After a long five-day journey, the ship was finally nearing its destination. Standing at the edge of the passenger ship, Ryan saw the grand and luxurious skyline of the city and its towers appearing in the distance.
"People say Marienburg is a paradise for opportunists and a hell for the incompetent. Gold is everywhere; if you are strong enough, you can gain immense wealth," the captain said with a smile. "I've run this route many times. We were lucky this time, no pirates."
Countless ships, laden with cargo, sailed towards the largest trade center in the Old World. By comparison, the passenger ship Ryan was on seemed like a child, constantly dodging the larger cargo ships. Ryan even saw Lizardmen merchant ships from Lustria and High Elf ocean-going giant ships from Ulthuan in the port.
The towering skyline of the city unfolded before everyone, like a new world filled with brown towers and tall buildings. The city was so vast that its buildings stretched from the coast to the horizon, with no barren land in sight. On either side of the city were two mage towers glowing with arcane light, and clusters of coastal fortresses warned passing ships.
Don't mess around!
"Wow~ It's spectacular. I think it would be great if our Justice Church headquarters were set up here," Alfred said, eyes wide in awe.
"I don't think so. If your Justice Church set up its headquarters here, the Sea God Church would definitely have a huge conflict with you," Ryan retorted. This place was one of the two strongholds of the Sea God Manann. Manann would never sit idly by and let another church establish its headquarters in his territory and poach believers.
According to the agreement among the gods, faith should be fairly competed for, but Manann would not tolerate another church setting up its headquarters in Marienburg. That would be overstepping boundaries.
"Ryan, do you see those two mage towers?" Theresa pointed to the two high towers on the coastline. "Those are the works of the Wizarding Union. The Wizarding Union provides Marienburg's Grand Duke with two legendary wizards to solve his magical problems in exchange for these two mage towers and an annual commission."
"Knights crave glory, nobles seek prestige, the church praises piety, but no one dislikes gold."
— "The Savior" Ludwig
The Wizarding Union is one of the three major human caster organizations. Its history far predates the Garland Council and the Imperial Royal Wizard Academy. Before the Great Holy War, casters were considered heretics and dangerous individuals in human kingdoms. If it weren't for the High Elf Archmage Teclis leading a group of elven wizards to aid Ludwig, casters might still be seen as dangerous to this day. Thus, the Wizarding Union appeared far earlier than the other two organizations. The current leader of the Wizarding Union is Eric Williams, a peak sanctuary archmage who also doubles as a berserker. During the Great Holy War, this archmage swung his sword while casting spells, dueling a Chaos Great Demon.
He is also the only known human who can cast spells while fighting.
"I don't have my own mage tower. I hope one day I can have a mage tower of my own," the sorceress said, looking at the arcane light atop the tall mage tower with great envy.
"Oh? Your family is so wealthy, yet they didn't build you a mage tower?" Ryan teased, earning a dirty look from the White Wolf Knight. "The cost of a mage tower is far beyond your imagination. I remember you got three divine coins from Count Albert?"
"Exactly." Ryan didn't deny it. There was no need to hide it from the sorceress.
"That money is only enough to build the lowest-level mage tower, not enough to fill it." Theresa clung to Ryan's arm, pressing her full body against his. "So you need to work harder."
"??? What does this have to do with me?" Ryan said, confused.
"Hmph!" Seeing Ryan's bewildered expression, Theresa snorted, then let go of his arm.
The lighthouse guided the ship to the dock, where heavily guarded soldiers awaited. Their fleur-de-lis insignia indicated they were the personal troops of the Duke of Marienburg. Hundreds of soldiers guarded the Grand Duke himself.
"What's going on? Which big shot is arriving that requires the Duke's personal welcome?" People on the passenger ship murmured. Only the sorceress guessed a bit: Marienburg's news travels really fast.
As the passenger ship docked, the answer became clear.
The Grand Duke of Marienburg, "Lender" Vanderkoop-Schultz, laughed heartily as he walked towards the ship with his guards. "Look, look! Which great hero has come to my city? Which warrior who won the championship duel brings new glory to this city?"
"Ugh~" Ryan's face reddened slightly with embarrassment as he quickly disembarked and greeted the Duke. "Hello, Lord Schultz! It's an honor that you came here to welcome me."
"Hahahaha~ Hello! A warrior against the barbarians, as soon as I saw you, I knew we'd be friends." The Duke of Marienburg, appearing to be in his thirties, was a slightly overweight man with slick black hair and a beard. He dressed simply, wearing a magical ring crafted by the High Elf Archmage Teclis and standard silk attire with the fleur-de-lis crest. His stride was powerful, exuding a formidable aura that Ryan had only felt in the presence of the King of Nord.
Though Schultz was over fifty, he looked younger than Count Albert, proving his strength. Unlike Count Villard's arrogance, the Duke of Marienburg was more approachable and humble.
Contrary to common belief, higher-ranking nobles are usually more polite and approachable, while the truly arrogant and bullying nobles are often minor ones.
"Not at all," Ryan said modestly. "I just did what I had to do."
"As long as you eliminate the barbarians and solve those damn pirates, you're a good man." The Grand Duke extended his hand to Ryan. "Welcome to Marienburg."
"Thank you." Ryan shook hands with Schultz.
In that moment, both Ryan and Schultz's eyes widened, recognizing something in each other. Both were taken aback.
The Duke saw the red and white shoulder insignia on Ryan, a sword piercing through a book and a silver skull.
Ryan saw the large 'I' on the Duke's outfit, with a skull encircled in the middle.
The atmosphere suddenly became one of mutual respect.
The scene grew awkwardly silent as the soldiers and passengers watched the two hold hands without speaking.
Until the Duke burst into laughter, tears streaming down his face. "Hahahaha! I knew from the moment I saw you, Ryan, that we'd be friends!"
"Hahaha~ Yes, I believe that too, Duke. I think we're already friends." Ryan laughed heartily as well.
"Let's not waste time. Ryan, here's the key to Amber Avenue 53. Accept this gift, and tomorrow I will arrange a grand banquet to welcome this brave man from Nord!" The Duke of Marienburg, Schultz, loudly declared.
"Wow!" The crowd gasped at the Duke's generosity. Amber Avenue was the core area of Marienburg's wealthy district, where real estate was worth its weight in gold. A simple house there could cost thousands of gold coins, and properties were rarely available for sale.
The rich and nobles on Amber Avenue enjoyed the city's most precious commodity—peace.
"Then I won't be polite." Ryan readily accepted the key from Schultz.
"After a long journey, our hero needs rest. Muller, lead my friend. This pouch contains 200 gold marks as a welcome gift. Muller will show my friend to his new residence. Let's not disturb our hero's rest."
With that, Schultz left with his guards, leaving his courtier to guide Ryan. "Mr. Ryan? This way, please."
"Thank you."
Ryan and Theresa followed Muller. Lopus, unrelated to Ryan, did not feel entitled to follow him and headed into the city to find an inn. Alfred went to report to the Justice Church's branch in Marienburg. Esterel, being a half-elf, had a place to stay in Iphithil, the only High Elf enclave in the Old World. The Elven Embassy was also located there.
High Elves primarily traded with the Empire and Marienburg because only Marienburg could dock their giant ships. Considering they could get all the resources they needed from Marienburg, the proud High Elves saw no need to establish other trade routes.
Incidentally, High Elves also traded indirectly with Dwarfs through Marienburg. Due to their natural enmity and coldness, High Elves and Dwarfs did not establish diplomatic relations, so trade between them had to be facilitated by humans.
On the way back, the Grand Duke of Marienburg asked the black-robed man behind him, "Elliot? What do you think of this young man's strength?"
Elliot, a councilor of the Wizarding Union and a high-level legendary archmage, was one of the two legendary archmages stationed in Marienburg by the Wizarding Union.
"Very strong, exceptionally strong. I'm not confident I could take him down. I sense he has immense magical resistance and his eyes are filled with confidence and glory. I think this is due to his extensive battle experience. I believe he is qualified to become another protector of this city, my Duke," the black-robed man said solemnly.
"Good. And Elliot, you need to know he is my friend, my closest friend." Schultz instructed seriously.
"Yes, Duke."
...
Despite being mentally prepared,
the grandeur of Amber Avenue exceeded Ryan's expectations.
The decorations here reminded him of the upscale neighborhoods from his previous life, with clean, well-paved streets of marble, magical street lamps every twenty or thirty steps, and individual houses with gardens and walls. Most houses were built with a combination of white, brown, and red bricks and wood, featuring gable roofs, protruding eaves, stylish corner towers, and balconies with columned entrances.
The only downside was the high walls, about two meters tall, preventing Ryan from seeing inside the gardens.
"Mr. Ryan, Amber Avenue 53 is right here." Muller led Ryan to a house with a classic design, high windows adorned with many patterns, a Gothic spire roof, and a heavy wooden door with a garden.
"It looks great." Ryan nodded. It was a pleasant surprise that the Duke of Marienburg provided such accommodations.
The pleasant surprise was that Ryan didn't expect such hospitality.
The expected part was that, after seeing the symbol on Schultz, both realized a significant issue.
Allies, don't shoot.
"Yes, Mr. Ryan, Amber Avenue 53 originally belonged to Bretonnian Count Eduardo, but he couldn't repay the Duke's debt, so he handed over this property," Muller explained, neither arrogant nor humble. "All the furniture is in place. We'll have someone clean up immediately. You can move in by evening."
"Do many people from Bretonnia owe the Duke money?" Ryan asked casually.
"I shouldn't answer that, but considering you're a friend of the Duke, I can tell you privately." Muller whispered in Ryan's ear, "A lot, much more than the entire kingdom's annual tax revenue."
"Oh~" Ryan responded meaningfully.
To reiterate, debts in this world are often validated by the Justice and Wealth Churches, making them undeniable.
Opening the door, the interior was unexpectedly clean. All the furniture was made of exquisite sandalwood. The first floor had a living room, bathroom, dining room, and servant quarters. The second floor had two bedrooms and a study. The third floor, the top floor, had a balcony and a multifunctional large room, with a cellar below. The total area was about 350 square meters.
Theresa was very excited, dragging Ryan to tour the house.
"Mr. Ryan, you can stroll around the city or handle any affairs. Here's a map of the city. Around five in the afternoon, we'll have the place ready for you to move in," Muller said. "Or you can stay and supervise our work."
"What do you want to do, Theresa?" Ryan was indifferent and decided to ask the sorceress.
"Let's go to our Garland base in Marienburg." Theresa's face was full of anger and reluctance, clearly having just received news.
"Veronica can't wait."
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