Chapter 2: A Backward World

The whirring of the wheels went as the carriage moved unsteadily on the ground of Blackwater City which was laid out with irregular bluestone. It was very uneven and it felt a little uncomfortable traveling in the carriage.

Merlin sat next to Macy, and the faint fragrance coming from her comforted Merlin. However, the carriage ride was indeed too bumpy. After a short while of trying to adapt, Merlin gave up and leaned back on the carriage, his legs slightly bent. This posture made him feel more at ease.

However, Macy was very dissatisfied. She looked at Merlin’s legs in front of her eyes and frowned slightly. “Merlin, can’t you position your legs properly? You are a nobleman, and you must act like one.”

‘I’ll just lie down for a bit. I didn’t sleep well last night.”

Merlin replied with indifference, still keeping the position he felt most comfortable.

Unexpectedly, Macy did not argue with Merlin. She bit her lip gently, and a hint of worry washed across her face. She asked cautiously, “Is it because of Avril?”

Merlin did not reply, hence Macy continued speaking, “actually, there’s no need for you to be worried. No matter what, Avril is officially engaged to you, witnessed by decades of friendship between the Parman family and the Wilson family. She will be married to you eventually. Anyhow, you have to quit fooling around as well, and spend more effort on making Avril like you better.”

Although Merlin kept his eyes closed, he was not really sleeping. He remembered with his heart each and every word Macy told him.

‘Avril is my fiancée? But, from what I gathered from Macy, it seems like Avril isn’t quite fond of me… Why can’t I remember anything about this matter?’

Merlin only regained a fraction of his memory, and the rest was lost forever. In order to not expose himself to others, he had to listen carefully to what everyone says and analyze the information thoroughly.

For instance, this Avril that Macy had mentioned must be another important piece of information. Merlin kept the knowledge in his mind.

Merlin was getting rather irritated after lying down for a while. He drew the curtains and shivered as the cold breeze blew.

“Winter is coming…” Merlin exclaimed. It was already September, the last month of the fall season, but it seemed that the cold has arrived earlier than expected.

“You’re right, winter is coming, although I’m unsure why the weather has gotten cold quicker this year.”

Merlin wrapped his clothes tighter around himself as he curled into the corner of the carriage.

It appeared to be still drizzling outside. There were not many people on the street, apart from a few tramps who knelt to the ground as they begged from the well-dressed people.

These tramps clothed themselves in some rough linens that they probably collected from somewhere, and they appeared as thin as hemp ropes. Their eyes were filled with desperation. There were also several really young children among them.

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The others showed a look of disdain as they passed by, some even covered their noses and mouths and sped on hastily. Merlin’s eyes swept past these tramps without much interest and shifted his attention at the group of knights crowded by the street.

These knights all had silver light armors wrapped around the upper body, a wooden shield in hand, and a sword of half a human’s height on their back. They imposed an impressively-commanding manner. The crowd on the street seemed to be very afraid of these knights, and some children, when they saw these knights, showed a hint of envy on their faces.

Merlin frowned. He had no idea who these knights were, but even so, he did not dare to inquire Macy about it.

Macy also noticed these knights from inside of the carriage. However, she seemed at the least impressed and said coldly, “It’s them again, knights of the City Defence Troops. A pleasant to the eye but of no use. Judging by the large number, perhaps yet another town has been encountered with bandits. More and more disturbance has arisen recently. Many bandits appear in the small towns surrounding Blackwater City.”

Merlin remained silent as he registered this information into his mind. He has just arrived in this world, and his memory was made up of bits and pieces in a chaotic order. He was not in the best position to speak more.

Merlin observed the situation in silence for a little longer. Although there were only about one hundred of these knights, they were all well-equipped and each of them had an imposing manner. They were definitely not as useless as Macy had accounted.

These knights were getting ready to leave the town, and soon they disappeared from Merlin’s sight. A brief moment later, Merlin, who began to tremble because of the cold wind, finally let down the curtain and returned to the warmth of the carriage.

Some time later, the carriage gradually came to a halt. Moss, the coachman announced softly, “Young Master Merlin, Young Lady Macy, we’ve arrived at the church.”

“Alright, let’s get down. We’re here at the church!”

Macy, who appeared extremely energized, jumped off the carriage at once. Merlin who followed behind stretched his body and moved his stiff neck. He raised his head at the sight of the church in front of his eyes.

This church covered an extremely expansive area, almost as large as four to five football fields. There were ordinary believers as well as some aristocrats dressed in aristocratic costumes. They all came to the church for morning prayers.

The Kingdom of Light officially established their beliefs in the God of Light. The power of the church was enormous. Almost every city had a church after the God of Light. The people that visited the church for morning prayers as such were endless.

Merlin also followed the crowd to the church hall. On the white walls inside were several huge murals. These colorful and lively paintings were obviously religious murals that praised the God of Light.

Merlin noticed that on the mural positioned in the middle right was a tall deity of vague features being surrounded with a soft holy light. The white light shrouded many believers, including the elderly, children, men, women, nobles, commoners and even criminals. The faces of these people were washed over with a sincere and peaceful smile under the Holy Light.

The name of this religious mural was called God Loves the World. It was written in the sacred language of Light. Based on the memories inherited by Merlin, he was rather familiar with the scriptures written on the murals.

In addition to this mural named God Loves the World, there were also other murals such as God Expels the Darkness, God Brings the Light, God Punishes the Devil, God Descending Miracles, God Blessing Believers and so on. Although the murals expressed different stories, the meanings they aimed to convey were the same. All of them praised the glorious deeds of God of Light.

The devout believers bowed their heads down and crossed their hands before their chest as they prayed under the guidance of the pastor. In just a minute, the sounds of prayers filled the vast church.

Merlin thought of those tramps earlier on the street, and then scanned the room full of people who were praying piously. He finally realized that this was indeed a very backward world after all!