143 – Paradise on the Sand (1)
Braham was a place where nothing much happened other than Lucia facing her past. Therefore, Siron could not boast that he had complete knowledge of Braham.
Of course, the man named Asad that he encountered in the mausoleum, of which he had a vague memory, was not someone Siron knew.
Siron was wary of him. Being wary of people you don’t know is like an instinct, but the Assad I encountered was too extreme.
Although his face is exposed, his body is hidden behind a black hood. That’s why the easily approachable smiling expression feels somewhat mechanical.
“I’d like to take you to a suitable place for us to have a conversation. Is that okay?”
“…Let’s do that.”
Nevertheless,
Siron decided to respond to Assad’s offer. This is because I was very concerned about the words ‘revelation of the Lord’ that suddenly came out of his mouth.
‘If it is a revelation… is it perhaps someone sent by Latera?’
Latera vaguely asked me to come to this sacred place, so I thought that maybe she had given Assad a revelation.
A transcendent being encountered in an all-white room was enough for anyone who was immersed in religion to consider it a revelation from God.
‘No… maybe.’
Siron also considered the possibility that the subject of the revelation Assad received was someone other than Latera.
Asad seems to be a resident of Braham, so he is basically a believer in the right god who is treated as the only god, but there are many religions in this world, and there are many gods who are worshiped accordingly.
What’s more, aren’t evil gods and demons who must be killed also exist as enemies? Siron spoke softly to Lucia, who was standing next to him.
“Let’s follow along.”
“…uh.”
From noble mtl dot com
Lucia answered while staring at the back of Assad, who was ahead. She didn’t like Assad, who suddenly appeared and pretended to be friendly, but like Siron, she was interested in the word ‘revelation’.
*
The two followed Assad for quite some time.
I don’t know where the appropriate place would be to have a conversation, but Siron had the feeling that he was going in circles on purpose.
‘What are we going to do?’
Just to get from the mausoleum to here, there are three places you had to stop by.
A back alley with few people.
A pension district with acrid smoke coming from all over the place.
There is also a fountain where clear water gushes out continuously.
When I set foot in the back alleys or the pension district, I thought they were luring me into a trap, but nothing happened.
When we saw the fountain with water gushing out without the help of magic, Assad smiled sincerely and started talking as if he were a tour guide.
‘Are we going the right way?’
‘You can rest assured that we are taking the most efficient route.’
Lucia spoke as if she was going around in circles, but Assad ignored Lucia’s stinging gaze without any thought and persuaded her.
Shiron… didn’t say anything to Assad.
In the game, the later you enter the area called Braham, the probability of being attacked by enemies decreases exponentially.
Siron wouldn’t know it if he were alone, but he would have seen Lucia’s strength through the eyes of a lion, so he wouldn’t do anything foolish.
And the place we finally arrived at was a restaurant.
It’s not too flashy, but has a moderate atmosphere, and there are quite a few people, so it’s not an appropriate place to talk about secrets.
“Did you have dinner?”
Assad walked into the building without hesitation, looked back and said. Siron spoke with a grave expression towards the smiling face.
“Is this an appropriate place to have a conversation?”
“Yes. Don’t you feel empty just having a conversation? The pigeon dish here is also delicious.”
Having said that, Asad found a seat by the window and sat down. After that, don’t you calmly pick up the menu and start browsing?
fast-
Was it then There was a nervous noise of teeth grinding from below.
“What the hell is that bastard? Did you walk for a long time in the scorching sun to eat pigeon dishes?”
Lucia said in a low murmur. I tried to refrain from acting radically because I had no information and was not familiar with it, but when I thought that I was being played by someone I didn’t know, I felt a fever in my head.
“Let’s wait a little longer.”
Shiron calmed down Lucia, who wanted to run away immediately. Meanwhile, Asad finished ordering food from the waiter and gestured towards him.
“Please sit down instead of just standing around. You will be tired from looking around so many places.”
“…”
Siron did not answer and sat down.
“I ordered a dish that is not much different from what I ordered. Is that okay?”
“Is that the end of what you want to say?”
“…I will try to give you the answer you want after the food is served. Please decide how I will be treated after listening to the whole story.”
Assad spoke as if admonishing and had a smile on his face. Siron, who was glaring at him, looked around.
It was a night when the sun had set, and there were many customers in the restaurant.
My eyes were drawn this way, perhaps because I wasn’t wearing Braham’s outfits, but it was only for a moment, so I didn’t think that this place was a trap.
‘Looking at how you were treated, it’s not like I’m joking. ‘I have no idea what we’re supposed to do.’
In Kylie’s mausoleum, I couldn’t find any clues other than the traces of Yura, so I wondered if I should look elsewhere. At that time, the situation was so good that I thought it was fate that the man in front of me spoke to me.
Is the man in front of you an ally or an enemy? That doesn’t matter. I just hope that the sudden encounter isn’t a meaningless waste of effort.
“The food you ordered has arrived.”
While I was thinking, food was brought to the table where the three of us were seated. The smell of exotic spices filled my nose, and my appetite was whetted.
“There is one thing I would like to ask you.”
As if the arrival of the dish was a signal, Assad opened his mouth that had been kept tightly shut.
“What do you think of the scenery you saw today?”
“…In the end, is the story you were trying to tell a trivial sightseeing tour?”
“It’s not poetry. I can tell you that there is absolutely nothing that happened today that wasn’t necessary.”
Assad looked intently into Siron’s black eyes with his blue-gray eyes.
“The places and scenery I showed you today were all meaningful processes.”
“Is there something you want to hear?”
“No, that’s not true. All you have to do is tell me what you think.”
“Putting aside the feeling that I played a trick on you, it was a good city.”
Siron closed his eyes and recalled the scenery he saw today.
“Tell me why.”
“There were no vagrants in the sparsely populated alleys, and the main streets were similarly filled with tourists and merchants, although they may have come for pilgrimage purposes.”
“Please tell me more.”
“…The street where the alchemists who stopped by for a while were gathered was quite large. Children were playing in the fountain where clean water was gushing out, which you would not expect in a desert where water is rare. Even in Rien, which is said to be the strongest national power on the continent. “It’s hard to see a scene like this.”
“Yes. You saw it correctly.”
Assad smiled brightly and nodded, perhaps because the answer was satisfactory. Then he tore the pigeon dish in front of him with his hands and put it in his mouth.
“Not only that. Oh, it’s you.”
The movement of the jaw to crush food. There was no sound, but it seemed like the chewing was so exaggerated that the sound was made.
“Although it is only available to the citizens of Braham, all groceries and food, including this pigeon dish, are free.”
“Is this restaurant run with the country’s money? What are the salaries of the employees and chefs? And what is their willingness to work?”
Lucia asked Assad as she bit into a pigeon’s leg. The pigeon dish I just ate was an overwhelmingly higher level of gourmet food than the expensive chickpea soup and barley bread.
“The waiters and cooks are not Braham’s people. They are all foreign hired workers. All of this is maintained by the enormous wealth poured in from pilgrims.”
Assad smiled and finished his plate. Then he took out a cigar from his pocket and put it in his mouth.
“Is that all there is to it? Invasions from neighboring countries are also taking advantage of the outside world to devour this country…”
Hwareuk-
A sacred flame was created from Assad’s fingertips, and the end of the cigar was lit.
“Thanks to this holy power, we were able to defeat them all.”
“…”
“It’s all thanks to the warrior Kylie. The great man who saved the world 500 years ago provided us 500 years later with an inexhaustible fountain of milk and honey.”
“What do you want to say?”
“I’m trying to convince you.”
“…persuade?”
Lucia flicked the handle of her knife and opened her mouth.
“Isn’t that a threat?”
“It’s persuasion. I did this cumbersome task in order to resolve it peacefully after hearing the revelation that there are those who want to destroy this paradise.”
Assad recalled a dream he had this morning.
It thumped in my head and felt as if I was gently stroking it, reminding myself repeatedly that the party in front of me would destroy Braham.
The young man in front of him grabbed the sun that was beating down on Braham from the sky and ran away. Milk and honey no longer flow from Braham covered in darkness like that, and it gradually collapses and collapses while walking on the path of downfall.
“That’s why I’m asking you this.”
He took a deep breath on his cigar and blew out smoke on the ceiling as if he was spewing out his troubled thoughts.
“I don’t know exactly what you are trying to do, but the only outcome is the downfall of our paradise.”
“…”
“So, while you’re here, I hope you don’t do anything that might make you uncomfortable. If you just keep quiet, you’ll be able to maintain hundreds of thousands of people.”
“What if you don’t like it?”
It was not Shiron who answered. Lucia, who had already finished her plate, said with her arms crossed.
“Are you going to force it out?”
“…hahahaha. You sound interesting.”
Assad lowered his head and started laughing. Lucia was on high alert, preparing for an attack that might come at any time.
However, the words that came out of his mouth were unexpected.
“Then there is nothing we can do.”
“…what?”
“I can’t help it. Was it too difficult for you to say? I’m saying that if you really want to, you can do it.”
Asad washed his face repeatedly and made a sad face.
“Instead, the city of Braham will dry up and die.”