I'm a genius

Akira's POV

"Nothing is interesting in any of these books. Let's go to the Sphinx's layer. I bet she has something on more interesting races," I said as loudly as I can for the tenth time partially to annoy the Lilliput in front of me and partially to get her to say something .

She has been awfully quiet after the revelation.

I shouldn't have told her that, I really really regret it now.

I really wish time and space magic wasn't forbidden, then I could've gone back in time and stopped my stupid self from opening my big mouth.

Damn it, she wasn't even spitting fire at me like she did this morning. Or stomping at my feet.

Which was a good thing actually. Her stomps hurt!

"Can you please try to keep your voice down? This is a library."

Aha, she spoke! That too with a lot of spite! My annoy-her-to-death tactic was a success.

I'm a genius.

My internal enthusiasm dimmed a bit when I saw the instant regret on her face and the fake smile.

Great, another person who'll pretend to like me in fear of offending dad.

I felt alone. Again.

The feeling intensified when she agreed a bit too easily to accompany me to the Sphinx's layer.

Another day, another person bending backward to please the grandmaster's son.

Just the life I wanted.
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"The instant my name is spoken

I am broken;

What am I?" The Sphinx's deep voice questioned me.

Really? That was the best the Mighty Holder Of Knowledge can do?

This is too easy!

"Silence," I answered confidently with a smug smile.

I don't think the All-Knowing one liked my cocky look.

"Correct answer, Young Sun-forged. Now a riddle for your companion," She taunted me with a dismissive look.

Young Sunforged. Like father but lesser.

No, Akira, don't think like that.

"Please ask away, ancient one," Little spitfire said with a very pathetic attempt at looking confident.

Let me tell you, she wasn't very convincing.

"Foolish men have wasted me,

Average men have spent me,

Wise men have invested me,

Yet all men succumb to me;

What am I?"

Time, I knew the answer as soon as I heard it.

The midget, however, looked panicked.

Gods, she was slow.

I wonder what exactly they teach in commoner acaddmies.

"The answer is time. Man; rich, poor, foolish, wise; all are a slave to the wheels of time, always in motion it is," she said after a few moments of silence.

Took her long enough.

"Wise words, knowledge seeker. You deserve to enter my layer." The winged-one looked impressed.

Hey, where is my compliment? I answered your question in seconds!

No appreciation for true talent here.

At last, she moved her giant paw to make way for us. 

Well at least, she's not as lazy as she was taunting.

When we got in, more than the dazzling sight of the ancient layer and the cacophony of spirits and mechanisms, I enjoyed the look of innocent excitement on the midget's face. She looked on in wonder; willing to lose herself here like little Alice down the rabbit hole.

Was it her first time seeing the forbidden layer?

Maybe the bright smile on her face is the expected reaction for those who've never seen things such as this.

Truth to be told, this really wasn't all to fascinating. 

 We had a layer like this in our family library. It was far bigger too.

But something about the twinkle in her sapphire eyes when the little fox spirit came to her made me appreciate this relic of knowledge today.

I should've known this will make her happy. After all, she looked like she was over the moon in that ugly outfit. I heard her talking to her friend about it with the biggest smile. 

It was endearing actually.

Still, It should be criminal to look that adorably happy in that vomit-inducing outfit just because it was new!

Yet when I saw the butterflies she sew with mismatched threads on it's sleeve like it was some sort of treasure she has to put her mark on, I suddenly felt the outfit wasn't that bad after all.

There wasn't any harm in appreciating things if they make someone this happy.

I wonder if all commoners are this weird or is it just her?

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GLOSSARY

*Sphinx: Egyptian mythological creature with the face of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. Famous for asking riddles to travelers.

*Alice: The main character of  Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (commonly Alice in Wonderland), an 1865 English children's tale by Lewis Carroll  (a pseudonym of Charles Dodgson). A young girl named Alice falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatures. It is seen as a prime example of the Nonsense genre. Its play with logic gives the story lasting popularity with adults as well as children.

*Lilliput : A fictional island nation inhibited by small people that appears in Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. Throughout the ages, the word Lilliput has become synonymous to short.

 
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Sorry, this chapter was a bit shorter. I have exams. 

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