The wheels rolled over the road as the carriage entered Xia Ya, passed through gate after gate, and headed toward the city center.
Along the way, Richard looked through the carriage window at Xia Ya's current state and noticed some subtle changes from more than three years ago.
More than three years ago, when he had observed Xia Ya, the war between the Soma Alliance and the Sika Kingdom had only recently ended. Although the Soma Alliance had won the war, its national strength had been greatly depleted. The common people's standard of living had plummeted, taxes were excessively heavy, and many shops in the city had closed.
Yet compared with more than three years ago, things did not seem to have improved much. On the contrary, they appeared to have become even worse.
At a glance, at least thirty percent of the shops along the streets were closed, while another thirty percent had dilapidated storefronts and scarcely any customers. The streets had become quite desolate. The occasional pedestrians hurried past without stopping before any shop.
The owner of a grocery store leaned against the doorframe as though he had given up struggling. He did not try to attract customers at all, merely staring blankly with lifeless fish eyes, no one knew what he was thinking.
The owner of the tailor shop next door was no better off, standing at the entrance and sighing again and again.
The blacksmith shop in the distance was unusually quiet. Only after a long while did the intermittent sound of hammering emerge. It was dull, cold, and lifeless. It lasted less than a few minutes before stopping, and even the furnace fire seemed to have gone out.
This sight did not improve until they reached the center of Xia Ya City. The streets in