Chapter 58: Watching the Flowers, Fountain Square, Dinner
Upon entering Blue Crystal City, the Doro caravan must first declare customs and pay taxes to the tax official in the city.
Generally speaking, the tax rate in Bracada is much lower than that in Erathia, especially for goods such as flour, cooking oil, and wood, which are even exempt from import taxes. This is mainly to encourage merchants to sell more such goods into the country.
.But for alcohol, most city-states will levy a very high transaction tax, which cannot be avoided whether it is imported or locally produced.
Because it takes a lot of time to declare the name and quantity of the goods and calculate the final tax payment, there is no need to accompany him throughout the process. After writing down the address of the branch of the Doro Chamber of Commerce in Azurite City, Moriarty left early
He joined the team and began to act alone.
After saying a brief farewell to everyone in the caravan, Moriarty rented a single-coach carriage at the door of the nearby inn. However, Moriarty did not ask the coachman to drive directly to Hockenheim Academy of Magic.
I traveled around Jingcheng.
"Young master, is this your first time coming to our Blue Crystal City?" The coachman is a middle-aged man in his forties, a little clever, but very enthusiastic.
"Yes, it's the first time." Moriarty replied casually while sitting in the car without a roof, looking at the slowly receding streets on both sides.
"Haha, then you have come at the right time." The coachman suddenly turned around and smiled at Moriarty.
"Oh, what do you say?"
"Now is the most beautiful time of the year for us. Look there, do you see it? The blue iris flowers are blooming so beautifully!" As he said this, the coachman gently raised the riding crop in his hand and pointed.
Along the street are large iris trees in full bloom.
"It is indeed beautiful." Moriarty nodded and agreed.
In fact, irises are also planted in the ivy manor of the Ensberg family. They are also transplanted and are well-known noble varieties on the mainland, but blue flowers have never been seen blooming. As for the irises in Azurite City,
But almost all are blue. However, some are like the clear blue of the sky, some are like the blue of the sea, and some are with a mysterious dark blue (midnight blue). In the late autumn afternoon sunshine, they exude a unique and elegant look.
The different levels of beautiful halos make people feel relaxed and happy at the first sight.
"I heard that the first generation of city lords founded the city here because they liked the blue iris flowers here." When he said this, the coachman smiled proudly.
"So that's it. Then, when was Azurite City first built?" Moriarty asked.
"It seems to be hundreds of years old. I don't know the details, but if you are interested, young master, you might as well go to the big library in the city center and check it out. There should be a detailed introduction there."
"Okay, thank you." Moriarty nodded.
About an hour later, the carriage stopped at the Fountain Square in the center of Azurite City, and opposite the square was the famous Hockenheim Academy of Magic.
After getting off the carriage, Moriarty handed the coachman an Erathian gold coin as the fare. This amount of money roughly exceeded his entire income from a hard day's work. After accepting the gold coin, Moriarty thanked the coachman for a while before finally saying:
Respectfully bid farewell to this generous temporary employer.
Watching the carriage slowly leave, Moriarty smiled lightly. Through the chat with the coachman and the tour of Azurite City, he already had a preliminary understanding of the city. But before going there
Before formally visiting his mage uncle, Moriarty planned to see more and walk around more.
Standing in the square, Moriarty slowly glanced around.
In the center of the square is a three-story sculpture fountain, which is somewhat similar to the Roman Trevi Fountain in the earth world, but it is much grander and more majestic. The main body of the statue is no longer a wishing girl, but an ocean goddess.
On the continent of Antagrich, the goddess of the sea is not a widely worshiped deity. Only coastal fishermen and some sailors who have been wandering on the sea for many years are the natural believers of this goddess. Within Pangea,
Because of the different races, the beliefs between regions are also completely different. The Behemoth of Krulod claims to be a descendant of the God of War, the Avili elves believe in the goddess of nature, and the natives of Tatalia worship the ancestral totem.
.As for Brakada and Dejia, because they are essentially countries ruled by mages, they do not worship any gods. (In the eyes of the great arcanists, gods are just more powerful mages who can be respected.
, but not worthy of belief)
The most peculiar thing is Erathia, which lives in the center of the continent.
Before the end of the ice, Erathia was a place blessed by the God of Light. This supreme god had a large number of believers and an unparalleled status among the human race. Even for a period of time, the power of the Church of Light had overtaken
Above the Erathian royal family and the aristocratic group. Whether it is the land, property, number of priests under the church's name, or the three knights of "Dawn", "Vigilance" and "Guardian" affiliated to the church, all make the Church of Light
The influence has penetrated into every corner of the Kingdom of Erathia. But what is extremely surprising is that when the ice apocalyptic storm swept across the entire plane, overnight, the huge Church of Light seemed to melt like ice and snow, and suddenly
It disintegrated and disappeared. In the following hundreds of years, the name of the God of Light was no longer mentioned in the kingdom. The halls of the Church of Light were torn down, demolished, and abandoned. The land, wealth, and collections of the church were disintegrated, divided, and scattered.
The three major church knights were also annihilated in the mists of history. Until the era when Moriarty was born, the God of Light and the Church of Light had almost disappeared on the Pancontinent. As for the secrets of this history, Moriarty
I have also specifically consulted relevant classics. But unfortunately, after searching through all the information within the family, I have not found any substantive clues. However, one thing is unquestionable. During the sudden collapse of the Church of Light,
The royal family and nobles of Erathia must have played a considerable role. After the Church of Light, the Kingdom of Erathia has been in a vacuum of faith.
Going back to the Ocean Goddess Fountain in front of us, it can also be called an artistic masterpiece in itself.
The three-story sculptures from bottom to top are: the rolling waves on the bottom floor, the dancing mermaids and the evil singing sirens on the middle floor, and the top floor holding a trident and driving a four-horse chariot to cut through the waves and fly forward.
The goddess of the ocean. The fountain water continuously spurts out from the waves at the bottom, then flows around the mermaids and sirens through some hidden passages, and finally turns into a bright wave under the goddess's chariot.
What is particularly worth noting is that the entire top-floor sculpture, including the goddess herself, the chariot and the trident, seems to be made of pure gold. Under the sun, and cleverly reflected by the fountain water, it emits an unusually dazzling light.
Come on. Looking from a distance, it seems as if the incarnation of the ocean goddess has really arrived in this city.
Standing near the fountain, Moriarty admired it carefully, admiring and questioning at the same time.
In the central square of an inland city-state like Azurite City, a huge amount of money was spent to build a huge statue of the Ocean Goddess. Is this just the personal preference of those in power, or is it based on some mysterious reason? This is really easy to imagine.
Lian Lian. However, Moriarty just stopped and lingered in front of the fountain for a while, and then stopped thinking about this problem that was destined to be unsolved for the time being.
After leaving "Ocean Goddess", Moriarty walked directly to the west side of the square, where many restaurants, bars and cafes were concentrated. After finding a restaurant that seemed to be quite high-end, Moriarty walked in.
Because it was already late in the afternoon, customers came and sat down in the restaurant called "Sapphire" from time to time. Moriarty entered the restaurant and was immediately greeted by an attentive waiter. With Roland Bar
Unlike people with a personality like Trish's, the waiters in this restaurant have obviously received strict training and are courteous in their dealings with others, making guests feel very comfortable.
I found a table by the window and sat down. The waiter did not immediately bring me the menu, but kindly brought me a warm hand towel and a glass of lemonade at a suitable temperature.
Moriarty wiped some dust off his palms with a towel, then took a sip of lemonade and exhaled with satisfaction.
Being able to serve guests with lemonade for free in Bracada, although the actual cost will be included in the final meal price, this in itself shows that this Sapphire is a high-end restaurant at home.
"Do you have any recommendations?" Moriarty asked directly without taking the menu that the waiter handed him.
"Well, this season is a good time to eat salmon. A batch of newly caught emerald river salmon arrived at the store today at noon. Are you willing to try it? Braised salmon with chickpeas is our classic dish at Sapphire
The style is so good, every guest who has tasted it has praised it." The male waiter bowed and introduced to the guests softly but clearly.
"Yeah, sure." Moriarty nodded. Although Moriarty himself passed by the Sandos River a few days ago, he was in a hurry at the time, so he didn't have the chance to stop and taste the delicious food. Now that we have met,
Of course I don’t want to miss it again.
"As a cold appetizer, I would like to recommend you the three-color aspic." Seeing that the guest approved the salmon as the main course, the waiter continued to recommend: "This is made of beef, mutton, and moose meat.
The special dishes, paired with sweet and sour sauce, are guaranteed to whet your appetite.”
"Not bad."
"As for dessert after the meal, would you like red bean paste?" At this time, the waiter tried to introduce dessert to Moriarty.
Because in the mainland of Antagrich, sweets, especially high-quality sweets, have always existed as luxury condiments. Therefore, ordinary people will not deliberately add some flashy desserts after a meal. However,
The waiter was obviously an experienced waiter. He saw that the customer in front of him must have the financial strength and willingness to taste what he ordered after the meal, so he took the initiative to sell it to Moriarty.
"Okay." Sure enough, Moriarty just thought about it and nodded in agreement.
"As for drinks, lemonade will do." However, because the price of wine in Bracada was very high, Moriarty had no intention of taking advantage of him anymore, so he gave the order directly.
"Okay. Please wait a moment." After finishing the order, the waiter walked away with a smile and went to the kitchen to place his order.
