Extraordinary in Reality Through Magic Games

260: Chapter 257 The Church in the Royal Capital, Attending a BanquetThe Second Prince came and went quickly.

He solemnly pulled out an invitation, handed it to Zhang Mu, and disappeared into the stairwell at the end of the corridor.

Zhang Mu tossed the invitation onto the nightstand, told Pavlina and the other to stay in the room and not run around, then closed the door and wandered the hotel alone.

The hotel had twelve floors in total.

Aside from the first floor used for reception and the top floor, which was off-limits and had an unknown layout and purpose, the remaining ten floors were all guest rooms.

After spending half an hour running up and down the floors, he was surprised to find a purple-red crystal hanging on every door—indicating that there were guests.

Coming to the open space outside the main entrance, Zhang Mu stood in deep thought.

There were twenty-six rooms per floor, and with ten floors, that made two hundred and sixty rooms, all of which were full.

Strange. Wasn’t it said that the Lake Kingdom is currently in a precarious state, and city lords from all over have rebellious intentions? Yet over two hundred city lords actually came; aren’t they afraid of losing their lives here?

He shook his head, unable to come up with an answer.

Tsk, my forces are still too meager; I don’t even have an intelligence department.

It just so happens I’m going to the Second Prince’s banquet tonight; I’ll take the opportunity to ask him for some news.

Speaking of the Second Prince... he isn’t as incompetent as he claims to be.

I had just entered the hotel, and he showed up right after me, not five minutes later.

It meant that as soon as I stepped onto the main road leading into the Royal Capital, he had received word.

When the Second Prince pulled out the invitation earlier, Zhang Mu had agreed decisively precisely to gather intelligence.

Blova was indeed quite easygoing, but Zhang Mu would never believe that a Grand Duke of a kingdom would be some coarse, careless, and simple-minded pushover.

If he tried to fish for information from him, and once too much was said, it would be hard to tell who was playing whom.

But the Second Prince was different.

Although he was also a meticulous and capable fellow, it was understandable for a city lord like Zhang Mu, who rarely visited the Royal Capital, to be concerned about the kingdom’s current turmoil.

Of course, Zhang Mu did not intend to reveal everything at once; there would always be a process of mutual testing and maneuvering.

“I’ll go take a look tonight.”

Muttering to himself, he looked up at the sky.

The sun was high; it was still early.

“I just happen to have time...”

Narrowing his eyes, Zhang Mu returned to his floor, picked the lock to the room shared by Domit and the others, and called Soren to go out with him.

He stopped a passerby to ask where the cheapest place for daily necessities in the Royal Capital was, then hurried there.

The straight street was paved with smooth stone slabs, with street vendors pushing carts on both sides, and those with simpler setups just spread a piece of coarse cloth on the ground, filled with various handmade works.

The townspeople either squatted or stood in front of the stalls, engaging in a heated argument with the vendors in bold voices over the difference between the asking price and the actual value of the goods.

To put it simply, they were bargaining.

Zhang Mu had changed into commoner’s clothes, and Soren followed behind with his hands tucked into his sleeves.

“Lord City Lord, what... are you doing here?” He looked around, occasionally stepping aside to make way for a woman coming toward them.

“The living conditions of the people at the bottom are the most direct reflection of a kingdom’s strength.”

Looking at the not-so-broad back in front of him, Soren asked in confusion, “I am glad you care about these things, but... why do you care?”

In his mind, Zhang Mu was not exactly cold-blooded, but he couldn’t be called merciful either.

He spent his own money to take in refugees in Gur City because it served his own interests, not purely out of pity.

Of course, Soren did not think this was despicable; after all, demanding selfless devotion from others was the most wretched form of shamelessness in the world.

What he was curious about was why Zhang Mu, who prioritized his own interests, would care about something completely unrelated to himself.

Turning his head, Zhang Mu raised an eyebrow. “Can’t your Lord City Lord have some noble ideals?”

Soren: “...”