A general in the city

Inside the shaky carriage, Glitch sat with his eyes closed. Soon the carriage stopped, and he heard a shout. "Sir, we are at the mayor's office."

Glitch opened his eyes and stared into the coachman's eyes. That shameless guy just scratched his head, avoiding his gaze. Glitch couldn't believe it had taken around two hours, with only 15 minutes left until the deadline.

Not wasting more time, Glitch jumped out of the carriage. After handing 15 coins to the coachman, he looked at the massive stone building in front of him with a wide plaza before it.

This was the city administrator's building, along with the mayor's office. Unlike a normal shop, there were a lot of guards in the red around the building.

It was a clear indication that, even with this building present in the middle section, only the core guard could serve them.

There was a bunch of common folk going in and out of the building, most of them disheartened, some even crying and complaining about the laziness of city workers.

The more he listened to them, the more he realized these city workers were as corrupt as some government workers in the real world.

Glitch shook his head and moved closer to the building when two guards shouted at him, "Halt!"

He tilted his head in confusion when he noticed everyone in the surroundings was peeping at him.

Both guards rushed toward him and pointed their weapons at him.

It hit him that the mayor's office was on the front side of the city, and most people on this side were common folk.

One guard shouted, "State your purpose of visit."

Glitch reached into his pocket, and both guards took their stance. Not wanting to escalate the situation, he pulled out the invitation card and waved it in front of the guard. "I have an invitation from the mayor."

Both guards froze for a second, then one of them snatched the card from his hand. After reading it, he whispered something to his partner and then rushed back into the building.

The second guard also lowered his weapon but said in an indifferent tone, "Sorry, sir, but you have to wait here until we confirm your claim."

Glitch stared at the guard and nodded his head. Now these prideful red guards were something he was used to.

With nothing much to do, he looked around the surroundings. All eyes were on him at this moment. It didn't take long for the second guard to walk out alongside a man in a white robe.

The man in the white robe circled him, staring at him like he was examining some new toy in a shop.

It irritated him, but Glitch knew when to control himself. Just the aura around this man made him shiver a little. He could feel this man could kill him with a flick.

After staring at him for a minute, the mage turned around and said, "Follow me."

Glitch said nothing and followed the man. He knew no matter how powerful this guy was, he wouldn't harm him so openly. Well, not until they were sure there was no organization behind him.

Both of them walked through the association building game, down to a big corridor with a bunch of counters on both sides.

There were a lot of people arguing over different counters as they walked through. It didn't take long for him to notice that others around them seemed to not notice their presence.

Still, Glitch showed no reaction and continued to look around in fascination, like he used to do in his early days.

It was clear to him this mage was testing him. The mayor must send this mage to note his strength and behavior.

Well, he could also guess the reason for the mayor sending a mage to test him. It should be to find out if he could use mana or not. After all, a ruler with mana power on a magic planet was five steps ahead of other rulers.

Glitch continued his act until halfway through the hall, when he acted surprised and said in astonishment, "Wow, is this stealth magic?"

Obviously, he got no reply.

They just continued moving until they reached the gate on the backside.

Glitch saw a bunch of expensive carriages parked around the back. Just as they moved out of the back gate, a black carriage stopped in front of him.

The mage pointed to the carriage. "Move."

Glitch followed the order and walked into the carriage to see another man already sitting inside.

When the man saw him, he got up and bowed slightly. "Hello, sir. I am Vince, a humble servant who works under the master of the city."

Glitch raised his eyebrow at that introduction but still shook the man's hand and smiled. "Hello. I am Glitch, a new ruler. I am very happy to be invited by the grand master of the city."

This time, Vince smiled at him, and they looked at each other in understanding.

It was clear from Vince's tone that the mayor of this city fancied himself the master of the city title. Well, Glitch remembered the saying, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' He didn't even have any problem calling the mayor his grandfather if it meant he could gain something from the man.

He heard the carriage door close and saw that the mage remained outside.

Vince noticed his gaze and said, "Oh, General Marvic has some other tasks. He will join us later at the party."

Glitch looked at Vince in genuine shock. "General?" He knew a general wasn't someone a city mayor could order around.

Vince noticed his confusion and explained, "General Marvic is a permanent resident of Ckiukuji City, assigned by the previous king to maintain the city's peace. During his long stay, both he and the master became close friends. The master even praises..."

Glitch ignored all the mayor's praise and rubbed his chin. He still couldn't believe that the Rown Kingdom would send a general to protect a simple city.

Maybe this city was a reinforcement zone to send troops to the border, but then he remembered there were a few more cities between the border and Ckiukuji Town.

'Is this because of the two stone quarries? Nah, it can't be that. Then maybe slaves.' The more he learned about this city, the more complicated it seemed.

Vince said at this moment, "Sir Glitch, coincidentally, there is a big banquet at the master's castle today."

"Oh, banquet? What's the occasion?"

Vince smiled, "In celebration of the young master's acceptance into the academy."

Glitch waited for Vince to continue, but this sly man only smiled at him.

Glitch rubbed his forehead. This was another shock. Now, he didn't know what the mayor was thinking. A party for him on the first day? Did other nobles pressure him or something?

Glitch didn't buy the pathetic excuse. If there was a pre-planned banquet today, then wouldn't the general be there, not in the office?

Before he could think more, he saw Vince pull out a silver pouch from his pocket.

Vince said, "Sir Glitch, the master sent a special suit for you to attend this occasion."

Glitch looked in surprise when he saw an entire silver suit pop out of the small pouch. He didn't even look at the suit, focusing instead on the pouch.

He noticed that the moment the suit popped out, the embroidery on the pouch shone red.

He looked at Vince, but the man only smiled, not explaining anything.

Glitch leaned back on the seat and pointed at the bloodstains on him. "I don't think I can change in the carriage."

Vince coughed. "Of course, sir. You don't have to worry about that. We are heading to a guest house first."

Glitch nodded and focused on the window. Unlike a normal open carriage, he saw straw mesh covering the windows of this carriage, making it impossible for him to see outside.

He glanced at the small slit on the driver's side, only to see a slider also covered it.

He sighed. It was clear these guys did not want him to see the core city structure. Well, if what he heard in the morning was true, then he could understand the mayor's precautions. After all, a ruler could have weird, otherworldly powers.

During the entire trip, Vince continued to praise his master non-stop. If he were to take Vince's bullshit as truth, the city mayor was someone even the kingdom royalty begged the mayor to take the throne.

Well, even though it was nonsense, he still enjoyed Vince's stories of the mayor's heroic feats. Just as he was trying hard not to laugh, it hit him that knowledge was the most powerful thing in this game.

If it had been him from his past life, he would be too concerned about his situation to care about Vince. It wasn't like he was carefree this time, but he knew from experience that at least no one was going to target him at the meeting.

Both of them continued talking for a long time. He tried to shift the conversation many times to learn some more about the city, but this sly guy said nothing but the mayor's praise.

He now knew why Vince was here.

After a long journey, the carriage stopped. He heard two knocks from the driver's side.

Vince got up, still holding the silver suit. As Vince opened the door, Glitch saw a small but beautiful two-story white castle.

When he stepped out, Vince bowed to him. "Sir Glitch, welcome to Moonshine Castle."