Every country has its own troubles, just like most people in the Federation oppose the government approving wave after wave of immigrants entering the Federation, Gafura people also oppose Federation people taking away projects and profits that belong to them.

However, in contrast, the demands from the lower class in Gafura society are not so easily met because the formation of the upper class there is not based on elections.

Still, meeting the demands of the lower class has its benefits, at least it can reduce some public discontent with the upper class and alleviate people's anger.

Governor Sedel's stance can be said to satisfy the majority of Gafura people's thoughts in the Amelie Province. Yes, they should show some toughness to the Federation people, to make them understand this is Gafura's Amelia, not the Federation's!

In the central area of Zhulis City, after two checks, Lynch's convoy finally entered the most central part of the city - the area built within the moat.

Most countries with deep histories and their cities are often constructed around some common elements, such as an ancient city, a family's ancient castle, or a free trade market.

Zhulis used to be a small city with city walls and a moat. As it developed, the city walls were dismantled, but the moat was preserved.

Now, almost all of the Gafura people living here reside within the moat for safety.

Living outside the moat is dangerous. Who knows if those mad anti-government militants will sneak into the city to assassinate them. Such incidents are not unprecedented, leading to a local ideological divide.

Gafura people live in the best area, called the "Empire Zone". Beyond the Empire Zone is the space where the natives live.

An unbridgeable gap between the two incompatible groups will never lead to pure friendship, only conflicts, and as conflicts continue to escalate, they eventually spark terrifying clashes.

The moat area is brightly lit, while outside the moat is pitch black.

"We need to embarrass the Federation people!", at this time in a large house within the moat, gathered Gafura merchants discussing the matter, news suddenly came from the country, the Emperor agreed to the Federation's diplomatic mission's request, granting them treatment equivalent to Gafura people in the Amelia Region.

If it's just a matter of some people coming to work and simply doing business, that's not a problem, but those they face almost unabashedly reveal their intentions, they are here to snatch business.

How could such matters possibly satisfy Gafura merchants, from top to bottom, they expressed displeasure towards Lynch and his people, but at the same time, they can't show it too directly since this was agreed upon by the Emperor himself.

The Governor has the Governor's way, the merchants have the merchants' way, they want to embarrass Lynch, while it's also a warning to let that arrogant kid understand this is Gafura's territory, not the Federation's.

No matter how well he does in the Federation, he must tuck his tail here!

Someone asked, "What should we do?"

Some had special ideas, "Maybe we can rehang the signs..."

The signs have become a recent trend in the Empire Zone, where some service shops would erect a sign outside saying "Only Serve Gafura Citizens/Inferiors Not Allowed" with these discriminatory rules.

Though some outside the Empire Zone objected to this, including those who first defected over, in the end, they couldn't stop the creation and popularity of the signs.

It's said that there's the Governor's tacit approval behind this matter; he previously had a gentle attitude towards the people here, but these people betrayed his trust, and now he has toughened up.

If you can't speak while standing, then kneel to live!

Some also suggested using phrases that the Federation barbarians can't understand to mock them. In short, everyone had surprisingly consistent attitudes and stances on this matter.

Ten minutes later, Lynch's car stopped outside the big house.

As soon as he got out of the car, he saw the Gafura merchants standing on the steps, and that prominently positioned sign with its words, seeing those people's faces showing a reserved, yet actually arrogant smile, Lynch didn't show much anger on his face.

It's not good for a person to easily display their emotions on their face, he understood this truth decades ago.

His movements just paused slightly, if no one paid too much attention, they might not even notice it.

The gentleman at the forefront of the steps looked down at Lynch without moving, his lips moved slightly, "Mr. Lynch, I am Ruffy, the chairman of the local chamber of commerce, welcome to your presence!", an elegant phrase, even using honorifics, this is the biggest difference between Gafura and the Federation.

In the culture of the Federation, equality and freedom are the core values, whether it's the law or worldview, people in the Federation are equal to each other, even if a homeless vagabond stands before the President, they do not need to use honorifics because they are equal in personality, it's just their social divisions differ, none superior to another.

Everyone believes in this, capitalists say it and refine it, politicians say it and refine it, ordinary people truly believe it, and will always believe it.

Therefore, in Federation society, even if two people's identities and statuses are vastly different, they rarely use honorifics to refer to each other, instead, they directly use "you" as the second person appellation to express respect for personality, fairness, and freedom.

However, in Gafura, a monarchy with a rigid social hierarchy, there is a strict prohibition against insubordination. Various social levels adhere to the same rules and systems. Commoners are seen as low-priority, while the privileged class enjoys lower-tier rulership. This is the rule, the worldview.

Therefore, Gafura people use more honorifics than those in the Federation and enjoy being adorned with honorific titles by others.

Terms like "respected," "honorable," and so on. They used honorifics when addressing Lynch, yet their expressions did not match the respect in their words.

Ruffy, the local chamber of commerce president, looked down on Lynch. As soon as Lynch stepped into the house, he would ask if Lynch was from Gafura.

Ruffy already knew the answer. How could Lynch be from Gafura? He was from the Federation and saw the signs people carried, enabling them to burst into laughter and mock him.

Sometimes, these people's thinking patterns are hard to understand. They generally aim to mock Lynch as an "illiterate" who couldn't even read the signs, subtly suggesting that Federation people are descendants of culturally devoid thieves and criminals.

Alright, this kind of mockery is so damn elegant that a different person might not even feel anything, and might find the ensuing laughter bewildering, which would further exacerbate their emotions—Oh my God, look at this country bumpkin from the countryside. He doesn't even know what we're mocking him for. What a bumpkin!

Something like that.

But Lynch didn't give them the chance. He didn't step into the house but looked around. Upon entering, he noticed that even in the Empire district, there were densely patrolling teams at night.

At this moment, both parties were in a standoff, neither side conceding. Lynch was not in a hurry and waited for about two minutes until a patrol team approached.

As they passed by, Lynch suddenly stopped them.

"I am Lynch, you should recognize me..."

The members of the patrol team nodded. The new nobility of the Empire, although only a baron and not yet officially conferred, Lynch was at least half a noble.

Compared to the unscrupulous merchants with various noble backgrounds, these patrol members were a bit more proper.

Lynch pointed to the soldier holding a dog amongst them, "May I ask you for a favor?"

The soldier stood at attention, saluted, "Of course, sir!"

Lynch nodded, glanced at those who had begun to sense something was amiss, and said to the soldier, "Could you take your pet and stand by the steps over there?"

The soldier looked at the steps not far away, didn't answer, but directly walked over, then faced Lynch and stood, "Yes, sir!"

Only then did Lynch adjust his attire, step through the door, and instead of facing the Gafura merchants on the steps, he walked to the side of the steps, bent down, and looked at the dog, "Hello, I am Lynch..."

The gentlemen on the steps suddenly turned very pale. They had intended to use this way to humiliate Lynch, leaving him without an excuse to retaliate.

Unexpectedly, their plan failed, and they were humiliated by Lynch instead.

According to the rules of such occasions, the first to greet the invitee should be the host, to express mutual respect and courtesy.

Today's host was the president of the local chamber of commerce. Lynch didn't greet the actual president, but instead greeted a dog. Meanwhile, he anthropomorphized the dog, and with the conspicuous sign next to him, the people on the steps turned purple with rage!

The soldier felt somewhat nervous, not sure what had happened, but he instinctively sensed the atmosphere was somewhat off, "Sir, may I continue patrolling?"

Lynch took a stick of pure color from his pocket and stuffed it into the soldier's pocket, "Of course, soldier."

After saluting, the soldier and the patrol team quickly left. They, being small figures, couldn't afford such disturbances.

The president, upon realization, looked at Lynch with a forced smile, "Mr. Lynch, you have a great sense of humor."

Lynch, smiling, "No, when it comes to joking, I am far from being as good as you all."

An unpleasant first meeting made the president faintly aware that this was definitely not an easy character to deal with. Clearly standing on Gafura soil, yet being so assertive, where did his courage come from?

=

Someone asked why the author didn't use "you"; now does everyone understand?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.