As the group made their way through the streets of Cendaria’s capital city, Alice couldn’t help but notice just how much denser the crowds were. Illvaria’s capital was larger, but Cendaria’s capital, Cendria, was denser. The moment the group stepped past the city walls, Alice found herself packed into a sea of people, almost like a sardine in a can.
It was also overwhelmingly obvious that the city wasn’t meant to handle this many people. The streets were crowded to the point where people could barely walk. The buildings weren’t much taller than they were in Illvaria. The city just wasn’t meant to handle this many people.
Why were there so many people packed into this city, when it couldn’t accommodate them?
It took Alice a few moments to realize what was going on. There were almost a dozen easily noticed signs in Cendaria’s capital, all pointing people in different directions. Allira translated the signs for the rest of the group, and they painted a grim picture.
Refugee quarters – this way.
Those seeking aid with class madness – this way.
Urgent healing – this way.
Alice realized, belatedly, that the [Guards] standing outside of the city hadn’t been very vigilant. In Illvaria, Alice needed to answer detailed questionnaires under lie detection anytime she entered a city. But here, the [Guards] only asked a few questions before letting them in. There was still some basic security – but it was very light. Alice didn’t think that Cendarians were unaware of the massive problem with their security questions. In other words… something was forcing them to ignore this problem.
And that something was probably the collapse of the System. Alice was becoming increasingly aware of how much worse Cendaria had been hit by the collapse of the System. In Illvaria, Alice was mostly sheltered from the impact of the catastrophe. Her presence had also curtailed many of the worst effects of the collapse. In Cendaria, they didn’t have an Alice of their own. Unlike Illvaria, Cendaria was slowly crumbling as everything that kept the citizens safe collapsed.
Alice remembered Ethan and Allira indicating, in no uncertain terms, that the [Queen] of Cendaria was usually quite unpleasant. Alice hadn’t thought much about it at the time… but suddenly, it made a lot more sense that the [Queen] was still letting them pass through the area unmolested. As much as national rivalry mattered to those caught in the middle of it, the survival of one’s people was still what came first for any monarch. If someone heard that Illvaria was doing much better than everyone else during this crisis, they would naturally try to ask for information and try to get on Illvaria’s good side.
The group quickly steered their way past the areas for refugees. In the inner region of the city, Alice noticed that the overwhelming crowds had decreased some. People were still packed together, but at least she didn’t feel like a sardine anymore.
The people who walked the streets also looked wealthier than those of Metsel. There were more people walking around in expensive clothing, and the [Soldiers] also had more System-enchanted armor.
Of course, while people had higher-quality clothing, they had fewer enchantments. Alice only saw a few Mages walking around, and enchanted items were as rare as gold here. While Cendaria looked more wealthy than Illvaria at first glance, if one included the cost of enchantments and training Mages, Cendaria had a lot less wealth spread amongst its citizens.
That was probably another reason Cendaria was hit so much harder by the collapse of the System. Mages were a huge part of this world’s military. Illvaria was practically the magic capital of the southern continent. This made Illvarian society much more resilient against the enhanced monster swarms ravaging the countryside.
The group of four was unusually quiet as they moved through Cendaria’s capital. Seeing the impact of the crisis on Cendaria, nobody was in the mood for chatting.
Finally, the group saw the palace in the distance.
The palace of Cendaria was also seemingly opulent, but low on enchantments. Alice could see that the edges of the palace were made of a strange but beautiful turquoise stone. However, the building didn’t have many enchantments attached to it.
In Illvaria, the palace had nearly a dozen enchantments woven into it.
The walls of Cendaria’s palace only had three enchantments in them. One enchantment seemed to be a wall fortification of some sort. The other two enchantments… were based on light and heat. Alice suspected that the heat one was regulating the temperature inside of the palace. She had no clue what the light-based enchantment was doing, but the low quantity of enchantments was rather disappointing here.
“Why do the enchantments on the palace seem so…” Alice struggled to figure out what word she wanted to use.
Casual?
Relaxed?
Harmless?
After seeing the military efficiency of Illvaria’s palace, she had assumed that every palace here was a fortress of magic and enchantments. Cendaria’s palace looked more like it was built more for comfort than defense.
“Cendaria spends a lot less on its military than Illvaria. That’s because it’s in a far safer position.” said Ethan. “There is another country to the north of Cendaria, cutting off their border with the nomads. There is a country south of Cendaria, so they don’t have a direct border with the mana wastes. That means that there aren’t any powerful monsters barging into the country. They don’t have to deal with dangerous monster raids as often… and they also don’t have the dangerous, high level fights that let people push combat classes to greater heights. In Illvaria, if someone wants to push a combat class past level 60 or 70, they can just fight monsters or join the army for a while. Here, they can basically only spar or train. While that still works, the efficiency is much lower. So combat Classes are slightly weaker in Cendaria.
“To the west, they have Illvaria as a neighbor – and we’re too busy fending off the nomads and preparing for a Simusi invasion to think about expanding east. Then, to the east, all of the neighbors of Cendaria are small and weak. Cendaria only has a quarter of Illvaria’s population… but two of the three nations to Cendaria’s east make even that tiny population seem massive.” Ethan grimaced. “Well, technically there are four nations to the east of Cendaria. But one of them is basically only a nation on technicality.”
“I see,” said Alice, frowning. If Cendaria wasn’t that worried about military invasion or conquest, their seemingly lax palace enchantments made more sense. Then, Ethan’s last words caught her attention.
“A nation that’s only a nation by technicality?” asked Alice, frowning. How could a nation only be a nation on technicality?
The heavy mood of the group seemed to fade away as Ethan chuckled. He leaned a little closer to Alice so that his voice would carry less.
“It’s a rather absurd story, actually. But it’s one you might enjoy. We’ll be passing through it later.
“About a hundred and fifty years ago, a [Farmer] moved to a little farmstead just east of Cendaria. He’s from the central continent, and I’m pretty sure he moved to the south in order to get away from the constant wars up there. Anyway, he started creating truly absurd amounts of crops. Even in the middle of winter, he could create a bumper harvest of summer crops – and he could do that every couple days. Immortal [Farmers] can produce truly absurd amounts of food, after all. He was single-handedly capable of feeding a large town. For a while, he got along well with the nation he lived in at the time.
“Well, that [Farmer] decided that he wanted to be more than just a [Farmer]. So he decided to found a new country – the country of Superbia. A nation with a population of one person.” Ethan’s face became exceptionally flat. “Yes, that is what he named it. Superbia. I don’t know exactly what your language skill translates that as for you, Alice, but in most languages here, it sounds completely ridiculous.”
Alice was already pretty sure a nation named ‘Superbia’ would be a laughingstock on Earth, too. The name sounded kind of like something an unmotivated student would name a country for a geography project.
“Didn’t the nation who owned his farmland object?” asked Alice. She had heard, over and over, that Immortals couldn’t fight armies on their own. How did a single [Farmer] Immortal found a new country by himself?
“Well… they usually would have, but the [Farmer] was occupying a strip of barren land,” said Ethan. “If the [Farmer] wasn’t living there, the land would be almost completely worthless. The soil is atrocious, so the nearby nations didn’t have a way to make it useful. The only real reason the land was valuable at all was because the Immortal [Farmer] lived there, and his Perks made the land bountiful. The three neighboring nations could, absolutely, kill the [Farmer] and take his land… but then what? They would just own a strip of barren, worthless soil. And they would lose the benefit of having easy access to an Immortal [Farmer] and the obscene amount of food he creates. Is mustering a few hundred [Soldiers] and paying them to fight an Immortal worth taking over a strip of barren wasteland? Especially one that’s smaller than most villages and has no people living on it?”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Alice didn’t need to think about that question for long.
“No, it’s a total waste of resources,” she said. “I don’t think anyone would actually bother correcting the situation. It’s just not worth it.”
“Exactly,” said Ethan, grinning. “So, instead, they decided to work out a deal with the [Farmer]. He got to keep the nation of Superbia, a nation with a population of one. In exchange, they levied an extra tax on food he sold to other nations. Basically, he bribes them to acknowledge his nation’s existence, and they don’t invade him. Both sides are happy with the arrangement.
“Later, the population of Superbia expanded a bit, because he got married and had a few kids.” Ethan rolled his eyes. “And thus, the mighty nation of Superbia was founded. The population is five now, I believe. The lady of Superbia is getting on in the years though, so she probably won’t have any more kids unless something crazy happens. Last I heard, she’s pretty far away from Immortality… Anyway. I’ve also heard that the [Prince] of Superbia wants to move out, and keeps arguing with his father over it.”
Allira snorted. “Not everyone wants to be the [Prince] of a random farmstead. I don’t blame him.”
Alice felt that the world was quite absurd.
A nation with a population of five?
Even with Ethan’s explanation, Alice still felt that the entire situation was simply ridiculous.
“At least Superbia has one of the highest average levels among its population,” said Cecilia as she chuckled.
Allira giggled. “You’re not wrong. I don’t know if there’s another nation in the entire world with a population made of 20% Immortals. And one in five people of Superbia are capable of fighting dozens of people on their own. Per capita, the population of Superbia is also incredibly wealthy. I’ve heard that even the poorest citizen of Superbia has enough wealth to make some [Barons] jealous.”
“Oh, is there one kid that doesn’t get as much pocket money as his siblings?” asked Cecilia, snorting.
Allira nodded. “It’s the oldest [Prince]. Since he keeps trying to leave Superbia, his father only gives him the equivalent of around 50 golden crowns a year. Or so I’ve heard.”
Alice also snorted. Superbia truly was an… interesting nation.
“As absurd as his behavior is, the Immortal [Farmer] isn’t a bad guy,” said Ethan. “I’m half convinced he founded Superbia as a joke and then decided to roll with it for the levels. He’s probably a level 40 or 50 [King] by now. It probably doesn’t do much for him, but there’s no harm in having more secondary classes. He’s one of my father’s pen pals, and he also spent a few years unsuccessfully courting Doll before he gave up.”
Allira nodded, and this time she looked a bit sympathetic instead of just sarcastic. “Poor guy got chased away by her over and over again. He tried really hard, but Doll wasn’t having it. Eventually, he got the message and left.”
As the group relaxed and gossiped about the mighty nation of Superbia, they finally reached the gates of the palace.
“Halt!” said a [Guard], stopping the group as they chatted and laughed. “What business do you have with the palace? Do you have…?” The [Guard’s] voice cut off mid-sentence as he noticed Allira. Then, instead of saying anything else, he just kept staring at her. And staring at her.
The other nearby [Guard], a relatively average looking woman with short, auburn hair, rolled her eyes. She whacked the other [Guard] on the side of his head, bringing him out of his daze.
The female [Guard] cleared her throat. “Who are you? Why are you here?” she asked, stepping in for the distracted other [Guard].
Ethan stepped in front of the rest of the group, finally breaking the male [Guard]’s view of Allira. The male [Guard] started to blush as he finally realized that he had stopped talking mid-sentence and started staring at Allira.
“I am Immortal Ethan, of Illvaria. This is Immortal Allira, also of Illvaria,” said Ethan, gesturing towards the group’s other Immortal. “These two are my apprentice, Alice, and her friend Cecilia. The [Queen] should be expecting us.”
The female [Soldier] paused for a moment, losing herself in thought. Then, she nodded.
“The [Queen] did mention that we might have a few visitors. Can you wait for a moment, so that I can get someone to verify your identities? No offense, but the lady over there has so much [Charisma] that she can probably foil any lie-detection I try to do.”
Ethan nodded.
The two [Guards] gestured towards a few colleagues in the distance. Those colleagues came over to make sure the group didn’t do anything funny, while the original two [Guards] disappeared into the palace. About five minutes later, a pompous-looking man with a rather plump belly exited the palace and observed the group. He scanned the group, before giving them a respectful bow.
“Those are indeed the Immortals of Illvaria.”
The female [Guard] and her companion looked relieved. “Thank you for your patience. Follow me.”
The group walked into the palace, where Alice noticed that the walls were covered in gold ornaments, paintings, and other expensive looking art. However, it all looked… kind of gaudy.
The impression Alice got of the palace was that of someone flaunting their wealth. She missed the more obviously utilitarian and magically focused architecture of Illvaria. She hadn’t realized how much of a blessing it was that she had ended up in the magic capital of the southern continent until now. Illvaria might have many shortcomings, but it was an amazing place to study magic. If she had ended up in Cendaria instead, she probably would have had a much harder time establishing herself in this world.
She dismissed those thoughts as the [Soldier] led them through the halls of the palace, until they arrived at an audience chamber.
They didn’t need to wait for long before [Queen] Cendaria allowed them into the room.
The group of four walked into a throne room that sparkled with a variety of luxurious gems and a throne made of gold. Sitting atop the throne was a woman with golden-blonde hair, upraised, vibrant eyes, and a dignified, but somewhat mischievous, smile. She was nearly as beautiful as Allira, although she fell a bit short.
“Allira. Ethan. And Ethan’s… two apprentices?” asked the [Queen] of Cendaria, giving their group curious looks.
Ethan shook his head. “Cecilia is a friend of my apprentice, and she is here for her own safety – as well as the fact that she can provide some useful insight on various matters. But she is not my apprentice.” He glanced at Cecilia, before he sighed. “Perhaps in the future.”
Cendaria nodded thoughtfully. Oddly enough, Alice noticed [Queen] Cendaria looking at her out of the corner of her eyes. Alice saw a veritable flood of Perks pass through the [Queen] of Cendaria’s eyes. A few of them extended towards Alice, which she shut off using her Perks. The [Queen]’s eyes widened, and then she looked thoughtful. A few moments later, Cendaria addressed her, nearly ignoring the rest of the group.
“I’ve seen several actions and papers written in your name. Did you write everything?” asked [Queen] Cendaria.
“I did,” said Alice, taken aback. Shouldn’t conversations like this be Ethan’s or Allira’s job? “Why do you ask?”
“I was impressed by your papers. But more to the point… I wanted to ask you about things. Recently… a lot of disasters have fallen upon my people. Monster swarms ravaging the countryside as my [Soldiers] struggle to keep up and handle them. People losing their minds as their class takes over. Almost fifteen percent of the population in this city right now is suffering from one of these two things. And the number is just growing, every single week,” said Cendaria. “What exactly is going on?”
Ethan frowned, and shifted his body to slightly shield Alice from view. He turned towards Alice, and opened his mouth to speak… before he looked thoughtful. He glanced at Alice, and then glanced at [Queen] Cendaria again. Alice couldn’t quite figure out what the meaning of Ethan’s glance was. It almost looked like he was thinking about something.
“That is the kind of information that you would need to speak with the [King] of Illvaria about, [Queen] Cendaria,” said Ethan, finally. “The relationship between our two countries isn’t good enough that we would freely share valuable information.”
Allira didn’t say a word, but she glared at the [Queen] of Cendaria. Alice could feel a hint of hostility in Allira’s gaze, as if she particularly disliked the woman.
[Queen] Cendaria looked at Ethan and Allira, before she sighed.
“I know that we’ve had our differences, and I acknowledge that a lot of it was my fault. To put it bluntly, I was rude. But even if you dislike me, I don’t want my people to die. I may be petty, rude, and obnoxious, but I became an Immortal [Queen] because I truly do care about my people.” [Queen] Cendaria sounded like she was forcing every single word out through gritted teeth. Alice could see just how little [Queen] Cendaria liked saying this.
And yet, she did it anyway. Despite how much it must have rankled her pride, she was still willing to put her pride away when her people’s lives were at stake.
That was… respectable. Despite everything else she had heard about the woman, Cendaria didn’t seem too bad. And Cendaria was right about one thing. The people of Cendaria were clearly suffering right now. Alice sighed.
“I don’t mind sharing a bit of information, Ethan,” she said.
Ethan glanced doubtfully at Alice. “She’s a [Queen] from a rival country. And not one that gets along well with Illvaria, either. You shouldn’t just give away information for free to someone like her. You should at least make her pay something for the information,” he said.
Alice shook her head.
Maybe she was being foolish. It was entirely possible. But the collapse of the System was a crisis that affected everyone. Just a few weeks ago, Alice and Ethan had run into a massive roadblock because they couldn’t trust the Sigmusi to let them pass through their territory. Now, Alice felt like she was on the other side of that decision… and in a very uncomfortable way. Was it really right for her to let people die because of diplomatic tension right now?
Especially after [Queen] Cendaria had put down her pride like this to get potentially lifesaving information for her people?
“The entirety of humanity is experiencing a crisis right now,” said Alice. “I think that means that we should work together. At least until the crisis is over, we shouldn’t be stockpiling information that could save lives. The more stable the rest of the world is, the longer I have to find a real solution.”
Ethan and Allira gave Alice dubious glances, but after a moment, Ethan sighed. Then, he nodded… although he looked incredibly reluctant. It was almost like he was gritting his teeth as he agreed.
“… I don’t like it. But I suppose this is also a kind of learning experience for you, and your words do make sense,” said Ethan.
Alice smiled. She was glad to know that she could share some information with Cendaria here. It might not be the correct choice.
But a part of her felt like this was the only way forward.
Humanity was facing the crisis as a whole. They should work to resolve it as a whole.