The city of Savicche had a style to it that was reminiscent of the Italian city of Venice, except most of it was on solid ground and the waterways weren"t anywhere near as numerous. Well-made cobblestone roads spread the port city around the land and the harbor with a combination of decoration and ease of access. With more advanced technology compared to Lightwood Fortress, the combination of the semi-rustic design and the efficiency of a continental superpower"s economic capabilities truly made Savicche a marvel of a city. On top of all of this, as the third largest port city on the continent, the amount of international and intercontinental trade the city had was ma.s.sive. A great deal of the Tigrene Empire"s economy came from Savicche and the other port cities alone, with Savicche itself being the one with the most influence on it. Even the Hydra in the bay did little to change this fact; instead, it seemed to have only made its trade expand further.Unable to help himself, Seran stopped at several local restaurants, enjoying himself on the many dishes that the city prided itself on. He bought so many, in fact, that he stored some in his inventory for later because he enjoyed them too much. Whatever he had extra of that he didn"t store away, he casually used his s.p.a.ce magic to send it to Etienne in the city hall, or to Fenmore and Eleanor. A lot of the sweet foods were sent to Khloe, as she was a sweets lover, and to the ever energetic Fenmore.
After wasting several hours in the restaurants, Seran finally managed to get himself to the city lord"s manor, which took a good thirty minutes to reach on foot. The vantage point that Lord Danford"s ancestors had chosen for the manor was extraordinary, providing a beautiful view of the entire city, the sea, and even the bay. Just by looking around with his bare vision, Seran could see the great numbers of citizens enjoying the city, and even managed to spot a single, enormous dragon-like head trying to hide itself under the water of the bay because of a pair of cats staring at it from the walkways. The demiG.o.d realized that Captain Uther wasn"t joking about Nessy being scared of cats and dogs, even though the Hydra"s mouth could swallow a small cow in one bite.
As he walked up to the manor gates, along with a number of others, Seran was stopped by one of the guards. "Excuse me, sir, may I ask what your business is? Unless it is urgent, we have to ask you to wait."
"I a.s.sume everyone else is someone of status in town, correct?" inquired Seran, indicating the other people who weren"t stopped.
"City workers, secretaries and manor staff are exceptions, as are guards. Citizens, foreign or not, are always stopped, regardless of their status, save for the imperial family. May I ask again, what is your business and is it urgent?" The guard was very straightforward, making it clear that he made sure n.o.body was given a free pa.s.s without approval.
Taking out his guild card and pa.s.sing it to the guard, Seran smiled, "I am Seran Greenwood, an S-rank adventurer. I accepted the Hydra quest and came to meet with the city lord. Captain Uther directed me here."
"Captain Uther did? Then he told you about Nessy and how Lord Danford was planning to remove the quest?"
"He did, yes. As such, I came to inquire with Lord Danford about any changes to the quest before it is removed. Even if the Hydra is no longer a threat, I would like to be sure that the city lord is sure of his decision," said Seran as he retrieved his card from the guardsman.
After some thought, the guard asked Seran to remain here before he headed inside to report to the city lord. As he waited, a little girl about 5 years old came dashing out of the manor, giggling her head off and wearing only a pair of pants. A lady with brilliant red hair came chasing out after her, "Stella Danford, get your b.u.t.t back here!" She held a green-and-blue little dress in his left hand as she chased after the little one.
Stella, giggling hysterically, ran around the manor grounds, "Can"t catch me!" Ducking between legs, around people, over flowerbeds, and between bushes, the little girl was nimble in her attempts to evade capture, as half-naked as she was.
Smiling a little at how everyone looked at this as normal, Seran took a few steps sideways to hide behind the brick wall. While some of the people looked at him oddly, Seran waited patiently before pouncing and catching the rogue child, "Gotcha!"
The little girl, half-started in her giggles, squeaked and made a little struggle, "No, let me go!" After a second of Seran tickling her, Stella quickly gave up and became unable to stop giggling.
Once the redheaded woman managed to catch up, he stood up with his hand on Stella"s head, "I believe this little troublemaker is yours?"
Although she was definitely nervous of the unknown person that had captured Stella, his youthful honesty and casual behavior made her believe he was simply being helpful. "Yes, thank you for managing to catch Stella. I can"t keep up with her anymore."
Seran laughed, "Children are professionals at escaping their parents. My little brother Fen is a genius at it." Holding Stella in place so her mother could put her dress on, he just smiled and ruffled Stella"s hair, making the little girl pout a little. "She"s just as cute as he is."
Picking up her little escape artist, the redhead chuckled, "Thanks again for snagging my little monster here, young man." She poked her daughter"s nose, making Stella scrunch up her face.
"No problem, ma"am. Ah, where are my manners." He politely bowed to the mother and daughter, "Seran Greenwood, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Seeing a young boy being so polite, the redheaded mother"s view of him changed just a little. In the Tigrene Empire, proper manners for greeting were really only taught to n.o.bility, making her think of Seran as a young n.o.ble. She half-curtsied in return, "Annabelle Danford, as is my pleasure to make yours, young master Seran."
He waved his hand casually, "I"m not a Tigrene n.o.ble, you don"t need any formalities with me."
"A foreigner? Such manners are reserved for n.o.bility, so I a.s.sumed you were such."
"Technically, I am and I am not. However, my status back in my home country isn"t important now. I"m here on Adventurers Guild business."
Quirking an eyebrow, Annabelle said, "Really? I find that hard to believe, since Savicche hasn"t had any quests issued since the monsoon."
"Well, I"m not here about those quests. With the approval of Continental Guildmaster Johann Juneau, I accepted the Hydra quest and came to complete it. However, Captain Uther explained the situation, and I saw the Hydra"s behavior myself, so instead of simply doing the quest, I came to find out if Lord Danford had any changes to make to the quest."
"The Hydra quest? A small boy like you can accept it? Well, Sir Juneau most likely has his reasons for permitting it." She pondered a few things before Seran showed his card, again. "An S-rank adventurer at 10 years old!?" Seran rolled his eyes again.
Stella shouted, "Wow, a real S-rank!" She had stars in her eyes, just like Fenmore did when he found out his brother"s new status.
"You bet, Stella. I"m a real S-rank adventurer, verified a couple weeks ago," smiled Seran as he gave her a pat on the head, having to stretch to do so.
Annabelle gave Seran a look once he put his card away, "... No wonder you were given permission to take the Hydra quest... You were here to subjugate Nessy, right?"
"Originally, yes, but after viewing the situation myself, I"ve decided to get the city lord"s opinion before doing anything. After all, if I subjugate him now, it"ll cause major problems, so I must ask Lord Danford for alternative methods." Seran smiled, pulling a small flowery hat from his inventory and putting on the little redhead girl"s head, "A gift for the little troublemaker." Stella pouted at being called a trouble maker but quickly cheered up over the hat.
"I see... well, just come with me, then. I"m sure the guards went to alert my husband, but I"ll just take you in myself." She led Seran into the manor, with the white-haired demiG.o.d distracting Stella with stories of his adventures upon her insistence.