Still, it was not as if lizardmen and humans were overtly hostile to each other. They just seemed to mostly stay in their own lanes and minimized interacting with each other whenever it wasn’t absolutely necessary.

I had mentioned two useful properties of [Create Water] earlier, but there was a third benefit.

I let out a stream of fresh water atop the axolotl. It was a mildly hot day, and it smiled and cooed as it frolicked in the cool water. I could adjust the temperature of the stream from [Create Water] to some extent, and Rose had told me what temperature axolotls preferred. Only when it had enjoyed itself somewhat that I went to pet it, and thankfully it didn’t draw away.

It was slimy, that was for sure, but it didn’t feel too gross. And given how it behaved, it really reminded me of Cheddar. I would’ve loved to buy an axolotl for myself given how adorable they looked, but I did want to find a way back home somehow. And I couldn’t bear with the idea of abandoning a pet to this world if I returned back to my old one. I did not want to reunite with Cheddar only to know that I had abandoned a different pet.

I thanked the lizardmen as he and his pet axolotl trotted off in the other direction.

I then used [Create Water] to wash my hands.

I had a lot weighing on my mind now that I wasn’t focused on work.

Thoughts going back to Cheddar and my old family, and wondering whether or not I’d ever find a way back home. Thoughts returning to what Rose had said about humans.

I had asked Granny Qi the night Rose had said that, “Why did you recommend that I join a lizardmen’s shop as a scribe?” After all, there were human shops in the city. They didn’t strictly cater to one species, but it seemed to be an unwritten rule that the species did not usually go to each other’s shops.

“All of the human ones are strictly controlled by a few families,” she had explained. “They would not have let you in unless you knew someone or could cough up a big fee, which you didn’t have.”

“But the lizardmen did?”

“Their hierarchy is a bit different than ours,” she then added. “It’s not that a small group of families can control everything on their side - and you being a foreigner, would be some kind of exception to them compared to other humans. I wasn’t sure they would take you in, but I thought it was a safer bet than going to a human bookstore.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

I nodded, not really questioning it further. At the time, I wanted to ask more regarding how the two sides saw each other - I was a bit rattled by what Rose had said, though I had held my tongue at that time.

Now, looking out at the rest of the city, the question still lingered in my mind. I likely wouldn’t be able to get a straight answer from anyone without things turning awkward.

That still left me with the rest of the day free to do whatever I wanted.

I decided to go near the port. Arconia was built around a branch of the Ragini, which was also called the Arconia, as it flowed into the sea. I had spent most of my time closer to the walls and had not actually wandered near the coastline before, and I thought I might as well explore that place.

Before I knew it the scent of saltwater permeated through the air, and behind a line of houses I could see the shoreline. The wall that enclosed Arconia extended towards the beach, and the pier had guards stationed to keep an eye out for any would-be smugglers.

There was quite a lot of activity on the docks. It was thanks to the Arconian river and being near the seaside that Arconia could sustain a large population like this. Though I had never been to the capital before, I was told that it was a smaller city than Arconia housing only around two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand residents, though from a military point of view it was more important than Arconia.

As I walked along the docks, I couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that despite being a port city, there was little flow of goods or people into Arconia, at least from far-off locations.

You would think that there would be quite a number of sailors, even from distant lands, who arrived at the place. It was far easier and cheaper to deliver goods via the sea, after all, and yet, most of the ships here were only designed for shallow sailing and for fishing. I didn’t see any large vessels carrying things from distant lands.

I couldn’t really understand it, and it made less sense the more I strolled around the place. The number one product was fish - of all kinds, with the smell permeating through the entire dock. That was what occupied nearly everyone at the dock - either fishing or something closely related to it.

I didn’t find much of interest to me and turned my attention to the shallow beach, or what was left of it sandwiched between the port and the walls of the city.

It was a narrow strip of sand before being abruptly cut off by the wall’s foundation, but it was still nice to stand there, with my feet sinking gently into the sand while watching the waves wash over the shore. After taking a few deep breaths, I found a patch of moist sand near the shoreline and began tracing out a few paragraphs describing the sea with my finger.

My mana flowed into the letters, which were just far enough so that the seawater wouldn’t wash them away. The gentle blue aura turned into a gentle green one as I was done. When I was done, I memorized it, filling up another one of my slots. It granted a passive skill, [Poissonnier]. This greatly increased the flavor and nutritional value of any fish-based dishes prepared by the owner, and any such dishes made by the owner would also spoil more slowly than they otherwise would.