Entering the City

Some things changed with the passage of time, while others did not.

As Li Lin walked into the city, he studied its buildings carefully, frowning to himself. Judging solely by their appearance and materials, their design and style seemed no different from those of a thousand years ago. If he had to point out a difference, it was more as though the finest elements of that era's architecture had been stripped away, leaving only the unnecessary dregs of its construction methods. On Earth, Li Lin had always found it strange that the ancient Egyptians could build such towering pyramids with nothing but their hands and crude pieces of wood, without relying on the magical tool called a "crane," yet in modern times, humanity had regressed to the point where it could only build a tall building with the help of such magical devices. Now, after seeing the scene before him, Li Lin finally understood a little.

It seemed there was some truth to the saying that each generation was worse than the last. Likewise, the saying that the waves behind the Yangtze River drove those ahead onward could not necessarily be taken entirely at its word.

From his perspective as a grand mage, however, Li Lin quickly discovered the reason. In his day, the construction of city walls and houses had been left to magic. No matter how heavy the stone or how thick the tree, mages could shape them into whatever forms and types they needed in a short time. Houses built with the power of magic were naturally beautiful and elegant, as well as sturdy and durable. But the buildings before him now bore not the slightest trace of magic. Indeed, it was plain to see that they had been worked by hand.

Perhaps that was why, even after a thousand years, this world had made so little progress.

Perhaps the same was true of that other world as well.

The streets were crowded with pedestrians. Perhaps because this was a border city, people dressed in strange clothes like Li Lin were not uncommon. Even so, Li Lin and Angela attracted a great deal of attention. After all, as long as Angela kept her mouth shut, her holiness and loveliness, enough to rival an angel's, were hard to overlook. But once she spoke, anyone other than Li Lin needed only five seconds to feel as though they were chatting with a terrifying ruler from the deepest reaches of hell.

Li Lin's outstanding bearing and his clothes drew particular attention as well. Ever since realizing that he could not take a "shortcut" to strengthen his body with dragon blood and elven spring water in that other world, Li Lin had been forced to choose the path of physical training. Though he had never intended to become a muscleman, years of persistent exercise had given him a strong, well-proportioned physique. He was also tall, and even among the crowd, he stood out like a crane among chickens.

"Let's sit over there for a while."

Too much attention was not necessarily a good thing. Li Lin had long since noticed the eyes watching him from the dark alleys, as well as Angela's eagerness to act beside him. As her master, Li Lin knew very well that Angela never showed mercy to those who delivered themselves to her doorstep. For now, he did not want to stir up too much trouble. Times had changed, after all, and there were many things he still needed to readjust to.

Li Lin had also noticed a small inconsistency.

The two of them had spent so long wandering around the city, yet they had seen only one temple, dedicated to the God of Justice. To Li Lin, that was highly unusual.

A thousand years ago, every city on the continent, even those outside the Magic Empire, had several temples, sometimes more than a dozen. People chose what they needed and worshipped the gods they needed. Of course, as a mage who had no need to worship a god, Li Lin himself had little interest in religious matters. But he also knew that the delicate balance among the gods was extremely important. Even though a thousand years had now passed, to immortal gods, that was no more than a splash in the river of time. And even if they loathed one another, they still followed certain rules in their dealings.

"To give a simple example, if this world is a body, then the gods are its various organs."

Li Lin spoke to Angela as he sat at a table near a quiet corner in the depths of the tavern. She was curiously fiddling with a wooden mug.

"Whether their nature is good or bad, they all have to perform their functions for the body to keep working normally."

The present situation, however, looked more like the heart or the brain had become the sole dominant organ and had cut out the liver, spleen, and kidneys.

"Then, according to you, Master, gods really do exist in this world."

Angela did not seem particularly interested in the gods.

"Then what about your world? Since there are blood-drinking beings like you, I imagine gods exist there too."

"Such things, which are not even worth as much as dog shit, do not exist on Earth, I believe."

"How do you know?"

Li Lin was a little surprised by Angela's near-unwavering answer. He had spent only eighteen years in that world, and studying its seemingly exquisite magical knowledge alone had consumed all his time and energy. He had simply had no time to look into the matter of gods. But in Li Lin's experience, since the world called Earth had all sorts of myths and legends, it would hardly be strange for gods to exist there. Angela, however, did not seem to think so.

Angela frowned at Li Lin's question, but she soon answered.

"Once, in pursuit of the gods' footsteps, I slaughtered the people of an entire city."

"..."

"I turned churches into graveyards, smeared crosses with blood and the remains of corpses, wrote blasphemous words, and spread a plague that turned the entire city into a hell of madness. Yet even after I went that far, let alone a miracle, I saw not even a divine punishment for my deeds."

Though the girl before him was describing deeds of utmost evil, her expression was full of loneliness and helplessness, as if she were the true victim.

"If gods really existed, should they not have shown some response when I slaughtered those humans?"

Li Lin agreed with Angela. Gods existed precisely to protect their people. Since they were worshipped, they naturally had to respond, just as in the battle between the Goddess of Dawn's followers and the lich they had seen earlier. Had Angela done those things in this world, it would have been more than enough to draw the gods' attention. Yet she said there had been no response at all. Either the gods of that world were an incomparably cruel kind, or there were no gods in that world at all.

But...

"Why did you want to see a god so badly that you went that far?"

Li Lin looked at Angela and asked the question. He had never considered it before. The hearsay that vampires feared light and crosses did not apply to Angela, but as someone who had once lived in a world of magic and gods, Li Lin had naturally approached the matter from the starting point that "these things exist." The answer he arrived at was therefore very simple. It was like the relationship between the undead and holy light: Li Lin had never heard of a lich foolish enough to seek out the God of Light. That would clearly be courting death.

And what Angela had done was just such an act of courting death.

"I merely wanted an answer."

Angela pursed her little lips and sighed.

"But it seems I shall not get that answer."

After a short rest, Li Lin left the tavern. The few silver coins he had collected from the adventurers' corpses were not enough for him to spend freely. Fortunately, before leaving, Li Lin had also used his own power to bring some gems from Earth. Although the expenditure involved in crossing planes had completely drained them of magic power, that did not diminish their value as valuables. This world had become very unfamiliar to Li Lin, but thanks to using magic to read the unfortunate swordsman's memories, he had gained some understanding of the common knowledge needed to live in the "current" world.

At a gem shop, Li Lin exchanged the gems, which no longer contained magic power but at least still looked dazzling, for gold coins. After that, however, he had more important business to attend to.

"Hello, honored guests."

The old man rarely seemed to receive customers like Li Lin. When he saw the man and woman enter his shop, his aging, dim eyes went wide, and he froze for a moment before hurriedly greeting them. Of course, he did not enthusiastically promote his wares or give his guests a warm welcome as clerks in other shops might have. Li Lin said little either, merely glancing at Angela. She was putting on an innocent, carefree act, looking curiously at everything around her as though she had no idea what sort of place she had come to.

"Honored guest, you..."

Li Lin stopped the old man with a gesture, then signaled for him to follow him into the back room. That was not unusual; this was no ordinary business, after all.

"Honored guest, first, please allow me to express my sympathy for the misfortune that has befallen you."

The old man slowly began to speak.

"No matter what difficulties you have encountered, Old Luolin will serve you with care. Now, please tell me, what do you need Old Luolin to do for you?"

"I need a coffin."

Li Lin's expression was appropriately solemn. He glanced, seemingly casually, toward the front room, then fixed his gaze on the old man before him. That piercing look nearly caused the old man to lose himself in those black eyes. He even had to lower his head to escape that terrifying gaze.

He must be a mercenary.

The old man thought.

Only that kind of person would have such a resolute look in his eyes.

But Li Lin's next words forced the old man to look up.

"It's for the young lady outside."

"This... honored guest... you..."

"It's a secret."

Li Lin gently raised a finger, cutting off the old man's startled words.

"That child has an incurable illness and doesn't have long to live. No one can save her. Her parents have already paid an unbearable price, but she still cannot return to the way she was. It's all over now. Her parents and I only hope that when she falls into eternal sleep, she can find the peace she has never known."

"Oh... this... this..."

Shocked by Li Lin's account, the old man could hardly form a coherent sentence.

"I brought her here this time in the hope that your craftsmanship could make this child a soft bed fitted to her, one suited for her to sleep in, where neither fierce winds nor torrential rain, neither lightning nor thunder, can disturb her eternal rest." At this point, Li Lin paused and looked intently at the old man before him. He had already been moved by this sad story, and that was enough.

"I hope you can understand how her parents and I feel, sir."

Li Lin flexed his fingers unconsciously.

"That child doesn't know the shadow of death has fallen over her. We've always told her she'll get better. And now, all we can do is wait and watch helplessly. In the near future, even the morning sunlight will no longer make the child open those beautiful, clear eyes. Until then, we only hope she can make the final journey of her life with peace and hope, rather than fear and sorrow at death."

"Oh... oh... of, of course, honored guest."

At Li Lin's words, the old man's eyes had grown moist. He forced himself not to cry and quickly rose to his feet. He gave Li Lin his assurance.

"I will do my utmost to fulfill your request."

Everything went smoothly.

As he walked out of the deathly quiet coffin shop, Li Lin could easily feel the old shopkeeper's sorrowful, sympathetic gaze on his back.

"Master, your silver tongue rivals that of a devil from hell."

The innocence Angela had shown in the shop was gone from her face, replaced by a somewhat smug cunning.

"For a mage, it's nothing."

Li Lin gently patted Angela on the head.

He looked at the city before him, a trace of gravity in his expression.

"We still have a great deal to do."