A Casual Stroll

More than ten minutes later, a luxurious carriage drawn by four solid-white horses, several flags hanging from its roof, stopped at the entrance.

Orsaga boarded it accompanied by the Housekeeper and two beautiful maids.

The carriage was not only lavishly decorated, but also spacious enough to seat five or six people without issue.

Yet aside from Orsaga, who sat with casual ease, the other three were somewhat restrained, merely kneeling respectfully at his side.

He paid no mind to it and calmly told the coachman, "No particular destination. Just wander around."

Through the carriage curtains, Orsaga watched the traces of bloody water still visible by the roadside. For once, he was not contemplating anything—not spells, nor his next plans.

He simply took in the surrounding scenery, which somewhat resembled the Western medieval cities of his Previous Life.

As a nation that had endured for millennia in a world of magic, the Royal Capital of the Duchy of Maldon was undoubtedly far more majestic than Earth's ancient cities. Its walls alone stood nearly twenty-five meters tall, while its roads were neatly paved and maintained by dedicated cleaners. It was completely unlike the filthy Western medieval cities of Earth, where filth and excrement covered the streets.

Its culture and civilization held enormous advantages over Earth's antiquity, but technology had not developed much due to the suppression of Supernatural Power and various complicated factions. After seven or eight thousand years, it had likely only barely reached the level of the medieval Renaissance.

But since the first shoots had already emerged, Orsaga could foresee the eventual outcome: technology would flourish and suppress the supernatural powers.

The supernatural power systems of this world were ultimately rather weak due to the limitations of energy concentration. They could not yet absolutely dominate mortals. Once mortals absorbed the nourishment meant for them, the supernatural would never again be able to reclaim the course of history. They could only become grains of sand and stone swept along by the torrent.

Orsaga himself neither held prejudice against technology nor particularly revered it. But in his view, at the initial stage, the technological path was indeed easier to walk than the path of magic and the like, since it could draw upon the advantage of numbers and pool the wisdom of the masses.

After all, compared to the power of a group, supernatural paths placed greater value on individual aptitude—innate talent!

Either one could do it or one could not. The same magical formula might produce entirely different results in different hands, making large-scale expansion impossible. The technological path was completely different. The meaning of a mathematical formula would not change because of someone's aptitude. At most, intelligence and comprehension differed.

In that regard, technology was more accessible.

Even the Bottomless Abyss had no shortage of beings pursuing the technological path. For example, the nuclear reactor Demons and mechanical flesh-and-blood aberrations from his Inheritance Memory. Everyone carrying guns and going biu! biu! biu! was perfectly normal!

However, the technological side had one problem: after crossing into another world, differing foundational laws could easily cause data to become scrambled or computational formulas to fail. If one was lucky, the technology would merely become temporarily unusable. If one was unlucky, one would be reduced to ashes on the spot under the world's repulsive force.

For example, a physics formula might originally produce an output of only one in World A, but an output of fifteen in World B. For refined technological products, that was utterly unacceptable.

So while embarking on an interworld conquest in a spaceship was a fine idea, it was also easy to crash at the slightest move and die right on one's own doorstep.

Only a very small number of forces standing at the absolute pinnacle of Technological Civilization possessed the strength to disregard the laws of Outer Planes, freely alter a world's foundational rules, expand their colonies, and treat the multiverse as their own pasture.

Although Orsaga had the confidence to follow the technological path with the System's help, his interests lay elsewhere.

After all, he only needed to take care of himself and keep himself untainted by the world. There was no meaning in following the technological path, which excelled at developing groups and forging civilizations. Just thinking about climbing the Technology Tree in a place as lawless and chaotic as the Bottomless Abyss made him feel cursed.

Those kind and amiable compatriots of his would never give him the chance to develop slowly. Compared to that, taking the supernatural path and using muscles and magic to beat every obstacle to death was far more realistic.

The carriage traveled through the streets of the Royal Capital, and curious gazes from commoners often followed it.

They encountered no fools looking for trouble. On the contrary, everyone politely and courteously moved aside for Orsaga's carriage, giving full respect to the royal flags atop it.

Leaving the somewhat bored Orsaga with no choice but to narrow his eyes slightly, prop his cheek on one hand, and watch the countless faces beyond the curtains with utter listlessness.

Damn, I want to find someone to fight... he thought helplessly.

Noticing the boredom on Orsaga's face, the Housekeeper considered for a moment before respectfully asking in a soft voice, "My lord, would you like to visit the Zenith Club or the Beast Arena? Those are the two places Royal Capital nobles enjoy the most."

The Zenith Club was the finest pleasure house in the Royal Capital. Most of its attendants were women of respectable birth whose families had fallen into ruin. Whether in beauty or refinement, they surpassed ordinary prostitutes by far. It ordinarily only received nobles and wealthy merchants. The Beast Arena, meanwhile, was much like Rome's Colosseum—one of the most primitive and savage forms of entertainment, using the lives of death-row prisoners and slaves for amusement. It was also one of the Royal Capital's most popular entertainments.

Commoners and nobles alike often wagered on Beast Arena matches, and many had gambled away their entire fortunes.

After thinking for a moment, Orsaga said, "Let's go to the Beast Arena. I have no interest in a place like the Zenith Club. If I need anything, using you would be more suitable."

Though Demons as a race did not care about such things as chastity and fidelity, the memories of his Previous Life as a human had left him with a slight mental aversion and a peculiar possessiveness toward such matters. Thus, he had little interest in turning public carriages into private ones. If he had such thoughts, were the Housekeeper and maids at his side merely decorations?

Jem Woz had specifically arranged them for him. Their quality was, at the very least, top-tier. Could they possibly be inferior to high-class prostitutes?

Hearing Orsaga's words, the Housekeeper blushed, but said nothing more. As a noble's Housekeeper, her status was far above that of commoners, yet she possessed no ability whatsoever to resist her master. All her authority came from Orsaga, and she had long been mentally prepared for this.

As a woman—especially a beautiful woman—what was her greatest advantage?

She knew very well.

When she had been selected for Housekeeper training, she had prayed to the gods more than once, hoping to encounter a good master.

And whether it was his temperament and appearance, or his status that even made the Crown Prince deliberately curry favor with him, Orsaga could be called the best possible choice!

He had even far exceeded her original expectations, making her often unable to stop herself from thanking the gods for their favor. Thus, she had no reason to resist anything...

What she did not know was that if Orsaga learned what she was thinking, he would certainly say that her gods were either blind or dead. Letting even a Demon like him slip in to make up the numbers meant they were beyond saving either way!

Not long afterward.

The carriage stopped before a gigantic arch carved from marble.

The moment several young men dressed as attendants saw the carriage's grandeur and the familiar flags hanging from it, their bodies immediately trembled!

With ingratiating smiles warmer than anything they showed their own parents, they respectfully brought over a small mahogany step and placed it beside the carriage for its passenger to step on.

The carriage door opened. Orsaga looked down at them twice before stepping down the small stairs.

The Housekeeper and the others followed close behind, standing respectfully at his side. It was obvious at a glance who held the leading position.

A somewhat plump middle-aged man dressed appropriately hurried over with a smile on his face, just about to offer a greeting.

But upon seeing Orsaga's handsome yet sinister features clearly, his expression immediately froze!

Scarlet hair, eyes red outside and gold within—even for someone as worldly as him, he had never seen such features.

But his smile quickly returned as he said to Orsaga, "My lord, I am one of the managers here, Manan Oates. You look unfamiliar. Is this your first time visiting us?"

Orsaga lightly twitched his nose, catching a scent he liked.

He turned his head and looked at the man with interest. "Yes. Do you have anything fun to recommend?"

Seeing that Orsaga was interested, the man enthusiastically replied, "I was wondering why I had never seen you before. You are simply too striking—once someone saw you, they should never forget you. But you truly came at the perfect time today. A duel between a Qiya Demon Lion and a Great Knight will begin shortly. Both are superb specimens our merchant guild acquired at great expense. Each possesses the strength to fight more than a hundred men. This is absolutely one of this year's main events!"

Orsaga nodded and said casually, "Oh? That does sound good. Arrange a seat for me—the best kind."

"Of course. I guarantee you the best seat. But the price... since this is a main event, it is a little more expensive than usual. It will cost seven hundred gold coins..."

"That's fine."

Orsaga waved his hand indifferently, signaling for the Housekeeper to pay.

As he watched Orsaga being led inside by a Beast Arena attendant, Manan Oates's smiling face—bright from having completed another sale—furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Mixed-blood? Or something else?

I hope he doesn't affect the plan...

He had never heard of any humanoid race with Scarlet hair and such peculiar eyes. They were practically like the eyes of dragons from legend. Simply being watched by them gave him an indescribably strange sensation, making him completely unwilling to approach the other party.

Yet the royal flags hanging from that carriage, along with Orsaga's bearing and posture, carried an indescribable nobility. Manan Oates did not dare arouse his suspicions and could only receive him as he would an ordinary guest.

Walking through the magnificently decorated passageway, Orsaga hummed a certain horror nursery rhyme passed down in the Duchy of Maldon, in an excellent mood.

What a rich aura of sin. It feels as though I've returned to the Abyss—such a familiar feeling~

To Orsaga's eyes, this place possessed two appearances.

One was the splendor visible to the naked eye: resplendent gold and jade, luxurious yet steeped in culture, clearly refined by the passage of history. The other was that every inch of land exuded sin, as though it had been painted with countless layers of blood. Incalculable resentments lingered here without dispersing, even clinging tightly to the very ground.

Not even many cultist sacrificial grounds possessed such characteristics. Only the accumulation of years upon years could reach such a degree.

The sin and cruelty within even reminded Orsaga of his simple, honest compatriots dwelling in the Bottomless Abyss.