Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 742: Ruling Powers [Golden Gachapon Bonus - ]

Asher remained silent. He did not need to ask further to understand the reasoning behind the division between the Rings; it was fundamentally for safety. Something the Zarethorne Empire had never truly bothered implementing.

Asher’s eyes shifted toward the side as he gazed outside through the car window, and there he noticed that the number of cars and traffic lights within the Inner Rings was significantly lower than those within the Outer Rings, which was understandable. After all, people here moved at supernatural speeds. The last thing they needed was excessive traffic congestion, traffic lights, and ordinary driving laws restricting them.

”But don’t delude yourselves into thinking crimes do not happen simply because of these Rings and segregation,” FatelessPen continued. ”Someone does not need to be an awakener to become a serial killer or a rapist.” He sighed lightly before continuing. ”While the Thalvorn Empire does possess military forces and soldiers, at the end of the day, the majority of their military strength is focused on keeping Emovirae, Monsters, and Beasts at bay. They cannot constantly divert military personnel toward investigating every individual crime.”

He spoke calmly as he reminded them that despite the advanced systems and laws of the Thalvorn Empire, the brutal reality of Crymora still remained unchanged.

Which honestly made perfect sense. After all, someone could not die during a mission or under suspicious circumstances and realistically expect the Military to immediately allocate valuable soldiers and resources toward investigating the matter.

The law of survival of the fittest still existed even within the Thalvorn Empire. The only difference was that the rulers of the Thalvorn Empire attempted to level the playing field as much as possible. Anyone dying to someone overwhelmingly stronger than themselves was either courting death willingly or had simply encountered unfortunate luck.

Everyone nodded silently as they understood FatelessPen’s explanation.

”What can you tell us about those who rule the Thalvorn Empire?” Asher suddenly asked. ”Are they nobles like us, or is the entire Empire governed purely through Military Law?” He was genuinely curious about the individuals responsible for creating the Ring system and dividing citizens accordingly.

”I think at this point Cindralis should honestly start paying me,” FatelessPen mused jokingly. ”After all, I’m practically doing the work of a history Instructor right now.”

Asher and the others simply smiled while shaking their heads lightly.

FatelessPen merely smiled back before continuing his explanation, ”honestly, the ruling powers within the Thalvorn Empire are not too different from ours,” he stated calmly. ”There are Noble Households here as well, all of which reside within the Zero Rings. And just like our Empire, they possess ranks such as Barons, Viscounts, Counts, Marquises, Dukes, and so on. However, within the Thalvorn Empire, there is no Emperor or King.”

Everyone’s expressions immediately shifted into confusion as they listened to FatelessPen’s words.

”Do they govern the Thalvorn Empire together, or does the supreme ruler simply possess another title aside from Emperor or King?” Vaelric asked, clearly puzzled.

”I was getting to that, Mr. Prince,” FatelessPen replied dryly.

”Unlike our own Empire, where Noble Households rule over individual territories, the nobles here do not govern territories at all. After all, they all reside together within the Zero Rings.” FatelessPen continued calmly. ”However, despite lacking territories, they still stand above ordinary citizens and possess far greater privileges, just like all of you here. So essentially, they gain all the benefits of nobility without the stress of ruling over headache-inducing people.”

FatelessPen paused briefly before continuing, ”most Noble Houses also occupy powerful positions within the Military. But ultimately, every Noble Household and even the Military itself answers to the Awakener Association, or as I personally call it, the AA.”

Asher paused momentarily at the name.

Awakener Association.

As someone who had consumed countless novels in his previous life, he instantly recognized the name as one of the most generic and commonly used clichés in stories centered around awakeners and supernatural worlds.

’Did someone transmigrate into Crymora before me? Or perhaps reincarnate here?’ Asher questioned inwardly as suspicion immediately surfaced within his mind.

The technology here was practically a direct replica of Earth’s modern era, and now, the governing body of the Thalvorn Empire was called the Awakener Association. This entire situation felt suspicious on every conceivable level.

But if such a thing truly had happened, then it would mean that another transmigrator had arrived from the same twenty-first-century Earth as him, taken control of the Thalvorn Empire, and established the Awakener Association while leaving the Noble Households ruling system intact.

And if that was the case, then the flow of time between Earth and Crymora would have to be completely erratic and impossible to properly quantify.

’Sigh... I might just be overthinking things,’ Asher thought inwardly as he shook his head slightly, deciding not to dwell on such matters, after all, it was not as though he possessed any method of discovering the truth... wait... actually, he did.

’Hey, System, what are the chances that another transmigrator or reincarnated individual exists within Crymora?’ Asher asked inwardly.

Although the System usually ignored him nowadays aside from occasionally performing its clock-related duties, he still decided to ask regardless.

[No need to worry, Host. The System assures the Host that there have been zero transmigrators or reincarnated beings within Crymora, both currently and prior to the Host’s transmigration. After all, there was simply no one on Earth who lived a perfect life comparable to the Host]

The System chimed almost instantly in response.

Although the System had technically answered his question, Asher could not help but feel as though the System was subtly mocking him for having lived a perfect, stress-free life back on Earth.

Even the richest individuals in the world still possessed worries and burdens. But Ethan? He truly had none

Asher shook his head helplessly, deciding to ignore the System entirely. At the very least, the System had given him a definite answer, meaning he no longer needed to overthink situations like this.

Another question immediately surfaced within Asher’s mind, and without hesitation, he asked once more, ’hey, System... is there some sort of hidden secret behind my transmigration?’

This question had constantly lingered within the back of his mind ever since arriving in Crymora.

Had he truly died peacefully in his sleep? Or was his arrival within Crymora the result of some higher power manipulating events behind the scenes?

[Maybe... maybe not... who knows? Certainly not the System]

The System chimed teasingly once more.

Asher sighed deeply before shaking his head, if the System ever accidentally manifested a physical body one day, then he truly might end up fighting it.

He simply decided to stop focusing on the System and instead pay attention to FatelessPen, who was currently handing out valuable information entirely for free.

After all, who knew how long it would have taken them to uncover all this information on their own?

But still... the possibility that his reincarnation had been manipulated lingered stubbornly within the back of his mind despite his attempts to ignore it.

Asher could only hope that his reincarnation did not come attached with hidden strings or responsibilities.

He truly did not wish to spend his life battling some mysterious higher entity or ancient existence, such a troublesome task sounded utterly exhausting for a naturally lazy person like him.

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