The basic administrative structure of the Land of Dawn was the King's City Assembly, which was the center of power. The president and the twelve senators, who held the power of the entire kingdom, were the highest leaders of the country.
Under the Senate were the highest management organizations of the country, which were the various ministerial departments, such as the Ministry of Magic and the Ministry of Communications (also known as the Ministry of Transport). These departments were responsible for the implementation of the plans formulated by the Kingdom.
Next were the city-level departments. For example, the Lord of Moondew City was a city-level leader. The Lord of Moondew City was under the supervision of the Official Review Department.
Below them were the deputy city leaders, such as the deputy Lord of Moondew City and the director of the First Department of Magic Affairs Management.
At the same level was the Chief Captain of the Moondew City Patrols, Captain Tom, who was in charge of 3,000 patrols.
Of course, these people were unreachable to Areize. He was just a scout, and there was still a huge gap between him and the real management of the kingdom.
Just like the position of a squad leader, although it was absolutely necessary to have a high school diploma to hold this position, if one wanted to get this position, they would have to make a corresponding contribution.
Getting a position through experience did not exist in the Land of Dawn. This was a place where strength and contributions were the most important. It was difficult for those without skills to advance further in this society.
Did Areize want to be promoted? Of course he did. Areize's current salary was only 10 pounds and 15 shillings a month.
According to the basic exchange rate, 1 pound was 20 shillings, and 1 shilling was 100 pence. Areize's favorite form of entertainment was reading Dawn Monthly. This monthly magazine, which was sold once a week, had 120 pages of content, and cost 5 shillings.
Simply put, Areize spent 1/22nd of his monthly salary on reading. However, things like reading books were expensive to begin with. Dawn Weekly was the most approachable magazine. Of course, if one did not care about the timeliness, one could buy last year's issue from a second-hand bookstall. The price was only one-third of the original price.
For food, Areize's usual meals were as follows: 1 portion of stewed black beans, 1 portion of mixed grain bread, a small portion of smoked chicken, and a portion of vegetable soup. The cost would be about fifty pence.
Due to the high amount of exercise required by the scouts, Areize had to eat four meals a day to ensure that he wouldn't feel hungry. The daily expenses were two shillings. The cost of food for a month was nearly sixty shillings. That's six pounds.
In addition to his daily expenses, as well as the monthly publication of Dawn Magazine, Areize had to spend at least seven pounds and fifteen shillings every month. Only about three pounds a month.
Of course, their income was actually higher than most of the citizens of the kingdom. If they worked as a waiter or an ordinary worker, their monthly income would be about one to two pounds less. If that was the case, he wouldn't be able to have meat for every meal like Ariz.
Instead, there might only be one meal with meat or fish in a day.
In fact, many people in the civilian area where Areize lived were envious of his job. It was especially so for the boys. When they saw Areize in his tight black leatherette uniform, armed with a sword and a gun, and a bow and arrow, he looked very majestic.
There were even quite a number of girls who were throwing flirtatious glances at Areize. There were also many people who wanted to propose marriage for him. However, Arezeque was still single until now.
This made many people confused. One had a good income and a stable job. The other wasn't very handsome, but at least he was tall and handsome. Why didn't he marry a wife?
Some people speculated that Arezeque wanted to climb up the ranks. If he could climb to the position of a squad leader or even a branch leader, his wife in the future wouldn't be a simple civilian girl. Instead, she would be the daughter of a merchant family with a little bit of wealth, or the daughter of a minor official. This would help his career in the future.
… …
"I've saved about three hundred pounds this year, Penny. I'll have enough money soon. " Arezeque held a glass of unfiltered, crude beer in his hand. The beer was a little cloudy and not a beautiful transparent golden color. The bubbles were not fine either. This beer had no redeeming qualities other than being cheap.
However, a beautiful lady sat opposite Arezeque, who was drinking such crude beer. Her skin was a healthy and beautiful wheat-colored. She had a pair of beautiful green eyes, a transparent green like the highest quality jade.
Her plump cheeks and dimples when she smiled added to her charm. But now, the beautiful lady's brows were slightly furrowed, her brows furrowed into a crease. "Arieze, I've said it before. You don't need to care about me. You should have married and had children a long time ago. You shouldn't waste your time here. "
"I've said it a long time ago, Penny. You're the only lady I want to marry in this life. I want you to be my wife. "Arezeque stared into Penny's eyes and said seriously.
But Penny avoided Arezeque's fiery gaze and said in a low tone, "Marry a prostitute? Is that really okay? "
"Does it matter?" Arezeque said nonchalantly, "I like you because I like you. It has nothing to do with your identity. It won't be an obstacle to our relationship. "
Penny smiled weakly. There was indeed a huge obstacle between her and Arezeque. It was real. Her father used to be a small grain merchant, but he went bankrupt five years ago. He owed thousands of pounds of debt.
Her cowardly father chose to die, but his death did not stop the creditors from pressing for the debt. Penny was the only one who could take on the debt.
Without any resistance, Penny was forced to work in Fire Phoenix to pay off the debt. Until today, Penny had paid off most of the debt. She was only left with 500 pounds of debt and she would be free.
If Arezeque was willing to pay 300 pounds, she would be able to leave this damned place in a few months.
Penny was helpless though. She knew before her last bit of value was squeezed dry, she would not be able to leave this damned place.
She had known Areize for many years. They were childhood playmates on the same street, and they had always had a good relationship. Back when her family was still well off, Arezeque had once proposed to her. But her snobbish father looked down on Arezeque, who was just a common scout.
Back then, Penny's father had been thinking of expanding his business to become a big grain merchant. So, he went around to get to know important people that he deemed useful. He wanted to use the beautiful Penny as a stepping stone for his promotion.
But when her father owed a huge sum of money and his family was ruined, the only thing he cared about was Penny's childhood friend, Arezeque. The so-called important people that her snobbish father got to know were just bystanders when his own family was ruined, watching his family being ruined like a show.
Penny turned around and looked at Arezeque. The man was not handsome, but he had a decent face. Due to working in the scouts for a long time, his edges were almost worn down, so he did not have any outstanding temperament.
Arezeque was like the most common person in the world, but to Penny, this man might be the only person in this cold world who could make her feel warmth.
So, Penny's gaze at Arezeque was a little gentle. She reached out and grabbed Arezeque's hand, saying, "Arezeque, there are some things that we can't resist. You know the big boss behind Fire Phoenix. If they don't want me to, I won't be able to get out of this. "
"It's not about money, Arezeque. It's a problem that money can't solve. You and I are just civilians, not officials, not nobles. We don't have any power. In this world, there are many things that we can't decide. "
Penny's eyes were a little red as she said, "So let go. 300 pounds. You can give a betrothal gift to a good family's daughter. You have your life to live, so let go. "
Arezeque's hand that was holding the glass was clenched so tightly that the veins were popping out. He was just a member of the patrol team, and now he was just a temporary team leader. In the vast territory of Dawn, he was nothing. Even in Moondew City, which had a population of 350,000 people, he had no power to speak of.
Arezeque just didn't want to think about the worst. But today, Penny had shattered Arezeque's last hope.
Arezeque did not know how he walked out of Penny's room, but he remembered that he met a guy on his way out.
He was the young master of a large cloth shop in the West District, and he was a man who smelled like makeup. He was a man with a heavy smell of makeup. Penny had looked down on him back then, and Ariel had looked down on him as well. Back then, he had suffered a lot in front of Penny and Arezeque.
This rich kid was obviously a vengeful person. He looked at Arezeque and felt that he looked familiar. Then, he quickly remembered something.
"Yo! Isn't this our Team Leader Arezeque? "The rich kid sneered. He didn't care about a temporary team leader.
"Why? You're here to look for a lover? It's okay to say it. " The spoiled brat purposely stood in front of Arize, blocking his way. "Look, I'm here to look for my old flame. Do you still remember Penny?"
"The one who looked down on me back then. I remember you even helped her fight a few times?" Arezeque looked at the rich kid with an unfriendly expression.
But the rich kid didn't care and continued, "Look, she can't reject me now. Back then, I wanted to marry her. As for now, hehe. "The rich kid laughed sinisterly.
"Now, as long as you have money, you can be a groom every day. Don't you think this world is interesting? Hahahaha! " The rich kid laughed heartily. Looking at Arezeque's ashen face, he felt like he had gotten his revenge.
Looking at Arize's tightly clenched fists that were almost turning white, the rich heir continued, "What's wrong? You're here for Penny too? I remember that you liked to follow that bitch around and be her servant. You wanted to marry her but didn't get the chance. It's okay, now you can be a groom as long as you pay up! "
"Oh right, you can't afford it, can you? Penny costs 20 pounds a night. How much can you earn in a month? Probably not enough. How about it, we've met once. Why don't I treat you to a meal and we can be the groom together tonight? "The rich kid's words made Arezeque's anger reach its peak.
He could only squeeze out, "Scram!"
Looking at Arezeque's murderous gaze, the rich kid wasn't afraid at all. Because he had two bodyguards with him. They were strong and their kung fu was much better than Arezeque's.
The rich kid wasn't brainless. He could clearly see that Arezeque wasn't carrying a gun. This Arezeque wasn't much of a threat. That was why he dared to provoke him so brazenly.
After Arezeque told him to scram, the smile on the rich kid's face was immediately wiped away. He snorted, "You don't know what's good for you. Since you don't want to be a groom, I'll fork out more money today. I'll let my two underlings be a groom! "
"Thank you, Young Master!" The two strong men who had been following the rich kid immediately replied with smiles. A beauty like Penny was worth a fortune. They couldn't bear to spend it.
The rich kid snorted and walked past Arezeque. As he walked past, he said in a low voice, "You don't like me? You're clenching your fists so tightly. You want to kill me? Come on, kill me. Do you think you can kill me? Trash! "
Arezeque watched as the rich kid walked through the front door of the Blazing Phoenix with his two bodyguards. A heart-wrenching pain assaulted his entire body. It was as if every single blood vessel in his body was about to explode. Every single nerve in his body was being stimulated by electricity. Every single pore on his body was bleeding.
He had only brought a short knife with him when he left the house. His right hand was already gripping the handle of the knife, calculating how he could kill the rich kid with one slash.
However, as if they could sense it, the two bodyguards beside the rich kid turned around at the same time and faced Arezeque.
Their hands were placed on their waists. Each of them was carrying two short knives. Looking at the calluses on their hands, it was obvious that they were experienced in using knives.
The two bald men looked at Arezeque with smiles on their faces. They weren't afraid of Arezeque making a move. As long as Arezeque dared to draw his knife, they could chop him up. Because they were merely defending themselves. They didn't even have to go to court.
The rich kid stood behind the two bodyguards, looking like he was watching a good show. The reason he had said so much earlier was to provoke Arezeque's anger. Then, he would make Arezeque lose his mind and attack. That way, it wouldn't matter if he killed Arezeque.
The rich kid wasn't an idiot. Otherwise, his father wouldn't have let him manage a cloth shop with an annual revenue of 8,000 pounds.
The confrontation between the four of them attracted the attention of the passersby. Arezeque had already drawn his short knife halfway. He was panting heavily, like a wild wolf about to attack.
At that moment, a girl dashed out of the Blazing Phoenix. The girl was Penny. She took a look at the situation and immediately ran to the rich kid's side. She lowered her head and said something to him.
The rich kid ignored her. Then, Penny continued to persuade him with gentle words. In the end, the rich kid seemed to relent and said something. A trace of hesitation flashed across Penny's face. But after one last glance at Arezeque, Penny nodded at the rich kid, as if agreeing to something.
The battle didn't happen in the end. Ten bodyguards from the Blazing Phoenix arrived and restrained Arezeque. Arezeque could only see Penny's figure through the gaps in the crowd.
She turned around and mouthed to him: Let go, we can't win.
When everyone dispersed, when six or seven bodyguards tossed Arezeque into the back alley like a dead dog, when Arezeque lay on the cold road, his heart like dead ashes …
The ghostly voice sounded again. "Are you satisfied?" It was that person! It was the man in the grey hood!
"Compared to the price, are you really satisfied with what you have accepted?" The man in the grey hood suddenly appeared out of thin air. As if he had appeared out of thin air, he stood in front of Arezeque. He looked down at Arezeque, who was lying on the road. At the same time, he studied the wounds that the Blazing Phoenix bodyguards had inflicted on Arezeque.
"That girl isn't bad. But she can protect you once, but she can't protect you every time. If you have to fight for everything in this world, what right do you have to get a girl like her? "The man in the hood's voice was calm, without a hint of mockery.
Arezeque lay on the cold ground and looked at the faceless man in the hood. His voice was colder than the stone road in winter. "So, in the end, I still have to sell my soul to the devil?"
"Please don't compare me to those birdmen with bat wings. At least with me, you get what you pay for. So, tell me your answer. "The man in the hood continued to ask calmly.
Arezeque crawled up from the cold road, his whole body in pain. There was a fire burning in his eyes, a fire of unwillingness. "Then I agree to your condition, but please keep your promise."
"Of course, Mr. Arezeque. Let's go to the crowded bar and have a drink. I can give you a little gift later. "The man in the hood's tone was filled with a smile.
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