Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?-Chapter 305 - 103: In the City

Innsbruck City gate.

Last time, the group had come in a hurry and had not paid much attention to the surroundings.

Now, it seemed there were too many buildings near the outskirts of the city, and the streets were bustling with life. In the distance, there was even a makeshift large market... But, is there really a need to build a market outside the city? If you consider the flow of people, wouldn’t it make more sense inside the city?

Considering the intelligence Medea had provided, the group grew more suspicious that there were issues within the city.

The Earl’s men had naturally been waiting near the city gate, and upon the arrival of The Azure Longsword’s group, someone quickly went to inform the Earl.

Ten minutes later, the Earl of Innsbruck arrived on foot with his guard in tow—it seemed he had been nearby the whole time.

"Indeed, these are seven Extraordinary Traits," the Earl’s subordinate confirmed after inspecting the spoils of The Azure Longsword, "And the Levels are correct, too."

"It appears you have won the wager," the Earl said, his face betraying neither joy nor anger, "Alfred just called a few minutes ago, they’ve just taken care of the Transcendent on the other side, with three men dead."

His gaze swept over the girls, finally resting on Eleanor, "As for you, you obviously completed the task even sooner, and none of your members were injured."

"The wager is yours," the Earl gestured with a wave of his hand, and his subordinate immediately presented an envelope—inside were crisp Venice-printed banknotes, emitting the smell of ink.

"Thank you," Aske said politely, handing the envelope filled with banknotes to Nora to count, "Additionally, we would like to sell some Extraordinary Traits."

"That is possible," nodded the Earl, "Speak with my Cabinet Steward."

After the wager was settled, the Earl of Innsbruck hurried off. His Steward approached and said adeptly,

"I wonder if you are familiar with the market prices? If the Extraordinary Traits can be decoded, the price will be calculated differently; if not, they will be bought at a uniform price based on the Spirituality Level, naturally at a discounted rate, please understand."

"Of course, the traits we’re selling are already decoded," Aske declared, waving Medea over—the professional negotiation (du) expert (xin).

So, the negotiation concluded swiftly in just a few minutes. The initially unperturbed face of the Earl’s Steward now vanished, only to be replaced by him wiping sweat with a handkerchief non-stop.

The red-haired woman across from him was unbelievably tough, seizing every loophole in his words, leaving him dumbfounded and unable to retort, and yet the reasons she gave for raising the prices were impeccable. Each time their words clashed, he felt like a tongue-tied stutterer, nearly crumbling under her verbal onslaught.

The final price set was precisely on the psychological baseline of the Earl himself... it was terrifying indeed!

Once the transaction was complete, the face of the Earl’s Steward looked extremely unpleasant. Just as he was thinking that his recent form might be off and considering taking a leave to recuperate, he heard Medea casually ask,

"By the way, we’d like to resupply in the city. Could you tell us where to find a market and an inn?"

"If you simply need supplies, there are inns and markets outside the city as well that can meet your needs," the Steward smiled unaffectedly.

"The outskirts aren’t very safe, are they?" Medea commented. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

"The Earl has enhanced the public safety management outside the city, and there will be guards patrolling at night," the Steward still purposely avoided the topic.

"Has the disease inside the city not been brought under control yet?" Medea cut straight to the point, "It seems that the city gate only lets people in, not out."

The Steward’s face changed slightly, then he smiled and said, "Where did you hear such rumors? Plagues are prevalent throughout the country, but they are far from uncontrollable. Of course, due to the dense population, the rate of disease inside the city is indeed slightly higher than outside. Count’s desire to accommodate you outside the city is for similar reasons."

The implication wasn’t explicit, yet the underlying meaning was clear enough.

"So, may we enter?" Medea gestured towards the front.

"If you insist on entering the city," seeing their determined attitude, the butler didn’t want to offend them too much and finally gave in, "you can go to the Count’s Attendant to obtain a pass and a batch of medicine for preventing the disease. Remember to take it regularly."

"Done." After the butler left, Medea came back and said.

"It seems the situation in the city is really dire," Eleanor said with worry. She had clearly seen the butler’s evasive intentions.

Nora also sighed and frowned slightly.

"Let’s go," Thira said, "and find out what’s happening inside the city, Aske?"

"Let’s go," Aske said.

——————

No sooner had they passed through the city gates than everyone gasped.

These individuals were all battle-hardened and not too shocked by corpses, but the scene in front of them was just too impactful... Bodies wrapped in linen and covered with white cloths were spread from the city gate along both sides of the sidewalks, extending all the way to the far-off Central Square.

How many people must have died...

Passersby walked by with gaunt faces, wearing rudimentary black cloth masks, and some even had plague doctor costumes with beaked masks stuffed with disinfectant drugs, hurriedly avoiding the bodies and continuing on their way.

Upon entering a nearby inn, the air in the lobby was full of the smell of disinfectants, and the innkeeper, donning a mask, slouched over the counter listlessly.

"Got a question, boss," Medea said cheerfully, "You..."

"Why aren’t you wearing a mask, guest!" the innkeeper shrieked, "The air outside is filled with the plague!"

"We won’t catch the disease." Medea coughed and tapped the counter, a small flame arising from the back of her hand.

The innkeeper watched her dumbfounded, not noticing that he had been implanted with a certain thought: Flames? Could this lady be one of the legendary Transcendents? Then it’s quite normal for them not to catch the disease.

Of course, the innkeeper had heard legends of Transcendents, those mysterious beings. The city’s Bishop said they practiced witchcraft, trading the skulls of children with Demons for power... But who cares about Demons during an outbreak! To be alive was enough!

"What’s your question, Transcendent?" The innkeeper’s face immediately contorted into a sycophantic smile.

"We’ve just come from outside the city." Medea pointed outside, "What’s happening in the city?"

The innkeeper looked pained, "My lord, you’ve come at a bad time. Recently, a plague of rats hit the city, and the rats went mad. They wouldn’t just bite cats or dogs but even dared to bite humans, leaping up their trousers."

"After the rat plague subsided, a terrible Plague began to spread. Did you see the corpses in the streets? Carts and carts of them are taken out, yet they can’t all be removed. The excess can only be burned on the spot within the city. Families are afraid to leave their homes, and still, every day, people die. Sometimes a whole family will perish at home, and nobody knows until the odor wafts into a neighbor’s house and someone reports it. When the guards arrive, the floor is covered in yellow-green pus..."

He spoke vividly, turning the faces of the girls behind him pale. Nora quickly interrupted him,

"What about the medicine? Hasn’t the Duchy distributed appropriate medicine to Control the epidemic?"

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