Ch.142The City That Denied the Sun. Belfort (1)

“Finally, we’ve arrived….”

“It was truly a long journey.”

At last, we arrived at the city of Belfort.

The sight of the city after completing a month-long eventful journey… it was enough to bring tears to my eyes.

The merchant caravan seemed to have lowered their guard now that the tension had eased, but neither the supervisor nor anyone else called attention to it.

Just ten more minutes of travel (by horse) and the city’s amenities would welcome us. If we were to be attacked now, the city’s defense force would immediately rush out to punish the bandits.

“By the way. Did you know?”

Simon asked me as we looked at the fortified walls—wooden palisades reinforced with mud mixed with straw.

“Know what?”

“There’s one rule for any settlement large enough to be called a city. That is, they must not ignore dangers visible to the city’s inhabitants.”

“Hmm…”

I hadn’t known that, but in Parcival, I occasionally saw the maritime police rescuing drifters floating on the sea.

I thought they did that simply because they were police, but I didn’t realize it was an obligation.

“It’s a kind of defensive duty. Of course, ‘visible’ means what can be seen with the naked eye… so it’s not that extensive. But things get complicated if the city is in the middle of a plain or situated on high ground with a wide field of vision.”

“I see.”

“That’s why most cities don’t place farmland right next to them. Instead, they have subordinate villages at a distance to supply livestock and agricultural products. If they built villages right beside them, their territory to defend would expand accordingly.”

“I’m not sure whether to call that clever… or weak.”

“Still, villages set up their own fences, form vigilante groups, hire adventurers, and request protection from nearby relief knight orders, so they’re quite safe. Within the village, that is.”

“Safety, huh…”

To be honest, whether village or city, they were just different forms of human settlements.

The only difference was that in villages, farmers killed millers, while in cities, workers killed factory owners.

“Most cities are small states with their own armies and laws, and when such city-states gather, they form territorial states. A rare form of state in this Age of Extinction.”

“Why are territorial states rare? Wouldn’t they be stronger together?”

“That’s true, but first they need to come together to become stronger. During the Age of Eclipse, humanity experienced extreme division, and even now in the 13th century of the Age of Extinction, those scars remain. People don’t easily embrace the unfamiliar. They might accept mayors or lords as leaders of their cities and villages, but pledging loyalty to distant kings or nobles isn’t very appealing.”

“Then what about the territorial states that still exist?”

“Those states typically formed when cities saved by great heroes built bonds with each other and integrated. Or when an overgrown city established another city, granting it limited autonomy instead of sovereignty, making it a protectorate… and as this repeats, it becomes a territorial state.”

“Hmm…”

“Integration is good once achieved, but reaching that point of unification requires great sacrifice. Just as humanity built the ancient empire under the sun after tremendous sacrifices during the dark ages.”

“And now we’re entering a city that denies that sun.”

“Hahaha… Isn’t life interesting? Sir Knight of the Sun.”

“Yes. Damn interesting.”

While talking with Simon, I recalled the relief knight order branch where I received my commission.

It truly deserved to be called an insane fortress that would despair any invader—it might take over 100,000 troops more than a year of siege to conquer it.

And since most there were Aura users, we’re talking about 100,000 Aura users.

If I were a commander, I would have already committed suicide or resigned just at the thought of gathering 100,000 Aura users.

“Why don’t cities fortify themselves like the relief knight order branches?”

“Well, they’d rather spend that kind of money on themselves… and the knight order branches are positioned so strategically that any significant threat would have to break through the knight order’s fortress cities before reaching the actual cities.”

“So it’s a kind of division of labor.”

“Exactly. The knight order can fulfill its purpose of protecting the people, and cities can use the land and funds that would have gone to defensive facilities and walls for other purposes. It’s a win-win.”

I nodded involuntarily at Simon’s words, which truly befitted his reputation as a sage.

If I became a mayor, I’d probably turn the streets into trenches in an attempt to create an invincible city. Clearly, I wasn’t cut out to be a mayor or monarch.

“Oh my. We’ve arrived already.”

And in the midst of our conversation with Simon, we had already reached the entrance to the city of Belfort.

*

“So… forty people died.”

“I see… Very well. Our city will handle the bodies, so leave them to us.”

The inspection ended without much fuss.

We weren’t carrying anything illegal, just shellfish and seaweed that were hard to find in this inland city of Belfort, along with firewood and clothing to survive the cold winter.

The supervisor informed the inspector about what we had experienced, and the caravan handed over the bodies they had been keeping to the guard.

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Well… I suppose there’s nothing more to see. You may pass!”

At the inspector’s words, dozens of wagons belonging to the caravan began to enter the city with the snorting of horses.

We were waiting at the very back with other adventurers until all the wagons had entered, when the supervisor pointed at me, and the inspector began approaching me.

“I heard you’re the knight who saved this caravan.”

“That’s right. Call me Victor Walker.”

“Very well, Sir Victor. Welcome to the city of Belfort.”

The inspector’s words were conventional, but I sensed a very subtle hostility.

An ordinary knight might have overlooked it, but it couldn’t escape my senses, honed on the streets.

“Is there something you want to tell me?”

“The leader of this caravan told me. Sir Victor is a true Nariyaki Saburo who received the Sun’s message… a knight who serves the Sun of Humanity.”

“…That’s correct, but?”

“I don’t think a distinguished knight like yourself would be unaware of this city’s history. Well, I’m not trying to block your entry. There are still those who worship the Sun and Moon within this city.”

“Then why have you come to me?”

“As you know, there are many gaps between the government and its citizens. Self-proclaimed fools who claim ‘we must learn from history.’ And idiots who simply need someone to blame… Thugs who assault followers of Yangwol, intoxicated with pride that humans first rebelled against the empire. If we rounded up all those damned fools, they’d fill more than a dozen baskets.”

Now I understood his purpose.

He came to warn me.

To warn me, a knight of the Sun, who had come to this city of madness and fanaticism that denied the power and authority of the Sun under its very rays.

“Even after 5,001,201 years since the end of the Age of Eclipse, such rogues still exist?”

“Patriotism is often a refuge for scoundrels. If we filtered out all those with the absurd mindset that worshipping squares makes them superior to those who revere triangles, there would only be a handful of people left in the world.”

“And you…?”

“I’m not originally from this city. I settled here somewhat by chance because my wife lived here, and ended up with this job. Whether it’s the Four Great Gods or Yangwol, they’re all beings beyond human reach. What matters is what their followers do.”

Now I understood why I sensed that subtle hostility.

Every time the city was thrown into chaos by those he had let in, his insides must have twisted as if swallowing thorns, and the fire of anger grew until it burned white-hot into ash, leaving only the embers of resignation.

With just a tiny spark of anger remaining, something that could no longer blaze.

“This city was the first in human history to deny the divinity of the Sun and Moon. I don’t know what that means, but if it’s significant enough to be included in the 52 Wonders of the World, then at least secular humans value it greatly. Beyond the understanding of ordinary people like me.”

“I promise you. The Sun’s servants will not disturb this city.”

When I said that, the inspector smiled bitterly.

How many gatekeepers had he lost while holding this seemingly insignificant position?

The sunlight behind his back seemed unusually cold today.

“Please be careful, Knight of the Sun.”