Book 2: Chapter 349
Book 2: Chapter 349
Yuterdam was the capital and largest city in the country of Freeland. Its size was about one third of the size of Kausymphony, which could be considered quite large among the cities in smaller countries.
Although it had a population of about 100,000, the proportion of original residents was not that large because it was a well known trade and tourism hub.
It was said that many people who visited as tourists ended up staying because the process for getting a visa and obtaining permanent residence was not very complicated.
Currently, it was very noisy…
“…is there a festival or something?”
It wasn’t strange for Lukas to ask this question soon after disembarking from the ship.
The noise was so loud that it made his ears ache.
<style type=”text/css”> @media screen and (min-width: 1201px) { .eueyp6271eda78c7cc { display: block; } } @media screen and (min-width: 993px) and (max-width: 1200px) { .eueyp6271eda78c7cc { display: block; } } @media screen and (min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 992px) { .eueyp6271eda78c7cc { display: block; } } @media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 768px) { .eueyp6271eda78c7cc { display: block; } } @media screen and (max-width: 767px) { .eueyp6271eda78c7cc { display: block; } } </style>The lights that hung above their heads illuminated the streets that were so crowded that it seemed almost impossible for them to pass, and the scent of food that made their mouths water tickled their noses.
The entire city buzzed as though some kind of festival was going on.
“No. It’s like a festival all year round. To put it bluntly, Yuterdam is well known as ‘the city where one is happiest as long as they have money’.”
…he did say that it was called the City of Pleasure.
Now that he was seeing it for himself, it truly did live up to its name.
Lukas and Peran decided to move to a quieter place before considering their next move.
“First off, before we start moving around, we should prepare.”
“Prepare?”
“Right. We don’t look very good right now.”
While they couldn’t be called dirty, they certainly did look quite poor and shabby compared to the well dressed people around them.
After briefly telling him to follow him, Peran skillfully traversed the streets through the endless sea of people.
Seeing his reckless steps, Lukas couldn’t help but call out to him.
“Didn’t you say you’ve never been here before?”
“That’s right. So I did my research as thoroughly as I could.”
…It seemed that he had even memorised the map of the entire city.
As he was thinking that it was something that Peran would do, they arrived at their destination.
It was a clothing store.
There were a few people inside already.
It was a very high end store, this could be seen both by the atmosphere and the level of clothes being displayed.
Peran approached one of the clerks in a very familiar manner.
“Welco-… Ah.”
The clerk turned her face to greet them, but she froze slightly when she saw Peran’s face and blushed.
“I’m here to look for some clothes.”
When Peran smiled, the clerk continued to look at him blankly for a while before her face became even redder.
“Th-, that’s right! Do you have any design or material that you prefer?”
“Do you have any silk shirts?”
“Of course we do. As for the color…”
“I’d like white, please. I’d also like it to be tight, but not too restricting. The outerwear should be large and thin, and I think it would be better if it was embroidered in dark gold…”
“We have several similar designs. Please follow me.”
The clerk nodded and guided Peran through the shelves. As he walked, Peran looked at the clothes with a serious expression.
Lukas, who was left alone, looked at the price tag on one of the nearby outfits.
“…”
It was an unimaginable price.
An amount of money that ordinary people wouldn’t be able to touch even if they worked for their entire lives. Were some strips of cloth really worth such a price?
…He wasn’t trying to disparage the clothing industry, but Lukas just couldn’t understand.
After a while, Peran came out fully dressed in his new clothes.
“What do you think?”
He smiled brightly, showing off his white teeth.
It was needless to say what the result of this action was.
The clerk beside him immediately looked like she was about to faint. To put it in other words, her expression seemed to say ‘I would have no regrets even if I were to die right now’.
The other customers in the store were also staring at Peran with bated breaths. It didn’t matter whether they were men or women.
‘…the clothes are like wings.’
In this case, it was like adding wings to a white horse.
When Lukas nodded slightly, Peran grinned.
“Now then, it’s time to choose your clothes.”
“No. These are fine.”
“No. We’re going to a place where first impressions are very important.”
“…”
There was a bit of firmness in this voice like he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Peran’s gaze shifted to behind Lukas.
Without them realising, Nix had followed them into the store. She looked around with a clueless expression for a while before her attention seemed to be drawn to a scarlet dress.
“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to buy this dress for you.”
“…”
Nix didn’t answer, but she turned her head shyly.
* * *
…There was a saying about being uncomfortable, like wearing clothes that didn’t fit.
That was exactly how Lukas felt at that moment. He usually only wore clothes like large robes or armour that protected his body, but when he wore clothes like this, even just the feeling of the cloth rubbing against his skin annoyed him.
“It suits you.”
“Empty words.”
“It’s not. Look. Everyone is looking at us.”
‘They’re looking at you and Nix.’
Lukas muttered inwardly and sighed.
“So where are you going now?”
“The most important store in Yuterdam.”
“Store?”
“It’ll be faster for you to see it for yourself.”
Peran didn’t say more than that and continued walking. Lukas had no choice but to follow him.
“We’re here.”
The place they arrived at was a building with a dark atmosphere.
It was neither large nor small, but it was built in a way that made it hard to spot at a glance. Nevertheless, there was a long line of people waiting outside the door.
Looking at them, Lukas couldn’t help but frown slightly.
‘…they are all excited.’
In fact, there was even a hint of madness in their eyes as though they were longing for something.
“I heard an explanation, but I think we’d be able to figure out more details by going inside.”
After muttering a reply, Peran began to walk towards the door.
“What about the line? Don’t we have to stand there?”
“I made a reservation in advance.”
“When?”
“While we were looking for a ship.”
He had a very meticulous attitude. It seemed that he hadn’t just settled on a preliminary investigation.
The group headed into the building. The interior was dark, but it consisted of a single long hallway. At the entrance of the hallway was a figure wrapped in a dark robe.
“Welcome to [Memories of Heaven].”
Lukas narrowed his eyes.
It wasn’t possible to tell if this person was male or female. They were using some trick to change their voice.
“I made a reservation.”
“May I please have your name?”
“Peran Jun. I contacted you five days ago.”
The person fell silent for a moment before suddenly opening their mouth again.
“…pink?”
“Angels.”
It was a secret code.
It was only after Peran responded without hesitation that the person nodded their head.
“Your identity was confirmed. Please continue along this path. Then heaven will begin.”
“Thanks.”
After saying that, he walked past the woman, and Lukas followed him.
“I think I know what this place is. It has a familiar scent.”
“…”
Peran blinked in surprise at those words.
“…you… do?”
“Right.”
The line of customers waiting outside. The faint obsession and madness in their eyes. The fact that this building was built in such a secretive location. And last but not least, the security.
This most likely meant that it was a place that handled illegal goods.
They were probably selling drugs under the name of [Memories of Heaven].
‘There are clues about Anastasia in a place like this?’
He didn’t want to believe that she would be associated with such a thing, but Peran was by no means a fool. There was no way he’d travel for five days by boat to come to this city if he didn’t have some level of confidence.
“…that’s… really surprising.”
Peran’s voice was filled with all sorts of complicated emotions.
And it was a bit weaker.
“This is my first time coming to a place like this… Mm. Well, to be precise, I didn’t even know they existed until I started investigating.”
“That’s surprising to me too.”
Drugs.
Even if it wasn’t a word that he would associate with Peran, it was still surprising that he never even heard about it despite being relatively experienced in the world.
In addition, not only was he a high level Wizard, but he was also a member of one of the most influential noble families in the empire. While he didn’t expect him to like this sort of underground thing, he should have at least been aware of it.
“Haha. Well, I’m not that trendy. I heard that there are many places like this nowadays. The times really are changing, you can even find them on main streets.”
…Trendy? Can even find them on main streets? Times are changing?
It felt like something was wrong with their conversation.
Just as Lukas was about to open his mouth to mention this, they reached the end of the hallway.
Creak-
The door opened.
And there, as he expected, the dark, musty smelling drug deal-
“Welcome! Master!”
“…”
…Was not there.
Instead, Lukas felt like he would go blind.
Their surroundings had become bright, and a group of beautiful women with various skin and hair colours stood there with bright smiles.
“…”
This unbelievable sight caused the blood to drain from Lukas’ face.
“Are the three of you a group?”
“It’s been a while since we got a Mistress.”
“Wow. You are all so beautiful.”
The beautiful women burst into laughter and chattered among themselves, but Lukas couldn’t hear any of it.
“What’s going on? This…”
When Nix, who was standing behind them, muttered with a shell-shocked expression, Peran responded.
“Firstly, it’s a restaurant, but the customers here call it [The Garden of Hopes and Dreams] or [The only Heaven you can go to while alive].”
“…”
<style type=”text/css”> @media screen and (min-width: 1201px) { .doihl6271eda78c7f1 { display: block; } } @media screen and (min-width: 993px) and (max-width: 1200px) { .doihl6271eda78c7f1 { display: block; } } @media screen and (min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 992px) { .doihl6271eda78c7f1 { display: block; } } @media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 768px) { .doihl6271eda78c7f1 { display: block; } } @media screen and (max-width: 767px) { .doihl6271eda78c7f1 { display: block; } } </style>“So it’s a type of concept restaurant. As long as you are in this store, you are the Masters and Mistresses of these maids… Ah, of course, that doesn’t mean you can treat them rudely.”
He patted Lukas on the shoulder and let out a relieved laugh.
“Anyways, I’m glad you have experience. I was planning to move around secretly until I could meet the owner here.”
“…”
“So Lukas, what do we do now?”
“…”
“…Lukas?”
(TL: Hahahaha!)