Reeve had asked a question, and no one knew the answer to it. Even Reeve didn't know what to do next, granted it was his idea to come to the capital. They could always go to find that friend of Soren's father, but then it was now late, and the capital was huge.
"Let's go to an inn so we can get some food and some sleep. Tomorrow we should then go and find Artemine", suggested Riza.
"That sounds like a bright idea. We don't even need to go looking for my father's friend anymore. We have enough money, right Rizaneth?" asked Soren, with his eyes brightened.
"I don't know. We first need to know how many people will be enrolling, and then take into account how much each person will be paying. We might not have enough to pay for all the expenses", Riza replied.
Eskaria snorted coldly, prompting Riza to lash out at her.
"What? You're the one who wanted to follow us, remember? I don't remember inviting you!" Riza yelled.
"Yes, sure! Now I'm here, so get used to it! Dear, why don't we leave this … eh … person and go enroll at the magic school together?" she asked, taking Reeve's hand. Her mouth had spoken before her brain had registered what she wanted to say. Now that she realized what she had said, her cheeks turned a deep shade of pink.
"Y-you … Sure, go ahead! I'll keep the money!" Riza smirked.
Reeve could have laughed. It was certainly funny to see these two bickering like wives in a harem of sorts, but something else was bothering him. Ever since they arrived in the capital, he felt like they were being watched. To be accurate, ever since they parted ways with Wynn, he felt like someone was watching them. And this was bugging him, deeply.
"First, let us get out of here. Then we can argue about whose fault anything was later", he replied, as he pulled Eskaria's hand.
The streets were really busy, despite the time of the day being at night. Actually, maybe because it was due to this that it was busy. There were vendors with stalls everywhere they could see. The streets were brightly lit up by streetlamps, and there were soldiers patrolling here and there.
Riza avoided people who tried as hard as they could to bump into them. Because the streets were overcrowded, there was the occasional thief who would pick some unsuspecting customer's pocket. Rizaneth had been to the capital before, so she knew what to expect. And thanks to her quick thinking, they managed to find an inn without losing their money.
The night passed uneventfully, albeit, expensively. The group was surprised to find that the inns were so expensive. Well, with the exception of Riza, everyone else was surprised. Then again, this was the capital. And it didn't help that the inn they stayed in was run down. There were cracks in the walls, and it looked as if the whole place was going to collapse at any given moment.
Even the furniture in the room they stayed in was totally worn out. The wood was cracked, and the sheets were torn and patched in various places. The wooden floor had various cracks, and it creaked every time someone walked on it. Well, this was what Reeve and Soren's room was like. And no, that didn't stop the owner from charging an arm and a leg for a room. After all, this was the capital.
When morning came, everyone was glad to leave the terrible inn. No one complained about leaving. In fact, everyone was so enthusiastic that they yelled at Reeve when he started delaying them.
"Now what?" asked Reeve, when they were outside the inn.
"What do you mean now what? You wanted to come to the capital, and now we're here…" replied Riza.
"Ah!! Then Artemine it is. Do you know which direction the place is?"
Everyone looked in front of them. What they saw was totally mind blowing. Besides the overcrowding, the place was massive! And no, that wasn't an overstatement. In fact, one might say it was an understatement. It would probably take months to cover just the outer district of the capital, if they started walking now. The only two people who seemed less surprised were Soren and Riza.
"Welcome to Harazade, the capital of Vyren. We can give you a sight-seeing trip around the city for the low, low price of a hundred silver coins only", said a young man who suddenly appeared behind them.
Everyone turned to see who had said this, and to their surprise, they found a young man, who looked to be about seventeen. He was wearing patched up clothes, and it was evident that he was … not so rich.
"Who are you??" asked Eskaria, glad to be helping … well … she was glad to have spoken first before Riza.
"My name is Merezeka, my services include –"
"Do you know where Artemine Elemental College is?" asked Reeve, interrupting the young man.
"Of course, I can take you there if you want. The price is only sixty silver coins, but I can give you a discount of five silver coins if you can refer me to another customer", replied Merezeka.
Rizaneth frowned. "Aren't you a bit too expensive? Going to Artemine with a carriage is only twenty silver coins!"
"Yes, I'm sure it is. However, we can provide you with information, something the carriage doesn't do!" the young man stood his ground, causing Riza to frown even harder.
"And you're saying your information is worth forty silver coins? I find that hard to believe!"
"Well, I can assure you, our information is top class. If you don't find it to your liking, we can give you sixty percent of your money back."
"Assurances assurances… hmmm…. I'm not convinced. How would I be sure that you're not trying to rob us?"
"Well … If you do not trust us, then there's nothing we can do to help, miss", as Merezeka said this, he turned to leave.
"You keep saying 'we', who exactly are you?" asked Reeve.