Side Story 123: Shandal's Little Adventure (3)

In North Rudek, the city that particularly caught Shandal's interest was Violi. It was also their destination this time.

Violi lies in eastern North Rudek. When North Rudek was still Lifrea, this city was not a particularly noteworthy place.

Rezeen, Lifrea's religious capital, lay toward the western side of North Rudek. As a result, Violi, which lay outside the main flow of travelers, had once been a sleepy farming village.

Yet no traveler looking at the city as it is now would believe that Violi had been a small village until just three years ago.

It was Roa=Stein himself who recognized the value of this place. One of North Rudek's major rivers flows near Violi toward the border with Tzanadefor and the Empire.

Roa regarded this river, together with the new highway, as a key hub for distribution, and set about developing Violi, which clung to the riverbank.

Once the city had reached a certain level of development, the headquarters of North Rudek's knight order was moved there as well. The city was steadily establishing itself, in effect, as North Rudek's capital.

Despite having some prior knowledge, Shandal let out a small sigh when he arrived and saw the city for himself.

The towns and villages they had passed along the way had been fairly lively, but this place was in a league of its own.

"Wasn't it difficult to make the city this large in only three years?"...