I, Who Came From the Abyss, Will Save Humanity Again Today - Volume 2 Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Miss Peylo?

 

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Winter City, unlike Narangard with its exotic and gentle atmosphere. The first glimpse of this great city brings an unimaginable shock.

 

If I had to use an apt image to describe it, it would be… a steel beast crouching in the snow and wind, or perhaps Edinburgh hidden in the swirling mists and clouds.

 

Putting these two together isn’t contradictory, because Winter City is a miraculous product that perfectly combines two distinctly different elements: romance and industry. Looking from afar, among the many uniquely styled magnificent buildings, factory chimneys of various sizes tower like inextinguishable furnaces concealed in the ice and snow.

 

This is the most industrially advanced city in the entire world, although it isn’t the capital of the Valen Empire.

 

The Church’s convoy arrived at the southern outskirts of the city at noon, when the sky was clear but the weather still cold. Despite wearing undershirts and cloaks beneath their armor, the knights were still stomping their feet from the cold.

 

The carriage stopped in the south, and the Knight Commander stepped forward to speak with the gate guards.

 

I secretly lifted the curtain, curiously observing these fellows dressed in stand-collar thick leather armor, wrapped in black coats and round formal hats, exuding a strong Gothic style from head to toe. The weapons on their backs were incredibly diverse, including toothed saw blades, foldable great axes, snake-like curved dual swords, after looking for quite a while, I couldn’t find a single one using a regular straight sword.

 

“Carlos.”

 

“Hmm? What is it?”

 

Carlos was still in his dress suit, seemingly unaffected by the cold, though he had somehow already wrapped himself in the iris cloak.

 

I pointed at the guards who were letting us through and asked, “Those are exotic weapons?”

 

“That’s right.” Carlos nodded, “Winter City’s guard force is all part of the Duke’s core strength, a unit known to the outside world as Workshop Hunters. They’re famous for their powerful individual combat abilities, and their weapons are uniformly designed and manufactured by the Central Workshop, they’re the world’s finest exotic weapons.”

 

“Central Workshop, is that a weapons factory?”

 

“Ah, it’s something like that. It’s rather complicated to explain, but you’ll understand soon enough.”

 

I nodded at his words.

 

At first glance, it was clear that each of those weapons possessed terrifying killing power. Fighting against such enemies would be quite unnerving, as it would be difficult to judge their attack trajectories and follow-up moves, allowing them to strike at unexpected moments, following no predictable patterns.

 

So that’s why they’re called exotic weapons… Interesting.

 

I was already starting to feel excited.

 

After the convoy passed through the outer wall, it wasn’t long before the bustling streets came into view.

 

“Sir Carlos, Miss Sylvia.” The Knight Commander walked up to our carriage and said, “We’ll be heading to the church district to transfer the goods next, and escort these merchants to the underground prison. Would you two like to come along?”

 

“Want to go see the church district?” Carlos didn’t directly answer the Knight Commander, but first turned to ask me.

 

“Osmiru cake, where is it?”

 

“In the commercial district.” Carlos immediately understood my meaning and waved to the Knight Commander, “We’ll be visiting the Duke at Shanter Castle later, so we won’t be joining you. Please handle the merchant matter, and be sure to notify me when you have results.”

 

“Yes, Sir Carlos.” The Knight Commander bowed to us, his gaze lingering on me for a moment, “Then we shall part here, until we meet again.”

 

With that, he commanded the troops to leave.

 

After separating from the knights, Carlos instructed the driver to first head to the commercial district.

 

The commercial district wasn’t far from here, and after about half an hour, the carriage stopped in front of a cozy-looking cake shop on the corner of the street.

 

Before even getting out of the carriage, I could already smell the rich sweet aroma.

 

“slurp I’ll go take a look.”

 

I eagerly lifted the curtain and was about to jump down from the carriage when Carlos grabbed me.

 

“What are you doing!” I turned back to glare at him.

 

Who gave you the courage to stop Sylvia from eating!

 

Carlos ignored my fierce glare.

 

“I’ll go buy it, you stay in the carriage.”

 

“No.”

 

Winter City’s desserts are said to be quite famous, and such a large cake shop must have many, many delicious treats. Of course, I need to go see for myself!

 

“Then at least put on your cloak.” Carlos said to me.

 

“I’m not cold.” I shook my head slightly at him.

 

“Silly, I know you’re not afraid of the cold. It’s your face, it might cause some trouble if people see it.”

 

“Trouble?” I furrowed my brows in confusion.

 

“Well, who told you to have black hair and black eyes?” Carlos shrugged nonchalantly, seeming rather casual about it, “If someone suspects you of impersonating royalty, we’ll inevitably have to waste time explaining. Just thinking about it is troublesome. Be good and put it on before you go.”

 

“…Oh.”

 

Only then did I remember what Engel had said before about how the Valen Empire’s royal family all had black hair and black eyes. With no choice, I reluctantly took out the cloak and put it on, then pulled the hood over my head.

 

“There, happy now?”

 

“Mmhmm~” Carlos looked at me with my entire face hidden in the shadow of the hood, patting my head with satisfaction, “Not bad, not bad. You can take it off when we get to Shanter Castle.”

 

“Stop patting my head.” I swatted Carlos’s hand away, gave him another eye roll, and quickly jumped down from the carriage.

 

This cake shop seemed quite famous, with crowds outside and packed inside. Sweets were considered luxury items, and the customers who came here didn’t look like ordinary civilians. They were generally well-dressed, and many appeared to be servants or butlers.

 

“Please… please don’t crowd, um, those who have already paid please wait to the side, don’t block the customers behind you, thank you…”

 

A voice that sounded quite sweet but somewhat anxious could be heard faintly among the crowd. I stood at the back of the crowd, hopping up and down trying to see inside, but still couldn’t see anything, making me pace in circles with anxiety.

 

What to do, might as well just push through.

 

I looked left and right, found a direction where the crowd wasn’t so dense, and struggled to squeeze through.

 

“Please, let me through!”

 

“Excuse me, thank you!”

 

Finally squeezing to the counter, I looked up at the sweating shop girl.

 

“I want Osmiru cake. Give me lots and lots.”

 

The surrounding voices were too noisy, and the shop girl seemed not to have heard what I said. Looking at the shop full of customers, sweat had already dampened the flaxen hair at her temples, her freckled nose wrinkled, and her pretty big eyes were full of distress, with tears about to well up.

 

I unconsciously raised my voice a bit.

 

“Osmiru cake!”

 

The sweet, gentle voice suddenly made the whole scene quiet down.

 

The shop girl finally reacted and hurriedly said to me: “I’m sorry, please wait…”

 

Halfway through her sentence she suddenly froze, staring at me with a blank face, then rubbed her eyes in disbelief, looking quite adorable.

 

“…Are you… Miss Peylo?”

 

What?

 

Hearing her words, I first tilted my head with furrowed brows, showing a confused expression, then suddenly felt alarmed in my heart, my small hand reaching up to my head.

 

Oh no, I was so focused on the sweet cakes that I didn’t even notice my hood had been pushed off!

 

“Ahem ahem.”

 

I hurriedly pulled the hood back up, coughed twice pretending nothing had happened, and took out a gold coin from my pocket to place on the counter.

 

“Cake.”

 

“Is… is it Miss Peylo? Is it really you…”

 

But the shop girl persisted in asking, looking like she wanted to confirm something but didn’t quite dare believe it.

 

Peylo? I don’t know her, who is that?

 

Could it be that she’s mistaken me for someone else?

 

“No, you’ve got the wrong person.” I said quietly.

 

Having carelessly exposed my appearance, the atmosphere was now awkwardly quiet. I couldn’t help but pull my hood down further.

 

“Hey, did I see that right…”

 

“Is it her?”

 

“Seems like it.”

 

“Wasn’t she already…”

 

Along with the whispers rising from the crowd, strange gazes swept over me. I seemed to have become the focus of the crowd, which made me feel irritated and no longer want to stay here.

 

…Forget it, I’ll just have Carlos buy it for me later.

 

After casting a lingering look at the delicacies displayed in the counter, I broke through the crowd and ran away quickly, rushing back into the carriage.

 

“What’s wrong!”

 

Carlos was startled when he saw me running in panic.

 

“I was seen.”

 

I said calmly.

 

“…Why are you so stupid?” Carlos covered his head.

 

“Shut up.”

 

I turned my head away awkwardly, avoiding his gaze, not sure if this incident was serious or not, and actually feeling quite nervous. Sneaking a glance, I saw that Carlos didn’t seem particularly concerned, which finally put me somewhat at ease.

 

“Now what do we do?”

 

“It’s fine, I’ll go buy it for you.”

 

Carlos said, and just as he was about to get out of the carriage, we suddenly heard the shop girl’s somewhat timid voice from outside.

 

“Um… miss, I’ve brought the cakes over for you…”

 

I quickly lifted the curtain, and the girl was holding a large bag of cakes, somewhat out of breath as she handed them over.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome, um…” she looked at the magnificent Church carriage before her, and me with only half my face visible behind the curtain, hesitated for a moment but still gathered her courage, “May I ask, do you really not know Miss Peylo?”

 

Looking at the girl’s sincere eyes, I thought for a moment, but truly couldn’t recall ever meeting such a person.

 

“I don’t know her, who is she?”

 

Hearing me say this, the shop girl showed a very disappointed expression.

 

“Nothing… just a customer, a girl who used to come to our shop often, and also really liked Osmiru cake.”

 

“She and I, look alike?”

 

“She was as beautiful as you.”