NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7
Chapter 7: The Theory of the Horizon
The so-called small town is actually a small settlement built against this dark forest, reliant on the resources of the woods for survival. From the lights I could see from a high point, I judged the population to be around a thousand.
At this moment, about two hours had passed since nightfall. If calculated by the time of Blue Star, it should be around 8 PM. Lester and the others led Vilyric through the town’s guards and along the cobblestone road to a stone house with a wooden sign hanging and a slightly ajar front door.
This was where Vilyric had observed the brightest lights in the entire town; judging by the faint smell of alcohol and the noise coming from within, it seemed to be a sort of nighttime tavern.
Lester nodded to the black-haired girl and her small pet, and led his teammates through the door. After a moment of thought, Vilyric followed suit.
It was lively, or perhaps as noisy as a market.
Laughter, the clinking of wooden mugs, frustrated roars due to some matter, the sounds of hands slapping the table, and conversations mixed together like a heated symphony, flooding into Vilyric’s ears. It felt as if the tavern and the outside world were two entirely different realms.
“…”
The arrival of Lester and company seemed to cast a silence spell, abruptly plunging the tavern into short-lived quietness.
Especially when Leon, who followed behind him, placed two sharp teeth knocked from the Nightshade Tiger, a row of claws, and a round stone wrapped in black cloth on the counter. Vilyric sensed that the atmosphere in the tavern had noticeably shifted.
After a moment, the noise resumed, but this time it was significantly subdued. Many people glanced at Lester and his friends with a mix of subtle awe and gratitude, indicating that their quest to hunt down that old tiger wasn’t a secret in this small town.
The tavern’s owner was a girl who appeared to be in her twenties, very gentle and pretty, wearing a simple homespun long dress, with her brown hair tied back in a bun. Though she lacked stunning beauty, she looked clean and tidy, which was quite pleasant.
“This is… Lord Lester, you succeeded so quickly? Wasn’t today’s mission just to trace the beast’s movements?”
The owner girl fiddled with the blood-stained sharp teeth and claws, lifted the black cloth, and took out some small device from beneath the counter to examine the black stone, then looked up with a mixed smile of gratitude and disbelief, nodding at Lester and the others.
“It seems to be true. It’s impressive for adventurers from West Sea City to take down the beast that threatened our town so quickly. We are immensely grateful! Ah right… here’s your commission letter; I’ll stamp it for you right away…”
“Well… that was indeed the plan. However, we unexpectedly encountered several difficult situations. Since the task is complete, Miss Lily, could we have a private room? There are some matters we need to discuss.”
Lester, with a wry smile, tucked away the rolled-up parchment bearing the special mark, stealing a glance at Vilyric and her friend, seeing no reaction from them, so he refrained from saying more and pointed toward the noisy crowd in the tavern, his intentions clear.
“Ah, of course! Although the tavern is packed today, I’ve kept a room free for you. Here’s the key; please take it!”
“Thank you.”
As they packed away the spoils from the Black Tiger, Lester took the small iron key from Lily and led Vilyric and the others straight upstairs.
It seemed he was quite a notable person here; even though Lily and the patrons noticed the unfamiliar beautiful girls, they withheld from doing anything that might trouble either the girls or themselves, considering Lester’s presence.
Entering the innermost private room on the second floor, Lester and the others didn’t unpack their gear. The uncle prudently instructed the other team members to head downstairs for some food. Once the room was left with just him and Vilyric, he locked the door and faced her directly.
“This should be fine now. The Redeeming… uh, I wonder if Miss Vilyric and this… have any special tasks for coming to the Dark Forest?”
Stealing a glance at the obedient-looking blonde girl standing behind Vilyric, Lester’s lips twitched as though he suddenly realized something, giving himself a slap.
“Oh! If it’s inconvenient, don’t feel obliged to answer. I just mentioned it; right now, it should be the two of you who want to consult me about something, correct?”
“…”
Somehow, it felt like he still saw himself as that so-called Saintess. Well, whatever, Vilyric couldn’t be bothered to clarify again. After all, with that “I absolutely will keep it a secret!” look on his face, saying more would just be perceived as refusal.
She brushed aside her bangs hanging by her ear and nodded, “Then, Mr. Lester, first, I would like to understand…”
Though Lester found it strange that these two, seemingly the Redeeming Saintess and her Guardian, wanted to inquire about widely known facts on the continent, he still provided all the information he knew to Vilyric and her companion.
First, this continent has no name; many people, including Lester, don’t even have the concept of “planet, land, and ocean.”
According to his sayings, the far-away land is endless. Taking the Human United Kingdom as a base, there are about a dozen various nations surrounding it, including the Holy Kingdom, Beast Kingdom, Feather Kingdom, and Empire.
If estimated according to the time taken by a carriage traveling from the far south to the far north and from the far east to the far west, this living area is about the size of five or six Eurasian continents combined, which is already a very vast expanse.
As for why he said “the area with life”…
According to Lester’s description, there were adventurers who continued to trek forward from the borders of the three surrounding nations in the south, west, and north, seeking to explore the world’s edge, but no matter how far they walked, all they saw was barren land, devoid of life, and nearly human presence.
No water sources, no food, not even a hint of biological breath; only the unchanging transition of day and night and the howling wind.
The wise dared to turn back, while those stubbornly attached to exploration and perseverance ultimately disappeared forever into the barren wasteland.
Therefore, the consensus among most people in this world is that “the earth is endless,” with only an eternal silence and death in the distance.
By the way, the continent’s eastern side is adjacent to the ocean, but because the other three directions of land can’t be explored to an end, beings in this world cannot comprehend that “the continent they inhabit is actually a secluded island wrapped by **,” and they just treat the endless waves as another extension of the world.
That’s the so-called theory of the horizon.