Liszt did the math: he had been to Mika’s old place and could begrudgingly count Wolman’s, since all of the Great Wetland looked the same anyway.
As for the others from the original SS Fuma Keqing Revenge, all kinds of people fled to the East Sea from every corner of the world to hide out, places like Pedan, Ji Weng, Chenfeng Plateau, and Mirror Sea that he had never visited.
Eleven years, or over fourteen years if converted to Earth time.
After the matters of the Mulong Duchy were settled, the Fafna affair could finally be closed, and the job picked up from Londen City would be considered complete.
The East Sea was still a bit scattered and needed outside shareholders to inject capital to keep the place going.
Only after Lost’s funds were in the account did he truly sit in the position of Boss of the East Sea; nominally he was the Boss now, but only then would he be indisputably like Doringger, capable of dominating for at least a decade.
He absolutely had to travel to all these places.
He had to see what kind of mix the Gion Royal Court was to tolerate someone like Archer, who’d be considered top-notch even in the most bottomless Minotaur films.
He also needed to burst Fen’s pretentious bubble, claiming that only Pedan had the highest architectural and artistic taste as if to say everyone else lived in dog kennels.
"I must say, I don’t mind you two showing off your love, all lovey-dovey, it makes my dick spin, but there are others in this carriage," he declared.
Liszt pointed at Isis.
Isis was a hardcore straight woman; she was dumbstruck, she could handle whispering sweet nothings, but public displays of affection like nibbling on each other’s ears thinking no one else saw were a bit too much for her. It was acceptable though since both women were very attractive.
If it were like two Tiger Tanks crashing into each other, Isis would surely gag.
"You might as well close your eyes and rest for a while, we’re still a long way from Aisnor."
Meredith had a far tougher disposition than the average woman, the woman among women, the female among females. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel·fıre·net
"Is the place highly secularized?"
Liszt tentatively asked.
If he really had to say he’d been to the main base of some Alien Race, it would only be the Great Wetland, but since Murphys leased the land to foreigners, the Southern Wetlands were in chaos, and the Sub-dragon people, despite being the main ethnic group, ended up as second-class citizens.
Even with their intense xenophobia, they dared not show it.
But the Tiger-men of Aisnor were not like that, being Aran people themselves, yelling "Master Ai" in the heat of solicitation could have an impact.
Liszt did not want to be uncomfortable with pairs of eyes staring at him in a place similar to a "reservation" when he, as the East Sea King, reached there with such high status; he had never been to such an area.
"To think the Boss of Heaven Port would be concerned about this. You have me and Lily, two Heroic Level adventurers, by your side to protect you," Meredith said, clearly annoyed at being interrupted.
Though they had shared a bed, no strict sexual relationship had ensued, and there were no deeper feelings involved,
Liszt was speechless; did she not know he had a tenth of the strength of the Radiant Knight Order.
What a joke, Liszt just realized, he seemed to be living the life of a fantasy harem novel set in another world, hey! Surrounded by beautiful female subordinates, not a single foul-smelling, ugly pirate in sight, not one! Being protected by them, what a blast!
For the first time in many years, he had nothing but women accompanying him on a journey!
Was this what he had been striving for fourteen years for?
He was in the zone now! In the zone!
It was time for some clichéd words.
"I should be the one protecting you two lovely sisters, how can I let women go into battle?"
Liszt smiled as he spoke; these two women really treated him like a tool, and now they should be falling for him, right?
Meredith covered her mouth, stopping herself from speaking out, silent for a moment.
Liszt flashed a mischievous smile, feeling in control.
"Disgusting," Meredith couldn’t hold back any longer.
Liszt’s lines were indeed corny, but what was truly terrifying was the vigor in his expression, not knowing what he was so pleased about. Goria also showed a troubled face, like a cat surprised, rolling her eyes to mask her embarrassment.
Goria had known Liszt for quite some time and took over the conversation, "The degree to which you’ve gone mainstream is appalling."
In the renowned literary work "Acania Travelogue," the author describes the racial hierarchy of intelligence species on the Western Continent eighty years ago, based on the context of the time.
Ethereal races like the Feather Clan, tiny creatures also called Elves, who never had their own country and were not a major ethnicity in any nation, were excluded from this.
Aside from these outsiders, the book’s author covered all races and ethnicities, providing both a master’s and a fool’s edition.
The master’s edition is an extensive tens of thousands of words long. Because all the ethnic groups and branches are too complex, some Human Race ranks are even lower than Beastmen, some on the same hierarchy of contempt or mutually despising each other, and there’s even instances of defeating those above one’s rank—it’s extremely brain-consuming.
Understanding the master’s edition without wanting to destroy the Western Continent requires one to be very (strong).
However, the fool’s edition is much easier to understand.
The hierarchy of contempt has nothing to do with the combined military might of the races. Cultural and appearance factors are the deciding points.
The Ancient Era Ancestors, the Sidis people, are at the top of the contempt pyramid and are considered a beacon for the Human Race, but they’re an exception, since they’ve completely vanished.
Then come the noble Elves of the Ancient Divine Continent at the T0 tier.
Wood Elves, or Forest Elves, are right below in standing, with the perks of opening the royal residence and getting the red long sword.
Dark Elves and the Human Race despise each other but also share a mutual contempt for the Yisu people, Highland Werewolves, and everything else.
As for Swan’s race, the Tiger-man.
Well, here’s the thing.
In terms of Earth Core Professions, they’re just a tad better than Beastmen, almost at the very bottom of the hierarchy.
"May your paths be warm sands," is often said by Tiger-men.
Due to stereotypes, many people see them as swindlers, thieves, and addicts. The distrust shown towards this race makes finding an honest living exceedingly difficult. As a result, it’s hard for ordinary people to trust Tiger-men. This negative stereotyping conjures up racial slurs against Tiger-men, who are called "cats" or threatened to be made into rugs or tapestries.
Sounds pitiful, doesn’t it?
Eighty years ago, it was still Old Aran, and the gypsies were often referred to as little Tiger-men.
Aisnor was then the world’s leading drug-manufacturing factory, an interpretation ahead of Monges Southern Wetland by eighty years.
Wolman’s hometown is now in a sorry state, locked down by traitorous land grabs.
But the Tiger-men of Old Aran, in their homeland of Egypt, how they made drugs was just fabulous – absolute Breaking Bad! Aisnor’s economy was saved!
Before highways were built, relying only on adventurers and mercenaries for security during transit, Tiger-men caravans leveraged money to make money, employing enforcers to raid across the world, peddling, of course, addictive treats like Moon Sugar and Skuma.
It wasn’t just about drug production. Swindling, usury, theft – they missed none, and the former boss of the Thief Guild wasn’t Diaz; he didn’t like to stay hidden. In the history of the Thief Guild, a lot of bosses were Tiger-men; nearly two out of every five rulers were Tiger-men.
They also turned what was an organization with a slight sense of banditry into the Assassin’s Creed of the Western Continent, a bastard child of Gothic sludge.
Liszt’s concerns were very reasonable.
"We’ve been before; Aran has changed a lot, and Aisnor has reformed, no one’s feeding you drugs to turn you into an addict anymore," Goria explained to Liszt. Despite the fact that her homeland, a minor country called Catanian, had been overrun by the Emperor, she had to admit that Aran’s rise to the top of the Western Continent in less than twenty years was remarkable.
Reassured by what her stakeholder, the Moon Wheel Knight, said, Liszt was somewhat appeased.
But both women had grown estranged, and their earlier reactions didn’t sit well with Liszt. Meredith had completely forgotten how he had helped her with herbal medicine in Heaven Port.
He must make up for it fiercely on this trip.
Bypassing security is a must.