Morning came and, after getting prepared for the day, we returned to Gera's office.

I noticed that he looked beyond sleepy and so I suggested that he get some rest before we do anything, but he brushed my concerns away as we made our way out of the Golden Spire.

“Mmm… maybe you should try the tablets I saw Lord Tannin take.” I suggested as we made our war across the city towards a teleportation platform by the southern wall.

This was more for publicity reasons.

The people we passed all bowed or even kneeled before the Helma who towered above them.

“Tsk! That idiot is still taking those? I swear he’s going to…” Gera’s voice trailed off as he spoke.

“What? Is something wrong with them?” I asked.

“Well, yes and no. They are called Athánato capsules. Pills made from Cavumium. Half of it is imbued with life and the other with death. Ingesting one allows one to experience the numbness of death in life without actually dying or losing any of their total life force. I will admit that the experience is… exhilarating, but if one ingest too many pills that aren’t perfectly balanced, they’ll either get really sick or die.” Gera explained.

I nodded as we arrived at the teleportation platform.

We were then taken to Helia.

We stood in front of an old wooden building that sat atop a hill that overlooked a rather busy looking town.

In the distance, were countless fields of all manner of crops only everything looked… rather dead.

“Oh- milord. I wasn’t expecting you to return so soon.” A man dressed in formal, but old and worn clothes said.

“Yes. Now pardon us, we have many towns and villages to visit.” Gera said while leading us down the hill.

“Of course.” The well dressed man said. His face was wrinkly and tanned even though he didn’t look that old.

I wondered if life in the countryside was that harsh.

If so, then I was even more determined to help.

Countless villagers gathered far behind us as we walked up to the first of many fields.

From what Sidus had told me, pouring excess life force into something forces it to go through its life cycle faster.

This can be problematic since this also applies to pests and bacteria.

Sidus and Cento would have to affect only the plants and this would require precision.

The two could also just kill any of the pests they found since, as Adia had explained to me, a life magician is a person who can make minute adjustments to the grand current of life.

The two Helma raised their free hands as wisps of green light poured out from their fingers.

The wisps spread out across the countless fields and we all watched in awe as the crops before us grew.

Everything from corn, wheat and various other crops could be seen becoming greener under the bright light of the morning sun.

The villagers behind us all gasped and celebrated loudly but this wasn’t over.

All we had done was keep their fields alive.

It’d be up to them to keep them that way.

I wondered why things were so bad in the first place.

My curiosity drove me to approach the town mayor who gawked at the Helma as they worked.

“Ahem! This’ll help, but you’re going to have to work quite hard to keep the fields healthy, ok?” I asked and the middle aged man nodded thoughtlessly.

I sighed upon realizing that this world probably didn’t have irrigation methods as advanced as the ones back on earth.

I shelfed those concerns since it was rainy season, but this would need to be addressed eventually.

Sidus and Cento eventually finished their work and the landscape had been completely transformed.

What was once a dull, beige landscape had been turned into a beautiful green Vista.

We bid the mayor farewell and teleported to the next town where we did the same things but our work ground to a halt upon arriving at a certain town near the border between Medelona and Aurenia.

It was… dirty, to say the least.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The roads leading in and out of the town were worn and it seemed as though people ignored them, opting to enter the town via the spaces between buildings.

We were standing about fifty meters away and yet I winced as my nose was assaulted by countless foul smells.

I glanced at a group of men who approached us.

They looked… uncouth. They held their weapons carelessly near the necks and their old leather clothes could be smelled from even five meters away.

Every stain on their skin was clearly illuminated by the pale, bright light of the grey sky.

Sidus walked up to the rough looking men while the townsfolk in the distance ran into their homes.

“Err… what brings ya ‘ere sir knight?”

One of the man asked but Sidus simply tapped the ground with his Lance.

“Where is this town’s mayor?” He asked. His voice loud and clear.

The ruffians all giggled among themselves and the foremost one gestured towards the town’s largest building. It sat atop a small mound and was covered in many unnatural scars. Some parts of it looked like it had been cut in the same manner one would cut a cake and I didn’t want to image that there was a force or weapon that could cause that much damage.

“’e’s in there. Come on.”

Sidus nodded before gesturing that we follow him.

“Mmm…” Gera droned as we walked into the grungy town.

Peeking at us from various doors and windows were the townsfolk but my concern was the sticky mud that lined the town’s roads.

“What do you suppose led to this town’s ruin?” I asked while walking closely to Gera who seemed rather unfazed.

“Bandits. Although I didn’t think they had already become such a presence in Medelona. We’ll have to check the border town south of here after this.”

I nodded as we eventually arrived at the foot of the mayoral office only it was surrounded by bandits.

They all stared at us and I wondered if they didn’t know Sidus and Cento were Helma.

Surely they would have behaved differently if they did-

“Well, well. If it isn’t my betters.”

A tall man with a white Mohawk and skin covered in thin silver lines said as he exited the building with a small, wounded man by his side.

The small man’s clothes were torn and tattered and his skin was blackened by bruises.

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Komfrey, once not so proud member of the Sacrumanus legion of silver knights. How can I help you?” Komfrey asked with a smile. He, like the bandits around him, wore dirty leather clothes only I could see silver armour beneath his.

Sidus turned to Gera who simply waved his hand.

He then looked at me and, not knowing what was going on, I walked forward.

“W-where is the mayor of this town?” I asked only for Komfrey to turn his glowing white eyes towards me.

“And who are you, little Missy?”

“Answer her question.” Sidus said as the air suddenly grew hot.

“Fine, fine. No need to get so rowdy. The mayor is right here. Say hello Mr. Mayor.”

The small man weakly raised his head and mouthed the words Hello, although no actual words could he heard.

“You’ll have to forgive him. He’s a little shy. But that’s why I’m here! To act as a… mediator between you and him.”

I nodded but before I could think of a way to handle the situation, Gera spoke.

“Ma’am, it would be best of we handled this situation swiftly. There are probably countless other towns that need help.”

“So what should we do with them?” I asked with trembling eyes.

Gera sighed.

“The people of this town have clearly suffered a great deal at the hands of these… individuals. It would be best if justice was swiftly dealt.”

“Do you mean we should apprehend and imprison them?”

Gera shook his head.

“These men will mostly likely never change. Also, we plan on rebuilding the entire kingdom. Do you think we can spare the resources to feed these men once we imprison them?” Gera asked but I couldn’t accept that there was no hope for them.

“Ah- they could be put to work-“

“Umm, sorry to interrupt, but I’d just to say that we are all innocent. For you to sentence is for crimes we did not commit… well, that is the height of cruelty, no?” Komfrey asked, but my eyes remained locked onto Gera, who’s face didn’t change. He looked just as he did when seated in his office. Calm and composed.

I then turned to face the mayor who looked at me with eyes that cried out with unspoken misery.

But was murder really the only solution?

“I still think we can put them to work. Sure, their souls are doomed to never rest within Summus’s bosom, but their bodies… their bodies can move… they can work.” I said with trembling lips.

“And will you oversee them?” Gera asked with a raised brow.

“Yes.” I said through gnashed teeth.

Gera sighed before turning around.

“This town’s name is… Lornster. Remember it for it will be where you fight to defend your ideals. If it were up to me we would have burnt it all to the ground and rebuilt, but… that would take more time and resources than we have. So, I’ll allow you to take in… criminals who are not sentenced to death and you will have them do work. Create a draft of the specifics tonight, but for now, I’d like you to kill the bandits here. I’ll go to Nster and handle things there, understood?”

I nodded.

“Umm… could I lend the aid of one of the Helma?” Gera asked and I turned to Cento.

He nodded before walking towards Gera and the two disappeared shortly after.

Wait a minute-

I knew that all Helma were light and life magicians but only Astír was a space magician.

Did this mean that Gera was a magician-

“Hey, come now. All that nonsense you said was just to get the old man out here, right? You don’t actually plan on killing we the innocent right? Of course not! I can see it in your eyes, fair lady. Kindness, compassion and-“

“Sidus, could you… somehow make their deaths painless?” I asked and he curtly nodded.

A shockwave the tore the air apart as Sidus disappeared.

I turned to find him trying to stab Komfrey in the neck, but Komfrey blocked the attack using his dirtied silver sword.

I looked around and saw that all the other bandits were now laying on the ground, only… their heads were missing.

I returned my gaze to Sidus and Komfrey, who tried teleporting away, but Sidus grabbed the man by his collar and forced him onto the ground with so much force his head shattered open and his silver armour twisted inward like a stepped on aluminium can.

Silence then filled the air as I stared at the bloody mass of flesh, metal and mud.

Sidus must have noticed my horrified expression but he quickly turned his attention to a small, cowering man.

The Helma raised his hand and poured life energy into the small man who passed out shortly after, even as his body regained its vitality.

Sidus then faced the town and I turned to find countless people running out of the town. Some on horses, others on foot.

Another massive shockwave nearly knocked me off my feet and I watched as a ball of light appeared in the distance.

My eyes widened to their limits as Sidus turned everything in his path to mince.

Man, woman and even horse weren’t spared as his Lance tore through the air.

I couldn’t look at the massacre anymore and so I ran up to the mayor who slowly came to his senses.

I reached out to help him up, but he suddenly grabbed and hugged me as tears fell from his eyes.

“Thank you!” He cried and all I could do was gently pat his back as he cried. His whimpers were almost muted by the thunderous cracks and explosions that came from the distance.