Yinkalan Town

The group traveled at a leisurely pace, stopping and going as they pleased. The wilderness was never short of danger. They had no need to fear beasts like wolves, since vampires had an ability much like a druid's, allowing them to control and command beasts directly. Angela only had to stand there, and most beasts would flee with their tails between their legs. As for bandits and thieves... perhaps commerce was so underdeveloped here that the place was too poor to attract even robbers.

Along the way, Li Lin told the three girls all sorts of stories, treating the journey like a pleasure trip. The past few days had been easy and comfortable. Angela, on the other hand, was bored and occasionally took out her fan to cool herself. Fina was delighted when she saw it and wanted a closer look. This world had no fans, after all, so it was no wonder they were curious.

The velvet fan in Angela's hand was completely different from the folding paper fans of Li Lin's country. Small and exquisite, its leaf was made from a soft black material resembling silk, with a fringe of dark blue velvet all the way around the edge. It looked rather like something a Western noblewoman might use at a banquet or another high-society gathering. A diamond-shaped crystal hung from it as a pendant, looking especially charming and lovely, and it seemed pleasant to touch as well. With its faint, sweet fragrance, it was certainly the sort of accessory girls liked.

"It's so beautiful..."

"Of course."

Angela puffed out her chest proudly at Fina's praise.

"I spent three years making it from the hair of six hundred and sixty-six beautiful virgins. Naturally, it's exquisite."

"Uh..."

There was no question of the artistic merit of a vampire's possessions, but one had to ignore how they were made. Otherwise, no matter how beautiful the art, one would probably lose all desire to appreciate it. In fact, even the clothes Angela always wore had quite a history behind them. Naturally, Li Lin had never intended to ask. There was no need to make himself uncomfortable, after all. If Angela were to say that her leather boots were made from human skin, he might not even be able to sleep. Li Lin himself didn't mind. There were necromancers among the Arcane Mages, after all, and it wasn't unheard of for them to make chairs or beds out of dead people's arms and legs. But it would hardly be good for the two girls' physical and mental health. Fortunately, Angela didn't seem inclined to give them nightmares either. After a few casual remarks, she took back the velvet fan and flipped her hand, making it vanish.

Gradually, they began to see more travelers. Clearly, they had reached the outskirts of a human settlement. Armed mercenaries and soldiers could be seen walking about, questioning passing caravans and pedestrians. Some caravans that couldn't get through had even set up stalls right there on the outskirts and begun hawking their wares. Li Lin's group was questioned too, but they were only asked where they had come from and where they were going. Once the questioners saw the adorable girl and the beautiful twins, no one gave him any trouble. Most likely, they were merely jealous in private that a man could so easily surround himself with so many beautiful girls.

After three such inspections in succession, the group finally arrived at Yinkalan Town.

It was a beautiful place. The whole town lay halfway up a mountain, beside a clear spring flowing down from above. Its houses were arranged in an orderly yet pleasing pattern, and in the light of the setting sun, it looked exceptionally peaceful and harmonious. But when Li Lin saw the town, his expression changed slightly.

"A Magic Empire-style layout."

He frowned and pointed at the entrance before them. A fountain stood directly beyond it, and the town wall's design was also unusual: it ran in a strange zigzag pattern.

"Just past the entrance, the first thing is one of the four elements... water. I think this might mean water elements gather here."

Li Lin murmured to himself, growing more puzzled. Although the town looked somewhat different, its overall layout was unmistakably in the style of the Magic Empire. Cities in the Magic Empire had all been built this way, with various markers associated with the four elements placed at their entrances: fountains, blazing fireballs, wind holes that made sounds on their own, or heavy sculptures. These told newly arrived mages what kind of magic was easier to cast there. Of course, these were unspoken rules among mages, never formally written down. To ordinary people with no knowledge of magic, a sculpture was just a sculpture. Moreover, if a city came under attack, these decorations would change and attack at a mage's command. After all, city gates had always been the easiest places to breach.

As for the zigzagging wall, that too was a product of the Magic Empire's particular nature. During a defensive battle, mages naturally had to go up on the walls. But on the straight walls commonly used today, which were only wide enough for three people to walk abreast at most, mages were easily disturbed while casting spells. After this type of wall was invented, warriors could defend the outer end while mages cast spells from the innermost end. But in the present world, he had heard that all mages were under the Mages' Association's control. There was no mage tower here, either. Had they built this kind of wall... merely out of nostalgia for the Magic Empire?

Li Lin found that hard to believe. The Magic Empire's layouts had been designed with mages in mind. No other nation had ever done the same, apart from the Magic Empire, with its numerous mages. For one thing, they couldn't; for another, there was no need. Some things weren't useful simply because they looked the same. Without mages and without the Magic Empire, even a perfect imitation was a waste of money.

"Master?"

Angela tugged at his sleeve, evidently a little surprised that Li Lin had stopped so suddenly.

"...Let's go in and have a look."

Li Lin was now beginning to think a survivor from the Magic Empire might actually be living here. Otherwise, a mere fanatic probably couldn't have gone this far.

As he walked through the town, Li Lin grew more certain of his idea. Some things could perhaps be learned from records, but others were different. The trees along the streets, for example, were always planted in groups of thirteen, a tribute to the thirteen Arcane Mages. That sort of thing wouldn't have been recorded in documents from the Magic Empire, yet the trees on every street in this town were grouped in thirteens. It was truly unusual.

But if a survivor of the Magic Empire really had built this town, why couldn't he sense any Magic Power?

Li Lin pretended nothing was amiss and wandered around town for quite some time, but he failed to detect even the slightest trace of Magic Power. From asking the local residents, he also learned that the town had stood here for several hundred years and had always been this way. In other words, even if a survivor of the Magic Empire had been lucky enough to escape death back then, they had probably failed to escape the clutches of time in the end and died for good.

The thought left Li Lin somewhat disappointed. He had hoped to meet a survivor from his own era and have a good chat. Now, for all he knew, the person had been dead for hundreds of years, and there was no chance to talk.

"Forget it. Let's take another look around, then find an inn for the night."

He hadn't expected much to begin with, though, so Li Lin quickly recovered his spirits and spoke to the three of them. But just as he was about to move forward again, he stopped. He had discovered that his magical search had been blocked.

A barrier?

Li Lin was slightly surprised, but also a little excited. He immediately refocused his mind and began probing, quickly identifying the direction the barrier came from. It was a mansion in the center of town, considerably grander than the other houses. It stood out from the rest. Li Lin asked the people nearby and learned that it was the mayor's home. He then took Angela and the others away and found an inn not far off, where they settled in.

"A magical barrier. I'm certain this person must have some connection to the Magic Empire."

Although Li Lin still spoke gently, calmly, and unhurriedly, there was a trace of barely perceptible excitement in his voice. After all, whether it was the gods he knew or anyone else, none of them counted as "one of his own." If he could find someone who did, he would naturally be delighted.

"I don't want to dampen your spirits, Master."

But Angela was somewhat doubtful.

"I must tell you, there are always exceptions... On Earth, I also tried to find a few companions I had once traveled with, but time changed them, or perhaps time changed me. In any case, please don't get too excited. The greater your expectations, the greater your disappointment."

"But... if that person really is from the Magic Empire, how many years would he have to have lived...?"

Apparently seeing that Angela's words had made the atmosphere somewhat awkward, Fina hurriedly raised a question.

"I've never heard of mages living that long..."

"It was quite normal for mages in the Magic Empire to live three to five hundred years. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to maintain good relations with the dwarves and elves."

Li Lin answered the question quickly.

"Humans and elves have very different life spans. For example, if the two sides signed a ceasefire treaty, it would be considered good if it lasted a hundred years. To humans, a hundred years is already two or three generations. But to elves and dwarves, it's only a brief moment, so they would think humans had broken faith and unilaterally violated the treaty. The Magic Empire faced no such danger. Any mage could live longer than an elf without difficulty, so we always cooperated well."

"But very few mages live that long now."

Mina, who had remained silent all this time, spoke up.

"According to the Temple's records, mages today basically have the same life span as ordinary people. This..."

"What they learn is all trivial detail. It can hardly be called advanced use of magic, so how could they possibly gain long life?"

Li Lin was evidently well aware of this.

"Besides, even if they did gain long life, the Temple would probably use its power to eliminate them. After all, I've never heard of a bishop of any temple living for one or two hundred years. On the contrary, the more divine might a person possesses, the earlier they tend to die."

Mages drew in power and converted it into their own, so naturally they lived long lives. Clergy were the opposite: they borrowed their power from the gods, and borrowing divine power with a mortal body naturally only depleted their life span. Thus, the strongest mages always lived longer and longer, while the strongest priests always died earlier and earlier. It would clearly be strange if the Temple did not fear those mages who had grown cunning with age.

The sisters could find nothing to say in rebuttal after hearing Li Lin's words. What he said was true, after all.

"Still, Angela has a point."

Li Lin let out a long sigh. The sisters' way of thinking wasn't wrong, but they were only human and had lived for a little over a dozen years. Li Lin and Angela, however, had lived for far, far too long. There were many things mortals with limited life spans could not understand.

"In any case, I intend to go take a look... the rest of you, as usual."

"As usual" meant that Angela would accompany him, while the sisters stayed in their room, one practicing physical techniques and the other practicing spells. With their current strength, they couldn't be of much help anyway. When Li Lin summoned an attendant and asked how he could meet the mayor, he received a rather interesting piece of news. The mayor seemed interested in any rumors concerning the Magic Empire, so if Li Lin possessed an object from that era, it wouldn't be difficult to see him. This was a small town, after all, and the mayor didn't have that much business to handle. So after lunch, Li Lin planned to take Angela with him to pay the mayor a visit and see what was going on.

Meeting the mayor proved no great difficulty. When Li Lin left the ruins, he had casually collected a few ornaments as souvenirs and kept them with him as mementos. Before long, he was invited into the mayor's home and met the man himself in his study. To Li Lin's surprise, he was young, looking only twenty-five or twenty-six.

"I hear you brought some things from the Magic Empire. I wonder if I might see them?"

Although the young man spoke very politely, he didn't seem particularly earnest. He even...

Seemed rather impatient.