Chapter 8: Outside the Walls

Inside this castle I felt safe, everyone was kind to me and the scenery always sparkled. I could live here all my life and achieve a true level of happiness. However, my duties as king were not limited only to personal training and study, there was an inevitable process: to see my people in person.

“Mom, I want to walk the streets of the city tomorrow afternoon.” My announcement did not go unnoticed by mom, she raised her left eyebrow in surprise, while Alda continued eating as if this was none of her business.

“Yeah, how's that?”

“I have been living happily inside these walls, but I understand that this is not the reality of ordinary people. I want to see them in person to better understand my people and look for ways to make their lives easier.” Just like my past life, most ordinary people could not afford the luxuries of the ruling class, this medieval world with fantastical overtones was no exception either.

So far I've enjoyed the best pleasures of the realm: hot food, a feather bed, and upper classes. But this was definitely not how commoners lived.

“Well, if you wish it is fine, I'll order the Royal Guard to prepare to ride with you to the city and I'll also ask for a detachment of Men-at-Arms.” Mom sighed resignedly, she was not encouraged by the idea of going out and out of pure curiosity I decided to ask her.

“I don't see you very motivated, is something going on with the town?”

“Hm, it's hard to explain. It would be better for you to see it in person tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll go with you, I also need to see how the capital is to order the use of the funds.”

“It's true, mom, as regent you fulfill the role of sovereign, right?“

“I do not have total control of the vassals, nor can I order a levy recruitment. My functions are limited to the collection of taxes and revision of laws. The rest is a joint work with the court until you turn 16. “Mom sighed again with a certain tiredness, to tell the truth I rarely saw her walking around the castle and she always spent her afternoons in the throne room with the rest of the court.

“I'm sorry if I ask this, but I really need to see the people.”

“Don't worry, son, your point is true. A king needs to meet his people.”

“I'll wait for you here," Alda commented, "I've already been out several times and the truth is... You'd better see for yourself, brother. “After saying that, my sister didn't comment anything else, she continued eating in silence, very uncomfortable about the subject of the departure and finally she left the table with a polite bow.

Did the people hate us?

I wanted to ask again, but Mom's uncomfortable face told me otherwise.

The next afternoon the preparations were complete.

Mom and I climbed into a fine wooden carriage, it had gilded edges and the color of the vehicle was dark with decorations alluding to the red lion. It was pulled by 4 white steeds driven by a member of the Royal Guard.

In fact, it was the first time I had seen them together.

“All ready, your highness?” I had no words to describe Sir Marte Hogan with his armor on.

If he was already imposing in his normal clothes, seeing him armored from head to toe certainly left me intimidated.

The entire Royal Guard wore silver plate armor, the helmet had a visor that could be opened and closed at the knight's will and right on the breastplate lay the face of a red lion embroidered with rubies.

Two meters of pure steel.

“That's right, Sir Marte. “My personal guard was riding huge armored destriers with metal bars; it was the first time I had seen them in action, for inside the stables they were kept as light as possible.

“Excellent, we will leave when you order it. “The destrier that my mentor rode was the largest of the 10 royal knights. It took a large animal to carry such a giant.

“We can leave.”

The huge doors of the castle were being pulled apart with the movement of the pulleys. To tell the truth, it was also the first time I had seen them open so closely.

At last I will know the world without the blindfold of comfort I have had since I was reincarnated.

The Royal Guard settled around the carriage and further to the front, the men-at-arms formed a protective fence both in front and on the sides. Unlike my knights, they wore a brown plate brigandine, with no heraldry or advertisements in sight; they carried an oak shield and a long spear in their hands. On their leather belts I caught a glimpse of a falchion, probably for close combat.

We advanced past the huge stone bridge that gave entrance to the castle; the surroundings looked very well kept with the green grass in full bloom and the blue sky giving us an almost poetic view of the site. Of course, the surroundings of a castle always gave a good image.

But as we descended, little by little we saw how the grass was deteriorating: we went from tidy bushes to undergrowth everywhere, in the distance I spotted many houses made of wood, stone and adobe. The architecture reminded me of medieval England, but I also noticed curious details that did not exist in my previous world.

First of all, the houses had thatched roofs or lay covered with bricks and stone; I found no concrete anywhere, except on some of the castle walls and the upper citadel.

Could it be some local law, I will ask Gonzalo later.

Another important detail was the absence of churches or giant cathedrals, very common in my home world.

“What about churches?“ I questioned mom.

“Have you already forgotten, there is only one temple for the God of the Earth and it is located in the duchy of Chiapa.“

Chiapa?

Like the Chiapas of my world?

What a coincidence.

“Duchy of Chiapa, does that mean water under the hill?”

“Right, I see you've been studying, my son.” I didn't know if this was a bad joke, or just a rather strange coincidence, because in the language of the extinct Chiapanecas (in my world), Chiapas or Chiapa, depending on who you ask, also meant water under the hill.

“According to the master tablet, when the God of the Earth created the first mountain he decided to give it a companion so that it would not be alone, so he also created a lake that passes just below it. The priests of our religion indicate that this is a representation of human creation, the mountain being a man and the water, a woman.“

“Oh, interesting, mom, I'll read about it later.”

We finished riding through the brush and finally entered the city.

My first impression was not favorable at all, the men-at-arms were politely pushing passersby out of the way and they just bowed their heads as we passed.

There was something strange about these people.

The living conditions were unhealthy, the putrid and foul smell hit me full in the nose and almost made me dizzy. I already knew that the life of commoners was hard, but this was beyond the medieval poverty I expected to encounter.

The stone paths were cracked and the dirt made it very difficult for equines to move forward. I turned my face to get a better look at the larger buildings; houses of lesser nobles who lived alongside the common peasantry and not inside the castle, other places that caught my eye were the tall concrete houses belonging to the local guilds: blacksmiths, seamstresses and cooks, the three largest industries in the capital.

As we moved on, the scenery became more depressing, the men looked tired and unwilling to do anything, dressed in dirty and smelly rags and even had an entourage of flies around them. The starving or sick children were also intimidated by the presence of the Royal Guard and the soldiers escorting me.

The women didn't lift my spirits either, many wore dresses that probably belonged to their great-grandmothers, maybe more. They walked down the street dirty and a disturbing majority didn't even bother to look up after giving the protocol bow.

I didn't say anything, we just continued to walk the streets.

“Why is there no concrete in the street?”

“Because the King of Apollo 2 generations ago forbade us to have concrete in the streets of our cities. He said it was an appropriate punishment for us. “Mom looked very depressed every time she remembered Apollo's sanctions, as they used to say in the main court.

“I see, too bad.....”

The reality was harsher than I thought, seeing these villagers walking so discouraged was a blow to my morale.

“Now we will pass through the merchants' quarter.” The cobblestone streets lay more flattened and groomed, almost all the houses and stores in this area were made of fine wood and stone.

I saw a huge bakery, clothing stores, blacksmith shops and even an armory for commoners, where they sold swords, armor, crossbows and arrows; I did not find any bows among the goods.

Still, the mood did not improve.

People kept bowing to me as I passed and nothing more. Not a cry of anger or joyful exclamation.

Nothing, this place looked like a ghost town.

As if everyone had resigned themselves to live in depression and loneliness. The mood of this town lay deader than the seriousness on a meme page.

“This is sad, why does everyone look so glum? “ I took mom's hand to feel accompanied, seeing this sad situation head on made me understand Alda's words: "You'll see for yourself."

And indeed, I did see it.

What a gray and unfriendly scenario.

“The tributes we pay to the Kingdom of Apollo are too much, besides, they plunder our border and to top it all, this city is attacked from within by a criminal network known as: The Grey Fist, a bunch of thieves, human traffickers and extortionists who attack rich and poor alike. “

Oh...

Organized Crime.

If there was a shred of joy in my heart, it disappeared when I heard that concept I hated so much.

“Why don't we do something?”

“People won't let us," Mom replied, "They're afraid of retaliation.”

Just as we were talking about it, the wagon came to a sudden stop. Sir Marte rode a few yards forward and then came back to us, while the men-at-arms held their position.

Were they going to attack us?

No, no one raised their weapons.

“There's a corpse up ahead," my mentor commented. “Give us a few minutes while we clear the area, you shouldn't see this at such a young age.”

“No," I replied. “I want to see it.”

“Are you sure, son?” Mom took my hand again and then wrapped a warm hug around my body. “You don't need to see it.”

“No, Mom, I do. You can wait in the carriage if you like.”

“I'll come with you, Sir Marte, please lead the way. “

We got out of the carriage guarded by the Royal Guard and a handful of armed men. The ride took no more than two minutes, it was enough for us to simply walk a few meters in front of the first bodyguards to see the famous corpse halfway down the road.

How should I feel about that?

Mom put her right hand to her mouth, trying to hold back the vomit of shock. She had never seen a corpse and its presence made her feel dizzy, yet she didn't back down and with her other hand she held me to comfort me.

However, the only thing I felt when I saw him was sadness.

He was a middle-aged man, with old rags that barely covered his stained flesh. He had an axe in his back and a stab wound in the back of his neck; his blood was still running fresh and the post-death spasms had barely stopped.

My eyes did not leave the deceased.

This was not right.

“Who did this?” I asked aloud, as several curious onlookers approached to see me. Obviously my guard kept them away, but I shook my head and turned back to the people. “Who did it?”

“It was the Grey Fist. “A fearful voice could be heard in the crowd of passersby; he probably didn't want to reveal his identity out of fear.

There was definitely no mistake, this poor man was killed by organized crime because he no longer had the money to pay for the famous "protection", the typical crime against common people.

I frowned very angrily; this made me furious, very, very furious. I died murdered by the damned criminals, to see a poor wretch suffer the same fate a few meters away from my men made me feel worse than I already was on this visit.

“Are you all right, your highness?” asked Sir Marte, very surprised by the hateful countenance I showed.

“No, Sir Marte, I am not well. None of this is good, a man has just been killed a few yards away from us, how can I be well?” I didn't want to scold him or take it out on him, but the terrible frustration I felt was not easy to forget.

“My most sincere apologies, your highness....”

“No, it was not your fault, I am sorry.” I bowed respectfully to my mentor, a gesture that mother and the rest of the peasantry did not expect.

Was it unusual for a king to show humility for his mistakes?

I didn't know, and truth be told, at this point it mattered little to me.

“We should get back to the carriage, son, let your soldiers bury the man so he can rest in peace. “Mom's voice brought me right back to the planet, and I nodded and with her we returned to the carriage.

“Yes, let's go. “

I did not vomit or stand paralyzed in front of the blood, perhaps because of the violent death I had died, nothing surprised me anymore.

Whether in Mexico or the Kingdom of Etrica, people lived in fear of external and internal enemies. However, no more.

“There are nobles living in these streets, aren't there? “I questioned my mother again, whose pale face was barely recovering from the shock.

“Yes, son. Why do you ask?”

“Are they bothered by the Gray Fist too?”

“Hardly, they only attack merchants, traders and poor people. The nobility consider them a minor pest, mere thieves who hang if they catch them in the act, but they don't bother to destroy them. “Mom's explanation almost made me jump back down from the carriage and scream in frustration.

Damn it.

Why wouldn't they stop these murderers?

How blind were the nobility really?

“I understand. “I didn't show my annoyance in public; one skill I gained from my former political career was to not show my emotions so openly. Maybe I wasn't so good at it, given my expressive personality, but sometimes I succeeded, especially when I felt as furious as I did now. “Let's go back to the castle, I've seen what I should have seen.”

Without further delay we turned around and rode slowly home.

A city beaten by tributes and criminals.

An apathetic and frightened population.

My task as ruler had just begun...