SSS SKILL: DUPLICATE

Chapter 35 Changes in four years

A man with a headscarf is lifting a sack full of red pepper on his shoulder. He is afraid that it will be stolen if he is not holding it. His whole family's food depends on it. He is wearing a loose white cloth with stains of dirt. His skin is dark brown and he has a mustache. He is riding a ship that sails to the Baynard kingdom.

The ship approaches the wharf of Purple City. Samal, the man with a sack of red pepper, looks at the wharf, then he feels shock. The wharf is two kilometers long and full of ships. There are many workers on the wharf. Even demihumans are working.

A tax collector examined their ship, and then they were allowed to land. Samal looks at a row of big houses not far away. They said that they are warehouses rented to businessmen.

The wharf is very noisy. There are curses and laughter from workers. There are arguments from businessmen. Samal exchanged money with the currency of Baynard.

He starts to feel hungry. He went toward the rows of restaurants and food stalls. He smells something delicious from the smoke that spreads in the air. He is standing in front of a barbecue stall. A pork barbecue is being cooked. He swallows his saliva, which seems to want to flow from his mouth.

"How much is this?" Samal pointed at the pork barbecue.

"You're a foreigner, but don't look like a businessman. You came from a faraway land, so I will give you a discount. Just give me 5 copper coins. If the kingdom did not breed pigs on a large scale, only a few people could probably buy pork," said an aunt. She is a refugee from the Fran kingdom. They immigrated here with her husband and child. The kingdom embraced them. Her husband works at the wharf, and their child goes to school with an allowance that she uses to buy snacks every day.

"Thank you! You are so kind. This is very delicious." Samal happily eats the pork barbecue.

The aunt smiles at Samal. She is proud of her craft. It is her secret recipe.

Samal continues his journey. He drank from a faucet nearby and was astonished that water could come out of it. He thought it was magic. He thinks the kingdom is extravagant enough to let a water magician stay there all the time.

He continues to walk on the cement road. The road extends from the wharf to the city. Samal is bewildered at how the Baynard kingdom made a flat stone road. The road is full of traffic. He reaches the city gate in the afternoon.The guards are kind. They do not blackmail. They strictly do their job. Samal stated his purpose, and he was told where to go.

He went inside the city, and his eyes turned wide. There are rows of inns, hotels, and restaurants. There are rows of businesses further away. The city road is wide. There are strange-looking poles at every few distances. The city is very clean. There is no beggar. There is no smell of urine or feces. No trash on the ground. There are trash cans neatly arranged every few meters. Everything is neatly arranged. There are many people walking on the side. The steeds have a bucket on their backs that catches their feces. Samal walks with his mouth wide open.

"Uncle, move to the right! The uncle policeman said you must always walk to your right on the road!" said a cute 8-year-old girl. She is wearing a yellow backpack and her favorite floral dress. Her yellow backpack has a sewn-cute magic rabbit.

Samal was flustered by the little girl. He looks around, and what the little girl said is true.

"Do you know where Pelca Street is?" Samal asked the little girl.

"It's there! Did you not read it?" The little girl pointed at the street sign.

"Y-you, can you read it? Even those kids with the same strange bags like you?" Samal notices that there are children with the same backpacks but with different colors, and only some have sewn images of cute magic beasts.

"Of course we can read them, and Uncle, it is not strange bags. It is fashion!" The little girl pouted that the uncle called her favorite bag strange. She left the strange uncle with an annoyed face.

Samal cannot even read. He feels envious of the citizens of this kingdom. He continue to walk and soon reached the busiest place in the city, the public market. Food, clothes, utensils—every type of merchandise is properly divided. There are so many people.

The place is noisy. There are voices of bargaining. Policemen keep patrolling the place. There are snack vendors that walk around. There is a street food that sells a wide variety of foods. Demihumans, elves, and humans are happily eating together. Dwarves and humans are drinking together. The street food is a must-see for visitors to Purple City. Samal is tempted to try the foods, but he has to go to an office first. Soon he arrived at the Rare Items and Species Research, or simply RAISE Branch. Samal went inside, and he is met by the head branch.

"Hahahaha! Welcome friend from faraway land. Don't worry, even if your item is useless, we will give you enough money so you can go back home. We can even arrange for you to give you a free ride with our business partners. What did you bring, my friend?" asked the head branch name Rowin. He likes meeting Sorranians himself because they always bring useful items or seeds, even a truly rare seed.

"Leader, I brought a vegetable that tastes spicy. It improves our appetite when we eat it. It will definitely bring a different taste to food." Samal is nervous. He does not feel confident. He is just taking chances, like the person in the neighboring town who received hundreds of gold for bringing seeds here. He opened the sack and showed a red pepper.

"Hahaha! You are very lucky, my friend! What you brought is very rare! King Van has been looking for it for a long time! The king had already said that whoever brought it would be met by him. I will bring you to the capital tomorrow. I will arrange where you will sleep. Your expenses will be free." Rowin brought Samal to a high-end hotel.

Samal is brought to the Flameworth Hotel. The floors and walls are brown marble. The light from the magic lamp is just right. Samal feels comfortable with the ambiance, but he feels unworthy of staying here. He is guided to his room and taught how to use the appliances. The light in the room is coming from a chandelier on the ceiling. The magic lamp is switched on and off by a switch hanging in the middle. Electricity is not yet invented, but magic has magical ways.

Samal opened the curtain. The window is made of glass. It is turning dark, and the street lamps are being manually activated. The main streets are all lit. Hawkers started to sell near the lamps. Children started running and chasing each other. He can see the street food completely lit and full of people of different races. It is the only city in the world that never sleeps.