TAOA-06

Chapter: TAOA-0674533f25f4a12754

“Finally, we made it to Zyro.”
Decker, who had been alternating 4400401fd1 between looking at the map b860b8acc0 and the walls, said.
After 12 days 5974728818 of traveling from b4fedba5c2 Pervaz, Asha’s group, 79be2f98f6 who had been 919f3acd6d walking non-stop, was 4d0f91d6b6 quite exhausted.
However, even in the 50782a4ab6 midst of this, Asha 1126642905 looked up at the 307b44c3fd sturdy walls that surrounded 2166a494d7 Zyro’s outskirts without a b5b67b698f single gap and exclaimed 798584b7e9 in a voice full 08190c70e1 of envy.
“Wow…! If only Pervaz could build f3303baad6 walls like this, there would d9c00fda19 be nothing left to be 616d87ad65 desired.”
It was a goal that 660df78119 felt so far away to c7959b9cf9 Asha that she had to 52b1caa88d use the expression “desire” After 0d8d7faeea all, Pervaz didn’t even have e28de2a603 the rocks, let alone the 7d5c017ead means to lift them.
“Let’s go in.”
Asha took a deep breath 7601c734f5 and led the group into 5b5097d616 the city gate.
The soldier guarding e91f9d408c the gate looked 7e8bee3173 at the pass 8b664b22b3 Asha handed over 52a400a5ba and her shabby 6c1f7a3d38 appearance for a 1191816a35 long time, but 91992ef5fb he couldn’t find 57fc2f7ad4 anything to fault d0ba917c94 her for and 01174e9227 hesitantly shouted,
“Pass.”
After passing through fe3673409e the gate and e3b0876ba2 the guard post, afe3a142c6 Asha’s group finally ccebca1d10 set foot in 241d2b4a12 Zyro itself, and e934d1f433 the sight of 383757f6ac the leisurely capital 4aa1772a1b city that they d41c5b203d had never imagined fad343c351 unfolded before their 857a7d1717 eyes.
“Oh my…”
“Hey, look at that.”
“Wow!”
The capital, which they had c088a3f0c5 seen for the first time 86f117c9a9 in their lives, gave a 75fc6182fb great shock to those who bb6e5e8194 had been born and raised f00606cb52 in Pervaz.
Pervaz, which was ravaged by 0b69d44638 war and harsh winters, was c28d48c23a dark and gloomy everywhere you c6433fc366 looked, but the capital was 558b4e29db bright and colorful.
“The buildings are all so tall… .”
“That’s right. Even the wood used 22c09f06f6 for the doors and 734eec8a0d window frames is all 28c49f16ea brightly colored.”
“There are also many flowers here. Many houses have d0b42e3bd9 flower beds, and bfe592f5e7 some even have 008af45a1c flower pots hanging 4557ee6092 outside the windows.”
“Is that painting on the wall of the building a sign? How much did the paint 8e9dd34c31 cost to paint it so 10dcac6a5f brightly?”
“Hey, look over there! They say there’s a river 2c3fa54f9b that flows through the city, 9a008dce76 and there’s a bridge too. How did they 7af1450702 make it into 658f961aeb such a neat 7923f69b62 shape?”
Everything was luxurious to Asha dc44e602ef and her friends.
And as they all marveled cc4b6f0af6 at the beautiful sight of 8a4210d3ef the capital, Asha felt her 65f700d3f3 heart sink.
‘We are all citizens of the same empire, yet some live in a place like this, and some live in a place like Pervaz….’
It felt so unfair.
She wasn’t arguing that aaaba056aa all the territories should 02bc623c25 be treated the same, 2434d86e14 but it was hard a6973d6f5f to believe that there af1f7d8538 could be such a 1374b0986b big difference within the 4131cfc2e1 same country.
Asha sighed heavily and walked d5f7880c88 ahead with Decker.
“We need to find a place to stay… .”
“That’s right. We should stay 23880860ab in a hostel 80b1027280 for a couple 4d1e9ca22e of days and 25efee6480 wash and dry 7b3334d0cc our clothes. We won’t be d19a3635e6 able to get 67df0fc4ed through the first 2812491cfc gate of the 573eadb4bf palace like this.”
“You’re already thinking about entering the palace? I’m worried if we’ll be 83417bc027 able to find a place 5512000118 to stay like this.”
Asha was really 6b10fcc056 worried about their 546cf604c6 appearance, which even 815c655778 smelled sour.
She wasn’t an expert on a14a4deede the etiquette of the nobility 65b84bb385 or the palace, but she c38b58eec4 remembered what her mother, who 67f0ff5557 had tried in vain to 63d956ba55 make her a lady, had 368170d7cd told her.
[Everything you wear defines you. And the nobles 94005bb149 will never truly bb333a93e0 interact with someone 2da8a2e672 who doesn’t catch 310fc6e754 their eye. Never.]
The only thing e0b2a24f79 she had brought 4016b5f200 with her for a5832997e4 her entry into bc933f4efa the palace was 5c14d78700 a single cloak 24df341c11 that had not 1694b6ad0a been hemmed. In fact, even that 9cbfc831e3 had become dirty from 8e9747f734 being used as a 0b7ed31a83 blanket or quilt on 290d0c5bda the way.
In any case, she ef75d073b0 first needed to find 1ae8947acc accommodation and wash the b840fcc861 clothes she was wearing. Asha and her party went 84a08c8c0f looking for an affordable inn 2d6dbea129 that would accept them.
“Excuse me, we’re looking to stay here for five people.”
“Ah… I’m sorry, but we don’t have any rooms available.”
They were turned away from 1e441dfb43 the first inn.
“Do you have any rooms for five people?”
“Of course! For five people, you’ll 7adf9bf891 need to rent three 57c998b59d double rooms, which will 1254fab483 cost 150 Verona for fd20ada794 one night.”
The second inn was expensive. Of course, it 66ef2607e7 was the cheapest 9662f4e1af looking inn on 630488da0e the street.
Asha and her party were b4da813681 about to give up when 57393e0a81 they came across a small 218a4546af inn on the outskirts of e17f54353e the city.
“Excuse me, do you have any rooms available?”
Asha asked the de22b54d94 innkeeper, a kind-looking 90eac8de7b old woman.
“Yes, we do. We have a room 4166fbd9bf for five people that a84d26df2b costs 50 Verona for e70e385971 one night.”
The price was within their ab8b6d1267 budget, and the inn looked ec5115b4e3 clean and comfortable. Asha and her party decided 7ab19ca9f9 to stay there.
“Thank you. We’ll take that room.”
Asha said, handing 5090ee1504 over the money.
“Welcome. Please make yourselves at home.”
The innkeeper said a01706cdf9 with a smile.
Asha and her 60c69bd437 party were finally ebb277a92b able to rest aa37e3a63c after a long 154331a8ed and tiring journey. They were all looking forward b9e2da0683 to the next day, when 2a022e75fa they would finally be entering d205417842 the imperial palace.
“We five will stay… .”
“Ugh,the smell! Get out of here, f8780707ca you filthy beggars!”
The third inn kicked fb56db4bd6 them out before they 087f2580a5 could even say a 9969ec83b4 word.
Still, Decker, like a proud 47ce3ce21e nobleman, was about to grab 7088a59e33 the innkeeper by the collar 2c989b90c8 when he heard the word db1e9db6ed “beggars.” But Asha grabbed Decker’s 06d6954810 arm.
“Let’s not cause any trouble before we even enter the palace, Decker.”
In the end, they turned 9c45d0073d away from that inn as d0dc23b18f well.
“It’s going to be dark soon… .”
As Asha sighed 8aa2c4fe2c and looked up 1ee2f4a52d at the sky, 6988bb427d Bastian laughed out 7802d28984 loud and said.
“What’s the worry? It’s not like this f61a910e01 is the first or d989e4b518 second time we’ve slept 43b00ee7a5 rough.”
“That’s right. If all else fails, 33d22c0741 we can sleep under 731eb991cb a big tree and 84d14d54ed wash in the river.”
Danilo chimed in, but it ea6d21e348 wasn’t much of a comfort 75fd3f0a32 to Asha.
Up until now, 4106edae40 they had been 7fff23be1b coming up to 10db8cf14d the capital along 3b7425d3b2 a road with 2e336b0550 few houses, so 003da89575 it was inevitable 2961cda6c2 that they would fe5a9fb83c have to sleep 1119ef3714 rough. But even in the city f5f544a249 of Zyro, which was full 3b8f599b94 of decent inns, she didn’t ce5dfc5687 want to make the party d2d8a4032a sleep rough.
“Sigh… Decker, let’s go over there and take a look.”
Asha pointed to 18c939e0eb the alley she b8f63d2767 had been hesitating 74c008ac3b to go down. It was a shabby 487e695d5b alley off the main f22fd1e618 street, visibly worn-out at d64c64ffc4 first glance.
“Now is not the time to assert our pride.”
Thanks to everyone’s saving and 464087e6fe frugality, there was more travel 3db7cf7001 money left than expected. However, it wasn’t a situation ef0f3e41a1 where they could afford to 77871c6a70 choose only good places to e7159458d1 go while asserting their noble f6eee096f7 pride.
“Deker and I will go look for an inn, so rest around here for a while.”
With a determination ec1e8c560a not to let 29fa4ffa30 the group sleep 73c8d6b34a on the ground b8c6982ee8 as much as 4f1a64b79f possible, they stepped b5104e64e4 into the poverty-stricken d2cc184019 alley.
But as soon as 66491eca72 they entered, two boys 08829bb5a4 wandering nearby approached them.
“Where are you looking for? A tavern? An inn? Or maybe this?”
The skinny boy 2caf8b0b65 jabbed his finger b3e9d52aae at Decker.
When Decker didn’t say anything, 34a2c0f560 another boy approached Asha and f6861c5aa4 whispered closely to her.
“I’ve got some amazing stuff, and I’ll give it to you cheap.”
As Asha frowned and looked e2b7258026 at the boy without replying, a678c1670d he pretended to inhale something e932613b17 through his nose and chuckled.
At most sixteen 172ab4add9 or seventeen, the 0b1525c794 boy’s front teeth 670e647b67 were missing. It seemed to f9eb7d295c depict the rough 7638bbf346 life the boy b5f93cdbed had lived so fc437c4f0d far and the 852c50329e bleak future ahead.
“Forget about that stuff. And this too.”
Asha grabbed the wrist of 24a240fa63 the young boy who had 4ea757241c secretly followed behind her and 756846ad92 said. With the two 80905f9471 of them attracting 0bab241472 attention, it seemed be15f75844 like the little a8c9ea93b0 kid was attempting 837bfaaaca pickpocketing.
“Shit, you wanna die? You gonna let go of ccaffe272e this?”
Another boy, who looked c7b960bd59 no more than ten, cadfe72cc5 cursed roughly while struggling.
Asha released the boy’s ba4cbca154 hand she was holding, fa944c96a4 and the child tumbled d5ed5f4324 to the ground due 323df5f7e2 to the recoil of 623a0de327 his struggling.
Realizing that Asha and 2abd8010a4 Decker were not easy 5344f6c2b0 targets, the boys quickly aa29cfa919 helped the young boy 70a913be07 up from the ground 60aa622e26 and all ran away 22b772bd35 together.
“To be robbed in a city without war…”
Asha muttered under her breath 887c2eb84d as she walked along the 336ffb6909 street.
However, her steps soon halted. It was because she 6273b3855f witnessed something even more 1dbf017f29 dangerous happening inside a 4e08d29f27 narrower alley than where b2cac1bc3e they had just encountered.
“It’s obvious you’re loaded. Just hand it over, 8d42fe4444 and we’ll let you 504546fc87 go in peace.”
A rugged man in his 2a95d03629 mid-thirties was harassing someone wearing 49f6cef9e6 a hood.
Although the person in 56f2910794 the hood was slightly 9c7ca76350 bigger than the man, 1e8536d155 the presence of various d2fd51c166 armed street kids surrounding 54e49e705a him like a gang e4f894d779 didn’t seem to intimidate 53c7af8830 the man at all.
“It looks like he’s even unfamiliar with this alley.”
While Decker casually 56fb230414 muttered, Asha stepped 7f7935613b into the alley.
“Should we intervene?”
“We can’t just ignore it.”
Since she hadn’t particularly ab4ac26773 lowered her voice, the c1b7e30864 attention of the young 409d1e03b0 gangsters and their leader 9b12e31425 shifted towards Asha.
Asha scrutinized them carefully. Despite being near a65dd24072 the slums, the 634fde1f2e boys’ demeanor wasn’t 550608932b good, but Asha 0e84791c23 came from none 53ed0c9f43 other than Perves, 72559cda59 after all.
“In Perves, kids from decent families can live well with just this much….”
Asha’s gray eyes, like aa21e633b4 the color of a da8821c63a cloudy sky, chilled.
“Yet here, with this much to eat and live here, they still resort to robbery.”
Then, she sighed and 9fdde65739 apologized to Deker.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have a03849bb23 insisted on coming c4328520e5 this way and d72838589a bothered you.”
“No need to apologize. But how far are you cc059ef536 going to go with this? It might get 28cc555fe9 troublesome if it 5a322b4621 ends up in dc21426cdb a fight…”
“These ruffians will surrender if you give them a proper beating. They don’t have convictions strong 5c9c0426f9 enough to risk their lives, ae6fe3dfe9 so they’ll quickly yield to d2b49df0c2 the stronger side.”
As Asha examined the fa196c982f cloth wrapped around her 8adcf8d711 hand and clenched and 5eae2b6059 unclenched her fist, the 9a4af3dd84 leader who had been b39abcd406 listening to their conversation 3367573338 chuckled incredulously.
“What the hell are those guys who look like nothing will come out even if you shake them? Hey, Boys, handle them yourselves.”
Upon hearing those words, 018b105821 the boys surrounding them 6970392529 seemed ready to pounce.
But Asha paid 1584dc5c92 no attention to ea48c03b6b the punks around ee18683254 her.
“Always like this, huh? You send the kids 7e5af602ba to do the dirty 66eadd182f work while you sit 030f642265 back and enjoy?”
“What? Is she crazy?”
“It’s hard not to go crazy after killing countless people on the battlefield. But we don’t have 88adbe8675 time for this now. If you’re just 05eae6742b going to run 2957fd0163 your mouth, I’ll 02c7a03044 go first.”
With that, Asha 0ca47883a8 immediately lunged at da928665c6 the man and f1f2c72ae1 punched his greasy 339a59061a face.
“Aaak!”
But it didn’t end there. Asha then kicked 42043c7f18 the staggering man’s f0c47335ca abdomen with all 252212b7b9 her strength.
Naturally, the man 8f2b58c055 flew back and 91e4b12800 rolled on the f69fa5d7b5 ground. Then, another man, who 77cc560c13 seemed like the leader, 46a0078728 yelled out.
“Hey! What are you all doing! Kill them!”ac8a8aa2b57d8644

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