Let's start over, Your Majesty.

Chapter 241 Museum

As a national-level cultural relic collection institution in Fein, Lun Creek Museum has an extremely rich collection, spanning from the Bronze Age to the Third Expedition, with the longest span of artifacts reaching four thousand years.

Moreover, it not only includes historical sites in Finn, but also artifacts from all over the world.

However, most of these were taken from other countries during wartime under the pretext of "hospitalization and protection," through a combination of deception and robbery. The original agreement was for their return after the war, but in reality, less than 20% were returned.

Over time, Fein's attitude toward these artifacts hardened, requiring all countries that wanted to reclaim them to pay exorbitant "maintenance fees," which sometimes exceeded the artifacts' intrinsic value.

Thanks to this rogue policy, Fein has acquired the world's largest and most comprehensive museum.

Caesar only visited this place twice: once when Leon took advantage of a discounted ticket, and once on a day off when he visited with Yumilia.

However, judging from Muirner's appearance, he seemed to be quite familiar with the place, only glancing at each booth as he passed by.

Moreover, Caesar noticed something else: ever since they came in, there had been constant gazes directed at them.

Not long after, he noticed a middle-aged man in a suit who looked like he was no ordinary person walking over. However, the man did not approach them to talk, but stood at a distance and stood respectfully.

Muirner noticed the other person, raised his hand, and gestured for him to leave. The other person bowed, turned around, and left.

"Who is that?" Caesar asked.

“Anton, the curator here, is also my former student. He probably came to check on me because he was worried that I was here to cause trouble,” Muirner said.

“Oh, this is the first time I’ve met the curator,” Caesar said.

It must be said that Muirner had many students. The director of a national museum must have a very important position, but he was just one of Muirner's students.

It was still early, and there weren't many people in the museum. Caesar picked up the layout plan and said to Muirner:

"I heard that there have been new discoveries at the Jiuhubei site recently, and a new exhibition area has been set up. Would you like to go and take a look?"

“Really? I’ve been so busy with work lately that I haven’t been paying attention. Has the archaeological project, which was on hold for so long, started again?” Muirna said.

The Nine Lakes Monument is one of Finn's most important archaeological projects, located in the Telsingen district in the southern part of the Western Continent.

The ancient ruins discovered here once shocked the entire academic world. The artifacts found within, after being traced back to their origins, were not recorded in any ancient texts. This meant that this ancient site existed completely independently of any other ancient civilization, and the level of magic and social development it exhibited was no less than that of any other ancient civilization of the same era.

Such a closed-off civilization has sparked heated discussions among various academics, including Caesar, an old man with a keen interest in history.

I had talked about this with Muirner before, and she was also very interested in the Jiuhubei civilization.

The exhibition area is located deep inside the museum. The entire area is very large, but the lighting is dim. Most of the lights are concentrated on the display stands, making each ancient artifact shine.

These uniquely shaped artifacts, resembling both decorations and tools, stand silently, seemingly still bearing ancient soil from thousands of years ago, as they were recently excavated.

These artifacts are strange and mysterious, carrying the secrets of ancient civilizations and seemingly possessing a kind of magic that attracts the attention of those around them.

To date, historians and archaeologists have not been able to figure out the specific purpose of any of the artifacts here, because their forms are too abstract, their symbolic meanings are too vague, and they do not appear to have any function as "tools" or "weapons".

Therefore, these cultural relics are now all defined as sacrificial implements.

The most classic and mysterious item is the Prophet's Stele, which is placed in the center of the exhibition area. It is a black square stele that is 4.5 meters high, 2 meters wide, and 50 centimeters thick.

The stone tablet does not reflect light at all, presenting a thick, natural black color. Its surface is smooth, and its specific material remains unknown. It can only be described as a metal smelting technique unique to this civilization.
Its function, as it was discovered on a sacrificial platform within the ruins, is widely regarded as a representation of the deity worshipped by the Jiuhubei civilization. The inhabitants here used their unique way of thinking to depict their deity in the shape of a stone tablet, which remains a mystery to modern archaeologists.

When Muirner and Caesar arrived, they spoke in hushed tones, as if afraid to disturb the tranquility of these ancient artifacts. "This is one of the latest artifacts unearthed, called the New Wind Crown, but it doesn't look like it could be worn on the head."

The two looked at the exhibits in the display case and said.

This is a bronze object with multiple branches and a hollowed-out top, resembling an inverted pot lid. According to the description, it was excavated from the interior of pit number 13.

“That’s normal. The Jiuhu Stele is full of strange things like that. I really admire the imagination of the people back then,” Muirna said.

"By the way, Professor, have you heard that archaeology joke? Ancient people just scribbled randomly out of boredom, and later generations considered it a kind of obscure and difficult-to-understand ancient script? The same goes for the Jiuhu Stele. These might just be toys that ancient people made out of boredom, but they have puzzled later generations of archaeologists for their entire lives," Caesar said.

“Of course I’ve heard of it, but it’s just a joke. In professional archaeological work, all ancient information undergoes cross-verification and cross-media validation, so this situation would never occur,” Muirner said.

“Yes, but I’ve also heard an even more chilling view on pseudo-history,” Caesar said.

"Hmm? What is it?" Muirna asked curiously.

"For example, there is a group of fish in a lake. Someone catches one of the fish and takes it out, then releases it back into the water. The fish that went back tells the group about the vast world it saw when it left the water, calling it the universe, and sets going to the universe as the ultimate goal of the group of fish."

Muirna paused for a moment, then shook his head with a smile: "If that's really the case, then it would be too hopeless."

“Yes, perhaps the entire history of civilization will have to be overturned and restarted, and the whole society will fall into a problem of self-identity,” Caesar said.

"Fortunately, this is just one theory, and a fish's memory only lasts seven seconds."

Caesar gave her a faint smile.

"Yes. But we can remember for a longer period of time."

Muirner lowered his eyelids slightly, gazing absently at the new wind crown in the glass case.

"By the way, Professor, why are you interested in the Jiuhubei civilization?" Caesar asked again.

“It’s mysterious, known as one of the four great mysteries of history. The unknown is more exciting, isn’t it?” Muirner shrugged and said.

“That’s true. If the Shattered Moon incident in Eldaria weren’t so famous, it would probably be ranked first, right?” Caesar said.

As he spoke, he began to observe Muirner's demeanor and emotional fluctuations.

“I don’t think so. The Shattered Moon incident is too famous, or the academic community generally connects it with the cause and effect of the Great Destruction. If not, it’s just the end of a dynasty. There are so many controversies about the rise and fall of dynasties in history. There’s no need for Eldaria to attract so much attention, is there?” Muirna said.

“I don’t think so,” Caesar said.

"As the first highly centralized and autocratic nation, Eldaria's influence covered the entire world at the time, and it was in a period of prosperity. Its sudden decline during such a period is still worth studying in terms of its hidden meanings, isn't it?"

“That’s true. By the way, Caesar, do you really like the history of Eldaria?” Muirna asked.

"Of course, that period was the most glorious in my opinion, especially Emperor Rean's unification of the territory, which was the most correct thing in history. After all, I believe that only a unified regime can usher in development and prosperity." Caesar praised himself without reservation.

"Is that so?" Muirner murmured.

"By the way, Professor, what is your opinion of Emperor Rean?" he asked casually.

"Him?" Muirner asked expressionlessly. "I don't have much of an impression of him. He's generally considered a great monarch in later generations, so I'll agree."

(End of this chapter)