Night had fallen, but Kazimierz's nightlife was just beginning.
In this city, purely dedicated to the Knight Tournament and tourism, all infrastructure was designed to prioritize serving tourists and generating profit.
During the day, visitors watched exciting Knight Tournament matches in the arena or sought refuge from the late June heat in air-conditioned rooms. By night, they naturally wouldn't waste the brief coolness, either enjoying street performances or heading into dance halls and bars, partying until closing without stopping!
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A few kilometers away, neon lights illuminated the Grand Knight Territory's dark sky, coloring the clouds in various hues. The noisy promotional broadcasts from advertising drones, coupled with rock music as background, made the atmosphere exceptionally lively.
In terms of a high-tech, low-life cyberpunk feel, the Grand Knight Territory was on par with Saint Foucault City.
However, in the residential areas far from the main commercial streets, it appeared much quieter and more desolate.
Unlike the decay and chaos of the Columbia Slums, this area was orderly planned, and the houses weren't all dilapidated, unfinished buildings. Yet, for some reason, just seeing these rows of buildings evoked a sense of weariness and oppression.
In the narrow alleys, many workers who had been toiling since last night for the Knight Tournament and its related industries were now dragging their tired bodies home, one after another.
Dinner stalls were set up in the alleys, and some small pubs opened for business, offering these weary office workers a place to relieve stress.
Unlike the "specialty stores" in the commercial district, which charged exorbitant prices to fleece wealthy tourists, this was where the locals actually spent their money.
There were no dazzling neon lights, no incessant tournament promotions or advertisements. Although many people could be seen, the area remained hushed—in this noisy tourist city, quietness was a rare luxury.
Walking towards the outskirts of the city, past the last apartment buildings, large areas of bungalows with small courtyards came into view.
These were not some inner-city courtyard homes, but old-fashioned bungalows built decades ago.
The Commercial Federation, which hosted past Knight Tournaments, had originally promised to complete the renovation of all old residences twenty years ago.
However, when the giant corporations that formed the Commercial Federation completely monopolized the market, and even began to infiltrate the National Assembly, which oversaw civil affairs, allowing capital to seep into politics and merging the identities of businessmen and politicians... it's well known that not keeping one's promises is a politician's specialty.
"Sorry, everyone, my home is a bit humble... Ha, no choice. Wait, just a moment."
Standing before two rickety wooden doors, Margaret Nearl carefully used her armor-clad hand to pick up a small copper key. After some fiddling, she finally managed to unlock the sturdy iron lock on the thick chain, pushing open the door.
"No problem, but are you sure if there really were thieves, they wouldn't choose to break your door instead of picking your lock?"
Holding Skadi's hand, Goki looked at the "twin tails" behind Margaret Nearl and asked with a slight smile.
Goki hadn't expected Margaret Nearl, upon learning that the four of them had no place to stay and seemed to be "pursued" again, to unhesitatingly invite them to her home, without any concern about bringing trouble.
However, Goki knew this wasn't strange. The handsome and beautiful Kuranta woman in front of him had just such a personality.
Even if she were to make the judgment six years later, she would likely do the same.
Because she was Margaret Nearl—the destined champion of this Knight Tournament, the one who would become a legend as a Tournament Knight.
Radiant Knight—perhaps Margaret Nearl herself didn't know this name yet, but soon, this name would become a peak that all Knights aspired to, yet could not surmount.
And in the future, this legendary female Knight would become a Rhodes Island elite Operator—Nearl.
She was the most reliable, heavy-armored healer-tank that people wished to fight alongside, in some sense a colleague of Saria.
With excellent stats in all six dimensions, Nearl was a true hexagonal warrior with no weaknesses. Her swordsmanship and Originium Arts, inherited from the Nearl Family, allowed her to excel in various roles such as defensive Knight, retribution Knight, and healing Knight.
If Saria, dropping her shield, would transform into the Rhine Fist Emperor, and Shining, drawing her rapier, would transform into a Sarkaz Sword Saint, then Margaret Nearl, if she discarded her shield and wielded a warhammer with both hands, could at least be a six-star Guard—how many legitimate healers does Rhodes Island even have?
Of course, in the future, Margaret Nearl would also help lure her younger sister and Aunt to Rhodes Island—but that's a story for another time.
For the current Margaret Nearl, such matters were still too distant.
"Ha, you're making fun of me. I'm just an independent Knight, and this is the house I rented with the high school scholarship I saved up—but actually, there are benefits. I have a spacious enough yard to train in, and there are three rooms, with water and electricity. It's much more affordable than living in an apartment, and there's even a lawn."
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