Oh, right, they're speaking Loenese. How amazing!
Abner made that idle remark to himself, not believing a word the seemingly honest man in black armor had said.
In fact, he had noticed the city's language divide as soon as he entered Morning Star City.
Most residents in the middle and lower levels of the mountain spoke Ancient Feysac or Hermes. The Mechanical Emperor had evidently promoted both languages.
The more developed and more complex Loenese, however, was spoken only by those living on the Cloudtop platform near the tower. It was what the man in black armor had called "Morning Star Speech."
The language had also become a mark of status. To settle in the Cloudtop District, a person needed a certain level of merit, enough energy points, property of the required size, and a passing grade of level four on the Morning Star Speech proficiency exam. Only then could they become a resident and enjoy its additional benefits.
These rules had been introduced over the century following the Fall of the Morning Star. At first, they had also been intended to stimulate demand and bring life to the city. Gradually, though, the language had become synonymous with being upper class.
Now, learning the "refined speech" came at a steep price for people in the middle and lower levels.
Lazar, whom Abner had encountered earlier, could still live in the Cloudtop District despite his poor finances because he had lived long enough to learn mechanical skills and the refined speech. When he was especially short of energy points, he taught private lessons.
Not everyone who underwent mechanical modification could live for two hundred years. Lazar could not even afford to replace his broken left foot in the Cloudtop District. The exosuits worn by residents in the more resource-starved lower levels