As the frequency of the train wheels jolting over the rail joints gradually slowed, the train entered Backlund, the capital of the Kingdom of Loen, trailing smoke that slowly dispersed.
This most prosperous city in the world had a population of over five million. It was the Land of Hope in the hearts of all the kingdom's people, and was also grudgingly acknowledged by other nations as the "City of All."
Compared to it, Tingen City, where Angel had lived for two months, was practically a small town.
Of course, Tingen City was not without its advantages. Its air quality, for instance, was far better than Backlund's...
Dressed in a plain long skirt and a hooded cloak, Angel was startled the moment she stepped out of the train carriage by the pungent yellowish haze.
Although she had long seen newspaper commentaries lambasting Backlund's air quality and even making up plenty of jokes to mock it, the dreadful environment of this industrial capital still exceeded her wildest imagination.
Even on this semi-open platform, once someone walked more than thirty meters away, only a faint silhouette remained visible. The gas lamps hanging along the platform had long been lit, yet they could barely dispel the dimness of the haze and keep people from walking straight into pillars or walls.
She remembered how Kavi from Enmat Harbor had said she wanted to retire in Backlund because the harbor's environment was too poor, its air filled with industrial fumes. Angel wondered whether she now missed her old home...
Taking a breath of fumes far "superior" to those of Enmat Harbor, Angel silently lit a candle for Kavi's dream life before carrying her suitcase away from the platform.
After buying a Dixie Pie, a coffee with extra milk, and that day's Backlund Daily at the