A Thriving City's Light and Shadow

My first impression upon entering the city of Ateil was its sheer size and the number of people.

Its location wasn't particularly strategic as a transportation hub. And yet, for a city to be this prosperous was quite unusual.

I got off the carriage and led the mules on foot while looking for an inn.

Not too cheap, but not exactly high-end either. Something in between. It didn't take long to find one. With this much foot traffic, there was no shortage of inns.

I rented one large room and left the carriage outside. The rate was reasonable enough.

I told the others to rest for now and went looking for a merchants' guild. As a precaution, I had them move the cargo into the room so nothing would get stolen.

Cargo security was your own responsibility. A high-end inn would handle that for you. In the city of Aquarius, I'd been able to get a trade permit through the Adventurer's Guild, but a city this size should have its own merchants' guild.

After asking around at a few taverns, I found the merchants' guild hall. An impressive building. They must be quite profitable.

I went inside and looked around. There were fewer people than I'd expected. The atmosphere was composed.

I spoke with the receptionist and purchased a vending permit for the next day. They assigned me a location, so I checked the city map.

Good spots were expensive, bad ones cheap. Well, the good spots were already claimed anyway.

Permit in hand, I left the guild hall. The streets were full of people.

Shops were calling out to passersby with gusto. I bought some fruit from a fruit stall and made a bit of conversation while I was at it.

Lingering too long would draw attention, but chatting a little during a purchase was perfectly normal. A short round of small talk gave me a better picture of this city.

"Come back anytime."

"Sure thing."

I walked away from the stall, looking over the fruit I'd bought. Good quality too.

I took a bite. Sweet juice burst from where I'd bitten, wetting my throat.

Delicious.

What I'd learned from the conversation was that this city's taxes were low.

Come to think of it, the entry toll had been cheap too. On top of that, the city was well run, and public safety wasn't bad.

Because of all that, the ruling nobleman got nothing but praise. Merchants usually spoke ill of their lords, but not here.

As expected of a Senate nobleman, they said. But I couldn't take those words at face value.

The reason this city's taxes were low had nothing to do with the lord's goodwill. The estate's enormous profits meant there was no need to squeeze the city for tax revenue.

As a result, this city thrived. In other words, this city's prosperity was built on the sacrifice of the estate.

It was a complicated feeling. If I hadn't known about the estate, I'd have happily praised this city too.

The trade permit had been cheap too. I returned to the inn and went to our room.

Elza wasn't there. Probably off visiting a church again.

Everyone else was relaxing. I handed out the fruit I'd bought.

I'd seen city guards on patrol during my walk, but they looked like standard rounds. No sign they were specifically searching for Orleans.

It seemed we weren't on anyone's radar. I clapped my hands to get everyone's attention.

"We'll rest for the remainder of today. Tomorrow, we sell what we brought at a stall. Visiting the place Orleans lived comes after that. Clear?"

Everyone nodded.

Elza came back around evening. We turned in for the night.

The next morning, we got our stall set up at the designated spot bright and early. Everything I'd brought was luxury goods that sold well at our own shop.

There was no shortage of customers. A few immediately started browsing.

A lady showed interest in the scented soap, so I launched into my sales pitch and talked her into buying. Once the first sale landed, the rest came fast. That was how stall selling worked.

Of course, that was because I'd been selective about what to bring. Spices were apparently in short supply around here, and someone who looked like a cook bought a bulk order.

One by one the items sold, with the apples going last. A solid showing for a peddling trip.

As I'd confirmed yesterday, food was cheap in this city thanks to the agricultural estate. If I loaded up on wheat before heading home, that would turn a profit too.

I packed up the stall and headed back to the inn once. I stowed the empty crates in the carriage.

The mules were lounging around, munching on the grass that had been set out for them. Taking the carriage to Orleans's estate would attract too much attention.

I'd let them rest for a while. Back at the inn.

"Your goods sold out so quickly, sir." Orleans said, impressed.

"Yeah. I was pretty deliberate about what I chose to bring."

"I see… You put a lot of thought into things."

"I also have a promise to keep about the estate."

"Thank you for remembering."

I worked on pinpointing the estate's location. Orleans had never seen a map before, so she couldn't give a precise answer, but we were able to narrow it down based on the scenery she remembered from the roads she'd passed through when escaping.

I marked a spot that had the right conditions for an estate and was large enough to match. "How do we get there? Will there be soldiers or anything like that?"

Azu asked. It depended on how the estate was managed, but a Senate nobleman was practically a feudal lord in all but name.

"It'll be a large operation, so there'll definitely be guards. We'll have to sneak in at night."

"Understood. I'll do my best to keep everyone safe."

Ideally, it wouldn't come to Azu drawing her sword. Orleans and her parents had been desperate enough to flee.

It probably wasn't a pleasant place, but… We should do a daytime reconnaissance run first, just to be safe.

After that, we'd wait nearby until nightfall. The inn was rented for several days. Not returning for a full day wouldn't be a problem.