Entering the Capital
As could be expected from a place like the Royal Capital of the largest and most powerful nation in the world, the line to get into it was incredibly long. Marked carriages and groups bearing special passes had a relatively easy time passing through, but people who were new to the city needed to get an id issued and pass through multiple security checkpoints.
Fortunately for Paul and Party, a Guild Card functioned as identification in just about every nation, both large and small. Unfortunately, the presence of Ganyu in her Qilin form required them to wait nearly three hours for a qualified Tamer to come by and evaluate her obedience. She managed to pass each of the tests with extreme ease, but the laws of the Capital still required her to be muzzled at all times. If she were found walking around without one, she would be treated as any other monster who had invaded the Capital.
Though Paul, personally, would have hated to be muzzled, Ganyu was never the type to complain about such things. Her only request was that Paul be the one to place it on and remove it.
With the matter of their entrance into the city resolved, Paul was finally able to enter and experience the largest and wealthiest city in the world. It spread out nearly a hundred kilometers from the coast and, much like the rest of the Kingdom, consisted of buildings presumably inspired by European and Victorian-Era architecture. This meant angular, dark brown, gable-style roofs, decorative windows, white walls, and lots of spires.
The thing that surprised Paul most about the Capital, at least initially, was that it was very clean. Mushoku Tensei was a world that still used buckets and bedpans in place of a proper waste disposal system, so it was a little surprising seeing how clean the paved, white-bricked streets were.
Ignoring the growing number of people gathering around to get a look at Ganyu, Paul turned to his group and said, "I doubt they'll let us enter the Inner City immediately. For now, we should check in with the Guild and find a place to stay. If I'm not mistaken, either Reida herself or someone from the palace should come to find us before long."
Though it could take hours, if not days, for an ordinary person to move about the Capital, people like Reida lived by their own rules. The moment she heard he was in the city, Paul could imagine the raven-haired woman leaping from building to building with a malicious smile on her face. Why a malicious smile?
Even Paul wasn't shameless enough to believe he could get away with knocking up the Water God without receiving a beating...
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As Paul and Party were looking for a place to stay, a raven-haired woman with windswept hair and cerulean eyes could be found smiling confidently as she casually deflected the attacks of three men and one woman. Each was at least a Saint-Ranked Swordsman, but they could barely get Reida to work up a sweat as her sword moved with the fluidity of water but the ferocity of lightning.
Before receiving her Electro Vision from Paul, Reida had been able to feel her body growing weaker. Her joints ached regularly, and though she did her best to suppress such negative thoughts, there were times when she would question whether or not she had wasted her time pursuing the path of swordsmanship.
Even to the people that had known her for decades, the current Reida was a far cry from her past self. Instead of growing old and frail, giving them a chance to usurp her position, she appeared to be growing more powerful, vigorous, and beautiful with each passing day.
"Come on, you bastards! Even if our swordsmanship isn't designed to attack, at least get me to breathe heavily! Hahahaha~!"
Demonstrating a nature that was better suited for the Sword God Style, Reida went on the offensive the moment her students faltered. For the briefest of moments, an Electro Purple hue emanated from the depths of her cerulean-blue eyes before she appeared to vanish.
Before most of the people observing the match could even blink, Reida appeared behind her students with a mischievous smile on her face. She had been using a wooden sword, but the very real blades of each of her sparring partners had been cut clean through as she looked back at them and said, "If that were a genuine Longsword of Light, you would be dead right now. Go back and work on your foundation."
Though the eldest of the four furrowed his brows into a deep grimace, the other three cupped their hands and bowed respectfully before picking up their shattered blades and excusing themselves along with the departing crowd. When they were gone, only Reida and a handsome, auburn-haired man with features similar to her own remained.
With her sword resting on her shoulder and a raised brow, Reida asked, "Something you wanted to say, Vuldar? I'm pretty sure I just told you to go back and work on your foundation."
Balling his hands into fists, Vuldar asserted, "You were supposed to be getting ready for retirement. Why are you working so hard to improve all of a sudden?"
Snorting through her nose, Reida retorted, "Stinking brat. Are you that eager to see me put in the ground?"
Shaking his head, Vuldar insisted, "No, it isn't that...it's just...I don't want to see you get hurt. Your abilities are undeniable, but women shouldn't be swordsmen. At your age, you should be spending your days watching over and taking care of your grandchildren, not swinging your sword around like someone half your age..."
Instead of humoring Vuldar's, her eldest son's words, Reida adopted a broad, challenging smile as she said, "Then make me." before pointing her wooden sword at his face and adding, "You don't reach the top by asking those at the summit to move aside. You push them off or drag them down. As for your little remark about how women shouldn't be swordsmen? Who the fuck decided that?"
Furrowing his brows, Vuldar wanted to say more but was interrupted as a young woman with long, sleek black hair and sleepy, cerulean-blue eyes entered the training area. When she saw the two people present within, a faint smile graced her naturally alluring face as she said, "Mother, brother, it's good to see you."
"Uote..."(A/N: Pronounced Yo-tei.)
Adopting a cheeky smile, Reida retracted her sword from Vuldar's face as she teased, "Well, would you look at that, another woman that's stronger than you. Oh? And what's this? She's nearly ten years your junior? Maybe I really am going senile...either that or your statement about how women shouldn't be swordsmen is complete bullshit."
With a darkening expression, Vuldar stared intently into his mother's eyes as if he wanted to say something. Instead, he turned around in a huff, his path setting him on a collision course with Uote, forcing her to step out of the way to avoid him.
Seeing Vuldar storm off like a child throwing a tantrum, Reida couldn't help shaking her head in disproval as she muttered, "Good riddance..." with a cold expression on her face. Vuldar was one of the children that had been forced onto her, so even though she acknowledged him as her son, Reida disdained him nearly as much as his father.
Fortunately, while Uote had also been born out of a less than consensual relationship, she was a lot more pleasant to be around. She had also just recently given birth to a young daughter named Isolte, so Reida had been spending more time with her as of late.
"What brings you here, Uote? Shouldn't you be spending time with little Isolte right now...?"
Adopting a smile that had conquered the hearts of countless men, Uote replied, "Isolte is spending the day with her father. As for what brings me here, I heard an interesting tidbit of information that is spreading through the Capital like wildfire."
Raising her brows, Reida remarked, "Oh? Do tell." She generally disdained people who gossiped, but that didn't prevent her from engaging in a bit of harmless babble herself.
Anticipating her mother's reaction, a squinty-eyed smile adorned Uote's face as she revealed, "Paul Greyrat and his Party, Einherjar, have recently entered the Capital with a mysterious, horned creature."
Instead of reacting how Uote expected, Reida narrowed her eyes as she calmly replied, "Is that so...?" In actuality, she wanted nothing more than to charge over and give Paul a taste of her fist, but very few people knew of their relationship. If she were to cause a scene, people were bound to spread rumors and ask questions.
Since it wouldn't be proper for someone of her status to actively seek out Paul and his Party, Reida adopted a mischievous smile as she stared at her second-eldest daughter and questioned, "You mentioned that Isolte was with her father, right? Then you must have a lot of free time on your hands..."
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After getting registered with the surprisingly small Guild, Paul and Party checked into a high-quality Inn located just a few blocks away from the massive wall separating the Inner City from the Outer City. Nobles didn't like sharing space with peasants, so the Capital had been divided into a series of Upper-Noble, Lesser-Noble, and Commoner Districts.
Had he visited in his youth, Paul would have been allowed free passage into the innermost parts of the city. Now, he would need a sponsor just to enter the Inner City, the sub-division of the Capital where the wealthiest merchants, Unlanded Nobles, and the majority of the Kingdom's military took up residence.
Fortunately for Paul, he had something even better than a sponsor, an official summons from the King. Had he used it at the entrance of the city, they likely would have prepared a carriage to escort him to the very heart of the city. Instead, Paul intended to familiarize himself with the Capital's layout before meeting with the King. More pressingly, he had a promise to keep with Lilia, so, after reserving nearly every room on the third floor of an Inn, he ignored the blushing beauty's petition to take a bath first as he pulled her into his bedroom and made up for seven years of lost time...
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Shortly after Paul and his Party had checked in with the Adventurer's Guild, word of his arrival reached the ear of an inordinately tall man with golden-blonde hair, vaguely reminiscent of a lion's man, and striking blue eyes. The man had been lounging about in the Concubine's Palace, but, even while half-naked, he exuded an aura of regality that made it difficult for the average person to look him in the eye.
"You're certain it was him...?"
Bowing as low and respectfully as his ornate armor allowed, the Knight that had come to inform the man, none other than King Ansalem Anemoi Asura, replied, "Yes, my Liege. His appearance and the appearance of his companions match our reports. Shall we send someone to retrieve him...?"
"Hmmm...I think not..."
As he was currently spending time with his favorite consort, King Ansalem didn't feel like taking a bath, donning his royal vestments, and returning to the palace. It was already late in the day, and, more importantly, he had given Paul until the end of the year to present himself. There were still five full months until then, so the King was in no hurry to force their encounter ahead of time.
"Go, and have some of your men keep an eye on them. If the First Prince or any of his supporters attempt to cause trouble, do your best to prevent things from getting out of hand."
Lowering his head even further, the ornately armored Knight replied, "Your will be done!" before backing out of the room without rising. Following his departure, the King returned his attention to a markedly younger woman, who, at the present moment, was bound and suspended above a canopy bed with a gag in her mouth...
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