~ Chapter 132: The choice of the helpless ~
[Ayuseya’s point of view]
The journey across the great ocean had been a tiring one for the crew of the ship, mostly because they were traveling on unfamiliar waters and carrying individuals of a high degree of importance. To bring us on the Teslov Kingdom’s waters, they had to make a difficult and unusually long detour from their original route. However, if this was a journey without profit still remained to be seen. It was up to the merchant who owned this ship to decide if there was anything worth buying low in Teslov and selling high somewhere else.
Since he kept his word and brought me here, I was inclined to make sure my husband kept his word about allowing him to continue his trade and pardoning his previous mistake of trying to smuggle in the enemies of Illsyorea on the island.
When I set foot on the pier, I looked back at the ship and my gaze fell on the expressions of all those sailors. The merchant in question, whose name was Burta Dende, was also up there, seeing me off.
“It has a been a pleasure traveling on board your ship.” I told them with a smile.
“No! The pleasure was ours, madam Ayuseya!” they all replied in a choir.
After I showed them the little trick with the wind spell, in the aftermath of their competition to further increase the power of their spells, they managed to reach a rather decent level. Our journey was so short that it felt as though we traveled only with clears skies ahead.
“Madam Ayuseya, about the Illsyorea incident?” Burta Dende asked and gulped at the end.
He was hoping not to have offended me by bringing up this matter.
“Yes, as promised, my husband will allow you to continue trading on Illsyorea and pardon the crime that would have otherwise led to your certain death.” I replied with a smile.
The man gulped again.
The pressure of my words made him feel as though his throat was as dry as a rock in the middle of the scorching desert. The poor man was sweating buckets.
“Good day, gentlemen.” I told them with a smile and then turned around.
From here on, whatever they did mattered not to me.
As for the troublesome trio Red, Green, and Blue, they were walking right behind me, acting as my escort on my journey to the capital of Teslov.
“It’s been a long time since I last stepped on this land.” I said as I looked at the buildings of Port Callira spreading before my eyes.
Countless draconians were going about, minding their own business, and it was certain that none of them even remotely knew who I was. Even if they did, they wouldn’t know I had survived all this time outside of the protection of the kingdom and more so under the protection of a Dungeon Lord.
Then again, it had been almost three years since I renounced my name as a Pleyades and relinquished my title as a Princess before the very gods who rule this world. When Illsyore checked my status, he did not see that name anymore.
That night, on top of the Eastern Guardian Crest Mountains, when I was thinking of simply destroying the entire capital of Teslov, I chose the life not as a Princess but that as Illsyore’s wife and of a woman free of the political restraints the nobles of this kingdom so desperately tried to tie me down with.
Yet, despite the fact that I was a Pleyades no more, they themselves couldn’t accept this. As long as the blood of the ancient kings still flowed through my veins, in their eyes, I still belonged to them.
I find it so funny when I imagine the look those fools will have on their faces when they hear what I have to say about this. Ah~ I wish to be done with this charade as soon as possible and then return to my family... my real one. I thought and then let out a sigh.
“Is something the matter?” asked Green.
“Nothing. I was just thinking how easy it would have been for me to simply run across the ocean instead of just walking around like this...” I said.
“Running? Across the ocean?” Green asked as if I had said something strange.
“At this point, honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if you told us you can also fly through the sky like a bird.” said Red as he shook his head.
“What? You can’t?” I asked looking back at them and tilting my head in surprise.
They all were looking at me as if I had just said something outrageous. Well, common sense dictated that no sapient species knew how to fly, but in the Deus family, this was a bit of an outdated belief.
This reminded me of the time on the Boss Island when Illsy created something he called a ‘rocket’ and then attempted to launch it. While the contraption did fly, Illsy forgot to set its course. It ended up landing right in the middle of a pack of Ulmasaurs, strange monkey-like creatures three times bigger than a human, aggressive and of average strength when compared to the rest of the monsters on the island. Those things were not happy about it and chased after Illsy for an entire day.
Callira Port Town was quite big, harboring at least 20000 draconians by my estimates. There was even a shipyard where a new galleon was being built, and I could see it all the way from the docks.
By all means, when one was to look at this scene, they would think that Callira Port Town was actually filled with rich people, but the clothes most of them were wearing were old, dirty, and patched up in several places. A lot of the draconians who were walking on the streets seemed to come from impoverished families.
Could the state of affairs have declined in the past several years? I wondered as I continued to walk down the main road.
We soon arrived at a stable, where the RGB group rented a big carriage suited for a noble woman. It took them half an hour to prepare it, but as soon as they were done with it, we were on our way towards Entalon Town.
To get there, we had to first pass through Noz Village, but the way there was on a road that wasn’t as traveled as the one leading towards Nork Village. My initial guess was that we would go through Nork then Noz and finally arrive in Entalon. At least, that was the path I often saw being used by merchants and travelers. The RGB group, however, saw no need taking the safer route. After all, with this sort of escorts, there was no need to fear petty thieves and bandits.
Thinking about such unsavory fellows attacking us was the same as thinking about a group of Beginner Rank Adventurers attempting to clear the 200th floor of a dungeon. Simply put, it was ridiculous.
The ride with the carriage was god-awful. It shook at every step on the way, and it was so noisy, I thought they were using it to scare off the monsters around these parts. The driver was Green, but every so often, he would start swearing at the horses to force them to go faster.
Several times I thought about pulling out the armor-plated SUV, but if I did that, my plan of tricking the pesky nobles in the capital would have failed. As such, I resorted to mainly using a comfy pillow to protect my tushie from being bruised.
Then, several hours later, we arrived at the entrance to Noz Village.
Rain clouds had gathered in the sky, rushing in from the sea. Because Red didn’t want to risk getting caught by a storm in the middle of the forest, he decided that we were to change the horses at the local stable and then head for Entalon Town, where we were going to spend the night.
For me, it did not matter if it was raining or snowing outside. Neither the weather nor arriving late at the capital bothered me. In fact, such delays were considered normal for the most part, and it would have been strange if we arrived earlier than expected.
While we passed through Noz Village, I noticed once more the degree of poverty the draconians were suffering from. The houses lacked maintenance, and their clothes were ripped and patched up in several places, showing that they did not have any money to afford anything new.
I wanted to think that this was just a coincidence, but I ended spotting the guards tasked with defending this settlement. Their swords were chipped, and their armors were cracked. For a moment, I thought that they were just some random adventurers or maybe bandits.
“Is this a poor village?” I asked.
“Not really... This is how the majority of the villages look like.” Blue replied and shrugged.
So, this sight is a common thing? I thought and then watched as a young draconian child looked up at our passing carriage.
There was wonder in his eyes, but also a glimpse of curiosity. Like all the other villagers, he was skinny and wore only rags. His mother pulled him back, so that he may not accidentally step in front of our carriage.
I heard that in some places, such an act was punishable by death.
“Do you pity them?” asked Red as he looked at me with his stoic expression.
“Should I not?” I replied.
“You left them, so I don’t think you have the right to do so.” he retorted.
I smiled back to him and told him “I survived however it was needed of me to do so. Luck was simply on my side for having met a wonderful man who loved me back and didn’t care about my political power.”
“Aren’t royals supposed to be the sacrifices for their people?” he asked raising an eyebrow.
“I’m no royal, Red. I’m a Deus.” I told him.
He did not comment, and I remained quiet.
The journey towards Entalon Town was uneventful, but as we got closer, we began to see more and more people camping outside of the settlement. In my innocent way, I thought that maybe the nobles were organizing some sort of festival, and these were draconians who traveled from far and wide to see it.
If that was true, then why did they all looked like they had been struck by a calamity?
“What’s this?” I asked.
“I don’t know... Wait here. I’m going to go and check it out.” said Red.
After he got out of the carriage, I wished to leave as well, but Blue wanted to stop me.
“He told you to wait here.”
I looked back at him and showed him a smile. The draconian Supreme flinched.
After I stepped out, I approached one of the groups of civilians who were camping on the side of the road. It was a family of three. The father looked like a weakened soldier, and the mother was skinny and could barely hold the cooked potato in her hands. Contrary to them, the child appeared to be well fed, which showed that his parents tried their best to give him food even if it meant to take it from their own mouths. This was the reason why I had approached them. If the parents looked well fed and strong while their child was weak and sickly, that might have been an indication that they weren’t caring for him properly.
“Good afternoon.” I said and showed them a smile.
“What? Haven’t you already taken everything from us? What else do you want?” the mother asked with clear disgust in the tone of her voice.
“I think you are confusing me with someone else. I am not a noble of this country, just someone who happened to be visiting this place. I was curious about what’s going on here.” I asked.
“You a foreigner? But... your scales...” the father asked.
“Of no importance. So please, can you tell me what’s going on here?” I asked again.
“Lady, you really don’t know?” the boy asked as he looked up at me with curious eyes.
I showed him a smile and then knelt in front of him. My skirt touched the dirt on the ground, but thanks to the enchants on it, I did not need to worry about getting it dirty. I looked into his eyes and then gently patted his head.
“No, child, I don’t.”
My gesture took everyone by surprise, and I expected it to be so. Most nobles would never lower themselves to the same level as their subjects. Kneeling to pat a dirty peasant child’s head was even more of an unfathomable gesture for them. They had to maintain their vague sense of superiority and convince those of lower birth that for some unknown reason to the world, they were chosen to be revered and put on a high pedestal by the divine forces out there.
Just how the nobles cultivated this warped sense of superiority when interacting with those of a lower rank than themselves, so did the peasants develop a warped sense of inferiority. They considered themselves to be the dirt under their boots and as such unable or forbidden from stating otherwise.
While peasants could prove their worth in battle and through luck get raised to the rank of a lower noble, it would still take them several generations until they would be considered full-fledged nobles, but even then it would be highly doubtful if they were allowed to hold high positions within the government unless they either married into powerful pure-blood noble families or had their members marry into theirs.
This incredible difference in views and respect was what made my gesture ever more so shocking to the onlookers. If they knew I was born between the true princess of the Teslov Kingdom and a true dragon, the effect would have been even more shocking.
“T-The p-plague...” said the father of the boy after he snapped out of his surprised state.
“What plague?” I asked narrowing my eyes at him.
“Six months ago, a draconian adventurer who traversed the Black Tooth Ridge Mountains arrived in Entalon Town and collapsed in the middle of the market. We thought at first it was from exhaustion or maybe a battle wound wasn’t visible to the naked eye, but then the draconians who came into contact with him began to feel sick.”
“How sick? What are the symptoms?” I asked a bit worried.
If this was a very contagious disease, then Spell Crystals imbued with powerful healing spells would have been required. If those did not work, then it was required for the gods themselves to intervene.
In my case, I made sure to bring with me a good number of such spell crystals and even knew a healing spell or two thanks to Illsy teaching me, but if those did not work, then I would just have to call him over here and have him cure me and even exterminate this entire plague.
However, my thoughts of worry proved to be a bit exaggerated.
“The nobles hired some of the most skilled alchemists in the town and even brought someone from the capital to look into it. Not even a week later, they found a cure to the plague, but seeing the profit in it, they began to charge an unreasonable amount of money. Us poor folks didn’t have that much, but those who wished to live to see another day sold themselves into slavery.
“Our family was lucky enough to be away from the infected.” said the wife.
“We left the town before things got worse, but then they closed the gates and forbade anyone from entering or leaving.” he said.
“I heard only those cured are allowed to step outside.”
“Why haven’t you tried to leave for Callira?” I asked.
“We would, but the nobles forbade us from doing so... also, where would we go afterwards?” the man asked as he worriedly looked at his son.
“I know this may be too much to ask, but, if possible, could you take our son as your personal servant? Or just a house servant? He’s young and he’ll learn, but here with us, he won’t have much of a future to look towards.” the mother asked as she bowed her head before me.
I looked at the child and then back at them.
This is the logical way of thinking, but not one I can approve of. I thought and then got up on my feet.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t. However, what would it take for the nobles to let you go to Callira?” I asked.
“I see, madame must have her own servants, my apologies.” the woman bowed her head.
“Don’t worry about it, but do answer my question, please.” I showed her a small smile.
The wife and husband looked at each other for a moment and then back at me.
“The one who gave the order is Lord Shendrall. He is a Marquess. We don’t know if it’s possible to persuade him to let us go, but there is an alternative...” the wife said and then the husband continued.
“I have a friend... He’s one of the guards who makes sure we don’t leave. If I can pay him one gold coin, we’ll be allowed to leave this place.” he said.
“Even if we do though, what can we do in Callira?” she asked.
“We can board a ship towards Illsyorea, my home country.” I told them, but just then, I saw Red returning. “Please excuse me for a moment.”
Walking up to the draconian who exhibited quite the intimidating aura, I asked him “What did you find out?”
The survivors of this plague looked at him with timid curious eyes, but not even a single one of them dared to make eye contact with him. Unlike me, he made it clear towards those around him through his intimidating presence that he had no desire to associate with them. If he wanted to find out something, he would ask them, otherwise, it was towards their best interest to steer clear of his way.
Yet, a single draconian woman dared to step in front of him and show that she did not care about his intimidating presence. That was me.
“Hmph! I thought I told you to stay inside the carriage, didn’t I?” he inquired as he narrowed his eyes at me.
“I will do as I please. Now what did you find out?” I asked again, brushing off his complaint as if it was nothing.
He looked into my eyes for a second and then replied “There’s a plague that spread within the walls of the town and the nobles hogged the cure. We can’t risk getting you infected with the plague, so we’ll camp out here. Tomorrow at dawn we’ll depart for Rank Village.”
“Is that so? Very well. Make camp, I have some matter to attend to first.” I told him and then returned to the family I spoke with earlier.
“Associating with peasants isn’t a good idea.” he warned me as I walked away from him.
“I’ll be the judge of that.” I replied in a calm tone of voice.
There was a worried expression on the faces of the parents, but a rather calm and relaxed one on that of their child’s. The matter of what I was going to do with them was a bit too selfish in nature to think about it this way, for if I could help one family, why couldn’t I help them all?
Time, resources, and level of understanding... I replied in my mind.
This was the reason why the Magic Academy Illsyorea existed. Although Illsyore as a Dungeon Lord was quite astounding and all of his wives were a force that could wipe out entire armies, at the end of the end, we couldn’t watch over everyone we saved and helped.
If we wanted to change this world and make sure things like unjust slavery, abuse of women and children, widespread murder and corruption, and supremacists views would become just localized incidents and not the common sense of these people, then we had to be more than just a single family that tried to change these matters. We had to have individuals scattered across all the three continents in positions high and low who believed in the same things we did.
Thus, while I could save one and maybe even all of them, I would just come out as the ‘kindhearted stranger’ who lent them a helping hand.
While I can’t save them, I can let them choose their own fate. I thought and then showed these three a kind smile.
“You said your friend asked for one gold coin to turn a blind eye to your sudden... disappearance, right?” I asked.
“Yes, why?” the husband replied.
I looked to my left and then to my right to see if there were any suspicious fellows that had their ears aimed at our conversation.
“Here’s what we can do...” I then approached them and whispered my plan while giving them that one gold coin that had the power to change their fate.
After I had my talk with them, I returned to the carriage and had my dinner, a big plate of sarmale with cornmeal porridge. It was a food Illsyore claimed to be from his previous life, and it was in fact quite delicious, but only when Tamara cooked it.
Back on the Boss Island, Illsy cooked this meal for us once, but the taste was bland, making it rather unappetizing. I loved my husband, we all did, but not ALL of his experiments were an astounding success; this one was one of them.
With the sun setting over the horizon, there were a lot of campfires lined up on the road, leading towards the entrance to Entalon Town. RGB handled the camp, but I was to sleep within the carriage. In order to keep my promise with the peasant family and make sure my plan was a success, I had to leave the carriage.
I didn’t try to sneak away, and it wasn’t like of these three Supremes were capable of stopping me. A single punch from me would turn them into a bloody mess.
Because I considered myself to no longer be a part of the Pleyades family, I couldn’t exert my political power here or force the situation regarding this plague to come to an end be it by curing everyone here with magic or the cure.
The same applied for the peasant family I came in contact with. I couldn’t allow myself to help them by force. I had to offer them the chance and possibility to choose by themselves what they wanted to do.
If they chose to stay here, in Entalon Town, they would see only that one gold coin I had lent them before I returned to the carriage, but if they chose to take a chance and risk traveling towards Illsyorea, I would provide them with more. At night, IF they managed to successfully bribe the guard, I would meet them about a kilometer down the road. I would wait for them at a certain place for three hours. Whether they made it or not depended solely on them. Luck had something to say about this matter as well.
One and a half hour had gone by with me waiting for them there, sitting on a chair and reading one of my books with the help of a simple Light Crystal. The two carriages who walked past me thought they had seen some sort of apparition. I could not blame them, the sight of a draconian woman emanating my elegance and refined taste reading a book ever so calmly in the middle of the forest at such a late hour was without a doubt a strange sight to behold.
Then, just as a cloud steered clear of the guiding moonlight of Lunaris and Lunoria, the two divine sisters, I saw the family of three approaching me from the other side in the forest. They were carrying with them the little baggage they had managed to take with them. In front of them was their youngest child, a boy who was both curious and gentle, at least for now.
“So, you chose to risk it all.” I said with a smile as I closed my book and absorbed it within my Storage Crystal.
“Yes... And about what you said.” the father asked timidly.
“Yes, Illsyorea will accept you, but what you will do there will be all up to you.” I nodded.
“And my son, will he really receive an education like the nobles?” the mother asked.
“It’s mandatory there for both peasants and nobles to know how to read and write. Illsyorea, however, is not a country where foreign nobility is so easily recognized. Within the academy, everyone is of equal status, but their individual abilities depend solely on them.” I told them and then took out a small pouch as well as a big bag.
“What’s this?” the father asked furrowing his brow.
“It’s natural that I wouldn’t let you leave on an empty stomach. You have food to last you until you reach Callira and money to buy yourselves a ticket to Illsyorea.” I told them.
“How can we ever thank you?” the mother asked as she received the gifts.
She was now crying, her tears were soaking her cheeks and washing away the dirt and grime that had gathered over the past few days.
“In time, not now.” I replied and then absorbed the Light Crystal, the table, and the chair.
“Madame, may we at least know thy name?” asked the soldier as he bowed his head.
“Ayuseya. Ayuseya Deus.” I told them with a smile.
I had no idea if they would even make it to Callira or if they would reach Illsyorea safely, but if anything, this represented a second chance for them and a step away from the possibility of slavery.
Walking at a calm and relaxed pace, I made my way back to the camp. The RGB group inquired about my absence, but I just told them I went to hunt some whales because I got bored. The look on their faces was priceless, and so I had a good night sleep.