Academic gathering with a lich

Andrey cleverly dodged Mr. Gentleman's invitation, having already been struck down by the holy light in his life, he wasn't keen on receiving a double whammy of physical and mental blows.

"I am absolutely! Absolutely do not want to have anything to do with the holy light."

After refusing Mr. Gentleman, Lyle also felt too embarrassed to converse with him further, and his abundant energy swiftly shifted to admiring the castle's decorations.

The castle didn't differ much from his own impression of one, except that it was much cleaner, even its ceiling that towered tens of meters high was spotless. Perhaps it was due to magic—magic sure is handy—for in a clean place, Lyle felt everything seemed much brighter.

Hmm? Brighter? How long had it been since he had used that term? Since arriving in this medieval era with its primitive living standards, he hadn't come across many butter lamps.

What kind of lighting could make someone accustomed to light pollution from the future find it bright? It was the medieval era, after all.

It was like a fish on the beach suddenly realizing it couldn't breathe out of water.

Lyle began to search for the source of the light in surprise.

About three feet below the ceiling, palm-sized lights were symmetrically arranged along the walls on both sides. Their brightness was a tad more intense than that of an incandescent bulb, forcing Lyle to squint involuntarily.

Only once he adjusted to the light could he glimpse their true form.

They were teardrop-shaped with a layer of light gray cloth enveloping the light itself, which emitted a pale yellow glow that brought a touch of warmth to the castle at night and a bit of the atmosphere of a family gathering. Although the visitors around him didn't become more lively from the mood and seemed more like thinkers. Compared to them, Lyle felt he was far too fidgety.

The many similarities made Lyle think of light bulbs, a product of the second industrial revolution. He knew that outside, the Renaissance had not yet begun, maybe it wouldn't even start in this medieval period. Had Andrei Academy already advanced so far ahead of its time?!

What was the source of its energy? Chemical energy? Electricity? Solar power? Nuclear power? Or was it something more magical? Arcane? Holy light? Or some other unknown energy?

It seemed his direct gaze was a bit too much.

Lyle noticed that the light source he had been staring at began to dim. What was the principle behind this? Vision capture, light-sensitive reaction, or psychic detection?

Ah, it was bioenergy.

It was a creature—a glowing bat hanging upside down on the wall. The pale-colored cloth was its wings, and the glowing part was its little belly, which seemed to have control over the intensity of its light.

Seemingly disturbed by Lyle's gaze, the creature swooped down.

Was he about to be attacked?

"Hello, sir, do you require service?" The glowing bat dimmed its light and, using one front foot and both hind feet, secured itself on the wall in front of Lyle. Its other forearm was placed across its chest, its petite head bowing slightly to Lyle—it was saluting him.

Lyle stood dumbfounded like a country bumpkin.

"You can talk."

"Yes, sir, that is one of the basic courtesies of a Light Bat. Please don't doubt my service capabilities; I am part of Andrei, and I am professional."

It seemed a subtle sneer emerged from the little head of the Light Bat, and Mr. Gentleman joined the fun.

"Plague Doctor, are you looking to hire this Light Bat?"

"Hire? You mean, like, for a service in exchange for money?"

"Yes," the Light Bat circled around Lyle. "Look at my small and exquisite body, look at my skilled flying tricks. I can be comfortably placed in every corner you desire. The slight sounds of my movement will not disturb your critical work. My lighting capability can reach up to level three brightness for twelve hours, surely the best lighting tool you will ever encounter in your life. And most importantly..."

"Apart from speaking the common tongue, I know twelve foreign languages, can recite twenty-seven proverbs, and tell three hundred and seventy-two bedtime stories. I am currently reading books on the cycles of life and exploring life sciences. I even have a second prize in eloquence from the Literary Society, making me the perfect companion for home and travel..."

I can't believe I'm living a life inferior to a Light Bat.

"What are you waiting for? Action speaks louder than words. For just a serving of Ms. Halle's sheep milk cake or Mr. Dori's Light Bat massage kit, you can have me, the outstanding one, for a day."

"You don't take money?"

"Money, you mean the shiny gold coins?"

"Yes."

"Sir, I am a bat, a mammal, not some useless, shiny, egg-laying reptile."

Now, that was a bat with racial preferences.

"Can money fill my belly? Make me comfortable? No!"

"But money can buy you what you want."

"Hehe, then why not just give me what I want directly? Why bother with such a hassle."

This bat was intent on reversing the wheels of history.

"Um, don't you want to eat meat? Like insects, spiders and such?"

"Meat, oh how I long for it," it seemed to have hit a sore spot, as it perched on Lyle's shoulder, its belly flashing on and off, "Sir, you must be new here, Andrey, besides a few clubs that like to breed, you shouldn't expect to see a living creature, here, not even a fly, let alone meat, we don't even have fruits, it is said that my ancestors initially could eat meat, but later due to the environmental degradation, they could only eat cake, look at my teeth, they are almost devolving."

The Light Bat opened its small mouth, apparently, he had thought too much, its fangs gave Lyle the chills, feeling like it would hurt quite a bit if bitten.

Lyle felt a bit sorry for it, it had never eaten meat, nor fruits, only cakes. It seemed like he hadn't eaten cake his whole life either.

"Sir, are there no other living creatures in Andrei?"

"Well, although it's not officially banned, there are few, after all, the life force is too strong, it's not likable."

Life force too strong? Being too lively is bothersome? That made some sense.

"Life is tough, sometimes I can only drink vegetable soup."

"Vegetable soup?" "Vegetable soup?" One was the Light Bat's astonishment, the other the gentleman's. Besides pure surprise, the gentleman seemed to imply something else.

As a small mammal, the Light Bat didn't have the patience of humans.

"Sir, the vegetable soup you spoke of, does it have farmed crops like carrots, potatoes, and the like in it?"

"Yes."

"Are there potatoes?"

"Yes."

"Are there crisp, juicy carrots? The kind that horses eat?"

"...Yes, carrots are edible for humans too." In the eyes of the Light Bat, there is no difference between horses and humans.

"Sir, may I eat some? I mean, could you offer me the carrots as a fee for my service?"

"Then, how many would you like?"

"One, no no no, half, I think half would do." The Light Bat made a tentative gesture.

Lyle looked at Mr. Henry.

"Does Miss Halle's goat milk cake taste bad?"

"How would I know, I haven't eaten it." The gentleman shrugged helplessly.

"Don't compare Light Bats to people, their taste is different."

He felt sad for Miss Halle's goat milk cake.

"As you see, Mr. Light Bat, I don't have any carrots with me right now, but I assure you, next time I come to Andrei, I'll bring a few for you, as compensation for our chat," Lyle said.

"Thank you, generous sir, it's a pleasure talking to you, if you need anything, come find me anytime, my name is Onion."

"You can call me Plague Doctor, why choose a vegetable name?"

"Because that's the only vegetable my father ever tasted."

"Then why don't you try tasting the onion yourself?"

"Because I don't want my son to have the same name as his dad."

His, such a potent reason.

Onion returned to his original spot, continuing with his illumination work.

Lyle and the gentleman moved on.

"Why hasn't the Light Bat even eaten vegetables?" Even in the medieval times when resources were scarce, things weren't that bad.

"Andrei doesn't have much of a food source."

"Then why doesn't the Light Bat go out?"

"In order not to provoke disturbances, the Light Bat is Mr. Henry's genetically modified creature, there aren't many things outside that glow. Don't go irritating human nerves, they are more fragile than you might think."

"Then why don't others bring food in? Is it difficult for us to go freely in and out of Andrei?"

"That's not it, it's just not necessary, who would carry food around, even if they want the Light Bat's help, why not simply buy Miss Halle's goat milk cake?"

Mr. Henry spoke with such an air of course, indifferent to the simple act of carrying a few carrots, to Lyle, Mr. Henry seemed like a good man willing to help others, but only "humans."

We are the biggest racists of all.