“In practically every nation, the seat of the monarch’s power would always be grander, greater, more grandiose and eye-catching compared to just about every other city. Why? There’s all sorts of reasons, but pride and hubris often rank near the top. After all, got to show to all the plebs just who the most important, noblest, most august personage is, don’t you think?” - Viscount Nols Aguilwar of Oluzoma, Clangeddin Empire, known for being a history enthusiast.

“So, what do you think of the place?” asked Aideen to her traveling companion. They were located around half a day’s travel away from Levain, the capital city of the Clangeddin Empire, and happened to have crested the top of a small hill along the way, where they would rest for the night before they continued their trip in the morning.

In the distance, easily visible even by the naked eye, sprawled the grand Imperial City, its tall walls covering the majority of the plains it was situated on. The Imperial City used to be the capital city of the small Kingdom the Empire originated from, and its multi-layered walls were a result of repeated expansions, with the innermost layer of walls denoting the borders of the old city from the Kingdom days.

At present, however, there were five layers of walls that divided the Imperial City into districts, almost like an onion in structure. Even from afar it was easy to notice how the many households that lived in the confines of the grand city started to light the candles and lanterns - magical forms of lighting were more expensive, and Aideen only spotted them in use in the innermost circles - to light up the night.

Aideen and Celia had crossed the entirety of the Marquisate of Careopa from west to east, then did the same through the Viscounty of Oluzoma further eastwards, to finally reach the regions that were counted as part of the Imperial City’s associated territories. It had taken them nearly a month to travel the lands, over which time Aideen slowly instructed and helped Celia to further her training.

For the time being, however, the training would be postponed, as Aideen planned to take Celia around the Imperial City to relax for a while. Celia being a peasant from the countryside, she had never seen a city anywhere near as large as the Imperial City - even the seat of the Marquisate they passed by before was maybe only one-fifth as large as the sprawling Imperial City - and stared slack-jawed at the grand sight in the distance.

“It’s… It’s certainly huge…” said Celia in the end after she finally managed to close her opened mouth. The girl had a hard time fathoming a city of that size, easily ten times or more as large as the seat of the County in her birthplace, and likely with more than tenfold the inhabitants, given the density of the buildings in the city. “I never even thought cities could get that big.”

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“It’s not that much bigger compared to Tohrmutgent, though I’ll admit that it’s like six times larger than La Fiachna,” replied Aideen somewhat nonchalantly as she compared the size of the Imperial City with the cities she had been to. “Sabaya’s nearly the same size, though it’s larger than Oleynuos as well. I’ll take you around to visit them if you’re still traveling with me in the future.”

“And we’re… headed for the Imperial City tomorrow?” asked Celia with some nervousness and trepidation in her voice. Part of the girl’s mind probably still worried if she wouldn’t just be thrown out by the guards when they found her for the peasant she was.

“Of course we are. I’m thinking you might cherish some time to relax once in a while, so no reason not to sightsee in the biggest, most prosperous city in the region while we’re at it, no?” replied Aideen to Celia’s question with her own. “No need to worry about your former identity. The ones we got off the adventurer’s guild ought to be good enough to get us inside. If not, I still have my ways.”

The adventurer’s guild was pretty much a mainstay in just about every major city, whose members would often be hired by various people to do tasks the soldiers and officials can’t be bothered with, and as such, proof of membership in such guilds often served as identification for travelers whose travels brought them across national boundaries.

Aideen had such an identity from Knallzog, which Ginnie had helped arrange for her. She had simply applied for the local equivalent in Carolus City during her visit since it looked like her stay in the Empire would be for a while longer, and registered Celia for the same as well. Whereas Celia’s identification denoted her as a beginner of no reputation, however, Aideen’s own proclaimed her to be an expert healer with plenty of experience.

They made camp on the hilltop for the night, which was a quiet and peaceful one, before they continued their trip the next day at dawn. By the time they reached the western gate of the Imperial City, it was already the afternoon, while the lines were quite long, as many travelers passed through the gates of the city on a daily basis, the wait prolonged by the need for inspection.

Much like Aideen had expected, the identity token Ginnie had arranged for her got her through without any trouble, and while the guards looked at Celia with some more suspicion, once Aideen told them that they were together - while at the same time she discreetly slipped a couple silver coins into the palms of the guards on duty - she too was allowed entry without too much fuss.

Once inside the city, Celia couldn’t help but marvel at the prosperity displayed openly in the place. Even the outermost districts, the poorest ones situated closest to the outside, were richer and more prosperous than what she had seen in Lavinja City. While there were the occasional beggars and pickpockets and the likes, it was pretty much the norm that one could expect in a large city, and even the beggars and pickpockets looked healthy and well-fed, compared to the malnourished specimens Aideen had often seen in her travels.

They did not stop at the outermost districts though, and Aideen took the chance to see just how far her identity token would get her. In the end, it - and a couple coins to grease the hands of the guards on duty - got her all the way into the second innermost layer of the city, a place generally reserved for rich merchants and minor nobles, as well as establishments that provided for the needs of nobility and otherwise well-to-do people.

The innermost district, where the Imperial Palace lay, was reserved only for higher nobility and their families in general, as well as their guests, so Aideen had not tried to gain entry that far as she knew it would be pointless. She brought the slack-jawed Celia to an inn that looked more ostentatious than even the mansion where the Viscount that ruled over her birthplace lived, and booked some rooms there.

The initially dismissive receptionist instantly changed their tune the moment Aideen casually flicked a gold coin, and led them to their room while giving obeisance like a slave to its master.