Chapter 401: The Capital Isn’t Ready for Damian

The next morning, Damian and the others finally prepared to leave Haruto’s inn and continue their journey.

As the group disappeared down the road, Haruto stood near the entrance watching them leave.

The moment they were finally out of sight, he released a long breath of relief. "Finally..."

Yumi, who was standing beside him, turned toward her father with a puzzled expression. "Dad, what’s wrong? They weren’t that bad."

She tilted her head before adding, "Besides, that Damian guy was pretty generous. He paid us way more than enough."

Haruto slowly turned toward his daughter and stared at her. "Yes, he was generous."

His expression immediately became troubled. "But did you already forget that he nearly started a fight with members of the Kurogane Samurai Guild inside our inn?"

Yumi blinked.

Haruto rubbed his forehead helplessly. "I’m honestly more worried that the Kurogane Samurai Guild might blame us for what happened."

Yumi thought about it for a few seconds. Her cheerful expression slowly became awkward. "...Yeah."

She scratched her cheek. "Fair point, Dad."

Haruto sighed again as he looked toward the road where Damian’s group had disappeared.

He had a strange feeling that those troublesome guests were going to cause far bigger problems once they reached the Sakura Empire.

Fortunately, whatever happened next would no longer happen inside his inn.

---

Damian and the others continued traveling toward the Sakura Empire, and fortunately, there were no more unexpected incidents along the way.

Several hours later, an enormous city finally appeared beyond the distant hills.

Massive white stone walls surrounded countless buildings decorated with curved tiled roofs, cherry blossom gardens, towering pagodas, and enormous cultivation towers that rose high above the city skyline.

Ren pointed toward the distant city proudly. "That’s Hanamiyako, the main city and political center of the Sakura Empire."

Damian looked toward the city and let out an impressed whistle. "Damn... that’s quite a huge city you’ve got there."

Aiko immediately smiled proudly and puffed out her chest. "Of course! Hanamiyako is the central city of the Sakura Empire. It’s one of the most important and largest cities in the entire empire!"

Damian nodded slowly while continuing to examine the enormous city in the distance.

The more he looked at it, the more it reminded him of something from his previous world.

"So basically... it’s like Tokyo or something, huh? The main central city where everything important happens."

The group soon arrived at the southern gate, where thousands of cultivators, merchants, carriages, and traveling groups constantly entered and exited the city.

Since Damian and most of his companions were foreigners, they needed temporary identification tokens before entering.

Fortunately, the process turned out to be surprisingly simple.

Damian paid the required spirit stones, provided some basic information about himself and his group, and within a short time, everyone received temporary visitor tokens.

He looked down at the token in his hand with a slightly surprised expression. "Is that it? I honestly expected entering the capital to be way more complicated."

Ren nodded casually. "Yeah, it’s pretty easy."

Damian raised an eyebrow.

Ren continued explaining, "The Sakura Empire isn’t one of the strongest empires in the world, so it can’t afford to make things too difficult for foreign cultivators."

Aiko quickly added, "And Hanamiyako is famous for being one of the most beautiful and entertaining cities in the region!"

She smiled proudly before continuing. "There are festivals, hot springs, restaurants, cultivation performances, art districts, arenas, and all kinds of entertainment here."

Damian slowly nodded.

Aiko raised one finger. "Because of that, powerful cultivators from many different regions visit all the time."

Ren chuckled. "Which also means attacking or destroying this city would piss off far more people than just the Sakura Empire."

Damian immediately understood. "So basically, this place survives partly because everyone likes it too much."

Aiko blinked.

Damian grinned. "It’s like a cultivation paradise. Even if the owner isn’t the strongest guy around, nobody wants some idiot burning down their favorite vacation spot."

Ren laughed. "That’s actually a pretty good way to explain it."

Damian nodded, agreeing with the thought.

"Makes sense. Destroying Hanamiyako would basically be like declaring war on everyone who enjoys spending time here."

---

Once inside the city, Damian turned toward Ren and Aiko. "Well, I guess this is where your job ends."

He casually tossed a storage pouch toward Ren.

Ren caught it and immediately froze after checking the contents. "Young Master Damian, this is far too much!"

Aiko leaned closer to see what was inside, and her eyes widened in surprise as well.

Damian simply waved his hand dismissively. "You two guided us through dangerous areas, gave us plenty of useful information, and didn’t abandon us even when things got ridiculous."

He smiled generously before adding, "You earned it, so just take it."

Ren and Aiko exchanged grateful glances before bowing respectfully. "Thank you, Young Master Damian!"

Damian was about to turn away when he suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right! Actually, come back tomorrow."

Ren blinked in confusion. "Tomorrow?"

Damian nodded and gestured toward the enormous city surrounding them. "Yeah. We don’t know shit about this place, and honestly, I don’t feel like wandering around aimlessly."

He pointed toward the two siblings with a grin. "So I’ve decided to officially hire you two as our local guides. Interested?"

Aiko’s face immediately brightened with excitement. "Of course! We’d be happy to!"

Ren also nodded gratefully. "Thank you for trusting us again, Young Master Damian. We’ll meet you tomorrow morning."

With that settled, the siblings finally departed, disappearing into the busy streets of Hanamiyako.

Damian watched them leave before slowly turning toward the women standing behind him.

A familiar, mischievous grin appeared on his face. "Hehe... Finally!"

Linsey raised an eyebrow curiously. "Finally what, Master?"

Damian rubbed his hands together excitedly. "It’s finally time to find my next candidate!"

Miona immediately groaned and rolled her eyes. "Seriously? You’ve been thinking about that this entire journey?"

Damian turned toward her with a completely shameless expression. "Obviously! What else did you expect?"

Serina chuckled softly at his response. "I suppose none of us should be surprised anymore."

Damian merely shrugged at her comment before glancing around at the enormous group accompanying him.

Cassandra, Serina, Miona, Linsey, Helena, Cynthia, Evelyn, and his five female servants.

Twelve women and one man.

Unsurprisingly, such an unusual group was attracting an absurd amount of attention wherever they walked.

After all, not only were the women accompanying him incredibly beautiful, but their appearances and clothing were also noticeably different from those of the local cultivators.

Damian noticed several people openly staring at them, but he simply shrugged, already accustomed to receiving this kind of attention. "Anyway, before anything else, we need to find somewhere to stay."

Cynthia glanced around at the crowded streets before nodding. "Preferably somewhere large enough to accommodate all of us comfortably."

Damian nodded in agreement. "Exactly! And since we’re finally in the main city, we might as well find somewhere luxurious."

With that decided, he continued walking deeper into Hanamiyako with his usual carefree smile, clearly looking forward to exploring everything the city had to offer.

However, none of them appeared to notice several mysterious figures quietly observing their movements from the nearby rooftops.

One shadowed figure narrowed his eyes as he carefully examined Damian and the women accompanying him.

After watching them for a few more moments, he turned toward his companions and gave a subtle signal.

A moment later, the figure disappeared silently into the bustling city, leaving the others to continue their observation.

It seemed someone had already taken an interest in Damian’s arrival.