The Cycle of Fate

Chapter 57: Charlie

The basement of the Golden Rooster Inn was open, revealing a small bar that could only hold twenty to thirty people.

As Lumiere walked in, he immediately saw a man jump onto a small round table, holding a beer, and addressing the four or five customers around him: "Ladies and gentlemen, listen to me, listen to me! I experienced something incredible the day before yesterday!"

Under the light of a few gas lamps on the wall, Lumiere noticed that the man was quite young, around twenty-two or twenty-three years old. He had short light brown hair, was clean-shaven, and his face was particularly flushed, perhaps from drinking.

He was dressed in a linen shirt and black trousers, with laceless leather shoes. He wasn't short, standing just over 1.7 meters tall, but his arms and legs were unusually short, making him appear closer to 1.6 meters.

At this moment, he was waving his short arms, spitting as he spoke: "How incredible was it? Let me tell you, it changed my view on faith. As a believer in the God of Steam and Machinery, I am now ready to convert to the Eternal Blazing Sun! Isn't that amazing?"

"Can you imagine that I was starving for five whole days? I lost my job, fired by that son-of-a-bitch manager, and I couldn't find work until I had spent all my savings." I was starving for five days, just lying in bed, extremely weak, just a hair away from death. Do you know what it feels like to be near death? Oh, may God bless you all never to find out.

"I thought at that moment, I can't die like this. I came to Trier to make a fortune; I have to do something. Then I saw the image of Saint Vevier on the wall. Yes, I struggled to get up, knelt on the ground, and prayed to Saint Vevier for help. At that time, I was still a believer in the God of Steam and Machinery, but a starving man will do anything, right? Besides, it wouldn't hurt to try!" Five minutes after I finished praying, a friend came to visit me, found out about my dire situation, and reminded me that I had rented an oil lamp and had a deposit of 35 Kopeks, which was 7 whole Lick!

"My God, I had forgotten about that. I hurriedly asked my friend to help me return the oil lamp, and with the refunded deposit, I bought bread and half a liter of cheap wine. The bread was cold and wet, as if sprinkled with ash, and the wine was slightly sour, very faint, but it was the best meal I've ever had, ladies and gentlemen. I came back to life!" Today, I even found a new job, and tomorrow when I have a day off, I'll go to the nearest Saint Vevier church and light a candle!

Saint Vevier is one of the few female angels mentioned in the canon of the Eternal Blazing Sun Church, and one of the patron angels of the city of Trier—the other two belong to the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery and were historical figures from Intis.

As Lumiere watched the young man's blue eyes brighten with excitement, he walked towards the bar.

The bartender was in his thirties, sporting a circle of dark brown facial hair, not too thick, and his hair of the same color was tied into a ponytail, giving him an artistic vibe.

Lumiere sat on a high stool and asked with a smile, "Is his story true?"

"Who knows?" The bartender shrugged, "You must have heard the saying: 'Trusting a Liman is worse than trusting a snake.' Charlie is a Liman. Liman Province and Laisten Province are both in the south, with similar accents, but Liman is closer to Lunbourg, a mountainous province."

The bartender's blue eyes twinkled with obvious amusement as he said, "Your feeling is correct. The saying is longer than you think: 'Trusting a Roenian is worse than trusting a Liman; trusting a Liman is worse than trusting a snake, but never trust an islander.'"

"If what he experienced is true, he certainly doesn't know that the image in his room wasn't Saint Vevier at all."

"Then who was it?" Lumiere asked with amusement.