In a bustling street, countless people walked around with weapons on their hips and backs. Some wore robes to cover themselves, and the other wore masks to hide their faces.
On the side of the road were countless vendors selling all kinds of things, from trinkets and ancient artifacts to food stalls. Most of the people walked on the sidewalk, giving way to steam-powered carriages that dominated the center road. Hustling and bustling while steam continually power the carriages.
"Sword Edge, the mercenary faction." A man wearing a trench coat with a cop hat muttered while looking down from above.
He was inside an inn named Gin Hall, famed for their nice beds, warm floors, and tons of sweets for sale. The man observed the view from above as he saw countless people interact with one another, not even afraid of touching each other.
He took out a notebook from his coat pocket and started writing on it.
"It seems the people of Sword Edge are more lax when it comes to the virus. They do not react too strongly, are they not afraid of contaminating the virus?" Asking himself, he shook his head and looked around even more.
He saw a woman with a basket in hand and a child holding her other hand as they walked down the street. Many gave way to the woman as she walked pass them.
Curious, he looked at the woman more closely, fully expecting that she must be an important person to the city only to see a large bump on her stomach.
"Pregnant?" He muttered as the woman bowed her head slightly as to give thanks to the people who gave way for her.
Staring at the scene for a moment, he turned back to his notebook and wrote, "It seems the Sword Edge people respect those who are pregnant, or presumably ill."
After doing that, the man fixed his cap as he turned to the cloudy skies above. Small rain drops started spilling from the skies, and it seemed it wasn't only him who thought this, as most of the people in the street started walking even faster.
Some even opened up their umbrellas and covered their heads with it, afraid of getting wet.
The vendors also looked up at the skies and pursed their lips, they started grabbing the edges of the roofs of their shops and made a small roof with thick cloth while grabbing some of their products to store inside.
Pursing his lips, the man closed the windows, grabbed the key to his room, and an umbrella and let the room. He walked along the hallway before finding stairs and went down.
Exiting the stairs, he found himself to the main hall where countless people were sitting around in circular tables, chatting, and some even drinking. The waitresses moved around, careful to not touch the tables while they swiftly took the customer's orders and gave them their food in finesse.
Looking at the bustling scene for a moment, he turned around and headed for the door. Just as he was about to step outside, a man with a long sword on his waist suddenly entered the inn.
The man stared at the person who entered for a moment before nodding his head slightly. The man also nodded his head and sat down on the table as one of the waitresses passed a thin sheet of paper to him.
The man stared out of the sky before opening his umbrella up and looked to the center of the city.
Staring at the large castle in the distance, he grabbed his map from his bag and opened it up.
It was the map of the entire Sword Edge City, Maverick. The capital of Sword Edge and where the famed Sword Saint built her kingdom.
The entire city was wide, forming into this curvy rectangular shape, at the edges were walls with countless houses and shops. There are 4 main roads leading to the 4 cardinal directions, then hundreds of small roads designed neatly to accommodate the people.
The city is divided into 3 parts and 6 districts. Each part is divided by walls, from outer walls, inner walls, and the centre walls.
The outer walls houses most of the military forces, with countless security businesses, guilds, and such are stationed for easy access and convenience. These companies could help protect the city in times of danger like war as they are at the edge of the city.
The inner walls houses most of the residents who do not have any combat capabilities. Inside the inner walls are shops, markets, vendors, and such scattered all around. Many of the citizens of Sword Edge are gathered into the city wall for safety.
The centre wall is where the Sword Palace resides, surrounded by a large trench of water connected only by 10 bridges, the Sword Palace houses the Queen of Sword Edge herself.
The districts are White Cloud, Blade Hound, Market Stalls, Downfall, Black Sea, and The Militant Zone.
For now, the man was inside the Inner Walls where most civilians reside in.
"I need to find a way to interview the Queen...." Scratching his head, he tried to find his location in the map and started memorizing the way where he should go.
"Go left to Dawn Street, then across 6 other streets...." Muttering silently as he planned his route.
The man slowly walked but suddenly bumped another person.
"Apologies, i didn't see you..."
He swiftly apologized before stopping, seeing the person he bumped into.
A woman wearing a long red coat, wearing a bird mask that covered every inch of her body. The woman stared at him with the mask's lifeless eyes before nodding her head.
The man stared in disbelief and also nodded his head in panic before seeing a man beside the woman.
The man had his eyes covered with a white cloth, essentially making him blind. He was tall, atleast a head taller than the woman, but the woman was a few inches taller than him, so the white clothed man was huge.
The white clothed man smiled at him and nodded his head.
"Good afternoon." He grabbed his hat and lifted it up before putting it back down.
Nodding, the two individuals slowly walked away.
The man stared at their back for a moment before fixing his coat and let out a cough. Then he started walking away from this place.
The woman, Cheryl, looked around with only her eyes, observing the whole place.
Seeing that the streets packed with people, she tightened her gloves even more and turned to look at the man.
"Are your people not afraid of the disease, Charles Choi?"
The blinded man, Charles, nodded his head.
"We really don't need to be afraid of an airborne illness. Also, the Virus is not a disease. It's a virus."
"That is the same thing, Charles Choi."
Charles looked at her with an exhausted expression on his face, "And can you not call me Charles Choi? Just Charles will do."
To which Cheryl responded by shaking her head, "No can do. I still do not trust you, Charles Choi."
"The virus will infect anyone and anything, it doesn't matter if you cover yourself up. It will find a way to infect you, so why bother trying to protect yourself?"
Cheryl gave him a glance before saying, "The Crown doesn't want to cause unnecessary panic amongst our people. If telling them that they should cover up to decrease the chances of the disease infecting them could help minimize their anxiety, then it would be for the best."
Charles pursed his lips, he understood what she was trying to say, but it did surprise him.
"And take off those things that cover your eyes. You can just heal your eyes, just use God's Blood to heal." Cheryl grumbled.
He shook his head as they walked into a clear road.
"We don't use the cursed blood to heal our wounds just like you Arkvemers. We're not madmen who rely on such things, and i have a wound that cut both of my eyes, hence why i cover them."
Rolling her eyes, Cheryl retorted, "God's Blood will only bring harm when it is beyond what your body can absorb. A few syringe of such blood can both heal your mortal wounds, and it would also increase your physical capabilities."
"With the downside of turning into a beast. Injecting the cursed blood into your veins is being a person who voluntarily tries to kill himself."
The two of them stopped at a cafe where Charles led Cheryl to a seat from the 2nd floor. They looked down at the people walking on the street, going about their days as they continued their conversation.
"Besides, Aura and SASE control methods still exists in our continent. Just because the pandemic lasted for 30 years, wiping out atleast 80% of the continent's entire population, most of which consists of only humans, that doesn't mean the milleniums worth of knowledge will dissappear in a blink of an eye."
Cheryl stared at him for a moment, then opened her mouth. "You are not a "Company Commander" of this country, you must be one of higher status than the title you gave me."
Charles fell silent.
The entire atmosphere was awkward for a moment before Charles nodded his head.
"Yes. I felt that such a reason will help me convince you to come to our country in guise of investigation."
Cheryl stared at him, just as she was about to speak, the waitress appeared. With her was a tray of strawberry parfait and black coffee.
She served the contents of the tray before bowing her head slightly and left silently. Cheryl stared at the strawberry parfait infront of her for a moment before looking towards him.
"Do you see me as a child?"
Charles chuckled, "No, but try it regardless. This cafe is famed for its bread and parfaits, with high reputation among its costumers."
Cheryl gave him a glance before lifting her mask off slightly, only her mouth showing and grabbed a spoon. Then she scooped some and put it into her mouth.
She chewed and tasted it for a moment, before scooping up another.
"It tastes amazing, isn't it?"
Nodding her head, she continued eating.
"You can ask the chefs here for the recipe if you want to recreate such a dessert, it will prove useful if you can spread word that our country only aims to work together with yours."
Cheryl stared at him in the eyes before letting out a chuckle.
"Do you need something of me, i wonder what that is?"
"....I got caught, huh?" Chuckling, Charles leaned his body forward.
"I want to recruit you, no, Sword Edge wants to recruit you. After all, you are famed in your city-"
"Kingdom. Arkvem is a kingdom. Judging from your words," Cheryl finished the parfait and wiped her mouth with her handkerchief.
"You must have spies in Arkvem."
Charles was taken aback for a moment, then nodded his head.
To which Cheryl only chuckled.
"The Crown, no, our people don't like outsiders that much. I reckon it will take a month or so before you'll lose contact with your spies. We don't treat those who are eager to disturb our peace kindly."
"...Your "kingdom", from what our spies told us, is in dire need of resources. The other surrounding countries are also cautious of your kingdom because of your excessive intake of the cursed blood. You will also need an ally to help you deal with the recent rise of the Church of the Crimson Moon. You know this too, Cheryl."
"Don't speak my name so familiarly, Charles Choi. Our kingdom does not shy away from foes. Threats will only lead us to distrust your country."
"..."
Cheryl took off her mask, letting Charles see what was hidden.
Her four eyes stared at him while the scar on her face has gotten wider, "This is the curse we will bear for our people. The First Hunter might try to negotiate with your 5 without the Crown's permission, he cannot willingly contact you. I know you tried the Lady, but her high esteemed self will never attempt to hear your please, after all, such things are below her."
Smiling, "You need to contact the Crown themselves if you want to negotiate with a treaty or whatever ally bullshit you've come up with."
"...But that is the problem. Your people continuously cull those we send to contact you, we cannot risk the lives of our people just to contact this so-called "King"—"
"You call him the Crown. You best respect our ruler."
"..."
Shaking her head, she put her mask back on and stood up.
"I have no further need to speak to you." Then she left the cafe.
After awhile, four people wearing white armor entered the room and sat down on Charles' table. The waitress saw them and swfitly went to take their order only for her to be turned down.
"What happened?" One of the knights asked while putting away what Cheryl left behind.
"She refused." Charles sighed and leaned forward.
"Seems like we're going to have a hard time convincing these savages."