Ch.173Beyond the Dream (1)

Streets filled with people is not a common occurrence.

Unless it was a city in the Old Continent with both high foot traffic and many residents, it was virtually unheard of in cities of the New Continent.

This fact wasn’t particularly hidden.

Both the Arba who ruled the city and those who lived there knew it well.

So the obvious conclusion: something was happening in this city.

Llewellyn made his deduction within the scope of information he possessed.

This was why the distribution and prohibition of drugs had been implemented. Because such incidents had been quietly occurring throughout the city.

For those who rule a city, control is an important matter. When problems arise, it’s only natural to try to solve them.

The difference, as Llewellyn knew, was that drugs were merely a channel, not the cause.

Llewellyn’s intuition affirmed this.

If drugs hadn’t existed, it would have spread through dreams instead.

But one couldn’t prohibit dreams. Though Llewellyn didn’t know it, humans naturally dream when they sleep, even if they don’t remember them.

In the end, this proved that eliminating the cause rather than alleviating symptoms was better for solving the problem.

Llewellyn, with Orthemilia perched on his shoulder, climbed the wall with his sister and returned to where Arba had been by traversing the rooftops.

The homunculus’s exceptional senses allowed him to run steadily even on uneven rooftops, and his superhuman physical abilities gave elasticity to all his movements.

So for the Lucy siblings, cutting through crowds was not a difficult task.

What was actually harder for them than navigating through crowds or leaping across rooftops was processing what had just happened.

Both Lucilla, who had been reminded of her mother while being embraced by a girl much smaller than herself, and Llewellyn, who had been comforted in that embrace.

They couldn’t understand how it was possible. It wasn’t something that could happen just by being held.

Was it because both Llewellyn and Lucilla were homunculi, and thus felt familial love toward Orthemilia, their creator?

Or perhaps there was some other magic at work, or some other reason entirely.

Either way, they couldn’t bring themselves to ask directly.

As time passed without them asking, they leapt from a high spire and landed on the roof of a house on the opposite side, and Orthemilia spoke.

“Well, it seems they’re aware of the situation over there too. That’s fortunate.”

Following Orthemilia, who was shading her eyes with her hand to look into the distance, they furrowed their brows and saw a group of soldiers.

They were busy trying to control people intoxicated by dreams, and among them was Arba, wielding an axe.

Though her face was hidden by a helmet, she looked troubled. Llewellyn watched his sister land on the ceiling and roll to reduce the impact.

“Sister.”

“Huh? What is it, Sejin?”

Lucilla, who had been embarrassed about tearing up slightly in Orthemilia’s embrace earlier, blushed as she answered, and Llewellyn pretended not to notice his sister’s moment of vulnerability.

He had no choice. Llewellyn, or rather Yoon Sejin, had always felt uncomfortable whenever Yoon Sea talked about the times when their parents were still around.

Yoon Sejin didn’t know his parents’ faces and had never experienced the past that Yoon Sea happily talked about.

All he felt was Sea’s life becoming unhappy from the moment his consciousness was corrected, and his own existence like a tumor. When Sea reminisced about the past, she looked so happy and joyful that he couldn’t interrupt.

It was the same this time.

Llewellyn concealed his inner thoughts.

“Did you confirm where they’re going?”

It was obvious who he was referring to. Lucilla nodded.

The blush of embarrassment faded from her face.

“The west side of the city. Where the buildings are sparse.”

After answering, she launched herself forward.

Lucilla’s physical abilities seemed inferior to Llewellyn’s, but she compensated for this gap with techniques that had reached their pinnacle.

The elven movement technique she had learned from Eshatherna.

Despite jumping without much force, her body flew lightly to reach the opposite roof, making almost no sound.

In contrast, Llewellyn made a big leap. The movement technique included in the Dragon King’s martial art, Dragon Drop, wasn’t suitable for jumping.

First of all, without a tail, creating such excellent balance required concentration.

So it needed quite a bit of preparation time, and the recoil was considerable.

Bang, thud. The sound of landing caused a commotion inside the building. Llewellyn caught his breath.

“What? Did you figure something out?”

Lucilla asked, and Llewellyn nodded.

The answer was obvious.

The vision he had seen at what was once a brothel, at least as far as Llewellyn could tell.

The path that Lenia had led him on. The massive cavity they had eventually reached.

That cavity definitely existed in the deepest part of the sewer.

Llewellyn was certain.

Seeing all these dream-intoxicated people heading uniformly toward the sewers made it clear. And not just any sewer, but the western one.

“This is the work of divine power.”

Though the statement came out of nowhere, Lucilla only widened her eyes without questioning, while Orthemilia hummed with interest.

Perhaps because she had already heard about it, unlike Lucilla, Orthemilia seemed to be expecting some new information.

“I… saw a vision while investigating, and in that vision, I saw Lenia, the founder of the Structural School.”

“Lenia, the witch?”

“Yes, that Lenia.”

Lenia’s infamy was widespread, and she had influenced countless people in later generations.

So even Lucilla, who had been a player, knew the name. She couldn’t help but know it. Seeing her serious expression, Llewellyn said:

“Lenia was trying to show me something. But… before that, my divine power erupted, and the vision she was showing me shattered.”

Although the fact that a vision was broken by divine power doesn’t guarantee it was divine in nature…

In this world, there are few beings more versed in divine power than Llewellyn. At least among those he could consult right now.

“So what do you want to do?”

“First, I want to go to Arba.”

“Alright, let’s do that. I’ll help you.”

Lucilla smiled brightly. She had regained her composure, and seeing his sister like this, Llewellyn jumped again.

From roof to roof, from ceiling to balcony, repeatedly jumping.

“Block that path ahead! Don’t let them through! Border guards! Have you seen where these people are going? Perhaps—”

Mid-sentence, Arba flinched and raised her weapon as a loud boom erupted in front of her, accompanied by dust.

‘An ambush?’

The situation was awkward. Despite Arba’s heightened battle readiness, a girl’s voice emerged, coughing.

“If I had known… I should have ridden on Lucilla’s shoulder.”

As Orthemilia’s voice emerged, expelling dust, Arba lowered the axe she had raised. Llewellyn waved his arms to clear the dust.

“They’re heading west.”

Inwardly grateful to Orthemilia.

“What?”

“More precisely, they’re going to the sewers. Following the sewers leads to the heart of the city, and it seems something is there.”

Arba was confused by the sudden information but stiffened when she saw Jeokmeol gracefully landing on the ground.

Although she seemed to be in a good mood right next to Llewellyn, few people in this place could remain calm in front of ‘Jeokmeol.’

She rolled her eyes, looking at Jeokmeol and Llewellyn in turn, and said:

“I gratefully accept your information and assistance. Now…”

“The drug crackdown was meaningless. The ‘addicts’ that have been appearing are the result of someone at the heart of the city spreading their influence. By cracking down on drugs, they’ve actually started to manifest through dreams instead. It had the opposite effect.”

Interrupting her was rude, but given the situation, Arba remained silent.

Instead, Arba quietly looked at Llewellyn. It didn’t seem like he was finished speaking.

“So I ask, what do you plan to do now?”

Llewellyn returned the very question Arba was about to ask. Arba lowered her eyes inside her helmet.

“This is my city. I put my name on it. Though I’ve set aside my knighthood… I can’t let a city bearing my name fall into chaos. Whatever is at the heart of the city, I need to go see.”

In other words, she intended to resolve it herself. It was a reasonable opinion, but it was merely the recklessness of someone who didn’t understand the situation.

And Llewellyn couldn’t just stand by and watch such recklessness.

After all, the reason he had come to this city called Arba was to establish a mercenary group and, beyond that, a massive city centered around the Pantheon.

With his mind calmed by Orthemilia’s comfort, Llewellyn made his judgment and spoke:

“Actually, this series of disturbances happened because of me.”

Arba seemed surprised by the sudden confession, but…

“More precisely… it’s a change caused by something that was stimulated by the power I impulsively released. My power stimulated something down there.”

Something. A vague expression, but Arba lowered her axe and stared at Llewellyn.

“What are you trying to say?”

“I want to make a proposal.”

“A proposal.”

A curious statement. A proposal in this situation? Arba searched her memory and recalled the proposal Llewellyn’s group had made just before this incident occurred.

‘I want this entire city.’

As Arba raised her head with a look of disbelief, Llewellyn nodded.

“Times are changing. We can’t say that such incidents won’t happen to this city again in the future.”

That was true. Arba had settled in this New Continent and experienced all sorts of anomalies and strange phenomena.

The New Continent is a magical realm. There are many unexplored lands, and those who venture into them often don’t return.

Llewellyn said this would continue, even intensify.

“An era is coming where will and belief alone won’t accomplish anything.”

“What’s your intention?”

“I’m pressing the proposal I made before.”

But that wasn’t the answer Arba wanted.

Instead, she asked again:

“I asked what your intention is.”

She was asking for Llewellyn’s intention.

The reason he wanted the city, the reason he sought to take an entire city into his hands.

In reality, it was closer to asking for his purpose rather than his intention, and so Llewellyn quietly blinked.

The answer that soon followed was sincere.

“To live happily. Isn’t that what everyone wants?”

As Arba fell silent, Llewellyn turned away first and added:

“These are turbulent times. Think carefully about what a city needs to survive.”

As if saying “follow me.”

Arba stared at Llewellyn’s back for a moment before quietly following.