Chapter 352: The Lost Homeland
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 352: The Lost Homeland
"Cantville is one of the few ancient kingdoms recorded in the texts passed down from the Era of Chaos with clear writing and descriptions.
It was known as the Golden Kingdom, a land overflowing with gold and gemstones, protected by the sturdiest barriers and walls. Even during the Great Chaos that swept across the continent a thousand years ago—an era of unknown duration—it remained untouched.
Rich, civilized, and prosperous; these are the words every text mentioning it uses.
There are even legends that it was a pure land flowing with milk and honey, where pork and mutton grew in the fields, and where hunger and pain did not exist. Everyone there lived in eternal happiness.
...What an exaggerated description."
Muen’s eyes flicked rapidly over the pamphlet Liya had given him introducing Cantville.
Before him stood the Pink Bear, its eyes darting around shiftily, looking for all the world like a thief with a guilty conscience.
"However, despite being such a beautiful nation that anyone would yearn for, it vanished without warning at the end of the Era of Chaos.
No records mention how it disappeared. In all existing historical accounts, no major event of that period matches such a disappearance—yet that massive kingdom simply vanished into thin air.
Because of this, it is also known as the Lost Homeland.
Over the years, countless scholars have been fascinated by this kingdom of legend, flocking to find any trace of it, but all returned empty-handed.
But ten years ago... the Church suddenly dug it up.
A massive kingdom had been buried deep underground for over a thousand years.
For the past decade, the Church has been quietly working to crack the seals on Cantville.
However, just as the records stated, Cantville was surrounded by a formidable barrier. Even for the Church, progress was agonizingly slow.
Until recently... the cracking process, which was expected to take several more years... was suddenly completed.
And so, we have this perfectly timed Holy Ceremony."
Muen looked away from the pamphlet and fixed his gaze on the Pink Bear, sneering, "The Holy Ceremony to select the Saintess is actually being held atop an ancient ruin. How absolutely thrilling. My heart is just pounding with excitement."
"Right? Right?"
The Pink Bear nodded vigorously. "A hot-blooded event like this requires giving it your all! That’s the only way to live a youth without regrets!"
"It would have been even better if someone had fulfilled their duty and told me this vital information earlier, instead of just scratching their ass and reading erotic books on the way here! Then I wouldn't have nearly had a heart attack last night!"
Muen gripped the pamphlet until it crunched, his teeth gritted.
"Uncle, before I deliver divine punishment upon you, do you have any last words?"
"Cough, cough cough!"
The Pink Bear coughed violently as if choking, then rubbed its paws together with a sheepish grin.
"Don't be angry, don't be angry. It doesn't really make a difference. You know now, don't you? What's the difference between knowing early or late?"
"How can that be the same? If I had known it was a place as dangerous as an ancient ruin..."
"What? If you had known, you wouldn't have stood up for that little girl last night?" The Pink Bear looked at him with a half-smile.
"..."
"See? I told you it makes no difference."
The Pink Bear suddenly straightened its back, produced a cigar from nowhere, crossed its legs, and sniffed it rapturously.
"Besides, your teacher didn't tell you beforehand either. What does that have to do with me? She’s the one who clearly set you up!"
"..."
Muen was speechless. Right now, he just wanted to go back and pin that wicked, black-bellied loli over his knee and give her a good spanking.
She had told him the Holy Ceremony would be a breeze, but since when were ancient ruins a breeze!
The number of experts who had perished in those bizarre and unpredictable ruins was beyond counting!
Not to mention a poor, helpless little yellow-hair like him who just wanted to cling to someone's coattails...
It was infuriating!
Of course, he also knew that if he actually tried that, the only outcome would be Teacher Mela pinning him over her knee and spanking him instead.
But regardless, Teacher Mela’s strawberry candies? Gone!
"Still, this whole thing is very strange..."
Muen rubbed his temples.
He had no knowledge of this 'Cantville' from the original plot.
Furthermore, according to the Church's original timeline for cracking the barrier, if Cantville were to appear, it should have been in the very late stages of the story—content he hadn't even read.
For it to pop up now...
"Wait, this timing..."
Muen looked at the pamphlet again, cold sweat suddenly breaking out on his forehead.
The time the Church announced they had cracked the entrance to Cantville was... seemingly... probably... shortly after the moon fell.
Does Cantville have something to do with the Silent Moon?
Or did the Church, like Teacher Mela, take advantage of the moon's corpse before it went cold to reap some massive benefits and use them to force the entrance open?
"No way..."
So, after all that, the root cause of this bitter fruit...
Was still himself...
Muen’s head hit the table with a thud. He felt a deep sense of despair toward this world where the butterfly effect had been cranked to the extreme.
Just destroy it already. Hurry up.
"No need to be so pessimistic, kid."
The Pink Bear had lit the cigar and took a deep drag, glancing at him.
"For an ancient ruin of this caliber, the safest method would usually be for various factions to gather a large group of top-tier experts and just plow through it, crushing any monsters or anomalies in their path.
But Cantville is the opposite of its sturdy shell; its interior is actually quite fragile. If someone too powerful enters, it might cause the whole place to collapse.
Actually, that’s a common problem with most ancient ruins. The passage of vast amounts of time has left them on the brink of ruin; they can't handle much disturbance.
Therefore, there won't be anything 'over-leveled' inside. Otherwise, the Church wouldn't be so comfortable letting you lot in.
Besides, the Church has already scouted the outskirts. In terms of safety, it’s said to be among the top few ancient ruins discovered so far. At least regarding the ruin itself, it’s not as dangerous as you think."
"But the 'hidden trump cards' from various factions attracted by the ruin won't be easy to deal with, right?"
Muen continued to groan like a salted fish.
That was the real reason why last night felt like elites were everywhere and geniuses were a dime a dozen, with the difficulty level spiking several tiers.
Compared to a Holy Ceremony—which was heavily restricted by the Church and offered little benefit beyond training and a later reward—the legendary Golden Kingdom, the Lost Homeland of Cantville where hunger didn't exist, was a mountain of treasure that no nation or faction could ignore.
"Speaking of that, I'm getting angry!"
The Pink Bear suddenly slammed the table, huffing with indignation.
"I'm telling you, kid, the Academy and the Empire placed high hopes on you, sending you here to win glory for the country! But look at you—to pick up a girl, you ran off to be a knight for the Church! Do you have any idea how much you've let us down!"
"What do you mean 'pick up a girl'? I told you, we have a normal relationship."
Muen cleared his throat awkwardly. "But is it really that big of a deal?"
"Hmph. It might not look like it on the surface, but every faction is secretly competing." The Pink Bear grumbled, appearing extremely disdainful of the under-the-table maneuvering.
"In that case, why didn't Celicia come? She’s the most outstanding of the Empire's younger generation, isn't she?" Muen asked curiously.
"Who knows. I have zero interest in whatever overt or covert deals exist between the Empire, the Church, or any other party. But kid..."
The Pink Bear stared at Muen, suddenly revealing a bizarre smile.
"Are you sure that if Celicia had come, she wouldn't have shoved her high heel right up your ass the moment you knelt down to act as that girl's knight last night?"
"..."
Muen shuddered. In his mind, he could already see Celicia’s frost-cold, beautiful face and those ice-blue eyes looking at him like he was a bug...
Terrifying.