Anna had always possessed pure eyes, comparable to the reflection of the moon on the surface of a still lake, ever so serene and calm, yet at the same time, easily disturbed by foreign influence.

This time, Anna’s eyes appeared particularly clouded, as if suffering great injustice over the lack of attention paid to her opinion.

After Anna’s sentence, Cai Hua remained silent for some time, looking at the curious girl, Cai Hua grew increasingly frustrated, giving off a lord snort, he occupied the seats within the carriage and began recuperating the damage he sustained over the past few months.

Ovid, at the same time, looked at Anna with an appreciative glance, giving off a slightly foolish smile as a result of his drunkenness. Nudging slightly closer toward Anna, Ovid wrapped his slender and pale arms around Anna, falling asleep at an astounding rate.

Since Ovid’s body became much colder than before, Anna felt a little uncomfortable even with the two layers of blankets acting as a medium.

Eventually, Anna realised that the temperature of Ovid’s body was actually quite comfortable in the heat of the South, though since she had slept much in the previous days, she did not doze off.

One of the two horses, as if sensing the serene atmosphere in the carriage it was pulling, neighed to express its disassociation, but upon the invasion of Cai Hua’s spiritual essence, which too surrounds the carriage, returned to silence.

The carriage moved along the non-existent road effortlessly, it’s ordinary wheels leaving no traces behind despite the uneven terrain causing one to inevitably compare it with a feather.

After a few hours passed, the ordinary horse succumbed to boredom. Eyeing its companion, the two horses shook off the rope binding them and galloped along the narrow passes between the great mountains.

Cai Hua’s spiritual essence was monitoring the creatures, thus, when the horses returned with a large mouthful of hay, he was not surprised.

Behind the horse, a middle aged woman holding a pair of sandals in her hand was desperately chasing the thieving mammals, occasionally running out of breath, she would place her hands on her knee to recuperate, before continuing to chase the two horses.

When the woman arrived at the carriage, she displayed no hesitation as she knocked on the door of the carriage, still holding her sandal in her other hand.

After a while, Ovid, whose expression was much sharper than before, hastily apologised to the woman, taking out a few follis, he said in a flat and unchanging tone, “I’m not certain about the price of hay, but this should be more than the market price. Since it’s the misbehaviour of my animals, additional fees such also be given for any other damage they caused.”

The woman, noticing Ovid’s well-sewn stola, finally placed down her sandals, and said, “The horse is so wild, I really didn’t expect that its owner would be such a cultured person like you!”

Boldly pushing away Ovid’s hand that held the few follis, she said, “The land here is quite fertile, and the strategos doesn’t tax that much, I’m just chasing it because of my bad mood.”

A sudden realisation came to Ovid, reaching within his storage ring, he retrieved a few sanitary pads he had brought in the city of Phalaris. “So much blood leaks out of a woman’s body, I don’t think it would improve your mood, but at least it should lead to a cleaner lifestyle,” Cai Hua said.

The woman inspected the sanitary pads closely, she said, “These things aren’t enough to sustain me a lifetime.”

“Also, I’m not on my period.”

Ovid smiled bitterly, though his face was stiffer than before, causing his already terrible smile to look even worse.

The woman looked at the small dimension of the wooden carriage, noticing Anna, who was cruelly forced to sit on the fool, the woman assumed that they were peculiar travellers since they would navigate through such a poor route, saying, “The person on the chair is really too much. My mother has a pretty high status in the village since you’re here anyway, why not rest by my house?”

Ovid was by nature, inadequate at social interactions, feeling exhausted at the length of his conversation with this stranger, he wanted to refuse, but lacks the courage to do so.

The woman persisted, “The empire has been so kind to me, it would be wrong to people of high status like you to go without rest.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Ovid really couldn’t maintain the conversation any further, feeling his back drenched in a cold sweat, he turned toward the inside of the carriage.

“Such a kind offer, it would be wrong to refuse it, but still, we should still give you a few follis as compensation,” Anna’s voice sounded from the carriage, sounding a little drowsy.

The woman then said, “I noticed the smell of alcohol in your breath earlier, if you don’t mind, my mother should have some wine in her cellar, though it’s probably not that good, the cured ham shouldn’t be too bad.”

Before Ovid could respond, Anna’s voice once again rang out from the, agreeing to the woman’s offer.

---

The village was no different from any other settlement, with numerous straw huts scattered along the dense green hills that were surrounded by many tall mountains that occupy much of the land. A little further away from the valley, they entered the village through, was a humble river that was not that different from the creek that runs through the village Ovid first seen when he had arrived at this world.

A small house made of stone was located on the river, differing from the other dwelling. At the front of the house was a small flower bed, bringing much vibrancy to the otherwise grey home that possesses an earthen floor.

Tending to the flowerbed was a young servant that had originated from any household in the village. Upon noticing her employer had brought two guests, she offhandedly greeted them.

Neither Ovid nor Anna paid much attention to etiquette, though the woman scolds the servant quite viciously. The servant listened to her master’s lecture quite attentively, before a smile appeared on her face, indicating the good relationship between the two.

After entering the house, the woman informed Ovid and Anna that her mother was working on administrative tasks in the village. Descending into the cellar, the woman took out a large bottle of wine, along with a slab of cured meat.

Ovid was a bit hesitant, not knowing where to put his hands before the woman recognised, and instructed him to sit on the table nearby.

The furniture that decorated the house was very ordinary, but well maintained, aside from a few corners that were hard to reach, the table and chairs were well oiled.

Ovid and Anna ate a few slices of the cured meat, though both had avoided the bottle of wine, as consuming too much alcohol was damaging to the body and premature consumption would hinder future growth and development.

The woman seemed not to mind, but since she had already brought the bottle of wine out, she called for her servant that was still outside. After pouring the servant a glass full of wine, the woman began to enjoy herself.

The servant, despite her tender age, was a shockingly good drinker, finishing the entire bottle, the servant then wordlessly returned to tend to the flowerbeds.

As she was opening the wooden door, an aged figure could be seen blocking the door.

Looking at her daughter, the aged figure said, “Georgia, just because you invited some guest, doesn’t mean you can waste the whole day away.”

The woman, Georgia, put away the slice of meat in her hand because exclaiming angrily, “I’ve been stacking hay the whole day, only then did I start to rest. Compared to you, my hands are a lot rougher, you know.”

The aged figure’s face darkened as she yelled, “I’ve been working on administrative works since the sun appeared, while when the sun was at its strongest, you still were lazing in bed! At best, you’ve been working for a tenth of the day.”

“As my daughter, you should be working with our fellow villagers, not depending on my earnings.”

“Just because you’re my daughter, don’t think I dare not hit you because of your outrageous behaviour.”

“I will sue you if you dare hit me.”

“The nearest administrative centre is twenty days away, I beg you to walk that far by yourself.”

“Screw you!”

“I’m your mother, you dare screw me?”

“Screw your mother!”

“Your grandma is six feet under, you’re cursing a dead person.”

“Screw your ancestor!”

“Our common ancestor is Alexander, careful he doesn’t come down here from the celestial realm and personally smite you!”

---

The squabble seems to be commonplace between the mother and daughter, so it wasn’t long with the argument subsided.

Returning her glance toward Anna and Ovid, Georgia said, “Ignore that crazy woman, she has been sticking her head in papers for too long, and her brain degraded.”

“Anyway, let’s continue feasting, this piece of ham was cured by me, so the woman doesn’t have any rights to criticise me.”

The old woman entered the house, smiling coldly, she said, “Then what about that bottle of wine?”

Georgia reasoned, “Since I’ve been working without pay for so long, count the wine as interest.”

After finishing the leg of ham, Ovid placed a few follis on the table against Georgia’s wish, after receiving a few fresh fruits (since dried fruits were plentiful), Georgia and her mother bid the two farewell, before arguing once again.

After returning to the carriage, Ovid lifted the curtains and looked outside, toward the rolling hills and standing mountains.

Despite not drinking, Ovid still felt tipsy from the atmosphere, looking at Anna, he sighed and said, “Although I dislike the clergy and the illusion given off by Julia, I don’t think I want any major change to happen.”

Anna tilted her head feeling that Ovid barely speaks of philosophy and politics, she asked, “Why is that so?”

He said, “Because, if a major change happens, these people will lose their savings, their small plot of land and even their family.”

After staring at outside from a while, Ovid closed the curtain and said, “Still, these kinds of society, I can’t really understand… To me, it’s still best to look away from people, and toward the stars.”

---

The Pope was followed by a puppy, who seemed to be struggling to keep up with the seemingly ancient man’s pace.

After arriving in front of a wooden building, the Pope took out a piece of jewellery, fondling it dearly, the pope entered the excellently clean lodging. Smelling the familiar sense, he picked up the puppy by his foot, bringing it to his shoulder.

Despite the absence of the receptionists welcome, as she was still lying on her mattress, which was now made of wool, the Pope did not seem to pay it much mind, sitting on one of the few tables in the inn, he said, “One black boar ham, a dragon’s tail with a side of fae’s mushroom.”

The sleeping figure stood up emotionlessly, looking at the youthful figure, she scoffed, before entering the kitchen.

When she returned, the receptionist was carrying a single plate with many elegant imprints. Bringing it before the Pope, revealing it content, of… a single egg.

The egg was not boiled, or baked, it was simply raw, with the shell still intact.

The Pope seemed not to mind, cracking it open with the back of his hand, a small crack appeared on the egg before the shell was split into two.

The receptionist then sat down opposite of the Pope.

The Pope pushed the jewellery onto the table.

The receptionist shook her head, before saying, “I’ve told you before, I’m an ordinary person, I don’t even know how I lived for so long.”