Vol.25 Chapter 3: Agnica's spirit light

The world is made up of straight lines and curves. For example, modern Paris is a city of radiating straight lines. The most symbolic of these is the geometric grid of straight roads extending out from the Place Charles de Gaulle. British philosopher Jeremy Bentham devised a prison system in which a single watchtower overlooks a circular arrangement of solitary cells—a system known as the panopticon, named after the Greek word for all-seeing—but the panopticon style of surveillance, which later became known philosophically as the panopticon, is expressed in Paris as radial roads. However, this is not the case in the Agnica Kingdom. The capital city of Barka is a town with gentle curves. Even the main streets, as if unable to cut straight through, meander and curve their way through the city. In the middle of this lies the Agnica royal palace, and beyond that, the cathedral. Three sharp spires pierce the sky like needles, pointing toward the blue heavens. Within the thirty-meter-tall building stands the Spirit Tower. It is the spire where the spirit light is placed. At the top, there is a dish with a light sphere on it. Once upon a time, a spirit light the size of an apple shone there. It was the largest light in the kingdom. Bishops and archbishops would travel to the neighboring country of Hybride and be amazed by the size of the spirit light, returning home ashamed of the smallness of their own lamps. But—. The three of them stared at the light sphere of the sacred tower with a slightly dazed expression. The light, about the size of a basketball, emitted a white, steady glow. The first person watching was a woman wearing a tiara. She was in her forties, with blonde hair, full lips, and a vibrant purple dress that exposed her right shoulder. She was Queen Astorika of the Agnica Kingdom. The second was a tall, slender man. He had a cunning-looking black beard on his lips. He wore a short brown jacket-style coat and brown trousers. The third was a man with a rugged face and a sturdy build. His face resembled a square rock carved out of a cliff. His white-streaked hair framed his face, which featured thick eyebrows, sharp eyes, a broad, sturdy nose, and thin lips. His body was massive and bulky, weighing over 130 kilograms. He was about 180 centimeters tall, wearing a red long-sleeved tunic, a red knee-length skirt, and a green cloak. The cloak was stylishly fastened at the left collarbone. He was Lord Lindrus, a powerful figure in the kingdom who had defeated Gudrun and made Astorika queen.

"Is this only for today?"