According to Mike"s information, usual town residents hated the situation. Just because they either were born into the middle cla.s.s or managed to climb their way into the settlement for the sake of leading better lives, they had to either join the n.o.bles or obediently agree to be used as City Hall p.a.w.ns by the default. There was no third option!

When looking at the situation from the outsider perspective, Xyenna could only shake her head with pity. It was the same as everywhere else. Folk was just too used to just a tool for those with power, not realising at all the strength they wield themselves. She made her choice a long time ago and now she was a respected adventurer. If enough of those common people realised the strength that lies dormant in them, be it n.o.bles or the city hall… None of them could live lavishly while wasting resources on stupid conflicts!

While the gate was diligently watched over by a dozen guards, she was a single woman in a travelling outfit. There was no reason to stop her from entering at all! Only when she entered the shadowy pa.s.sage did Xyenna realise that it was the first time in a long while when she pa.s.sed the gate by herself!

"Excuse me, where can I find the administration building?"

Closing onto one of the random strangers busying themselves on the streets, she asked for the directions. With all his genius in planning and scheming, Mike seemed to forget about such a basic thing as the map! It was the very first time she was in this city, so instead of just marching right into her destination, she had to depart an hour earlier to have enough spare time.

"You need to go two alleys forward in this direction, turn left and just follow the road. When you will see the highest building around, you will know that you have arrived at your destination miss."

As if used to strangers asking for help, random citizen Xyenna chosen as her guide didn"t seem to mind it at all. While he appeared busy on the outside, there was no man alive that wouldn"t be pleased to help such a cute woman in need!

Thankful for the received help, Xyenna smiled gently and slightly bowed her head in response. Just this small act of grat.i.tude made the man"s mood expression brighten up. Encouraged by the easy-going approach of the girl, he scratched his head.

"If you don"t mind, I would love to lead you there…"
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Only after he raised his eyes again, did the man realise that this girl already left!

Moving forward in big strides, it took her only a few minutes to reach the described building. It was indeed as impressive as Mike told her it is. Consisting of five layers in total, each level got a different kind of decorations on its outside walls.

The ground floor made use of big windows to exhibit simplistically furnished lounge, with a reception desk, some sofas and few standalone tables filled with drinks and snacks. The first and second floor have an elaborate painting on their walls, picturing the most important events and landscapes to the faction. After closely examining the paintings, Xyenna realised that every single of them had a hidden date in it, allowing to recognise shown events!

The third level was a bit different because instead of using the colours, it wielded the shapes! Instead of filling the walls with elaborate art, it was slightly smaller than its lower counterparts, making use of the remaining s.p.a.ce to exhibit a variety of sculpted figures. From the harsh looking warriors, through elegant n.o.bles, st.u.r.dy farmers all the way to the delicate merchants, those sculptures depicted the most important historical figures that created this faction in the first place!

But all of that simply paled in comparison to the last, fourth floor. While a lot smaller than the rest of the building, it looked like it was made with pure gold and decorated with gemstones!

From what Mike told her, there were only two houses of this height in the whole town. The one Xyenna was standing in front served as the n.o.bles faction headquarters, while its rival, located in the very centre of the commercial district was the City hall main location.

Of course, there was a castle, several town turrets or even the walls that occasionally left those houses height in shame, but it didn"t matter at all. Both factions took it as the point of honour to lavishly decorate their topmost floor just for the sake of expressing their superiority over the other party!

Not wanting to waste any more of her precious time, Xyenna took out a small piece of paper from her pocket. Reading it with her lips only for a small moment, she ensured herself that she engraved its content into her memory and decisively threw the paper into her mouth. After chewing it for a short while to soften its structure, she quickly swallowed and reached the doors of the wondrous building.

Quickly reaching the counter manned by one of the several servants, she proclaimed.

"I"m here on the behalf of the Mike Newer. There should be prepared under his name."

*****

Leaving negotiations to Xyenna made Mike anxious, but there was nothing he could do about it. Pretending to be sick opened him a window to deal with his matters covertly, but forced him to give up the control over the crucial matter of setting a foothold in the city.

Regretfully, all he could do at this point was shrugging his arms and marching down the road. Covered by a think, capped coat, merchant slowly strolled through the small city streets until he reached an indistinctive place with dead fish signboard hanging over the doors.

Surprisingly, despite how early time of the day it was, the dining hall was filled to the brim. It could be expected when thinking about some fancy, well-known place, but not a rundown tavern like that!

It took him a good chunk of time to finally find some free spot to sit. It wasn"t comfortable, to say the least. Hard, wooden bench and stone table with vulgar looking men all around. There were some nicer spots, but considering how their occupants were all silently talking with each other, it was easy to understand that they were already reserved for local elites.

"What would you like to order sir?"

By the time the young merchant finished his observation, an ordinary-looking maid came to serve him.

"I was thinking about lamb breast and pink wine."

As silly as it sounded, Mike still said it. Even in the overwhelming noise surrounding them, those words managed to attract several mocking looks from the surrounding quests.

"Are you sure you have chosen the right place, sir?"

Maid asked with hesitation. While this might be a rundown tavern for the lower cla.s.s of people, they had to act politely as long as the customers did so aswell. Those were the strange rules enforced by the owner and the maid already got too used to it to be bothered.

"If you would be so kind, pa.s.s this order to your cook. If he still finds it impossible to prepare it, I will just go with your recommendation. Will that be a problem?"

Swiftly reaching for his pouch, Mike grabbed a silver coin and pa.s.sed it to the girl"s hand.

"I"m on my way right now sir!"

Suddenly mobilised, servant jumped to the back. A silver coin for pa.s.sing the message? No matter how strange and out of place it was, that had to be the best day of her life!

"Aren"t you a little wasteful with your money?"

As soon as the maid left, one of the burly quests sitting next to Mike suddenly said.

"If you can"t take care of your pouch, there are bound to be people ready to strip it from you!"

Compared to all the scheming he was used to, Mike felt it refreshing when some random thugs straightforwardly threatened him. His state of mind surfaced on his face, curling his lips upward a bit.

"What are you smiling for? Are you mocking me?!"

His expression didn"t hide from the eyes of the thug. Happy to find an opening that he could use, he instantly grabbed his knife from his belt.

Only after pulling it up to the height of his chest did he fell a tiny cold glint on his throat. Unknowingly when Mike"s dagger was calmly resting on his artery! Acting as if nothing happened at all, Mike took a piece of meat from the thug"s plate with his spare, right hand and brought it to his mouth.

Just when he was about to have a taste, his face twitched and an ugly grimace appeared on it as he dropped the meat back. Still holding the edge near the aggressor"s throat, he calmly cleaned his fingers on the controlled guy coat.

"I think I will wait for my lamb after all. Why don"t you go and check if they roast it already?"

"Y-yes, sir!"

Scared to his wits by the dagger pressing on his vital point, thug immediately tuned down and jumped from his seat to escape.

"Don"t forget about the wine!"

As the man was squeezing through the crowd to escape, Mike provocatively shouted at him and hid his weapon back under his robes.

Somewhere else, this kind of situation might bring loads of attention and even enmity, but not here. People around Mike only slightly nodded with respect and got back to their own matters. After all, the food was still hot, why waste time to allow it to get cold?

"I have to say. I never expected to see you here, Mike."

Not long after, a calm voice resounded near young merchant ear.

"Would you mind if we switch the places?"