Chapter 737

Chapter 1 Void

In early 1189 AD, along the eastern coast.

As the sun gradually set, yellowish light stretched across the streets and alleys between tall and short buildings.

The climate of the Norga Harbor had not fully warmed up yet. The air movement carried a bit of dampness and chill, but due to the lack of snowfall in this area, it was not as harsh as the winters in the Valen Empire. At nightfall, the bustling streets were filled with lively chatter. The purple trees lining the edges of the streets were budding, and their branches were adorned with many small white flower buds the size of fingernails.

Spring was coming soon.

The ships coming and going at the harbor were becoming more frequent. A fleet of returning ships was gathering near the docks. Red-beaked seagulls stood in rows on the masts, watching over. Occasionally, fishermen’s calls could be heard nearby. Dockworkers were bustling around on the shore, sometimes leading to disputes that caused chaos and curses.

Ding, ding, ding—

Soon after, the bell tower towering behind the harbor rang out. The melodious sound echoed far and wide. Behind it, the long streets and shops were already dotted with lights. The shallow tides by the coast lapped against the dock’s crossbeams, wetting the pant legs of sailors preparing to board the ship.

“… Miss, although I agreed to let you board, even if you paid me silver coins, you still have to help with some chores.”

The sailmaster at the front looked to be in his forties. His face was square, his skin rough, and he had a noticeable scar below his left eye. He was speaking seriously to the small figure wrapped tightly in a gray cloak beside him, making his expression somewhat frightening.

“Listen, Norga cargo ships don’t take on idlers; that’s the rule. Our smaller ships never hire workers. Since you want to board, you must work diligently. There are plenty of travelers who want to board and are willing to pay more. I took pity on you because you’re alone with no support. Even if others board, they also have to do chores. Only clergy and prostitutes are exempt from these tasks. Do you understand?”

The man continued talking. The small figure beside him responded softly with a nasal tone, like a young girl, “Uh-huh.” After that, she didn’t say much more and followed the sailmaster onto the ship. Walking onto the deck, her hooded gaze curiously surveyed the surroundings.

As the last sliver of sunset faded in the west, clouds and moonlight appeared in the sky. Shadows of trees danced by the coast, and distant port city lights flickered, reflecting on the sea. The cargo was loaded before dark, and busy figures moved about the deck. More people were boarding the ship. The girl, following the sailmaster toward the cabin, extended her small hand from under her cloak, gently resting it on the wooden railing beside the ship, gazing at the rippling reflections on the sea.

“However, looking at your slender frame, you probably can’t do heavy labor…” the sailmaster continued, “You can’t pull ropes, let alone operate the rudder. You’ve never handled a capstan, and the smallest cargo box on the ship could crush you… Hey, little girl, tell me what you can do? Have you ever used a bow and arrow?”

The man turned his head, frowning at the tiny girl whose height barely reached his chest. Seeing her slowly shake her head, he became somewhat frustrated: “You haven’t used a bow and arrow either… Hmph, I thought so.”

He scratched his sparse hair, pondered for a moment, then waved his hand dismissively: “Forget it, forget it. Just help clean the deck. When you’re free, you can also deliver meals and wash dishes. As long as you work diligently, keep an eye out, and don’t make me look bad for bringing someone who just eats without working… That guy, wait a moment!”

He then ran over to speak with someone, seemingly giving instructions for departure. The girl stood obediently waiting nearby. Soon, she seemed to be asked something, and her intermittent responses came through.

“A strange little girl, I don’t know how she ended up here. She said she wanted to go to Westland… Yes, she probably saw the ship leaving and found her way here. She’s alone, saying she wants to find relatives in Westland…”

“… When I saw her by the roadside, she was gnawing on half a piece of dry bread. Feeling sorry, I brought her along… She doesn’t seem very wary. If I hadn’t taken her, she would have died here soon… Saving one is better than letting her be captured by the Nadelin gang…”

After finishing his words, the sailmaster smiled and walked back, chatting casually with the girl. He led her to the stern of the ship, down to the lowest deck, and pushed open the door of the most remote cabin, saying, “This is where the crew stays. It might be a bit dirty and messy. We’re a cargo ship and don’t have rooms for passengers. Don’t be picky. Those men sleep on the deck too… Stay here for now. Once the ship sets sail, someone will come to tell you what you need to do.”

Once the girl entered the cramped and damp cabin, the sailmaster no longer paid attention to her. He closed the door and left. After his footsteps faded away, the girl sat cross-legged in the disorganized cabin. The cabin air was stuffy and stinky, with no windows or furniture. But she seemed not to mind much, lifting her hood, revealing smooth black hair and a delicate, refined face that contrasted sharply with the surroundings, as if she belonged in a castle, like a noble princess.

Knight of the Pope, Sylvieja Rabis

Hermes.

Or perhaps the daughter of the Duke of Schantelburg, Paylor Guinevere Moon of Winter.

“Huuu—”

The girl lifted her head, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

Finally…

It was time to go back.

While this thought popped into her mind, she still couldn’t feel a clear sense of reality in her heart, or even if there was such a feeling, it was hard to muster any emotion.

I unfastened the bundle tied around my waist and laid it out in front of me, revealing some scattered copper coins, silver coins, not many, all from Xilagya’s emerald coins, among which was a shiny gold coin—I hadn’t spent the gold coin; I had planned to buy the most famous pastries here, but as soon as I dared to take it out in the towns of East Continent, in crowded places, there would always be all sorts of unreasonable people with bad intentions, making things messy.

To avoid trouble, I eventually just bought the cheapest dry bread to eat.

As for the clothes and cloak on my body, they were made by a kind old woman using the cheapest fabric, with extra large sizes to cover my whole body. After paying a few copper coins for the work, I wore them without attracting attention. Few annoying flies would seek me out, and occasionally encountering clerics wasn’t much of a concern either; I could even walk past them boldly.

Only Nederlin’s gang had their eyes on me.

So these coins on me were taken from those guys.

After leaving Apalista, almost every time I reached a new town, I would encounter members of the Nederlin gang on a night when I had nowhere to go. After several encounters, I gradually learned about two of their hideouts from the mouths of the frightened members. During my free time, I would go there, kill their leaders, rescue hundreds of pitiful women, and burn down their hempgrass warehouses.

It seemed that the extinction of the Gate of Truth greatly affected the hempgrass business of Nederlin’s gang, who lost most of their channels and markets. They had accumulated a lot of inventory in their warehouses, which I burned down. From then on, the number of smugglers transporting hempgrass from East Continent to Xilagya would likely decrease significantly.

It could also be considered doing some good deeds.

Living outdoors, drifting aimlessly—the latter half of last year, I lived like this.

During this period, I also thought about just going back to West Continent, finding a ship in Norway to take me away. It was a simple matter. As long as I crossed the sea and arrived at the West Continent, I could consider other matters later. After all, with my current abilities, I could go wherever I wanted on land, without needing to ride a rhinoceros cart.

But I didn’t dare, fearing problems, so I hesitated continuously.

Not because of the church.

The main reason was actually—I still couldn’t confirm whether I was still the same person as before after breaking through the cocoon six months ago and destroying the goddess’s spirit.

I could hardly generate intense emotions anymore.

Happy, sad, suffering, anger…

In the past six months, I rarely felt these.

Even seeing the women tortured beyond recognition by Nederlin’s gang, suffering and nearly dying, I didn’t feel sad or heartbroken for their misfortune. When facing the faces of the abusers, I wouldn’t feel particularly angry, just dismissing them casually.

Sometimes, during nights alone, I thought about the war in the Valen Empire, the faces of my parents in the castle, Queen Victoria who was probably still in the royal city, entering and exiting the magnificent palace daily. I wondered if the manor renamed “Viloy Garden” had been completed and if the honey fruit saplings I wanted were already taller than me. When I thought about these things, I didn’t experience any intense emotional fluctuations.

I felt I had lost normal human emotions.

I became a puppet controlled by reason.

I didn’t know when I might become very dangerous.

Because I couldn’t predict what changes my consciousness state would undergo tomorrow after waking up, whether it would transform from calm to cold-blooded, whether I would lose the ability to understand the bonds between people, or whether I would become another Elina to achieve my goals, indulging in massacring everyone.

Therefore, reason told me I couldn’t return to West Continent for now.

And naturally, I didn’t have much desire to go back, because even the feeling of “longing” had diminished.

I often didn’t dare to go to bustling big cities, choosing instead to stay in sparsely populated deserts most of the time, unless I had no food left.

That girl who used to speak to me in my heart, with white hair and red eyes, was the will of the Abyss, born from the tormenting experiments, the split will of Paylor, eroded by the power of the Abyss, allowing the original self of Paylor, who forgot three years of memories, to remain lucid.

But such an existence vanished completely in the struggle against the will of sin, dissolving into the vast spiritual vortex of the gods, merging into the present self.

It seemed that all confusion had disappeared.

In the past six months, I had no intention of meeting anyone, wandering aimlessly, observing the world from a perspective akin to that of God. Occasionally…

I thought I was a god.