Chapter 30 CAITO 2

A tall, handsome man in a clean white shirt and black pants was standing near a food joint. He was thin and slender. His facial features were striking and sharp. As sun rays fell on him he looked much more striking than he already was.

"Aarav, is that you?"

Aarav turned around to meet Alize, the handsome elf from the Embassy.

"Haha. I really couldn't recognize you. Quite the stunner, are you?"

Aarav was embarrassed to hear compliments. After cleaning up and cutting his long overgrown hair, he couldn't identify himself. It was an evolution from a caveman to modern man. Thinking back about the morning when Kiara shrieked looking at him. It was funny. She then very enthusiastically cut his long hairs. He wanted to keep his hair but was strictly advised against it.

"You must have gone through a lot."

"Yeah, a bit. Thanks a lot for helping us. We are so grateful,"

"Don't mention it. I was glad to find you guys. What happened to Kiara? She didn't come with you,"

"She wanted to buy some stuff on the way. She will join us later,"

"So, how are you doing? I hope you found everything to your satisfaction,"

"It was better than we had expected,"

"Then it's good. Remember it's only a temporary settlement. You should find a job as soon as possible. You can find the information on job openings in the embassy. If you need help, I can introduce you to someone. They can help you find a suitable job for you."

"That would be great. I wanted to know where I could get licences" Aarav did not clarify which licence. He certainly cannot mention weapons as that would raise suspicion.

"You can acquire it through the Embassy itself. Since you are immigrant, the authorities will test you. Whether it is vehicle or weapons or skill, everything required by immigrants is to be handled by them. If you don't want to get it from them, then you can only wait to get permanent citizenship, or you can get a high-class resident to vouch for you."

"Permanent citizenship. How long does it take?"

"Wrong question. Ask how to get it. It has very long requirements. Nearly half the population has temporary citizenship, and most of them are not eligible."

"What requirements?"

"Hey, guys,"

Kiara came in meanwhile. She was wearing blue jeans and a beautiful pink top. Her long hair was laid down, which was reaching below her waist. Her skin was white and smooth. With an equally charming voice, she interrupted the two men. She was carrying a bag with a lot of miscellaneous things in it.

"Hi"

"Wow. Did you bought the whole market?"

"What were you guys talking about?" Ignoring Aarav, Kiara asked Alize.

Alize told them the requirements of citizenship which included clauses like property worth at least a million gold or a heroic deed recognized by the mayor or other bureaucrats or a job in the government. There were several others but this three could get them citizenship and any licenses instantly. They either need to be rich or a hero or an employee of the government. The third one seemed easy but was impossible. There rarely were any vacancies. If there were, they do not meet any eligibility criteria as they were illiterate there.

They can start up a business, but a million gold was too big of a goal. The second option was there to encourage the residents to act properly in the city. The residents believed if they live properly and not cause any issues, the bureaucrats of the city would notice their diligence and grant them citizenship. It was a tall dream, but it helps curb down the crime rate.

It was already dark when they came back to their humble dwelling.

"It is strange. Isn't it?", Kiara said while sprawling on the sofa.

"What is?"Aarav sat on the chair after placing their shopping bags on the table.

"Everything. Everything seems somehow similar to Earth but yet different." Kiara sprung up from her position sitting up straight and continued," Especially permanent citizenship criteria. People have to acquire citizenship even if they are born here. It's totally weird. The thing you are so entitled to that you sometimes forget is like a reward here. It's a city but functions as a separate country. Ah. There is no such thing as a country here".

Suddenly realizing the fact that there were no countries in the entirety of the continent, Kiara was baffled. Aarav was equally stupefied as he too didn't realize the fact. There was never a king or monarch or president. The city, which was the capital, was the most populous and headquarters of the Elysium government on Taiba. The mayor had an autonomy of the city, but not the other villages and towns of the planet. Caito wasn't under the rule of the Elysium government. Elysium functioned as the United Nations. It had few forces which worked against international threats. The city governance and security was purely under the mayor. And still, there were no kings and queens. Earth was bloodied with territorial wars but this place had none. Mostly because of pocket dimensions. Unlike Earth, people could only live inside these pockets. They were too far away from each other and invasion was nearly impossible.

And also Taiba was the poorest planet, so most people aimed to get out of the planet, not play some territory wars. Starvation was never a problem in Taiba but the living conditions dims out in comparison to other planets. Or so the planet dwellers thought.

"And a bummer we both can't get work because technically we both are minors." Aarav sighed. The average lifespan was 500 years and you reach adulthood when you are 50. They thought they could lie about their age but they had some device which could tell persons age, attributes and strength. They could still find some apprentice job if they were lucky. They can start a business. But they have nothing to sell except for weapons. Selling those things will land them into trouble. It was more troublesome for Kiara as women can't or were not allowed to do most jobs. Alize had promised to help them but he too was not sure if he could find them anything better. FYI Alize was around 200 years old.

"Haa" Kiara sighed and went to the bedroom to retire for the day. Aarav lied down on the sofa, thinking about everything they have been through. He took out a token. He raised it and thought about the conversation he had with Shula

"Here take this. Use it when you need help. Remember to use it wisely. It is for one-time use only."

He was eccentric but a nice guy all along. He didn't like how he used to get close to Kiara. He didn't have bad intentions for her. It was more like a father seeing his daughter. His gaze was full of warmth and longingness. He only felt jealous of such a gaze. His daughter must have been like Kiara. Are fathers supposed to be that warm? He quickly put a pause in his thoughts. He had already left behind all those regrets. He doesn't want to think about what can't be changed.