Chapter 222 – Hyien
If Alfiro was a large secondary city, Hyien was the real thing. Several times 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, immediately noting how great the mood was, similar to Alfiro's. People were still talking about the war so long after it ended, some narrating their feats during the numerous 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 time to time, contingents of royal soldiers would complement 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 commercial district and checked the products being sold. The goods were similar to the ones in Alfiro, but with a lot more options, and also some 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 remembered 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 time to work now that I had done some 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. Some were waiting to enter the administration office, the commerce office, the justice office, or even the foreign affairs office.
The situation here was different from Alfiro's. In Alfiro, there was only a department 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 women 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 commerce office. From there, it was a long wait. The line was only advancing very slowly, a couple of meters at a time, and we couldn’t do anything but be patient. Some people would talk with their neighbors out of boredom, discussing superficial topics. Maybe because I wasn’t from Makji, no one tried talking to me, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
Eventually, after several hours of waiting, it was finally my turn. Three women were handling incoming people, and despite that, each person needed a lot of time while talking profusely, as expected of merchants and the like. When one of the women became available, I quickly made my way to her. She looked tired and overloaded with work, but still inspected me as I arrived.
“Hello, ma’am.”
“Yes, hello. What’s your business with us?”
I took out my recommendation letter together with the silver token.
“I have a recommendation 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 me 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 recommendation 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 recommendation at twenty while starting from nothing?”
“I worked hard.”
“Hmm… We might have some use for you. Wait a moment.”
She started to write something on a piece of paper, which she gave me 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 someone called Clifer. They might have something for you.”
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