With only a day left till the official start of the Conference, Guy decided to spend his time fruitfully... by taking Dora and Markus on a tour of the Capital. Jean and Josie acted as their guides and took them through the different districts and segments composing the city. Once again, due to their affiliation with the Rasmus Clan, the True World Sect and its members were afforded an express lane through the walls.
As Guy ascended the steps leading up the wall surrounding the High-Residential District, he was welcomed with the magnificent bird's-eye view of a sprawling city bleeding into the horizon, bathed by the warm red hue of the rising sun. Just as it appeared from outside its walls, the city truly looked endless, spreading infinitely in all directions. The best way to describe it would be to imagine an ant farm - an abode for a congregation of ants sandwiched in a thin layer between two panes of glass - and laying it on its side. The walls snaked like industrious paths dug by ants as they embraced large segments of the city, forming small clusters and segregated districts.
The group's first stop was at a high-end shopping district that bordered the High-Residential District. Unlike the numbered Flea Markets Guy passed by on his way to Jean's residence, this place was very scarcely populated and was chock-full of decadent and stylish products. Guy could ascertain that whatever scrap was passed around in the Flea Markets probably originated from here.
Though the place wasn't as crowded, there was still a sizeable population moving about, but just one look was enough to know just how well-off they were. For instance, one group passing by them consisted of a girl, a bit older than Dora, garbed in a beautiful yellow frock that accentuated her cute charm that embodied the summer brightness. It looked simple, but Guy's senses could discern intricate mana weaving and circulation patterns in her dress. It was in fact enchanted to emanate this aura and cause the observer to feel in this particular way - Guy found the source of this enchantment hidden amidst the coterie of jewels adorning the chest region. Guy was certain that there were more enchantments in place given the additional coloured mana gems, but his senses could not glean any more information. He literally could not, since his senses were getting scrambled - most likely a result of another enchantment. He did not dare to look any further given the small army of mages following the girl around as she sauntered with a carefree and haughty demeanour. Guy was here to sight-see and shop, not aggravate and altercate.
In fact, Jean subtly redirected their trajectory the moment her gaze caught sight of the lemon-garbed girl with brunette hair.
"That is the youngest daughter of the Gruul Clan, Rhian Gruul from the Gruul Duchy," Jean explained with a hushed voice as she positioned herself strategically to block line-of-sight between herself and Rhian. "She is spoiled to no end, being the last and only female child borne of the Gruul Clan Leader's favourite concubine."
"Are we trying to avoid her?" Dora asked suspiciously while acting like a little thief. She quirked her head around a corner and peaked at Rhian from the edge of her gaze.
"She is more trouble than she is worth," Jean sighed, not wishing to elaborate further. Honestly, Guy didn't need to hear anymore either. Although he was thoroughly opposed to judging a child by looks and word of mouth, if one could see a time bomb flickering a few kilometres down their current path then logic dictates that they should wait for the bomb to explode or fizzle out, or take another path altogether.
The girl called Rhian was a time bomb.
After the small brigade passed, Guy and company continued their stroll through the district. Intermittently, they stopped and entered a few stores that caught the children's fancy. Markus cared little about materialistic items. Having lived frugally for most of his childhood, he got used to living a basic and wholesome life. His preferences were mostly for functional purposes. He stopped and perused through an elaborate bookstore that sold a myriad of ancient literary collections and publicly available cultivation methods, spells and other techniques. While there, he picked up a book called, "Bestiary of Ancient Beasts that Roamed Our Lands --by Rubus Garrid". A wordy title that pretty much summarises its content, he explained that he wanted to learn more about Abyssal Wyrms as well as Gryphons, Hippogriffs, Manticores and other such creatures that appeared incapable of flight but were able to do so.
"They may offer some insight into gravity," the boy said. "Besides, Dora will love it!" That was also true - the girl was gaga for anything bestial. She had read Guy's complete collection of comics, mangas and novels about beast taming and rearing from his RoK.
On his way out, Markus also snagged a short tutorial on "Flight for Advanced Mages --by Multiple Authors" as well.
Dora, though borne into equally unfortunate circumstances as Markus, was not completely marred by her misfortune. Some innocence still lingered within her soul, which Guy was thankful for. Her choices stuck true to her age, revolving around pretty clothes, flashy toys, or tasty food items. Although she skipped from one attraction to the next, the girl was mindful of the costs and was surprisingly analytical about her purchases.
She bought a matching set of boy and girl clothes for herself and Kano. Her reason for the similarity was, "because we are twins. We need to look the same." It seemed Guy's explanation of what fraternal and identical twins were hadn't registered in the girl's brain. However, Guy could also guess that Dora didn't want Kano to feel dismayed for not being able to tag along to the Capital. Her next purchase was an elegant dress for Mom, the former Matron Reva, and a matching garb for Guy. Her reason in this instance was that "mothers and fathers must look like their kids." Guy immediately wrote down a note to revisit and properly teach the girl about reproduction and genetics ASAP!
Dora also wanted to purchase a writing set for Marie. Since she didn't know how to judge if a set was good or not, she deferred to Josie as "she is the eldest amongst us and must know more than everyone." Guy did not want to argue or refute that statement as it was true. Josie sorted through different stores and their products before finally deciding on a simple yet highly functional one. It had a brush with very thin hairs, perfect for numerics and fast writing - a total match for Marie's character.
After a round of shopping, the group transferred their loot to a set of servants following them so that it would be delivered back to the mansion and continued their tour.
With that secured, and their selves unburdened, the group moved on to the next district, which was the Entertainment District. Due to it being close to the shopping district, they could transition from one to the next without ascending the walls. Instead, they took a carriage.
Now one could assume that a carriage is faster than walking along the city's walls, but in doing so they're ignoring the massive throng of people obstructing their paths. Furthermore, a carriage ride is many times more comfortable and leisurely.
Upon entering the Entertainment District, Guy's senses were assaulted with a myriad of stimuli encompassing his sight, smell, hearing and weirdly, taste. The central, most eye-catching structure in the district was a theatre meant for plays, exhibitions, and other audiovisual presentations. At the moment, a famous play about a boy who lost everything to a raid conducted by an unorthodox sect, found a wandering mage who took him in, trained him and went on to get his revenge while saving his childhood love in the process - your basic hero's journey - was running. It had a little bit of everything to attract a wide variety of viewers from both the male and female demographic. Guy wanted to check out the nature of the plays in this world and hoped to book a few tickets for viewing, but was dismayed to learn that the theatre was fully booked for every subsequent showing of that play. It seemed that this particular Entertainment District catered to the rich and was thus highly exclusive in its clientele. Hence, Guy would have to visit the other entertainment districts scattered across the capital to satiate his thirst for knowledge.
Of course, he wouldn't be able to visit those districts with Dora or his Disciple. With the lowering of the class level the entertainment district caters to, the nature of the type of entertainment obtainable in said districts also grows a bit... promiscuous. That isn't to say that the high-class districts were lacking in the entertainment of the carnal variety. It was just packaged differently. When you have whorehouses and brothels in the low-class districts, you have escort agencies and cabarets. Guy didn't have to explain why a woman's breast was half-hanging out her blouse to Dora in the high-class entertainment district.
This was also why Guy expressly stuck to touring the well-off districts of the Capital with Dora. The world is a sad, horrible and painful place. Dora has experienced enough of this unpleasantness in her lifetime. Guy wanted her life to be more colourful from now on. After all, through her own admission, Guy was now officially Dora's father. What father would want their child to get jaded and lose faith in the world?
Once her curiosity and excitement are quenched, Guy would explore the other districts with Markus. Guy wasn't going to put on a blindfold and watch the world with rose-tinted lenses. He wanted to change the world for the better and to do that he needed to first see how bad this world was with his very own eyes.
