C98- Visiting the Buthaldi Kingdom (2)

As the carriage slowly made it's way in the Buthaldi territories, Noah noticed the capitol city appearing in the horizon.

"Look, you can somewhat see the city even from here.", said Noah.

Corvin looked outside the carriage and squinted his eyes hard.

"That kind of just looks like a bunch of spikes, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. That must be the Euyn Palace in the capitol. Ale-An architecture focuses on height more than width unlike ours, so that's probably the tips of the palace."

"Oh, I remember reading about that once. Their tall buildings helped them discover the size of Kaweck from the amount the ground curved in the ancient times."

"But, why are the building this tall?", asked Clair.

"It's probably because there isn't much good places to build a house. There is a massive desert that almost no one lives in at the southern border of the Kingdom. Plants also grow a bit slower since there is less rain here, so they probably wanted to save as much space as possible."

"Now that you mention it, there are no forests except the one at the mountains at this side right. Most of the trees are smaller as well."

"Isn't that cool? Just by crossing the mountains, the climate changes so much and you can see how it effects culture as well."

"It would be great if getting here didn't took days even though we are neighbouring states."

"...We should really work on those vehicles once we are back, right Clair?"

"Yeah... Oh, Amy."

"Hm?"

"That road thing you said... um..."

"Asphalt?"

"Yeah. That, where can we find that? Do you know how to make it?"

"Hm... Well, it comes from the ground. It's like a sticky black sludge. If there is a deposit of it here, then it may be here as well."

"I see. We should ask about it. If we find a lot, we could build roads everywhere. It would be great."

"We would also make a lot of money."

"""...."""

"What? Isn't that the biggest reason why we have been working so hard for half a year?"

"You are right, Noah, but when you say it like that, I just feel like a greedy trash."

"What are you talking about, Corvin? You are greedy. Aren't you the one who jumped at the opportunity to earn land?"

"What?"

"Yeah, Noah is right. We may be the children of a count and a margrave, but we are still heirs and not the head. You are actually the one with the most net worth here. You also own a third of Novaeta as well."

"Ghh... You are right... But..."

"But?"

"I-I'm doing all this to give people better lives!"

"Right. What have you done that directly made people happier?"

"N-Nothing much for now..."

"See? You are greedy."

"Ugh... Alright. I will start a charity foundation when we get back home, okay? You guys will also be in this project."

"Why us?!"

"What? You think you can just pressure me into doing charity by myself? Nuh-uh, you guys are going to help me with that."

"I'm down, actually. It will help me a lot if the people liked me more.", said Noah.

"Oh, right. You actually have a reason to do charity, don't you, Noah?"

"Well, yeah. The richer the commoners are, the easier it will be for me to get them to rise up."

"Right. How is getting allies going, by the way? Did you find any allies to help your rebellion?"

"I did, but as expected, most nobles aren't interested in losing their status and power for ideals."

"Right. Guessed as much. Well, nothing we can do about it. We should just enjoy our trip for now. See, the city is in view now.", said Corvin as he looked outside the window.

It only took five more hours to finally reach the city.

*****

The City of Shabagh, the capitol of the Buthaldi Kingdom was a city that looked crowded and small, just like most Ale-An cities.

Ale-An buildings are built mostly out of sandstone because of it's abundance in the area and it's light colour that reflects the sunlight and keeps the city from heating too much. The tall buildings also create shadows that keep the city cool as well. And during the night, the tight streets don't allow the cold winds to pass through easily, which creates a city that's keeps it's temperature in control against the harsher climate of the area.

The closer buildings create a tighter community and a culture that gives great importance to family and friends on the surface. But, since most of the buildings are out of stone, this also insulates every building, giving everyone a lot of privacy, creating a culture that is defensive and distrustful to strangers while also giving importance to the community and family.

And while walking towards the Euyn Palace in the middle of the city, the dry dirt under Corvin's feet crunched as he walked in the streets of the city slowly.

"Is it me, or is the whole street looking at us?"

"I feel that too, just ignore it. We should walk towards the palace."

"It feels weird to walk into the palace, doesn't it?"

"It's okay. I just wanted to take a stroll, you know? I quite liked this city. It feels safe, though a bit stuffy."

"Nah. Can't agree on that one. I feel constricted in this city."

"That's because half the time you are flying to get to wherever you want to go, Corvin. Most people don't live like a pigeon unlike you."

"What?! Amy, you as well?!"

"As well?"

"These two once told me the same thing before!"

"And you haven't listened to them?"

"What? Is it bad that I am getting things done fast?"

"It is, when you are alerting the city guards every three days!", said Noah.

"Ugh... I am sorry about that."

"You should be."

After a bit more of walking, they finally reached the Euyn Palace. Standing in front of the palace's gates to greet them with his guards and advisors was the young Buthaldi King, Nehdean Il-Buthaldi accompanied by the nobles of the kingdom.

Nehdean was a handsome man with his rose pink hair and eyes. He was just a little bit shorter than Noah and didn't look like he trained much. But his cold and calculative eyes didn't let his small stature make him look like an easy prey. He was also really young for a king, and his age seemed to be about 25.

'Actually, all of the nobles here are really young... younger than the ones back home... Why is that, I wonder?', thought Corvin as he stared at the group walking towards them for greetings.