Do you all know the future?

Chapter 152 Tavern Whispers
The old oil lamp sign of the Sea Anchor Restaurant creaked and swayed in the evening breeze, emitting an orange glow that conveyed a sense of poverty, yet it also exuded a lively atmosphere compared to the number of people in the restaurant.

Most of the diners were nearby fishermen, dockworkers, and some street residents. They sat together in small groups, dressed simply, with skin tanned and rough from the sea breeze, and loud voices.

The air in the kitchen was filled with the enticing aroma of food. Sizzling sausages were being roasted, and thick soup was being served from a bubbling stew pot. A large jug of ale, freshly drawn from a wooden barrel, was also being brought out.

Over a bowl of wine, worries and pains are put aside, and boasting and venting become the constant themes of the restaurant.

A burly man with a full beard held up a wooden cup filled with ale and loudly boasted to his companions at the table about his day's catch, how big a fish he had caught despite the risk of being attacked by cultists, his spittle flying everywhere with his excitement.

At another table, a few young people were whispering about the latest happenings on the street, their eyes occasionally drifting to the waitress who fluttered between the tables like a butterfly. Despite her freckles, she was still a favorite among these young people.

Diane was in the private room, gnawing on ribs, listening to these people bragging without arguing. The head maid next to her held a handkerchief and watched Diane eat, showing a doting smile.

Large chunks of roasted meat have a crispy outer skin, while the inside is tender and juicy. Sprinkled with coarse salt and spices, they simply and directly stimulate the taste buds.

Today it was just Diane and the head maid, a little date, ostensibly to gather intelligence, though Diane figured there wasn't much to learn at this kind of shady little restaurant.

"His Majesty Murak is about to be crowned, why hasn't Prince An made any move yet!"

Upon hearing her name, Diane stopped eating and her ears twitched, trying to hear the background noise clearly.

"Do you think Prince An will make a move? Prince An is doing well in Tudor; he's a prince of Tudor. Why would he come here?"

Someone burst into laughter, and the bustling scene outside fell silent for a moment, as if a pause button had been pressed.

"The Tudors are good, but we Ishtar are no worse!"

Although her voice lacked conviction, she managed to break the silence and the conversation turned to Diane.

"Things used to be fine, but now anyone with a little money has run away. His Highness An is too busy avoiding trouble to bother getting involved in this mess."

The mocking tone conveyed a sense of disappointment and frustration, reflecting a desire for Diane's return while simultaneously believing she wouldn't.

"Why come back? There are so many cultists and so many demons. I heard that His Highness An has only just entered the transcendent realm. It's safe outside. Let him stay outside."

There was a sense of despair and a feeling of hopelessness, making the atmosphere even more oppressive.

"Old silversmith, didn't you criticize Queen Greta the most? Why are you suddenly showing pity for her son? Have you lost your mind?"

She let out a mocking laugh, which drew laughter from those around her, and Diane laughed along with her.

"I was foolish back then. I created decorations for the nobles, took their words as gospel, and thought Her Majesty the Queen was wicked. I never imagined that the nobles were all liars."

The old silversmith's words were filled with regret; he truly regretted his past perception and how he had been used as a pawn.

"Me too. I originally thought the Abyss was nothing special, just something Her Majesty the Queen did to maintain her rule. I never imagined that these demons were afraid of Her Majesty the Queen and that's why they didn't dare to come out!"

"Alas, these nobles are truly wicked. They falsely accused Her Majesty the Queen of cruelty and deliberately distorted the faith. In reality, they were the ones who wanted to do this, but unfortunately, they messed it up."

“How beautiful Ishtar has become like this. I was also deceived by the nobles. Now there is no one who can guard the abyss.”

"..."

The restaurant instantly turned into a confession session. Everyone had been more or less swayed by public opinion, but Queen Greta arrogantly ignored it, and that's how the atmosphere became.

The theory that the Abyss is harmless arose because Queen Greta has guarded the Abyss for years without any incidents, suggesting that the Abyss has become harmless and that Queen Greta's guarding of the Abyss is just a show.

Listening to their confessions, Diane felt relieved and ate the meat heartily, feeling only satisfaction; even the rice tasted much better.

"Hmph, now you know you were wrong, right? You know what you did wrong, right? You had no judgment at all, Margaret, did you hear that?"

Diane put down the half-eaten rib and looked at the head maid. She had heard such remarks occasionally, but this was the first time she had heard of one that resembled a confessional meeting.

I heard it, but it doesn't matter anymore.

The head maid looked at Diane. The belated regret could no longer make her become the guardian deity of Ishtar. She had originally aimed to become a god in the direction of the guardian deity of Ishtar, which might have completely solved the problem of the abyss. She blocked the divine realm in the abyss.

Now, all she wants is to protect her master's child and make him happy. She's smiling now simply because Diane is smiling too.

"It still matters. Coming to Istaya and not hearing their confessions feels like something is missing."

Diane was quite vengeful. Whether these people followed the crowd or came to this belief on their own, in Diane's eyes, they had betrayed the head maid.

"I believe they already know they were wrong."

The head maid shook her head. What good would it do to know she was wrong? The queen who cherished Ishtar was no longer there; there was only a queen who treated Ishtar as a tool.

“I was wrong. If I hadn’t slandered Her Majesty the Queen, my wife wouldn’t have joined the cult and gone mad. I saw her body the day before yesterday; the gruesome sight was too much for me to bear.”

“Who isn’t? My brother went to the North, and I heard the entire North has fallen. He’s probably gone now. Why would he think of going out? Things are really different now than before!”

"I was wrong too. I thought I was very good at business and that Her Majesty the Queen's policies affected my development. But I didn't think that safety and stability are the opportunities for business development. Businesses can't withstand this kind of turmoil. If demons run rampant in Ishtar, the window between the Western Continent and the Eastern Continent, it won't bring prosperity, and business will be difficult."

"..."

As if in response to the head maid's words, people at different tables began to talk. They were now trapped in a deep pit, with no hope of escaping upwards.

Anyone with eyes can see that Ishtar is now a dying Titan, still enormous, but if he stays any longer, he will only die along with the Titan.

“Old silversmith, you must have saved up a lot of money. Why don’t you go abroad? With such a skill, you won’t starve even if you go abroad.”

The regretful crowd turned to the topic of Run, as the vast majority of them were unwilling to die with Ishtar.

"I'm getting old, so I might as well die. I don't want to die so far away from Elena. Besides, where is there any place that's completely safe?"

The old silversmith's tone was somber, as if there was something he couldn't bear to part with. "Just take her ashes with you; we can be buried together anytime."

"Don't try to persuade him anymore. His grandson is already gone. That kid ran away quickly; he fled as soon as Winterguard City fell. The old silversmith has nothing to hold him back. But why haven't you left yet?"

Someone came to the old silversmith's rescue. At this moment in Ishtar, everyone wanted to be sacrificed, and no one knew if they would be the next one to be offered up.

"Me? How can I run? There are so many people in my family. I can only hope that the adults in the capital can hold on."

"Yes, it's not that easy to leave. You don't know how expensive the ticket to leave is, and how will you survive without your current livelihood after you leave?"

Those who remain here don't have much patriotism; they have no choice. Like the citizens of Dongwei City who were sacrificed, even though they have nothing to give up, they still can't leave.

"You still believe those guys in the kingdom? They're the ones who killed Her Majesty the Queen! You still believe them? They have their own ships and can leave at any time. They can even leave through the spirit realm. You can only wait to die."

The slightly younger male voices couldn't understand. They couldn't believe that these people would still trust those nobles after suffering so many losses.

"What can we do? We can't leave; we can only die here."

"If you can leave, who wouldn't want to leave? Don't you want to leave? I don't want to trust them either, but I have no choice but to trust them."

“Yes, Princess Anne will not be coming back. Tudor is much safer than Istya, and Princess Anne is not Her Majesty the Queen.”

"Yes, perhaps he not only lacks the Queen's magnanimity, but also harbors hatred towards Ishtar. I heard that the divine artifact, the Shield of Radiance, was used against him."

"His Majesty Murak's desire to be crowned shows that he still wants Ishtar. Since Ishtar is his, he should be thinking about protecting it."

"Yes, yes, we can't let our assets be damaged, can we? I also believe that His Majesty Murak will protect his assets!"

When Diane heard this argument in the private room, she looked at it with a difficult expression, finding it naive and incredibly naive.

"They probably never considered that Murak wanted to be crowned king in order to better sell out the country!"

Diane shook her head helplessly. Perhaps it was just self-deception. After all, in this kind of environment, one couldn't find the courage to live without lying to oneself.

"I never imagined that the national treasury's most precious artifacts would be used by Murak to curry favor with the gods. I really don't know what to say about his confidence and his ability to blindly follow others, repeatedly choosing the wrong side."

The head maid spoke with a smile. She didn't want to comment too much on these people's choices, as long as Diane could see things clearly. After all, Diane, due to the inertia of her hometown, was somewhat like someone who "wouldn't eat meat porridge."

Unbeknownst to them, not all the people in this other world are kind; their thoughts are no simpler than those of nobles, but their status and power limit them.

“If we hadn’t come, they probably wouldn’t even know how they were sacrificed by the evil god. This Emperor Murak is also opportunistic, trying to make contact with all sorts of gods.”

Diane and her companions investigated the ownership of the artifact and discovered that it had ultimately been taken by the gods—not just one god, but many gods.

"He's just afraid of dying. Our relationship is a life-or-death struggle, so it's normal for him to look for another way out."

The head maid looked down on the false king, but she still had some approval for his actions; she sensed his strong will to survive.

"Don't think too much about it. We can only trust His Majesty Murak. His Highness An is far away in Tudor and only appeared in the newspapers a few days ago."

“Yes, Prince An has clearly given up on Ishtar. With his holy blood and spirituality, he could establish a new kingdom anywhere. This is a spirituality that can make one a god.”

"His Highness An has not abandoned our Ishtar, but he is too weak now, just a mage. He will return when he becomes an angel!"

“That’s right, this is his throne. His Majesty Murak’s succession is somewhat problematic. In this situation, we should take the initiative to invite Prince An back to inherit the throne.”

"Whether it's spirituality or orthodoxy, His Highness An is more suitable. Saint-level spirituality is stronger than legend."

"It will be a long time before he returns. He chose the mage advancement path, which is much longer than the knight advancement path. He won't be as fast as Her Majesty the Queen!"

"What were you thinking? How could you become a mage? Her Majesty the Queen is clearly a knight. Only by being a knight can she make the most of her holy blood. Your Highness is too confused."

“Your Highness is not confused, you are too stupid. Her Majesty the Queen was framed by the gods because she became a knight. How could Your Highness repeat the same mistake?”

“That’s right. According to rumors, Her Majesty the Queen was not familiar with the rituals and was eventually killed by the gods. Prince An naturally does not want to follow in his mother’s footsteps.”

“These gods are truly despicable. They can’t stand the emergence of a new god in our Ishtar, and they even disregard the defenses of the Abyss, allowing demons to break out of it. They are selfish to the extreme. They overthrew Her Majesty the Queen but can’t clean up the mess. They are simply beasts.”

"You'd better refrain from swearing. If the believers hear you, you'll be in big trouble. Before the cultists even get to you, the orthodox believers will send you to meet your maker. This is a topic that can't be discussed at all."

“We can’t talk about anything. You’re afraid to admit you did something like this? The newspapers have already exposed it enough. They don’t care about our lives at all. You’re not a believer, are you? That’s why you can’t stand me scolding them.”

"If only I were a believer, I could leave Ishtar. Look at these empty churches, asking me to believe in them is wishful thinking. But there are too many lunatics among them. I shouldn't have any contact with them!"

"Come on, those gentlemen wouldn't come to a place like ours. Besides, as for the believers, you just saw that the church was empty; they all ran away long ago. Who would be so bored as to come looking for trouble?"

"Yes, yes..."

That's what they said, but the discussion about the gods still stopped. They spoke tough on the surface, but they were still afraid. The topic didn't go any further and returned to the previous chaotic and disorderly state.

"Let's go!"

Diane took the handkerchief from the head maid and wiped her mouth. Having eaten and drunk her fill, Diane had no interest in staying any longer. The information these people had was nothing remarkable; the only gain was hearing people's confessions.

"Master, shall we return to the inn?"

The head maid straightened her dress slightly.

"Let's wander around some more, go to different places and hear this false king's opinions, and tell me about Ishtar from your perspective."

Diane took the head maid's hand, feeling very happy.

(End of this chapter)