Chapter 097: A City That Can Be Called Bizarre (Patreon)

"This place…"

Looking at the empty gate not far ahead, Pandora had no idea what to say.

By the standards of the other holy cities, this much was normal. Hardly anyone stood guard at their gates either, but…

From inside came waves of raucous noise, the exact opposite of the desolate quiet outside.

"This matches what the books describe. It should be normal."

Riding into the city proper and looking at the streets packed with pedestrians, Luluo reached that verdict.

There were books that described this? Pandora had never come across any. There hadn't been any on Hertz's bookshelves, at least none she'd seen…

All along the way, people streamed back and forth, yet many of the shops stood shuttered. The ones that were open were mostly bars, restaurants, inns, and the like.

Beside the road, she also saw people sprawled on the ground in tattered clothes, their faces flushed red, muttering broken, unintelligible words now and then.

Seeing this, Luluo sighed.

"They're the sort of people who never have to worry about outside trouble."

He paused.

"After all, they have nothing to begin with, so they've got nothing to fear losing. The only thing of value they have is their lives, and to everyone else, their lives are the least valuable thing of all…"

It sounded like a tongue twister at first, but it made sense.

"I'd suggest skipping the place entirely and not lingering a moment, but…"

As he spoke, Luluo glanced at the ration pouches hanging on either side of Pandora's Trekbear, nearly empty now, and he couldn't help looking worried.

Pandora could only laugh awkwardly.

The rations from Vestra's place had tasted pretty good, so she'd eaten a bit too much of them. She wondered whether that excuse would hold up…

"Besides, I doubt some of the characters here will let travelers just walk away that easily…"

Ever since they'd entered this city of ice and snow, Luluo's attention had stayed fixed on their surroundings.

It was creepy…

Hearing him say that, Pandora, who hadn't paid much attention until then, looked around too.

Drunks lying on the ground raving nonsense. Passersby in strange outfits with their arms slung over each other's shoulders. Ragged figures lurking in the alleys.

And their attention seemed…

Self-defense was no problem, of course. But if they wanted to speed up and push through, real skill would be needed, and hard power was exactly what she lacked. Power alone could do nothing more than serve as a deterrent…

"Be careful…"

By now, Luluo had already leapt down from the Trekbear.

If something sudden happened, having both feet on the ground might be safer.

Pandora, however, stayed seated on the Trekbear. All she had to do was keep calm.

Cowering was out of the question, of course. At worst this was just a matter of how much trouble it'd be, and besides, she had Louliana behind her…

Even though they'd chosen the shortest route across the city, the scene on the streets grew stranger the deeper the three of them went.

The crowds thickened, and what bothered Pandora most was the sight before her.

Hundreds upon hundreds of scantily clad people circled a huge bonfire, dancing with all manner of bizarre movements as though possessed. The noise was as chaotic as a sudden downpour hammering the ground, mixed with something like thunder. Anyone who didn't know better might have thought some mysterious ritual was underway.

Luluo frowned when he saw it, then, after a brief moment of thought…

"Psychotropic drugs…"

…he delivered another verdict.

"…"

Pandora had no idea how to respond to that.

By now Luluo was back on the Trekbear, because there was almost no ground left to stand on. The streets were crammed with people everywhere, and the only passable routes were the alleys, which the Trekbear's massive body couldn't fit through.

Their progress wasn't smooth, either. Some people actively made way when they saw the Trekbear, while others, nearly gone into madness, didn't even spare it a glance, as if they would depart this world painlessly even if the Trekbear trampled them next instant…

Of course, there was no shortage of people who wanted to make a move on the group, but the Trekbear's glare and roars "persuaded" them to back off.

This scene was beyond what the word chaos could describe. It was as if humanity had regressed to something primal, disorderly and savage.

Just as the three of them were still watching intently for anyone approaching—

"Hey, you three over there! Stop!"

On a raised spot not far off stood a man holding a big sack, though it looked empty. The expression on his face was impossible to name. It looked like madness, and also like fear.

But his voice was ruthlessly swallowed by the clamor around them, so much so that…

Luluo and Pandora, already on high alert, spotted at a glance that the man was clearly pushing through the crowd toward them.

Then, however, the man was suddenly yanked back by the people performing the unknown "ritual," and he simply couldn't keep up with the Trekbear's pace.

"What does that guy want?"

Pandora was a little puzzled. She'd been wary at first, but watching the man stumble to the ground from the tugging, she found it oddly comical.

"No idea…" Luluo shook his head. "But it's better not to get involved with him."

After all, Gusteko was never short of curse casters…

And so, after a stretch of "inching along," the Trekbear finally got out of the sea of people and reached a place where the crowd thinned.

"Are you all right?"

Feeling the trembling from behind her, Pandora couldn't help asking.

"Mm…"

Louliana, drained from being wound too tight for so long, answered weakly.

The scene was noisy, but since she was right beside her, Pandora could at least hear it.

After all that time, the ice-sculpture-like buildings were still far in the distance, as if they hadn't moved at all…

The houses around them were still built from ordinary materials, but the scene on the high ground far ahead was different, almost split into two extremes…

And now, having passed the "heat wave" of people behind them, there was no sound except the shouting from behind. That was truly strange.

Just then, the Trekbear under Luluo's command suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?"

Sensing something off, Pandora asked while looking warily around.