Ch.53The Road to Faelus Vale (5)

Not all dedication receives its reward.

Sadly, this was true, and it was a truth anyone could empathize with.

If asked who should succeed between an unprepared fraud who succeeds and a well-prepared challenger who fails, anyone would choose the latter. But if asked which of two soldiers going to war should survive, no one could easily answer.

That’s what effort and dedication were like.

Just as loving someone doesn’t guarantee they’ll love you back, sometimes dedication becomes fanaticism and effort degenerates into madness.

On the cold streets that reveal humanity’s true nature, I’ve heard both the wails of those who lost everything and the cheers of those who found a way out of the gutter.

That’s why I don’t believe that effort can achieve everything, nor that dedication can make the world better.

When I realized that effort without direction is merely wandering, and dedication without purpose is just blind faith, I was genuinely wondering if I could truly see all 52 Wonders of the World.

After all, no matter what I did, I was just an orphan with no roots, knowing neither mother nor father. If I died chasing my dreams, who would remember my death saying, “That one died honorably!”?

They’d just click their tongues and say another amateur adventurer had died.

“Lady Arin is still young… and since she’s entering as a proper wife, not a concubine or mistress, she’ll be treated well by the Revil family. And then we too…”

“…”

That’s why I looked at Sir Keith, knight of the Marin family, with pity.

The most miserable thing in the world isn’t being unable to do anything—it’s doing everything you possibly can and still seeing no improvement.

Perhaps Sir Keith knew this deep down.

I don’t know how substantial this “dowry” is, but no matter how large, it wouldn’t be enough to restore the prestige of a crumbling family—it would merely serve as a prop to halt their decline.

Of course, worldly affairs are complicated, especially among nobles, so they might use that prop as a foundation to soar again.

The knight’s attitude wasn’t unfamiliar to me.

It resembled that of the elderly who barely scrape by doing odd jobs on the streets.

They all spoke of “my son” and “my daughter,” thinking these children would help them, and boasted to me about it.

They claimed to be grandparents with grandchildren, saying that when they died, crowds would fill their funeral halls, telling a rootless orphan like me not to talk back.

Yet none of those elderly were ever saved by their children.

One old man, despite having dementia and forgetting his own name, always carried a worn photo of his grandson, calling out his name daily until he eventually forgot how to eat and drink, and died.

Another elderly person slipped in winter, shattered their hip, became immobile in their own home, and died of thirst.

Yet another tried to rely on their children when they couldn’t endure anymore, but upon learning all their children were dead, hanged themselves.

“Sir Keith.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“How long have you served the Marin family?”

“Well… about 20 years, I suppose… Why do you ask?”

“Nothing, just that your loyalty seems exceptional.”

It’s sorrowful to witness a person’s death.

To see everything they could have done slip through their fingers, to watch their achievements fade into insignificance, to observe them slowly losing the elements that constituted their being until finally realizing nothing remains of themselves, wearing down to dust.

His fate would be determined not by his prowess but by his family’s rise or fall, and until then, his life would continue to move forward.

*

Time passed quickly.

After traveling through two more cities over the course of a month, we finally arrived at Paerus Veil. The escort guards including myself, Arin Marin, and Sir Keith all gaped at the panorama of Paerus Veil stretching to the horizon.

“Magnificent…”

“Those walls. How tall are they?”

“I’ve heard they’re 160 meters…”

“160 meters? Insane… The tallest mountain in our town is just over 100 meters…”

The light emanating from buildings stacked so high they towered over even the lofty walls was beautiful, and one could immediately sense that it represented the pride of the city’s inhabitants.

“Did they say a hundred million people live in this city alone? I thought it was unrealistic, but seeing it with my own eyes makes it believable now.”

There’s a saying about frogs in a well, but if the well is larger than a decent-sized pond, can it still be called a well?

We entered the city like country bumpkins seeing an urban center for the first time, and with our identities already verified, we were able to enter easily.

The inside of the city was literally like another world.

Buildings under five stories weren’t even visible, and there were dozens of skyscrapers exceeding one kilometer in height.

Only then did I remember that the capitals of each continent were established during the reign of the ancient Nariakiran Empire, which once ruled over the peoples of all thirteen continents.

Unlike now, during the empire’s heyday when it boasted tremendous power, these cities served as the hearts of each continent, so perhaps this level of grandeur was to be expected.

“Th-that! The carriage is moving without horses!”

“That’s… a tram.”

“Have you seen one before?”

“I’ve only heard of them, never actually seen one…”

What amazed us even more were the trams moving along rails throughout the city’s roads. Remarkably, these passenger cars had three levels plus seating arranged with railings on the roof, effectively making them four stories high.

Had I not overheard some Veil citizens boasting proudly on the streets when I was in Parcifal, I would surely have thought this was magic.

“Th-this is no time to be standing around gawking! Everyone, focus and get moving! We need to reach the Revil family today!”

Unfortunately, we were pressed for time, and at Sir Keith’s rebuke, we regained our senses and hurried our pace.

*

Several hours later, we finally located the Revil family mansion despite our unfamiliarity with the geography and the bustling surroundings. I received a signature from Sir Keith confirming the completion of my commission and set off toward the Adventurers’ Guild.

Though I was invited to attend the wedding, I politely declined the offer, knowing I might make mistakes due to my ignorance of noble etiquette, and understanding that outsiders are better absent from someone else’s wedding.

And honestly, I wanted to see more of this amazing city with my own eyes.

Above all, this guild housed the imperial charter of the Adventurers’ Guild, written by Nariakira Kenta, the last emperor of the Nariakiran Empire.

After seeing that charter with my own eyes, I would be free to roam this fantastic city to my heart’s content.

With that in mind, I wandered around the city searching for the guild, and in the process, I discovered something shocking.

“What? There’s more than one guild?”

“Of course, country boy. How could a single guild cover this vast city? One at each of the four main gates, one in each densely populated area, and the central guild with the charter you’re looking for… There are over thirty guilds in total.”

“Good heavens…”

“Country bumpkins…”

Only when I was scorned as a country boy did I truly realize that this was a city of 100 million people.

Indeed, this was the heart of the Paerun continent.

An incalculable flow of people and goods would pour in from across the continent, making it impossible for a single guild to manage.

“Truly overwhelming…”

Paerus Veil.

The capital of the Paerun continent.

The words alone might elicit a mere “Oh, I see,” but actually experiencing this overwhelming majesty made everything I’d done until now seem like child’s play.

Thump! Thump!

My heart began to race.

I had arrived in this unknown world called Veil.

I was standing in a place some people spend their whole lives wanting to visit but never can due to lack of means.

That sense of conquest and achievement uplifted me, and I began galloping my horse like a madman down the wide, paved road.

“To the central guild, Jeombak!”

“Neeeigh!”

One of the 52 Wonders of the World.

The ancient imperial charter at the central branch of the Paerus Veil Adventurers’ Guild!

That’s what I had come all this way to see.

As I approached the center of the city, my heart pounded more vigorously, and by the time I reached the main gate of the central branch, I was grinning like a lunatic.