Rhys was floating in the air as he stared at a huge screen. There was a commercial for three condominiums that will soon open. It was a project led by the mayor of the city and donated by rich businessmen. Like Exonn Park, it will be guarded all the time by Exonns. The price could be afforded by any family in the city, causing cheers and a further rise in the popularity of the mayor.
Rhys turned silent for a moment, then he flew to a particular district of Enberg City. There was a bazaar where different races from different worlds were selling their goods. A human was bargaining with a small goblin. There was a fairy selling fruits. It was a lively event that was held every year. He was drinking juice as he walked around the bazaar while the rabbit was sitting on his shoulder.
The mayor, named Siegbert, was inspecting the event while being guarded by policemen wearing armor and holding energy guns. There were also other policemen and exonns patrolling.
A man wearing a suit approached. He smiled and said,"Mayor Siegbert, I didn't expect to meet you here."
Siegbert was expressionless as he looked at Benson, the Vice Mayor. "I also didn't expect to meet you here. I was expecting that you would stay in your comfortable office."
Benson chuckled. "This is an important event in the city. How could I feel at ease if I don't take a closer look at it?"
"Is that so? Why didn't I see you visit the event in the past few years?" asked Siegbert with a puzzled face.
Benson's eyes turned sharper as he smiled. "Mayor Siegbert, I was busy with my role as a vice mayor. The people of the city are my priority. I could only visit now because I was able to finish my job before the event finished."
Siegbert nodded his head. "I understand. I'm sorry if I misunderstood you. I thought you wanted to show your face because of the coming election."
"Hahahaha, Mayor, I didn't know that you can make jokes. Sir, I still have to walk around the bazaar and inspect it. I will move away first," said Benson with a smile.
Siegbert nodded his head, then Benson left with his assistant and guards. Siegbert's secretary, Cid, looked at Benson with a chuckle.
"Sir, he probably thinks that you can't see through his facade," said Cid.
Siegbert smiled. "It doesn't matter if he can't fool me. What matters is that he wants to fool the city's residents."
Rhys looked at Benson with a meaningful gaze.
There were elections for mayor and governor every four years. They have a maximum of three consecutive terms. There was also an election for the president of the federation every six years. Each governor will be responsible for a whole region, like Vasteasia.
Regions belong to a state. Each state had strong autonomy when it came to law, policy, and governance. The lawmakers who were members of the parliament could not be chosen through the vote of the federation's citizens but by the lawmakers of each state. It was the compromise that the countries had reached to form the federation during the crisis of the demon's invasion. Previous powerful countries had higher numbers of seats in parliament. The weaker countries had to join together so they could also have lawmakers in the parliament.
Benson kept the smile on his face until he entered his car. His face turned savage when he sat. "Damn Siegbert! How dare he embarrass me in public?!"
His assistant named Jim had a chuckle. "Sir, you shouldn't have approached him. Siegbert is not a fool."
Benson gritted his teeth. "I know that, but I have to show my friendliness for the plan."
Jim smiled. "Sir, you don't have to approach him. I can set up an interview and show it on social media."
Benson grinned. "I like that. Prepare the questionnaire and my answers. Make sure it will sound and look appealing."
Meanwhile, in the bazaar, Bastien was staring at Hosman.
Hosman had a smile on his face. "Long time, no see, Bastien."
Bastien frowned. "How did you come here?"
Hosman laughed. "Of course, it's the same steps that you took to come here."
"That should not be possible. We both know that you should not be able to come here. You don't have a clean background, Hosman."
"Hahahaha, Bastien, how could you say that to your own fellow grivvarm? I know that we had arguments before, but you should not accuse me, so I could be expelled from this world. We belong to the same race, but you can't be the only one that will enjoy the opportunity in this world, right?" asked Hosman with a louder voice, causing the other races to look at them, then they stared at Bastien.
Bastien looked around at the races that were staring at him. Hosman was able to get the support of others with just his words. He stared at Hosman with a deep thought, then he walked away.
Hosman chuckled as he looked at Bastien's back and thought,"It seems there will be a change in plan."
Bastien was frowning while moving away, then he saw Rhys, who seemed to be sightseeing in the bazaar. He hesitated, but he still approached. "Rhys!"
Rhys smiled. "Are you also here to shop?"
Bastien nodded. "I was hoping to find an ingredient that I could use. I am researching a new food."
"Did you find it?"
Bastien shook his head. "I was about to keep searching, but I found something weird. It's related to my fellow race."
Rhys looked interested. "What is it?"
"I know that Earth has strict requirements on beings that could enter your world. Someone who doesn't have a clean record should not be able to come here, but my fellow race named Hosman is here. He is not a good Grivvarm. He works for money. Good or bad, he will do it as long as you pay the right price."
The rabbit looked interested. "I smell something fishy."
"You should personally report to the association, so they could take the necessary steps to confirm it. If there is nothing wrong with him, he won't be afraid and hide," said Rhys.
Bastien nodded his head.
Rhys asked for the location of Hosman. He went to the location, but the man was no longer there. His face looked serious while he was thinking.
In the evening, Argam, Rhys, and Harty were looking at the lively night of the city from the top of a tall building.
"What do you think?" Argam asked the penguin.
"The kids did some digging. It's not close to the information that we have, but it's within our expectation. They could have dug more information though if this kid seriously investigated," said Harty.
Rhys smiled. "Do you want me to alert them? Newbies should perform as newbies. It's what I want them to see, and I think it's what you all want to see."
Argam and the penguin laughed.