Chapter 420

Chapter 420: The Innovative Edge

The small house that was previously bustling with noise now stood silent, housing only one person.

The young lady shook her head slightly, not feeling overly sad. After all, they would meet again soon, and this moment provided an opportunity for quiet reflection.

Under the moonlight, the sea gently caressed the sandy shore, leaving behind fragmented white shells. The sound of the water was like soothing music, bringing a sense of peace.

The lamp inside the modest house still burned, casting an orange-yellow glow through the white gauze curtains, illuminating the forest and the flowers outside.

A silver-haired young lady held a pen and wrote under the light of the lamp.

She wrote at a moderate pace, sometimes pausing to ponder before jotting down a few lines. The metal pen cast a long shadow under the candlelight, and a faint rustling sound filled the quiet room.

Unbeknownst to her, she had already grown accustomed to life in this world. In the past, she lived alone in the forest, but on her journey to Vergha, she encountered Angus. It was then that her life began to change.

First, she managed the merchant guild in Hope Lane, fulfilling Angus’s wishes. Through this, she came to know Lady Phyllis and Lanler, and thus entered Emanas, where she saw peers from different parts of the world.

Later, she made more friends, and soon found herself surrounded by familiar faces, making her life much livelier.

It had been a very long time since she last wrote quietly in her diary.

Lolan Hill’s eyebrows reflected in the candlelight, slightly raised and then relaxed. She sketched several rough circles on the notebook, writing names and words above them.

‘Magic-user,’ ‘Crimson Verdure,’ ‘Clancia,’ ‘Seven Snow Nations,’ and so forth, connecting these words with lines and descriptions.

The system had given her a task a year ago, urging her to quickly ascend to Angel Sequence 5. With a year of accumulation and various means of assistance, she gradually approached perfection.

She closed her eyes, carefully perceiving the pure white gem in her extraordinary core within her body, and roughly counted her progress.

If being fully prepared was 100%, then currently she was about 98%. In a few days, she would reach full completion and could break through to Sequence 5, entering a new realm.

And perhaps then she would learn about her origins from the system.

The more she understood this world, the more she felt that her system was significant, likely related to the truth of this world and its history.

At first, she thought this was a divine prank, but this was a world where gods had fallen and vanished. This nearly miraculous rebirth must mean something. As she neared the truth, she felt a bit uneasy. Perhaps after knowing many things, she could no longer live such a carefree life.

After organizing her recent tasks, she closed the diary, stowed it away in her ring, opened the curtains, and looked up at the clear moon and flowing clouds in the night sky before extinguishing the candle and turning in for the night.

—

Two days.

After, Red Bay.

The street under the sunlight was somewhat quiet; it was midday, so there were fewer pedestrians.

A regular carriage slowly passed through the street. With the sound of horse hooves stopping rhythmically, the wheels also ceased turning.

“Miss, we have arrived here.” The elderly butler with some gray temples opened the door of the carriage. Then, a young lady dressed in a red and white ceremonial gown stepped down from the carriage. She had her hair tied up in a single ponytail, with a light red hairband tied at the back of her head, swaying gently in the wind.

“Please wait for a moment. I will knock on the door. They should be at home now,” said the butler.

“That would be troublesome, thank you, Ceres.” The young lady nodded.

Rap rap rap—

A brief knocking sound echoed, followed by a soft voice coming from inside. The hard wooden door creaked open, and a woman in a black and navy dress walked out.

“It’s Mr. Ceres, welcome, please come in.” Mrs. Baria looked up and sized up the man standing in the sunlight. She welcomed him with a hint of joy.

“Igor, Mr. Ceres has arrived.”

“Alright, Mother.” A response came from inside the house.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Baria. Today, I brought Miss Lacy here.” After saying this, the elderly butler stepped aside to reveal Lacy behind him.

“It’s been a long time, Mrs. Baria.” Lacy bowed slightly.

“No need to be formal,” Mrs. Baria said, her expression somewhat excited but unsure of what to say. It was clear she was very grateful to Miss Lacy.

“Please come in.” She quickly invited Lacy and Ceres into the house and served them two cups of honey tea, placing them in front of them. However, Ceres declined and stood behind Lacy.

“Lacy-nee,” Igor walked out from the room, surprised to see the big sister who had given him many gifts.

“You’ve grown quite a bit, Igor,” Lacy smiled. The boy in front of her was almost as tall as her, and it had only been two years.

Several people started chatting in the living room. Lacy asked about Igor and his mother’s recent life, the local environment, and their future plans.

“Igor is currently studying at the school in Red Bay. He has almost completed his middle school courses. In the future, he can decide what he wants to do, and I just need to support him from behind,” Mrs. Baria affectionately patted Igor’s head.

“That’s how my husband and I agreed. We want to give him the freedom like an eagle, not confine his wings.”

“So, Igor, do you have any ideas now?” Lacy looked at the boy.

“I plan to go to Jieying Island first. It’s a gathering place for experiments by the Jugetsu Parliament, a place where Eastern and Western things intersect. I think I can find something I like there,” the boy said confidently.

“That sounds good,” Lacy nodded.

After confirming that Igor and his mother were doing well, Lacy felt relieved.

“That’s all for today. See you next time, Igor.” Lacy waved, bidding farewell to the two on the stairs, then got back into the carriage.

The wheels jolted slightly on the cobblestone street, but the thick velvet lining inside made the ride quite comfortable.

Lolan Hill propped her hand under her cheek, gazing out the pleated window at the street, recalling the latest intelligence she had received about Callistes.

“Have you been to Banquo Island recently, Theres?”

A voice came from ahead: “I went three months ago. Black did a great job.”

“Is that so?” The young lady recalled that resolute and strict young man named Black, who had been promoted by her to be the captain of the guards when she was in the商会.

He had good talent, and with his own hard work, he had already reached Sequence 4 before Lolan Hill left the 商会 two years ago. Later, he was sent to an island to oversee the development of the rubber industry and to help the alchemists in the 商会 gradually realize the blueprints Lolan Hill had left behind.

“Black said that if we were to mass-produce those steel behemoths, we would need an enormous amount of steel. However, not only our 商会, but even the entire Vergha does not have such a high production capacity. It’s truly a case of having the heart but lacking the strength.”

“I know, but this is also the inevitable path of the new era,” Lacy closed her eyes, and countless scenes from movies and TV shows flashed through her mind.

The roaring steam engines, the boiling iron water, the workers dripping with sweat, the miles of railway tracks, the whistling trains, and the滚滚black smoke sweeping across the land.

She was no longer the naive child she once was. If she did not take the initiative to seize the tide of the times, others would automatically take her place, watching as they dominated the world. Looking back at those powerful nations that stood atop the world in those days, none of them had risen without riding the wave of change.

And those who fell behind would be beaten, this was an unchanging truth.

Whether it was to make Clancia and Vergha stronger quickly, leading the entire civilization toward the stars and seas, or to realize her own desires and see a world without famine and peace, she had to push forward with this transformation.

Doing 100 right things and 30 wrong things is better than doing nothing at all. Walking on the path of ideals, if one wavers because of others’ criticism, that would be too naive.

Not everyone supports or understands our construction, but that cannot deny its greatness. Our warriors, our sacred beliefs, will never fade away.

She silently recited these words from memory, reflecting on recent experiences. Perhaps the peaceful life at the academy had been too comfortable for too long, making her forget the harshness of the world and become somewhat sentimental.

This couldn’t continue. Lolan Hill, there are still many people waiting for you.

Therefore, even though the process would inevitably offend many interests and lead to bloodshed and tears, she could not give up and let fate slip through her fingers.

Reform was destined to be sharp.

And kindness needed a stronger force to support it; otherwise, it would turn into a hypocritical lie and an escape.

The young lady patted her cheek, pulled up the window, looked up, and saw a flock of white birds flying across the clear blue sky.

(The chapter ends)