Rietis. The financial center of the southern empire, but Sean had never heard of it before he learned about Koga City. Luke rarely spoke of such things; their conversations in the small town never went beyond Koga City... Perhaps in their hearts, they never thought they could reach a place like this. So there was no need to mention those distant, far-off city names. Yet here he was, actually in this city!
The Bashalan Empire was a nation ruled by a coalition of nobles, where each region's lord was essentially the emperor of that area. They had built their domains over centuries to reach their current state, but Rietis had only a history of just over forty years. It was a new city, less than fifty years old since its founding, yet it had grown into one of the top cities in the south. The main reason was that Prince Philip, the ruler of this city, had poured massive imperial funds and connections into creating such a magnificent metropolis.
To Sean's surprise, it turned out that imperial nobles had to pay taxes! He had suspected it before... a country this large couldn't possibly not collect taxes—how else would it fund its military and welfare? But because he had always been receiving money, he kept fooling himself into thinking the country was wealthy. He remembered back in Koga City, the annual income of Skov's Store almost matched the tax revenue of Taylemian Town. But the engineering district wasn't just that one store; there were countless shops and even ordinary people's incomes. If all that were calculated, who knew how much tax revenue there would be in a year...
Sean sighed inwardly. So it turned out he was the one dragging down the national average, embarrassing the noble class, which was why they kept subsidizing him. "Still, it's impressive that it became the southern center in just over forty years," Sean said.
Since morning, when they entered the plains, the number of towns on the ground had increased. The airships and crowds on this journey were several times larger than in the previous days—no wonder it was called the southern financial center... "It's precisely because of this rapid growth that it's drawn resentment from certain factions," Freya said beside him. "What kind of factions?" Freya turned to look at him, and above her head appeared the status 【Serious!】. "The southern part of the empire originally belonged to Grand Duke Haruman's territory."
A grand duke! No wonder. Sean thought to himself. Though Freya had only said one sentence, given everything he had encountered, it wasn't hard to imagine the political landscape in the south. A ducal family that had taken root in the south for generations suddenly having its power and influence carved up by a newly arrived prince would naturally be resentful. And this likely had the king's hand in it as well. When nobles grow too powerful, you need to find a force to balance them out... As a ruler, that was understandable, but as the party involved, it was unacceptable. Now he thought back to how Count Hamilton had supposedly won a decade of thriving development for Koga City by handing over the Kain Stone to the prince—there was probably political maneuvering behind that too. The prince wanted to support his own faction, while Count Hamilton sought the city's growth. It was just a pity for those who had been sacrificed in the power struggles...
"So where is this Duke Haruman you mentioned?" "In Sadeya City, not far from Rietis," Freya said. "Not far?!" Sean exclaimed in surprise. Two powerful cities being close together had its advantages, but if they belonged to different rulers, it meant they were competing for funds and population. "Yeah. I don't know why Rietis was built so close to Sadeya City in the first place, but now it seems that's exactly why Grand Duke Haruman feels the prince is deliberately vying for regional control," Freya said, with the status 【Explaining!】 appearing above her head.
Wasn't that obvious? "Does Prince Philip have no intention of engaging in power struggles?" In Sean's view, the other party was called the Red Dragon Witch—her strength and foresight were far beyond ordinary people. Could she really not see this? Whether intentional or not, standing in someone else's path was competition... If she truly didn't want to sour relations between nobles and the royal family, she would have left long ago instead of staying here. "It's useless to talk about that now. I'm just telling you the situation here before we enter the city. Since Rietis is home to many wealthy families and nobles, you'll need to decide for yourself how to proceed," Freya said, suddenly looking at Sean.
He now understood why she had told him back in Koga City to come along—maybe then the Hamilton family would stop bothering him. So that was it! A grand stage for nobles like Rietis was indeed a good place to show off and make connections with other aristocrats. No matter which side he ended up on, as long as the balance held, the southern nobles wouldn't dare trouble him again. "But don't worry, what I said before still stands. Even if you don't like mingling in noble circles and want to go back, I'll publicly declare you a member of my Sky-Covering Wings. Back in the south, no one will dare touch you," Freya assured him firmly again. "Thank you." "It's me who should thank you!" Her voice was very soft, but Sean still heard it.
Thank me for what?! When he turned to look at her, Freya acted perfectly normal. Since she had spoken so quietly, he didn't feel comfortable asking again. Behind them, the little witch Kalyana was staring at the two with a 【Confused!】 expression... "Guests, we're almost there. Hold on tight—we're about to land." At that moment, the foreman's shout came from the back of the airship. The wind wheels gradually slowed in the air, and Sean could clearly feel the vessel descending. His gaze could now make out the massive city ahead. For the past two days, the airship had passed few mountain ranges, mostly plains, and wherever he looked, there were clusters of houses. Big or small, every visible spot had people living there. Compared to the mountainous south, the north was where the population was densest! And the Rietis before him was the largest city he had ever seen... From the moment the airship began its descent, he could barely see the city's edges. From a bird's-eye view, he could even make out the dense crowds within. If someone were to draw a map of this city, they'd probably need nearly ten square meters of paper to complete it! With so many people, even looking at a map would make it hard to find a specific target... "Where are we going next? Straight to see the prince?" Sean asked. "No. We're going back first..."