Vol.2 – Chapter 46 - Don't you lie to yourself, kid

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Mathias who left Vek alone inside the tavern, like an irresponsible father leaving his son in a supermarket, walked toward the inner city of Titan, being reprimanded by Haycien who couldn't contain his amusement on how he dealt with the drunkards and the problem of Vek.

The visible change in architecture when stepping out of the peripheral district made Haycien remark in a melancholic tone when he couldn't recognize any building entering Mathias's view field.

{There's simply nothing I can relate inside Titan. Did time really change so many things? What have they done to my jewel?}

'Old Haycien, I feel I know some places that you might relate to, we will pass there soon. Still, you can't say you didn't see anything that you can't relate to, Porta Aurea is still around along with the walls, right?'

Haycien remained quiet, but Mathias who entered deeper in the inner city, and began walking toward the Forum of the city he still didn't know its original name, the place that was set as a respawning location for the players of Titan.

Stepping toward the square that was made from marble stone, where a large column was residing at the center where many people gathered around talking, and grouping up. Aside from that the citizens of Titan were also gathering around, similar to what was happening in the Beta Phase.

Getting closer to the column, and looking around the forum that looked ancient but in a maintained state, put on a smile, where he could instantly feel himself energized with inspiration for his novel just standing around this place even though his content reached the first bits of the War against the Sassanids.

{It lasted. To think this first part of the city I've built still stands strong gives me some hope, lad. Is there also the Common House for the elected people to discuss the needs of the people around here?}

When Mathias heard that, he pondered for a bit, before placing the connection of what the old man mentioned, and responded in an affirmative way.

'If you refer to the Senate House, it is behind the Forum.'

{Senate? I've named that thing the Common House because it was to represent the common citizens, not Senate. It feels disconnected with the role, just hearing that name.}

'Old Haycien is none of my business, I am just telling you how they are called right now, and from what I understand, it is where the nobles of the Empire would assemble to discuss events of national interest and front them to the Emperor.'

{WHAT? Nobles? Do you mean people with privileges? You mean the descendants of my twelve knights who were the backbone of my Red Legion?}

'No, there's lots of nobles in the Empire, from the lowest Baron to the highest Duke.'

{MERDA! WHO WAS STUPID TO GIVE PRIVILEGES TO MORE PEOPLE?} shouted the old man rising on his feet, seeming to be angry at what he heard from Mathias, but soon got pacified by Mathias's calmness, who remarked what he understood from the history of the Saharan Empire which had large connections to Roman Empire history.

'Old man, this is what happens when there are certain Emperors who are weak, unfit to rule. They are manipulated by the people around them into giving concessions and rewarding the shrewd ones. With years upon years passing since your Era, things went in that direction with the people in power turning more corrupt with each day.'

{Is it really as you say? Has my Empire failed yet?}

'No, the foundations you've set for the Imperial House were strong enough to stop the greedy nobles, but from what I've read of the past, there have been many rebellions from Princes who desired the Crown for themselves, unsatisfied with the choice of the Emperor. With the support of the Duke Houses, they fought against their brothers, challenging the throne and the Emperor's decisions itself.'

{Argh, so frustrating having to listen to such weaknesses. HOW? WHY? You want to say all the progress I've made in reaching my dreams, leaving all that wealth and power to my sons and descendants didn't reach any substance? We still haven't got to explore the Eastern Continent and deal with the Sea Monsters? Entering Abyss to deal with Lolth and her Empire of Drows?}

'Not to my knowledge, old Haycien. Calm down, is there even a reason to consume yourself in this stage? You've done everything you could do to the best of your abilities, and created a strong stage for the humans to rise, correct?'

{Indeed, I've even instructed my sons to work together to follow my goal of destroying Lolth with her army of Drows that were sitting under our doors, waiting to envelop the world into chaos.}

'Sigh, old man, we can't turn back time, so all the energy we spent consuming, lamenting on the past, is just wasted energy that could be spent doing something productive. I didn't read anything about drows or this Lolth attacking the Empire, but the variant races I have a feeling will be a problem for the Empire since the policy they use to put it mildly is rather "extreme".'

{Haven't they been integrated after all this time? Wait, I have a feeling they didn't even give a shit about my wishes and abandoned all my plans for the Empire. I've planned out for the slow integration of the variant races using our customs and language, by giving them universal education, without discriminating them of the past conflict. The young ones had no fault for the War of Hegemony.}

Mathias stopped in place as he listened to Haycien detailed plan he had for the future generations to follow after his end was rushed, and luckily thanks to his mask, the players and citizens couldn't see his face that turned shocked to disbelief at how comprehensive the plan was for someone who didn't have the knowledge of the modern world. He listened quietly at the old man's lament and how he was swearing his descendants for not abiding to his plan, and now creating a deep weakness that was piercing deeper and deeper in the Empire's throat.

'Sir, if I may add something.' said Mathias, wanting to stop Haycien from his angry rant, who managed to fill Mathias' head with all sorts of details that weren't necessary for him, creating a headache that stopped him.

{My apology, lad, if I filled you with uninteresting information. I am a hotheaded person at times.}

'No, no, everything you've said could have worked in the past and I am even impressed at how detailed it got, but those descendants of yours they probably didn't understand and comprehend the deep meaning of [Universal Education] or [Infrastructure Regrowth] and the other plans you've instructed them to follow. The human nature is one to be easily temped by greed and sin.'

{Fuck them. I've spent so much time writing that plan, and they just spit on my face. They even took down the Statue of Apollo from the Column of Apollo. Don't tell me he got killed by Rebecca after I died?}

'Sir, I really respect you, but please no more information all at once. I will not be able to take it if you tell me all of these things.'

{Fine, lad. I will keep quiet for now, go reunite with your lover. I am curious who this Jeanne is too, the first one really seems like a darling. I like her.}

"Because she is a darling." told Mathias out loud, but not noticed by the players who believed he was just an NPC, ignored by them which was a feeling hard to describe.

He walked toward a stage placed at the exit of the forum, where NPC were gathering around with a small number of players who were interested in what the NPC on top of the stage had to say.

[Reid - Lv. 168]

Seeing Reid from a distance thanks to his enhanced senses, he approached closer to the group, touching on some people's shoulders to reach slightly deeper to see the 'Speaker' which turned some heads to him. Yet when hearing Mathias' calm, apologetic voice, that contained some charm to it, they just nodded their heads accepting the apology, returning their attention back to Reids.

{What are you doing, kid?} inquired Haycien, who from the vision he could see in the inner pocket of the ring, was a mid-twenties youngster wearing relatively wealthy clothes which signified that he was for a well-off family.

'Nothing much, just listening to an interesting person speaking from his heart.'

Settling down, he began listening to the 'Speaker' Reid who added new subjects compared to the times he listened to him in the past. This time he touched a tricky question which was the Red Knights.

** Was there a need for so many knights? Were the Red Knights that important to the safety of the Empire even though they are a drain to the treasury of the Empire. **

Mathias placed his hand on the chin, behind the mask, started stroking his chin, and pondered, while Haycien was lashing out at the 'Speaker' for even daring to address this question.

{Who would defend you, loose pants? Will you defend your wife as she is r@ped by the Orcs, Goblins, Cyclops? Will you defend your children with those words of yours? By Sol, don't tell me those children of the Empire turned so braindead that they failed to realise what's the most important thing that allows them to breathe at ease.}

'Hmm, indeed, without an army to defend you, you are buttnaked against your enemy, a chicken awaiting slaughter. But he has one point because from what I've heard the Knights are paid quite the substantial salary compared to a simple infantry commoner.'

{Give me a break, it can't be so high that they will not be able to pay the Knights. I was able to feed and pay for 12 Legions.}

'Old Haycien, those were other times, because the Empire is still the "Hegemon" of the continent, the citizens of the Empire are lavishing in those gains, the salary of a soldier, in this case a knight has been increased exponentially since your time. There might be some truth to his words, but apart from this, there's only slander to place intrigue in the minds of people.'

'Anyway, I had enough of listening to rhetoric, on this point I will not agree with you 'Speaker' Reid.'

'It feels as if you are trying to stir something and implant the seeds of doubt on the public and players. A dangerous path that will lead to your death, so I'll rather hope you aren't walking that route.'

{A rebell?}

'They are called Revolutioners in my home. That [Speaker] might as well be one of the future leaders of such a chaotic movement. But I will not be quick to judge.'

As Mathias was talking with Haycien about what they heard from Reid, he made his way out from the crowd using 'Raven's Movement' making his departure unnoticeable, but Reid's noticed that the masked person wearing an expensive dark suit who he thought to be a respectable noble who was attracted by his ideals left the stage area, turning toward the exit of the Forum, and walking toward the residential areas of the well off citizens.

Stepping on this new area, it made Haycien feel speechless at how lavish the mansions were compared to the peripheral ones that even he found familiar in size, the houses on the alleys couldn't even be compared with the periphery residences. It was like comparing a wolf with a chihuahua. It was the same species but totally different worlds.

It was precisely what Mathias thought at that moment being on the same length with Haycien on this subject, those rich people really enjoyed themselves in building extravagant mansions that might even run for a Castles money.

Soon Mathias who was walking on the streets of the Inner City Residential Area and gave the impression he belonged to this place, where the Imperial Guards didn't even bother to check on his identity, feeling he was some extravagant noble who liked to keep his identity secret when going outside arrived in front of a mansion's gate.

The mansion was two stories high, large enough to make Haycien ask who is lover was to be so rich to own such a place.

"She isn't rich herself, this mansion was a gift from a noble who she healed in the past."

{A gift? This feels suspicious. Kid, couldn't it be that someone is trying to steal your woman?} asked Haycien whose wrinkled face shifted a bit when contemplating such a possibility in Mathias's stead.

Yet Mathias who opened the gates of the mansion, entering inside its courtyard could only chuckle a bit, and tell the old man some things about Jeanne since he didn't talk about both the girls with him, not wishing to discuss his personal life. Slowly but surely, in the amount of time it took Mathias to walk toward the mansion's large and luxurious door, Haycien also mentioned feeling he did a mistake getting to conclusions too fast.

{I've heard of such a curse in my life, but I don't remember what it implied. Was it from a book I've stolen from the Elves? I've skimped the contents of most books that weren't talking about fighting arts of the different races I've defeated, but if I get this feeling, it means it was something interesting.}

'You really know about such a curse?'

{Lad, I don't know, I've read about it, but now I don't remember since I wasn't really that interested in random information back then. Just polishing myself was my main motivation. The ancient books I've collected from all the races, I left it in my library, if not those fools from my bloodline burnt them or something.}

Taking a relaxing breath, he nodded registering the information, feeling a bit better knowing that there might be some information on what the curse Jeanne suffered was all about.

Sorting out his thoughts, he gazed at the door and knocked on it in a calm way, waiting for someone to respond to his door. It felt as if he was once again standing in front of Fayrene's door and she was giving him the cold treatment, but it was morning, about 10:24 so it wasn't the case for Jeanne who he knew was a morning religious woman.

Once again knocking, he waited in front of the door for about 30 minutes and still no response, which made him ponder, and staying an additional 5 minutes with no response, he choose to check with the Light's Cathedral.

Back on the same path he took, he walked back to the forum, and taking another route toward the Cathedral, he didn't gather the gazes of the people with his masked self, and black suit. Only when he stepped on the steps of the Cathedral were people focusing on him.

The players that gathered here in a large number to do their quests, noticed the arrival of the newcomer who was wearing the silver-white mask reminiscent of the Venetian Masquerade, and chit-chatting they started, from questions about who the person ascending the Cathedral's stairs might be.

"Seems an important noble to me with that black suit, and mask. All signs of a noble of the Saharan since they are really arrogant people who despise players. Who knows, maybe even the notion he might meet face to face with a player will be troublesome." theorized a player, telling another one as Mathias was passing by.

"I don't know, nor do I care about this type of NPCs. We will get to their level at one point and we will see if they can be arrogant at that time, for that we need Rebecca's Church Power to raise the ranking ladder."

Meanwhile, Mathias ignored those types of proclamations from the players which made Haycien remark on them, feeling that their conviction was good enough to be successful.

'Yet without luck and talent, having only one aspect to success is all for nothing. All the people who succeeded in life had these three aspects I am mentioning, luck, talent and conviction of their success, ahh, and to not forget an additional, a lot of hardwork.'

{You aren't wrong there, lad.}

Getting closer to what was an impressive landmark of the Titan City, the beauty of the Light's Cathedral was breathtaking with his glorious size and architecture that was a combination of gothic styles, roman styles, and renaissance elements. Mathias in his first visit to the Cathedral thought he saw a fantasy version of Rouen Cathedral, but each time he would revisit this place, his perception would change, when noticing the elements from Hagia Sophia, the Roman Temples, or Cologne Cathedral.

Then after climbing the steps toward the mound and reaching the leveled field suited with great artistic style with a small plaza, and something akin to a garden where people could wait for the church services in a peaceful atmosphere, accompanied by the warm statue of Goddess Rebecca whose beauty and serenity remained unchanged.

Mathias walked closer toward the Giant statue of the beautiful woman with long white hair that cascaded down to the ground, while her clothing was a white milky dress that complemented her beauty even more.

Compared to his visit where he was overwhelmed Mathias familiarized himself with the Goddess and was even on the receiving end of some benefits as if he found his "Sugar Mommy" as Vlad liked to call it when he heard the experiences he had with Rebecca.

{Son, you better aren't thinking of doing what I guess you will?}

'What? I just want to offer my respects to the Goddess who protected the World.'

{Bah, don't you lie to yourself kid, I know you know certain things about the gods. Even if you are looking to suck up to her. DON'T! You are a Saharan! We don't bow our heads to anybody, only the parents who gave birth to us, and our wives.}

'I get it, old Haycien, but still, some benefits can't be passed on.'

{Kid, I will tell you from experience that bitch has an evil side, eviller than Yatan. She managed to defeat Hanul and his supporters with only the Gods she created. When I was young I also sulked to her believing she could guide me and my tribe to victory in the early stages of the Hegemon War when the human tribes were scattered, not unified by one force.}

{She was the Guardian of the Elven Empire back then and was so adamant on seeing us humans die that it made me doubt reality. As if she saw us like a creation that wasn't meant to happen. ARGH, it makes me remember those harsh times where I lost so many of my childhood friends in that early war because I let myself believe in that slut words.}

Mathias who gazed at Rebecca while hearing Haycien's words that contained emotion, which not even a sociopath could fake, had his ruby eyes shift in intensity with his irises starting to burn with a dark-purple flame, before Haycien reminded him hurriedly.

{Don't think about it and allow that slut to sense you. She is connected telepathically to every statue worshiping her and can sense even the smallest amount of anger from people she deems dangerous. I was deemed dangerous when I was the Human Emperor, and she was one of the main reasons for my death.}

'SHUT UP OLD MAN! STOP TALKING SHIT THAT MIGHT MAKE ME THINK TO MUCH INTO THIS RIGHT NOW!' shouted Mathias who tried not to think of what he heard, thus not getting influenced by the negative thoughts and stepping into a trap he couldn't exist.

Breathing out rapidly, as he distanced himself from the statue, he didn't receive any notifications, didn't even see Rebecca release her divine power, something that even Haycien praised Mathias for keeping his emotions in control and ignoring his remarks.

Walking toward the Cathedral that was opened to the public the day he was visiting, he stepped inside and failed to spot Cabrils inside the main lobby, making him ponder if he was sent once again on that mission to fight the Lich inside Toulmont Duchy.

Once inside the 'Light's Cathedral', he could see the grandiose frescoes and mosaics similar to real life, using religious motifs of saints and angels on the ceiling. The arches and supporting beams of the Cathedral were all made of marble stone decorated with various sculptures.

Moving undisturbed by the priests, he stopped in a corner the group of priests who were the pig's Archbishop Julius was drying out of their family money, and not giving them too much attention, he entered in the main part of the church that was like a crossroads with more paths that could take him to different sections of the building.

Wanting to go visit Jeanne, he took the familiar path, but after walking for just a bit more, some priests stopped him, telling him in a calm and warm tone.

"Her Excellency Jeanne has ordered that she will not take visitors. My apologies, your lordship." explained the priest who too believed Mathias was a noble, since he didn't take off his mask or hat.

Feeling relieved knowing she was in the Cathedral, Mathias mind relaxed, and with a respectful and even dignified tone, he chose to build this masked persona around he told the priests.

"Fully understood Her Excellency wishes, however, if you can, relay this message to her. Someone who she is expecting will wish to meet her."

Nodding their heads, the four priests tasked to keep in check any outsider who might want to disturb Jeanne, agreed with Mathias request, and as he left this section of the church, they didn't move one bit from where they were standing, not even themselves daring to enter inside Jeanne's office.

Yet, Mathias to fill his time as he waited for Jasmine to finish her work, walked toward the Cathedral's main hall and took a seat closer to the altar entrance, taking his equipment for writing out and undisturbed by anyone beginning his writing under Haycien's curious eyes.