DKIE CH17.2: Holy City

Luka walked with a light step, the sunlight sprinkling down, his shoulders seeming to carry an unquenchable youthful vigor.

The youth who had once been in tattered clothes in the land of exile, who never knew where his next meal was coming from, was now wearing decent clothes, a storage ring, and walking into the holy land that countless humans dreamed of.

The scenery was magnificent all the way.

Countless tall buildings were shrouded in an air of luxurious treasure.

Flying ships landed not far away from time to time. The latest weapons, which were difficult to buy in ordinary places, were being sold off in clearance sales.

In this vast land, a large number of nobles were active, and the Law Enforcement Team had a post every hundred steps.

Even Lilian had toned it down a lot here. She whispered, “The Demon King is coming, there are guards everywhere.”

Seeing the flowers by the roadside, she said with some happiness, “It’s a lily! The origin of my name, symbolizing purity and elegance.”

She suddenly became curious. “Luka, what’s the origin of your name? Speaking of which, your name is a bit strange.”

“No origin.”

“Huh?”

Luka: “Because it’s a fake name.”

The original owner’s name was a long string of words, really hard to remember.

The City Lord, who was walking in front, coughed. Cullen and the Law Enforcement Captain both looked back at the same time.

Many people traveled the continent with fake names. The mask was a clear sign of concealing one’s identity. But did he have to be so honest?

It was worth mentioning that Luka had changed to a silver mask and was not recognized as the author of The beloved three-and-a-half-year-old.

Lilian was also at a loss by his frankness.

She changed the subject awkwardly. “Your aura seems to have solidified quite a bit. It seems you’ve rested well recently.”

Luka shook his head. “I’ve recently tried to use my blood essence to take a crooked path. I was lucky and managed to slightly improve my magically-challenged constitution.”

He clenched his fist solemnly. “Please look forward to my success.”

There had to be a reason for him suddenly being able to cultivate magic.

Lilian was completely silent.

The City Lord and the Law Enforcement Captain were even more silent than she was.

Forbidden arts were a school of their own, but because their users usually didn’t do good deeds, they were often despised when exposed.

The City Lord reminded him, “Forbidden magic has many drawbacks. Don’t just look at the present.”

Luka was grateful for his kindness. “Don’t worry, I’ve found that my bloodline is not entirely useless. Many of the after-effects can be offset. In the future, if I succeed in my cultivation, I’ll give you some of my blood. You can study it.”

It would be a contribution to humanity, too.

The Law Enforcement Captain was the most impersonal of them all, but even he couldn’t stand it anymore and tried to smooth things over. “We’ve arrived at the guesthouse.”

If this went on any longer, he would want to arrest him.

Distracted by Luka, the Law Enforcement Captain almost forgot his main business. He said to the City Lord, “The Saint is currently receiving the Demon King and the Dragon Clan. He asked that you also go over after you arrive.”

The City Lord nodded slightly.

The person receiving the caravan was not an envoy but the Law Enforcement Captain. He knew he was here to deliver a verbal message from the higher-ups.

Mentioning the Demon King, the City Lord subconsciously glanced at Luka.

Not on the same wavelength, Luka didn’t show much emotional change. He just looked at the spire of the imposing building in the distance, guessing that it was probably the Saint’s residence.

No building in the Holy City would be taller than the Saint’s location.

Everyone is so pretentious.

Luka couldn’t help but think of the red-haired figure high up in the sky when he was struck by lightning that day.

He wondered if he would run into the Demon King this time in the Holy City.

He had a bad feeling about it.

“Luka,” Lilian’s voice brought him back to reality. “Let’s go, let’s go see the opera!”

Putting aside the trashy thoughts for a moment, Luka became interested.

Anyway, he was going to make movies in the future, so it would be good to observe the situation in advance.

After saying goodbye to the City Lord, he followed Lilian towards the opera house.

Cullen was with them. Although tickets for famous actors were hard to get, for the president of the Rhine Merchant Guild, it was not a problem at all.

Everyone was talking and laughing on the way. Everything in the Holy City was new to Luka, and Cullen patiently introduced them one by one.

It was just that his eyes would darken from time to time.

Since entering the Holy City, Luka’s behavior had revealed many problems. He looked like someone who had never seen the world.

This was probably not a mistake caused by carelessness.

He quietly made a guess: Firstly, the goal of using the merchant guild as a springboard to publish the book had been achieved. After arriving in the Holy City, the other party had a new goal.

Secondly… Luka might feel that he couldn’t hide it anymore, so he simply stopped pretending.

Cullen’s eyes narrowed slightly. He was certain that Luka’s identity was not simple. The City Lord’s attitude was the best proof.

But why was he so lacking in basic common sense? What was the source of this sense of incongruity?

A soaring melody interrupted his thoughts.

“Sing for the brave one,”
“He was born in a cold, dark cave;”
“Applaud for the kind one,”
“He learned to share since birth;”
“If you have seen his weakness, you will see that beneath the fragile bones are covered with thorns;”
“Today we witness a weak warrior,”
“Life is worth cheering for…”

The beautiful string music, combined with the bard’s delicate and gentle voice, was like a story being told.

Although the lyrics were a bit strange, the melody was very beautiful.

The three of them couldn’t help but slow down their steps, listening intoxicated—

“Ah, praise this story of the beloved three-and-a-half-year-old,”
“You ask why the beloved three-and-a-half-year-old?”
“This must be a turn of fate…”

The intoxicated expressions instantly cracked. The faces of the three on the street became colorful.

They seemed to know what the theme of this song was.

The bard sang so seriously that if you didn’t know, you would think it was a story about a protagonist striving for self-improvement.

Luka looked at Cullen. “Well, the promotion is well done.”

Cullen frowned. It didn’t seem like the merchant guild’s usual promotional tactics.

As they walked forward, approaching the outer city area, this song could be heard everywhere.

By the time the three of them entered the theater in a daze, the BGM was still playing repeatedly in their minds. It had to be said that the song was very successfully composed. The melody was catchy and hard to forget.

The theater was full today. The three of them were in the VIP seats.

The lights shone on the stage, and the performance began on time.

“Sing for the brave one, he was born in a cold, dark cave…”

Luka closed his eyes. “Am I seeing a ghost?”

It had already stopped playing in my mind.

Lilian: “It’s not an illusion. Look at the stage.”

Luka opened his eyes. On the stage, a woman in a flowing black dress was dancing. This seemed to be a play with singing and dancing. The woman was playing the role of the wind. Her black dress, over ten meters long, really swayed like the wind.

Then the woman exited, the stage lights dimmed, and when they lit up again, a large egg appeared on the screen.

Luka was extremely shocked. “This play isn’t The Beloved Three-and-a-Half-Year-Old, is it?”

Lilian really didn’t know. She had bought troupe tickets, which meant you didn’t know what you were going to see until you got there.

A gentleman nearby had already put on a pained mask. “If it weren’t for supporting Miss Loris, I would never have bought a ticket.”

Loris was one of the most famous theater troupe actors.

The person in the seat behind chimed in, “For the next month, the theater will be performing this play. If you don’t buy it, you won’t be able to see Loris for at least a month.”

Luka looked at Cullen in surprise, not expecting him to have gone to such lengths.

Cullen was very serious. “It has nothing to do with the merchant guild.”

Not to mention how much it would cost to book the largest theater in the Holy City, just buying out a month’s performance from a famous theater troupe would be an astronomical sum.

“The timing doesn’t add up either. It takes at least ten days to write a play.”

Not to mention rehearsals, premieres, reviews, and so on. The beloved three-and-a-half-year-old hadn’t been on the market for that long.

Hearing some of his muttering, the gentleman explained, “You must have just arrived in the city, right? It was the work of the Dragon Clan. Not only did they spend a huge sum to book the troupe, but they also gathered the most elite musicians, playwrights… anyway, a bunch of people, and rushed to rehearse the play overnight.”

Damn dragon-clan-ism!

Hearing that it was his own wealthy readers, Luka immediately straightened his back. “As expected of the Dragon Clan. Someone is willing to pay for this kind of thing.”

“No, some people really like it.”

The gentleman’s eye twitched frantically. Just then, a cane extended from the side and tapped his knee warningly.

The old woman in the seat next to him glared at him sternly, motioning for him not to speak.

The gentleman had a hard time expressing his suffering and mouthed, “It’s not just to support Loris. My mom also loves the beloved three-and-a-half-year-old.”

This time, Cullen understood in a second.

Same world, same mom.

Luka observed upon hearing this. The special seats in the front row were full, and a group of noblewomen were seriously enjoying the stage.

It seemed that women were naturally more tolerant and empathetic.

Having experienced the noisy age that even dogs despised, the little monster, in their eyes, was as docile as a dose of healing medicine for the soul.

A play lasted about two hours. The image of the cub was portrayed by an actor wearing a special ‘shell’. Overall, it was a faithful adaptation. At least the main plot was performed.

One had to praise the professional ability of the famous theater troupe. They could accurately convey emotions through their movements.

The play finally ended. The gentlemanly-dressed man in the next seat couldn’t wait to help his mother leave.

The old woman was dissatisfied. “Weren’t you also once a little baby?”

The gentleman was speechless. “Take a look at your son’s talent.”

Luka was the last to get up, his hand on his chin in deep thought.

In the current continent, the upper echelons valued strength above all else. The talented were naturally superior to the common masses, so there was no sense of immersion.

Books, variety shows, movies… when these became popular, he would aim for small profits and quick returns, at least to enrich the spiritual life of the common people.

Walking out of the theater, the three of them felt the breeze.

Finally, the brainwashing melody was dispelled again. Looking up, they saw a super-large image of the cub printed on a building in the distance. A flying ship was passing by at low altitude, and on it, ‘The beloved three-and-a-half-year-old’ was also written in the languages of various races. Even when they passed the stall for betting on the Alchemist Grand Prix, the stall owner would say, “I wish you success in your bet, and may you be as lucky as the cub in The Beloved Three-and-a-Half-Year-Old.”

Besides the opera, the dragons had also bought several buildings and contracted the advertising space of the dwarves who had come to promote their new flying ship technology, as well as various popular stalls.

“A dragon has offered to give the author a hundred million.”

The stall owner’s words made Luka’s heart beat faster.

Lilian whispered, “Didn’t the Law Enforcement Captain say the dragons were with the Saint? We can go and block the dragons at the door. There’s still time to ask for the money.”

Luka gave her a deep look. That would be more than just blocking the dragons; he could also have a face-to-face meeting with the Demon King.

“No need. I only earn what I deserve.”

Taking the money directly would change the nature of things. At least in the relationship between author and reader, he wanted to be on equal footing with the Dragon Clan.

Lilian said seriously, “Luka, you’ve become ugly.”

Although he was wearing a mask, one could feel that the face under the mask had become contorted in that instant.

“Wealth… cannot corrupt, power cannot… bend.”

Luka lightly moved his legs, his back looking desolate as he trudged towards the guesthouse.

On the way, he also encountered many others with similarly contorted expressions. These were all people who couldn’t stand the The beloved three-and-a-half-year-old  literature but couldn’t stand the fact that the dragons were rich, and they could see fan activities cheering it on everywhere.

They could only plug their ears and refuse to be brainwashed.

Throwing money always worked. The noblewomen of the inner city really did go to vote. There were also some who worshiped the strong, believing that something the Dragon Clan liked must have its value. In a very short time, the little monster leaped to the top of the most popular character list.

In short, the fame of Luka’s book had completely taken off.

Luka himself was not very happy.

When he returned to the guesthouse, he was still heartbroken over the hundred million.

“A hundred million ah ah ah ah ah…”

The quill, having had enough of his heartbroken wails, said coldly, “It’s just a hundred million.”

“Of course, you, with all your money, wouldn’t know the suffering of the common people!” Luka was about to twist himself into a pretzel on the bed, but then he quickly reacted. “I almost forgot, you have no money now either. Your diary was dug up and sold.”

“…”

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Author’s Note:

Excerpt from Luka’s Diary:
A hundred million cannot buy my self-respect, cannot buy my integrity, cannot buy…

Cannot buy your stubborn mouth. —Alex.