Super Righteous Player
Chapter 509 - 50 Light in Transmission_1

Chapter 509: Chapter 50 Light in Transmission_1

"...You say, their leader is also coming?"

Naifertali raised an eyebrow, halting the work in her hands.

She pressed a few times on the Ritual Plate that burned with bluish-purple flames, extinguishing the fire.

Turning back around, the red-haired lady with pale skin expressed her astonishment to her tall childhood friend, "When? Which level of leader?"

In those beautiful fiery-colored pupils, a relentless light flickered.

It was the quest for endless knowledge... or perhaps, the greed for it.

"I didn’t ask, but it should be from the higher echelons of the sect."

Niusel replied in a heavy voice.

He shook his head, sitting behind Naifertali, looking absently at the bookcase to the side.

In a low voice he said, "They are indeed, as you said... followers of the light."

"What did you see?"

"Light."

Niusel answered, "Unlike us, they have light in their eyes, they do not get lost... Their light is in their hearts.

"Those three children, they all looked young. The oldest one, not even in his thirties, just over twenty. And one of the boys, he’s her own little brother."

"...Own little brother?"

Naifertali paused for a moment.

She fell silent momentarily, responding somewhat blankly, "I remember, in the upper world the male heirs... should be the primary successors of the family, right?"

"That’s the case in Winter at least. The old-age nobles of the United Kingdom had such customs too."

Niusel’s mood was very grave, "Her brother has already died in the Sporogenesis Mill more than thirty times."

At these words, Naifertali’s hand trembled imperceptibly.

Her lips moved slightly, the word "fool" contained within them, yet she ultimately could not bear to utter it.

After a long silence, she swallowed the word, choosing another way to phrase it, "Was it their leader who ordered them to go to the Sporogenesis Mill to cleanse nightmares?"

The Overseer Niusel nodded.

He added, "And their leader is coming here, also to cleanse nightmares.

"I heard from that group of children... there should be a group of reinforcements coming afterward. At least a hundred people, all are experts in cleansing nightmares."

"...I can’t afford to pay so many people."

"No, they didn’t ask for money..."

"They may not ask, but can I not give?!"

In extreme rarity, Naifertali burst out with irritation, "Whether they want it or not is their affair, whether I give it is mine!"

Both of them looked up, subconsciously catching each other’s gaze, but after a brief and unbearable silence, they quickly looked away again.

"...Sorry."

Niusel spoke up first.

His voice was warm and sincere, as harmless as his appearance.

Naifertali let out a deep sigh and shook her head, "You did nothing wrong. I was too agitated...

"Here’s what I’m thinking, Niusel. Listen to me. These hundred or so people coming to the Underworld, they must be doing so for more than just cleansing the Sporogenesis Mill.

"They must be coming to scatter light into the Underworld. To let us, who live under a false light, experience the ’sun’s’ true radiance.

"But if they really purify the Sporogenesis Mill for us, then I plan to give them a generous gift—they have come to change the fate of us Underground people, offering their lives and effort for us without family ties.

"I don’t care what the wise men and Diggers of other cities will do, but I want them to be certain... at least one city here welcomes them, at least one city acknowledges and remembers their contributions. Their efforts will not be in vain.

"Those foolish shortsighted mortals may not understand what they have changed. They don’t care about the nightmares, nor do they care about the fate of every Underground City eroded by the nightmares to the end... The Underworld is so vast that it makes them no longer cherish it all."

Naifertali stood up, placing a hand on her chest, her voice growing slightly louder, "But I understand what this means! This is a godless nation, and though vast, the Underworld isn’t infinite. As nightmares spread everywhere, and as our population gradually increases, one day... our end will come.

"But now it’s different!

"I know what they have sacrificed! I am clearer than anyone that all our misfortunes we’ve suffered... are nothing to do with them—"

——I even want to join them.

Nefer Tower’s lips moved slightly.

But she still didn’t utter those words.

She felt sorrow for her own cowardice and love of life.

She could accept dying in the pursuit of truth, or even sacrificing her life for a friend—like Niusel, for instance.

But to sacrifice for an endless legion of nightmares that could never be completely purged in her lifetime—where even if she fought to the death and gave her all, it would merely be like throwing a pebble into the ocean.

—An inconsequential, hopeless sacrifice that would never see the dawn.

It might even be that the rate at which she purified the nightmares could not keep up with the rate of their creation... Even if she forsook her life, turned her back on her loved ones, her friends, and the ideals she had held since childhood, she could accomplish nothing meaningful.

The mere thought struck fear in her.

She was not afraid of sacrifice. Nor of death.

But she was terrified that her sacrifice would be meaningless and change nothing.

The mere thought almost made her cry.

"I understand, I truly understand," said Niusel tenderly as he wiped the tear streaks from the corners of her eyes, and spoke in a gentle voice, "We can’t have our heroes shedding blood and tears. That’s what you mean, right?"

"...Yes, exactly. That’s what I mean."

Naifertali obediently stood still in her place.

Only after Niusel handed her a handkerchief and she lightly blew her nose,

Did she purse her lips, lift her head, and seriously said to the tall and robust auburn-haired Guardian, "Niusel, our Digger. The accumulator and protector of wealth, the pioneer of cities—"

"I, the ’Sage’, Naifertali... in accordance with the ancient rules, request a sum of money. It is to entertain the leader of the ’Secret Eye’, and to construct enough houses, acquire sufficient food and water, hire servants, and to provide the followers of the light with travel expenses and medicine... until the city of their destination is willing to pay all these costs. Furthermore, after the Sporogenesis Mill is purified, I wish to send them some gifts on our behalf."

—The only gifts one could offer to the Transcendent were cursed objects.

Naifertali knew that this was no small amount of money.

Even if she were to empty all her personal savings, she could not cover it.

The size of the Underground City was much smaller than the cities above ground—because it was sparsely populated, the entire Sporogenesis Mill probably didn’t even have thirty thousand inhabitants. And directly above it, the population of Winter City was more than ten times greater.

Keep in mind, this is Winter Duchy we’re talking about. As for other places, they don’t even come close.

Collecting taxes from thirty thousand people just to provide for the highest standard of living for over a hundred people was already a stretch.

Plus the "gifts" and their travel expenses.

...Naifertali simply couldn’t afford it.

But the Digger was different.

To become a Digger, one usually had to risk their lives exploring the layers for a dozen years or more, accumulating quite a fortune along the way...

But this wealth was earned at the cost of their lives. Since diggers usually no longer venture into the exploratory layers, their fortune was only depleting. After investing in the Underground City and becoming a Guardian, they usually try to control the outflow of funds as much as possible.

They might not be the sharpest tools in the shed, but they do understand the principle of not living off the fat of the land.

Yet Niusel agreed without hesitation:

"—I consent."

Because this is what he thought too.

"Don’t worry, I still have the first discovery rights to two cities and a medicinal field," Niusel said with a smile, "Just the annual dividends of those are enough to provide for the daily consumption of the Sporogenesis Mill."

"...Well then, we might both end up as paupers."

"We’ll make it back eventually. After all, you are very smart," Niusel replied, shrugging his shoulders.

The two exchanged smiles.

Neither of them was too surprised by the other’s choice.

If anything, it was precisely because of such choices... that they had known and understood each other since their childhood.

It was just that they had yet to fall in love.

...Probably.