Chapter Twenty-Three: Cinderella’s Wish

“This is the royal capital of our Deep Blue Kingdom!” A-da spoke with pride as he looked at the bustling city, where soldiers stood guard atop the walls.

“Not bad,” Mu Rongxun replied half-heartedly.

To be honest, this small, provincial town hardly resembled a royal capital. If he hadn’t been told, he might have mistaken it for a rural small city. It was nothing like the royal capitals he remembered—like the Elran Kingdom’s capital from his previous world, which at least had the grandeur befitting a royal city. This time, it was merely a title without substance.

Even in his own country’s ancient times, cities with populations in the millions existed, and cities with hundreds of thousands were common. But this place? The so-called royal capital probably didn’t even have ten thousand inhabitants.

Yet, since this was a derivative world, based on a fairy tale from the real world, there was no need to analyze it too deeply.

After A-da and his two brothers entered the city, they immediately bid Mu Rongxun farewell. They hadn’t returned home in a long time and missed their family dearly; at this moment, they didn’t want to waste a single second.

Mu Rongxun understood and, after parting ways, began wandering the city alone.

Having exchanged for the universal currency, he had no worries about money.

The city gave him the impression of a poor, backward county town. Streets were littered with cow and horse dung, and the air was heavy with unpleasant odors—there was no trace of a royal city’s majesty.

After walking for some time, he reached the city center, where a crowd had gathered. Curious, he approached to take a look.

Thanks to the temporary knowledge of this world’s universal language and script, he could still read the signs.

Upon closer inspection, it was a notice: the old king was very aged; the prince had gone missing; the princess remained in an eternal slumber. According to the seers, only a true love’s kiss could awaken the sleeping princess. Whoever succeeded in waking her would marry the princess and inherit the throne.

This notice explained the murmurs among the crowd.

From their conversations, Mu Rongxun learned this notice wasn’t new. For years, no one had come close enough to the princess, let alone awakened her.

He had no interest in the princess’s aura and only sought to trigger a quest, to investigate everything about the mist.

Here, he was but a passerby, seeking someone to ask how to leave this so-called fantasy paradise.

Without a destination, he could only take one step at a time.

The king’s search for a suitor was merely a spectacle for him.

Listening to others' idle talk, he discovered the sleeping princess was called “Sleeping Beauty,” surrounded by roses that would close their thorns on anyone attempting to approach, preventing all from reaching her.

Over the years, the king had tried countless solutions, even inviting seers from other kingdoms for advice. Eventually, they concluded the princess needed a true love’s kiss to awaken her, hence the royal matchmaking.

Yet, no one had ever passed the rose barrier.

Initially, young hopefuls lined up at the palace gates, dreaming of rising to glory in a single step. But none succeeded in awakening the princess, and many gave up, suspecting the legend was a hoax concocted by seers to deceive the king. How could a mere kiss awaken someone?

They thought the king, having lost his son and with his daughter eternally asleep, was desperate and gullible.

Still, some held onto hope—what if they were the one?

Alas, those hopefuls entered with joy and left dejected, failing without even seeing the princess, defeated by the sea of roses in a single chamber.

Mu Rongxun paid no heed to such matters and found a place to stay.

After all, locating relevant personnel and triggering quests would take time. Surely the capital of a kingdom would offer quests.

He wasn’t in a rush about the main quest; there was no time limit anyway.

“Sir, please take a look. Our house is spacious, and the attic here is separate!” a plain-faced woman walked ahead, introducing her home.

Through conversation, Mu Rongxun learned her husband was a merchant, often traveling for business.

Their house was large, so she wanted to rent out the spare space to earn some money.

He found nothing unusual—such arrangements were common in modern society.

He just needed a temporary place to stay, with no special demands.

The household was all women, living in separate quarters, so there would be no disturbance—this suited him well.

Though the rent was a bit high for a female tenant, he agreed to stay for a while.

At dusk, a shy girl carrying a quilt appeared, and Mu Rongxun thanked her.

Blushing, she hurried away.

He assumed she was a servant and didn’t ask further.

Every day, he went out early and returned late, wandering the city in search of magicians or anyone who might trigger a quest.

He found that this so-called fantasy paradise lived up to its name. People were prosperous and peaceful; there weren’t many troubles needing his help.

During this time, he also met the two daughters of the woman whose house he stayed in.

But they barely acknowledged him; the two young women were proud and didn’t even glance his way.

From others’ conversations, Mu Rongxun learned these two girls were from the woman’s previous marriage, while her new husband—the merchant—had another daughter.

He had never seen her before, only later realizing it was the girl who delivered the quilt on the first day.

He sighed; the girl, who should have been treated like a lady, was instead bullied and treated like a servant.

But there was nothing he could do; he was merely a visitor here. Even if he confronted the stepmother, what difference would it make?

To them, he was an outsider.

Without finding any extraordinary individuals or triggering any quests, Mu Rongxun grew restless.

“Hello, are you alright?” came a timid voice nearby.

Looking up, he saw the merchant’s daughter.

Not knowing her name, he hesitated to address her.

“I’m looking for someone, but I just can’t find them,” he said.

“Don’t lose heart!” The girl smiled brightly.

“My mother told me that if you keep going, you’ll eventually see the sunlight.”

“Thank you.” Mu Rongxun felt sincere gratitude as he looked at her pure, heartfelt smile.

No one could resist such a smile.

It wasn’t about romance—just a fondness for something beautiful.

“I believe that if you persevere, you’ll get what you want.”

“Yes!” the girl nodded.

“I hope my father’s business trip goes smoothly and he returns safely.”

Her face showed only concern for her father, with no mention of the abuse from her stepmother.

Mu Rongxun sighed.

In this world—or any world—kind people are often bullied.

Because kindness makes one vulnerable; the virtuous become prey.

He refused to be such a person, adhering to the principle of neither provoking nor fearing trouble.

But that didn’t stop him from being close to kind souls.

“My father is always away on business. I look forward to his return so I can see him again.”

Her face was filled with longing.

Mu Rongxun understood: she not only treasured the time with her father but also, as long as he was home, the stepmother and her two daughters dared not mistreat her. She could live peacefully for a while.

She came to Mu Rongxun’s place because they avoided him and dared not come there themselves.

This quiet corner was a new discovery since Mu Rongxun moved in, a place where she could secretly cry alone at night after being wronged.

Today was no different; though upset, seeing Mu Rongxun’s distress, her kind heart made her come to comfort him first, forgetting her own unhappiness.

When her mother died, she was told to be kind, that her mother would watch over her from heaven.

For years, she forced herself to smile at life and remain kind, swallowing her sorrows in silence.

“Do you have any dreams?” Mu Rongxun asked, hoping to help if possible.

Even if she asked him to teach her stepmother and stepsisters a lesson, he wouldn’t refuse.

“A wish?” The girl hesitated.

“Maybe to wear a beautiful dress and dance at the prince’s ball?”

She glanced at her dull, gray clothes and lowered her head in shame.

[Cinderella’s Wish: Fulfill Cinderella’s wish.]

[Quest Objective: Help Cinderella attend the prince’s ball.]

[Quest Reward: Unknown.]

[Quest Penalty: Death!]

Mu Rongxun’s eyes narrowed. It wasn’t just the girl’s Cinderella identity; this was the second time he had encountered such a mandatory side quest.