Chapter 254: O District

Layla followed the Kingsblade fighters and went into the palace. Three months have passed since she started to live in Arcadia, and since then, other than for the trip to visit her brother, it was the third time she was summoned by the king.

Every time the king called, he would ask her questions about what she had been doing or the progress towards her current training, hence she was never worried about whenever she was called again.

"Could it be that the king wants to take me to see Tristan? I sure hope so." Layla mused.

When she entered the throne room, she saw a few more people were standing in line in front of the king. Some wore luxurious clothing and brought a lot of scrolls and binded books, while others brought a simple paper, perhaps a missive from the neighboring city,

Layla watched from the corner as the king handled their cases one by one. 

The Arcadian Kingdom has a total of 25 cities, all possessing their own unique problems. As the king, Callan possesses the responsibility to make a decision on some of the bigger ones, be it directly from him or discussing it with his council. Sometimes, problems are sent with the aid of the communication stone, as well.

The problems range from conflict between towns, monster sightings, or even simple ceremonial invitations that are important enough to warrant the attention of the king.

Layla watched the king discuss and talk to each of them, and before she realized it, an hour had passed. It was now her turn to meet the king.

"Your Majesty," Layla greeted politely,

"Ah, Layla, here you are," the king nodded and looked at his student before asking her to come with him, "Come, let's go on a little walk."

Followed by a few Kingsblade personnel, they walked through the halls and exited from the west side of the palace,

"So Layla, I heard you came out first again on yesterday's test?"

"Yes, I did!" Layla answered, excitement palpable in her voice.

"That is very good. I have to commend you. You have only been in the rank 3 classes for around two months now, but you are already at the top of the class." 

"Well, most of the students in my class are idiots." Layla remarked.

The king replied with a smile and said.

"It's not that they are weak, it's just that you are very talented."

Everyone loves to be praised, especially young women, and Layla was no exception. Although her brother really disliked the king, the time she spent with him made her feel otherwise. 

Well, to be fair to her brother, the king did beat him up, but what were they arguing about in the first place? Probably a male thing, she thought

Tristan was her brother, and as his sibling, she would sympathize with him and defend him. But on the other hand, It is good to have more people to rely on while she was stranded on this strange planet, especially a king.

While she remembered about her brother, she decided to ask.

"Any news from my brother? Is he doing as well as you requested?"

The king stopped for a while, looked away from her for a moment, before answering.

"His methods may be questionable, but he gets the job done."

"Isn't that good then?"

"We'll see in two months."

They merely talked for a bit, but Layla realized she ended up in a part of a city that she has never been to.

"So where are you taking me, King Callan?"

"We are going to the O district."

Layla stared at him for a bit, her confused expression clear as day. She has been living here for a few months, and he only heard of three districts here. A is the market district, B is the military district, and C is the residential district. This is the first time she heard of any district beyond that.

She walked alongside the king past the crowded and lively streets, before reaching a small path. When she made it on the other side, she saw a quite desolate place far separated from the city, with tall walls surrounding it from all sides. At first glance, it looked like a war fortress, but then Layla realized that there was no point in building a fortress when the castle was so close by.

The only other option was a prison, all depending on the walls, are they there to keep people in… or out.

"What is this place?"

"You will see in a little while. We have just arrived."

When they entered the place, Layla gasped. It was like they had entered a completely different world, with different buildings and people with different clothes. The tall walls obscured the place, but now that she was inside, she was unable to see the furthest wall, a sure sign of how huge the place actually was.

To be fair, Arcadian Kingdom was also strange at first, but Layla felt a completely different aura from this district.

The city was also completely different. Instead of flames and crystals, there are glowing lights all over, and some people were walking on top of a moving machine

From a cursory glance, although much dirty, it could see this place was more advanced in technology than Arcadia

From the clothing, the buildings, and the people, Layla quickly put two and two together. The "O" district most likely means Outlander district.

Callan explained that this is the place where he gathered any Outlanders who ended up in this world and slowly introduced them to Arcadian customs before letting, or releasing them, as ordinary Arcadian citizens.

"Just like you, they appeared mostly out of nowhere and were mostly trapped in this world with us."

Layla walked around passing through multiple buildings and realized all eyes were staring towards the two of them.

They walked through several streets, and they passed the residential area before they stopped in front of an ordinary-looking building. Inside, there are around a dozen ordinary people waiting.

To her surprise, she could recognize some of their faces

The realization hit her, and she stood still like a statue. She was too shocked to even speak properly.

"They… are…" She looked around, refusing to believe what was right in front of her eyes.

"Yes," King Callan nodded, 

"These people are the ones who came to this world at the same time as you and your brother did"

Layla can quickly see there are a few of them that came from Earth among them