The Vastness of Magical Destiny-Chapter 115 - 6 Broken Dream _2
Chapter 115: Chapter 6: Broken Dream _2
Chapter 115 -6: Broken Dream _2
The representatives, deeply dismayed, had already realized that the situation was beyond salvage when facing the protests and demonstrations of the local merchants and farmers outside the Archduke’s Mansion. The richness and bustle of the Galle Region, along with the glories of Gutenberg, made it hard for them to leave, but they dared not stay in an environment so hostile, where they and their families were constantly under threats to their lives and property. This scenario was scarcely better than taking the risk of remaining in their homeland; they could only depart in gloom, hoping that they might find another way to resettle here in the future.
Komer could understand the torment of the three representatives. Anyone would wish for themselves and their families to live in a better environment, especially when they were suddenly facing a fall from a relatively good one into a desolate and notorious land. This stark contrast was truly difficult to accept.
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Gazing coldly as the three representatives trudged away, Komer withdrew his eyes and hummed softly, “Gentlemen—and Fran—Gutenberg is one of Nicosia Kingdom’s top three metropolises, along with Cyprus City. Since we have time today, why don’t we take a stroll? We can all admire the picturesque scenery of Gutenberg. The level of development in the printing industry here is unparalleled in the kingdom, and the quality of the printed books and paintings is renowned throughout the Whole Continent. If interested, you can all take a look.”
Lafayette was also a refugee representative from Myron Duchy, but his status was slightly different from Reese’s. He was a small landowner from outside the capital of Mycenae, a commoner without any noble lineage, to be precise, a small landowner. Having lost his land, Lafayette had nothing left. Fortunately, his generous and friendly nature toward the farmers he employed had earned him considerable respect in the region, which led to his representing the tens of thousands of small landowners and impoverished tenant farmers from the rural areas of Myron Duchy.
The news of Duke Zellin’s secret communications with the refugee representatives had in fact been learned from Lafayette. However, the person sent to make contact was very tight-lipped and revealed little information, leaving Lafayette clueless as to why the powerful Duke Zellin would take an interest in someone as insignificant as him. Thanks to Fran, Lafayette had always had a favorable opinion of Komer, the new lord. Of course, Komer’s promise to prioritize the needs of the Myron Duchy refugees when allocating the vast unclaimed wastelands within the territory was also a major reason Lafayette did not hesitate to share this information with Komer. As for Reese, perhaps sensing his overly close relationship with Komer and his reputation for integrity, they had clearly given up trying with him.
When Lafayette vaguely understood the other party’s intentions from the messenger, the worldly-wise man quickly grasped what they were after. However, by this point, Komer had already learned the truth from Palermo, but Lafayette’s information still corroborated this, giving Komer even more confidence while also satisfying him with the man’s performance.
Lafayette’s refusal of the enticing offer was simple: he was a thoroughgoing land essentialist. Unlike representatives from Meine and Susoer, who either had substantial assets and business experience or had special skills to run workshops in the city, without land, he would be reduced to a beggar. As for Galle Plain’s premium fertile land, it was out of the question for him, no matter how fervently the other side swore oaths. By contrast, the offer of the Caucasus Wasteland from Komer, though less appealing, was much more concrete. Owning a vast expanse of his own land had always been Lafayette’s dream, in Myron and likewise in the Caucasus.
The streets of Gutenberg were neat and spacious, with huge stone slabs making even the rainiest days seem clean and smooth. The junctions were tightly packed with gravel to even out the ground, and important intersections even featured copper glass street lamps. The thick candles, shrouded by somewhat hazy glass, could brighten the streets even on stormy nights. Although the rudimentary glass, made from rough quartz sand, didn’t look particularly impressive, it was enough to showcase Gutenberg’s wealth and prosperity. Glass, after all, was a luxury item not commonly found in ordinary households. Even for usual merchant families, glass would only be used in a few windows of the living room, while other rooms still made do with wooden board windows.
The myriad of shops and workshops lining the streets astonished the several people strolling along. From large specialized shops selling food, fabrics, salt, candles, to small storefront-workhouse style businesses, the constantly flowing horse-drawn carriages, ox-carts, and rickshaws were busy carrying passengers and goods. These commercial businesses were mostly concentrated in the northern part of the city, closest to the canal docks. A road that cut through the city divided this district into eastern and western sections. It took the group over two hours just to get a rough idea of the east district, which mainly featured art, gold and silver ornaments, book paintings, jewelry, handicrafts, silk, and other imported luxury items. The market that was primarily workshops and factories dealing with wholesale goods was focused in the west district. Komer and his group didn’t have enough time to visit, but even so, just glimpsing such abundance left them all green with envy.
The southern part of the city was obviously dominated by the residential area for upper-middle-class city dwellers, especially the blocks near the Lord’s Mansion. Mansion after mansion, villa after villa lined up one after the other, towering deciduous trees acted as barriers between homes, while low evergreen shrubs were used as fences. Here and there, secluded pathways wove through the houses, shaded by climbing vine branches. Even in the late autumn season, such an arrangement still overflowed with a sense of verdant vitality. And just adjacent to the residential area was a complex array of various religious buildings, be it the grand cathedrals of the Church of Light or other religious facilities venerating the natural gods, all were dazzling in their exquisite beauty and varying styles.
Throughout the blocks were squares, gardens, fountains, and statues of various sizes, cleverly segregating one district from another. Even more remarkable was the fountain sculpture near the Archduke’s Mansion, clearly controlled by magic equipment to direct the dancing of the waters. The joyful water jets now leaped high, now dipped low in a subsurface flow, the mist created by the splashes landing on the crystal-clear statue of Aphrodite set in the fountain, with well-hidden magic crystal lamps behind, embedded amongst the rocks. You couldn’t see the source unless you looked closely. The entire fountain pool was shimmering with waves, covered by layers of mist and floating duckweed creating a hazy, misty fantasy. It was clearly the work of one of the few great masters on the Continent, incomparable to the average craftsmanship.
Sitting in a horse-drawn carriage and leisurely traversing through it all, savoring every detail, Komer and the others were all touched by the beautiful and enchanting city of Gutenberg, especially its rational and ingenious city planning. No wonder the Galleians always looked down on outsiders as country bumpkins, even treating visitors from the royal city of Jazair with cold indifference, which was one of the main reasons the Galleians had earned a reputation for coldness and arrogance.
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