But—
Despite all the luxury and order here, I feel like something's off—not with the city, but with me.
Because honestly, I'm experiencing some kind of… emotional whiplash. Not because this place is terrifying or full of flying monsters with three heads.
In fact, it's because there's nothing like that.
After living through the chaos and trickery I've endured—starting from Noa, which was supposedly a peaceful village but turned out to be more like a mental torture bootcamp, Pavilion, whose city layout seemed entirely based on the mood of the sea breeze, and Matei, where the word "tax" was elevated to a form of abstract art—
I had fully braced myself for the worst in the capital.
I mean, I was even ready to pay something like a "sky entry fee" or be asked for a breathing permit in certain areas.
But no.
Everything here is… normal.
Organized.
Humane.
I don't have to guess which road is public and which one will get me dragged to court for stepping on "the imperial sacred lawn maintenance zone."
I don't have to guess where the inn is because—
get this—
they have an entire sector just for inns.
With signs.
And arrows.
And even a little bed symbol.
I feel like if I stand still long enough, an official might offer me tea and a regional map.
Ironically, it's this order that's making me panic.
I'm standing at the side of the road, staring at a sign that reads "Inn Sector – 600 meters →", and I'm thinking:
Did I enter another world again? Is this an illusion? Whoever designed this place is clearly too sane.
It's like being thrown from a clown circus straight into a royal library.
From a world where I had to negotiate not to pay a "wind direction tax," now I'm being treated like a normal human being.
I haven't even been offered a mysterious contract by a man in a dark cloak lurking in the alley.
Highly suspicious.
This capital is totally messing with my defense system. I'm used to being on edge. Used to assuming every smile hides a threat.
But now? I'm more worried that all of this will suddenly collapse. That one day I'll wake up and realize this was just a dream—too comfortable to be real.
"So… this is the capital, huh?" I mutter as I walk slowly, half-expecting something to suddenly explode. Or at the very least, for some strange man to crawl out of the sewer and tell me I owe tax for breathing imperial air without a permit.
But no.
Just a beautiful, organized, and… suspiciously calm city.
And that—Is the scariest thing I've ever experienced.