Chapter 446: Nobility Forged in Blood

Luke walked with Charlie through the city’s marketplace. The stroll ended up being longer than he expected, but he didn’t mind. Charlie was experiencing everything with bright eyed wonder, and he wanted her to enjoy it. They chose to walk instead of taking a carriage or one of the canal boats, sticking to their own district. He’d learned that each of the eight districts was governed by a different noble family. So even without a king, the city still had its own small scale royalty. Not the great families of the World Government, just lesser houses with local influence.

“Master Luke… can I really buy one?” Charlie asked softly.

She pointed to a stall selling skewers of roasted cheese and meat.

“Of course, Charlie. Don’t worry. What’s mine is yours,” he told her.

She lit up with a smile. Luke handed her two bronze coins, large ones, the kind worth about ten dollars each, from what he’d managed to figure out.

Charlie dashed toward the stall.

“And what about me, Master Luke? Does your lovely friend Artemis deserve a little attention too?” Artemis asked, mimicking Charlie’s tone in the most dramatic way possible.

“You know I’m not the one telling her to call me that. She came up with it on her own,” he muttered.

“Oh, sure, Master Luke. Poor you. A gorgeous girl is calling you her master. Tragic. Absolutely tragic,” Artemis said with exaggerated pity.

He ignored the sarcastic pendant and glanced toward the bell tower. It had rung five minutes ago, and his instincts expected people to bolt indoors the way they had in the tutorial whenever a Midnight Warden appeared. But here… nothing. It was just a normal clock. A bell marking the hour.

The day went by so fast I didn’t even notice.

They were making their way toward the teleportation building. Now that Charlie’s situation had calmed down, Luke felt the anxiety creeping in. He was finally going home.

Charlie came running back, her dress fluttering in the breeze. A few men turned their heads as she passed. She really did draw attention with her beauty.

“I brought one for you too, Master Luke,” she said, offering him a skewer.

“Thanks, Charlie.”

Luke leaned against a small stone bridge, the canal flowing beneath them with boats drifting through the water. The whole place felt like someone had taken Venice, fused it with Germany and France, and then dipped everything in medieval aesthetics. He remembered studying Notre Dame in school, and some of the buildings here had a similar feel.

Charlie ate quietly beside him, watching the water below while letting her free hand sway in the wind. He didn’t stare, but he could tell she was enjoying the sensation of the breeze on her skin.

“Want some, chatterbox?” Luke asked Artemis.

“Took you long enough to remember me,” she complained.

“S-sorry,” Charlie said quickly. “Master Luke, I still have one bronze coin left.” She reached into her pocket and handed it to him.

Luke tucked everything back into his pocket dimension. The wonders of magic meant he didn’t need a wallet, though it also made him realize how awful a coin based economy must be. Everyone dragging around little bags of metal.

“Probably because paper bills are too fragile,” he muttered, thinking it through. In a world where someone could literally set their own hand on fire, coins were the safer bet.

“It’s really different, Master Luke. From the tutorial and the fortresses. People here look… happier,” Charlie said, eyes shining as she watched the flow of pedestrians.

“Especially with those giant walls protecting them from whatever’s roaming outside.” He’d heard that the city kept ballistae and specialized weaponry ready for anything that tried to fly over the defenses.

“You enjoying the walk, Charlie?”

“Very much,” she replied, bright and eager. “But I’m excited to see your world, too. I mean… we’re in your world, but that other place you talked about.”

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“After seeing this, I’m not sure you’ll like modern society,” Luke said. “Still, I want you to meet my family.”

She froze midway through biting her skewer, then slowly lowered it. “Yes… I really want to meet your family.”