"They indulge in wild dreams, but even when truly favored by the Goddess of Luck, the wealth that comes too easily is soon lost at the gambling table. I've seen too many of those gamblers, they rise to power suddenly, and in the next instant, they're penniless. Many years later when you see them, they're often still living a life of wandering..."
The girl smiled: "There are indeed people like that, but they are who they are, and we are who we are."
She gazed at the silver sand, the white palaces, the verdant palm groves, and the shimmering lake, gently looking at it all from afar.
"Barbaltan, do you see it? This is your country, and I want it to exist forever, even after we pass away, for many generations to come, people can still remember you—as a wise monarch."
"Or, as... a pioneer of a new era..."
"Affia?"
The girl turned her head: "Do you remember what I told you a long time ago, Barbaltan. I said I would tell you a secret—"
