Chapter 673 The Palace Is Too Large

"Do you wish to head to my lady's, or would you like a tour of the city first?" Kristof, the centaur who had come to guide them, asked after giving everyone some time to get accustomed to the sights.

"Can we go to my shop first?" Erik asked.

"Of course."

Kristof quickly ordered a coach for them, stating that their travel-worn carriage wouldn't be allowed inside the city. Thereafter he guided them through the city. Eldrian quickly noted the interesting way that the city had been organized.

At first, he had wondered if the sheer spacing of the city wouldn't be a problem. Seeing how the market districts were organized in each neighborhood he quickly understood. Unlike the houses, the market buildings were compact.

Once you got there you would be able to reach each shop by walking without much effort. It reminded him of shopping malls on Earth. Only they were all separate buildings. The guilds were also present in these locations, though of course, they were only minor branches.

When they arrived at Erik's shop in the third commoner district, he and Akarui jumped off. "I first need to sort a few things out, I'll contact you when I'm done." He said as he and Akarui entered the shop. After which, Eldrian and Vivian were taken to the duke's palace.

On the way, Eldrian continued to marvel at the scale of the city and at the beauty of the noble districts. When they finally arrived at the higher nobility Eldrian keenly noted that the walls here were converted into barracks.

"Due to the distance between where they work and their homes. This has been decided as a compromise, it also conveniently saves space." Kristof explained and Eldrian nodded.

Finally, they arrived at the mansion. Looking at it, Eldrian wondered just how many hundreds of servants it took to maintain. He got a headache just thinking of the daily expenses.

The two were guided by Kristof into the side of the mansion and everywhere they went the servants would pause what they were doing and bow. It made Eldrian and Vivian quite uncomfortable, and also made them curious about who this Kristof was.

Eldrian had of course used mana sense and knew that the man was Tier 6, which was certainly a respectable Tier. But he did not think it would demand such respect inside Taurtania.

"Here we are," Kristof paused before a large double door and knocked before announcing their presence.

From the room beyond something falling could be heard, after a few seconds, the doors were opened by a grinning Myropsis. Behind her was a mess of books, undoubtedly she had knocked over a tower of books when she had heard the announcement.

"Thank you, Kristof. You may go." The centaur hesitated for a moment but quickly left upon seeing the sharp gaze in Myropsis's eyes.

...

A few days passed and Eldrian still could not get used to just how stupidly large the place was. It was to a scale that made it impractical for daily life. It allowed Eldrian to better understood why Myropsis always claimed the library as her own room. Too much time would be wasted if she moved between her actual room and the library.

"When can we start training and experimenting?" Eldrian asked, over the past few days he and Vivian had complied to learn some of the common knowledge expected in the mansion.

"You should first make sure you can move about without disturbing the nobles who are visiting here," Myropsis replied as normal.

"And when will that be?" Vivian asked, she was itching to just go to a training field and train until her hands bled. Seeing just how agitated Vivian was Myropsis sighed and told them to follow her.

The mansion was like a maze, if the two didn't have a guide they would most certainly become lost. When they finally exited the building Vivian felt completely refreshed.

"The training fields are over there." Myropsis pointed to a place were the occasional flash of light could be seen. Beside it was a number of barrack-like buildings, along with some buildings that appeared like smithies "As for forge you can use, it is further back."

As they neared the training fields, Myropsis stopped upon seeing Kristof waiting before the training grounds. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"The Duke asked me to guide Eldrian so they could enjoy some tea and refreshments," Kristof replied.

Immediately, Eldrian got a bad feeling, but considering that he was planning to make use of the duke's materials for his experiments he couldn't exactly decline the offer.

"Alright, please lead the way," Eldrian said before Myropsis could try to argue. Nodding, Kristof started heading back to the mansion.

...

Eldrian was brought to a magnificent garden filled with magical flowers, upon entering the garden he could feel the sheer difference in mana density compared to outside. Kristof had stopped right at the garden entrance, looking forward Eldrian saw three people enjoying some tea under the shade of a garden pagoda.

'Who's the third?' He wondered as he moved closer and awkwardly said hello.

"Count Eldrian, this is my wife Duchess Ianthe." Duke Vicar said, indicating to the lady with light blue and green hair. She smiled in greeting as Eldrian tried to reply as he had been taught, though at the moment all those teaching had flowed to the back of his mind.

"And this is the Divine Ashliel." This lady had long golden hair and was wearing an archaic dress styled as a dress of some divine being, likely designed after what people would think an angel would wear.

"Excuse me if it is rude to ask, but why did you call for me, Lord Duke?"

"Divine Ashliel asked me to introduce you two."

"She did?" Eldrian turned to look at her, trying to use mana sense. Shockingly, it did not work. Or rather, the information was blocked. He could still use it to observe her mana, but no information was provided by his system.

"I'm sorry, I am quite ignorant. Why did you want to meet with me, my lady?" Eldrian's speech was extremely awkward, he was utterly terrible at using honorifics and he generally just spoke his mind. To stay respectful was not in his repertoire.

This Divine Ashliel smiled but did not immediately answer, instead she indicated for Eldrian to take a seat. "The tea is truly amazing, you won't find something like this anywhere else."

Confused, Eldrian did as instructed and joined. The tea was indeed something, clearly made from some type of magical plant it sharpened his sense and allowed him to focus much better. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Ashliel asked the duke if she could talk to Eldrian in private.

The duke agreed, taking his wife they left the two alone. Seeing this development Eldrian quickly became even more suspicious. For the duke to leave instead of them, something was truly strange.

"Who are you?" Eldrian asked as soon as the duke was out of earshot. he already knew that she wasn't strong, her mana was static and the amount was quite pitiful. Most likely she was just Tier 4, yet she had ordered the duke around. This only made him all the more confused and alert.

Ashliel smiled seeing him ready to act. Before saying anything she took out a small button and upon pressing it Eldrian could immediately tell that they were now inside some sort of bubble.

"I guess Miracle never told you about us."

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