolls. The rows were spread wide apart for easy passage by a lamian user. Also, glowstones illuminated the library; Koji noticed there was no open flame within the building. The lack of fire made sense to him because the entire library was flammable, and the risk of catching fire was extremely high!

As the young man looked around, a middle-aged man with a bald head and wearing yellow robes quietly approached the pair. “Greetings, Princess Zelea and Prince Consort. May this lowly Mao Tian assist you?” the monk inquired politely and bowed.

“Yes, Senior Mao. My father has permitted us to withdraw a dual-cultivation scroll. He also wishes my husband to learn a saber technique,” the princess replied.

“Please follow me to the Reading Room,” the librarian replied and started walking. The monk led the young couple to the center of the library.

As Koji walked past the bookcases, he reached out to grab a book. Suddenly, someone knocked his hand away! Wham! Koji turned and discovered that the culprit was Zelea!

She glared at him and explained, “Koji, only a library staffer is allowed to pull books off the shelves. An array attuned to the staff protects the bookcases. Otherwise, the array will deliver Heavenly Punishment to you.”

“Please avoid touching the shelves,” Senior Mao admonished in a hushed voice.

“Sorry,” Koji apologized sheepishly.

The librarian stared at him for a moment longer. Senior Mao had the authority to kick out anyone who violates the library’s rules. However, the culprit was the Prince Consort, and this was his first visit to the Royal Library. One could even argue that Senior Mao was at fault for not explaining the rules to the consort. Thus, the librarian permitted this infraction to go unpunished. “Follow me,” he said.

Koji obeyed. He steered clear of the bookcases by walking in the middle of the passage. When he approached the Reading Room, Koji saw several long tables, each of which had stacks of books and people were reading and copying from the books. Also, there were several small, round tables and smaller desks with single seats. Koji took a deep breath. He smelled the scent of paper, and it reminded him of his favorite hangout in his youth–the local library.

“I will bring the dual-cultivation scroll, which you can take out of the library, and several saber skill books, which you need to copy from here,” Senior Mao said. “Please take a seat. I will bring them to you.” He pointed his finger at an available table with two chairs.

Koji nodded his thanks before tiptoeing to claim the table. He looked around the Reading Room. Half of the library patrons appeared to be middle-aged or older, and the rest of the visitors were younger. To his astonishment, a handful of them looked young enough to be elementary schoolers!

Several patrons noticed his attention. Some ignored him while others reacted with frowns.

Koji realized he had breached library etiquette and quickly looked away. He saw Zelea shake her head in disapproval, and he shrugged sheepishly.

Abruptly, the librarian appeared behind Koji, startling the young man!

Zelea quickly covered her husband’s mouth to stifle the scream.

Koji looked directly into her eyes and nodded.

“What a troublemaker!” she muttered and finally released him.

Senior Mao ignored their antics. He placed a small pile of books on the desk. Wedged between the top two books was a writing pad. A scroll case tucked into his belt; the librarian pulled out the yellow container and handed it to Koji. He then pulled the writing pad free and put it in front of the library patron. “You may copy from any of the books and take the writing pad with you. Pencils and erasers are inside the drawer. The dual-cultivation scroll is yours to keep per the king’s order,” Senior Mao informed the Consort. He bowed and quietly walked away.

Koji lowered his head and checked the book spines to read the book titles. He saw the following: The Art of Saber Defense; Fighting with Grace: Saber Edition; Intermediate Saber Fighting; Advanced Saber Fighting Tactics; Sword Flying; and A Saber’s Heart. Koji decided to start reading the first book because Prince Heretrios had not taught Koji any defensive maneuvers with the saber. He opened The Art of Saber Defense and started reading it.

Zelea watched silently for about ten minutes. When she became satisfied that Koji was putting his best effort into studying the book, Zelea quietly cultivated next to him.

The two stayed in the Reading Room for several hours until daylight faded.

“Ahem,” someone coughed behind them.

Koji and Zelea turned around; they saw Senior Mao again.

“I apologize for interrupting your studies, but the king has summoned you to the banquet hall,” the librarian informed them.

“Thank you,” the princess replied with a polite smile.

Koji groaned inwardly. He was very engrossed in the book because it showed the five basic defensive poses for the saber, and offered numerous scenarios against attackers wielding different types of weapons. The author, Dai Yijun, shared his wealth of experience and explained the concepts in an easy to understand manner. Thus, Koji was very reluctant to leave the Reading Room.

Senior Mao smiled faintly because he, too, read The Art of Saber Defense in his youth. “Consort, if you wish I can hold the book in reserve for you,” he offered. “When you come back to the library again, I will retrieve this book for you.”

Koji’s eyes widened in delight. He turned toward Zelea. “Can I return tomorrow?” he asked.

“Sure!” the princess answered with a smile.

The young man stood up and took the writing pad. While holding Zelea’s hand, he followed the librarian out of the building.