A Backward World

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

Mei Xue sat beside Merlin. The faint, sweet fragrance of a young girl drifting from her made him feel comfortable, but the carriage was simply too bumpy. After sitting for a while, he found it hard to adjust and leaned against the carriage wall, his legs slightly bent. That position felt much more comfortable.

Mei Xue, however, was clearly 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 have the bearing of one."

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

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

Unexpectedly, Mei Xue did not argue with Merlin. She gently bit her lip, concern 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 the Wilson Family. Avril will eventually marry you. But stop fooling around from now on. Put more effort into Avril, and perhaps she'll come to like you."

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

Avril is my fiancée? But from what Mei Xue said, Avril doesn't seem to like me... Why don't I have even the slightest memory of it?

Merlin had inherited only part of his memories, while some had vanished forever. To avoid giving himself away and arousing suspicion, he had to pay attention to every word spoken by those around him and analyze the important information within them.

Someone like Avril, whom Mei Xue had mentioned, was certainly very important. Merlin silently committed the name to memory.

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 shiver.

"Winter is almost here..." Merlin said with a sigh. It was already September, the last month of autumn, yet the cold seemed to have arrived early.

"Yes, winter is almost here. 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 gray drizzle seemed to be falling outside. There were not many people on the streets, only a group of more than a dozen beggars kneeling on the ground and begging from the richly dressed people passing by.

The beggars wore rough linen clothes picked up from who knew where. They were as thin as hemp ropes, their eyes full of longing, and some of them were even very young children.

Everyone else looked at these beggars with disgust. Some even covered their noses and mouths as they hastened away. Merlin gave the beggars a casual glance, then focused his gaze on a group of young knights riding through the streets.

The knights all wore uniform silver light armor that covered their upper bodies. Each carried a wooden shield and had a greatsword half a man's height strapped to his back, making them look imposing. The people on the streets seemed very afraid of these knights, while some children looked at them with envy.

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

Mei Xue saw the knights from inside the carriage as well. She seemed disdainful and said coldly, "Those people again. Knights from the City Defense Corps—impressive-looking but useless. With so many of them leaving the city, some town must have been hit by bandits again. Things have been getting more and more unsettled lately. Many towns around Blackwater City have seen large groups of bandits."

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

Merlin watched them closely for a while. Though there were only a little over a hundred City Defense Corps knights, they were well equipped, and each carried an air of deadly severity. They were certainly 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 piercing cold wind began to bite at him, so he lowered the carriage curtain and hid in the warmth of the carriage.

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

"Come on, get out. We're at the church!"

Mei Xue looked full of energy as she hopped out of the carriage. Merlin followed her down, gently stretched his body, and twisted his slightly stiff neck before raising his head to see a church ahead of them.

The church occupied an enormous area, nearly as large as four or five football fields. People came and went—ordinary believers as well as noble lords 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 influence. Nearly every city had a Light Church cathedral, and people coming to pray early in the morning like this formed an endless stream.

Merlin followed the others into the church hall. The snow-white walls were covered with enormous murals. These vivid, brightly colored paintings were clearly religious murals praising the God of Light.

At the center was one mural depicting a tall, blurry deity whose appearance could not be seen clearly, radiating gentle holy light. The white holy light enveloped many ordinary believers—old people, children, men, women, nobles, commoners, and even criminals. Bathed in that holy light, all of them wore devout, peaceful smiles.

This religious mural was called God Loves the World, written in Light Script. Merlin had inherited part 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. Although the stories depicted in them differed, they conveyed the same meaning: all praised the glorious deeds of the God of Light.

The devout believers lowered their heads and pressed their hands to their chests as priests led them in prayer. 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 before him, Merlin finally realized that this was, after all, an exceedingly backward world!

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