The Undying Drama Chapter 8: Country of Scandals
Faith. The Country of Faith. Also famously known as the "Country of Scandals".
In ages past, this country used to have a teenage hero king.
He was the first leader to abolish the aristocracy and centralized the government"s power.
Like all good people, his tale was short lived. At a prime age of 40, his body became wracked with illnesses, and soon after he pa.s.sed away. Perhaps it was an envious heaven who ended his life or perhaps it was the curses of the aristocracy taking effect.
However, right at death"s knell, he transformed his country once more.
In his will, he mentioned that he had made several ability wishes right before his first child was born. A wish that would guarantee that his descendants retained governance the country for generations.
This was the beginning of "Faith". This was the answer the king came to before he had even stepped into politics.
He had invested his entire life"s worth of points into three abilities-------------
An "ability to never hide the whole truth"; an "ability to never speak lies"; an "ability to transfer those two abilities to every generation without the possibility of being removed".
The moment the will was revealed, the entire country was stunned.
This was because the position of king was hereditary and this king had a large number of heirs who had reached the prime of their lives; there was simply no reason to worry about the crown"s succession.
His children were all gifted individuals and could easily step into the forefront of the political scene even without these wishes. They simply had to take the national examinations like everyone else.
However, this plan could no longer be stopped even with his death. His descendants had brought these abilities into the machinations of this country"s government.
Perhaps this genius king was able to control these abilities but whether his descendants could do so as well was an unknown factor. As expected, his decision had a negative impact on the country. His descendants were all known to be injudicious politicians. Soon the country came to be known as the "Country of Scandals" by the human world.
This landed the country in trouble several times, but at the crucial moment its subjects would always stand by the country and face the turmoil together. As generations pa.s.sed, this country stood the test of time and so did the ancestor king"s foresight.
To commemorate the accomplishments of that wise king, the country was renamed to "Faith"
Back to the present day…
"Country of Scandals" was no longer a moniker for their ruling cla.s.s being indiscreet. They had instead cultivated a unique style of their own; seeing their tendency to expose their true selves as a virtue.
As long as it fell within boundaries of the law, you were free to reveal any part of yourself to the public without any discrimination. The freedom of speech and culture in this country ranked among the highest within the human kingdoms.
Furthermore, due to its location on the borderlands, the pioneering industry was booming. With the leadership of the country, their pioneers stood at the forefront of the industry. This adventurous spirit led to frequent contact with other highly intelligent species and soon Faith became a giant melting pot of human and non-human culture.
To keep a long story short, no matter what kind of person you are, you had the right to live in this country.
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According to Poppy, since I was within the national borders of Faith, my best choice would be to head to a border city known as "Honor".
Due to my origins, I was did not possess any farming experience nor did I possess the life skills of this world. With that in mind, a job that required physical strength would be best for me. Once my livelihood had been settled, I could then decide on my future plans.
The City of Honor or Honor City was only founded 10 years ago and thus needed a lot of labor to support it. If it"s there, getting a physical job should be easy.
Such a practical suggestion...so practical I almost thought I was back in my old world again. Speaking of which I seem to recall that in those transmigration novels, the main character was always able to start adventuring immediately, show off and start a harem. However ---------
I, Di Qi Ju, after having completed high school at a tender age of 16;after having gone through fantastical twist and turns, have become a laborer (well...soon).
...such a tragic turn of events.
However, this might not be so bad.
With the wishing system, I should be able to build an empire out of it. However, in the end, these were only external abilities and not my innate ability.
In the past 16 years, I concentrated my efforts on studying and examinations to prove to myself that : I could overcome any inst.i.tutional obstacles.
Even if this had now changed to hard labor, I will still prove myself once more.
This was my way of survival, relying on another"s wealth to lead a decadent life was not the life for me.
Let"s head out! Destination, the City of Honor.
I"m Not Afraid of Anything Anymore.
……
……
Name : Di Qi Ju
Age: 16
Height : 170
[Abilities]
-An ability that allows me to distance myself from fatal danger: 1 point
-An ability to not get killed by external physical forces: 1,700,000 points (maxed)
-An ability to disguise my body as a normal person who had never had his body and/or appearance transformed into something else in order to fulfill a wish"s conditions :200,001 points (maxed)
Remaining Points: Millions
[Talents]
Ability to read books written in a known language : A+
Ability to tsukkomi : A+
Survival Instincts : F+
……
……
Wearing my local peasant garb, I had spent an entire day travelling on this moderately soft road constructed of an unknown material.
According to the Poppy"s travel itinerary, if I left during the day, I should be at Honor city by night.
I was completely illiterate so without Poppy"s instructions, I would have been lost in this wilderness without an ability to read the road signs.
I"m indebted to Miss Poppy once more…
Food and water weren"t lacking. The only thing lacking was human contact. Outside of two farmers leading their donkeys, I didn"t meet anyone else.
That village I had just left was beautiful; but it was so remote…
As I lifted my head, I saw that the sun"s dark side had already crossed the mid point. According to this world"s sense of time, it should be past 6pm.
According to Miss Poppy"s description, Honor City had three ring walls surrounding it and a trench on its outer perimeters to defend against wild animals.
I pressed on with determination in my heart and my eyes gazing into the horizon. However, my desired sight never came into view. After a long while, I still had not found any man made buildings.
Oh my G.o.d...don"t tell me I took a wrong turn!?
No way! If I couldn"t even get a 100 on this test with the answer in hand, then wouldn"t my over ten of years experience in the field of examinations be wasted!?
Yup, I"m definitely right. Just look at the width of this road. It has increased from one carriage"s width to two. The city should be just ahead. I must have been walking too slowly...I should pick up my pace.
As I continued along the road, the road took a huge bend and it was at this point that I had my third human contact.
A team of parka-clad people came into sight. Their team consisted of eight hooded people, their bodies largely covered up. The only features revealed underneath these wrappings, were their mouths and noses.
I was slightly taken aback by this entourage but immediately retreated to the side, giving way to them. They were obviously used to this kind of treatment as they continued past me without batting an eye. I turned around and quietly saw them off with my eyes.
Di Qi Ju: ...
Di Qi Ju: ……
Di Qi Ju: What...even though the color and the embroidery was different, but…
They wore the same uniform as Poppy.
A thought suddenly popped into my mind: were these the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds causing trouble for Miss Poppy?
*slap*
After a tight slap to the face, this unnecessary thought was finally banished from my mind.
I had already decided to believe in Miss Poppy. I mustn"t try anything weird because of her without any prior information.
Just like that day when I chose survival over finding my parents. Since I had decided on separation, I must see it through to the end!
As I finally reached the end of this torturous road, my eyes lit up.
A four meter tall stone wall slowly peeked over the horizon of the jungle as I continued.
It was a giant wall made up of a bunch of strange boulders stacked side by side. Between the cracks were a gravel and a concrete-like substance that fused the boulders together.
As my gaze swept over the wall from the right to the left, it took a sudden plunge as it spotted a trench which could only have been hewn out by supernatural means.
This must be it! The Country of Faith"s; Honor City!
Footnotes:
(If you actually got this reference, good job because I didn"t. It"s a reference to a phrase from )
Tsukkomi
Credits:
Special thanks to 7STARDARK BLADE! The first ever patron of Catato Patch Translations.