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In the end, it took us a week from the day I exposed Kaelion's deception to reach the capital.
We arrived at nightfall, and, for that reason, we are currently leaving a tavern on the outskirts of the capital, where we decided to spend the night.
It is only dawn, but after so many days of sleeping in the open, a few hours of rest in a bed was enough to wake up fully rested.
The capital, as it also seemed to me when I saw the city of Krag-an, is very similar to the capital of our kingdom in many ways and, at the same time, different in others.
However, the biggest difference is that this city does not have any kind of wall or defensive line.
I suppose that's normal, being the main city of the race that rules almost the entire continent, but I still found it very strange to see buildings and houses springing into view on the horizon as we approached.
"Alright, we're in the capital; where do you want to go first?" asks the ancient orc, yawning as he strokes his wolf, which he had to leave tied up outside the tavern, in an area where at least a dozen wolves of the same type as his Fenrir were tied up.
"Ahh," I say, stifling a yawn, "so now you're interested in my opinion? Up until now, you've always done whatever you wanted."
"Don't be silly, kid. It's obvious that I'm interested in your opinion," he says, looking at me with a smart-ass look on his face "You are the protagonist of this story. I'm just a humble chronicler. After all, we came to the capital because that's what you wanted."
"Right." I say, deciding to ignore the fact that, while it's true that we came here because that's what I want, along the way the elder orc has always done what he wanted without consulting me.
However, I've already discovered that there's no point in arguing with this old orc's senile dementia, but that it's better to try to go along with him and get some benefit from his madness. "Anyway, I suppose in this city there's some sort of organization related to the labyrinths, right?"
"Yes, the Labyrinth Management Association is a branch of the Empire's government, but it has some independence to a certain extent. There is a branch in every labyrinth controlled by the empire; why do you ask?" Inquires the orc curiously, "Do you want to go there? I thought you wanted to talk to the emperor, but I can take you to the association"
"Well, that's where I want to go in the first place. I need to get some money of my own, and I think the labyrinth is the best place for that. Besides, I'd like to check a few things…" I say, thinking that I still haven't checked if the labyrinths on this continent are any different from the ones on ours.
"...Talking to the emperor is my main goal, but I don't think it's something I can achieve by force, so it's best to start by making sure I have some source of money and a place to stay that's located near the labyrinth in order to gather some information."
"Wow. You're displaying a level-headedness I didn't think possible in you, kid. I'm glad to see you're not going to get yourself killed on your first day in this place," he says, patting me on the back and mounting his wolf.
"Old orc, you don't need to start with your nonsense this early in the morning," I say, while, as usual, every now and then, I have to suppress the urge to strangle the elder orc accompanying me. "Haa.... Anyway, you lead, and I'll follow. Let's go!"
As we walk, I notice that there are really very few slaves on the streets.
We have been walking for an hour, and so far I have only seen a number of reptilians and therians that could be counted on the fingers of my hands.
There are just orcs and more orcs everywhere.
"You don't know how strange it seems to me to see the city full of those ropes that go from house to house. In our land, we don't have those things; what are they for? I guess they're not just decoration," I say to Kaelion after a long moment of silence while observing my surroundings.
'Come to think of it, it's strange that the elderly orc is so quiet...'
"They're electrical wires. They carry electricity from house to house to light homes and run appliances," he says, distracted, but then he seems to realize something and asks me, "How do people light cities in your land then? I don't think it's by using torches and candles… That only works for small towns."
"We have enchanted objects for that. And there is a network of magical energy that runs underneath the city and is powered by the mages of the kingdom," I say, thinking that it makes no sense to be so secretive with Kaelion anymore.
The old orc has proven himself trustworthy.
It's best to keep him entertained by releasing new pieces of information every so often to keep him as an available tool.
"Enchanted items, magical energy networks, mages of the kingdom..." says the elderly orc as his eyes sparkle. "I don't even know where to start asking."
"I'll tell you about it later, but now tell me. What exactly are electricity and those appliances you mentioned?" I ask quickly, diverting the topic of conversation to something I need to learn if I want to be able to camouflage myself as an orc without needing the ancient orc's help.
"Haa... Alright, but you better not forget that you need to talk to me about the stuff you just mentioned. Electricity is...."
...
During all these days of travel, I kept training my mana bomb and mana-piercing bullet spells until they both reached level 8.
Now I can conjure them much more easily and at a lower mana cost.
In addition, I have found that I can increase the power of the mana bomb by conjuring one in each hand and combining them to create a much more powerful version.
After 5 hours or so of walking, we finally arrive at the place that Kaelion says is the place of the association that manages the labyrinths.
It is a gigantic building at least ten stories high, and its facade must be at least 80 meters long.
However, the absurdly large building next to the association's structure, which Kaelion claims is the colosseum, the location that gives the empire's capital its name, overshadows the association's building in terms of size.
The colosseum is, according to the old orc's information, an oval construction 189 meters long, 156 meters wide, and 48 meters high, with an elliptical perimeter of 524 meters.
The building's walls are made up of thousands of columns and arches that form kilometers of corridors inside.
These corridors let people move around the different levels of the enclosure and take their places in the thousand seats for people who come to watch fights, plays, and other events in the huge arena of this place.
'If it weren't for the fact that my curiosity for the labyrinths of this continent is greater, I would like to go in and have a look at the place… But there will be time for that'
The sun is already high in the sky as we enter the building after Kaelion tied Fenrir up outside the association building.
Once inside, I see that there are an immense number of people coming and going from one place to another.
The building has hundreds of stalls dedicated to serving people, yet there are long queues waiting to be attended to.
The center of the building is notorious for being the only place where there are few people, with only a few dozen people appearing and disappearing at regular intervals around the huge pillar of dark rock that is the labyrinth.
Following Kaelion's directions, I stand at the end of one of the queues, waiting for our turn to be attended to.
Earlier, I had my doubts about Kaelion's plan to camouflage me in this way, but as I wait for our turn, I see that many of those in the queue are also dressed in a similar fashion, leaving little or no skin surface visible to the public.
'It looks like I'm not going to attract the slightest bit of attention by being dressed like this.... Good. Now the final test of the plan will come when I register my membership in the association. I don't know if the identification device on this continent will show my race, but if it does, I'm going to have to alter my plans'