Ball of Nothing

After the crying was done and Mitchnew allegedly threatened Truen and Bob into 'seeing nothing', they were finally registered with Mitchnew's guild.

"The things you requested came this morning," she told them and brought out an envelope with the royal seal.

"This is for Zero, please don't lose it. The royal symbol is one of a kind and it contains the mana from King Brice which can be used to create a verified signature on behalf of King Brice."

The token Zero received looked very different from the token Truen carried before. It was made from gold and a mana crystal with the royal symbol stamped onto it. Zero held it and felt the mana dance in his palm and smiled. King Brice had a very gentle personality.

"This is the envoy appointment letter," Mitchnew handed it to Truen for safekeeping. "Make sure to show it to the guards and major guilds when you travel. Although Smargdas isn't a big or influential country, you wouldn't be ignored with such a power."

Bob peered over Truen's shoulder to look at the appointment letter.

"Wait! This is only a letter for Zero. What about Truen and I?"

Mitchnew shrugged. "It's up for grabs what kind of roles you want to play. Either way, stick close to Zero and you won't have a problem. Now that the important things are done, why don't I show you around the city?"

Zero perked up when he heard that they were going to explore the city. Then, he remembered something and pulled out the stone that the beggar children gave him.

"Have you seen anything like this before?" he asked the dark elf. "I'm looking for someone called Dina the Beggar King. Black Boar Inn is the meeting place, I need to contact him to ask about the slave-trading activities. Do you have a picture or description of Misana from the king?"

Mitchnew sighed. "Talking about business as soon as you arrive? That's fine as well. Black Boar Inn is towards the west part of the city where the poorer people live. I can take you there later. As for Dina, I know him and occasionally reach out to him using the same method even if I've never seen him before."

Then, she walked over to the bookshelf to search for something. The drawing of Misana was done personally by King Brice who had painting as his hobby. When Truen and Zero saw it, they couldn't help but be impressed by his skill.

"That king could be a painter if he doesn't want to be a king anymore," Bob commented and Zero frowned.

"No, he has to be a king now no matter what. We're finding Misana for him and if he doesn't keep his promise, there's not going to be a painter's dream at all," Zero said calmly, surprising Mitchnew who shot Truen a questioning look.

The archer shook his head and raised his hands in surrender. Zero's attitude really wasn't his influence. It just happened on its own with the events that happened up till now and while Truen felt more reassured that Zero was no longer that naive and kind pushover, it was still a shocking change to others like Mitchnew who still had the image of a cheerful and innocent doctor.

Changing the subject, Mitchnew explained that Smagdas capital was separated by districts and that Zero could start with any districts to explore. It was simply too big to be explored fully within the day and there would be plenty of opportunities to explore more of the city over the next few days.

"The North part of the city is where the adventurers usually hang out and where many adventurer guilds are. It's also near Altear and Rocket Mountain where you arrived from. We're currently closer to the Eastern side of the city where more of the merchants reside. The East is also a place for arts. If you go towards the south you'll start to see some of the shadier people but it's where I normally do my business in. And West is where Black Boar's Inn is as well as the district of the poorer people and farmers."

Zero listened intently and frowned. "Where is the palace located?"

Truen smiled. "Right smack in the middle of the city in the center. King Brice lives there and the nobles have a designated area to govern over based on their ranks and titles. Of course, it also means that things are more expensive the closer they get to the center. For the poor people living in the west, sending their children to the schools in the central district would be an impossible dream."

Zero didn't like that idea. "How do poor children study? Which school do they go to?"

Bob placed a hand on Zero's shoulder and shook his head. "They don't go to schools, master. Most of the poor people cannot afford to send their children to school. Some even have trouble feeding them."

Zero blinked and fell silent for a long while. "I've decided where I want to tour first," he told them. "Let's go to the west district. I want to look for Black Boar Inn as well as see the living conditions there. King Brice cannot turn a blind eye to them, they are still his people."

Mitchnew said nothing and Truen reminded Zero about the ground rules. Zero pouted. He might not be able to help those poor people without charging them for something based on his agreement with Truen but Zero still wondered if there was anything he could do.

"Are there jobs that normal people could do? I think I'll make a stop at the adventurer's guild for a bit."

Mitchnew bit her lip. "There are but not many people take them so they pile up quite a lot. Unlike smaller towns and guilds, the city is meant for big jobs. The merchants usually hire labourers instead of posting job requests to adventurer guilds. Why?"

Zero grinned. "I'm going to take all those requests and distribute the jobs to the poor. You're in contact with some merchant guilds, right? How about we start a new kind of contract with them? Half Moon Village's products are highly sought and according to Schaf, we don't have enough goods to keep up with supplies. Those merchant guilds who could offer easy jobs to those from the west district including children and beggars will be given priority to our potions and medicine."

Truen wasn't too happy but Bob thought that it was a great idea. Mitchnew didn't know if it was a good idea seeing as there were many kinds of merchant guilds that would exploit labourers and poor people to increase their profit margin. Truen was also against the idea because it would start to bring more attention to their guild in a way that would make information trading more difficult in the future.

Zero listened to their opinions and hummed. "I see. How about we take a walk over to Black Boar's Inn to do what I came for then observe the situation to think about it in detail over dinner?"

Appeased, for now, they agreed and set off to the western district with Mitchnew leading them and explaining a little about Smargdas' history. Zero listened with interest and was amazed by the rich culture despite the young country.

They passed by the central where Zero observed the difference in how people dressed. He looked at the clothes they were wearing and felt slightly underdressed compared to the rich merchants and nobles walking around. Everyone else wore fancy and c.u.mbersome clothes with ruffles, sleeves and even skirts that looked like a lamp. The hats were needlessly huge adorned with things like fur and feathers while the umbrellas had to be held by two servants because of how huge and heavy they were, decorated with ribbons, silk and all the useless stuff. Did that even function in the rain?

Zero walked around to have a look at the castle and blinked when he saw it. The castle wasn't that huge but the perimeter around it was ridiculous! There was a very beautiful garden inside the perimeter of the palace that nobody else was allowed to enter and a needlessly huge fountain that had no fishes in it. What a waste of money and resources! No wonder the people were starving in the west district. It was very different from what Zero had seen in Magnus Hilda and Rocket Mountain.

The western district was busy but not in the same way the northern gates were with so many people rushing in and out. They were more collected and full of laughter even though things were less sparkly here. The relaxed atmosphere and sounds of people singing while they worked made Zero feel slightly better about Smargdas. He wasn't used to the strange tension around the city with so many people looking at you trying to decide if you were friend or foe. Compared to that kind of environment, Zero found himself feeling more at home in the western district.

"I like it here," he told Truen. "The energy around here feels better."

Mitchnew smiled. "I like it here too, Zero. It reminds me of Half Moon Village so I come here a lot whenever I'm stressed. They don't question where I come from or treat me differently. I don't even have to wear a hood around these areas."

Truen walked beside Bob behind Mitchnew and Zero who decided to ask a local cattle farmer if they could try feeding his milk cows. None of these people looked like they had ulterior motives so they relaxed a little and went to a nearby tavern to order some drinks while Mitchnew showed Zero around.