Saedis yawned as he woke up and sat on the bed. After peeking through the window, he realized it was early in the morning. The sun was still rising up. He put on his slippers and walked out of his bedroom. He could still hear snores originating from his bedroom, even as he walked in the hallway.
'She snores really loud. How do I even sleep every day?' he wondered as he arrived into the washroom. His stomach grumbled in complaint, while he grimaced as he washed his face.
After some preparations, he had neatly changed out of his bed clothes, and into a white robe. His shirts no longer fit; thanks to the weight he had gained. As much as he liked eating all sorts of food, the belly he developed was not helping at all. He walked away into the dining hall, while waiting for the servants to bring him some food.
"Sir, the elders from the tribe are here to see you", said his butler, who brought in some tea, on a silver tray.
"Those backwater idiots! What do they want now?" spoke Saedis, as he poured himself a cup of tea.
"They didn't say."
"Alright. Show them in", responded Saedis.
A couple of minutes later, the elders came in, led by Fal Mora.
"What is it that compels you to disturb me this early in the morning?" asked Saedis with a frown.
"Oh Venerable Saedis, we need your approval for something", started Fal Mora.
"And this something cannot be named?"
"No, oh Venerable one. One of the vassal tribes refuses to pay tribute, oh venerable one! We sent an emissary to force them to pay tribute, but they killed the emissary! We believe they are planning a rebellion against the alliance! Please grant us the permission to mobilize our forces and take care of them at once!" spoke Fal Mora, with a conviction that could not be faked.
Saedis frowned again. He was tired of playing emissary of the Three Kingdoms Alliance. Yes, he had fulfilled his goals and become rich by coming to this backwater place. However, the politics was now boring, at least he was now getting annoyed. He was aware that the elders were scheming, he didn't know or care who they were scheming against, but he was now getting tired of it. He had tried numerous times to ask his ward to change his post, but he was rejected every time he made the request.
The first time he realized they were scheming, was when they asked to make all the surrounding tribes and villages vassals. He had agreed because he had realized something was afoot, and he wanted to investigate what it was. It had started with a brown pillar of light, and he noticed that the scheme was something to do with that pillar of light.
"Let me guess which tribe it is. The Southern Earth tribe, am I correct?" he asked.
Fal Mora and Elder Mahkith exchanged a glance, before he replied, "Yes, venerable one. You're correct."
Saedis sighed, before saying, "Well, I have made my decision!"
*********
As the sun slowly rose up, Reeve was already up, and after jogging around the village several times, he had a rough idea of the landscape. The Southern Earth tribe was situated at the base of a rocky outcrop. The houses were basic huts made with wood and thatched with grass.
Reeve jogged around the village and by the time he was done, the sun was catching up. When he was still in the other world, he enjoyed jogging early before going to work. He had once been told that to start a great day, he should exercise in the morning. From the day he had been told that, he had made it a daily habit, one he carried even after his death.
The Southern Earth tribe was very small, and there were things that made no sense to him. First thing was, for such a small tribe, what made them rich enough to give him such amounts of gold and diamond jewellery. Second thing was, what kind of lunatic gives away their own daughter as tribute? Currently, he wanted to find the answers to these questions, before he moved on to more important questions like what the ancients were, and how he was supposed to practice magic, if he could. There was also the question about the foundation stones.
He arrived at the edge of the village, where the village connected to the forest. He began to think of various ways in which he could improve the tribespeople's lives. However, the only thing that rang up in his mind was Eskaria. As much as he felt pity for her, he actually liked her for some reason. Well, he thought she looked and acted like his previous girlfriend. Unlike his ex, however, Eskaria had a halo on her head, and Reeve would swear he could actually see it, literally. It looked purple with light shades of gold, but of course, he thought he was hallucinating. He first noticed it when he asked her about magic, and she remained quiet.
Unfortunately for him, the night passed uneventfully. Yes, no one got laid! Reeve slept on the floor and the girl slept on the bed, not something anyone expected. He woke up early to perform his daily jog, while the girl was still sleeping.
'That old geezer! He said he was coming back, but he escaped and never returned! Was he trying to set me up? Pity, he failed!' thought Reeve, as he looked at the forest. He didn't know whether he should be happy that he didn't get laid, or he should be sad. The problem was that, she was his wife, apparently.
As he remained motionless, a light breeze blew over from the direction of the forest. His brown hair fluttered in the wind, and if anyone saw this, it would have been a very cool scene. However, something else worried Reeve. Within that breeze, he could see tiny flecks of light. Most of the flecks of light were green in color, but there were some which were brown, and some which were blue.
'What are those things? Am I the only one who can see them?' he wondered.
"Good morning, Sir tribe protector", a small voice brought him out of his daze.