The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 412 The City of Loton, Belonging to Machinery

The sun was fully above the horizon.

The entire city of Lorton was completely awakened.

As a subordinate city of the Mechanical Palace, the people living here are fortunate.

The all-night streetlights and efficient machinery not only provide shelter at night but also allow many people to enjoy a convenient lifestyle.

It can be said that, barring special circumstances, the cities controlled by the Mechanical Palace generally have a high happiness index across the entire continent.

The city had already awakened. Ino stood up, straightened her clothes, picked up her suitcase, and started walking across the street.

However, his unintentional actions terrified many people.

As guardians of the Nord, the mechanic Celia and a group of Night Watchers had long been hiding in the shadows.

I thought he was just a passerby, but it turns out he doesn't seem to have any intention of leaving. And most importantly, this intruder doesn't seem to care about the rising sun at all... he merely squints slightly, and then everything returns to normal.

It was this performance that not only terrified Nord and Celia, but also instilled in them a sense of despair.

"I knew it... I shouldn't have chosen to study mechanical engineering." Celia's tone was calm, but it was more of a calm born of utter despair.

The records and traditions in the books made her very clear about what she was facing at the moment.

There are only two kinds of beings who can ignore the existence of the sun: one is a normal living organism that lives in sunlight, and the other is an existence of the same status as the sun.

As for the person in front of them, they had been watching him all night, and he had slept peacefully all night, curled up in a recess in the wall, with the box as his pillow.

She slept soundly on the street at night without any shelter, and was completely unharmed. If she weren't in Lorton City, Celia would have thought her mind had been corrupted, causing her to have confused perceptions.

"Don't despair, we've already sent out a request for help."

Seeing Celia's expression, Nord offered words of comfort.

But this comfort only made Celia feel more powerless. Others might take it seriously, but she knew that the temple's support was nothing but a joke.

Unlike other churches that can send aid through descent, the Mechanical Temple can only offer assistance by opening an energy transmission channel and dispatching high-priced mechanics.

The palace commands twelve main cities, 372 secondary cities, and countless smaller cities like Lorton. She didn't think this place was of any value, worth the trouble of coming all this way to rescue it; the cost of opening the teleportation portal alone already exceeded the value of the small city itself.

But these words couldn't be spoken aloud; it wasn't just the ubiquitous machinery in the city, but also the last glimmer of hope in her heart.

Seeing that his persuasion had worked, Nord didn't delay any longer and turned to look at the Night Watch squad behind him.

"Remember your duty!"

His calm tone and the most ordinary words brought a touch of sadness to many of the Night's Watchmen. Their long experience told them that this might be the last time they heard their captain's instructions.

Sure enough, after speaking, Nord turned and walked towards the other side without looking back.

……

At that moment, Ino arrived at the hotel entrance carrying her suitcase.

This is a typical guesthouse, located on a busy and slightly dusty street.

The exterior walls are made of mottled stones, with the marks of time etched on them in varying depths. The shop's main entrance is made of two heavy iron gates, and the surface is even covered with bronze carvings. The intricate patterns always give it a touch of exoticism.

As you step inside, a scent of wood, leather, and a hint of spice hits you – the ambiance of an 18th-century inn.

The hotel's decor and furnishings were quite nice, but surprisingly, there were hardly any people there. There was only one person in the entire lobby on the first floor, which made it seem like a shady establishment.

But since he was already there, Ino didn't plan to turn back and find another place. Things were different now, and he wasn't afraid even if it was a shady establishment.

In the hotel, Nord forced himself to calm down. Although his inner spirit was warning him, his current experience confirmed his earlier suspicions.

The other party is not a chaotic type of intruder.

……

After a moment's thought, Ino also walked to the hotel bar.

"Hello! I'm a traveler from afar. May I ask if I can stay here? What do I need to pay?"

Nord almost broke down at this seemingly polite inquiry; it seemed this guy had no intention of pretending anymore.

Of all the known cities, 99% of the inhabitants never leave their own city in their entire lives. As for truly high-ranking beings, although they have the ability to leave the city, none of them dare to venture out, for the world outside holds too many unknowns.

Nord's brief silence left Ino somewhat puzzled. After a moment of reflection, she realized that Nord hadn't said anything wrong.

"Hello? I don't mean anything by it, I just want to stay at a hotel..."

He stopped mid-sentence, looked up slightly at the ceiling, and realized that he had just felt a strange fluctuation.

In the blink of an eye, neither of the two people present noticed that the second hand of the mechanical alarm clock on the hotel wall had paused for a brief moment.

As the fluctuations vanished in an instant, and Ino regained her senses, she was about to speak when another voice came from outside the inn:

"Looking for a room? Mechanical Palace welcomes you!"

The voice was pleasant, even somewhat perfect. But in that voice, Ino felt a sense of unreality.

The sound is like a synthesized product, a perfect blend of all the beautiful sounds within the frequency range that the human ear can hear.

Out of curiosity, Ino turned around to look outside the door, while Nord behind him showed the joy of surviving a disaster.

A beautiful young woman walked through the two steel doors into the hotel.

Her long, silvery-white hair spread out like mercury inside the box. Her appearance was exquisite and flawless, yet she exuded a noble and transcendent air. She wore a gorgeous purple-black court dress, her hands folded in front of her, like the most beautiful princess in a fairy tale.

She is truly the most beautiful princess.

Even after experiencing countless stories and meeting countless people, including the elves of Middle-earth.

Ino had to admit that the woman before him was far too perfect. Her eyes, eyelashes, arms, ankles, and even every strand of hair were just right; any more or less would have ruined her beauty.

However, its excessive perfection also made him feel a little unreal.

The woman before him felt like a doll in a valley. Although those dolls were truly "alive," they were not made of flesh and blood.

Ino didn't mind. There were already so many strange things in the story, and it was good that someone was finally talking to him.

If everyone here is like the taciturn hotel owner behind him, then he should consider leaving and finding a new story.

Yes, leave.

While taking control of the valley, Ino also managed to control his own miracle.

They can choose to stay or leave as they please.

I will never again wait until a story is completely over before passively leaving, as I used to.

(End of this chapter)