NOVPUBA few days later.
In the deepest reaches of the Land of Perpetual Night sat the Beastmen City-States of Hektor City, also known as Little Night City.
On the outskirts of the snowfield, Little Night City stood serenely in perpetual twilight, seemingly at the end of the world.
Here, at high noon, the daylight would faintly emerge, a brief interlude to the night.
Situated on the vast snowfield closest to the entrance of the Demon World, the majestic mountains encircled it like guardian deities. Their spines were covered with thick snow, turning them into a group of gray giants.
The city itself was often covered in falling snow, embraced by an eternal winter and painted a brilliant white.
At the heart of Little Night City was a large plaza, flanked by a towering, tower-like building constructed from dark stone bricks. Its conical roof often shed its load of snow, resembling a silvery-white cloak, while crystal wind chimes hung beneath the eaves, swaying in the breeze and chiming lightly.
This was the most renowned hotel within the city-state, catering not only to wealthy merchants willing to pay a high price to stay but also used by the Lord to host honored guests.
An expansive executive suite on the top floor.
No matter how harsh the weather outside, the room was always bathed in soft light.
Occasionally, pages on the round, high-legged wooden table would be gently turned, accompanied by a faint rustling sound.
"Today marks the thirteenth day of your new job," someone said.
"News from the frontlines of the neighboring Briss Kingdom makes you anxious," came the observation.
"But you know that, apart from focusing on the task at hand, you have no other choice," was the conclusion.
Suddenly, Lanci softly pressed the Cat Boss’s head, and it was silent.
These days, the Cat Boss would give a report once daily.
While Lanci was baking casseroles in the oven, the Cat Boss trotted over to talk to him again.
Even though Lanci found that the Cat Boss had even more functions now, which was good, he was currently reading.
And on the other side of the round table, on a chair,
Siegler was sitting, leaning on the edge of the table, fallen into sleep, occasionally uttering faint cries.
The Cat Boss nodded its head.
It hadn’t even noticed Siegler had fallen asleep so suddenly.
Throughout their journey, Siegler had little time to sleep, spending most of her waking hours focused on driving through the snow at night. If she were an average person, she’d likely have collapsed from exhaustion by now.
Yet, she managed to remain completely focused on her work.
It was only during such moments of leisure that Siegler would seize the opportunity to rest a bit more.
This morning, Lanci had successfully restored the statue of the god of night and silence, which was also the last city-state’s statue among the six more prosperous city-states in the Land of Perpetual Night.
Now, Lanci and Siegler were taking a brief rest in Little Night City. After lunch, they were to set off on their final leg towards the Demon World.
There would be no city-state to rest in along the way; they were expected to arrive at the entrance of the Demon World by dawn the next day.
"I didn’t expect your affinity for small animals to be effective with the Orcs too," the Cat Boss whispered into Lanci’s ear from atop his shoulder, careful not to wake Siegler.
"..."
Lanci tilted his head to look at the Little Black Cat and smiled faintly.
Perhaps it wasn’t so much an affinity, but that they naturally took a liking to him.
Take, for instance, Lord Algom of Small Stone City. At first, he wasn’t particularly warm to him, but later Lanci felt that the Lord became as adorable as a teddy bear in his presence.
Having arrived in this region, the Rabbit Beastmen inhabitants of Little Night City had grown accustomed to the long nights and brief daylight. Their rhythms of life were adapted to the darkness, but the city-state’s unique geographical location and abundant natural resources still attracted scholars, hunters, explorers, and travelers, who found it a temporary haven.
Apart from the ruling Rabbit People, there were also members of the Demon Race to be seen in the city.
This place was remote from human realms, and for any human who wasn’t strong or lacked a bodyguard, it could be very dangerous.
Fortunately, Lanci had initially cultivated good relationships in Small Stone City, which improved his first impressions with each subsequent Lord considerably. After he restored the divine statues and exchanged words with the Lords, they became especially fond of him, offering him much help.
Thus, the six-day journey from Small Stone City to Little Night City went quite smoothly, with almost no incidents or trials, except for the latter half where the mountains increased, and the two of them, plus a cat, encountered a sudden blizzard, forcing them to briefly seek refuge in a cave from an avalanche.
Perhaps it was after seeing him work on restoring the statues that Siegler became curious about his painting supplies and sculpted works while packing up gear.
Lanci, patient as ever, explained to her the purpose of each tool and shared his experiences with them, as well as his insights on appreciating art.
After all, most of their time on the road was spent in conversation. Whether it was learning or teaching, it helped accelerate their perception of time’s passing.
Siegler wasn’t as averse to learning as she seemed on the surface; she simply pursued efficiency in many things, such as her conversational habits and her way of handling matters.
Lanci pondered this.
"Meow meow, what are you looking at?"
Seeing Lanci ignoring it again, the Cat Boss snuggled up to his cheek and followed his gaze.
Lanci was still reading the "Genesis" of this era.
While traveling in the Land of Perpetual Night, there had not been a suitable environment for him to read, so stopping at the inn and waiting for the meal to be baked was a precious time indeed.
Little Black Cat also crowded in to look.
The translations of the "Genesis" in this era, with many interpretations different from those in the present world, were mostly of the fairy tale narrative type and unrelated to the Divine Arts themselves.
For instance, no matter the version of "Genesis," it always had thirty-three chapters, the first being the Chapter of the Beginning and the Void, and the last being The Chapter of Fate and Reincarnation, neither of which contained any Divine Arts, while the remaining thirty-two chapters all had interpretable Divine Arts.
But the last chapter did mention that sometimes the Goddess of Destiny would bestow gifts upon the children of those who had prayed to her.
This was exactly what Lanci heard from three members of the clergy at the Sanctuary Evil Banquet—
The divinity of the Goddess of Destiny lay in the fact that as long as you prayed to her, she would have the power to interfere lightly with your destiny, and the more devout and enduring your prayers, the more your heartfelt voices would reach her.
One must never speak carelessly of oaths to the gods, regardless of whether these deities still exist or whether they can intervene in the world, as this may lead to karma.
And so, legend has it, there is a guardian stone called the Rebirth Jewel.
It could be any stone associated with the Church of the Goddess of Destiny, serving as a medium through which deities can weakly intervene in the world from a conceptual side.
The Rebirth Jewel is a gift for the one with destiny, and if you pray devoutly to the Goddess of Destiny, she may allow you to have a wonderful dream, whether by chance or a reminiscence of former lives.
But such things, after all, are mystical and not verifiable, so they are often regarded as mere legends and fairy tales.
"Meow meow meow, is there really such a thing as reincarnation?"
The Cat Boss, looking at the "Genesis" translation that Lanci was about to finish, asked in a soft voice.
It didn’t understand these things, but asking Lanci was always the right move when puzzled.
"Belief makes it so, disbelief otherwise. Whether there is reincarnation depends mainly on one’s own thoughts," Lanci replied in a voice that wouldn’t disturb Siegler’s sleep.
"Even if there were a past life, to ’let go of obsessions’ means not to dwell on the past self, not to be anxious about the future self, to be unaffected by current affairs, not to allow emotions to disturb your measured response. When you understand this, why should there remain even a shadow of old dreams?"
Of course, this refers merely to the concept of selflessness, following one’s heart without overstepping bounds—not devoid of desire, but controlling and transcending desire.
One should not cling to the opinions of others; the saying "others are hell" is the principle of selflessness.
Selflessness to all beings means equality for all.
Selflessness to the living means penetrating life and death to find the meaning of life.
"Once you comprehend the Four Absences, you’ll find whether reincarnation is real or not becomes irrelevant."
"Stop preaching, stop preaching, you’re going to convert me, meow," the Cat Boss said, covering its ears with its paws and grumbling.
It was just a little cat and couldn’t understand all that Lanci was saying.
Shortly, the Cat Boss hopped off Lanci’s shoulder and scurried to the kitchen, leaving only Siegler’s gentle breathing by the table.
Her face, relaxed in tranquility, appeared comfortable, devoid of the vigilance she showed at work; her eyelashes trembled slightly as if she lingered on the edges of a dream.
She took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes.
To be truthful, she hadn’t visited Little Night City before.
The indoor decorations she saw were all warm-toned wood, bringing a unique warmth to the harsh winter.
Siegler’s gaze quickly fell on a silhouette in the chair not far away.
It was a man as dignified as a principal, holding a book in one hand, his posture stately and serene.
Under the faint light, his figure seemed especially tall, dressed in a non-traditional dark suit, his lapels neatly pressed.
His eyes were profound, shining with the glow of experience and wisdom as though gazing into a deeper world; his left hand held the book’s spine steadily, immersed in an ocean of text, occasionally turning a page, the sound crisp within the wooden room, like whispers of time.
"Awake? We’ll be eating soon," Lanci said softly.
He turned his head slowly, his eyes reflecting the warm light of the room and Siegler’s sleepy gaze.
"Sorry, I fell asleep," Siegler said.
Waking up in this weather made her feel cold and she wanted nothing more than to burrow into a warm quilt, but she couldn’t indulge herself; she was supposed to stay alert for her job, even in a place as secure as this.
She shook her head vigorously, trying to wake herself up fully.
