Every night before Cain sleep, he use his true rune to scan himself to accurately measure his capabilities and growth after he done his daily training routine. Right now his power is equal to a trainee rune knight which means besides gathering true runes he still have to train hard to increase his attributes. Cain decide to increase his daily training load to maximize his physical body growth when he have more free time in the future.
In the morning Cain together with Deus as his bodyguard visit the outermost part of the royal capital where the biggest slums are. In here there are humans and also variant races struggling for their life where many kinds of crimes happen everyday. Cain has doubt whether he really wants to invite the people of the slum to his territory or not since he cannot separate the people that have done all sort of shady things and the good people that struggle hard to maintain their life day by day. His power can only observe people attributes but cannot determine their behaviour and habits.
Taking a long breath, Cain finally make his decision when he see that most people that lives in the slums are variant races, they are either runaway slaves or slaves that have been abandoned by their master or refugee from out of town. He intends to invite the people in the slum since he really need a boost in population. If there are bad people mixed in later, he will make sure to clean them up.
Cain strolling around the slums trying to find the right spot to make his speech while looking at the streets filled with the smell of filth and Urine, Cain frowned, the living condition here is really bad since in his previous life he never bother to come to the slums. Deus is still on guard by his side sending murderous aura to deter people around them that had bad intention.
After finding a suitable spot, Cain create a makeshift podium in the centre of the busy street and use his loudest voice to yell loudly.
People of the Slum, I am prince Cane. I am here to invite you to live in my territory, in there you don't have to worry about work, there are plenty of work you can find and I will guarantee you can eat three meals a day for free on the first year you stay there. If you are interested gather in the city south gate one week from now. I repeat….
After shouting there for thirty minutes like a parrot while withstanding curious look from passer by Cain feels that it is enough, the rumour will spread mouth by mouth in due time.
Deus still does not understand Cain intention, he can understand the reason he come to slave market to find labour and to royal academy to find capable people but why do he need to go so far as the slums.
In Deus mind all people that live in the slums have shady background and criminals.
Cain knows that population is the foundation of every territory that is why he will use every way available to gather enough population so he can start jump his territory together with the money and goods that he will receive from the two Dukes.
Seeing that the weather turn cloudy and rain beginning to pour down, Cain decided to find a temporary shelter before heading back to the Royal Castle
Interlude I
Somewhere in the Slums.
"Mama, I found an edible bread today", a skinny young rabbit kin girl with a rotten bread in her hand cheerfully run to his mother but before she got far, a stranger collides with her. The little girl can only helplessly get thrown away and by the time she gets up the bread in her hand has gone missing and she started to cry. Her mother come to help her stand up and comfort her. It is okay Avsha, we will find another one to eat.
Elisha and her two daughters come to the slums 5 days ago after his husband, a household slave was killed by his master. Her husband was accused of theft by his master who was a noble but Elisha knows the real reasons was because the nobles covet her beauty and his two daughters. Even among the rabbit kins her beauty stands out a lot with a flowing white hair, perfect face with round eyes, long white fluffy ear, bountiful breast and slim waist and that is why this tragedy happens, even though she always maintains a lower profile and smears her face with coal, her master still covets her outstanding beauty. She has heard from other slaves in the house that she will be taken as a plaything by the master and her children will be sold as slave to the highest bidder. After eavesdropping their talk, Eisha brace herself to escape from the noble's manor and come to the slum so that she will not get find out by the nobles.
Outside her imagination, living in the slums is much harder than she thought, the meagre amount of money that she gets from his husband saving cannot afford much in this place. Her eldest daughter Varsha is 14 years old and his youngest daughter Asha is 12 years old. Both of them haven't eaten for 2 days. She tried to find some miscellaneous works in the slums but no avail, the only option is selling her body to strangers and passer-by. Looking back at her decision, is it wrong for her to escape from the manor, their life in the manors is also miserable but at least they have some leftover food to eat.
She tried to search through the garbage in the slum to find food but even then, the competition to find scrap food in the garbage is very high and controlled by some thugs group. Homeless and starving she can only cuddle with her children in the corner of a dilapidated building to hide from the rain. Seeing her child skinny form, she is determined to sell her body so that she can buy something for her children to eat.
"Aaah …just my luck when I was going to get to mercenary guild a heavy rain ensued" thought Cain aloud. Cain taking cover from the rain stood at the terrace of an old building. He can faintly hear some sobbing sound in the rain and get curious, he tried to found the source of the sound and find a rabbit kin women with her two daughters cuddling together, their skinny body look malnourished, barefoot while wearing a tattered clothes make Cain feel pity in his heart.
"Haah.. if I did not help them maybe they will die today, maybe this meeting with them is fate" Cain thought. Cain still remembers when he get expelled to Verzia the first time in his previous life, he feel hungry every day since food is scarce and many of his initial citizen died of hunger.
Elisha can hear faintly a footstep is coming, as a rabbit kin her hearings is very sharp. She instinctively held her daughters tighter afraid of the unknown stranger walking slowly to their side. Varsha and Avsha also hear the footsteps sound and look away at the source of the sound to find a young human is standing behind them with another scary imposing human in his back.
"What do you want? Please stay away from us, we do not have anything of value, Elisha beg Cain desperately.
Hearing her panicked voice Cain can only smile kindly and take out the two white fluffy bread that the royal chef prepares for him this morning as his lunch and put the bread closer to them.
This is for you, sain Cain kindly with a smile on his face.
Looking at the white fragrant bread Varsha and Avsha is confused, in their eyes, human is a bad person, they see humans abuse their father and mother all the time in the manor. Her father and mother usually warn them to stay away from humans as far as possible.
Seeing the aromatic bread Elisha wants to reject the unknown man offer because she was afraid that the man will swindle her and demand her for something but seeing her daughter longing face and their growling stomach she can only bite her lips and accept the bread.
"Thank you", seeing her mother receives the bread and give each one to them, Varsha and Avsha ravenously devour the bread. To them this bread is the most delicious things that they ever eaten in their entire life.
"Mom don't you also eat?" Said Varsha guiltily. I'm not hungry said Elisha with a weak smile, Varsha knows that her mother has not eaten anything longer than they have, she stopped eating her bread and give it to mother. "Here mom you can have mine".
No Varsha, I am not hungry you can eat it all.
Seeing the scene in front of him, Cain cry silently, the tears just falling from his eyes uncontrollably mixing with the falling rain water. Seeing this family struggle reminds him of his family on earth and how the obviously hungry mothers selflessly give the food to her child reminds him there is still love and goodness in this world.
"All of you, come with me" said Cain while turning his back on them and slowly walk.
What do you want? I am very sorry but I don't have anything to exchange for the bread. If you want to take someone, please just take me instead, I am willing to do anything but please spare my child.
"What???" Cain almost stumbled in his walk when he hears Elisha request. How come I suddenly become a bad guy that wants to kidnap an underage child, It seems human deep oppression of the variant races have put a fearful impression in their mind.
"I do not want to hurt you, I only want to take all of you to the restaurant in the city to eat, nothing else." Said Cain sounding as nice as possible.
"Come on", Cain forcefully carry Varsha and Avsha in his left and right hand since he is afraid that their condition are still too weak from prolonged hunger.
"Mommy!!" They both scream, but Elisha know she can't do anything else but follow the human.
"It's okay, he will invite us to eat together. Elisha can only calm down her children since she is afraid that the human may harm them if they try to resist.
Leaving the slums, Cain brings them to a fine restaurant in the city. The waiter wants to stop them from coming in to the restaurant after seeing Elisha and her daughter clothes that look like a beggar but seeing the royal symbol in Cain's Clothes and Deus Royal Guard attire they can only helplessly let them enter the restaurant.
"Bring all the best food that you have!" Cain ordered almost all the menu in the restaurant.
Elisha was embarrassed, she knows with his status as a variant races, tattered clothes and awful smell she should not be able to enter this restaurant. Maybe this human in front of her have a noble status like her previous master.
Varsha and Avsha can only sit in fear beside their mother holding her hands, they never come to a crowded place like this and everybody seeing them with a disgusted look while pinching their nose and voicing rude comment. Only the young human in front of her give her a kind smile while the scary human remains expressionless.
After the enormous amount of food arrives at the table, the three of them stood expressionless. Never in their life they see so many different foods with such an aromatic smell. In the manor they usually only eat leftover vegetables with a bland taste since spice is for the master family only.
"What are you waiting for, eat, oh wash your hands over there before eating" Cain reminds them while he took a bite of a tasty looking pasta dish.
Elisha bring her two daughter's to wash their hands and get back on the table, she feels very out of place, she realizes that she and her daughters must smell very awful since they rummage around the trash in the slums looking for food but the man in front of them treat them as if they smell just like normal people.
"Mom, can we really eat this? Said Varsha fearfully". Her mother looked at Cain as if looking for an answer to her daughter question
"Of course you can, eat as much as you want" said Cain delighted.
Varsha and Avsha still have some doubt but their grumbling stomach forces their hands to the food on the table,
"Yummy", said Avsha with bright eyes, she never taste food this good before. Elisha, seeing both her daughter's eating their food vigorously feels relieved and also began to eat together.
After all of them finish eating to their fullest, they left the restaurant and Cain told them to follow him to the Royal Castle.
Elisha know she does not have any choice for her daughter sake, she knows if she goes back to the slum again his daughter future will be bleak. She can only hope that this human is better than her previous master and she hope that her daughters can have a safe place to stay and food to eat. If this human asked for her body in return, she will give it to him in exchange for taking care of her daughters.
Cain brings Elisha and his daughters to the royal castle and into the royal kitchen, there he instructed Mary the head chef to teach the three of them to cook so he can bring them to his territory under the pretence that he will miss the castle cooking when he gets there and he will need someone who can cook for him.
Along the way Elisha don't know why the humans bring them to the castle, she was very afraid. But suddenly a dogkin with a maid uniform come and said that she will lead them to the servant room.
"Shana can you please help me wash them and dress them in maid uniform? They will train to become my personal chef when I go to my territory" said Cain nonchalantly.
Before he leave he take a final look at the rabbit kin mothers and daughters and introduce himself. "My name is Cain, the third prince of Vertalis Kingdom, Shana will take care of you, ask her if you need anything.
Elisha also introduce herself and her two daughters while asking whats gonna happen to them next.
I will have Varsha train with the head maid to learn etiquette and become my personal maid while you and Avsha will train with the head chef to learn how to cook.
Elisha was surprised and can only nodded silently.
"Yes Prince Cain, everyone follow me" said Shana in a serious tone.
What happens next make Eisha feels like she is dreaming. She and her daughters washed clean and given good clothes and even given a room to stay. They stay together in one room with three beds.
Elisha spends the night sleepless afraid that the prince will send someone to fetch her and bring them to the prince room to serve him.
After a sleepless night, Elisha can hear the sounds of birds singing, it means morning already come but nothing happens to her and her daughters who is still sleeping soundly beside her. She can only hope that a peaceful day like this can continue forever.