Chapter 3: Choosing a City
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The Sylvan Kingdom is divided into 9 cities; 3 border cities, 4 commercial cities, the royal capital, and lastly, the religious capital.
All of these cities are governed by Dukes who are directly under the command of the royal clan, [Emillia], and his eminence, King Ishmael Emillia.
There’s not much to know about the governance of the Sylvan Kingdom since after I’ve read more about the basic rules and regulation within the Sylvan Kingdom, I’ve pretty much realized that people are less restricted while living in this place.
Compared to Emerxia Kingdom whose rules require for a certain amount of tax based on your status monthly, the Sylvan Kingdom only requires tax every six months.
In Emerxia Kingdom, if you fail to pay the amount of tax that was put in your head, certainly, you’ll be either jailed or exiled. Once jailed, you’re going to do some necessary work for the prison until you’ve accumulated the amount of tax that you failed to pay.
But that’s just simply impossible. Once in jail, your tax piles up every month and there’s just no such thing as acquiring enough money to pay out your tax unless someone else helps you. Meaning, you’ll just spend your life in jail forever.
As for being exiled, well, it’s certain death. Once outside the borders, it’s either you join some bandits or some sort of mercenary groups or you’re just going to get killed by magical beasts or other exiled criminals.
The reason I know many things about this is simply because my former family had something to do with the ‘treasury’ of Emerxia Kingdom and of course, as an ‘heir’, I naturally needed to learn more about it.
But all of these things compared to Sylvan Kingdom, it’s really quite amazing how different they are. Within the Sylvan Kingdom, if you ever fail to pay up your tax, you can just go loan some money from the church and you can work for them in order to pay your debts.
From what I’ve read, it’s naturally impossible to get jailed in the Sylvan Kingdom unless you do some horrendous crimes such as stealing, murder, and rape.
It’s quite awesome. The way the Sylvan Kingdom treats all the people under its domain is just simply superb. There’s actually more to it but I think I should discuss it later. For now, let’s talk more about my plan and the cities of the Sylvan Kingdom.
Based from what I’ve learned, the best cities to live in would be the two capitals; the Royal Capital, Aurum, and the Religious Capital, Silmeria. But, these two places aren’t really the best choice for me right now.
As of today, I’m just a rich commoner. I don’t have neither status nor reputation and I would easily fell down to dire straits if I ever dared to live in those places.
Living there meant very high living expenses and I think that with my current status as a jobless commoner who doesn’t really have any idea about how to earn money, I would eventually become a beggar in a month or two once I live there.
In other words, these two are crossed out.
As for the border cities, well, I don’t really like to live there at all. I mean the Emerald Continent has been at peace for over a century but, you never know.
If war ever happens just like those of the stories that I’ve read during my days in the Emerxia Kingdom, the border cities aren’t really a safe place.
I want to live my life as something filled with adventures but I want to remain on the safe side and never risk it.
Which means, I’m currently left with the remaining four commercial cities to choose from. Fair enough.
Of the four commercial I immediately crossed out two which doesn’t really suit my tastes and right now, I’m left with two cities; Lantia City and Reigis City.
The Lantia City is said to be the most beautiful city within the Sylvan Kingdom aside from the two capitals. It’s even said to be comparable to that of the capital of Emerxia Kingdom.
It’s found between the Western Border City and the Royal Capital and is more famously known for being found within the middle of a really big lake known as the Great Lake of Lantia.
The living conditions within Lantia City is described as something like living near a shore. It’s cozy, calm, windy, and serene. With this descriptions alone, I’m somehow really inclined in choosing this city but hey, I think I should ponder more about these things more deeply.
As for the Reigis City, its main feature lies on the fact that it is between the two capitals. It’s basically the city where the center of Sylvan Kingdom’s economy resides.
The descriptions about it that I’ve read aren’t really that vivid. It’s mostly filled with huge buildings and many of the main branch of the guilds and stores found throughout the Sylvan Kingdom could be found there.
And oh, I almost forgot, there’s also one more thing about it that actually piqued my interest. The [Reigis Academy], infamous throughout the Emerald Continent, is found there.
It’s a school for mages which is famously known for producing many powerful figures who have stapled themselves in the annals of history of the Emerald Continent.
Also, it’s rumored that a powerful mage who has lived for thousands of years is its Grandmaster. I wonder if that’s true.
Well, anyways, that’s something that really caught my eye. Among the plans that I have in the future, one is to continue my studies about magic. I’ve really wanted to become a mage in the future.
I mean if I were to think about it, I’ve always dreamt of entering the prestigious school, ‘Reius Academy’, from the Emerxia Kingdom and continue to learn magic there.
I’ve also dreamt of becoming so famous that girls would easily fawn over me… oh, I mean many people would admire me because of my talents. Haha.
And while it is true that perhaps there is no more hope in doing that, another opportunity just came in front of me. If I were to try and live within the Reigis City, maybe I can enroll myself as a student of Reigis Academy and relive those things that I’ve dreamt of.
Ugh… just imagining it really felt good. If just... erm, if I do it, I wonder if I’ll succeed.
So… right now, I’m really lost between these two cities. I wonder which of the two should I choose, Lantia City or Reigis City?
Oh now that the thought crossed my mind, yeah, that old woman from a while ago can maybe help me. I think she’s worth trusting and somehow dependable… it seems.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“I suggest you choose Reigis City.”
At that moment, while I was thinking about the old woman, her familiar voice suddenly resounded making me shiver from my seat.
Turning my head towards my back, just like a while ago, she’s suddenly there with that same smile and same expression she had from a while ago.
Where the hell did she come from? I’m way beyond serious that I never felt a single presence ever since I started reading these books. Damn, is she really a ‘ghost’? Holy shit…
“No, I’m not a ghost, stupid child. That aside, like I said, go to Reigis City.”
Is she really a ghost?
No, I’m not a ghost.
Did I speak that too loudly? Did I even voiced a single word? O-Or… D-Did she just read my mind?
A terrifying sensation struck me. Just what kind of person is this old woman… Ugh, maybe I should just think about all these things and…
Oh yeah, she just said to go to Reigis City… I-I guess I should just put aside the mind reading stuff and go with the more important thing at hand…
“C-Can I ask why?” I asked while stuttering.
Her unchanging expression somehow had some hints of change when she said, “It’s the best place there is within the Sylvan Kingdom aside from the two capitals. You’ll know once you arrive there.”
I’ll know once I arrive there? What does she mean?
With her words, many questions appeared in my mind. Will the amount of money that I have right now enough to live there for a long time? Is settling there easy? What will I do when I arrive there?
As I was thinking about these questions she suddenly said, “Boy, just listen to me. You’ll know when you get there. With the amount that you have right now, that’s more than enough to live there for a few years even if you entered the Reigis Academy. Surely, you can trust this old woman’s words.”
Yeah, she can really read my mind.
After she answered, one of my former questions was answered. Although I don’t really know who she is, I still think that I can really trust her words.
I mean while she was speaking, there’s a certain feeling that tells me that if I do what she’s telling me, then I will never regret it. What is this?
… I really don’t know. But I guess I should somehow get more information and ponder more about it.
I nodded towards her as I said, “Thank you. I’ll get more information later erm…” What’s her name… ah yeah, “Grandma Meng.”
As I said that, she nodded towards me, turned around and left. She’s really some sort of a mystical person huh. Maybe she’s a mage, a really powerful mage.
I mean I’ve read in books that powerful mages have some sort of a charm or a certain feel to them they are all dependable. Their words are entirely persuading and most of the time, their words will lead to the success of people.
Well, that’s what the books said. Although I’m still skeptical with the sensation I’ve felt from her words, maybe, just maybe I could really trust her and for now, I should focus on learning more about the Reigis City.
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It was already afternoon when I’ve finished reading about Reigis City and everything else that could help me in deciding which city I should choose.
Right now, I’m currently inside my room in the inn where I’m staying and waiting for some waitress or staff of the inn to deliver my dinner.
Today’s been tiring but somehow, at the very least, I’ve managed to achieve some of my goals. With the new plans I’ve formulated, I’ve somehow succeeded in deciding more about my future.
During the rest of the time I’ve spent in the library, I’ve learned many advantages of living in Reigis City and somehow, after finishing reading, I was already decided that I should settle in that place.
In Reigis City, I can easily acquire a decent home with a hundred gold coins. Aside from that, the living expenses aren’t that big.
As a commoner, the tax I need to pay is only about 10 silvers every six months. As long as I don’t waste too much money, I can probably live well for a decade without the thought of becoming a beggar anytime soon.
To put it simply, I have a decade to find a job in order to earn money.
As for the Reigis Academy, it’s entirely free to enroll in it but there’s a requirement. An aspiring student should know how to use cast spells or use magic before the age of 15.
Meaning, I have one year and four months to learn magic before I became ineligible to join it. I still have time… but, somehow, it really feels rather worrying.
What if I fail to learn magic by that time? Won’t it be too bad?
Ugh… actually that’s not really the problem. I think I have some sort of talent with magic just like what those people from my former clan said.
But right now, I just don’t have a single idea about what’s next after my current state.
In the past, while I was studying under the teachers hired by my former clan, I’ve learned that magic can be used by becoming aware of the existence of essences.
After knowing the existence of essences, the stage that I’m at, I was kicked out of the clan and I never had any chance to discover what in the world is the next step. Ugh...
Oh… wait, isn’t it possible to self-study this if I have books? Aren’t there books in the library that could help me with this stuff?
Why the hell did I realize this just now… damn. Even during my journey, there might be perhaps some books that will talk about it in the libraries or stores that could be found in those places.
Did I really just waste a few months before realizing this?
Ugh… tomorrow I’ll visit the library again. Even with that rather creepy mind-reading old woman, I’m more than encouraged to learn magic.
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