The Royal Capital of Ars.
It is the capital of the Asura Kingdom, even the biggest city in this world. Its name comes from the hero Ars, who led the human race to victory in the Human-Demon War.
People seeing this city for the first time are often surprised and can't hide it.
The grand Silver Palace stands tall on a hill.
Big houses where high-ranking nobles live surround the palace.
Around those are fortress-like walls, and wide streets stretch out forever.
If you look closely, you can see even more amazing things: a huge fighting arena, fancy training areas for knights, the beautiful temple of the Holy Milis Order, bridges all over the city, the main office of the world's biggest company, the training hall of the Water God Style family, a street full of theaters playing operas, a red-light district with women's seductive charm, a victory gate built to remember the Laplace War, the huge Arteel River like a mother, endless and vast...
Even before entering the Royal Capital of Ars, the sights of its richness and beauty hit you hard, making even Shirou, a Reincarnated Person, feel a bit shocked.
Compared to the royal capital, even Roa, the capital of the Fittoa territory, looks like a poor, small place.
"Wow..."
While Shirou was surprised, Eris next to him also looked amazed, with her mouth wide open.
Shirou couldn't help but ask, "Eris, is this your first time in the royal capital too?"
"Yeah, I was never allowed to come to the royal capital before."
Eris said quietly, and it seemed like she didn't know why.
Philip's face looked strange, but he didn't explain much.
The group then arrived in front of the royal capital.
Looking at it up close, the capital's grandeur was even more obvious.
First, there was the silver castle on the hill, clearly the royal palace where the country's ruler, the royal family, lived.
The royal castle looked even bigger than the Boreas family's castle. Around it were thick, fortress-like walls, at least twenty meters tall.
Even a dragon would have trouble climbing over those walls. That's how impressively tall they were.
Surrounding the walls were many shiny, luxurious houses, lined up like castles.
Normally, that area would be where the important nobles lived.
Below the noble area, the streets were simpler. The messy scene was endless, stretching to the horizon.
Even though Shirou had seen even bigger cities in his past life, he had gotten used to life in this world over the years. So, seeing such an amazing city in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a bit excited.
He and Eris were like country bumpkins visiting the big city, constantly surprised by the different buildings.
Ghislaine and Philip had been to the royal capital before, so they weren't as impressed.
"We're finally here."
As the carriage slowly arrived at the city gate, Philip got out and talked to the guards, showing them the travel papers.
After being allowed through, the group rode the carriage into the heart of the city.
While passing through the city gate, Shirou noticed that the guards had special movements. The swords they carried were held away from their waists in a way that looked a little strange.
This was clearly so they could quickly draw their weapons and fight back in battle.
Shirou knew that only the Water God Style used this technique.
"Are these knights Water God Style swordsmen?"
Shirou couldn't help but ask.
"You noticed that right away?"
Ghislaine was surprised by Shirou's reaction and explained, "The Water God Style training hall is located in the royal capital of Asura. So, when the students graduate, they often join the royal capital's knight squad or become guards in the capital as trainees. Also, since the Water God Style is all about defense, it's perfect for protecting nobles. So, without realizing it, the knights in Asura are mostly made up of elite Water God Style swordsmen."
"I see."
Shirou nodded. He could tell they were Water God Style swordsmen because he had learned the Water God Style from Paul.
Even though Paul had a bad personality, his swordsmanship was solid and well-grounded. He would clearly explain the basics of the three styles, so Shirou now knew more about the basics of the three styles than most people.
Even though he only seemed to be using Sword God Style.
The group officially entered the royal capital.
Although the royal capital looked amazing from the outside, it was actually not much different inside.
The inside of the town looked like any other city.
Merchants and adventurers walked back and forth on the streets. There weren't many adventurers, and they were mostly new to the job, with little fighting experience.
This was because the royal capital had a powerful knight squad that regularly got rid of monsters nearby. So, normal adventurers couldn't compete with the trained soldiers.
It's worth noting that the roads in the royal capital were very wide, enough for six carriages to pass at the same time.
The road led to the central square of the town.
"Let's find a hotel to stay in,"
Philip said slowly. "The auction is tomorrow, so let's get some rest today."
"A hotel?"
Hearing Philip's words, Shirou was a little surprised. "Doesn't the Boreas family have their own house in the royal capital?"
The Boreas family was one of the four big lords. Surely they would have land in the royal capital and build a fancy estate.
Philip didn't seem to want to say much about it, and just replied, "We used to, but we don't anymore."
"This..."
Since Philip didn't want to explain, Shirou couldn't force him.
The group found a hotel and checked in after paying a few silver coins.
Philip seemed to be careful with money. He found a normal hotel and only booked two rooms: one for him and Shirou, and one for Ghislaine and Eris.
Eris didn't seem to want to relax at all. After arriving at the hotel, she immediately wanted to go out and explore.
But Philip stopped her.
Although the royal capital was relatively safe, no place was completely safe in a world without security cameras. So, he said they shouldn't go out after dark.
Shirou also wanted to go out and investigate the noble named Darius.
Yes, Shirou still remembered Darius kidnapping Eris before. According to the bandits who were there, Darius was known for doing evil things, and had kidnapped many innocent noble girls like Eris.
He treated the innocent girls like slaves, playing with them before giving them to his men. He was a truly evil person.
Even by Shirou's standards, Darius was completely evil.
Shirou had only recently remembered that the leader of the Ainsworth family, his enemies in his past life, was also named Darius Ainsworth. He was the father of his friend and enemy, Julian Ainsworth.
Even though they were in different worlds, he was facing the same kind of enemy. Shirou couldn't help but feel that it was a strange twist of fate.
Anyway, Shirou wanted to go out and investigate Darius at night, but since Philip was sharing his room, he couldn't move around freely. He decided to wait and see if he had a chance to go out later.
Time passed slowly.
Nothing happened that night.
Early the next morning, Eris eagerly knocked on Shirou's door, wanting him to take her out to see the royal capital.
Shirou understood her eagerness.
He asked Philip and Ghislaine, and they agreed.
"Ghislaine and I are going to the auction. You two can wander around the royal capital, just try to be back at the hotel before nightfall. or I will have to tell the knight squad to find you."
Philip said with a smile.
It sounded like a joke, but Shirou felt that he would really do it.
He nodded firmly, saying he would take good care of Eris. And then the red-haired girl practically pulled him out of the hotel.
The royal capital was very rich and impressive, so large that one couldn't see it entirely through the streets.
Eris was curious about the city, and didn't stop her explorations after leaving the hotel. She went everywhere, looking for interesting things.
Shirou tried his best to keep up with her so she wouldn't get lost.
But it was still too hard.
So, he decided to stop following Eris, and tried instead to find an easy place to climb. He jumped onto the roof beams of a nearby house.
Using Eagle Eye, he could clearly see Eris's bright red hair, even from far away.
That way, Shirou wouldn't be led around by Eris.
However, after climbing to a high place and looking at the city, Shirou quickly realized that the shining city was not without crime.
At least, he could see many acts of robbery and theft.
As a partner of justice, Shirou couldn't ignore such evil acts.
He quickly acted, stopping several theft and robbery cases. He left the criminals to the passing knight squad members, without wanting to be noticed. He quietly disappeared into the shadows.
However, Shirou didn't know that a blue-haired knight girl was keeping an eye on him.
And the girl clearly had interest in him.
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