Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Shanxi.

As a region, it wasn’t small. But in terms of reputation or renown, it wasn’t particularly outstanding.

It lacked any of the Four Great Noble Families or the Nine Great Sects.

There was the Hebei Peng Clan nearby, but since they weren’t based in Shanxi itself, their influence here was limited.@@novelbin@@

A place known by name but lacking true power.

That was how Shanxi felt both in the present and in the future I came from.

Hiiing—!

The horses neighed as the carriage slowed.

As the wheels lost momentum, I gazed out the window, caught in a strange feeling of nostalgia.

'This prefecture… looks just like I remember.'

As a child, and even after I had grown, I had frequently traveled here.

I had been shackled, unable to leave this place freely, so I had seen it more times than I cared to count.

It was the prefecture where the Gu Clan's influence was strongest.

"Buy some fresh fruit!"
"Come take a look at these goods!"

The streets were no different from any other city.

Though it was smaller in scale, the crowd and marketplace buzzed with the same energy as anywhere else.

A truly ordinary prefecture.

One that was no different from the place I remembered.

As I quietly observed—

"What are you thinking about?"

"……."

Hyun Soyeon suddenly spoke to me.

"……What?"

"Your eyes looked strangely sentimental, so I asked. Why? Have you been here before?"

"……No. It just reminds me of a place I know."

"Really? Well, I guess all prefectures look more or less the same. But still, why that look?"

"…What look?"

"You just looked strangely sentimental. Doesn’t suit you."

"Doesn’t suit me…?"

That was kind of rude.

I clicked my tongue inwardly and turned my gaze away.

But she wasn’t wrong.

'There’s no reason to get sentimental over this place.'

The Gu Clan of my original world still existed, after all.

It was just that this time period had momentarily stirred something within me.