1030 Asharuiya (1/2)
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
Mo Fan went on a tour in the San Marco Auction Hall, as he was feeling quite bored.
In a long corridor not far away from the VIP rooms, glass cabinets were placed in a row, displaying various kinds of historically-meaningful artifacts. For example, the first piece of Water-type magic equipment was on display; magic weapons; and old records stating how the Water Element was regarded as a forbidden magic. There were also the skulls of the strongest Water Mages in Venice's history.
Mo Fan walked along the corridor. There was no auction today, so Mo Fan was the only person walking in the corridor. As he observed the items being displayed, Mo Fan could not help but feel amazed. He was not sure if it was because the world he once knew was simply too ordinary, or if he was currently having a magical dream, where the civilization of magic had lasted a long time, and had perfectly blended into human life. It just felt so unbelievable.
As he was walking, he suddenly discovered a black stone the size of a thumb on a shelf. The stone was as beautiful as a crystal, with blinking white dots on the surface, like a starry night sky, setting off its extraordinary beauty.
Mo Fan was rather confused. How could such a tiny stone feel so magical? He proceeded to read the lore of the tiny stone.
”It's called the Stone of Guilt. More than twenty years ago, an authoritative, beautiful woman wanted to show to the public she was being fair and just while sentencing criminals, and the stone was a symbol of it,” the pleasant voice of a woman arose behind him.
Even without turning around to look at her appearance, Mo Fan could tell how elegant and gorgeous the woman was from just her voice.
As he turned around, he saw a face covered by a veil, just as he had expected. Her eyes had dark blue pupils, and as he stared into them, he felt a surge of lightning crackling inside his mind. It spread through his body, making his heart beat rapidly.
”It's really you! HAHAHA, such a fateful encounter!” Mo Fan burst out laughing when he saw the extremely beautiful woman.
”Yeah, it's too bad that something so terrifying happened during our last encounter,” Asha'ruiya smiled. It was tactful yet friendly, which served as a great contrast to Mo Fan's wild laughter.
”Let's not talk about the sad incident. It's such a coincidence, I was thinking about you not long ago, and here I am stumbling into you in Venice,” Mo Fan said.
Mo Fan proceeded to explain his experience in Egypt and the Dark Swordmaster to Asha'ruiya.
”It sounds like you forgot me for a long time,” Asha'ruiya picked out the flaw in Mo Fan's sentence and let out a sigh, like an old friend teasing him playfully.
”Not necessarily, it's just that I didn't think I'd see you again so soon. So your real name is Asha'ruiya! Not bad, it definitely suits a gorgeous woman like you,” Mo Fan complimented her.
”You can call me by my Chinese name too,” Asha'ruiya permitted him.
”Miss Ye Meng'e, you mentioned that the stone is called the Stone of Guilt, but you sounded a little sarcastic?” Mo Fan inquired.
Asha'ruiya walked closer and glanced at the description written in Italian with a disdainful grin.
”It's a Stone of Judgment of the Holy Judgment Court. Black means guilty, and white means not guilty. When the Holy Judgment Court is sentencing someone very important, they will summon the elders of the court to judge the person. If the number of black stones is greater than the white, then the person is deemed guilty, and will be punished severely by the court. Around twenty years ago, on a particular case, the number of blacks and whites was equal, but the Goddess of the Parthenon Temple voted with a black stone, pronouncing her own brother guilty. As such, she was complimented for being fair and just. Since then, the stone she used to vote has been displayed here for people of the world to see,” Asha'ruiya explained patiently to Mo Fan.
”If it was a draw before, it means what the person did wasn't necessarily unforgivable, but it wasn't generally accepted, either. That being said, if she had the option to decide the fate of her family member with her vote and still chose to vote black, there must be something seriously wrong with her!” Mo Fan directly commented.
”You think so too?” Asha'ruiya smiled behind the veil. It seemed like she also agreed that the Goddess of the Parthenon Temple was out of her mind. She also considered the act of placing righteousness above loyalty to her family unreasonable in a situation like that.
(Ed. Note: This is Chinese loyalty to family above all. In the West, this is proper Justice. In reality, the Goddess should have not been allowed to vote, and would have abstained.)
”Let's not talk about something so serious. I have only just arrived in Venice; are you interested in touring around with me, drinking some afternoon tea, and eating some Italian pizza?” Mo Fan asked.
”Sure, but I have something to attend to first. You can pick a place and wait for me there, feel free to order the pizza first,” Asha'ruiya said. From the look in her eyes, she seemed quite interested in talking to Mo Fan.
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