If Alfiro was a large secondary city, Hyien was the real thing. Several tis larger than the ducal capital, it was on par with Geola, with buildings spanning as far as the eye could see.
As the kingdom’s center, it comprised many different areas, from the rich districts for nobles to the peripheral slum-like neighborhoods. It also had sections dedicated to trading, schools, and of course, the unmissable royal palace.
Placed in the center, it was towering all over the city, with elegant arches and luminous buildings in the classical Makji architecture. No buildings in the city were reaching higher than it, as if to say royal authority was absolute. Its size was also enormous, and I didn’t doubt most of the kingdom’s administration was happening there.
I entered the capital, imdiately noting how great the mood was, similar to Alfiro's. People were still talking about the war so long after it ended, so narrating their feats during the nurous battles that occurred. Many children played on the streets in the nicer districts, free from trouble, enjoying themselves. The place was regularly patrolled by guards, keeping the security even higher than in Alfiro, which wasn’t that great in my opinion.
From ti to ti, contingents of royal soldiers would complent the normal patrols. From the way people looked at them, especially younger adults and children, it was clear how respected that unit was.
From my point of view, this place looked perfect for establishing a business. High security, a large population, and probably lots of money ready to be spent, especially after the victory in the war. I wasn’t the only one thinking so since I encountered a relatively large number of foreigners on the streets, all moving busily toward their destination.
I first made my way to the comrcial district and checked the products being sold. The goods were similar to the ones in Alfiro, but with a lot more options, and also so rarer products. It was clear that, if given the choice, traders preferred coming here for business instead of Alfiro. The selection wasn’t as large as the one in Geola, but it was as decent as could be considering the country lacked a certain number of natural resources.
Food was particularly cheap here, even more so than in Geola. I rembered the many farms I had seen on the way when I first explored, and this made sense. They focused everything on their strong point since they didn’t have minerals to mine, and that was also helped by the tradition of slavery, which gave farm owners cheap labor to work in the fields.
After satisfying my curiosity, I walked in the castle’s direction. It was ti to work now that I had done so basic sightseeing. I was surprised to find several queues in front of the building, with many people already waiting in line. When I checked their destinations, none were entering the main castle entrance. So were waiting to enter the administration office, the comrce office, the justice office, or even the foreign affairs office.
The situation here was different from Alfiro's. In Alfiro, there was only a departnt of internal affairs to take care of most things happening in the dukedom. Here, it was divided into many different offices, each taking care of a specific aspect of the administration. Even so, the number of people doing business there was incredible, and I was just one of many. Most were feline won but a few were foreigners, especially the ones waiting to enter the foreign affairs office.
Left without any other choice, I lined up with the rest of the folks at the end of the line going to the comrce office. From there, it was a long wait. The line was only advancing very slowly, a couple of ters at a ti, and we couldn’t do anything but be patient. So people would talk with their neighbors out of boredom, discussing superficial topics. Maybe because I wasn’t from Makji, no one tried talking to , leaving
alone with my thoughts.
Eventually, after several hours of waiting, it was finally my turn. Three won were handling incoming people, and despite that, each person needed a lot of ti while talking profusely, as expected of rchants and the like. When one of the won beca available, I quickly made my way to her. She looked tired and overloaded with work, but still inspected
as I arrived.
“Hello, ma’am.”
“Yes, hello. What’s your business with us?”
I took out my recomndation letter together with the silver token.
“I have a recomndation letter from the chief of internal affairs in Chian. I also own a silver token from there.”
She looked at both and nodded, unimpressed.
“The token has no value here.”
“I’m aware.”
“Show
the letter.”
I gave it to her and she swiftly read it.
“All right. Once again, what’s your business?”
“I’d like to buy property in Hyien and open a shop. Is that possible?”
She shook her head.
“Not as a foreigner with just a recomndation letter and a useless token. But…”
“But?”
“It’s not like it’s completely impossible either. Answer a few of my questions first.”
“Yes, please go ahead.”
“You’re from Geola, right?”
“Correct.”
“How old are you?”
“I’m twenty.”
“Why are you rank 0?”
I hesitated for a second since this wasn’t a common question. Judging by her expression, she was aware of it too, but wanted to hear my answer, nonetheless.
“I started from zero with nothing, you see…”
“Family?”
“None.”
She nodded.
“Impressive. You managed to get a silver token and a letter of recomndation at twenty while starting from nothing?”
“I worked hard.”
“Hmm… We might have so use for you. Wait a mont.”
She started to write sothing on a piece of paper, which she gave
when she was done. She then pointed at a door going further inside the building, guarded by a rank 5 feline.
“Go through this door and go find soone called Clifer. They might have sothing for you.”
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