Free Web NovelSeveral hours earlier,
before White Yama flew to Wind Facing City,
not wanting to interrupt the conversation between Mengxi and the other members of the Asumos Church, and also unwilling to endure Kabanei's disdainful gaze any longer, Miss Yumo, feeling slightly annoyed, quietly left the guesthouse on her own and headed into the urban district of Wind Facing City, intending to properly stroll through this human metropolis.
After all, this was Miss Yumo's first encounter with a human city in more than five hundred years.
And it happened to be Wind Facing City, the capital of the northern frontier.
If it was the capital...
its level of development should be the highest, right?
Miss Yumo couldn't help thinking so, and the anticipation in her heart rose another notch.
Unlike the Church knights and the soldiers of Garos Fortress, who had disappointed Yumo before, the city's level of development was quite refreshing and left her rather satisfied. At the very least, it was far better than she had imagined.
The civilization level of the entire Anqieka Continent?
Emm...
It was probably only around the level of medieval Earth.
However,
compared to people of that era, the inhabitants of the Anqieka Continent could wield magic, battle aura, Holy Aura, and all sorts of strange magical abilities. With those powers assisting them, the productivity of human civilization had become remarkably impressive.
Food harvests were abundant every year. Even in the freezing northern frontier, the people never had to worry about food or clothing.
It was precisely because of this that the people of this continent had so much spare time to devote themselves to cultivation and training.
'Their food supply really is abundant...'
Walking through the commercial district while looking around in every direction, Miss Yumo couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
The dazzling variety of unfamiliar ingredients displayed on the stalls, along with countless ready-made delicacies, made Yumo marvel once again at the wonders of magic. Apparently, with just a high-tier Life Magic spell, an entire field could produce a full harvest within only a few weeks after sowing seeds. Their highly developed livestock industry also ensured they never lacked meat.
Only now did Miss Yumo finally understand
why, despite being an ancient civilization, the Anqieka Continent hadn't experienced any major famines for over five hundred years. freёwebnoѵel.com
As for clothing...
Although their garments were nowhere near as beautiful or luxurious as the ones Saiboke-Baniya had once brought her, they were warm enough.
No wonder these empires and their lords had managed to maintain their rule for so long.
After all, the common people had their basic needs guaranteed. There were no widespread problems of hunger or lacking clothing...
When people lived comfortably, few would think about rebellion.
After examining the food stalls, Yumo also found that the housing conditions of ordinary civilians were much better than she had expected.
There were no shabby thatched huts [N O V E L I G H T] to be seen.
Most people lived in two- or three-story stone houses.
What surprised Yumo even more was the number of children carrying backpacks on their way to school.
Aside from slaves who had been stripped of their identities,
most people seemed to be living fairly decent lives...
At least, that was certainly true within Wind Facing City.
'Maybe... I should try some of the local food?'
Miss Yumo thought curiously.
She had always loved good food.
Otherwise, back on Earth, she wouldn't have deliberately studied so many different cuisines~
Besides,
she currently possessed a huge amount of Star Source Coins provided by the Black Rose Family.
She could practically be considered a little rich girl now~
With that thought in mind, Miss Yumo happily skipped over to a barbecue stall. Using an adorable childish voice—and even borrowing some of the cute expressions she'd unconsciously picked up from her own children, since those little ones acted cute all day long—she sweetly said,
"Auntie, three meat skewers, please~"
As she spoke, the little girl handed over a sparkling Star Source Coin.
"Coming right up~"
Hearing her request, the middle-aged woman running the stall cheerfully replied and quickly handed three steaming, fragrant meat skewers to Yumo.
However,
the instant she got a clear look at the little girl's face,
the woman's pupils suddenly froze.
Her entire body stiffened.
Her eyes filled with disbelief.
??
"Hm?"
Seeing this, Miss Yumo couldn't help frowning.
Honestly,
because using the identity of the Black Rose Family's young lady would attract far too much attention,
Yumo had specifically chosen this pink-haired little girl disguise so she could quietly observe the lives of ordinary people.
Of course, having learned her lesson from meeting Kabanei earlier, she had covered the slave brand on her leg and changed into completely ordinary clothes.
However,
she had originally believed she would finally be able to enjoy a peaceful stroll through the city.
Yet after arriving in the commercial district, she suddenly discovered...
she seemed to stand out even more now?!
Although the people looking at her weren't nearly as awestruck as they had been when she first entered the city, everyone who noticed her would inevitably glance at her again, their eyes filled with surprise and confusion.
It made Miss Yumo extremely uncomfortable.
If she hadn't failed to sense any lust from their gazes, she might have started wondering whether everyone in Wind Facing City was secretly obsessed with little girls...
What...
was going on here??
Could it be that pink hair was incredibly rare?
That couldn't be right.
Wasn't Qiu Mingtong pink-haired too?
The strange reactions of everyone around her filled Miss Yumo's head with countless question marks.
-- freewebnσvel.cѳm
Meanwhile,
inside the Central Medical Institute not far away,
escorted by a group of soldiers, a middle-aged woman dressed in an exquisite emerald-green noble gown, with white hair at both temples, finally concluded several hours of visiting wounded soldiers.
Within Wind Facing City, there was probably no one who didn't recognize this woman.
She was the former commander of the Blizzard Knights,
and now the Marchioness,
Avnora-Duke.
At present,
to prevent another assault by the Abyss Demon horde, Marquis Xiumu-Duke had transferred two-thirds of Wind Facing City's military forces to the nearby fortresses for defense. He himself had personally led the main force of the Blizzard Knights to inspect the frontier and reinforce the border fortifications.
Whenever the Marquis was absent from Wind Facing City, many of the city's important affairs were entrusted to Avnora.
Neither the Duke Family nor the citizens of Wind Facing City had ever objected to this arrangement, for everyone knew perfectly well how capable Avnora was.
Following today's schedule,
Avnora had come to the Central Medical Institute to visit the survivors of the previous battle against the Abyss Demons, as well as the soldiers who still hadn't fully recovered after being knocked unconscious by the Blood Butterflies.
Visiting ordinary soldiers and civilians had always been a tradition of the Duke Family.
It was precisely because of this that the Duke Family had forged such deep bonds with the people of their territory, causing the royal family's repeated attempts to stir unrest within the Snow Night Empire to fail.
"Thank you for coming, my lady."
"Thank you for your cooperation, Director Kemu."
"It was only my duty."
...
...
After exchanging a few polite words with the hospital director, Avnora finally concluded her morning schedule.
Accompanied by her guards and a personal maid, she left the hospital and headed toward the waiting carriage.
"My lady, shall we return to the manor now?"
Behind Avnora, the elderly maid wearing glasses respectfully asked.
Hearing this,
Avnora gave a slight nod.
"Yes. Let's return first."
"Very well. I'll notify the manor to prepare lunch immediately."
With that, the maid carefully stepped back and went to speak with another knight.
Meanwhile, Avnora slowly approached the carriage.
The kind smile she had worn throughout the morning vanished completely.
At this moment, her slightly weathered face held nothing but heaviness and melancholy.
Seeing the Marchioness like this, the surrounding soldiers couldn't help feeling sorrowful.
Yet there was nothing they could do.
After all,
the young lady had been missing for over a month.
As her grandmother, how could the Marchioness possibly not be worried?
Until the young lady was found, there was little hope that her condition would improve.
Thinking this, everyone quietly sighed.
However,
at that very moment,
a knight of the Blizzard Knights suddenly came galloping toward the carriage at full speed.
Then,
under everyone's astonished gaze,
he leapt off his horse and rushed excitedly before Avnora.
"M-My... My Lady!!"
?!
"Hm?"
Seeing the knight so agitated, Avnora—who had just been about to close the carriage door—looked at him in confusion.
"What is it? Why are you so excited?"
"Th-There... Someone reported...! Th-They said... they saw the young lady... in the central commercial district!!!"
?!!
The instant she heard those words,
Avnora's pupils contracted violently.
The elegant folding fan slipped from her hand and fell beneath the carriage.
After standing frozen for a brief moment,
Avnora hurriedly grabbed the knight by the shoulders.
"What did you just say?! Hurry... Hurry and take me there at once!!"
