'Smile, Nay…' Nay shook her head before taking a glance at the window display of a nearby shop.
Contrary to the imperial cities where such a novelty would belong to the high streets of the noble districts, this kind of feature was pretty common in the port town.
And for the girl, having glass everywhere was of great convenience.
'But I am smiling?' Nay thought, taking a quick look at her reflection in the display before heaving a sigh and moving on.
Her well-known suit was hidden below the long, traveler's robe that she bought for cheap back at the relay station. And with its hood tightly pulled over her head, she turned into yet another of the thousands of passersby.
'It should be somewhere around… here?' Nay thought, taking a quick look around the street she was traversing.
She didn't really have to travel far from the gate to reach the commercial district.
Rather than having the zones dictated by the separation between classes, this town propagated in the most efficient and convenient way.
'Frontier towns are really something else,' Nay thought, committing the sight to her memory as she neared the building she was aiming for.
Even when standing at the side of a narrow street and surrounded by a multitude of shops, warehouses, and all sorts of other buildings, Nay could spot her destination with ease.
Imperial Express branch was marked in a way that no one could ever miss it, after all.
'Okay then, here goes nothing!' Nay fired herself up and took one last glance at her reflection in a nearby glass display before pulling down her hood and confidently stepping into the huge building.
Back in the imperial city, the company's branch adopted the imperial architectural sense. It was wide with a lot of open spaces for people to wander through. In the Thatcham, however, the Imperial Express adopted the local style, opting to exploit the verticality of the city to cram enough office space to afford its usual workflow.
"Welcome to the Imperial Express," a young, lovely woman sat behind the counter, right by the entrance. "May I please take your disposition so that I could assign a proper guide?"
"Private business, non-taxable amount," Nay shortly replied, using the terms she learned when studying the imperial economy.
The frontier duchy of Halia was a protectorate bordering the empire itself, making their entire existence heavily rely on imperial protection and subsidies. And that alone ensured the imperial terms would be in standard use in a local branch of the company.
"One of my colleagues will be with you shortly," the girl smiled before reaching out with her hand and pointing towards one of the chairs on the other side of the lobby. "Please, take a seat."
The invitation was nothing more than a courtesy. There were no other guests waiting on those chairs for a reason after all.
And the reason was simple.
By the time Nay reached the chair with the intention of relaxing on it, a clerk of the company came out from the doors hidden behind the counter and approached her with a small, polite smile.
"My lady, if you could follow me for a moment…"
Nay didn't really pay any attention to the short hike that followed.
During her long years as an imperial slave, she studied every last bit of information that could come useful in the next phase of her life. And right now, she was simply gathering the spoils that she worked for for years.
By the time the girl recovered from her daze, the clerk already invited her to a small room before closing the doors, pointing her to a chair, and taking a seat himself.
"Please, be my guest," the clerk invited, pointing his hand at the uniform seat of treats and drinks already prepared on the small table that separated them.
The young man then pulled his hand back before cupping his hands together and resting his elbows on the edge of the table.
"Now then, what business may we be of help with?"
Nay took a deep breath.
'How come am I helping that guy now?' the girl asked herself, hiding the inner struggle in her soul from the clerk in front of her.
"First off, let me apologize for the business I need to conduct is of one pay grade higher," Nay started on a strong note while assuming a comfortable position while relaxing in her chair. "I requested a starter service because once we are done here, I will need you to do two things."
Nay leaned over the table while taking a moment to recall the details of what her quasi-master wanted.
"I will have you follow me to meet certain someone. Then, once you verify the validity of our business and grant us a stamp of approval," Nay pulled herself deeper into the chair before gracing the clerk with a lovely smile.
A lovely smile by her standards, that is.
"Then, we will have you immediately take twenty imperials from our account, buy whatever and hurriedly depart wherever to deliver the goods," Nay explained her intention.
She then reached out and grabbed a small cup of tea before taking a sip of the pretty average beverage.
Yet, after merely wetting her lips, she raised her eyes to glance at the clerk.
"Oh, and it won't do for you to return to the branch between those two tasks." The girl took a sip. "It would greatly inconvenience my master if the report about this business were to enter the Imperial Express archives before you will submit it at another branch."
Imperial Express was a massive company, one of the greatest in the entire empire and all the shattered princedoms.
But it wasn't everywhere.
Or, in other words, what Nay asked for, was for the clerk to get the fuck out of the city and travel for at least a week or two before reaching the closest branch where he would finally be able to submit his report!
"In short words, I will pay you twenty imperials to fuck off," Nay said before tilting her cup and taking another, now deeper sip. "This tea is really good," she added with a small, thoughtful smile lingering on her lips.
'I guess it's time to give up on the luxuries I expected to have by now,' she thought, only for her mood to instantly worsen when it moved over to the topic she really didn't want to think about.
'That guy...'
Nay closed her eyes and took another sip, before putting the cup down and reaching for some sort of a sweet, bite-sized pastry covered in powdered nuts and spices.
'Between being a slave to some pervert fatso and helping out this guy a little…' Nay took a deep breath, suddenly amazed by how quickly she went from trying to doom the guy to actually helping him out. 'Well, he is, for sure, quite interesting, so it won't harm anyone to observe him for a little longer, would it?'