While the flesh of the comb-spike fish was definitely not comparable to that of the fish-men, the multi-layered spices—varied yet not cluttered—still earned Klein's high praise. He felt that he could eat it forever, unable to stop.
"Actually, if any Beyonder here truly wants to exit dangerous circles and live an ordinary life, they could go to
In his view, commoners often failed to find ways to get rich because of insufficient perspective. But perspective was itself shackled by the education they received and their daily experiences, restrained by their class—truly hard to escape. To break such limitations, striving with all one's might for better and higher-level education was the most effective method. Secondly, daring to take risks and roam widely worked, but of course, this was very risky, and many people disappeared silently along this path.
This meal cost Klein 2 Soule and 5 pence, not cheap, but he was always willing to spend on good food, and recently his main expenses had been covered by Danitz.
Pulling his collar closer, donning his hat, and holding his black cane, he walked out of Old John's Restaurant. He happened to see a police officer driving away vagrants on the street.
The natives of the Rosede Islands had skin tones darker than the races of the Southern Continent, close to the bronze of frequent sun exposure. Their hair was predominantly deep black, all naturally slightly curly, which clearly distinguished them from the colonists of the Rune Kingdom.
This place had been fully colonized for less than 50 years. Initially, Rune cooperated with the native princes and chiefs under the name of the Mid-Sounia Company to extract economic benefits. However, later the management of the Mid-Sounia Company quickly became corrupt, vying for power and profit, even provoking enemies for personal gain and starting wars. The most absurd part was that they reported each other, accusing competitors of accepting bribes. For this, each found senators behind them, and during parliamentary sessions they attacked each other, nearly ending up in court. (Note 1) The local natives certainly couldn't imagine that the personage who could make princes and chiefs bend their backs, kiss their shoes, and send cart after cart of gifts was actually a small fry in Backlund who wasn't even a senator—though most of them came from aristocratic families, their inheritance rights were very far down.
After that dispute, the king and the prime minister reached an agreement, redeemed the shares, ended the Mid-Sounia Company, and sent a fleet and soldiers to fully occupy the Rosede Islands, implementing true colonial rule.
Currently, the rule of this archipelago was of the form of a Governor's Palace, a Parliament, and a Court. The high level was entirely in the hands of Rune people, the middle level, parliamentarians, and judges in the peace courts included some descendants of the original princes and chiefs, while the lower level was open to educated natives, which included police officers below the rank of superintendent.
The one wielding a short baton and driving away the vagrant was exactly a local policeman, and his target had obvious characteristics of the Rosede race.
Seeing Klein looking over—dressed in a double-breasted long coat, a half-top silk hat, and holding a black cane—the policeman immediately put away his baton, stood straight, closed his legs, and gave a salute: "Good afternoon, sir."
"Is there anything I can help with?"
Klein felt somewhat complex emotions and nodded lightly: "Isn't there a carriage here?"
"The Governor's Palace has ruled that this street is not allowed for carriages. You must go to the street ahead." The policeman explained with nervousness and enthusiasm.
"Thank you." Klein casually praised, "Your Rune language is not bad."
The policeman was pleasantly surprised to the point of excitement: "I think, I think, this is a necessary quality for being a good policeman."
He wanted to say that he also considered himself a Rune person, but was afraid that the gentleman before him would be angered by that.
Klein quietly exhaled and slowly walked toward the street corner.
Along the way, he saw that local clothing styles were completely different from those in mainland cities like Backlund and Tingen, and even different from ports like Damir and Bansy which had been colonized for over two hundred years: The respectable Rune people wore suits, high hats, bow ties, and carried canes, making everyone around them subservient, not daring to meet their eyes or come into contact. The other natives or mixed-race people favored jacket-style thick coats with wide-legged loose trousers, plus flat caps from the mainland. They disliked black and preferred tea, coffee, and light gray. For Klein, this was indeed somewhat strange, but it gave him the full feeling of being in a foreign country.
Of course, the higher-status natives and mixed-race people also imitated the Rune people's clothing, considering this a sign of civilization.
....
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the "Swordfish Bar", a recognized gathering place for adventurers.
At this time, there weren't many drinkers. Klein easily passed through the tables and arrived at the bar.
He found the biggest difference here from other places: at the side of the bar were three blackboards supported by wooden frames, on which were posted many white bills that had yellowed, with all sorts of content: hiring bodyguards, requesting help finding people, investigating the situation of certain islands, offering high rewards for the heads of certain pirates, and also claiming to have found a treasure map and wanting to form a team. In short, matters that had already been divided up by private detectives and security companies in the Rune Kingdom proper still belonged to adventurers here.
"A glass of Zarha." Klein tapped the bar counter.
This was a locally produced malt beer, cheap and flavorful, very popular among adventurers. Klein had learned this from "Blazing" Danitz.
"3 pence." The bartender glanced casually at the customer and didn't change his attitude just because the face was unfamiliar.
After receiving the beer, Klein sat on a high stool in front of the bar, sipping it little by little, and quietly listened to the conversations of the drinkers around him, thus looking for valuable targets.