~ Chapter 116: Lingering thoughts about heroes and nations ~

[Seryanna’s point of view]

 On our way to the border, we had to pass through Onar Town. There, we stayed for the night at the Velderac Inn, where I took opportunity to gather some information from the local adventurers and see if there were any peculiar rumors they might have been of interest for us.

There was no better method of making them talk than offering them a free drink after a long day of completing missions and quests for the guild. Among the fellows I chatted with, I became acquainted with the Silver Wing Party, which consisted of a Human Hero by the name of Servos Darbukar, who took on the role of the vanguard; Belius the Spearman, an el’doraw with a strong build who took on the role of the damage dealer; Mesina Velanoce as the healer and Justian as a scout and trap expert.

The one who made this introduction was the Human Hero, who told me that he came from Akutan seeking refuge among the elves. While traveling through the country, he became acquainted with Mesina and little by little, he ended up getting charmed by the el’doraw culture. Although his story sounded plausible, I did not believe that last part. If anything, he was charmed by the cute el’doraw healer, who did not seem to mind his advances.

The other party members were well aware of this detail, but they tried their best not to mention it and left the couple to figure out things on their own. What they did share with me, however, were a few interesting details regarding the way adventuring worked around these parts as well as in Akutan.

Before he left the Human Continent, he did some adventuring there as well. Since it was such a big nation, they had their own guild and ranking system, which was employed together with the global one. According to them, he was considered a beginner adventurer who only managed to rise by three ranks. Over there, each individual rank unlocked new benefits for the adventurer as well as new missions. Up to here, there was nothing special when compared to the one we had back on the Dragon Continent, but what made the difference was the fact that you could only continue to grow up to a point.

Social class, reputation, and personal connections made an incredible difference among the adventurers in Akutan, more so than they did in any other nation. You could not go up past a certain rank if you were a commoner, and maybe just a few more if you were a respected merchant or someone with noble backing. On the other hand, nobility was giving the right to reach the highest ranks and spread their fame everywhere.

According to what he said, the cases where someone went up in ranks despite still being weak in combat or strategy were not few in number and most of them were connected in some way or another with some powerful noble who took interest in them.

Servos told me several stories or rather rumors which he heard from fellow adventurers in the guilds he passed by during his travels in the Akutan Empire. They were about powerful humans, some who had even reached Awakened rank, the equivalent of the draconian Breakthrough-er, but who were denied the privilege of increasing their guild rank because they opposed a certain noble or simply because they didn’t wish to be affiliated with nobility. Staying at a low rank did not go well for them. Eventually, they either retreated in seclusion or left the Akutan Empire. Some were rumored to have been captured and imprisoned by the Akutan nobles since they did not wish to have someone as powerful as them unrestraint and unaffiliated with any of them.

Listening to these stories, I found myself to be amazed by these decisions and laws. Instead of finding ways of bringing someone as powerful as a Breakthrough-er closer to their side, they implemented methods which further pushed them away while at the same time undermined the will of the people to find strength and further improve their skills.

I couldn’t understand why anyone would do this, none of the draconian countries made use of such ridiculous laws, but maybe the fact that we lived longer allowed us to see the disadvantages over the course of a long period of time? Strength was something every dragon fought for, while the dragonesses aimed at ruling in the political field. If they had powerful husbands by their side, they could flaunt and use more of their power with ease, and a Breakthrough-er was a treasure among treasures. Forcing them to side with you or even conspiring against them to push them out of your country was such a stupid thing to do that it was almost laughable.

Ledmerra treated their Starscryers as veritable heroes. Albeyater saw Breakthrough-ers as a representation of its own might. Dwarfs looked at them as individuals above the normal folk, even their title was that of an Enlightened One. Relliars believed that the Evolved were a transformation into a more powerful being. Meanwhile, humans looked towards their Awakened like they would at pawns they had to use, instruments of war and tools for political control.

Servos told me that each and every human in the Akutan Empire saw themselves as the higher being and all those around them as below them. Political status was all that mattered, and they refused to think otherwise. Few were those who saw the world through different eyes and usually they were the ones who were the most discriminated against or suppressed by the others.

I could not help but be pleased about this problem within the human territories. While it was sad that innocents could end up losing their lives or even being heavily discriminated against by their own people, the fact that Albeyater’s biggest enemy was ruining its own combat potential like this brought a smile on my lips and a sense of relief in my heart.

If another big war was to be unleashed between the draconians and the humans, then the latter would not match the first despite having overwhelming numbers.

It was strange to see how similar the adventurers on this continent could be to those found on the opposite side of the world. Be them dwarfs, relliars, el’doraw, humans, draconians, or elves, they were the same in certain aspects. They fought against monsters to keep the world safe, and they carried strong bonds with one another which went far and beyond the bonds dictated by the country itself.

Talking with them made me remember the last civil war that took place in my home country. It was clear that there were those who wished for change, those who wished for conflict, and those who wished for peace. There would always be conflicting parts in Albeyater Kingdom, and the same could be said about all those other countries. What made the difference was not who was right and who was wrong but who achieved this through the least amount of innocent blood spilled during the conflict.

Here, in the Velderac Inn, the mighty met the weak, and the wise met the foolish, but in the end, when faced with oppression from their country, all they could do was to suffer in silence or try to run away.

This human hero, Servos Dabukar, was someone who loathed and hated the Akutan Empire, but at the same time, there were those within that nation who adored it and wished to see it prosper while following the same path as it did until then.

In front of these adventurers, I could only act as a listener and observer, not a Royal Knight who was loyal to a foreign nation, and so I did. For several hours, I talked with them and listened in on the tales of those around us. When I consider that it was enough, I bid them farewell and wished them good luck on their journeys, then I returned to my room to catch a few hours of sleep.

We had no intention of staying for more than a single night in Ontar Town. When morning came, we ate a copious breakfast and then left the inn. The Royal Knight Callipso suggested that we should try to visit more of the town if we wished to learn about the el’doraw people, but we refused.

One thing to mention would be the fact that while we were sleeping, Tanarotte snuck inside the houses of the various scholars and nobles within this town and picked off their shelves any book or document that might contain useful information about this continent’s past as well as knowledge that we might find useful during our negotiations with her Majesty the Empress of the elves. Of course, she was told to make sure she did not grab official documents or anything that could be traced back to us. The last thing we wanted was to be called out as thieves in a foreign country, although, with this sort of actions... we sort of were? Somehow, this did not feel right, but her Highness insisted that there was no problem with this. She even made me write a detailed report with all the information I picked off during the hours I mingled with the locals.

Her Highness would make sure to read those books and documents only when the Royal Knight Callipso wasn’t within the big carriage just in case she recognized any of them. It would not have been a problem if they were in our draconian language, but they were either in elven or the old el’doraw tongue. She had studied both and while we traveled on the sea and even during our stay on this continent, we were ordered to practice and study both the written and spoken tongues of Ledmerra Kingdom and Anui’Yahna Empire. We did not need to catch their accent or dialect, just to know enough words to make ourselves understood by them. I had a feeling that with the exception of her Highness, the rest of us spoke in a weird way.

As strangers in these lands, we kept our heads low and did not try to stir any trouble or catch the attention of others, although... there were moments when the way we naturally behaved or acted was the exact opposite.

One such moment was after Tanarotte returned from her mission, instead of heading back to her room to pretend as though she had been there all night long, she foolishly went to Kataryna’s room and announced her return while opening the door wide open. The problem was that at that exact moment, the silver-scaled dragoness was in the middle of changing her clothes, so except for her panties, she had no other clothes on her. This, in itself, wasn’t that much of a problem if she were within her own home, but... right behind Tanarotte, three el’doraw men happened to be walking by, intent on heading downstairs to grab some breakfast. They turned their heads by reflex and saw something they should not have. As for what happened afterwards... well, let us just say that we had to pay for damages and use three healing potions to maintain our ‘no civilian deaths’ policy.

What surprised me the most about this event was the fact that when Kataryna shouted at the men, she stated that her body could only be seen by Alkelios. If it was before our departure from Albeyater, her words might have stung my heart a bit, but right now, they did not. Maybe, without me being aware of it, I was starting to accept the silver-scaled dragoness little by little as being a potential concubine of my husband. The idea of sharing Alkelios irked my possessive bone, but not as much when it came to Kataryna.

Should I see her more as a sister-wife now? I wondered while we left the Ontar Town.

This thought remained unanswered.

The road to Vazar Border Town was not a straight one, there were many twists and turns which connected to various other small roads leading to various villages and towns in the area. Being an area covered with a lush forest also meant that there were a lot of dangerous monsters lurking in the shadows. Callipso told us that usually Metal Spike Wolves and even Quizars could be seen around these parts.

That monster intrigued all of us, so we asked for more details. This was what the el’doraw told us: 

“Quizars are powerful monsters, tall as a town’s gate and longer than three carriages put together horses and all. It has the upper body of a gryphon and the lower body of a snake. Usually, the scale color determines the element it is most attuned with and thus can be considered as able to cast it in the form of a spell. Young adults cannot cast magic, but adults and especially elders can do so with ease. The King version of this beast is rumored to be as tall as a castle and capable of using all the known elements, but no one has seen it yet.”

When we heard this, the only ones who hoped that we would not encounter such a monster were all those present with the exception of me and Kataryna. The smile on our lips gave us away and her Highness had to intervene.

“You two battle-maniacs are forbidden from going out to hunt the King Quizars.” she ordered us in a calm tone of voice, although, I did not believe that the insult was necessary.

I was not a battle-maniac... but I couldn’t help but try to test out my strength and stretch my wings from time to time, not too often... if possible three times a day would have been great! I was certain Kataryna thought the same way.

As we got closer to the border, we encountered a lot more merchant caravans, adventurer parties, and even refugees who were looking to settle in Ledmerra.

“Is business with the empire good?” I asked when I saw a wagon filled to the brim with all sorts of goods that were meant to be traded and sold.

“Ledmerra and Anui’Yahna have a Free Trade Agreement. There is no tax placed on local merchants only those who come from outside the Elf Continent or have yet to acquire an international trade license. It’s one of the many suggestions of the Human Hero who is currently engaged with the Elf Princess.” she replied with a smile.

“Xardun Overtur was his name, last I recall?” her Highness asked.

“Yes, and ever since he arrived at the Royal Court of Anui’Yahna, there had been all sorts of new policies that were given. Of course, the Free Trade Agreement is one of the most popular ones as well as the most complicated to implement. My father once told me that only a genius in politics could have come up with something like this and that he couldn’t really believe that something like this was a standard back where he came from.” she said.

‘Oh? So, the knowledge that the Human Heroes aren’t from our world is widespread here?” Kataryna asked while raising an eyebrow.

“Yes.” Callipso nodded. “With so many of them appearing so suddenly and not to mention fleeing to our nation because of the ruthlessness of the Akutan Empire, it is only natural that it would become known sooner or later. Actually, at the beginning, not many believed this, and some even considered to call them as blasphemers against the Gods, but all of that calmed down as we got to know them better.” she told us.

“Interesting.” Her Highness said as she rested her chin on her pointing finger.

“Despite being called Heroes, these humans weren’t actually interested in doing any sort of heroic actions. A lot of them settled in and took up regular jobs like every other el’doraw or elf. When I first heard of them, I also thought that they would start roaming the country in search of adventures and people to save, but it wasn’t like that.” she shook her head.

“We are aware that they are peculiar individuals with a mentality far different from those who were native of this world.” Her Highness said.

“What is your opinion of them? Or rather... how do most el’doraw see them?” I asked.

“Well... I would like to believe that my own personal opinion in regard to this matter is similar to that of my fellow knights.” she looked out the window for a second and then said “And that is as long as they don’t represent a danger to this nation or the Anui’Yahna Empire, we will accept them within our borders, but the moment they will decide to turn their backs against us, we will be ready, and we won’t hesitate to put them down.” she declared with an absolute certainty in the tone of her voice.

“What about the rest?” I asked.

“While they do not harbor any ill intent towards them, acceptance is not unanimous... Some approve of their presence here, while others see them as nothing more than monsters ready to turn on us.” 

“In a way, they can become monsters... Their power can grow fast and could easily corrupt them. We’ve seen what form this can take with our own eyes.” Kataryna said as she looked at Callipso.

“In the end, they are but normal humans who were granted a gift of power. How they manage it depends solely on them, but at the same time... fate also has to play an important role in all of this.” her Highness looked at me as she said this.

When I closed my eyes, I could remember it as clear as day the moment when I first met Alkelios. In the middle of a forest filled with monsters that could easily kill him, he stumbled upon me, a dragoness who has been harmed by the greed and savagery of humans. Yet, at that time, instead of staining my sword with his blood, I looked into his eyes and could see the dangling hope in the words my grandfather offered me after he returned from the war. Don’t hate the whole species, don’t hate them just because they are afraid... look at them and judge them properly. That lesson had been with me ever since then, but only upon meeting Alkelios did I began to learn it.

“They are not all bad... It is true that some can be easily swayed by the corruptive temptation of power, while others, although holding a good intention, they can misunderstand its use and cause unnecessary harm. Their morals and ethics are different from ours from many points of view, but if given the opportunity, I’m certain that just as well as how some would choose to abuse their power, they will equally be those who will wish to use it for good.” I said as I opened my eyes.

This was my own honest opinion and among all those present in this carriage; I was probably the only one with the most experience when it came to interacting with a Human Hero. I could have thought that Alkelios was the exception among all of them, but when we visited the Relliar Continent and even the Dwarf Continent, I came to realize that there were plenty other humans who wished to adapt to this world and give their best for their loved ones.

“The line between a Hero and a Monster is a small one.” Kataryna said as she closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair.

We remained silent for another half of hour or so before we switched to another subject of conversation, the goods that could be traded between the el’doraw and Albeyater. While this was a purely theoretical conversation, I remained silent about it as the thoughts of the previous conversation still lingered with me.

Alkelios just like all of these Human Heroes could be either a gift or a curse on this world, but to me, he was the light of my life, the hope of my dreams, and the man I had sworn to love for the rest of my life... If he would end up falling to the dark side, I would make sure to bring him back to the light side, because I was certain that he would do the same for me.

And... if by chance... he were to find the idea of gathering more concubines to his side, he would first have to make sure they were stronger than me and also capable of not only earning my trust but also my respect. Alkelios would also have to be prepared to face my wrath if after all of these years I would find him living his life leisurely among a bunch of rotten-scale cheap no-good flimsy little sheep who thought they could seduce my husband!

“Hm? Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?” Callipso asked as she began to fan herself.

“It’s just you.” I replied with a low growl. Alkelios, don’t you dare! I thought.