The Republic was the most intimidating city Ajax had ever laid eyes on. Deep down he had always known that it would be impressive, the history lessons had made that perfectly clear but to see it now a mix of beastkin, dwarves, elves and humans all working to build an impenetrable city, followed by settlements slowly springing up around the external walls over time.

Ajax knew that at one point in time all humanoids had been part of a massive empire that spanned further than the current kingdoms; the dragon had informed him of that history. But of the current eight kingdoms the Republic is the second oldest of them all. The only reason for this is that officially the beastkin kingdom hasn’t yet split into two like all the other races, for all that their people had.

This city had been the beginning of the Republic millenia ago. Formed by a council of likeminded people from different races they stood against four other kingdoms all deadset on their race's supremacy and carved out their piece of land from the center of the battlefield.

“Greed and hate is the only reason any of this was possible.” Ajax still shuddered after all this time when Shadow appeared next to him like this. “Strong as the first councilors were, the only reason the city held was because they managed to convince the enemies to fight each other first and then only the winner would fight them for the city.

Obvious as the poly had been even to the generals back in those times there was simply no better alternative. Attacking the city state without fighting off the other armies was asking to get ambushed and crushed from two sides. The winners had never been strong enough to take the city afterwards so the Republic persevered into the full kingdom it was now.

“Are those the dungeons?” Ajax asked as he looked towards the two secondary smaller forts that could be seen on either side of the capital.

“They are.” Shadow nodded. “You’ll get your chance to see them as well.”

Ajax was excited thinking about the dungeons. The previous two had only given him +7 to all stats in total but these two would be a much bigger boost. The smaller of the two would give him +7 seven to all stats all by itself while the Republic’s main dungeon would give him +11 to all stats. That was more than seven levels worth of stats.

“Do you think I have a chance?” Ajax asked. “To win that is.”

“Not from what I’ve seen from you so far.” Shadow said. “You are a balanced fighter, you might get lucky and beat our dwarven fighter, but the beastkin will rip you apart and from what I hear even he is a long shot for beating the elve’s ice princess.”

Ajax felt the pressure mounting, despite wanting to disregard the words because he had made sure not to show his hand; he knew that the panther beastkin had a pretty good assessment of his strength.

“That said you’re about to gain a lot of stats from those two dungeons.” Ajax knew Shadow knew his level and he couldn’t help but grin at that. “With those you’ll beat the dwarf, have an even match with the beastkin as well. If it’s enough to beat the princess however only time will tell. Time and whatever tricks you are keeping hidden.”

As they entered the city the convoy was quickly routed towards the Gryndor estates. Because of their central position on the map and as the host of almost all resource tournaments the embassies located in the Republic capital were large enough to house an entire convoy despite usually being manned by a very minimal political group.

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“Oh no.” Archduke Goldmancer was quick to put his hand on Lexi's shoulder as they were all going to get settled into their new accommodations. “You’ll be rooming with us, officially at least. It’s the least I promised your grandfather.”

“What… but…” Lexi started.

“I would be-” Ajax also started but stopped when the archduke raised a hand.

“I don’t particularly care where it is you actually sleep, in fact I would actually prefer it if I didn’t know.” the archduke continued. “But your luggage and official residence will be with House Goldmancer. This will ensure the reputation of both your houses as you are both only courting officially. Not only that but it will also keep the protections house Hearthbound still benefits from.”

Neither Ajax nor Lexi had anything to say to that. Despite there being almost no nobles who actually maintained the same standards when it came to purity and marriage the facade still had to be maintained in public. More than that a simple Baron House hosting a Duke’s granddaughter despite the number of higher ranked or older Houses present would paint a target on them.

The Gryndor estates were a small district in the noble section of the city. It was highly secure like all other embassies and had plenty of suitable accommodations for all of the members of the convoy such that each House almost got their own actual residence as long as they had three or more members present.

House Hearthbound had barely arrived before Elija, Aurora and Judy all dashed off towards the market looking to get the lay of the land. Much as their spot on this convoy had come because of Ajax the three had joined in order to lay foundations of their international trades as well as earn some serious profit.

Much like the rest of his family Ajax was also eager to explore the capital city. Unlike their focus on its market he was simply looking forward to the break he would finally be getting here.

Unlike with their previous dungeon stops Ajax would have a couple of weeks before he would be delving into these dungeons. With the capital being their final destination there was no need to rush through and get moving again so Ajax decided to simply take a walk with Lexi through the city.

“Is this your first time here as well?” Ajax asked.

“No, I’ve been here before when I was five.” Lexi answered. “Grandpa was finally allowed in the city and he brought me along, I do want to see how different it will seem to me from back then.”

“Why wouldn’t he be allowed in the city?” Ajax asked, confused.

“Most high level mages like that aren’t allowed into such highly populated areas during time of war. Someone like him can charge up a self detonation spell as much as he can and still be sure to survive thanks to a skill however. It took some time after the treaties were signed before he was welcomed.”

Ajax simply nodded as he let Lexi lead him around the city. Despite her already having been through there once before more than a decade ago the sights were still very much new to her, despite the boost her mental stats granted her the sheer change in perspective from a young child to an adult was enough to make this a whole new experience for her as well.

It was late in the afternoon when the pair finally stopped exploring the city and went to a restaurant to eat. While Ajax might not have had the upbringing and would have been fine with just having some food from a street vendor as they explored, Lexi did drag him to a more fancy looking place in the Elven section of the noble part of the city.

“The wait time for a table is twenty minutes.” the hostess informed them as they got to the front of the line.

The two of them didn’t even have the chance to walk to the side before an elf all but materialized at the hostess’s side. The elf looked very young like almost all of them did but her deep crimson hair gave away that she was well past her prime, combined with the aura around her Ajax knew that she was not only strong but at least half a millenia old.

“I’m sure you can find them a table Berry dear.” the woman said, from the way the hostess’s eyes bulged, Ajax knew they would be getting a table in seconds. “It’s great to see you again Alexis, it feels like only yesterday you and your grandfather were exploring the city.”

“Of course, milady.” The hostess was quick to adjust and didn’t make a scene despite a few drops of sweat being visible on her forehead. “Right this way.”

“Are you staying in the city for a while or just passing through?” the elf asked.

“Ajax here will be competing in the tournament so we’ll be around Lady Brightash.” Lexi responded with a soft smile and a nod of thanks.

“What was all that about?” Ajax asked as they were led away from the entrance to the displeased murmur of some of the others that were in line before them.

“You don’t see it as much in the kingdom since the king regulates it but how much influence do you think a family who’s patriarch is constantly working on new spells has?” Lexi asked him. “Last time I was here grandpa made a deal with Lady Brightash for two spells. And her family wasn’t the only one.”

Despite the king and crown prince of Gryndor being in the city, Ajax just got the distinct impression that Lexi was actually the noble with the most positive relations among the Republic nobility.