Chapter 344: The Mosaic City
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 344: The Mosaic City
The Juggernaut screeched to a halt. Its front end lurched up as if it had hit a curb, shaking the furniture and sending objects tumbling to the floor.
I, who had been elegantly sipping tea in my chair, ended up spilling it all over my front. The classic notion that water triumphs over fire proved true. After all, hot water was hotter than fire.
“Ah, hot!”
I quickly fanned my clothes to cool the tea. The laws of nature are a mystery; just by flapping my clothes, the hot tea quickly lost its heat.
This is magic, this is nature. It’s strange to use Qi or magic just because something is hot.
“Woof! Woof! Woof! Earthquake! Earthquake! Danger!”
“Azzy, this isn't the ground. There are no earthquakes here.”
Meanwhile, Azzy was jumping around in alarm. Perhaps because the Juggernaut had provided such a smooth journey until now, she seemed to have mistaken it for solid ground.
“What? What's going on? It's never shaken like this before.”
The Regressor asked the empty air, but only Peru could answer her question. Naturally, all eyes turned to Peru.
“…Perhaps.”
Feeling our gazes, Peru slowly walked to the window.
The Golden Ark had a small window, but even that was covered by a thick curtain, thanks to Tyr's strong insistence. Peru lifted the curtain slightly to look at the scenery outside.
Then she murmured softly.
“…We're close.”
Peru was a woman of few words, but this time, no explanation was needed. There was only one place we could be getting close to in this Fallen Dominion.
The Golden Lord.
As if by unspoken agreement, we left the cabin. We climbed the narrow stairs, stepped onto the deck, and squinted against the pouring sunlight as we looked around.
On one side of the cramped deck, Aurea was huffing with excitement. While Peru tended to Aurea, I slowly approached the bow. The landscape, previously hidden by the deckline of the Golden Ark, gradually came into view.
“I didn't realize since I was cooped up in the cabin. The scenery has changed quite a bit, hasn't it?”
Having reached the bow, I muttered as I took in the sight before me.
To one side, a cornfield stretched out endlessly. The corn was so tall that if you stood in it, you'd be submerged up to the crown of your head, and it filled my entire field of vision.
The edges of the field had been dug up, as if for harvesting, but it was a mere sliver compared to the whole. If all this corn were gathered, the Fallen Dominion wouldn't have to worry about food for years.
The sea of corn, which seemed to stretch on forever, came to an abrupt end at a certain point.
Beyond a low stone wall lay a city. It was a beautiful city built entirely of white stone, from its foundations to its roofs. Aqueducts flowing between buildings, winding roads, and in the distance, a grand, magnificent palace. It was undoubtedly a historic city left behind by a great civilization….
“This isn't the Golden Palace, is it?”
“…No.”
“Then the Golden Lord must have made it. Both this field and that city.”
…If only this weren't the Fallen Dominion.
Looking again, I felt a sense of incongruity. I didn't even have to look for it. The cornfield sitting right next to the city was strange enough.
“A city with not a shred of planning. A field of this size, right next to such a large city, with no water source? In a few weeks, the field will wither and die, and the city will become a hotbed of disease and insects. What a waste of a city.”
As I muttered, Hilde, who had been carefully observing the city, chimed in.
“Well~? I don't think the city is much to cry over either. It’s completely devoid of aesthetic sense, a total bust. The Military State is more beautiful, I'd say!”
“I don't know much about art, but it seems hard to be worse than the Military State. Isn't this better than a country made of stacked square blocks?”
“Father, your aesthetic sense is a complete bust! You can't feel how unpleasant this is?”
Aesthetic sense? Isn't it strange to feel discomfort over something you can't even eat? Beauty is such a subjective concept that I, a mind-reader, have no standard for it. Unless it's so universal that everyone would nod in agreement.
“I'll give you a hint. Look at the pillars. Then you'll see!”
As Hilde suggested, I focused on the pillars in the city.
Temple pillars, bridge pillars, and building pillars. When different people build things for different purposes, the methods naturally vary. There might be a prevailing style, but even that would have variations. After all, even when looking at the same thing, the process of human replication is always different.
But this city was not like that.
They were the same. The bridge pillars, the temple pillars, the building pillars. Even the decorative pillars lining the streets were all similar.
There were minor variations in size, thickness, and pattern… but it was as if they had sprouted not from the same root, but from the same branch.
“It was fine when I wasn't listening, but now that you've pointed it out, it's starting to bother me.”
“That's not all. The patterns on the bricks. The way they're stacked. The arrangement of the buildings. The shape of the districts. It's all the same. A repetition of the same pattern. It's so cliché it's bizarre.”
Is that what she looks for from the start? While everyone else was looking at the city and the cornfields, she alone was scrutinizing its pillars and patterns one by one. Should I say she's observant, or a little creepy?
Whatever about a shapeshifter's powers of observation, the more I listened, the more uncomfortable I felt. The 'knowledge' I gained from reading Hilde's mind didn't move my heart. However, every time I noticed the parts Hilde pointed out, my own senses reported discomfort.
There are things you just dislike, without being able to explain why. This city was one of them. It was ornate, brilliant, and grand, but every time I looked, it was like a mosaic appeared in the corner of my vision. It was hard to tell left from right. A small block looked the same as a large building. It was like looking at a forest where every single leaf was a mosaic.
I suppose aesthetic sense is just an extension of this kind of instinct. I shrugged.
“Well, it can't be helped, can it? The Golden Lord made this city all by himself.”
The Golden Lord's power is divine, but the world he creates is limited to the scope of his imagination. He may be able to create all things in the world, but he does not know all things in the world.
In other words, the problems visible in this city were proof that the Golden Lord was not perfect. Hilde was delighted by this discovery, like a child.
“The Golden Lord may be a great alchemist, but it seems he couldn't become a great artist~. No matter how great you are, I guess you can't do 'everything,' can you? Hehe.”
Who in the world can do everything by themselves? It just means the Golden Lord is human, too.
However, Hilde's mocking attitude displeased Peru. She approached, frowning slightly.
“…So. What are you going to do?”
“What do you mean, what are we going to do? We have to get to the Golden Palace… Ah.”
Why did we come outside again? Right, the Golden Ark stopped suddenly, and we came out to see what was wrong. I'd forgotten while admiring the scenery.
“…Look down.”
Peru said, pointing below the stern. What's that saying about the darkest place being under the candlestick? We'd been so busy looking at the scenery that we hadn't paid attention to what was right beneath our feet. Now, we finally looked down.
The Golden Ark was spinning its wheels, its bow lifted into the air.
There was a lift with giant pistons on either side. It had dug under the Golden Ark and was pushing it up. With its wheels off the ground, the infinite treads scraped pathetically at the empty air.
No matter how advanced its displacement-based movement was, it was still a type that moved on the ground. It couldn't move if it was floating in the air. Therefore, if you lift the Juggernaut, you can stop the Juggernaut… That was all within the realm of common sense.
However. The target itself was anything but common.
“They lifted this giant hunk of metal?”
Why is a Juggernaut a Juggernaut? Because it's a super-massive chunk of iron that towers over most buildings. Inside are mechanisms that only the Golden Lord could design and create, and to protect them, it's encased in ultra-heavy, ultra-strong alchemic steel personally transmuted by the Golden Lord himself.
It was obviously heavy, and its strength was unparalleled by any other substance in the world. Any normal lift, no matter how powerful, should have buckled under the weight rather than lifting it.
That lift… its strength was one thing, but the power generated by its pistons was astounding. It would be impossible with any ordinary ability. Could that also be…
“…Atlas Winny. It's the Dominarch's equipment.”
Peru answered the unspoken question.
“…They stopped the Golden Ark. I wonder if it was because they were afraid it would destroy the city.”
Looking around, I saw Dholes on mounts to the side of the Golden Ark, watching us. I'd wondered why I couldn't see anyone in the city. They must have already fled after seeing the Golden Ark.
“Well, from their perspective, it must have looked like some crazy hunk of metal was running wild and about to ram the city. Should we apologize and go around?”
“…No. We're here.”
Peru stopped the Golden Ark. As she withdrew her power, a small horn sounded, signaling the engine's shutdown. The furiously spinning infinite treads came to a halt. Soon after, the Golden Ark lost power and grew cold.
Pshhhhh.
As if in response, the sound of air escaping came from the pistons below. For a moment, my body felt light, then the Golden Ark tilted heavily and settled to the ground with a thud. The lift had also ceased to operate.
The clash of steel behemoths was over. The world seemed to fall silent for a moment. In the empty quiet, Peru spoke.
“…The Dominarch is the Golden Lord's closest aide. Where he is, the Golden Lord is near. We've arrived.”