Book 6: Chapter 331: The Hidden Crisis Of The Empire’s Capital Macnadix City
Book 6: Chapter 331: The Hidden Crisis Of The Empire’s Capital Macnadix City
The hotel lobby of the Christian Hotel located in the eastern region of Macnadix City, the capital of the Manasvir Empire. When Bella emerged from the private pool, she bumped into President Isaman, who was looking for her. President Isaman was dressed in a set of white priest’s robes. Other than the fact that it did not have the Radiant Church’s insignia, the robes looked like it belonged to one of the church’s clergies.
“President Isaman, are you here for a swim? There’s still a lot of space inside!”
“Bella, can you… can you act normal for once? I’m scared. Whenever you see a pretty girl, you get such an intense look in your eyes that reminds me of a ferocious beast staring at its prey.”
“President Isaman, this is my hobby. Tell me, why are you here? Otherwise, I will just have to take you on a swim!”
“Wait, I haven’t even said anything yet, right? Don’t be so hasty. I’ll tell you…”
The emperor of the Manasvir Empire had sent someone to discuss the arrangements for the upcoming preliminaries for the rankings competition. As Bella was the “unofficial leader” of the girls from the Olsylvia Academy, naturally, President Isaman would come to seek her opinion.
“Is it a pretty sister? If not, they can speak to Teacher Orlando next door. After all, that guy is a teacher at the academy, it’s about time that he pulls his own weight.”
“Well…”
Bella casually turned and walked away, leaving a speechless President Isaman behind. Judging by President Isaman’s reaction, she did not need to ask any further to know the answer. Since the officials sent by the emperor were not pretty girls, Bella didn’t bother to look at them. The Christian Hotel had many rooms. Even with thousands of girls living inside, it did not feel crowded at all. In fact, Bella and the others each had a separate room for themselves and were staying close to each other.
Bella had obtained a spare set of keys for herself. This meant that she had full access to any room in this hotel and could “night attack” anyone she liked in her true “dominant” fashion. However, if Bella had set her sights on any girl, she did not even need to use the “night attack.” She had the guts to do anything she wanted, even in broad daylight.
Bella returned to her own room and locked the door behind her before walking over to the bed, where an outfit had already been laid out. She then began to change into a formal outfit. Earlier on, she was only at the pool for some early morning entertainment. If she were going to go out, it was only appropriate for her to put on some proper clothes.
“Mistress Bella, you’re back. Her Majesty has been trying to contact me, but I haven’t replied yet.”
“Older Sister Emi, you’re an envoy of the empire as well as the captain of the Empress’ personal guard. It would be exciting if she were to see you in this state.”
“Mistress Bella, you… please stop testing me, my loyalty is unwavering.”
Inside the changing room, Emi, who was the original Imperial Envoy and the captain of the Empress’ personal guard, was kneeling obediently before Bella. She had a black leather collar around her neck and had a thin metal chain attached to a pillar in the room.
Emi was now bowing, with her hands tied behind her back with restraints. Bella reached out with a finger as Emi obediently opened her mouth and began to suck on it. Watching the look of intoxication on Emi’s face, Bella could not help but be filled with awe for her previous “trainer.” The Time Space Magic Demon Noesha, that erotic loli, was incredible. Somehow, she managed to train this headstrong young miss into a compliant little submissive.
“Older Sister Emi, you’re so naughty. I haven’t even started, but you’re starting to feel it already. I’m going to punish you. You will remain here today.”
“Mistress Bella, I was bad… Don’t do this, I beg you.”
“Alright. Older Sister Emi, if you can lure your companions, who are like you, here, I will reconsider your punishment.”
“Well…”
Bella lowered her gaze and cupped Emi’s round chin. She then began to use demonic language to entice and compel this beauty to give in to the darkness. The resolve in Emi’s eyes disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Soon enough, she was reduced to a doll who could only nod. Once Bella saw that she had achieved her goal, she removed Emi’s restraints and allowed her to dress herself.
Although this was a despicable move, Bella needed to get close to the Empress of the Manasvir Empire as she had no other choice. Other than Captain Emi, the Empress had three other trusted subordinates. Bella had to take them out of her way before she could achieve her goal.
Bella had just finished changing when Princess Kriss and the Mage Ariel came looking for her. She was stunned for a moment when those two silver-haired beauties walked through the door as Ariel was not wearing any of her disguises when she came in. She must have taken it off before she entered the room. Other than the difference in eye color, the two girls looked incredibly similar. From a distance, Bella thought that a pair of twins had entered!
“Oh my! Two beautiful ladies, what are you doing here?”
“Bella, I… Ariel wanted to go shopping, so I came along!”
“Kriss, you… you were the one who wanted to go shopping. If you’re not coming, then I’ll just have to go with Bella alone!”
“Fine, I… I’m coming. Coincidentally… erm… the hilt of my sword is damaged.”
Bella looked at the slightly shy Princess Kriss, as well as Princess Ariel, who had a mischievous smile on her face, and immediately agreed to their request. The other important dorm mates, such as the Assassin Noreya and the Puppet Master Elaine, who were the “dangerous components” of the group, had disappeared early in the morning. No one knew where they had gone or what bad things they had gone to do. Furthermore, Bella’s younger sister, Lisha, was still fast asleep while President Isaman was probably still figuring out the situation by the pool. Bella decided not to disturb them and left with Kriss and Ariel.
Macnadix City was massive. It was much larger than the city in which the Olsylvia Academy’s various campuses were located. Due to its immense size, the easiest way to travel around Macnadix City was to make use of the various teleportation arrays around the city. Other than the central Imperial City region, those teleportation arrays would take them to any landmark structure within Macnadix City. The only drawback of this particular mode of transformation was that it was not cost-effective at all. It would cost each person one gold coin per trip.
The second method was to take a horse-drawn carriage. Like the ones inside the academy, each trip’s cost was calculated based on the distance traveled and would typically cost anywhere from one silver coin to a few dozen silver coins. The third way was to walk around the city. However, with the city’s size, it would take more than a day to explore the city on foot.
The place that Ariel and Kriss wanted to visit was the trading center in the southern region of Macnadix City. For girls, shopping was a popular activity. In Ariel and Kriss’ case, they desired treasures such as equipment and armor. As a gesture of generosity, Bella decided to use the teleportation arrays. Since she was going shopping with her two “girlfriends,” she did not mind spending a little more.
Bella and Princess Kriss walked along the streets, arm in arm at the trading center, as though they were a couple. Princess Ariel wore a black hooded cloak and acted as their aide as she walked behind them. Although Princess Kriss was beautiful enough to attract attention, those who were in the trading center had seen their fair share of life and did not pay special attention to them, except for a few shocked expressions.
As the Human Race’s business hub, the items sold inside Macnadix City’s trading center were eye-opening for Bella as she walked along the street. The shops were all lavishly decorated, and the area was filled with a sense of regality. It was as though this street was explicitly designed for a wealthy clientele. Even the items that were being sold were of a significantly higher grade than those for sale at Olsylvia City’s business district.
“An epic grade equipment, the Dusk’s Afterglow. This was the personal sword that belonged to the hero, the Dusk Holy Swordsman, one thousand years ago. The minimum price is one million gold coins with no upper limit. Interested parties should register quickly!”
“Mythical grade equipment, the Ocean Demon’s Scepter, used by the Ocean Demon more than four thousand years ago. Starting price at five million gold coins, accepting payment in diamonds as well.”
The equipment sold here were all genuine, high-quality goods. Generally, regardless of the equipment’s grade, they were all ranked according to their history by authenticators. Those that were a few hundred years old were considered fable grade items and were typically sold within the range of twenty to thirty thousand gold coins to a few hundred thousand gold coins. Items with one to two thousand years of history would be classified as epic grade equipment and would be sold for around one million gold coins.
Mythical grade items had a history of between two to five thousand years, with a market price of at least five million gold coins. Finally, equipment with more than five thousand years of history would be classified as legendary grade items. These were extremely rare and notoriously difficult to find, even here at the Human Race’s largest trading center.
The most common equipment found here were fable grade and epic grade. Once in a while, a couple of legendary grade items would be put up for sale. Bella and the two other girls were merely browsing around as they were not too interested in those weapons at all. As Bella was a Demon God, none of those weapons could match the power of her Demon God’s Hand in her eyes.
Furthermore, Kriss and Ariel were Black Warriors. Kriss had thousands of precious swords inside the sword space in her Golden Finger. Every one of those swords had a much longer history than the legendary grade swords. The Mage Ariel had a similar Golden Finger as well. Instead of a sword space, she had a Magic Library filled with an extensive collection of magical books that were nearly as old as Kriss’ precious swords. This meant that nothing sold within the trading center would catch their eye.
There was no way they could find any divine artifacts here. The Radiant Church had sent out a prohibition notice, banning the sale and trade of divine artifacts in any way. As this was an official trading center, no divine artifacts would be sold here. Only those large scale secret underground trading markets would have some junior-grade divine artifacts for sale.
Bella and the girls saw many familiar faces inside this business district, such as the God Chosen Knight Scott, the God Chosen Mage Adelaide, and the God Chosen Swordsman Akmans. Those male Saviors were on their daily missions as interdimensional travelers as they went around completing the difficult task of “divine artifact hunting.”
Bella had no idea if any of the Human empires possessed any divine artifacts. However, she knew for a fact that this trading center did not have any. After all, divine artifacts were basically priceless. Scenarios, such as those in novels from her previous world, where a divine artifact could be randomly picked up only existed in their fantasies. The male Saviors brought along their little band of followers and were so engrossed in their “treasure hunt” that they did not notice Bella and the girls.
“Eh, Older Sister Bella, what are you doing here? The equipment here is all used to add weight to transactions. No one would actually use them.”
“Chairman Charlotte? You’re here too. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”
Bella spotted another familiar figure sitting on a public bench along the business district – the “pseudo-loli” Charlotte, who was the President of the Wronged Angels Society. Chairman Charlotte was dressed in a black-and-red gothic loli outfit and was carrying several bags filled with products from various shops.
This pseudo-loli truly made one question their own lives. Even Princess Kriss and Princess Ariel, who were indisputably beautiful, felt an inexplicable sense of failure when they looked at Charlotte. Both of them stood rooted to the spot. For a moment, they had no words to describe what they were feeling.
“Well… President Charlotte, do you know where we could find… well… items that girls would like?”
Bella’s tone felt a little awkward. Asking a pseudo-lady where to find items that were more suitable for girls did not seem like much of a problem, yet, it felt like a problem. Either way, it was filled with potential issues. Fortunately for them, Charlotte did not play any jokes on them and gave them some proper directions.
“Older Sister Bella, you can head over to Golden Rose Street! There are specialty shops with rare accessories that I think you ladies would like. Just take what you like, there’s no need to pay.”
Once Charlotte had completed his sentence, he strolled away. As he walked along the streets, no one actually bothered him as most of them were probably experienced enough to know that Charlotte was not a real girl. As its name suggests, the Golden Rose Street was a shopping area dedicated to female-specific products. Everything sold here was rare and valuable.
If Bella’s memory served her right, the Golden Rose Street was directly managed by the royal family of the Manasvir Empire. Other than the opulent decorations, the street was filled with various young ladies and rich women from prominent families with barely any men in sight. The only men there were those ladies’ servants or housekeepers.
When the trio finally arrived at the Golden Rose Street, Kriss and Ariel began to pay attention to the shops around them. The street was filled with a glittering collection of accessories that stretched further than the eye could see. After all, Black Warriors were still girls and were naturally no less immune to the allure of beautiful jewelry than a typical girl. It did not take long for the dazzling jewelry to capture their attention.
Bella, on the other hand, remained unaffected. As she walked around with Kriss and Ariel, she continued to keep an eye on their surroundings. Back in Olsylvia City, the shops directly managed by the Manasvir Empire’s royal family were part of a horrifying trap. There was a definite possibility that this Golden Rose Street had its fair share of secrets as well.
Just as Bella, Kriss, and Ariel were about to begin shopping, a few delicate strands of puppet string wrapped around their hands. Bella turned and saw that it was the Puppet Master Elaine who had left much earlier in the morning. Elaine was dressed in a black hooded cloak and was using her puppet strings to hold on to their hands from a distance, as though she was calling them over.
“What’s wrong, Princess Elaine? Why are you looking for us?”
“Bella, there is something very wrong with the Golden Rose Street. Although I haven’t managed to figure out where the problem lies, I think it might be better to avoid the area. You probably don’t know this yet, early this morning, I went out to get some information on the rumors surrounding some of the landmark structures within this city. Apparently, this Golden Rose Street…”
For the past decade or so, terrifying urban legends about the Golden Rose Street began to spread like wildfire. Rumor had it that this street was cursed by a demon as strange black shadows could be seen roaming around every night. Most of the time, supernatural incidents like this in this Other World, were usually related to demonic beings.
Due to her professional instincts as a puppet master, Elaine noticed that there was something off about the young ladies and rich women walking along Golden Rose Street. Somehow, they walked around in such an orderly fashion that it almost appeared mechanical. Furthermore, they did not seem to have to go home at all as they would shop here all day.
“No way, Chairman Charlotte directed us here. Could it be that pseudo-loli…”
“Chairman Charlotte… Bella, that pseudo-loli did not enter the street at all. I saw everything. He merely stood at the entrance of the street and used some form of strange magic to steal all the gold and silver jewelry…”
Bella finally understood that Charlotte had directed them here to “steal” in broad daylight. That pseudo-loli was being vague on purpose. In the end, he was still trying to prank them. As the Assassin Noreya did not come along on this shopping trip, Bella and the others could not use such high-level thievery techniques and eventually turned to make their way back to the hotel.
As Macnadix City was a public place and had a lot of human traffic, it was not convenient for Bella and the other girls to do anything. They had the other common folk to consider and decided to hold back their powers for now. The exploration of the Golden Rose Street would have to wait. At that moment, Bella received a message from the Assassin Noreya on her magical communication crystal.
“Quickly come to Cromwell Village, I’ve made an important discovery! Requesting backup…”
At the remains of Cromwell Village, only a small number of guards were stationed at the abandoned site of the original Crom Cathedral. No one knew if it had been done on purpose since there were less than a hundred imperial guards stationed here when there used to be thousands of them. The Assassin Noreya knew that Bella had already set up a teleportation array and had come here early in the morning to check things out.
The moment she arrived, she noticed that all the imperial guards who were stationed here were dead. These golden armored soldiers were utterly useless. Judging by how the bodies were strewn all over the place, Noreya knew that they were all killed in one shot.
Fortunately, Noreya was an assassin who had the occupational habit of being in stealth mode as she emerged from the teleportation array. These demonic beings who had taken over this place had not noticed her presence at all. This group of demonic beings looked like demons but spoke the human language. Each of them carried an extra long sickle used for beheading, and each of those sickles was still covered in fresh bloodstains. By the looks of it, the one hundred imperial guards were killed by their hands.
“How troublesome…. I think it would be so much easier to kill all those livestock…”
“Kill them all? Did someone hit your head with a rock? There are people from the Radiant Church inside the city! If the Church were to catch wind of this, our Master’s plan would go up in smoke before it even starts.”
The demons seemed to be a little disgruntled. They had planned to ambush the Radiant Church’s holy maidens inside the churches within Macnadix City that morning. However, they did not expect the holy maidens to not appear at the dawn prayers.
The demons had no choice but to change their plans. Right now, Bella had the holy maidens of the Radiant Church kept inside golden cages. Due to their unexpected circumstances, the holy maidens managed to escape the ambush to live another day.