Mythology: Ragnarok

Chapter 312 Art and Beauty

Agreed's words made Xuan Yuan Muze fall into deep thought. Seeing this, Stukov laughed and patted Agreed on the back, then said to himself, "That's why I'm friends with him. Apart from being a bit reactionary, this guy always manages to spout some philosophical things. Don't let his arrogance fool you, if you think about what he says, hey! It really makes sense."

Xuanyuan Muze looked at Agreed and asked, "Shouldn't even beauty be defined?"

Agreed patiently explained, “Beauty is said to be undefinable, but it still has its limits. The so-called beautiful women and handsome men we talk about are simply because their appearances meet our aesthetic standards. They make us feel comfortable, so we want to look at them. But what if two universally acknowledged beauties or handsome men appeared in front of you and you had to decide who was better?”

At this point, you'll choose the one that aligns more with your own aesthetic, right? Because everyone has their own understanding and perspective on beauty; what you like may not be liked by others, just like art—we all have our own ideas. However, the Kingdom of All Races does indeed have some basic restrictions on beauty. We do not allow any race to promote a beauty standard that harms health, and we further prohibit the existence of cosmetics and plastic surgery industries.

Xuanyuan Muze asked in confusion, "Beauty that damages health? What do you mean? And why don't you allow the cosmetics and plastic surgery industries to exist?"

Agreed earnestly taught: "What is called harming health is aesthetic diseases that harm one's own health by demonizing and deforming oneself to conform to popular aesthetics, without any moral bottom line or even self-awareness."

To put it this way, four thousand years ago, on a planet under the rule of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Races, a trend of 'thinness' as beauty suddenly and inexplicably swept across the land. Large numbers of people began to frantically lose weight, pursuing a slender figure. Some even went so far as to defy the trend and undergo surgery to forcibly change their body proportions. As a result, countless women suffered from malnutrition, leading to widespread diseases. Some even died on the operating table due to failed cosmetic surgery. This event is known in history as the 'Aesthetic Persecution Tragedy'.

Fortunately, the Kingdom of Myriad Races intervened in time, exiling the instigator behind this turmoil, the editor-in-chief of the Aesthetics Magazine, 'Albert,' to hell to serve his sentence. His 4,312 cronies were executed by slow slicing. The Kingdom of Myriad Races swiftly brought this farce to a close with swift and decisive action. Ultimately, with the help of the Kingdom of Myriad Races' medical magicians, the casualties of this tragedy were minimized.

Looking back now, I still feel a chill. Although we treated the victims in time, many residents still lost their fertility forever. The planet's population went into negative growth during that period, and countless industries were affected. However, every cloud has a silver lining. Seeing this situation, the Kingdom of All Races began to encourage women who had lost their fertility to engage in business activities to recover their losses. But the losses suffered were completely disproportionate to the gains.

To be honest, I still don't quite understand why we have to live in the eyes of others, risking our health and even our lives to follow the beauty defined by others. Isn't this just a kind of personality persecution disguised in a sweet guise? Do we really have to follow meaningless or even distorted beauty like livestock, enjoying others' hypocritical praise and worthless flattery in order to find meaning in life?

If you want to define beauty, then I only have one answer: beauty is a temperament, a manifestation of confidence, health, and youthfulness. It is not a body shape, nor can it be defined by a bunch of scoundrels who only know how to hype things up. This is why the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Races has strictly controlled the beauty industry since then, because this kind of thing does not conform to the interests of the race, and it is impossible for a race to become strong. You could even say that it is more terrible than drugs, as it is destroying the spirit and morality of our race.

However, don't misunderstand. Our so-called strict control only means prohibiting the existence of cosmetics and unnecessary cosmetic surgery.

What are cosmetics? They are things that temporarily beautify the face, like wearing a fake mask, similar to disguise. Because these things are of varying quality and most are harmful to the skin and health, the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Races strictly prohibits them. However, we don't condemn all cosmetics. Skin care products such as face creams, masks, and hand creams are not subject to the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Races' regulations, as long as they meet our safety certifications, they are completely acceptable.

As for what "non-essential cosmetic surgery" means, I need to explain the meaning of "essential cosmetic surgery" first. Essential cosmetic surgery refers to cosmetic surgery that is performed for one's own health when one's appearance and body are damaged due to congenital deformities or accidents. For example, those with cleft lip and palate, receding chin, incomplete bone development, large birthmarks on the face or body, or facial scars due to accidents, etc., are allowed to receive the most formal and highest-level treatment. This is also collectively referred to as essential cosmetic surgery.

Unnecessary cosmetic surgery is its opposite. That is, if you have no congenital defects in your appearance and no accident has caused damage to your appearance, but you still want to go through all the trouble of risking disfigurement or even shortening your lifespan to change your appearance through external forces, we call this 'unnecessary cosmetic surgery'.

Such behavior, which risks one's life, is strictly prohibited by the Kingdom of All Races. Furthermore, any institution performing cosmetic surgery without state permission is subject to the most severe punishment under the laws of the Kingdom of All Races: beheading.

Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuan Mu Ze's worldview was once again refreshed by the laws and culture of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Races. However, what really bothered Xuan Yuan Mu Ze was that although he wanted to refute it, what Agreed said made so much sense. Agreed's reasoning was sound, and his arguments were objective and well-founded, leaving Xuan Yuan Mu Ze with no way to refute him.

Stokoff then spoke up: "Traveler, don't worry about him. He just likes to make a big deal out of things. If you ask me, you should just live your life and be happy. Don't listen to him. He just likes to mess with other people's mindset."

Upon hearing this, Agreed immediately retorted angrily, "What are you saying? What are you saying?! Listen to what you're saying! If you're going to advise someone, just advise them properly. Why are you resorting to personal attacks? Who's trying to upset me? I'm just stating the facts!"

Stokoff waved his hand and said, "Alright, we're here to admire literary works, not to discuss these things. Let's go. This guy hasn't even walked a few steps and you've already started teaching a lesson. Ethan, you just can't shake this occupational hazard of being a teacher."

Agred snapped impatiently, "Come on, how did this get back to my profession? Let's go, since you've already said so, stop talking nonsense and show our guests around."