A Backward World

The carriage wheels creaked as they rolled along. Blackwater City's streets were paved with uneven bluestone slabs, and the ride inside the carriage was rather bumpy.

Mei Xue sat beside Merlin. The faint, sweet scent of a young woman drifting from her made him feel quite comfortable, but the carriage was simply too jarring. After sitting for a while, he felt unaccustomed to it, so he leaned against the carriage wall and bent his legs slightly. That position was much more comfortable.

Mei Xue, however, was quite dissatisfied. She glanced at Merlin's legs stretched out before her, frowned slightly, and said, "Merlin, can't you put your legs properly? You're a noble. You should carry yourself like one."

"I'm just lying down for a while. I didn't sleep well last night."

Merlin brushed her off casually and continued doing as he pleased, maintaining the position that felt most comfortable to him.

To Merlin's surprise, Mei Xue did not argue with him. She lightly bit her lip, a trace of worry appearing on her face as she cautiously asked, "Is it because of Avril?"

Merlin did not answer, but Mei Xue continued on her own. "You don't need to worry too much. Avril is already formally engaged to you, after all. It is proof of the decades-long friendship between the Barman Family and our Wilson Family. Avril will eventually marry you. But don't go fooling around anymore. Put more effort into Avril, and perhaps she'll come to like you."

Although Merlin had his eyes closed, he had not truly fallen asleep. He firmly committed Mei Xue's words to memory.

"Avril is my fiancée? But from what Mei Xue said, it seems Avril doesn't like me... Why is there no trace of this in my memories?"

Merlin had only inherited part of his memories, while some had been permanently lost. To avoid exposing himself and arousing suspicion, he needed to pay attention to every word spoken by those around him and analyze the important information within.

Someone like Avril, whom Mei Xue had mentioned, was certainly important information. Merlin silently committed it to memory as well.

After lying there for a while, Merlin began to feel stifled. He lifted the carriage curtain, and a gust of cold wind poured in, making him shudder.

"Winter is coming soon..." Merlin remarked. It was already September, the last month of autumn, yet the cold seemed to have arrived early.

"Yes, winter is coming soon. I don't know why, but the weather has been getting colder and colder this year."

Mei Xue wrapped her clothes tightly around herself and curled up in the corner of the carriage.

A dim, drizzling rain seemed to be falling outside. There were not many people on the streets, only a dozen or so beggars kneeling on the ground and begging from the richly dressed passersby.

The beggars wore coarse linen they had picked up from who knew where. They were as thin as hemp ropes, their eyes filled with longing. There were even some very young children among them.

Everyone else looked at the beggars with disgust. Some even covered their mouths and noses as they hurried away. Merlin gave the beggars a casual glance before turning his attention to a group of young knights riding through the street.

These knights all wore matching silver light armor that covered their upper bodies. They carried wooden shields in their hands and half-man-height greatswords on their backs, looking imposing and majestic. The people on the street seemed quite afraid of them, while some children gazed at them with envy.

Merlin frowned. He did not recognize these knights, but he did not dare ask Mei Xue about them.

Mei Xue saw the knights from inside the carriage as well and seemed disdainful of them. She said coldly, "That bunch again. Knights from the City Defense Corps, all show and no substance. So many of them leaving the city—some town must have been attacked by bandits again. Things have really been getting more and more unsettled lately. Many towns around Blackwater City have reported sightings of large groups of bandits."

Merlin said nothing and merely committed the information to memory. He had only just arrived in this world, and the memories in his mind were still a mess. It was not wise to speak too much.

Merlin secretly observed them for a while. Though there were only a little over a hundred City Defense Corps knights, they were well equipped, and each carried a chilling air of bloodshed. They were definitely not as useless as Mei Xue claimed.

The knights were leaving the city and soon disappeared from Merlin's sight. After watching for a while, the cold wind began to bite into his bones, so he lowered the curtain and hid inside the warm carriage.

After an unknown amount of time, the carriage gradually came to a stop. Moss, the servant driving it, called softly, "Young Master Merlin, Miss Mei Xue, we've arrived at the Church."

"All right, get out. We're at the Church!"

Mei Xue seemed full of energy as she immediately jumped down from the carriage. Merlin followed her out, stretched lightly, and twisted his slightly stiff neck before raising his head to look at the church ahead.

The church covered an enormous area, nearly the size of four or five football fields. The people coming and going included ordinary believers as well as nobles dressed in aristocratic attire. They had all come to the church early in the morning to pray.

The Bright Kingdom worshiped the God of Light, and the Church held tremendous power. Nearly every city had a Light Church cathedral. At this hour, people coming to pray in the morning streamed in without end.

Merlin followed the crowd into the Church's main hall. The snow-white walls were covered with enormous murals. Brightly colored and vividly lifelike, these murals were clearly religious paintings praising the God of Light.

At the center was a mural depicting a tall, indistinct deity whose appearance could not be made out, radiating gentle holy light. The white radiance enveloped countless ordinary believers: old people, children, men, women, nobles, commoners, and even criminals. Beneath its glow, all wore devout, peaceful smiles.

This religious mural was called God Loves the World, written in Light Script. Merlin had inherited some of the memories in his mind, so he could recognize the Light Script on the mural.

Besides God Loves the World, there were murals such as God Drives Away Darkness, God Brings Light, God Punishes the Devils, God Sends Down Miracles, and God Blesses the Faithful. Though the stories depicted in the murals differed, their meaning was the same: all praised the glorious deeds of the God of Light.

The devout believers lowered their heads and pressed their hands to their chests. Led by the priests, they prayed. For a time, the vast church was filled with the sounds of prayer.

Thinking of the emaciated beggars he had seen on the street, then looking at the people praying so devoutly, Merlin finally realized that this was, after all, an extremely backward world!

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