First Arc (King of Euphorion) – 31. A Visit To Pearl Gate City

Days had passed. On that sunny afternoon, some Euphorion cavalry followed by a royal carriage and a brown carriage passed through Pearl Gate City's street. Although there was no obligation for welcoming the king when he entered the city, so many people had gathered at the side of the street to greet him or just to see him even if it was just a glance. Some of them were waving their hands at him. He only replied to them with a slight smile.

The king's convoy entered a tall golden-white gate that had a 'City Hall' sign in front of it, through a neatly arranged courtyard to an elegant white mansion.

The carriage door opened. A servant procured a short staircase at the carriage's door. He descended from his carriage. In front of him, Major Bernard and some officials had stood up to greet him.

Major Bernard and the others bowed to him.
"Your Majesty, welcome to Pearl Gate City."

He answered them with a slight nod.

Shortly Cley and Claire approached them after they got off their carriage.
"Uncle Bernard!" shouted Claire, she quickly ran towards Mayor Bernard and hugged him.

Major Bernard welcomed her with a happy smile and also hugged her in return.
"Claire." Then he released his arms and looked at her.
"Look at you. You have turned into a beautiful lady."

Cley followed her from behind with elegant steps before he bowed to Major Bernard.
"We haven't seen each other in a long time. How are you, mayor?" Then he turned his gaze to Claire.
"Claire, watch your manners," he said, imitating Chancellor Allan's tone.

Major Bernard turned to Cley.
"Cley, you have also turned into a fine man now."

Claire looked at Cley in annoyance.
"He's just pretending."

"I'm not pretending," said Cley in a formal voice. But then, he hugged Major Bernard with a big smile on his face.
"Uncle Bernard, I miss you," he said in a spoiled tone.

Angel only smiled at them. Major Bernard always looked after them since they were little, especially after Claire and Cley's parents died. So, they had considered him as their own grandfather.

Major Bernard turned his gaze to Angel.
"Your Majesty, forgive our impudence. How about we talk inside?" he said as he invited him to enter.

He simply nodded and entered the City hall. Major Bernard stood side by side with him as they walked down the corridor to the meeting room, with others officials and guards tailed behind them.

"I'm glad to see you have arrived safely," Major Bernard said.

He nodded again and quickly got down to business.
"How is the city lately?"

"Very good. Your idea to build small booths in the market and rent it to traders, has received a good response. Now all of the booths are fully loaded, we still continue to add more booths to meet their demands and also develop a new market near the gate to the Lucian Garden,"answered Major Bernard.

"Good."

With Pearl Gate City becoming the largest trading city on the Andromeda Continent, he faced a new problem. The city was disorganized with traders who opened their shops at the side of the street. Sometimes in front of other people's houses. As the result, quarrels between residents and traders occurred frequently which affected the city security.

A year ago, he ordered small booths and gathered them at a market. The traders who wanted to rent it could come to the city hall. They would provide the rent for free for the first three months and took the rent with a lightweight profit-sharing system after it. One trader could only get one booth. If someone cheated, they would be prohibited from selling in the city again. This idea had succeeded in making the city neat again and reducing the quarrels significantly also increasing the kingdom revenue.

'Since this idea works well, I can apply it to other trading cities,' thought Angel.

They entered the meeting room and sat on the sofa. The servants immediately poured the tea into their cups.
"Have you prepared your report?" he asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Major Bernard gestured to one of his assistants to hand it over.

He took the report and turned his gaze back to Major Bernard, Claire and Cley.
"You haven't met each other for a long time. You should spend more time together. We can discuss this report tomorrow."

After hearing his words, Cley and Claire quickly answered him.
"Yes, Your Majesty," they said as a board smile appeared on their face. Then they quickly bowed and pulled Major Bernard who hasn't had time say a word yet.

"Your Majesty, I'll take my leave," said Major Bernard as they kept pulling him away.

Angel just simply nodded in response. He looked to the door as they left the room.
'Both of you always remind me of my childhood... I hope you will always be happy forever.' Then he turned his eyes back to the report in his hand.