Chapter 711: Stubborn Locals
Sam went through the law book to see if he can find the requirements for the interplanetary travel within the realm and the information he obtained troubled him a little bit.
The primary requirement for a person to even think of interplanetary travel is that they have to be a Civilian first.
If they don't have that qualification there is no need to even think about it.
But currently, Sam and his friends who just arrived in this place are not even suitable to become a civilian as they don't have any registered identity under their names and they don't have any history of paying taxes.
Even though they had money and they could clear the tax payment easily in a single shot, this would make them get some unnecessary attention and since it is the time of elections in the town for the town head's position it would be extremely problematic for them.
They only have few options now and all four of them couldn't just get the civilian ship with one option. They have to think of different ways to not arouse any suspicion.
As for just traveling in between with the dimensional drifter, even though it is the easiest and accessible option for Sam, it is not suitable for him in a long-term plan. He wants to establish a certain level of relationship with this realm where he can freely conduct his business and develop properly moving forward.
What he wants from this place is their resources and talents, not the enmity and just the joy of exploration. For that, he needs a proper identity here just like how he had a proper identity in the Naga Loka to maintain his long-term relationship with the Nagas.
For that, it is better for them to get a proper identity and move with that.
On top of that the dimensional drifter is extremely expensive and also the elections are happening in all four realms, it would be a sensitive time and someone is bound to notice their presence with their plans they have in mind.
So, after some discussion, they decided to get the identities in a proper but fast method.
They would open different businesses which is the fastest way out of all. No matter what business you open once it becomes popular enough and gets you enough money you can use the identity as a merchant would not only be able to get the required identity, they can also pay off the tax at a single shot with the explosive business as an excuse.
But they couldn't just bring the things he had out of nowhere.
They decided to explore the town and its customs a bit more and think of what businesses they should take.
`So for the next three days, they decided to travel around and investigate at the same time while trying to get a new shop and residence.
They did get the information and Sam is actually quite surprised by the information he got.
First thing is, there are not forges in this town and there is only one forge which is also a factory of weapons and agricultural implements on this planet and that is on the capital city of this planet from which the portal for the Planet-1 is accessible.
It turned out that the weapon business and other forging business is completely under the elven control.
They completely monopolized it. Even though some normal humans can forge the weapons and equipment they have to get the approval of the weapon department which monopolized the business. The process is a bit complicated, but in simple words, the weapon business is simply a business under government control and it is completely regulated.
Now even if Sam wanted to introduce it, he has to get through a series of complicated procedures that might even take several days to months.
And this election is overcomplicating everything.
As for the food and beverage business, it is a little bit leisurely compared to the weapon business, but they need a shop for lease or own shop under their name. Otherwise, they couldn't get any permission and the procedure wouldn't even get started.
But that became a major problem. They visited every single street and every possible agent they could, but they couldn't get any shop for either lease or buying.
They even tried to jack up the price, but the situation is still the same.
After thinking for long and hard, they wanted to at least find a residence. But they couldn't do that either.
They couldn't find any form of opening for a discussion or a deal. Sam never felt this stuck before. Everyone is so careful and sensitive about selling their assets, as the election is near. Everyone wanted to be a voting Civilian.
Sam doesn't know the exact reason why they are so stubborn some people even started threatening him. Most of the people in this town even the normal citizens are Grand realm cultivators and Nascent stage cultivators.
Any decent-sized business or home or agricultural land and the guards of the city are all Pre-transcendent stage cultivators. Even the government officials and the town head are all Pre-transcendent stage cultivators.
The strength of the town is decent and he already attracted enough attention since many people have seen them roaming around trying to buy. He is worried that trouble will soon come knocking.
But by the end of the third day, he understood what is happening. The town head elections are extremely important to this place and it will happen as soon as the Village head elections in all the villages of the planet are completed.
The current town head who only has a decent reputation is facing stiff competition this time.
Every town resident wants to be a part of this election so that they could choose their own leader. They are worried that something might happen and they would lose their civilian identity. They don't want to fall for any conspiracy or any other trick that might have been part of the efforts and ploys of the two candidates.
This made it hard for him.
The group is currently sitting in their room in the inn. They are a bit exhausted. Sam never felt this helpless. He has met the most stubborn people in his life.
But there is something more annoying that he has to go through and that is…
"Come on, guys are you going to stop this or not. Talk something. Give me some ideas, I am feeling frustrated." Sam said as he looked at his three friends.
"How come the great and talented, all-knowing Sam doesn't know what to do now? You are even asking us for our puny opinion? You should know what to do. All we can do is obey and follow you." This is the reply he got and this is what he has to go through all the while. And this even came from Watt.
One must wonder what Philip the chatterbox who always has a lot to say is saying now.
At this moment, they heard the sounds of battles from outside.
"Not again. These assholes are not letting me have a peaceful night." Philip said as he went to look out of the window.
Outside the window, there are some people fighting. These things are happening every day. Due to the elections, there are many fights between the supporters of both of the parties that are participating.
And this is the seventh fight they have seen in three days.
Luckily this time the city guards came faster along with an official who is in charge of supervising the election. Sam suddenly thought of an idea.
"We will go to the Administrator's office tomorrow. But before that, we need to prepare a story. Try and get the information about the farthest village but still under the administration of this town and all the information about that village."
Sam said as he thought of what to do and how to convince the officials to help him with this.
"We can not find it by morning. All the merchants already retired for the day and they are the only source of information about the villages, if we ask them directly we might let our covers broken if by any chance the news of us using that village's name spread.
So, we have to do it secretly."
Jack answered from the side. Out of the three, he is giving the least frustration to Sam. Sam doesn't know what he thought of the idea he proposed but from what he knew, he must be thinking about it.
"Okay then, you go on that job and I will try to find a way to buy some fields tomorrow. Even though there might be no luck we can even use that time to investigate more about this city."
After discussing further details and who does what the next day, everyone returned to their own room.
Sam is looking at the city through the window as he sipped some wine. He is really feeling a headache about this situation. These people are stubborn than dwarves. He doesn't know what is so great about being a civilian.
There are some advantages mentioned in the law book. But if those are the only benefits there is no need for them to get so paranoid that they would lose their civilian ship just by selling one of their residences or one of their shops when they have multiple properties under their name.