New Gods of North America

Compared to modern society,

the "library" of this era is still a relatively "sacred" place for scholars and students.

Knowledge is precious,

and the books that carry knowledge naturally become things worth cherishing.

This can also be seen from the academy's punishment for behaviors such as "malicious destruction" or "deliberate theft" of books.

Once it is verified and reviewed by the school's board of directors, in addition to requiring relevant personnel to compensate, the academy will directly "remove" them from the rolls—this is the most severe punishment that an institution like a "school" can make.

Even plagiarism of notes, assignment writing, or even cheating in exams, the lighter punishment is only invalidation of grades and retaking courses.

At least at the level of plagiarizing papers or academic fraud, the same starting "removal" treatment can usually be obtained.

Although printing technology has been initially rolled out, books are still clearly graded.

Some documents or notes of someone, or some pages or scrolls, that have been circulating since who knows when, usually require special approval to be allowed to "access" or "read", let alone "borrow".

Slightly rarer handwritten copies or special books often require a note signed by a professional professor before scholars and students can go to a special reading room to read them, or at least they need to go through the librarians before they can be found in non-public bookshelves.

Students can routinely access various printed materials that are allowed to be made public within a certain range—even so, some academic professional books cannot be easily found or collected in bookstores on the market.

After all, the printing volume and stock of professional books are often limited,

and for most ordinary people, some of these books are not much different from "out-of-print books".

So in the library,

"compensating for the same books" is often a more severe punishment than "compensation at the price".

Because of this, the academy's library and museum,

are almost the most strictly guarded and managed places in the entire academy.

This area where students can freely read and study on their own is considered to be relatively loosely managed,

but the students also tacitly keep quiet, and treat these books more "cautiously" and "carefully" than modern people and ordinary people.

As for food and various drinks,

sorry, they are not allowed to be brought in.

Even the various lamps used for lighting do not have "shells" or "covers".

Another "sacred" aspect of the library is that it can provide "lighting" for students from ordinary families for free.

Even if the study room is not always brightly lit, as long as it is still open, the administrators will at least leave a kerosene lamp that can be placed on the table for students who are still studying.

If you leave the academy, even the item of "night lighting" may be a "burden" for some people.

After Wayne found Macken Reef in the library's study room,

he found that he was currently concentrating on reading books and taking notes.

The picture is actually a bit comical,

a large book is placed a little far away on the table, Macken Reef needs to lean forward and stretch his head to look at it, and after a while, he shrinks back and bows his head to take notes on the notebook on the side of the table, not even daring to place the pen too close to the books.

In contrast,

Wayne's house has a pile of large books, and a certain semi-literate person flipped through them while eating pastries when he was a child, and even used them to "stack blocks", and he didn't remember being scolded.

So Wayne thought about it and didn't bother Macken Reef,

he casually picked a handy dictionary and flipped through it, planning to wait for Macken Reef to return to the dormitory, and then strike up a conversation on the way.

By the way, Wayne suddenly had an idea,

the most precious books in the Georgeburg urban area, will they be placed in the Georgeburg Church? Or in the academy's library or museum?

Or is it locked in the vault of a wealthy man's manor?

I wonder what kind of book it will be.

It shouldn't bite, right?

Finally, when the administrator reminded that the library was about to close, the most "stubborn" students and young scholars began to leave one after another.

Wayne put the dictionary back on the bookshelf, and then followed Macken Reef, preparing to find a chance to go up and say "what a coincidence".

The closing time of the library is earlier than the dormitory's curfew time.

Wayne followed for a short distance, and found that the direction Macken Reef was walking at this time was not towards the dormitory.

Um……

So Wayne kept his distance, wanting to see where this guy was going.

It's dark now, and the street lights in the academy are not dense, so it's impossible for him to report to the academy church at this point, right?

It's hard to say,

I feel like those people in the Holy Spirit Church don't need to sleep...

Macken Reef walked to a small forest on the side of the road, not too far away, some of the street lights could still faintly shine through the gaps between the leaves.

Wayne saw him take out something from his backpack, and then meow there.

Feeding cats...

When the America started having cats has not been historically determined,

but according to the old records Wayne has seen at home, at least when the "April Grass" came, it already had several cats on board.

In the years when ordinary people could not often eat meat, there were not many stray cats and dogs in the town, and they were generally afraid of people.

If it was placed in a place like Black Stone Town, stray cats would probably be tied up with ropes and become "domestic cats" in a few days, or become fur, stew, or something.

If they ran to the slums in the city, their fate would probably be similar.

Maybe only places like academies have space for stray cats to reproduce freely,

and only honest people like Macken Reef are willing to spend money to buy food to feed them.

After waiting for a while, a calico cat really came over. The little wild cat was also wary and didn't dare to get close to people from a distance.

Perhaps Macken Reef had fed it several times, and at this time he was squatting next to the food and not leaving. The little wild cat reluctantly gradually approached, and finally lowered his head and ate there.

Macken Reef looked almost the same as usual, with a timid look. He stretched out his hand several times as if he wanted to pet the cat, but was stopped by the little wild cat's vigilance.

Then he continued to feed, and tried to reach out several times.

Until the little wild cat seemed to be happy to eat, Macken Reef's hand finally gently touched its body.

Then the sharp meow stopped abruptly, the little wild cat seemed to be suddenly pressed down, and Wayne vaguely heard the "click" of bones.

Then it was lifted up, slammed down, and trampled on.

The movement belonging to a "living thing" quickly fell into silence.