City of Delights
by Afuhfuihgs
The Emperor’s passing was officially announced throughout the continent. Thanks to that, Modest was insanely busy with the sudden surge of work. Even though Estelle had prepared thoroughly, thinking there was no time when the information guild boomed as much as during the Emperor’s death.
There was still no contact from Bella. The Imperial Palace’s gates were firmly shut, so no one could enter or leave.
Perhaps Roel was just by her side, preventing her from contacting me, or maybe she was busy preparing to become Empress. Maybe it was both.
I didn’t entertain the worst-case scenario that Bella had sided with Roel. It wasn’t about dismissing the possibility, but because I fully understood what kind of person Bella was.
She, who could sacrifice everything for Roel, knew that eternal ruin awaited Roel if things continued as they were. I was certain that Bella, who would do anything for Roel no matter what he did, would never be persuaded by the current Roel.
The plan to kill the Immortal before Bella’s coronation was not yet complete. Magical matters required ample time for safety’s sake. I didn’t wait for the plan to be completed and headed to the City of Delights with Luna first. Haring, who had rapidly become close to Luna, came along too.
Strangely, the Hatchling really disliked me. I strongly felt it was refusing my approach. When Luna briefly left her seat, I tried to stroke it, but it buried its head in the corner and trembled, so I stopped. I didn’t particularly want to torment the Hatchling.
However, I was curious why it showed such a reaction to me while not rejecting other people’s touch. Could it be that I was emitting a scent that the Hatchling disliked?
Following Estelle’s advice that it wouldn’t be good if the Hatchling caught the public’s eye, when taking the portal to Ludwig, I put it in a birdcage with a security magic that concealed the inside.
I considered putting it directly into the spatial storage, but Luna objected, saying that I shouldn’t put the living Haring in such a place, so Luna carried the birdcage. Even holding the cage myself caused the Hatchling to react violently.
There wouldn’t be a problem even if I put the Hatchling in the spatial storage. There hadn’t been any issues when putting food in there.
After unpacking our luggage at a hotel in Ludwig and letting Haring out of the cage to roam freely, I filled a dedicated bowl with dog food (surprisingly, the Hatchling wasn’t picky) and headed out to the streets with Luna for Ludwig’s prior confirmation.
In fact, using my spatial magic, I could have gone straight to where the Immortal was staying. His residence was a grand ancient castle located right in the city center, and I could recognize the spatial coordinates, so there was no need for prior confirmation, but I mainly wanted to sightsee with Luna since we had come to the City of Delights.
I naturally took Luna’s hand and walked down the street. Her body had improved a lot, and Luna’s left hand, which I was holding, didn’t clench as strongly as before, trying to crush my hand with muscle strength. Still, I could feel excessive force, but at this rate, she would be able to use her hand freely within a year.
As befitting the City of Delights, the streets were filled with all sorts of entertainment. Whether it was because the plausibility filled in the details in areas I hadn’t set, there were various things that could be seen in modern times.
There were people spinning machines that looked like pachinko, and women in revealing outfits enticing tourists. There were also buildings with all sorts of flashy lights flashing outside the windows, indicating the presence of clubs.
But what caught our eye first and foremost was, of course, the food. Delicious food is a must in the City of Delights.
There were fruits that were not easily seen even in the capital, as well as several foods I had never seen before. There were cocktails, and even places selling Japanese ramen and drinks similar to highballs.
Originally, I wasn’t the type to try new foods. If a new challenge failed, I would be in a bad mood until the next meal as a penalty for eating something bad. Because I hated that, I usually chose from flavors I knew. As a result, I naturally became a picky eater who only ate what I used to eat.
But Luna was completely different from me. I still couldn’t tell if she was just curious or if she had a strong desire to try new things, but she always had the personality to try any food she saw for the first time.
Of course, Luna’s choices weren’t always right. There were several that were saltier than expected, and some that were unbearably salty or sour. But whenever that happened, Luna didn’t sulk over the failure like I did. She just smiled regretfully and said let’s try something else next time.
In the end, that behavior of Luna’s had a good influence on me. I’m no longer afraid of new challenges. It’s good to discover new tastes, but I realized that it’s more enjoyable to laugh and eat together with Luna.
So, we couldn’t just pass by a ramen shop with a picture that looked obviously spicy. We sweated and fought hard with the spiciness in front of ramen filled with char siu.
The shop owner saw us like that and gave us a service of cool broth with icy chunks to soothe the spiciness. Thanks to that, my stomach didn’t hurt when I left the shop.
Now that we had filled our stomachs, we walked down the street again and went sightseeing. We often went inside shops to look at goods and buy souvenirs for the guild members. After sightseeing like that for a while, we finally arrived in front of the most splendid building in Ludwig.
,Wow….
Luna and I exclaimed almost simultaneously. If I had a cell phone in my pocket, I might have taken it out and taken a picture right away. It was that much of a splendid building that I had never seen before.
I’ve never been to Las Vegas, but comparing it to what I’ve seen in videos, wouldn’t this be a near-complete victory? Luna was also looking at it with wide eyes, as if she was amazed.
Hmm, Luna at night, bathed in orange light, is even more beautiful.
,Shall we go inside?
,Yeah, sounds good.
At my suggestion, Luna nodded with an expectant face. I walked towards the entrance, stepping on the red carpet with an expression that wasn’t much different.
Stepping inside, it felt like entering a very large department store. The high ceiling made the interior look open, and the sense of openness felt better than the capital’s portal station.
Around the fountain with the splendid sculptures, there were several couples sharing food, and many people walking around sightseeing with their families. I could feel once again how wrong it was to sacrifice these many people just to kill the Immortal.
The place where the most people gathered was the entrance to the casino. Stepping into the casino with Luna, I felt like I had come to an amusement park.
The inside of the casino was filled with all sorts of things. But it didn’t feel complicated or dizzying. The fact that even the smallest details were meticulously designed was conveyed even to me, who was ignorant in this area. The nickname City of Delights wasn’t just for show.
There were all sorts of things inside the casino. The ceiling was transformed into a beautiful night sky using magic, making it feel like being outside. There were places where people could look down from a high clock tower, and even small boats passing under bridges.
Magic-powered carriages and flashy lights, and even a structure that made it easy to bet anywhere. I could see several employees wearing revealing clothes, and every time that happened, I felt Luna’s left hand clenching even harder.
After looking around inside and laughing and chatting with Luna, I started to worry that Luna’s legs might be hurting. To take a break, a game nearby caught my eye, so I participated with a light heart.
It was a place where all sorts of gambling gathered, so there were many things I saw for the first time. After buying chips that could be used in the game with gold and sitting on a round chair with Luna, an employee who looked like a dealer approached with a smile and briefly explained the rules.
Honestly, I didn’t understand even after listening to the explanation, so I just nodded vaguely and rolled the dice. After repeating that a few times, losing the chips was instantaneous. Beginner’s luck doesn’t seem to follow in places like this.
I got up from my seat and looked for other games. I felt a strong interest in the announcement that there was a gambling den where monsters fought each other to the death a little further away from my current location, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the dealer who was diligently waving his hands and soliciting customers.
It was a shell game. A game where you put an object in one of three cups, mix the cups around, and guess which one contains the object.
It’s a game that requires good dynamic visual acuity rather than luck. The dice game from earlier was too much of a luck-based game. Maybe I can do this. With that in mind, I played the game and failed three times in a row.
There were many cases where the cups overlapped at the same time, so no matter how much I concentrated, I often missed the cup containing the bead while chasing it. It was almost a magical sleight of hand.
,Ross, let me try.
Luna, who had been quietly watching me from the side, stepped forward with a confident look. I immediately gave up my seat to her, impressed by the confidence in her voice. Luna, who has good eyes, might be different. Should I have a little hope?
*
After the 10th game, there was a crowd of onlookers around us. Everyone was widening their eyes and cheering for Luna with joyful faces.
,The middle one.
At Luna’s words, the dealer sighed and lifted the cup. As expected, there was a bead inside.
,Ooh, as expected!
,No way, how did she figure it out?
,I thought it wouldn’t be easy when they moved the cups all at once using magic in the middle!
,Right, I gave up in 3 seconds!
,Hey, that’s just giving up.
The dealer’s expression darkened even more at the surrounding commotion. The dealer, who had organized the cups, asked in a weak voice.
,Will you… proceed with the next game?
His eyes were filled with a desperate plea to please stop. But Luna, who was looking at me with a look that said, ,I did well, didn’t I?, couldn’t see the dealer’s desperate eyes.
,Yes!
At Luna’s bright answer, the dealer almost dropped the cups he was holding for a moment. It was understandable, as the shell game had a system where the payout multiplier increased with each consecutive win.
Of course, that meant the dealer had more opportunities to use magic, making it increasingly difficult to guess the cup containing the object, but somehow it didn’t work on Luna. As soon as the dealer stopped his hands, she would accurately point out the cup containing the bead.
The dealer, who let out a deep sigh as if to show off, was about to place the cup over the bead with trembling hands for the next game when someone grabbed his shoulder from behind.
,I’ll be conducting the next game.
At that voice, the dealer’s dark face lit up brightly. The surrounding onlookers also let out ,Hoo!, exclamations, letting everyone know that the newly appeared dealer was no ordinary person.
The muscular man with brown skin grinned and covered the bead with a cup.
,Nice to meet you. I’m Rokura of the Krahel family. The game looked fun, so I joined in. Shall we have some fun?
The newly appeared dealer was the heir to the Krahel County family, which ruled the City of Delights.
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