Avion - the capital of Silica, was a busy place.
The carriage slowed down more and more as they approached the main road leading to the main gates as smaller roads joined in from all sides, merging with the main road and burdening it with more traffic.
Two towering gargoyle sculptures perched firmly atop the gate, glaring at the mass of people below with scrutiny. Each side of the gate was carved with a winged sword - Silica’s symbol.
Ryan expected a delay from the long traffic, but it seemed entrance to the city wasn't very strictly checked. However, upon entering, he immediately spotted a very long line of carriages, pushcarts, and cattle lining up towards the exit. It was obvious the city lord was prioritizing import and heavily regulating exports.
The streets bustled with activity, as people and carriages crowded the road. Occasionally there were wide areas filled with stalls and shops. The chaotic scene of shopkeepers yelling advertisements and customers running amok was common throughout their trip.
Finally, the carriage arrived at a massive mansion. The sleek obsidian gargoyle statues lining its roof edges contrasted sharply with its pearly walls. In front of the large gates lined two rows of maids and butlers.
Vera stepped down from the carriage, turned towards Ryan and made a curt bow.
“Welcome to my humble abode, allow us to provide you with our uttermost hospitality.”
“Please don’t be so formal. It is I who owe you my life for giving me a place to stay during the royal struggle.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not doing this for your sake.” Vera sighed. “Eva, I mean our Empress, has ordered that I treat you as I would my most important guest. Disobey and my head will fall off.”
“I see. Does that mean my mother is showing me her favor? Isn’t that against the Emperor’s will?”
“You go and ask her yourself.” Vera shrugged. “My head maid will show you your room. Please follow her.”
Vera bowed again and disappeared into the mansion.
All of the maids wore the same uniform - black and white are interwoven fabric with the winged sword engraved on the shoulder, yet he could tell from the posture and graceful gaze of the head maid even before she started walking towards him.
“Good afternoon, Your Highness. I will show you to your bedroom.” While Vera’s curtsy was short and curt, the maid’s bow was in a whole different league.
His room was on the second floor, overlooking the front balcony.
"I sincerely hope that Your Highness enjoys your stay, please ring for us if you ever have any need."
“Wait, will you bring me some mana pills? I am still suffering from the effects of mana drain.” Scarlett was draining his mana pool at a rapid rate.
"I am sorry, we do not have any mana pills in stock, but we do have restorative herbs. I will tell the head chef to make you the needed herb soup."
“That will be all.”
The bedroom couldn't even be compared to his grand bedroom at the palace. Still, it was almost as wide as his high school gym. Silken wine curtains lined the broad windows. On a wall hung a portrait of a beautiful woman gazing into the distance. She looked very similar to Vera, with a long nose, pale skin, and succulent lips. The only difference that set her apart was the straight golden hair since Vera's hair was a wavy crimson.
With his body and mind worn out from travel, he laid on the king sized bed and closed his eyes.
>Any problems so far?< He asked.
>Nope, we’re not going very fast so I only need to jog lightly, though I don’t want to wear my body out if I’ going to run for hours at a time and we’re running out of mana. The muscle support spell is draining more than I thought.< Scarlett frowned.
>If the usage rate doesn’t change, there should be more than enough to last until I replenish it at dinner. I’m really burnt out right now, so I’m going to rest for a bit.<
>Kay.<
He let out a long breath and relaxed, keeping his mind in a meditative mood will help with mana regeneration, but not very much.
While human mages do recover their mana with time, the recharge rate was a fraction compared to consuming mana-infused herbs or meat of species that wielded magic.
Then sleep invaded his mind like the Allies on D-Day.
##
Ryan stood in an old but very large warehouse, surrounding him where countless children dressed in rags. Water leaked from the roof as the rain outside raged on, and the flimsy wooden walls shook from the winds’ relentless assault.
Everyone was frantically running about, carrying buckets and emptying filled ones to fight the leaks, including him.
He noticed that his body had somehow shrunk in height as it seemingly moved autonomously without his input. In addition, his back felt much heavier than usual, as if someone attached two dumbbells to his upper back. It seemed he was to only observe the situation like a movie.
All of the faces were blurred away, but still, he could make out some of the distinct features such as hair and race. In the midst of chaos stood the only adult, despite her small stature, she kept her voice loud enough to be heard over the rain while giving out clear gestures and directing everyone to their stations.
After a while, the rain stopped and everyone sat down to rest. He walked towards the lady in nervous steps.
“What is it, my dear?” She asked while patting his head.
“Can you teach me how to fly?” He stared into her deep blue eyes.
The woman smiled sadly and shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”
She crouched down and touched his forehead with hers. “Please, please just wait a little more until grow up, maybe then the Avian Society will change their mind and take you in. I’m sorry sweetie, I can’t teach you how to fly.”
Then she pulled him in her arms and everything went black.
##
Ryan’s eyes snapped open at the sound of knocking.
“Enter.”
The head maid entered and curtsied. “Miss Vera would like to inform you that dinner is ready. Are you well enough to join her in the dining room?’
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“Yes.” He nodded.
“Allow me to help you prepare.”
“Wait.” Mira’s hand emerged from behind the door and pulled the head maid’s shoulder, “It is my job to take care of His Highness.” Her smile somehow sent a trickle of fear down his spine.
“I apologize for the inconvenience I have caused you. I thought you and Eli were resting. I shall take my leave.” The head maid quickly left the room.
“Mira, please don’t cause trouble for the kind people who are sheltering us.” Ryan sighed.
"How dare they put their hands on my precious- most important Prince? I shall dedicate my uttermost being to stop this from happening again, please spare no worries."
He shook his head, thinking for the nth time what went on inside that little head of hers.
By the time he arrived at the dining room, Vera was already seated at the head of the table, next to another man dressed in the empire’s uniform for very high city officials. Ryan couldn’t make out what position the man held due to the lack of emblems above the shirt pocket.
“Good evening, Your Highness. May I introduce you to mayor Tyr. He had dedicated this evening to pay us a visit.”
“It’s a fine evening, don’t you agree?” Tyr gave a big grin that matched his wide stature.
“I'm glad to make your acquaintance, mayor.” Ryan gave a slight nod, “What brings you to our humble dinner?”
“To talk, what else? Also you can drop the formality now. Ain’t no one is gonna pay us any heed.” Tyr’s grin grew wider.
“Please get to the main topic.” Ryan raised his eyebrow. To be impolite towards a member of the royal family was a death offense, even for a city mayor. He knew that Tyr didn’t come there just to ask for a death sentence. Yet he didn’t quite know how to deal with the situation, having nearly no experience with formal negotiations. Hence a direct approach would be best.
“So, “ Tyr cupped his hands, “What do you think about my city?”
“It’s an impressive sight. I’ve never seen such active commerce activity. Your streets are completely filled with carriages and traders, so much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if the trade volume is higher than that of the trading capital of the Empire - the Amazon.” Ryan spoke his true thoughts.
“I’m flattered. Though that can’t be all. I can see that you’re holding back something.” He raised an eyebrow and placed his arms on the table.
“With all due respect, I have offered you what I could observe from my short trip today.”
"I told you to drop the formalities, didn't I?" Tyr's smile disappeared as his intimidating voice boomed throughout the room. "As the leader of this city, I hold the right to banish you from my premises at a whim, so it might not be in your best interest to withhold any thoughts.”
Ryan made a long sigh. "Based on my rough observation, merchants composed 70% of the people in the city, while the remaining 30% of the population are mostly the elderly and young children. Your portion of the citizen within the age of 15 - 30 are nearly non-existent."
The wide grin returned to Tyr’s face as he impatiently gestured Ryan to continue.
"The lifeblood of your city - working age people - have left, I assume to the much more lucrative frontier with better opportunities. While your city seems extremely fostered right now, the lack of resident workforce will pose a critical problem for its development, since you can't maintain or expand the city's infrastructure without hiring costly labor.
“I also saw many abandoned farms around the premise of the city. Has the frontier been so profitable that people abandoned their agricultural duties?”
"Indeed, prince, indeed. The Empress certainly did not lie, you are more sharp-eyed than most, I'll give you that much. With no agriculture, no manpower and an unstable trade income, this city will be a hollow trading hub in no time.
"That's why " Tyr leaned forward. "I will give you an offer. We have an open spot in the royal library. As an assistant librarian, you get access to all declassified materials in the library, including the latest research data of the frontier. Tempting, is it not?"
Ryan’s eyes widened like saucers, “As great as that sound, what is the catch?”
"Nothing to worry, you will be my scholarly counselor and I will seek your inputs on various ‘occasions’” He stretched on the last word, “You're free to decline if you ever find my request to be unreasonable."
“If the conditions are as you say, then I accept the offer.” Ryan nodded, his eyes glinting.
“Very well, I shall hand Vera the paperwork and you can come to work as soon as tomorrow. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a city to manage.” Tyr stood up and quickly left.
“It seems he took a liking to you.” Vera gave her mischievous smirk.
“Do you know something that I don’t?” He raised an eyebrow.
"No, nothing. Anyway, after dinner is done, do you mind joining me for a walk? Avion is known for its joyful night life after all."
He nodded.
The food was strange, yet delicious. The fish and meat served within the dishes were in a whole different league compared to what he had back at the Valentine capital. Despite the lack of lavish spices, the quality of the food surpassed the royal meals he had throughout his life.
“Impressive, isn’t it? These are the latest products our chef managed to produce from the fauna surrounding the frontier exploration area. One is deep fried carnivore fish from the Termina river, while the other dish is baked mosquilopod, they’re giant mosquitoes that roam the forest at night.”
Ryan nearly dropped his fork.
Vera chuckled, “My apologies, we are working on changing the name of these local cuisines.”
The meal finished quickly and he returned to his room for a short rest. A short moment later, Vera came to pick him up for their walk.
Music, lights and a cacophony of voices permeated the air. Never had Ryan seen such a festive mood, granted he didn't come out of his room that often.
Countless food stalls lined the road as they passed through the dining section of the commerce city. Delicious scents wafted through the air, teasing his nose and made his mouth watery.
“Aren’t you glad to have had dinner?”
Ryan felt a slight unease as Vera walked by his side, her shoulder nearly touching his.
“Do these people never sleep?” Mira who was walking behind them asked.
“How can they, when the night here is so lively?” Vera said.
Various performances appeared here and there, gathering crowds that occasionally blocked the walking path. They varied from performing odd tricks like sword swallowing, to very exotic belly dancing and singing. There was no entrance fee, as the performers were paid by the excitement of the crowd, the more they did well, the more coins would get thrown at the poor guy who held the bucket.
Vera pointed him towards various other places in the city, from which stores to visit, to what restaurant to dine at, and lastly, which of the brothels were the best for a memorable night, to which Ryan frantically shook his head.
They arrived at a quiet carpentry workshop, the old place seemed to be falling apart, with the faded sign of a bow and staff hanging on its last nail at the mercy of the wind.
Vera knocked on the door loudly. “Come out, you lazy geezer!”
He swore she woke the whole neighborhood up with that yell.
The rusted door creaked open slightly and a bald man in his fifties came out.
“I’m up, I’m up! You don’t have to wake hell itself.” He grumbled and reentered the store.
Then the man came back out holding a sword wrapped in brown fabric. “Here it is, the most durable training sword I’ve ever made. Not sure what you want with such a thing though.”
Vera removed the wrapping and inspected the sword.
On the surface, it looked like a rather short wooden training sword, only slightly longer than a dagger. But then the moment she fed mana into it, various glowing runes started to reveal themselves along its surface.
She nodded with a smirk and tossed the sword to Ryan.
He hurriedly caught and fumbled it with his hands, nearly dropping it. “What?”
"Consider it a gift for the time you saved m-us from the mana bomb. It's made of cyfan wood - the most durable of its kind. And while you can't cut anything with it, the spell engraved within can knock your attackers with a quick swing or create a small wind barrier."
“Thank you for your generosity, but I know not how to wield a sword.” Ryan shook his head.
"Then why not learn it? You'll never know when someone tries to stab your back with one, it is crucial for a mage to hold his own against close combat attacks. How about it, I'll have my instructor forge you every morning."
“I’m sorry, I’m not suited for physical training due to my weak constitution.”
“Oh, quit being a wimp. Your siblings are gonna be hot on your heels at any moment and you’re sitting here being all wimpy?” Vera made a deep scowl, “Well, you can do whatever you want, but know that even with the Empress backing, we can’t protect you from everything. You can still keep the sword, by the way.”
She turned and started to walk away.
“Wait, I accept. You don’t have to be so blunt about it.” Ryan sighed.
“I know you’re not that dumb.” She gave another mischievous grin. “The first lesson starts tomorrow, you better get some good sleep tonight.”
Walking back to the mansion, Ryan could hear Mira mumbling something ominously from behind.