Chapter 374: The Country Tigerfolk Enter the City

At dawn, after deliberately taking a wide detour westward before heading east again, the airship finally spotted Nagrand in the distance. The city’s iconic landscape unfolded before them—vast fields divided into neat sections by straight roads, canals, and trees, resembling a giant painting. Dotted among them were round igloos, visible only in winter.

A sense of indescribable pride welled up.

This place might still be a new city, and its residents might mostly be mousefolk who, in other places, were not even considered people. But it had already surpassed the vast majority of cities on this continent.

If one disregarded factors like city scale, artistic atmosphere, and historical depth, Wu Qingsong even felt that, apart from sheer size, even the imperial capital was no different.

“What is this place?” Sertans couldn’t help but ask.

Unlike his less experienced companions, he had served in the Empire for years and had seen far more than the average person. Though awed by the marvel of the airship, he had been quietly observing their direction of travel.

It wasn’t out of suspicion—he simply wanted to know where exactly Wu Qingsong was taking them.

He recognized the towering plateaus and continuous mountain ranges of the northern continent. Although he had never been here before and was seeing the landscape from a completely new perspective, the distinct geographical features made it impossible to mistake. Then, heading east?

Sertans recalled the continental maps he had seen. East of the Mojina Plateau and the Stampede Plateau, as far as he remembered, was nothing but barren wasteland. When did such a massive city appear in this region?

“Welcome to Nagrand,” Wu Qingsong said with a smile. “From today onward, this will be your home.”

The airship began its descent. As people in the streets noticed it, they waved in greeting. Some children even ran along beneath it, chasing after it.

For Wu Qingsong and Ling, this was nothing out of the ordinary. But to Sertans, it was a symbol of peace and harmony on this land.

At least in the places he had been, no lord was ever this well-loved by their people, and children certainly didn’t have the luxury to engage in such meaningless play.

The airship soon landed in the central plaza of Nagrand, where Nina and the others had come to welcome Wu Qingsong. However, they were surprised to see so many tigerfolk children.

“You’re… Sertans?” Nina quickly recognized the tigerfolk. After all, not many beastfolk had ever given her such a tough fight.

“Lady Nina.” Sertans greeted her with an imperial military salute, bowing in a subordinate’s manner.

“What’s going on?” Nina asked in surprise.

“Their village was attacked by imperial troops,” Wu Qingsong said simply. He didn’t want to reopen their wounds, so he silently mouthed the words, “Magic-seeded.”

Nina immediately nodded, showing her understanding.

“Find them a suitable place to stay,” Wu Qingsong instructed one of the officials. “Provide them with basic supplies and food. Arrange for someone to take them around the city and introduce them to Nagrand.”

“I’ll do it!” Liuli eagerly volunteered. “Leave it to me!”

“That would be perfect.” Wu Qingsong affectionately patted her cheek.

“See the tallest girl over there?” As Liuli excitedly led the tigerfolk away, Wu Qingsong whispered to Nina, “Her name is Laura. She’s a talented one. I’d like you and Alice to keep an eye on her, help her feel at home.”

“She and Sertans?”

“They don’t seem to be father and daughter, but they’re related in some way. Their abilities should be similar.”

“I understand.” Nina nodded.

Wu Qingsong had appointed her as the commander of the Chosen Knights in part to balance her relationship with Ram. However, Nina was more concerned about Ram’s feelings than he had expected. Even with Ram’s energy somewhat diminished due to her pregnancy, Nina rarely involved herself in Nagrand’s political affairs unless absolutely necessary.

Leading a team composed mainly of mousefolk and discovering a promising young tigress would probably make her quite happy, wouldn’t it?

“You both must be exhausted. Get some rest,” Nina said, embracing Ling lightly.

“I’ll check in on Ram and Xeila first,” Wu Qingsong replied. “Everything’s been fine?”

***

For Sertans, everything about Nagrand challenged his understanding of the world.

Liuli was not the best guide—her focus was almost entirely on the children. But this actually gave Sertans more time to observe the city with his own eyes rather than relying on someone else’s descriptions.

It wasn’t as bustling as he had imagined. Perhaps because it was winter, many streets were empty, with only the main roads showing any real activity.

To the other tigerfolk, the city might already seem impressive, but Sertans noticed that many of the houses looked quite small. Among the busy workers on the streets, many were short mousefolk. Their stature fit the small houses well, but it gave the entire city an odd miniature world feel.

In contrast, the roads seemed excessively wide. Even the most remote alleys were spacious enough for a Nagrand-style four-wheeled carriage to pass, with room left for pedestrians. The main roads were even broader, allowing two carriages to travel side by side with ample space to spare—it all seemed wastefully extravagant.

But what stunned Sertans the most was the cleanliness.

In winter, roads should have been muddy and filthy, yet here, there was barely any dirt.

Snow had been shoveled to the sides of the streets, some of it sculpted into strange shapes by children. The stone-paved roads had hardly any trash.

Dust and sand were inevitable, but even in the most secluded corners, there was no sign of excrement. That was outright bizarre.

Sertans had been to several large southern cities. There, streets littered with animal dung—and even beastfolk waste—were the norm. It was simply accepted as a fact of life. Some bustling trade cities supposedly hired workers to clean the streets, but this came at the cost of heavier taxes on merchants. Nagrand, however, didn’t seem to fit that model.

Just then, a young tigerfolk boy was about to relieve himself in the street when Liuli casually smacked him on the head and led them all to a small building nearby.

“This is a public restroom,” she told the tigerfolk. “In Nagrand, you’re not allowed to go anywhere you please. You have to come here.”

“But what if it’s too far?” a young tigress asked.

“There are public restrooms everywhere. Just ask someone nearby, and they’ll tell you,” Liuli explained. “Remember, if you go on the street, you’ll be arrested.”

“Why?” Sertans was puzzled.

“That stuff is great fertilizer,” Liuli replied offhandedly. “And isn’t it better to have clean streets? Plus, when everyone uses the right facilities, it helps prevent disease. There are tons of benefits.”

Sertans shook his head slightly but didn’t question further. He did, however, notice a bag of white powder—likely lime—tucked away in a rain-sheltered corner of the restroom. That made him suspect the situation was more complex than Liuli had let on.

“Let’s get you all settled in first,” Liuli said. “Once that’s done, we can take our time exploring.”