The Red Dragon Lord is OP, but Insists on a Pop Culture Invasion!

Chapter 260: Chapter 216: Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

Astrid observed the unfamiliar city through the window of her carriage.

Judging by the smoothness of the streets, Twin Tower City seemed to be a more advanced city than the Holy City.

The carriage traveled so smoothly she could barely feel a bump.

However, the buildings lining the streets weren’t as neat and orderly as those in the Holy City. Their styles weren’t even uniform, a mix of architecture from various regions.

This was Twin Tower City’s most defining feature. Immigrants from all corners of the world gathered here, bringing their local customs with them.

Along with them came a peculiar form of discrimination.

The "locals" looked down on outsiders.

In theory, of course, Twin Tower City had almost no true locals. After all, just over a hundred years ago, this place was merely a small town with a population of a few hundred.

It had experienced explosive growth in less than two centuries, as if it were cheating.

First, a mine was discovered. Then, a mechanical genius emerged from among the miners’ children and improved the Steam Engine.

Steamships could utilize the Deepwater Port just outside the city, instantly turning it into a major southern trading hub.

The only obstacle to its development at the time was the original mining families who had arrived first. They controlled nearly all the city’s resources, their power absolute.

Then a Red Dragon fell from the sky and wiped that family out...

And in the process, catapulted a rising star in the Magic Realm, Soron, to fame.

The three pillars of Twin Tower City’s development: geography, technology, and Zog getting in everyone’s face.

Today, it was home to millions of residents.

Essentially, they were all outsiders, the only difference being whether they had arrived sooner or later.

So the discrimination was completely illogical. Perhaps, deep down, they were just discriminating against their former selves.

Desperate to shed their "inglorious" hometown backgrounds and fit in, they chose to attack others from the same origins just to prove how different they were.

They were all just scraping by at the bottom, yet they insisted on creating a pecking order among themselves.

In a way, it was a kind of initiation rite.

Of course, these people didn’t dare to discriminate against *all* outsiders equally. When someone of Astrid’s stature arrived, she wouldn’t experience any discrimination whatsoever.

"The people of Twin Tower City are so friendly," Astrid remarked as she stepped out of the carriage.

On her way here, everyone she saw had greeted her with a broad smile. Some even stopped to bow and watch her carriage pass.

"And here I thought I’d be looked down on."

With the Goddess having been out of contact for so long, the Saintess’s position in the Church had fallen lower and lower, leaving Astrid with a bit of an inferiority complex.

Even though her status was completely different now, old habits from years ago were hard to break.

"Oh, no one would dare look down on you now," Grandma Lindsey said with a smile. "Even if they don’t know who you are, they can recognize the Holy Knights."

Just as she said, two Holy Knights were following closely behind them. And that was only because Astrid had insisted on reducing her escort; otherwise, there would have been two whole columns of them.

As members of the Church, they naturally had certain privileges. The Holy Knights were allowed to enter the performance venue armed and without a security check.

The concert was being held outdoors, on a beach—a bold experiment by the Zog Group.

This was mainly due to the sheer scale of the Roline Orchestra’s performance; there were concerns that if it were held indoors, the audience might be able to get in but wouldn’t be able to get out.

"These are your coats, please take them," a staff member said, holding out several garments. "Please remember to return them to us after the show."

Astrid reached out to take them and nearly dropped them. Together, the coats must have weighed over ten pounds.

"What are these for?" she asked, confused. She had assumed they were jackets provided in case the evening got chilly, but their weight was clearly too much for the Twin Tower City climate.

"The final act of today’s performance will cause the temperature on-site to drop dramatically. You’ll need the extra warmth to avoid any issues," the staff member replied.

"Right this way, please. I’ll show you to your box."

Although it was an outdoor venue, Zog had still set up temporary private boxes.

For the local rich, having a way to display their special status was a must.

Compared to a theater box, this one was rather simple. It contained only a sofa, a table with complimentary drinks, and a surrounding railing. There was no roof.

However, it was located at the very front of the audience, right on the fine white sand of the beach.

The show hadn’t started yet, so Astrid curiously observed her surroundings.

The nobility here wasn’t limited to Humans. Judging by the scene, there were also Elves, Dwarves, Dwarves, even Beastmen, and Zor. Twin Tower City was truly a miraculous place for so many races to coexist peacefully.

In the box to her right sat a red Dragon, a regal-looking lady, and a small child.

’What a strange combination.’

The child was staring intently at their group, so much so that Astrid started to wonder if she had something on her face.

"Hello, little one," she ventured.

The "little one" ignored her, however, and instead asked the Dragon beside him in a loud voice.

"Wow, what’s that Mechanical Armor! So cool! Zog, I want one! Why didn’t you tell me you had a new model out?"

"New model, my foot!" Zog slapped Doudou on the head with his claw. "That’s the gear for the Church’s Holy Knights. If you want it so bad, go strip it off them yourself."

’Zog... so this Dragon is Zog?’

’Astrid hadn’t expected to meet this key person of interest for the Church so soon.’

"He’s just a child, you’ll hurt him," Astrid said with concern.

"No, he’s fine. Don’t worry, kids are tough, a few smacks won’t hurt him. Here, you want to try? It’s great for relieving stress," Zog said, holding Doudou up by his claw and offering him to her.

"ZOG! I’LL GET YOU FOR THIS!" Doudou protested, thrashing about.

"No, thank you," Astrid refused, her smile strained.