Chapter 22 (2/2)

If he did not have the experience of overlooking the land. If he had become Gawain Cecil upon arriving here, then he would not have this knowledge at all, and he would not have the corresponding concerns. But since he knew about this, as a modern-minded soul from Earth, he could not restrain his curiosity about the sky… and his worries.

What exactly was hanging in the sky? How would that thing or those things affect this place? Would that thing or those things peacefully remain up there? Who created that thing or those things if there was a creator? What could be their motive?

All this gave Gawain an indescribable sense of anxiety. It was just like if people on Earth suddenly found out that an alien spacecraft was parked in the orbit above them. Even if the ship had not moved for hundreds of thousands of years, it would be difficult for them to not worry.

They would need to know where they came from and what they wanted before they could sleep at ease.

And even without this worry, Gawain could not turn a blind eye to the sky just because he was plainly curious.

“Speaking of which, you always look up at the sky every day, either at the sun or the stars.”

A girl’s voice suddenly came from behind him. Gawain looked back and saw the half-elf bandit girl sitting on the railing of the terrace, her back facing outward. She was smiling, and her legs were swinging under the railing, as though she was completely not afraid of falling.

Gawain looked at her. “It’s not polite to sneak into someone’s balcony in the middle of the night and surprise them.”

“The night is my world. There are shadows everywhere. I can go wherever I want.” Amber swayed on the railing, and her body then blended into the shadows. In the next moment, she appeared on the other side of the balcony. “Besides, you’re a 700-year-old hero. Don’t tell me you’re scared of someone suddenly talking to you at night?”

Gawain was embarrassed to admit that he did get goosebumps just now…

“Speaking of which, just what are you looking at every day?” Amber looked at Gawain quietly, so she changed the topic. “You can tell the direction by looking at the sun in the day. Could it be that you look at the stars at night for divination? You know astrology too?”

“What do you think is in the sky?” Gawain returned with a question.

“In the sky? The stars and the sun?” Amber answered casually. “Oh, oh yeah… you’re not going to tell me that the palaces of the gods are in the sky as well and try to preach to me, are you?” Well, I’m not interested. I believe in the shadow and the Goddess of the Night, Lady Night. Lady Night’s kingdom is in the deepest part of the starless night. It’s a completely different place from the real world’s sky. I only need to close my eyes and pray for a moment to pay my respects! ”

“You’re an actual believer of the Goddess of the Night?” Gawain looked at Amber in surprise. Although he did not hold any beliefs, he had learned quite a bit of knowledge from Gawain Cecil’s memory of the religions of this world. Those gods and religions of all kinds was an eye-opener for him, and at the same time, he took them at a respectful distance. However, he never would have thought that the bandit who seemed far from devout was actually someone of a belief.

“Yeah, why not? Anyways, Lady Night neither asks for offerings nor sends any messages. I don’t need to go somewhere at sometime to worship or make sacrifices or whatnot. I don’t even need to pay a single coin, why not choose to believe?” Amber spoke casually of what a true believer might see as disgraceful. “And the way of the shadows is somewhat related to Lady Night’s power. Sometimes I feel that my prayers actually make me stronger, but I always found out later that it was just a psychological effect from drinking too much.”

Gawain’s mouth twitched, and he decided to ignore the half-elf, who talked too much nonsense.

She was a total disgrace to the elves. What was the other half of her bloodline? She was also a disgrace to that bloodline.

“Hey hey, why aren’t you talking?” Amber was not going to let him off. “You haven’t answered me yet. What do you look at?”

Gawain gave her a sidewards glance. “Have you ever heard the saying that after death, the soul will return to the sky and wander among the stars. Every star in the sky is actually the soul of someone who died…”

“I’ve never heard of it. I heard that after a believer dies, the soul will be taken away by the god that he believes in, and he can have all the fun in the world in that godly kingdom. For those who don’t believe in anything, their souls will all be taken by the Reaper. The wife of the Reaper will then use an iron comb to comb away all their memories and throw them back into the world. So there are some people who say that all living beings are believers of the Reaper by default regardless of their beliefs,” Amber prattled on, “Your theory is also quite interesting. People will go up to the sky after they die? Is this what the religions taught 700 years ago?”

Gawain felt slightly awkward. “No, this is…”

“Ah, yes! You died before!” Amber’s eyes widened, staring at Gawain as though she had found a new continent. In a blink, she appeared before him, coming up close as she asked him impatiently, “Did you rise up into the sky when you died? What is it like when you die? I wanna know!”

“Go go go away!” Gawain pushed Amber’s face aside forcibly. “When you die, you don’t know anything, understand? I was just kidding!”

“Tss…” Amber stared at Gawain for a long time. After confirming that he really did not want to tell her, she turned her head away. “Old people are so boring.”

Gawain: “Say that again?!”

Suddenly, Amber disappeared.