-Break-
When we all woke up the morning after the party, I decided to call people together to discuss a few things. The people in question are the leaders of the village and a few others.
“Ok everyone, first things first, I would like to apologise for everything. Even though we are all back together, I would still like to apologise for all the chaos my presence has caused.”
“Orb, I told you to stop apologising,” Oren says
“I know that, but the more I think about it, the more I feel this needs to be said. Still, this is the last time I will apologize for this matter. From this point on, I want to move forward and press through all our challenges.”
Maple says, “I also want to talk with you all. I know since this year began, all our lives have been completely hectic with almost no time to sit and digest all we have lost, but with all the things that are changing I want you to know at least one thing, until we can get fully back on our feet, I will be taking my houses role as village chief.”
“Maple, I know we were having fun with that idea, but I want to ask you, is this what you truly want,” Willow says.
“I have given this much thought, but I want to stay the village chief. It is simply taking responsibility for my actions, and this doesn’t mean I don’t plan to leave one day, I am just postponing it. I want to share the outside world with all of you, so I can’t trade one for the other; leaving and protecting the village are two things that I hold close to my heart.”
Rubbing her on the head, I say, “Wonderfully said Maple, and now that we have got this out of the way, let’s get to the main discussions. First, our living situation, I take it that you all want to return and rebuild the village.”
Pine says, “Yes, we all discussed it in great length while you were gone and when all the men came back. It is our home where many of our families are buried. We want to get back there and rebuild it all, no matter how ravaged it may be.”
Buloke then says, “I am all for living back in the woods, but are we even sure it’s safe? During his time in the mine Willow had to tell guards where our village was located.”
Pouting, Willow says, “Sorry for that.”
“I didn’t mean to put any blame on you since you had no choice you needed to make your story believable. I am just stating facts just a fact.”
One of the younger women, Jute, says, “The members of Gaia’s sky told me they went around bragging about how to get into our village when they sold the first batch of us, so even if you didn’t tell anyone Willow our situation would still be the same so cheer up.”
“Thought, as you can all see, we have to deal with the fact that the two things that keeps the village safe is now gone.”
One of the elderly Villagers, Cedar, says, “We can’t just leave our home like that due to possible circumstances.”
Buloke says, “Old man, the reason we’re in this situation is due to a unforeseen circumstance coming to fruition. We can’t just ignore things like this anymore, especially when it is something much more possible. If we want to be as safe as can be, staying in this tunnel system is the best possible choice.”
“But we can’t just let all that our ancestors built just fade.”
“We have many more people to care for now, and we can’t risk their or our safety due to the history of a bygone era.”
I clap my hands as loud as possible and say, “Good point on both sides. Buloke, I believe it is incredibly kind of you to put the safety of people you have only just met above your want to return, but too many people here have seen their friends, families and children, be buried in that village; it is not so easy to let go of such feelings, I am sure you can relate.”
As he is about to snap back at me, Buloke calms down and says, “Sorry, Cedar, that was insensitive of me.”
“Still, even though I defend Cedar, I don’t agree with him. For now, I think you should all stay in the tunnels.” Shock appears on the faces of everyone around me, “I know how difficult it must all be for you, but I believe I have an idea as to how to protect the interests of both parties but I need some time. So, can you guys all put your trust in me?”
Oren says, “Well, we have been trusting you for a while, so what’s a little more time.”
Looking around, I see that everybody has accepting looks on their face, so I say, “Thank you all very much. I will try my best. So, since we have that settled, my next order of business is what to do about the conditions of all the people we brought back. Over the time everyone was over there, they were exposed to the toxins of the crystals. People like Buloke just got off with scaring and some minor issues, but those who were there for extended periods have their lives at risk. So, all in all, I need to go find some medicine for them.”
“Sorry I couldn’t be of more help,” Oren says.
Pine slaps her husband on the head and says, “Next time someone says sorry, I am killing that person. You can’t blame yourself for things out of your control. It is not your fault you don’t have that level of medical expertise.”
“Your wife is right, and you shouldn’t be worried about other health right now when your body is on the worse side.” Due to Oren’s old age, even though he was only there for a little while, it still heavily impacted his body and just from looking at him, I wouldn’t say he is doing alright.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“So, towards the end of getting medicine, I will be going to the nation of Seirei. That would be the closest place I can get something effective, so I plan to head out tomorrow.”
“Then we will have to send a group with you. You’re not going alone this time.”
“Thank you, Pine. I would appreciate that.”
“Umm, I don’t think that will be possible,” Sparrow says.
“Now tell me why that is.” I say giving him a cold stare.
“Simply because we have almost used up all our funds, the lupas are out. And I don’t have any gold lying around anywhere.”
“How? Last time I checked, we still had a ridiculous amount.”
“It seemed when you told the people who left to help themselves, they did without any restraint, that plus the shopping that was done over this past four months has almost dried us up. So, we won’t be able to afford medicine for a large crowd or even the transport to and from Seirei.”
Rubbing my hands against my head, I say, “This is bad. I need to figure out some way to get money fast.”
Sparrow, “Well, you could always-.”
“DENIED.”
“I didn’t even finish talking.”
“Any idea you have will be something I don’t want to.”
Scratching my head, I murmur to myself, “Come on, god, please help,” but just like a moment right out of a classic fairy tale, I hear someone scream, “ Cyrus, are you ok.”
Hearing this, everyone in the room and I move out to see Atalanta, Aea and Alis all around Cyrus, who is coughing on the floor. I ran over to him on the floor and asked, “What happened.”
Alis responds, “He suddenly just fell over.”
Is it the toxins doing this to him? I hear he was at Basileia for twice what most people were there for. The toxins have probably done their work on his system.
Cyrus eventually raises his head, and when I look at his face, he says, “I am going to throw up,” then his legacy starts to act on his mouth. Moments after that, he begins to spew darkness.
I tell everybody to “Move back,” as he spews darkness. What’s going on? Cyrus hasn’t been able to get his legacy working since we left Basileia. While I was caught up in my thoughts, I noticed that his darkness started to retract, and objects started to emerge from it, tiny Pieces of buildings, small stones, but most eye-catching of all, a ridiculous amount of Basileia crystals.
Upon seeing these, Willow tells me, “ORB FREEZE THEM,” hearing his voice snaps me back into reality, and I freeze all the highly explosive crystals. Walking up to Cyrus when he finishes, I say, “What was all that?”
But with a sick expression, he says, “There is still more.”
Looking around, I see the main area that can’t hold any more Crystals. So, I picked Cyrus up and threw him into one tunnel shaft, where he let loose more crystals. And after a short period, he filled the entire area with them.
Back when he was covered in the darkness, he was passively absorbing all the things around him, and Cyrus was on the bottom floor of the mine, so as he when up, he probably sucked in all the crystals.
After he stops, we pull him back to the main area, where I say, “How the hell did Willow the 2nd carry you with all those crystals inside.”
“Basileia Crystals weigh almost nothing, despite having a sizable mass. It is one of their infinite uses,” Willow says.
“So, I guess this is why you were feeling sick, Cyrus. But at least this fixes our problem.”
“Let’s not get too hasty”, Sparrow says. “If you think about this logically, if we start selling Crystals right after Basileia was raided, it will only attract unwanted attention, so we should go with my original plan, which is to get a grant at the port city of Deno. We have to go through a there to get to Seirei anyway and the church there gives grants to people in desperate need, and we sure are in desperate need.”
Letting out a sigh, I say, “Well, that is a good plan, so let us go with that. So, to save funds, I will bring the minimum number of people necessary to come with me. So, I will bring Cyrus, so we have someone to carry the luggage and to show the symptoms of the toxins to them. Sparrow will also come with me as the person best associated with Deno. He will be helpful. We leave first thing tomorrow.”
-Break-
Φ “Sir Orb, are you ready to go,” I say.
“Yeah, I am just waiting for Cyrus”, the boy responds with a sour tone.
To think I would be so lucky all the Basileia crystals are here. Due to the destruction that happened to Basileia, we now have a monopoly on them all. We can sell them for whatever price I-we want. If I were to get even two per cent of those sales, I would live a comfortable life until I die.
The only issue is that I have to get in good with this annoying brat who is already highly suspicious of me. But I have a plan, that other brat Willow or something, was able to infiltrate Basileia by showing he has worth, and if I kiss ass and do the same, I am as good as in.
Φ Sparrow has gotten better at controlling his heartbeat, so I don’t know for sure, but he is probably trying to kiss my ass due to the future profits I could bring him. How annoying.
“Orb, I am ready,” Willow says.
“Good to hear.”
“I thought Willow wasn’t to go with us?”
“Due to your advice yesterday, I realized that Willow the 2nd might be noticed from Basileia, so we are only taking him the part way towards Deno, then we are going to use other means of transport to reach Deno port.”
Willow whispers into my ear, “Hey, Orb, are you sure I can’t come as well? It is just that I have a bad feeling, mainly trusting Sparrow for the way there.”
“Don’t worry, I have already stuffed snow up his butt, and when we reach Seirei, I can finally use one of these,” I say as I hold a letter out.
“What is that?”
“How could you not remember? This happens to be one of the letters of introduction Capti wrote me. It is to a friend in Seirei. When I get there, this friend will be my guide instead of Sparrow, so everything should work out.
While talking, we hear Atalanta let out a giant scream. Running over to what I heard, I see her on the ground pointing her finger at a beautiful young man with short spiky black and violet hair with horns and a tail.
Upon realising who it was, I let out a shriek and said, “Cyrus.”
Pine walking up behind him, says, “His hair was completely overgrown and covered his face, so I cut. Do you like it.”
What the hell is this? A person’s looks and aura can’t change this much from just a simple haircut.
Atalanta says, “He sort of looks like a prince, but the dragon aspects make him look sort of tribal too. The dichotomy of this is getting to me.” looking at Atalanta’s face, she looks as though she is about to jump Cyrus, so I hold her down.
Willow walking up to Cyrus, says, “You are looking good.”
He Shyly responds, “Than-n-n-nk you.”
After Cyrus stutters, Atlanta calms down. It seems his personality can’t be changed with a simple haircut.
As we prepare to leave, lots of people come up to say goodbye and wish us well, but when Maple comes up, she says, “Orb, I have figured out a name for our village.”
“Oh, tell me then.”
“I have decided to call our village Aplos. You like it” she says proudly.
Rubbing her head, I say, “I love it.”
“So, you hear that everyone from this day on where all the people of Aplos remember that.”
Walking up to Maple, Willow starts Complimenting her naming skill, “What a wonderful name, of course, an amazing beautiful princess like you would come up with it.” As he says this, Maple gets embarrassed.
Seeing this, everyone joins in, “How wonderous you, our Maple.”
“Utterly fantastic.”
“Beyond comprehension.”
Hearing all this, Maple says, “GET OUT OF HERE, YOU IDIOTS,” as she runs away. With her words sending us off, we head out of the tunnels.