In the capital royal city of the Geranium Kingdom...
The moment Elara stepped through the city gates, she was met with a scene tens of times livelier than the headquarters district of the Plumera Royal Merchant Headquarters in Sargassum.
She and Mr. Yu's caravan had already found a suitable place to camp outside the city, each bringing only ten people with them.
Inside the city, besides the locals, merchants, and soldiers of the Geranium Kingdom, there were people from many countries across the continent flooding in from all four gates in dense crowds.
Various styles of clothing, whether flamboyant, conservative, or expressive, could be seen on the bustling streets crammed with people.
Aside from Elara, Mr. Yu, and other typical Eastern-looking individuals, there were also people like Giles and Gareth, who had mixed Eastern and Western features, and even some with high noses, blond hair, and blue eyes resembling Western Europeans, though in very small numbers.
And perhaps because these ethnic groups were rare, many attractive Western-looking male slaves were chained and displayed naked in the merchant streets, being sold as goods in hopes of earning a fortune during the excitement of the Hundred Nations Banquet.
Seeing Elara looking at a few golden-haired, blue-eyed male slaves being dragged away in chains, Mr. Yu leaned in and whispered:
"These are exotic people with very high foreign bloodlines, rarely found in most parts of the continent. They can only occasionally be seen in a few remote border regions near the far west and far north of the continent."
"Because of their unique appearance, they're favored by certain nobles. Every time there's a Hundred Nations Banquet, merchants specifically bring them to sell. However, most of them are naturally wild, hardly different from beasts. Training and taming them isn't easy. You've been staring at them so long. Do you like how they look and want to buy a few to try?"
Mr. Yu smiled and stared at Elara as he spoke.
Elara shook her head and ignored the teasing in his tone.
Her earlier guess had been correct. There really were Western ethnicities in this world, though extremely rare... or maybe not. After all, she had only explored a small part of the map the System provided. She doubted the ancient people of this world could have explored the entire globe.
For example, what lay beyond the Forbidden Forest of Death west of the Carnation Kingdom was still unknown. No one in history had ever entered it and returned alive.
There were still many unexplored places in this world.
Maybe on the other side of the Forbidden Forest of Death, there was another continent, and perhaps the ruling people there were Westerners.
The two continued walking forward. On both sides of the street, besides being packed with people from different nations in various clothes, the contrast between the male-dominated and female-dominated countries was also quite clear here.
In the short time they had been in the city, Elara had already seen several powerful, striking women from female-dominated nations, paraded through the streets by male slaves. Their confident, alluring presence stirred excitement and cheers from all around.
Such scenes drew loud reactions from the crowd. After all, in every country, women were rare in this world.
Emory, Mr. Gong, and Gareth, who no longer needed to ride a carriage after arriving in the Geranium Kingdom capital, followed Elara and Mr. Yu. They admired the bustling scenery while walking deeper into the street.
"Let's first find a place to rest."
They had been traveling constantly to stay on schedule and hadn't slept in real beds for a long time.
Now that they had finally reached the Geranium Kingdom, even though they hadn't seen a tenth of the excitement in the city, the fatigue from their journey needed to be addressed first.
To accommodate the delegates from various countries attending the Hundred Nations Banquet, the capital had set up special inns for foreign envoys.
But even though there were many of these inns, they couldn't possibly house all the envoys.
Except for the top-tier nations in the third class or those ranked second class and above, the Geranium Kingdom's inns operated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Even though Elara and Mr. Yu had traveled as fast as possible, by the time they arrived, the banquet had already been going on for three days.
Of course, some countries farther away hadn't arrived yet and were still en route.
The banquet lasted a long time. The official start was on the fifth day of the scheduled period, which was two days from now.
The three days Elara and Mr. Yu missed were insignificant to the overall event, as they only involved the arrival and preparation phase for each country.
Given the top-tier strength of the Dahlia Kingdom among the third-class nations, Mr. Yu surely had a room reserved in the official inns of the Geranium Kingdom. But he had no intention of using it.
"It's rare to come to the Hundred Nations Banquet. Of course we should stay at the liveliest inn in the Geranium Kingdom with you, Elara, to truly experience the banquet's energy and the charm of all these foreign cultures."
A smiling Mr. Yu fanned himself as he led Elara and the others toward the largest inn in the capital city of the Geranium Kingdom.
"You're not worried that the largest inn might already be full?" Elara glanced at the bustling shops and crowds along the street.
"Well," Mr. Yu looked toward Gareth, who walked behind them. "Don't worry, White Three. Duke Yan arranged everything for us long ago. If merchant caravans were allowed into the city, he'd even have made room for our entire caravan of hundreds in the best inn."
Elara raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Gareth.
After adjusting to the demands of travel and taking a pill from Elara each day, Gareth's health had improved noticeably by the time they reached the Geranium Capital.
At least now he could keep up and walk along with them slowly.
When he noticed Elara looking his way, Gareth's light red lips curved slightly as he said, "Miss Bai, no need to worry. Some of my extended family settled here long ago to do business. The largest inn in the city, the Golden Ember Inn, belongs to them. Once they knew we were coming, they prepared the best arrangements for us."
Elara raised her brows even higher. Gareth's extended family had business here? They'd traveled over half a month and more than three thousand kilometers to get here. Yet Gareth's family's business extended all the way here and was influential enough to own the city's largest inn. This clearly showed how deep and powerful the Gareth family's roots were.
No wonder they could produce figures like Duke Yan and the Nation's General. That kind of foundation wasn't something ordinary noble families could match.
Elara asked no more questions and followed Mr. Yu and Gareth toward the central street of the city.
But after turning just two corners, they suddenly heard angry shouting and cursing that stood out from the usual lively bustle of the street.
They stopped walking and looked up to see a crowd of people from various nations forming a circle not far away. They pointed toward the center of the commotion, their faces showing mockery or disdain.
With her sharp senses and internal energy, Elara could hear the mocking voices clearly.
"He's just a slave, and he dares to recommend himself at the Talent Hall? What kind of face does he think he has? Ha, this is even more ridiculous than a pig climbing a tree."
"Exactly. A slave is still a slave. Shameless and disgraceful. Just being here tarnishes the Hall's name."
"Has the Talent Hall's standard dropped so low? Even a slave dares to walk in and promote himself? Tch, who would dare come here for talent recruitment again if they're risking taking home a lowly slave?"
"Tch tch, why isn't he at the slave market waiting to be bought? Instead, he's here overestimating himself. Disgusting."
As the bystanders talked, the shouting and attempts to drive someone away became fiercer inside the circle.
Elara lifted her eyes toward the building where people were gathered. The building was three stories tall, elegantly decorated, clearly a place for scholars and literati.
Too bad the shouting at the entrance ruined its refined atmosphere.
Elara and the others moved closer to get a clear view.
In the center of the crowd stood a man dressed in worn clothes, but they were washed clean. His hair was neatly tied with a cloth strip, and he held several thick, old books in his arms. Several attendants from the Hall were shoving him out.
At the threshold stood a manager-looking man, angrily pointing at the young man and yelling:
"Our Talent Hall welcomes the finest minds from across the lands, but we don't accept just any stray animal!"
"We don't care about background! Whether noble or humble, if one has talent, we welcome them!"
"But the basic requirement is to be a human being!"
The manager shot a piercing glare down at the man. The murmurs and judgmental glances from the surrounding foreigners only made him angrier.
If something happened at the Hall during the grand Hundred Nations Banquet, the family head would skin him alive.
The manager's voice grew more mocking. "You're not even a person. You're a masterless slave. Don't you know your place? Go back to your animal pen and stop defiling the entrance to our hall."
These words had already crossed the line.
Elara frowned. The Talent Hall claimed to seek talent regardless of class, but its staff physically pushed and cursed someone at the door. No matter the reason, the Hall's image had already plummeted in Elara's eyes.
She didn't know if anyone around her shared the same thoughts. Most people in this world didn't treat slaves as humans anyway.
Those gathered in front of the Hall cheered and clapped when they saw the man with the bamboo scrolls being treated that way.
"Good, good, good! That's how it should be! Hurry and throw him out! Let him stay a moment longer and the Hall's plaque will start to stink!"
"Exactly! Get rid of him! A slave in a refined place like this? The scholars inside must be disgusted!"
As they clapped and cheered, the man was shoved more roughly.
But no matter how hard they pushed or how many people joined in, his legs remained rooted to the ground.
Elara's eyes narrowed slightly. He had impressive internal strength.
"Sigh, what a pity, White Three. This is exactly why Li Xin and I were so surprised when we saw how you treated even slaves fairly during the exams in Marigold City."
Mr. Yu stood beside her, watching for a moment. He turned and looked at Elara, his dark green eyes glinting in the golden light of dusk.
His voice was calm with a hint of admiration and regret.
"Right now, slaves across the entire continent are only truly fortunate in Plumera."
"They're lucky to have met you. They're no longer treated like cattle and horses."
"Elsewhere… heh, the more powerful and ancient the regime, the more unshakable the mindset."