Chapter 94: The Last Diary Entry

"Year 119 of the Grand Duchy."

This marked the beginning of the first entry in Philip, Descendant of the Sun's diary.

"Currently, it is Year 151 of the Sapphire Grand Duchy. That means this diary started thirty-two years ago?" Lister did a quick calculation.

The Sapphire Grand Duchy didn't have an official calendar, nor did it adopt the calendar of the Kingdom of Steel Ridge. The concept of history wasn't prevalent in this world, and people generally didn't reflect on past events or learn from them.

As such, the Sapphire Grand Duchy didn't even have a National Day.

The Sea Voyage Festival and the New Year were the most important celebrations. Sometimes, the anniversary of the country's founding would be held during the Sea Voyage Festival, other times during the New Year, and sometimes on any random day, depending on the whim of the Grand Duke of Sapphire. Lister analyzed that the idea of patriotism hadn't taken root.

The intricacy of the noble system was evident in the structure of knighthood, where its core principle was—my vassal's vassal is not my vassal, and my lord's lord is not my lord.

For example, Lister served under the Earl of Coral Island but not the Grand Duke of Sapphire.

Therefore, as a subject of the Earl, he had no need to concern himself with the Grand Duke of Sapphire. The Sapphire family couldn't give him orders. To him, Coral Island was his true homeland, not the Sapphire Grand Duchy. His love belonged to Coral Island, not the Grand Duchy.

All nobles were lords, even the king was just a larger lord.

Naturally, it couldn't foster a broad sense of patriotism.

That was why only the nobles commemorated Sea Voyage Day, while commoners paid no attention to it at all. In Flower Town, Liszt's birthday celebration was far more important in the hearts of the subjects than Sea Voyage Day—Lord Liszt had granted them land, just like their parents. Who was the Duke? Could he be eaten? Steamed or braised?

His thoughts veered off track.

Liszt continued reading the diary.

"Sunny day. Climbed a tree and picked ten Skull Fruits. Cut down three trees, dug the foundation for a house. Organized the knowledge my grandfather taught me. In Sun Language, 'X' represents 'I'. I am a descendant of the sun, as my ancestors said."

This "X" represented a highly distorted character.

It was complicated, resembling a painting. It looked like a tiny figure with wings, holding some kind of object, dancing joyfully.

"A picture for each character? What country's language is this? It's too bizarre! I swear, even if I lived to a hundred, I'd never learn five hundred characters!" Liszt exclaimed. Of course, he was exaggerating, but it was true that this so-called "Sun Language" was very intricate.

The following pages of the diary contained trivial records of daily life—picking fruits, cutting wood, building a house, exchanging goods with someone, encountering some wild beasts.

But at the end of every entry, there would be a Sun Language character recorded.

I, Father, Mother, Grandfather, Grandmother, Elder Brother, Rice, Earth, Sky, Horse, Flower, One, Ten, Drawing, On... Philip has provided explanations for certain terms. For instance, 'Rice' refers to a specific grain, 'Horse' signifies a unicorn, and 'Flower' denotes a sunflower, which he has never seen but heard about from his grandfather, as they were common to their ancestors.

"Unicorns? Could such legendary creatures truly exist?" Liszt expressed skepticism.

He was even doubtful about these Sun Characters, considering them mere depictions of tiny figures. He didn't believe they represented any form of writing—possibly just something Philip's grandfather invented in his idle moments to entertain his naive grandson.

A thick diary.

Mostly, it documented Philip's mundane life on Dodo Island and his lessons on Sun Characters.

Occasionally, it recounted his experiences working on other islands—he met a nobleman's daughter, a kind young lady who taught them commoners' script. Philip took pride in being the quickest learner, gaining the lady's favor, and almost reaching the point of elopement.

But alas,

in one entry of the journal—he and the lady's affair were discovered by her mother, who threatened to kill him. With the noble lady's aid, Philip escaped that island. He didn't specify which island, saying he didn't wish to sully her reputation.

Aside from these narratives,

the journal occasionally mentioned Philip's ancestors—mainly through stories told by his grandfather.

In those tales, ancestors were said to have raised a flock of magnificent dragons with two heads. Ancestor had once shot down the sun from the sky. They drew extraordinary power from a well. They lived in cities made of trees and befriended wolves, bears, eagles, and tigers. Music was their constant companion.

His grandfather referred to the ancestors as the Son of the Sun.

"So here's the question: Why did the Son of the Sun shoot down the sun? Was it patricide?"

The story was fragmented and vague.

Primarily because Philip had written it tersely, fearing he lacked enough ink and parchment to continue. As time went on, his entries grew fewer and farther between, until he was jotting down diary entries every few days—the parchment was already halfway filled, suggesting he realized this journal couldn't document every triviality of his mundane life.

"Maybe I should rename it 'Private Tutoring Records in Solar Script'," Liszt prepared to close the journal, finding no connection between it and the unopenable bottle.

He considered smashing the metal bottle just to see what was inside.

But as he closed the book, starting from the back and moving forward, the last page closed last. The corner of his eye caught a glimpse that the final page wasn't blank.

He casually flipped it open.

Unveiled before me was yet another journal entry, or one might call it a memoir.

"My Last Testament."

"My grandfather told me before his departure that should a golden bottle ever wash up on the shores from the sea, it would be a message from our ancestors. Our forebears possessed a magical means of sea-bound correspondence. Guided by the bloodline, these enchanted bottles would traverse the oceans. With just a smear of blood, the bottle could be unlocked, and the letter retrieved."

"I did not believe it, but to my descendants, if you ever come across this, remember to reply."

This was Philip, Descendant of the Sun's, "will" left for his offspring, hence its placement at the end of the diary. Liszt was anything but calm after reading it.

The bottle mentioned by Philip must be the one found by the fisherman along the seashore, now resting on his desk.

"Does this imply that Philip and his grandfather's tale is true, and they are indeed the exiled descendants of some noble lineage? And that the Sun Script is genuine?"

His mind drifted back to the previous quest.

It spoke of an "unopenable bottle with indecipherable script," requiring a book for guidance!

Without a doubt, it referred to this very book.

Seizing the drifting bottle, List strode out of the study.

"Master, are you stepping out?"

"I'm off to the tannery. Mr. Carter, you stay in the castle. Let Jesse accompany me. Oh, has Jesse returned?" He recalled that he had sent Jesse to deliver the silver coins.

"Not yet, sir. He's probably watching the comedy show in town again. You know, young folks love such gatherings."

"Never mind, no need to look for him. I'll take Philip and Xavier to the tannery." With that, he hurriedly left the castle, accompanied by his two squire knights, heading straight for the tannery.