Walking straight up to the rustic iron and stone entrance of the small town, Remilia and the others paused, looking around at the immediate surroundings with faint expressions of surprise written all over their faces.
To their collective memory, the mobile encampments of the Reunion Movement had generally looked like an impoverished, desperate environment pulled straight out of a human society from the 1940s, while the towering, hyper-advanced metropolis of Lungmen looked completely modern and sleek. But this specific Victorian border town laid out before them felt precisely like an industrial society frozen somewhere in the 1970s or 1980s. Logically speaking, the sheer socioeconomic and technological gap between different regions and countries within the exact same world shouldn't have been this glaringly massive. Yet, that was the indisputable reality their eyes perceived.
When they formally crossed the town threshold, it happened to be just around the late afternoon hour when the majority of the local working-class citizens were getting off their daily shifts. They saw a dense group of manual laborers walking down the unpaved road, their arms thrown casually around each other's shoulders as they laughed. Although their faces and clothing looked incredibly grimy, covered in soot and grease from the factories, almost every single one of them had a bright, genuine smile on their face.
Upon catching sight of Flandre and her unique companions, the rowdy laborers immediately quieted down and moved aside respectfully, clearing a wide path along the curb. After all, although Flandre's group consisted entirely of women and girls, every single one of them possessed an extraordinarily majestic, commanding aura that normal civilians could instinctively feel, and they were even accompanied by a perfectly composed maid dressed in an immaculate uniform.
The laborers naturally assumed the elegant group were high-born noble young ladies traveling through the rural province on holiday. Although it was undeniably uncommon for wealthy tourists to visit their small, pollution-heavy industrial town, it was common knowledge across Victoria that the whimsical thoughts and erratic moods of the nobility were absolutely not for ordinary commoners like them to guess. The single best way to handle an unexpected encounter with a noble was to bow one's head and keep a safe, respectful distance. It simply wasn't worth the immense risk of making the other party feel that breathing the same baseline air as common workers was somehow dirtying their delicate environment, which historically often ended with a commoner getting publicly whipped for their insolence.
Remilia was quite accustomed to this exact brand of subservient societal behavior. She nodded her head slightly, her gaze sweeping over the crowd as she remarked, "Although these local workers aren't exactly practicing polite etiquette, they do at least know the fundamental rules of hierarchy."
"And the sheer variety of distinct animal races present here is clearly much greater than what we witnessed back in Ursus," Patchouli observed quietly, her eyes darting between the pedestrians. "Look over there... there are cat-folk, dog-folk, and even deer-folk all walking together."
As they walked further down the cobblestone road, they observed dozens of entirely different races all living and working mixed completely together, a detail that left Remilia and her group quite satisfied with their choice of route. One of the primary reasons they were traveling across the continent on foot was to see exactly what the diverse populations of this world looked like with their own eyes. They were especially curious about the structural living conditions of the common people. For instance, they wanted to see whether there was active, state-mandated segregation enforced between these vastly different animal races, but it seemed now that the common people here all lived entirely mixed together in daily life. It was just that a single, specific race would usually remain numerically dominant depending on the geographic borders. For example, the population of Ursus was mostly comprised of bear-folk, while the grand nation of Victoria was heavily dominated by cat-folk.
Shortly after navigating the main street, the group arrived directly in front of the local inn. Of course, the industrial town wasn't very big by global standards, and the establishment they had come to was already visibly the best-looking, most well-maintained building in the entire sector.
The exact second the group stepped into the lobby, the sharp receptionist behind the front desk noticed that Remilia and the others all possessed extraordinary, high-class temperaments. Realizing instantly that immensely important figures had just graced his humble counter, he hurriedly walked out from behind the desk with deep caution and respect.
"Welcome, most distinguished guests. Are you perhaps looking to stay at our humble inn for the evening?"
Hearing the specific accent and linguistic structure of the other party, Remilia subtly raised an eyebrow in amusement; it really was the exact phonetic pronunciation and cadence of Old English from several centuries ago. Thanks to the fact that the primary members of the Scarlet Devil Mansion were thoroughly "old things" themselves who had lived through countless human eras, this archaic level of mortal language posed absolutely no problem for them to comprehend.
"Three of your absolute best rooms," Sakuya Izayoi was the one who spoke up, stepping forward to handle the logistics with her usual professional coolness.
"No problem at all, Madam! Three of our premium luxury rooms will cost a total of fifteen Victoria silver coins for the night," the receptionist answered, bowing his head slightly as he calculated the fee. "Would the distinguished guests prefer to pay with physical cash or a registered bank card?"
Sakuya reached into the pocket of her pristine apron, smoothly pulling out a heavy leather money pouch. She untied the strings and meticulously drew out sixteen gleaming, officially minted Victoria silver coins, handing them straight over to the man. After the receptionist counted the precious metal with trembling fingers, he bowed even lower. "Guests, please follow me upstairs."
On their way up the wooden staircase, Flandre tugged on Patchouli's sleeve, curiously asking in a very low whisper, "Hey, Patchy... where exactly did all this real money come from?!"
"Of course, it was graciously given to us by Lady Talulah right before we officially set off from the landship," Patchouli answered Flandre in a matching low, quiet voice. "After all, we naturally need local currency to spend while traveling through foreign kingdoms. It just so happens that officially minted Victoria gold and silver coins are universally considered hard currency throughout every single nation across Terra. And since the Reunion Movement had a substantial reserve of it on hand after their recent trade deals with Victorian merchants, Lady Talulah insisted on giving us about fifty gold coins for our pocket money."
"Oh!" Flandre blinked, a look of sudden realization dawning on her face.
She had originally fully intended to proudly announce that she possessed a modern bank card in her own pocket; she distinctly remembered Beatrice telling her back in Lungmen that this specific card was widely accepted across all major banking networks in Victoria. She had fully intended to take it out just a moment ago to handle the bill, but before she could even find an opening to speak, Sakuya had already flawlessly pulled out a physical pile of silver coins, leaving her with absolutely no opportunity to show off her modern financial skills.
After arriving at the assigned premium suites and taking a thorough look around, they found that the rooms were all outfitted with double beds. The spaces were exceptionally clean, tidy, and the mattresses were quite surprisingly soft to the touch. Flandre excitedly jumped right onto one of the beds, and her whole body instantly sank deep into the plush cushioning with a happy hum.
There was even a functioning, somewhat bulky television set stationed directly in front of the bed to watch local broadcast programs. Although the overall decor certainly couldn't compare to a lavish five-star hotel in a massive modern city like Lungmen, it could undoubtedly be considered a top-tier, absolute luxury suite within the confines of this small industrial town.
The six of them were very satisfied with the accommodations. And because not many wealthy travelers or high-ranking nobles visited this kind of remote border town, and even fewer were willing to spend a large amount of hard currency on the premium rooms, their three suites were conveniently located in a single, uninterrupted row down the hall. Flandre and her older sister Remilia stayed in the first room; Sakuya Izayoi and Patchouli Knowledge occupied the center room; while Hong Meiling and Letty Whiterock shared the final suite at the end of the hall.
After settling their luggage and resting for a few brief minutes, the six travelers walked back down the stairs together into the lobby.
"Are there any particularly good places to get a quality meal around here? Could you kindly recommend one to us?" Remilia asked the front desk clerk.
Although eating ordinary human food had absolutely no biological effect on vampires like Remilia and Flandre, the other members of their party still needed to eat regular meals to sustain themselves. Furthermore, just because human food had no functional nutritional value for their vampire physiology didn't mean it lacked delicious flavor or enjoyment.
"If you are talking about the absolute best dining options in our town, the place with the highest quality food has to be Mary's Shop," the receptionist replied hurriedly, his eyes lighting up as he recognized the high-spending customers from before. "The establishment is located just a hundred meters away from our doors, right at the primary corner of this very street."
"Our thanks," Remilia said smoothly, turning to walk out into the crisp evening air.
Sakuya, walking at the very end of the line, paused by the front desk. She reached into her pouch, took out a substantial handful of copper coins, and placed them neatly onto the wooden table with a click. "A generous tip from my mistress for your excellent service."
Seeing the pile of copper, the receptionist's servile smile grew even wider, his eyes practically turning into crescents. After all, copper coins were still real money, and the hefty handful that Sakuya had casually grabbed was almost enough to equal his entire day's standard wages.
"Thank you so much, Miss! Wishing you and your noble mistress all the absolute best in health and fortune, Miss!"
After walking out the front door of the inn, it wasn't long before the group arrived directly in front of the specific establishment the receptionist had described. Looking up at the weathered wooden sign reading "Mary's Shop" hanging above the storefront, the travelers were momentarily left entirely speechless. This name was a bit too aggressively simple and mundane for their tastes. But since they were here purely to enjoy a hot meal anyway, they didn't truly care about the lack of creativity in the shop's branding.
The exact second they crossed the threshold, they noted that there were already quite a few local citizens sitting at the downstairs tables. Seeing Remilia and her majestic group enter, the loud, rowdy voices of the ordinary townsfolk immediately quieted down quite a bit, many lowering their eyes in deference.
The alert waiter working the floor, seeing the six elegantly dressed women enter, hurriedly ran over to greet them. "Distinguished guests, do you perhaps require a private, isolated VIP dining room on our second floor?"
Remilia knew perfectly well that the common people here completely regarded their group as high-ranking nobles. In the cultural history of Old England, it was considered a very improper, scandalous thing for nobles and commoners to eat together in the same open hall, so she nodded her head with imperial grace. "Very well, lead the way."
The waiter let out a breath of relief and immediately led them up the stairs to a private, enclosed dining room on the second floor. "I wonder what the most distinguished guests would like to order this evening?"
"Bring us one of every single one of your establishment's absolute signature dishes," Remilia commanded smoothly.
"Are there perhaps any specific dietary restrictions or allergies I should inform the chef about?" the waiter continued to ask with deep caution. After all, some temperamental nobles wouldn't touch this or that ingredient, and if there was a single problem or perceived offense with the dishes served to a noble house, at best the shop would be forcibly closed down by the law, and at worst, the owner's entire family would be arrested and sent to work in the dangerous active Originium mines. Therefore, it was infinitely better to ask clearly beforehand.
"Dietary restrictions? We have absolutely none. Just prepare the food and bring it out as it is ready," Remilia replied. For the powerful entities present at the table, even if completely raw, untamed meat were served, they could consume it without a single issue, so naturally, they wouldn't harbor any petty prejudices or complaints about mortal food preparation.
"Understood, distinguished guests! Please wait a moment while the kitchen prepares your feast." Seeing that these powerful nobles were actually incredibly easy to talk to and polite, the waiter breathed a massive sigh of relief. He hurriedly backed out of the room, bowing repeatedly, and ran straight down the stairs to report to the kitchen staff, sternly warning the cooks to be exceptionally careful and meticulous when plating the dishes for the upstairs table.
Inside the quiet room, Remilia sat down on her chair, looking at the wooden paneling and utensils before letting out a soft, contemplative sigh. "When you look past the modern electronics, this environment really doesn't look any different from our side of the boundary at all."