The Imperial Capital’s Grandeur

“Is this the Imperial Capital?” the white-haired girl asked Elena, who was leading the way, her voice weary from atop her horse.

This was her first time venturing so far from home. Ten days of relentless travel, day and night, had left her utterly exhausted.

All she desired now was to find an inn and finally get some proper sleep.

Elena turned, a laugh escaping her lips at the girl’s utterly despondent expression.

“Master, your stamina truly isn’t up to par,” she teased.

“I’m a pharmacist,” Ziyao retorted, “not a knight like you.”

Despite her seemingly slender frame, Elena was a five-star knight.

This formidable strength was precisely why she dared to conceal her identity while searching for a pharmacist.

“Your magical attainments are certainly no less impressive than your pharmaceutical skills.”

As a high-level pharmacist, Ziyao naturally possessed magical abilities.

However, the journey from the border to the Imperial Capital was exceedingly long, and without mastery of spatial magic, she couldn’t use her abilities to travel quickly.

“You two, we’ve arrived,” Sachi, who was riding at the front, called back to the conversing pair.

A magnificent city wall appeared in their sight—the Imperial Capital’s first line of defense.

Within Ziyao’s vision, the entire Imperial Capital was enveloped by a golden shield, a light-element forbidden spell known as ‘All Evils Retreat’.

This powerful magic could detect anyone entering the capital, sounding an alarm if any trace of dark magic was found.

“What an immense undertaking,” Ziyao marveled.

To cast a forbidden spell that covered an entire colossal city, the Roland Royal Family must have expended considerable effort.

Outside the city wall lay a moat, approximately a hundred meters wide, fed by the nearby Roland River.

Should any enemy attempt to forcibly cross this moat, they would undoubtedly pay an exorbitant price.

Eight grand white bridges spanned the moat, connecting the Imperial Capital to the rest of Roland’s territory.

These bridges, along with the capital’s gates, were open for passage at all times.

“We’ll be entering the Imperial Capital through the Golden Lion Gate in the southeast,” Sachi explained.

“From there, we can reach Princess Aiya’s villa in the quickest possible time.”

As they rode across a white bridge, guards clad in golden armor appeared in the trio’s line of sight.

Their resolute expressions and excellent equipment clearly marked them as true elite soldiers.

“Your Highness, may I ask about this…” A middle-aged guard stopped the three, first bowing to Elena, then letting his gaze fall upon Ziyao.

Ziyao was draped in a black robe, which indeed made her appear somewhat suspicious.

Fortunately, Elena had forewarned her.

As Ziyao produced her badge from her bosom, a seven-colored radiance instantly drew the attention of everyone nearby.

“It is Master Seven Luminaries! My apologies for the disrespect.”

“It’s nothing. This is merely your duty. Before Roland, I am no different from an ordinary person.” Unlike other masters in the world, Ziyao was remarkably approachable.

As long as one didn’t cross her bottom line, she was simply like a girl next door.

However, if one did…

A Seven Luminaries-level alchemist was certainly capable of more than just creating life-saving potions.

Upon entering the Imperial Capital, Sachi bid farewell to the two.

“Your Highness, Master Ziyao, I shall take my leave now.”

Sachi was not Elena’s subordinate. His accompanying Elena on this journey was solely due to the Emperor’s desire to matchmake them.

However, their compatibility was less than ideal.

Watching the departing knight, Elena sighed. “I don’t know what Father is thinking; I’m only seventeen.”

“Seventeen is hardly young.”

“Then shouldn’t you be called an old hag, Master Ziyao, who claims to be in her twenties?” Elena retorted mercilessly.

After spending so many days with Ziyao, she had learned that Ziyao didn’t particularly care about her age.

“Hmph.”

Ziyao couldn’t be bothered to reply further. She looked around, the bustling prosperity of the Imperial Capital unfolding before her eyes.

They were currently riding on a road nearly eight lanes wide, with throngs of pedestrians filling the surrounding streets.

It was precisely the time when residents ventured out to buy groceries.

In the distance, several towering spires twinkled with light—the magic towers of the Mage Association.

Due to the Roland Empire’s growing strength in recent years, the Mage Association had relocated its headquarters here, a move the Emperor naturally welcomed with open arms.

After all, this signified that the Mage Association was beginning to favor the Roland Empire.

“How much longer do we have to go?” After riding for a while longer, Ziyao sensed something amiss. Wasn’t this road a bit too long?

“Perhaps another half an hour. The Imperial Capital is vast, and the royal residences are located right at its center, hence the considerable distance.”

“I want to go home.”

Though she said this, Ziyao was still tempted by the books in the Royal Library; perhaps she could find a way to return to her original state.

But traveling like this was truly tedious, so Ziyao initiated a conversation. “Right, I remember you saying that Aiya’s treatment plan was customized by the Saintess?”

“That’s right.”

“But don’t those fellows in the Holy City generally dislike getting involved with the Empire?”

Unlike the churches in most novels, the church in this world paid little attention to politics, even harboring some disdain for it.

“Aiya tested positive for light-element talent.”

“No wonder.”

Light-element magic required extremely high talent to learn, and a child like Aiya, who possessed innate light-element magical talent, was undoubtedly a prize in the eyes of the Holy City.

If they could get her to convert to the church, all the contemporary church higher-ups would likely ascend to the Divine Realm after death.

“So they sent the Saintess directly?”

But sending the Saintess directly seemed a bit too eager. The Saintess was ostensibly the church’s second-highest figure, her status surpassed only by the Pope.

To come scurrying to the Imperial Capital like this—wasn’t that shameless?

“Uh, actually, there were some other reasons,” Elena stammered, opening her mouth as if to tell Ziyao some rumors about the current Saintess, but in the end, she gave up.

Gossiping behind others’ backs was not something an imperial princess should do.

“Never mind, you’ll find out later.”

“Oh, quite mysterious, then.” Seeing that Elena didn’t want to elaborate, Ziyao didn’t press further; they had only known each other for a few days, after all.

“By the way, where will I be staying? Don’t tell me room and board aren’t included.”

“The Royal Family isn’t that stingy. If you don’t mind, there are still empty rooms in Aiya’s villa.”

“It’s not a servant’s room, is it? Let me tell you upfront, my standards for room and board are extremely high.”

“How could that be? The Saintess herself is currently residing in the villa, and the room prepared for you is of the same caliber,” Elena explained, waving a hand.

“Furthermore, Aiya is accompanied by a head maid, who is the finest maid in the entire Imperial Capital. So the room and board will absolutely be top-tier.”

“Those zealots are easily satisfied; I’m different.”

“Well, seeing is believing, then. Look, Aiya’s villa is just ahead.”