"So, this is Southbridge..." Lucas muttered as he climbed down the stairs from the ship, his eyes sweeping around curiously.

"En, the capital of the South-West Province," Sasha, who was accompanying her little nephew, nodded, a tinge of nostalgia in her voice.

"It’s... bustling?" Lucas said somewhat hesitantly.

"It’s alright to just say it’s crowded, Lucas," Sasha shook her head wryly.

"En, it’s uncomfortable here, Mom," Eris, who was following close behind, complained almost immediately.

Eris had never liked being cooped up or confined, so after nearly 3 days aboard a warship that was hardly designed for comfort, she had very much been looking forward to their first stop in this city.

As such, her disappointment was that much greater when she found that Southbridge actually looked less organized and dingier than Iron Rock.

It wasn’t nearly as bad as Herald City, but the docks here were definitely older, more crowded, and more unsanitary than what Eris had been anticipating.

Christina, for her part, didn’t seem all that surprised and simply commented, "This place hasn’t changed since the last time I was here."

"It hasn’t changed much since the last time I was here, and that was nearly 14 years ago," Sasha snickered, shaking her head, "This is actually what most cities in the Rockwell Kingdom look like, especially in the areas where commoners live and work."

"So, the places where nobles live and work are nicer?" Eris, who had been getting a crash-course education in the stratification of society, pondered aloud.

"Pretty much," Allina, who was accompanying them as their ’escort’, confirmed, "Most cities are divided up into 3 types of areas, places where nobles live, places where wealthy commoners live, and then where everyone else lives."

No one amongst the small group found this to be surprising, it was just how the world was. Having poor labourers live next door to powerful merchants and noble was naturally impossible, unless those labourers were live-in servants of some kind.

Even in Redwood Town, there was a difference between the region around the Town Lord’s Manor and the poorer parts of town, it was just that the disparity was much smaller than it was in these big cities.

Despite having experienced this inequity herself, and having learned about it first hand over the past month-and-a-half, when Eris glanced around and saw all the garbage and filth floating in the harbour, and all the beggars and hungry looking children crowded around the docks, she couldn’t help frowning, "I don’t like it here..."

Everyone else in their group agreed with the young girl’s sentiment, even Yuki, who was currently burying her sensitive nose into Eris’ neck, seemingly trying to block out the foul stench from the city.

"It’s probably worse than normal right now thanks to all the chaos in the south, but," Lucas began, his brow knitting slightly, "Things don’t get this bad this quickly without something being wrong to begin with. I guess the Drax Family don’t pay much mind to keeping up public health or infrastructure."

"What made you think they would?" Allina snorted, "You’ve met some of their leaders, after all."

Letting out a sigh, Lucas just shook his head at the lack of foresight he was witnessing in front of him.

"In any case, we’re just stopping here for a quick rest and resupply," Sasha shrugged, "No need to get upset about how some people choose to handle their property."

"I suppose," Lucas grumbled, tamping down the disgust he felt inside himself.

Back in Redwood Town, and to a lesser extent in Herald City and Iron Rock, Lucas had tried to implement a few reforms to improve both the sanitation and living conditions for ordinary people. It was something he did almost instinctually, fueled by a desire to make things better not just for himself, but for other as well.

If it had been before his accident, Lucas might not have even realized how bad things in the cities of the Rockwell Kingdom were, but after seeing the shining metropolises of the other world, where the air was fresh, food was abundant, greenery was everywhere, and children could run around laughing and playing without any kind of fear, it deeply troubled him to see such dirty and dangerous streets all around him.

Just like Sasha had said, however, their convoy was only planning to stop in Southbridge for half-a-day to take on supplies and allow some passengers to get off and stretch their limbs.

"Well, no point in sticking around here, complaining about how terrible things are," Sasha clapped her hands, "There’s a few places in Southbridge that are still worth seeing, so we might as well go around and visit them."

No one raised any objections to this suggestion as they all wanted to leave the docks as quickly as possible, hoping things would improve somewhat if they venture further into the city.

.....

Once they managed to get some distance between themselves and the wharf, the smell improved somewhat and the crowds become a bit less dense, making the environment slightly better, though Yuki was still desperately covering her nose in protest.

At first, Sasha and Christina had thought about playing tour guide, but they soon discovered that despite the layout of Southbridge not having changed much, many of the shops were different now, so on Allina’s suggestion, they ended up hiring a local to take them around.

With so many beautiful women in their group, it wasn’t hard for them to attract a number of offers of ’assistance’, especially from the slightly bolder males, but all of these young, eager men were quickly frightened off with a glare from Allina.

She might have also released a bit of her cultivation pressure in the process, who knows...

In the end, the group of 5 humans and 1 fox decided to play it safe and hired a young girl around Christina’s age to act as their guide.

Sharon was 16 years old, just barely an adult by the kingdom’s standards, and although it was obvious she was from a poor background, she still dressed up neatly and put on a professional smile.

Her dress was cheap and there were clear signs it had been repaired multiple times in the past, but it was clean and complimented her looks just enough to make her stand out from the crowd.

Naturally, when Sasha hired her, Sharon was ecstatic inside.

As someone who had worked in various shops and stores throughout her life, Sharon could tell at a glance that this group wasn’t ordinary; they might have dressed casually and not worn any kind of flashy jewelry, but the aura around them was enough to signal they were either rich, powerful, or both.

Taking advantage of her knowledge of the city, whenever Sharon was off from her other jobs, she would sneak down to the docks to see if she could act as a guide for newcomers.

As long as she found the right clients, Sharon could make more money in a few hours than she normally would in a few days, and seeing Lucas’ group, she knew that she had struck it big this time.

With much enthusiasm, Sharon began showing Lucas and the ladies around Southbridge’s markets, trade halls, professional guilds, and everywhere else they wanted to go.

When noon came around, and it was time for lunch, Sharon suddenly became extremely excited and hurriedly suggested, "Lady Sasha! I know the perfect place to get a meal in Southbridge! It’s a small restaurant that is somewhat out of the way, but I swear there is no better place to get food in the entire city!"

"Oh? That sounds interesting," Sasha, who was taking the lead for today, was intrigued, and seeing nobody from her group object, she nodded, "Very well then, we’ll follow your suggestion."

"Right this way, please!" Sharon beamed before taking them out to the nearby main street, signaling a carriage, and having everyone step onboard.

A 20-minutes ride later, having left the central part of Southbridge, the group of 6 tipped the carriage driver and walked into a rather gloomy looking alleyway.

It was an unexpected sight, to say the least, and Lucas suspected that something was off; however, Sharon still looked as eager as ever, her eyes practically sparkling with anticipation.

With Allina around, there was nothing to be afraid of, so the group ultimately decided to see what all the fuss was about and followed Sharon down the alley. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

A couple twists and turns later, a faint aroma began to fill the air, one that was both enchanting and tantalising. It seemed there really was a restaurant located here in this back-alley.

Turning one last corner, Lucas’ group was stunned to discover a lineup of nearly 20 people, all waiting outside what seemed to be an outdoor patio of some sort.

Clearly, it would be a while before they could sit down and eat, but the scent of roasting meat and exotic spices was now so enticing that none of their group objected to a short wait.

Again, with the strength and status of their group, it would have been completely possible to skip this line, but since they weren’t in a rush, and none of them was the type to flash their strength and status around, Lucas and the ladies simply lined up and waited their turn.