It has been 12 years since the first and last appearance of the dragon race since time immemorial but they seem to not attack the land. The human preparations had been going so smooth that for 12 years the Academy had produced outstanding warriors and magicians.
However, it was also alarming in a sense. Especially for magicians since magic energy (mana/aura) accumulates the highest during 14 – 19 years of human existence. 12 years had passed. That means the once outstanding magicians during their time had already aged more than 19 years old. Even if they say that the accumulation of experiences and knowledge is also important, but these outstanding magicians won't be able to summon their greatest might without the grant of the accumulated aura. Of course, they can store it on their reserves, but no matter how the aura in the body is manipulated, a small portion is bound to leak out. And that small portion would greatly affect the aura stored in the body if it's not used for years.
"We should just train more outstanding students, then." A member of the Academy's faculty proposed. This was proposed on the regular meeting the Academy hosts every month. Its goal is to observe the progress of the students and also to make decisions when the monsters attack.
Well, they do make decisions, but the final say is always from the Pillars of Peace – which only had 5 members.
"Even so, we don't know when the monsters attack. No matter how we train them, if no monsters will attack then it's useless. However, if we won't train them then when the monsters attack, we'll be in serious danger."
"Then how should we proceed? We're not that omnipotent to know what that damn monsters think."
"The monsters who were still living as slaves… can't we just let them talk? Maybe they know something."
"How do you think would they know something? They've been enslaved for a hundred of years and even though some of them are very intelligent, most of them are stupid. Besides, they also pretty much believed that Catastropheia was defeated back then."
The murmurs of the faculty filled the whole room with tension. Each had their own opinion about the present issue. But no matter how they argue, it is a fact that they don't know when the monsters would attack.
"Silence." A serious looking old man uttered one word and everyone got silent. "We will wait until the Pillars assemble and trust their decision regarding this matter. Besides, we still have the enlistment tournament by next week. We're very busy as it is, let us leave this issue to the Pillars. You can relay this to them, right?"
The guy looked at the girl leaning against the door of the room. She was not a faculty, in fact she's considered as a student. However, she is special. Everybody in the room were very familiar of those green eyes she has. They've seen it on books while some had seen it in person.
The eyes of the hero. The boy who saved all humanity.
Except that the one they're asking was a girl.
However, that was not the only reason she was special.
"Affirmation. The things discussed here will also be discussed when the Pillars gather."
Most of the faculty sighed in relief while the others doubt this but chose not to comment any further. Well, no matter what they say, the Pillars always have the final decision. They just have to wait for another three months.
However, during this time, they still did not know that the participants of the Pillars of Peace that will be meeting in three months will drastically change.
--
The woman who called herself Shellcy Freia brought us to a mansion, a big one though our mansion at Dragonia was way way bigger, at the center of the town. It has a land area of approximately 50 hectares, half of it was a garden with different flowers surrounding the mansion. It was a peculiar environmental friendly mansion which was in the center of the town where houses and apartments are attached to one another and were only separated by roads.
The Country of Grucia was an agricultural country. The royal family owned a vast area of lands which was further developed by the governance of the Freia family. I heard that they were not supposedly a royal family. They were just a good old family with a mountain of riches. However, it was a fact that they were the ones who developed the country and thus, they were recognized as a royalty – and consecutively, a country.
By the way, we rode a car towards this mansion. And yes, it's a car! I've finally rode one! Though I found out that it's not the kind of car I was expecting. Instead of gasoline, it was run by magic crystals! I can't believe it but I chose to believe it anyway.
I've already known about this, and had long accepted this fact, but as I thought, this world is really a fantasy world!
The existence of gasoline was even questioned.
When I asked Shellcy about gasoline, she tilted her head and frown. She didn't know about it. I guess that's how it really is. I mean, the fact that this world has magic makes it polar opposite to the previous world. However, I wonder where they got the idea of cars, skycrapers, and airplanes?
There's was a tugging feeling inside me. Is it possible that there were also people who came from my world and traveled here? I had goosebumps. Then, I chose to ignore it. Whether it's true or not, I don't really care. This is my world now. If we can meet, then it's good. If we won't, then its also good. I don't have any past attachments to that world. That world was full of toxic.
Well, maybe except for my unfinished anime, manga, and LN.
"Hime-sama, this will be your room for the time being." She gestured one of the rooms on the second floor on the east wing. I frowned. I still have a lot of things to ask her. But she only smiled, then said:
"We'll talk later. For now, rest. I'll call you when it's time for dinner. During that time, I'll tell you everything." She said then left with Felix whom she escorted on the room beside mine.
Well, I guess that's how it is. I chose to go inside the room. It was a very extravagant room but it paled compared to my room in Dragonia. But this will be enough, for now. I won't be staying for long here anyway. My plan is to travel the world and meet some people.
Laying down, I slowly closed my eyes. The bed was soft but my bed back there was softer. The bed here smelled roses and other flowers but my bed over there smelled fresh air which I preferred more since I don't like strong smell.
Why am I comparing everything here to Dragonia? I mentally shrugged. It's not like I miss being there.
Well…
…Maybe a little…
I woke up because of three consecutive knocks on the door. That's when I realized that I fell asleep. I never intended to sleep but still I did. Well, it can't be helped. What's done is done, anyway.
I opened the door and found Felix outside.
"Dinner has been served, hime. Do you need a moment to get ready?"
I nodded.
"Just a minute."
Facing the mirror, I freshened myself up. Not that sleeping made my face ugly or my hair messy. Fortunately, no matter what I do, I would always look beautiful.
"I really do have a beautiful face. If I was reincarnated as a boy, I'd definitely fall in love with this looks." I looked with my body. "And this body too."
My body doesn't affect me even if my predisposition before was a guy. It seemed like as I was growing up, I got used to it. It's a feeling that tells me that it's only natural since that is your body.
Thinking that I've lost the humanly desires of man, I sighed.
"I'm a girl." Well, I'm also a man at heart. But looking on a girl's body doesn't affect me. What really am I?
After a minute, I walked out the room. As expected, Felix was still there waiting for me. He guided me towards the diner. A 24-seater round table was placed there. A man in his mid-40's was there but even though I can tell his age range, the man before me was undeniably handsome. On his right side sat Shellcy. She was also looking at us with her infamous smile.
"Darling, they are the ones I am talking about."
Oh. This must be Shellcy's husband. So, he must be the King of Grucia. He smiled a little then motioned us to sit. Felix sat to the King's left while I sat beside him. This is supposedly the seat of their children, however, if my assumption was correct, then it's probably fine. Felix also thought about this, I think.
By the time we seated, he stood up and curtsied.
"I am grateful for the chance of meeting you, your majesty. I am Duffus Freia, the King of Grucia."
I lifted my hand and signaled him to raise his head. Yes, I'm pretty good at acting like this. I've been practicing this all my life, after all.
"No. I must be the one to thank you for the patronage, King Duffus. I was able to travel safely in a human town because of you, after all. And please refrain from bowing your head in front of me, I maybe a dragonian princess, but you are a King."
The King smiled. "You are as majestic as I've heard from Shellcy."
Heard? Wait, they've been talking about me?
"Saa, darling. I know you are very flabbergasted from the fact that you met a dragonian, and a princess at that, but I'm sure our guests are hungry. Let's just save this later, okay?" Shellcy, err, Queen Shellcy soothed her husband to sit. Then she looked at me, "And they still have many questions. We will have to answer that first."
The King nodded and such, a feast was brought forth in front of us. It was human food! I finally get to eat it!
We started eating and told short stories about ourselves. I, for one, had told them about my wish to explore this world which made the King and Queen look at each other like they were secretly having a conversation. And then, Queen Shellcy looked at me.
"You wish to explore the world, I see." She said, "But that is a difficult thing to achieve, you were aware of this, correct?"
I nodded. Felix remained silent.
"Yes. Even if I am quite prideful of my knowledge about human societies and such, I've lived in Dragonia all my life."
The Queen nodded and then she stood. But the next thing she did widened my eyes. She bowed in a dragonian way! Okay, so how does dragonian bow? It is when you crossed your legs and then dit like an Indian, then bow until your head reaches the floor.
I remembered the times when I was practicing them. It's one of the things, aside from magic, that I had a hard time learning. My back hurts whenever I did that!
"Shellcy, you are—"
Okay, I forgot to refer to her as queen because of my shock. I did figure out that one of them might be affiliated in Dragonia, like an informant or something, but to think…
"Yes, hime-sama. I am Shellcy Belliard Horuax, a former dragonian that chose to live as a human."
"I see –" I hid my surprise. "But, King Duffus is human, correct?
She stood up like nothing. Sasuga.
"Yes." It was King Duffus who answered.
"Why are you suddenly telling me this? I have a feeling that you are not supposed to convey this to me."
"Yes. Your mother, Queen Storm, had instructed me not to tell you, hime-sama. Because she thinks that if you know that I was able to survive as a human down here, this will make you more determined to explore the world."
Ah, that made sense.
"Then why?"
"Hime-sama, I've once shared your sentiments about exploring this world, and it must be quite selfish of me but I want you to succeed in doing something I wasn't able to do. That's why I will help you in the best way I can."
"Even if it meant betraying the Queen?" I was surprised. Indeed I was. I mean, every dragonian was very loyal to my mother and father. No one dares to defy them and they respected them like gods or something. Of course, the highest reverence in Dragonia is toward my grandmother who was swallowed by the Earth.
"No, I believe this is not betraying my Queen, hime-sama. After all, I'm also a mother. I can tell that deep within her heart she wants you to fulfill what you really desire. She just worries. Too much. Which I cannot blame her because this world, hime-sama, is far crueler than what you imagine."
I don't understand what she was talking about, but if she is willing enough to help me, then I'd e grateful to have her support.
I stood up and curtsied. I've been taught that I only need to bow when I am in front of people of higher status than me, which was my parents, and only curtsy or nod when I'm facing people of lower status than me.
"Then I will gratefully accept your offer. In truth, I've been wondering how I would start this academic tour of mine, do you have any idea how I would be able to achieve them?"
Shellcy finally sat on her chair, I also did. Now that you think about it, Felix did not say a word.
"Then hime-sama, what is the greatest desire you have right now, specifically?"
Greatest desire? Does she mean goals? Well, let's just answer.
"I want to meet certain people. Then, I want to to go to places undiscovered before and such." I shrugged.
"I see, that might be a problem." She paused and then looked at me. A problem? How? "Hime-sama, travelling in this land is a very delicate issue. The leaders of the nations, particularly the cities, who were called the Pillars of Peace had a fixed rule regarding travelling."
"Rule? Seriously? What rule?"
"Because each Pillar declared rightful autonomy over their own cities." It was King Duffus who answered. "Because of that autonomy, the people living outside the 5 major cities weren't allowed to cross the borders without written permission."
"Eh? Was it like that?" That's totally different from what I've read in the books. What's written in the books was that the hero united every nation in land making it one.
"Yes. Although royalties like us were also granted autonomy, it was still very difficult to cope up in the fast-changing world without connections on those 5 major cities. Our country, Grucia, for one have been having difficulties obtaining information on mechanics – ah, the one I'm talking about are the cars, you've ridden one of them. In the major cities, they're far more advanced such as inventing airplanes and automatic sky scrapers. And though the major cities have this common knowledge in mechanics, but the world knows that the Western Trade City where these inventions had been developed is hiding far more advance technologies."
"…Monopoly, huh."
Felix finally entered the conversation. He was slowly sipping tea, calmly listening to our conversation. Wait, with his reaction, he probably knew all along that Shellcy was a dragonian. Well, apart from that, what astonished me were the terms used to describe modernization in this world. 'Mechanics', 'Advance Technology', 'airplanes', 'skyscrapers'…
As I thought, this is an unusual pattern of speech for this type of world. There must be some otherworlder behind the shadows. Someone who came from the same world as me. It's only a hypothesis, but if there is someone like that out there, I commend him for his efforts. To bring high technology into another world where magic already exist…
Anyway,
"So, each city intends to monopolize their own products, is that what you're saying?" I asked. King Duffus nodded then it was Shellcy who answered orally.
"Western Trade City is the center of mechanics. Metro City of Serenity is the center of the food insutry. Oak City of Sanctuary focuses on mining. Metropolis of Façade built their city underground and is the center of research, though what they're researching is something us outsiders wouldn't know but from what I gathered, they're collecting corpses. The reason for collecting them, that I don't know. They're the most secretive city that even the other cities are wary of them. Also, they're the city nearest to Grucius. And then, there's the City of Carnage, where the Magic Academy is located. This is where people learn how to use magic and polish their physical skills. Those are the five major cities in this world that were built 30 years ago and the reason why there are a lot of travelling rules in this world."
Western Trade City. It's the center of technology huh. I wouldn't even be surprised if there are malls in there. They may even have the internet, for crisps sake. Metro City of Serenity is for food… I wonder how delicious their food is. Oak City of Sanctuary… mining business huh. That has its own merits and demerits. But if the city had been running for 30 years, how did it manage to control the changes in the environment while mining? Even in the past world, mining industries tent to destroy the ecosystems. And then there's that shady Metropolis of Façade. I'm really curious as to what they're doing with the corpses.
"Umu… I've memorized them. I will remember them in the future." I said, "But this City of Carnage where the Magic Academy is built. Aren't they too overpowered? I mean to monopolize magic casters… no matter how advance technologies in other city is, magic would easily sweep them away."
"Ah, regarding the City of Carnage." King Duffus interjected. "They're the only city who would let people in. Aside from that, they are a neutral city, so they are really not monopolizing anything. In fact, magicians that studies in the Academy are well treated in all of the cities. After all, when the time comes that monsters invade, they're the ones that will protect the citizens."
"Invade? Why would monsters invade?"
Shellcy looked on the floor while King Duffus avoided my eyes.
"Hime, you've read every book in the palace, right?" Felix asked me which I responded with a nod. "Those books are accumulated before the major cities were built. Basically, those books are already outdated. They are gathered by the monsters that choose to live on land when the ascension of Dragonia took place."
"EH?!"
"Hime-sama, to answer your question on why would monsters invade… well, they now have the perfect reason to do so. Monsters has been treated as slaves. It has been like this since the human civilization bloomed. Most monsters believed the defeat of Lord Catastropheia since their ancestors vowed not to tell anyone even they're heirs that the floating island Dragonia exists. However, those with intelligence continued to wage war on the human side because of the mistreatment. And now that it was shown in the world that dragons are indeed alive, the fire in their hearts would continuously bloom hoping that one day, the dragon clan will come back and save them. That one day, the dragonians will rule the land again… That's what I think."
Monsters treated as slaves… it not wrong. Well, in most cases, monsters are the enemies of human kind. That is how it has always been. It's not that new of an information. Yet, what is the feeling inside me? A crushing feeling… A feeling of rage and sadness.
"And, do you not feel the same, King Duffus?"
The gentleman shook his head.
"I may have thought so at first. But when I met Shellcy, my belief turned 180 degrees. I learned to love the monsters and their culture. I've learned that monsters are like humans too. They have family they desperately wanted to protect."
Shellcy seemed satisfied with the King's answer. She was nodding and smiling while listening to the words of the king.
"In fact, hime-sama," Shellcy butted in. "We've built a small town inside Grucia where monsters can live like normal people. Where they're not treated as slaves. Of course, at first, it wasn't easy to convince the public about this one issue. But when the monsters showed that they were willing to cooperate and live without harming others, the people of Grucia eventually accepted them as citizens."
"…I see."
"Yes. And we will continue to help them. It is one of my duties as a fellow monster who had been treated well by humans. I want them to experience what I felt during those times."
I smiled. Somehow, the feeling that I felt awhile ago vanished. I was truly happy that Shellcy and King Duffus are doing these things for the monsters. I've finally understood why I felt those feelings.
I am now a monster.
I've been living with them since I was born, again, and I know they're not dangerous. They're like humans.
"Thank you for doing this. You have my utmost gratitude."
"No, we're not worthy of such praise, hime-sama. We're just doing what we think is right. Anyway, regarding your want to travel, for you to actually do so, you must enroll yourself into the Academy and become a magician. That way, you are free to travel wherever you want to go."
Shellcy stood up. Our dinner took so long, it seems.
"Hime-sama will register as Hell Freia, our daughter, and the princess of Grucia. Felix will register as your bodyguard. Don't worry when you get inside, my son is there. You'll know him immediately after you see him. And please keep it a secret that he is our real child, he wanted to graduate the academy without letting anyone know that he is actually a prince."
"I see. I understand. Thank you for the meal, Queen Shellcy… King Duffus. I will forever remember my gratitude to the both of you. Thank you." I bowed to them. Felix, for the first time, seemed bother while Shellcy and King Duffus had their eyes widened.
We finally retired for that night. I was able to gather a lot of information regarding this world thanks to them. I'll properly thank them when the time comes.
3 days passed by immediately.
We've prepared a luggage and we had also prepared a scripted background for Hell Freia.
And thus, we journeyed to the City of Carnage.