Chapter 30: Different Strata, Two Worlds
What a magnificent person – his noble character shining like a resplendent gem.
Though merely an outsider forcibly summoned to the Heavenly Continent, its salvation or ruination held little relevance to him.
Yet the hero did not rest, did not indulge himself. Immediately upon arriving, he exhausted himself locating the demon beasts lurking within the city. Heedless of his own weariness, he still insisted on personally joining the frontlines against the beasts.
What extraordinary spirit was this?
The others’ eyes reddened, some even furtively wiping away tears.
Angelica and Maritisee looked especially concerned.
Transcendent Authorities were undoubtedly powerful, but the hero’s state suggested their use came at immense cost. Unable to even stand steadily, legs trembling – his strength was clearly overtaxed.
The hero desperately needed rest now.
“Master, you should rest first,” Angelica could not help but advise.
Maritisee continuously nodded in agreement, her respect for the hero growing.
Truly an exceptional man.
“Leave the demon beasts to us. Just tell us where those vile things are lurking,” Maritisee gripped her greatsword, shouting boisterously.
Cleaving demon beast hides with her blade was Maritisee’s greatest joy.
“Even if I tell you their location, there are many people there. How will you discern which are the demon beasts? I must go in person,” Qin Chu firmly stated.
Of course – he intended to devour the beasts’ powers himself.
As Qin Chu prepared to set out, Angelica tugged him back.
“My lord, you cannot go out wearing just this, can you?” She gestured at his attire with concern.
Qin Chu glanced down bewilderedly. Though disliking this outfit, he saw no issues with it.
“What’s the problem?”
“One cannot wear the same clothes twice!” Angelica facepalmed.
“Even regular nobles would never wear an outfit to public or formal occasions a second time. Much less as the hero – a status far nobler than nobility itself.”
“If you go out like that, you will be mocked.”
Qin Chu’s body trembled slightly. There was actually such a ridiculous rule?
In his previous life without maids, Loseweisse and the others never mentioned it, so he often wore outfits for several days.
Recalling it now, he must have been mercilessly mocked behind his back, undoubtedly called a country bumpkin.
Infuriating!
…
Even in daytime, the commoner district remained gloomy, the faint sunlight obscured by polluted skies, nostrils tingling with dusty air.
It was already September, early autumn, yet the Heavenly Continent’s southerly location made light clothing still comfortable.
The uneven streets were awash with sewage, garbage piled indiscriminately and emanating foul stenches.
Fishermen just returning from the nearby sea loudly hawked their fresh catches, a pungent fishy odor pervading the air. Their bent spines showed the weight of harsh living, weathered faces crisscrossed with deep creases – they had to sell these fish for mana to pay their sons’ tuition fees.
A hunter’s arm was bandaged with a filthy, bloodstained cloth, wild rabbits and mountain fowl displayed before him.
Venturing outside during demon beast invasions was perilous, each hunt undertaken with the mindset of potentially not returning. But he had no choice for the sake of survival.
“Freshly baked black wheat buns, one for a full meal, two to burst your belly – just one and a half gris!”
“Griddle cakes, get your griddle cakes…”
“Crisp pears, fresh crisp pears…”
“Potatoes, pumpkins, fresh cabbages…”
“Hey now brother, two gris per pound is already cheap. Yet you’re haggling me down to half? This ain’t a waist-high cut, you’re chopping right down to the heel…”
This was a marketplace, vendors calling out to the hurried passersby, haggling voices rising and falling.
Qin Chu calculated – some idiotic moron must have set the exchange rate of one mana to sixty-six gris.
At these rates, the goods here were undoubtedly dirt cheap.
Those large black wheat buns really could fill one’s belly – enough even for miners working the shafts. Two would suffice for a full day’s meals.
Blackish whole wheat laden with bran flecks – labeled “healthy”, “nutritious”, “high fiber” and sold at premium prices on Earth.
Here, they were unappetizing fare few could stomach, scraping throats like needles upon swallowing.
Even pets of the nobility would turn up their noses at such plain fare.
The confections nobles savored could cost upwards of ten mana each – nearly five hundred black wheat buns, months of provisions for a miner.
The outfit Qin Chu was told to only wear once exceeded a thousand mana in cost.
The class divide in this world was so blatant – two strata, two separate worlds.
In truth, commoner living standards had marginally improved compared to the past, which was far more unbearable.
Due to the nobility’s inhumane exploitation, commoners had always led lives of abject misery – nearly the entirety of their yearly backbreaking toils confiscated as taxes to the empire and nobles.
Coupled with demon beast invasions, it was akin to living in purgatory.
Though numbed by hardship, some idealistic souls still existed who could no longer endure, banding together to rebel against their downtrodden lot.
To quell internal unrest, and faced with dwindling soldier ranks from demon beast battles, the empire slightly reduced tax burdens and grudgingly relinquished a few fringe benefits to the commoners, easing tensions between them and the nobles by supplementing soldier ranks with young commoner conscripts.
Qin Chu’s presence here was quite the novelty, as knights rarely graced the commoner district publicly – these people unaware of his heroic identity.
Maritisee and Angelica flanked him, vigilantly scanning their surroundings. In this mixed crowd, who knew which commoners could be demon beasts in disguise?
Inhaling the strange medley of scents, Qin Chu approached a watermelon stand run by a short, stout man with rough, pockmarked skin.
“Brother, how much for these melons by the pound?”
The melon vendor raised hazy eyes. “Two gris each…”
Qin Chu nearly retorted – are these melon rinds made of gold or the seeds solid gold? But he held his tongue. Two gris each was indeed quite cheap.
Originally intending to find fault, he was struck speechless instead.
Not bothering with further hassle, Qin Chu stepped forward, clamping a hand on the melon vendor’s shoulder.
“What are you doing, sir?” The vendor eyed him suspiciously, unaware of Qin Chu’s identity. But seeing his fine attire amid an armed knight escort marked him as undoubtedly noble-born.
A noble’s presence at a commoner marketplace was strange enough. To now have his hand clamped on the vendor’s shoulder – he did not know what transgression he had committed, shrinking back fearfully.
“Drop the act, demon beast. I can see through your disguise at a glance, so reveal your true form…”
In the next instant, the Devourer activated – an invisible force instantly enveloping the melon vendor.
As Qin Chu’s strength grew, so did the Devourer’s potency. In a fleeting moment, the vendor felt the magic power within him gushing forth like a dam’s sluice gates opening.
He tried to struggle, but Qin Chu’s hand seemed adhered to his shoulder, impossible to shake off.
His face twisted in terror as he shrieked: “Murder! Murder!”
This was one cunning demon beast.
“A noble is killing in public…”
