5~ Being an Imperial Soldier Really Pays Off
Inside the carriage
Yimi, though expressionless, was clearly very curious about everything around her. She was probably taking a human carriage for the first time.
This multi-pony草原拉的 carriage resembled the buses from Di Lin’s previous life. When Di Lin checked the carriage itinerary, he had a very strong sense of déjà vu.
The carriage was packed with passengers. Along the way, there were many rest stations. When they reached a station, the carriage would stop for a rest, the horses would get a break, new horses would be swapped in, and those who wanted to get off would disembark.
Isn’t this just like a bus?
Di Lin had booked a private luxury compartment for himself, so he wouldn’t have to squeeze in with a bunch of people from all over the place in a small carriage without seats.
With so many people, toes pressing against heels, sharing the same breath, it was nauseating. And with so many people brushing against him, he invariably ended up with food crumbs or some kind of slime on him. Just thinking about it made Di Lin wrinkle his nose.
He looked out the window at the road from Coleman City to the edge of the Empire. He didn’t know when it was built, but it was evidently still in use and needed regular maintenance.
As the saying goes, to get rich, first build roads. This was true in any era or world.
“Why do we have human appearances?”
“Hm?” Having remained silent the entire journey, Di Lin turned his gaze when he heard Yimi suddenly ask him this. She was looking out the window, completely expressionless.
“Because,” Di Lin paused. “If I told you I’m not the Tillysha you know, would you believe me?”
He was just a transmigrant from Earth, not the original Tillysha. In terms of race, he was undeniably human.
Yimi glanced at Di Lin, making no confirmation nor denial.
Clearly, she didn’t believe him and would assume this was just Tillysha’s way of shirking responsibility.
Di Lin shook his head. He hadn’t expected her to believe him. On the carriage, he took out the golden butterfly ornament and examined it repeatedly.
This ornament was guiding him. So, if he followed its wishes and helped it recover Tillysha’s original memories, would his mission in this world be over?
And if the mission was over, it meant he could leave this world and return home.
After a fleeting thought, Di Lin’s eyes flickered while looking at the golden butterfly. The golden butterfly that had always guided his actions made him believe there was a reason for his arrival in this world. To wake from this dream, he needed to complete the mission.
Staring out the window, a hint of confusion flashed in Di Lin’s eyes. He didn’t belong to this world. Everything here was alien to him, even today he didn’t find the world around him real.
Every blade of grass and tree here made him feel like a lost traveler, merely relying on his survival instincts.
The original Tillysha was an Elf Divine Warrior. Though Di Lin didn’t know what that exactly meant, the prestige the Elf Divine Warrior held within the Elf Clan must have been extraordinary. He was a pillar of the clan, battle-tested and war-hardened.
But he was just an ordinary human from Earth, with no grand ambition to save the world, no sense of belonging to the Elf Clan, and certainly no sense of responsibility.
Having done what needed to be done and repaid what needed to be repaid in this world, there was nothing holding him back.
Even if he didn’t complete his mission and died, would he return to the original world?
Di Lin couldn’t help but look at Yimi sitting across from him, gazing out at the scenery.
In a way, what she was doing wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Di Lin clenched the golden butterfly. He suddenly realized, though the golden butterfly had repeatedly saved him from peril, had it not all started because of it?
He owed it a debt, but because of it, he was trapped in this world.
The carriage swayed left and right. Even though the shock absorption of the luxury carriage was better than those ‘freight carriages,’ it wasn’t much better. The bouncing sensation made his b*tt numb, and the several times costlier ticket merely ensured he avoided the crowded masses and had a place to sit; other comforts were far from guaranteed.
Soon, the train attendant came to deliver lunch.
Smelling the appetizing meat on the plate, both Di Lin and Yimi involuntarily wrinkled their noses and declined the free lunch exclusive to the luxury compartment.
Anyway, who knew how long the meat had been sitting around? High-quality non-toxic and harmless alchemy drugs that kept food fresh were expensive, so they wouldn’t be used for free meals. Meat that didn’t stink was preserved with low-cost, slightly harmful alchemy drugs, what you might call food additives on Earth.
Regardless of whether it tasted good or not, the meal was best avoided if possible.
Di Lin took out a prepared vegetable salad from his backpack and a food box, sharing some of it with Yimi.
“Eat, don’t starve yourself to d*ath, Miss.”
“………”
Di Lin silently watched Yimi not refusing the food he offered, delicately eating the vegetable salad.
She didn’t need to worry about him poisoning her here. If Di Lin wanted to harm her, he could turn her into a living Buddha in seconds.
Perhaps the reason he kept this Gold Elf girl by his side was the influence of the ornament.
The ornament subtly affected his cognition and thoughts, making him, someone who should be indifferent to elves, gain a sense of identity with them, not strong, but driving him to avoid harm to the elves, to feel a sense of responsibility towards them, and unwilling to abandon other elves.
Just past noon, in the afternoon, the carriage suddenly stopped.
Resting on the bench with his eyes closed, Di Lin vaguely heard some rough voices shouting, followed by hurried footsteps, then the carriage door opened.
What’s going on, did they run into bandits?
Di Lin looked out the carriage window; they were still in the suburbs, but it was odd for bandits to be here with so few mountains around.
What then?
A hurried set of footsteps approached, the compartment door opened, and the attendant rushed in.
“We’ve encountered a patrol team conducting routine checks on the carriage. Be careful what you say, understood?” The attendant gave Di Lin a knowing look, but this was Di Lin’s first carriage ride and of course didn’t understand these subtleties, so he could only nod in agreement.
Seeing Di Lin nod, the attendant continued to inform the other compartments.
Their hurried manner puzzled Di Lin.
It was just a regular patrol of the militia nearby, why were they in such a rush, and why were they notifying each compartment one by one? This wasn’t like running into bandits.
A bit later, a series of heavy, chaotic footsteps approached and pushed open the door to Di Lin’s carriage.
Several sturdy men in simple cloth armor, wielding spears and broadswords and wearing the imperial eagle flag badges, barged in.
“Routine inspection for heretics by the Empire. Sit still, don’t move, and stay on your seats,” the leading man strutted over with his arms crossed. This rough appearance made it clear he was merely a Militia Captain, yet he acted like a division commander.
Sit still.
Di Lin glanced at Yimi.
There were only two people in this carriage, sitting properly. Who moved?
After the sturdy man entered the carriage, his eyes scanned over Di Lin, then lingered on Yimi sitting across from Di Lin. Instantly, his small eyes sparkled with greed.
No human could resist the beauty and charisma of a Gold Elf, especially these rural militiamen who had seen little of the world. Likely, they’d never encountered such a stunning beauty since birth.
Though she looked like a little girl in stature, it was certain that this exquisite little beauty would grow into an undoubted seductive beauty.
Di Lin didn’t want to cause trouble, but when he felt the Militia Captain’s intense, burning gaze, he knew trouble was inevitable.
Their minds must be narrow, like they’d never seen a woman.
Their manner of barging into the carriage gave away their typical habit of bullying the common folk.
Di Lin’s look of contempt and aversion at these militiamen deepened.
He understood why their neighboring countries had a poor impression of the current empire. Even hillbilly thugs like these were allowed to wield the imperial military banner as a guise; their reputation couldn’t be good.
According to Princess Filisia, the recruitment standards for the Empire were getting lower year by year, which was quite an objective observation.
He speculated that all the good-for-nothing vagrants unwilling to work with their hands had joined the imperial army.
“Where are you two from?” The Militia Captain pretended to check the passenger list of the carriage.
“Sir, we’re from Coleman City,” Di Lin smiled and adopted a polite attitude, speaking very respectfully.
Yimi was somewhat stunned upon seeing this.
The elf divine warrior said to have slain an ancient dragon actually showed a pleasing and submissive face to a human.
Was she always like this?
Although Yimi didn’t know what these human soldiers intended for her, she could intuitively sense that their hot gaze, as if viewing her as their property, wasn’t friendly at all.
Their stares made her feel uncomfortable.
“This is our student ID. We are students from Coleman Academy, and we just started this year,” Di Lin handed over his student card to the Militia Captain.
“Tsk.” The Militia Captain glanced and returned the card, claiming that he had looked it over.
In truth, his eyes hadn’t even glanced at the words. Di Lin guessed that the Imperial Militia Captain might be illiterate, perhaps not even knowing the common language, let alone elf language.
Given their intellectual development, being able to speak was already their limit.
The reason Di Lin clarified that they were students from Coleman Academy was to inform them that behind them stood Coleman Academy, and behind Coleman Academy stood Elf Forest. Don’t get any ideas about them.
“You two are students from Coleman Academy? Why aren’t you studying? What are you doing in the Empire?” The Militia Captain glanced at Di Lin.
This kid looked effeminate, utterly immature, not at all like a man.
“We’re on vacation, visiting and experiencing the local customs and traditions of the Empire,” Di Lin said.
“Vacation? Pfft, that sounds a bit suspicious to me,” the Militia Captain suddenly sneered. “We’ve caught six heretics this month pretending to come here for tourism.”
This made Di Lin speechless.
Honestly, if it weren’t for this d*mn hairpin, he wouldn’t have come to this barren place in the Empire.
Assume he were a heretic, would he willingly go to the Empire, making trouble for himself?
“But we’re different, we’re students from Coleman Academy. Our identities can be verified.”
“Are you heretics?”
“Of course not.”
“Do you worship Emperor Karito?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, recite the thirty-sixth clause of the Karito Doctrine,” the Militia Captain sneered.
“Sorry, soldier, I consider myself well-read, but I’ve never heard of a book called Karito Doctrine.”
“Don’t know? You’ve never read the book written by the current emperor of the empire, and you dare to claim you’re not a heretic?” The Militia Captain chuckled. “Besides, your female companion with this golden hair has never been seen in the empire; I suspect she is a heretic from outside the territory, and I have full evidence.”
Wait, this could be considered as evidence?
Di Lin was shocked speechless by these militiamen’s lack of rationale.
“Captain, you keep mentioning the Karito Doctrine; how about you recite the thirty-sixth clause for us, and enlighten us?”
“Hoh, reciting it would be a piece of cake for me. I can see that you two are heretics for sure, get them! Surround them!” At hearing this, a hint of unease flickered in the Militia Captain’s eyes, and he quickly commanded his men to surround Di Lin.
Yimi, watching nearby, already sensed that these men were deliberately creating trouble, and a chilly frost crept over her eyes.
Not understanding why these men were so unreasonable, Yimi was about to deal with them.
“Uh, Captain, something dropped out of your pocket.” At this moment, Di Lin suddenly interrupted, pointing at the ground.
“What?” The Militia Captain glanced down and saw a splendid wallet.
“Is this your wallet? Just as I thought, only someone as distinguished as you could afford such a wallet.”
“……………….Ah, yes, it’s mine.” He picked it up greedily at a glance, laughing heartily. “If you hadn’t reminded me, I’d have almost lost it. Thanks, you’re truly a good lad.”
“You’re welcome, Captain. Look, we’re students, students from Coleman Academy. How could we possibly be heretics?”
“Hmm…….. On second thought, you don’t seem much like heretics. I can tell that you two are conscientious citizens.” Holding the wallet, the Militia Captain grinned like a Cheshire cat.
“Your Coleman City is indeed a great place, filled with talented and virtuous people, so heretics are unlikely to come from there. You’re absolutely right, my oversight. Alright, move on, let’s check the next carriage.”
After the Militia Captain left, Di Lin returned to his seat.
There was no other reason; he just didn’t want to cause trouble here.
He was unfamiliar with the Empire. Causing trouble and ending up with a bounty on his head would be counterproductive.
It was better to throw some bait, let some meat buns go to the dogs and avoid unnecessary trouble.
Is it really this lucrative to be a militiaman in the Empire?
Listening to the clamor from other compartments, Di Lin sneered inwardly.
