To avoid raising suspicion, Kino refrained from lingering on the subject of alcohol content. With his flushed, feverish face, he feigned the appearance of a drunken man—his little head nodding slowly, eyes half-lidded, and his mutterings reminiscent of incoherent murmurs from a fevered dream.
"My lord, you've had too much to drink," Paladin chuckled helplessly, pouring Kino a glass of water.
Kino pretended to fumble, spilling the water, and rubbed his apple-red face with exaggerated force. "I shouldn't have mocked these strong spirits," he sighed, "I can hardly tell who I am anymore."
Bessa, ever the jester, made a playful remark: "You're just like the Sun King in the history books—handsome, yet incapable of holding your liquor. They say the first time the Sun King got drunk, his burning body evaporated an entire lake."
The Sun King.
Kino had encountered this name in the annals of history several times, but having studied a general history, he was not deeply familiar with the specifics.
He adopted a dazed expression and continued with Bessa's line. "Who was the Sun King?"
"By the gods above, my lord, you truly are thoroughly intoxicated," Bessa said with dramatic flair, his voice rising and falling in cadence. "The Sun King—chief among the gods! He forged the tools of agriculture and herding, illuminating the first rays of civilization; he invented language and numbers, bringing thought to the once-ignorant, chaotic masses; he split a fragment of his divine soul to create the ever-changing art of Soul Magic; he vanquished the immortal Ancient Dragon in the Dragonblood Crown, allowing dragon's blood to flow in the veins of knights; he single-handedly suppressed the Abyss of Eternal Darkness, bringing day and night to the world; and after his death, he became the sun in the heavens, bestowing the power of fire upon his followers!"
It sounded very much like the theological legends Kino had once heard.
Kino blinked his hazy eyes and let out a soft burp before shaking his head and asking, "He was so powerful, yet he still died in the end?"
Bessa sighed deeply, downing his drink in one go. "Ah, you're right. Who could have guessed that the great Sun King would fall to the hands of the 'Outsiders from Beyond the Stars'?"
Outsiders from beyond the stars? Kino's mind whirled. What kind of world was this, where such things existed?
Kino cupped his chin in his small hands, maintaining the air of a muddled man, and murmured, "I'm not very good at history. Could you tell me more about these Outsiders?"
Bessa scratched his head. "The history books say: 'They came from unknown lands, their light unseeable, like a star's ember burned to nothing.'... Since killing the Sun King 2,700 years ago, the Outsiders have never appeared again. Some speculate that the Sun King's radiant light was so intensely scorching it seared these heretics from beyond, provoking their attack."
Paladin, a history enthusiast, eagerly interjected, "It's said that in the 'Battle of the Solar Eclipse' 2,700 years ago, the Sun King's clash with the Outsiders reshaped the very geography of the continent. Their weapons were so unique, they could summon blazing celestial fire without a single chant, burning everything in their wake. The strongest among them could crack the heavens with a raised hand, shatter the earth with a stomp. And their ironclad giant birds—faster than any ancient dragon, as swift as thunder. By the gods, I wish I could have witnessed it with my own eyes!"
At that moment, Kino's pupils dilated in shock.
To the native inhabitants of this world, the "Battle of the Solar Eclipse" was a grand and stirring event in history.
But to Kino, it was unmistakably an invasion by the Reincarnation Squad!
The Sun King, much like Kino now, had been cast into this world by the highest beings for refusing to sign a contract.
The Sun King's accomplishments—creating tools, inventing language and writing—were clearly actions someone from the modern world would undertake if transported to an ancient civilization.
As for the creation of Soul Magic, the defeat of the Immortal Ancient Dragon, and the suppression of the Abyss, these were feats of genetic evolution, akin to the fear-based system Kino had within his own body's triple shackles.
And the "Outsiders from Beyond the Stars" were undoubtedly the Reincarnation Squad, sent to invade this world on a hunting mission.
The scorching celestial fire rained down, incinerating all in its path—a weapon of mass destruction in the form of searing heat.
Such overwhelming power, with a raised hand splitting the heavens and a stomp shattering the earth—reincarnates focused on the evolution of the physical form.
Iron-clad giants of the skies, faster than any ancient dragon—high-tech aerial machines.
...
According to the historical timeline, the Sun King existed 2,700 years ago.
If that is the case, then this world must have already had beings like himself, "Rejectors," 2,700 years ago—cast into exile for refusing to sign the contract, and ultimately dying at the hands of a Reincarnation Squad?
But something seemed amiss. By the timeline of his past life, 2,700 years ago would belong to the BC era.
A man from the BC era, transported to an ancient civilization, should not possess the knowledge to create such a history.
Was the Sun King a prodigy of unprecedented genius, born with extraordinary talent?
Or perhaps... in the hands of the Highest Existence, time is but a malleable plaything?
Paladin, sensing the change in Kino's gaze, cautiously inquired, "My lord? Are you alright?"
Kino rubbed his face vigorously, feigning sobriety, his eyes clearing just slightly. "Oh, my apologies. This drink is too strong. Where were we again?"
"The Sun King."
"Do you worship him?"
Paladin shrugged. "What difference does faith make? Though many soldiers of the Koran Empire speak often of 'returning to the Sun,' only the royal family holds the power of the Sun, and only their bloodline can inherit it. Us common foot soldiers can only practice with our swords and spears."
Bessa raised his glass and, in a playful tone, began the royal chant: "I am the flame—"
The other patrons, upon hearing this, raised their glasses and boisterously completed the phrase: "Lighting the path ahead!"
The mood ignited, and the tavern was filled with laughter and cheers. Paladin, Bessa, and the others, thoroughly drunk, were fraternizing with those at nearby tables, even hopping up onto the furniture, lifting their shirts, and dancing belly dance to the tune of the minstrel's music.
Kino, however, sat quietly at his seat, unmoved by the surrounding revelry. His mind was focused on the conversation he had just overheard.
He had always been puzzled as to why the Highest Existence had cast him into this world.
This question applied equally to the Sun King.
The Sun King was exiled to this world in ancient times, where he created tools, language, and numbers, igniting the spark of civilization and guiding ignorant humanity forward through the darkness. He was nothing short of a divine figure.
Kino believed that the Sun King had not only faced a single Reincarnation invasion; he had fallen during the final one, known as the "Solar Eclipse Battle."
Kino even felt that he himself was not the second Rejector.
After the Sun King's death, and up until Kino's arrival, it was likely that many other Rejectors had appeared—only to be too weak to survive the Reincarnation Squad's hunt, remaining unknown to the world, fading into obscurity.
Of course, this was merely a guess.
Regardless of whether he was the second Rejector, the central question remained: What was the purpose behind the actions of the Highest Existence?
Was it to reshape this world? Then why allow the Reincarnation Squad to hunt the Sun King?
Was it to destroy the world? Then why go through the trouble of exiling the Sun King here to lead human civilization?
Kino's own existence also posed this question. Even now, he could not understand why the Highest Existence had transformed him into a Rejector.
On the surface, it appeared to be a punishment for refusing the contract. Yet, it also granted him an alternative path of evolution—the Triple Shackles.
Entertainment? Was this a game to them?
Such reasoning did not hold.
Having ascended to the level of the Highest Existence, its logic and coldness must have transcended all human understanding.
It was even uncertain whether it possessed "emotions" or "life" as humans knew them. To view it through the lens of carbon-based beings was inherently a mistake.
Was it using constant conflict and battle to forge strength?
That, too, seemed illogical.
If it could devise a path to human evolution, why not simply allow the evolution to occur? If it could teach a man to fish, why not simply give him the fish?
The logic failed to align.
Kino lifted his gaze to the ceiling, imagining a pair of eyes capable of piercing through billions of light-years, locking with his own in a direct, unflinching gaze.
Without warning, he smiled.
For he had realized...
This world was far more interesting than he had ever imagined.