novelhk Chapter 125 Rostlov, the Clock Village (A Sigh of Retrospection) Part 1
Chapter 125 Rostlov, the Clock Village (A Sigh of Retrospection) Part 1
Rostlov, the watchmaking capital, is renowned throughout this plain region for its clocks. It exports many exquisite mechanical watches, and the city's streets are filled with horological elements, constantly reminding passersby of the importance of time.
The most famous feature is the iconic clock tower in the heart of the Kingdom of Rostlov, which is said to have been there since the founding of the kingdom. To this day, the clock tower still chimes the hours accurately, witnessing the passing of generation after generation of Mrs. Rostlov.
As the sun set, Elena walked down the street somewhat forlornly, unusually, even the aroma of bread nearby failed to pique her interest.
She walked very slowly, standing out somewhat from the crowd of people coming and going around her.
"Is something on your mind, young lady?" Elena was stopped by a girl wearing a magician's hat who was running a roadside stall.
Judging from her stall, it seemed to be selling cards—quite unusual in a country where watches are the norm.
"Would you like to have your fortune told to relax? The first time is free," the girl said with a smile, pointing to the cards she was selling. "Tarot cards. If you're interested, you can buy a deck."
She always seems to run into people in the same boat, but today, Elena wasn't really in the mood for joking around.
In the past, she had to thoroughly sabotage her colleagues.
But she's right, I should relax and unwind.
"Let's play around for a bit," Elena strolled over.
“Let me introduce myself. My name is Ophelia. In my hometown, this name means destiny.” Ophelia smiled. “As you can probably guess, I’m not from Rostlov. I came from a very, very far country with my mother after my father passed away.”
She muttered to herself as if chatting casually, cutting the tarot cards in her hand again and again: "After all, what Rostlovian would sell cards... This is something popular in my hometown, and the ones sold at the stalls are all replicas I made myself."
Elena didn't say anything, just listened quietly to her rambling.
“Oh dear, I’ve said too much. After all, you’re the only one who paid any attention to me today,” Ophelia said. “Before we begin the divination, please allow me to ask a question—it’s not a private one, but do you believe in fate?”
I am an atheist at least for now. My parents are not religious, so I don't have any religious inclinations.
But when it comes to answering this question, Elena isn't really sure if she believes in fate.
"I don't know," Elena replied.
“Most people seem to give the same answer. After all, when people are in high spirits, they tend to disbelieve in fate and believe that fate should be in their own hands; when they are down, they tend to blame their failures on fate to make themselves feel better. There’s nothing wrong with that—so, miss, what would you like to have divined?” Ophelia said.
"My future, I suppose," Elena said casually, since it was just a casual topic anyway. Any fortune teller would shower this subject with compliments and flattery—making the customer happy would make them more generous.
But anyway, we don't have to pay any money now.
Just doing some divination for fun.
“Miss, try shuffling the cards.” Ophelia handed the tarot cards to Elena. “Stop whenever you feel it’s time.”
Irena shuffled the cards repeatedly as Ophelia had instructed, then stopped at a certain point and returned them.
Ophelia flipped up the top tarot card and placed it in front of Elena.
The card depicts a woman who appears to be dancing, with the word "World" written below it.
“It means that…” Ophelia said, “things you want to do recently will generally go smoothly.”
"Lend your auspicious words."
"But at the same time—it also symbolizes an end, the end of everything. Reversed, it means that the final ending may not be happy."
"Life is always full of imperfections; there are very few truly perfect things," Elena said casually, not taking this interpretation to heart.
“That’s very true. It seems that you understand fate very well, much better than my mother,” Ophelia said with a smile. “She was a devout believer who entrusted her whole life to fate. A few months ago, she passed away because she mistakenly took the medicine that was supposedly given to her by divine revelation. I happened to be away from home at the time.”
"Condolences."
“When she was still alive, I was always too busy to spend enough time with her, and that’s probably why she sought solace from the gods because of her loneliness. Time can only be observed and utilized, it cannot be reversed. So, Miss, if there’s anything you want to do, focus on the present moment. That’s my interpretation of your confusion.”
This guy really does seem like a charlatan.
but……
"Thank you." Elena got up to leave, after all, someone was waiting for her at the inn.
……
"Is this the Clock Village?" Irene, a newcomer, was naturally very curious about this entirely new kingdom. For a seasoned traveler, do you know what's most important?
Going to a new place to eat and drink?
Then your understanding is not up to par—merely satisfying your appetite; the most important thing is to collect local specialty items.
Whether it's local history books, commemorative pendants, or local specialties—these are all important items and constitute the bulk of Elena's gold coin expenditures.
When she gets tired of traveling in the future, she will definitely set up a room in her home specifically to store these souvenirs.
That bottle of wine that I stepped on myself will be one of them—someday when I see it, I will remember where I traveled.
But just as Elena was about to go on a shopping spree, she finally discovered something truly outrageous.
Good heavens, where did all the gold coins go?
Elena looked thoughtfully at her wallet; this kind of thing happened often.
It's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature. Even though I've told myself many times to plan ahead, I always end up spending all my money without realizing it, and then I'm forced to start earning money in a tight spot.
This is something I can't change.
Because every time, I felt like I had made a lot of money, enough to live a luxurious life for a long time.
But Elena always underestimates her own extravagance.
Well, now that her wallet is empty, it means she has to go out and make money again.
As she was pondering this, Elena noticed that Qin seemed to be looking at a poster on the wall.
Elena squinted, preparing to examine the poster more closely to see what it was saying.
"The Second Street Serial Killer" looks like a poster for a TV series, and it's supposedly based on a true story—uh… so Qin, you're interested in this kind of crime drama?
“Are you interested? We can go take a look together,” Elena said.
"I just don't understand why anyone would be interested in a serial killer, let alone make a TV series about it," Qin said.
"People are always curious—after all, they always like things they can't see in reality, but when they actually encounter them in reality, they're not happy about it," Elena said—and I'm ashamed to admit that she is like that.
Before her trip, she genuinely fantasized about becoming an invincible hero, vanquishing demons and monsters along the way.
Then those who had received favors from her would applaud: "Ahhhhh, Goddess Elena, ahhhhh!"
Looking back now, she realizes how immature she was at that age; now she just wants trouble to stay away from her.
"So, do you want to see it?" Qin asked.
"Um—ha—" Elena mumbled, chuckling. It would be a lie to say she wasn't interested; after all, I'm just an ordinary person. But I don't have any money…
“I remember I just gave you gold coins,” Qin said.
He's so focused; he knew right away what was bothering me.
I just got some gold coins... I'll definitely spend them on the way here, buy books, buy bread...
After that, Qin didn't say anything more, but instead bought two tickets for the TV series on her own initiative.