"Lady Zee, it seems we have reached the place."
Jules commented as she saw the city walls of White Raven from a distance while riding her colt. She was accompanied by lady Zee on her right and Tara Faelar on her left.
The trio had taken their time in coming here from Lionheart Duchy. The Illuminati sent them here to investigate the separate dimension and see if it could be used for their purposes.
There were three ladies dressed in normal adventurer attire approaching the city at a normal pace. Lady Zee had become the focal point of the trio for the spectators heading in and out of the city. Her ranking status as an Expert ranker and her beauty couldn't make her stay unnoticed after all.
Lady Zee was about to tell the duo about something when she noticed another duo of rankers that were a bit ahead of them. They were also riding their colts toward the city. She recognized one of them instantly. It was Arizihana Agnoth from the city of Silvermoon.
'Hm? What is Silvermoon's city guard captain doing here?'
Lady Zee arched her eyebrows and thought about it. She then concluded that White Raven city was enough of an attraction for every ranker in the kingdom to visit at least once.
"Let's go. We don't want to be left behind."
Lady Zee said and increased her speed.
***
The trio entered the city after paying the entrance fee. There were many queues for applicants to enter the city. Therefore, the process was relatively faster even amid the huge in-flow traffic.
Lady Zee led the two young ladies toward a unique facility inside the city that handled Utopia's entrance-related applications. She started observing the city's ever-growing splendor while on her way to the facility.
She could see there was a huge plateau in the center of the city. It was so far from the rest of the city's construction that it didn't look like it was part of the city's construction. Yet, she could see that the place served as an observation platform for all the three forces that were running the city and managing the separate dimension.
The Kukenan plateau also boasted various constructions, not all of which could be seen from where Lady Zee was standing. She needed to get to a higher altitude to see what was really up there.
However, she also knew that the plateau was the stronghold of the three forces. They wouldn't allow trespassing or her meddlesome attitude toward the rankers.
Lady Zee and the girls with her had come here to get information about the place and the White Raven guild itself. As such, she noted all the things she could observe in her mind.
The trio reached the place soon. Lady Zee saw Arizihana at the same facility once again. She was going to enter Minerva's Utopia just like them.
There was another long line awaiting their participation. They could gain access to the separate dimension by registering at the counter at the end of the line. Her first task would be securing her entrance before proceeding with the rest of the recon.
Lady Zee, Jules, and Tara made it to the counter. A gorgeous attendant in blonde hair greeted Lady Zee with a charming smile on her face before speaking up.
"How can we help you today, Ma'am?"
Before Lady Zee could speak up, Jules' surprised voice came from behind her.
"Sharla? Sharla Hinsken? What are you doing here?"
Sharla raised her eyebrows when she heard a familiar voice speaking. She stretched her neck to see the source of that voice only to be shocked by finding out who it belonged to.
"Julie Ekhart! I am working here of course. What are YOU doing here?"
Lady Zee sidestepped and allowed Jules to take charge. She also found it convenient that someone from her group knew the staff of this place. She might be able to get more info from her this way.
Jules stepped forwards and greeted Sharla with a smile before responding.
"Hehe. It seems like you didn't know. I left LA in silence after all. I am no longer an assistant professor in the academy.
But I also didn't know that you'd leave LA to come here. When did that happen? And how did that happen?"
"Dear madams, could you have your reunion somewhere else? We are waiting in line here, you know."
A female ranker protested against Sharla and Jules' casual talk with her voice coated in annoyance. They both looked at each other mirthlessly before Sharla called out to someone to take her shift.
Lady Zee and Tara followed Sharla and Jules as they found a relatively secluded corner to have their talk. Sharla spoke first.
"Hehe. It seems like you don't know or care enough about who this city belongs to. That's why you are asking the question I guess."
Jules was confused when she heard Sharla's statement. She looked at Lady Zee who just shrugged her shoulders, letting her know that she didn't know what Sharla was talking about either.
"What do you mean? Does it belong to someone we both know?"
Sharla pursed her lips before answering.
"That depends. Did you pay close attention to your first-year students?"
Jules' eyes opened wide in surprise as she understood the implications of what Sharla had just said. She asked to confirm.
"Does that mean the city is owned by…"
Sharla chuckled and responded before Jules could complete her question.
"Hehe. That's right. The city was founded by one of LA's students who you should have run into when he was in his first academic year.
Eren Elijah Idril. That's the name of the founder of the White Raven guild. He is also serving as its guild master and technically the owner of this entire city and its setup.
I was invited by him to come here to handle this facility. Not Just I. He has invited a lot of LA staff, offering better income and ranking resources than LA. So coming here seemed like a natural choice."
AN: Sharla Hinsken was first introduced in chapter 71.
