"..."
(⊙_⊙)
There was no doubt that the Liurnia Highway was truly wide and flat.
But at the same time, it was desolate...
As Annie walked along the road, all she could see were weeds stretching in every direction, devastation as far as the eye could see, and a bleak scene of "withered vines, old trees, and dusk crows." There was nothing else.
There were no pedestrians, no merchants, no villages, and certainly no charming homes beside a little bridge and flowing stream. All she found were the occasional few pale bones peeking out from the grass, wandering Those Who Live in Death, rusted weapons and armor strewn about, and nameless beasts aimlessly foraging across the wasteland.
"..."
(′???`)
"There really isn't a single person around..."
(°ー°〃),
"Should we keep going?"
("?ヘ?)"
Annie looked around at the desolate stretch of the Liurnia Highway and hesitated, unsure whether she should press on.
It didn't take much guesswork to figure out what had happened. Years of war during the Shattering, the closure of the Raya Lucaria Academy of Sorcery, the Carian Queen's long slumber, and the destruction of the bridge leading to Limgrave had all contributed to this. The whole Liurnia region—including the area around this once-bustling highway—had become the desolate, almost apocalyptic place she saw before her.
Even though Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, had now awakened, even though the Raya Lucaria Academy of Sorcery was preparing to lift its seal, and even though the Carian royals were planning to restore order in Liurnia, they had neither the people nor the money to set things right in a short time. It certainly wouldn't be easy.
Anyway, Annie hadn't seen a single normal person on the way. As for the Carian royal knights and soldiers that Aunt Rennala had said she'd