The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

When the convoy crossed the border, the entire opera house was inspected. Fortunately, it seemed that only the health of the Nightingale Opera House members was being checked to prevent plague and disease from entering the western North.

The entire inspection process was very quick and smooth. No one, including Greya, was harassed. Even the opera house guards' weapons were not confiscated. However, some people were still secretly cursing the governor, claiming that this violated their freedom.

Many people were worried about this trip to the North West, and some even advised Greya to give up, since such a poor place as the North West probably couldn't raise much money for charity.

But as the saying goes, since they were already here, the other members had no choice but to bite the bullet and move on.

However, the situation along the way was somewhat different from what the Nightingale Opera House had expected. Even without the escort of the nobles' soldiers, and only with the Nightingale Opera House's own guards, they still did not encounter a single bandit on the road.

On the contrary, there were merchants with various flags along the way, and Greya even saw merchants from Doug's territory traveling on the main road.

Some businessmen recognized the Nightingale Opera House and shamelessly approached Greya for her autograph. Although the person in charge initially wanted to refuse, Greya generously got out of the car to sign for them. These businessmen were quite generous and donated a large sum of money to Greya.

Greya encountered the same situation she had when she first entered the North, and her progress was slow, mostly involving stops and starts, although the reasons were quite different or even completely opposite. Before she even reached the Gray and White Collar, the amount of donations Greya had received was already close to the total amount she had raised from Doug.

After encountering yet another of her ardent fans, Greya couldn't help but ask, "Are there any families in need in the nearby towns? Why isn't anyone begging along the main road?"

The merchant, seeing that his idol was asking him a question, did not dare to be negligent and carefully recalled: "I am not very familiar with the nearby towns. Recently, a couple of alchemists have come to Gray and White Collar. They are very worried about their son with Doug Lars. I heard that they have not been able to contact him for a long time."

"As for those who beg on the streets, they have all been arrested. Not to mention the main roads, you can hardly see any beggars in the entire West."

"Arrested? What for?"

Greya's heart immediately jumped, after all, the western part of the North had virtually no reputation in the capital.

"They do all sorts of jobs. The road was almost finished before winter, and now they're mostly working in factories."

The merchant stroked his beard and said enviously, "That's great! I heard they get subsidies and days off in winter. Unlike us, who have to run around in the dead of winter."

Of course, this statement was definitely made in jest, and it was more of an expression of envy for the other person's benefits and treatment.

"Can you tell me more about it?"

Greya grasped the merchant's hand, her tone earnest, her eyes clear as she looked at him.

The merchant and his guards immediately succumbed, nodding like chickens pecking at rice: "Whatever Miss Greya wants to know, I will tell you everything I know."

And so the merchant recounted everything he knew in detail.

Afterwards, the businessman donated a large sum of money, so much so that even the head of the Nightingale Opera House personally received and saw him off.

"So rich..."

The person in charge watched the departing caravan and sighed, "Are all the merchants here so rich?"

But Greya had already lay down in the carriage and begun to ponder.

Although she had anticipated that no one would come out to greet her along the way, Greya never expected it would be for this reason.

The governor here set standards for all officials managing the territory, and any official who failed to meet the standards had to undergo a re-evaluation.

It's winter again, and we're almost at the coldest time in the North. I heard that the governor's brother-in-law, Colin, is now randomly spawning in various places in the western North to check the loyalty of officials. Under these circumstances, no one will care about a random songstress passing by.

But what's most unbelievable is that there's still a lot of work to be done in the western North, and the governor actually pays wages—not the cheap, worthless Dougcoins, but the real, universal currency.

Even in the capital, the outer city is basically deserted during the winter. Everyone is just waiting for the winter to pass, and only professionals and nobles will start their social activities during the winter.

To confirm the true situation in the western North, Greya deliberately took a detour and spent a day in the town. During that day, Greya's biggest impression was that the magic scroll for heating was really cheap, and now the entire caravan was using this heating scroll called "Warm Baby".

No wonder the merchant said that almost every gray-collar worker could afford magical items. That's an understatement. At that price, almost everyone with a decent job in the entire western North could afford them.

In town, Greya waited until the factory workers and school let out before stopping a few poorly dressed commoners, wanting to visit their homes. To their puzzled looks, Greya saw that they had indeed cooked a table full of dishes to treat her.

Although the person in charge insisted on testing the poison, Greya happily finished the meal and left some silver leaf coins for them before leaving amidst the family's bewildered gazes.

The ordinary people here not only have enough to eat, but even have surplus grain to entertain guests. It's hard to imagine that this is still the North. Greya even wondered if she had returned to the capital during its most prosperous period.

Although the mental imprint left by Cordick still exists in most people's minds, Greya is more willing to believe the facts she has seen.

Back in the carriage, the Nightingale Opera's caravan set off again. In the carriage, Greya took out a pen and paper and crossed out several plays that were originally planned to be performed.

It was already night when the Nightingale Opera's motorcade drove into the gray-collar area.

Because of Greya's frequent stops along the way, she arrived several days later than planned, and in the end, in order to catch up, she could only enter the city after sunset.

Fortunately, there was no curfew at night, and the city was still brightly lit. Some people in the Nightingale Opera House caravan even hunched over, curiously observing the surrounding scenery.

Even though the Nightingale Opera House is located in the inner city of the capital, and its lights and scenery are even more dazzling and prosperous than here, it has already lost when it comes to comparing the inner city of the capital with the place where the opponent just entered the city.

Especially the huge obelisk in the distance, emitting a faint light, with various magic circles shining beneath it, was particularly eye-catching in the night.

When the convoy entered the city, it attracted quite a crowd of onlookers, but they were all quite polite. Not only did no one rush into the middle of the road to beg, but they also kept a certain distance. Of course, some people excitedly spread the word, and all of this was seen by Greya.

Until a bard dressed in theatrical costume blocked the caravan's path.

"Welcome to the Gray Collar, members of the Nightingale Opera."