Hunger, misery, and sadness. These are the primary words that describe the situation of the people of Kiron City. Through the dark alleys, could see people sitting on the floor or in search of something to eat from the trash.
"Nee-san, look what I found!" A boy approached his sister with a smile.
"You-Oh! Is that meat? Where did you find that?" the girl asked.
"I found it near the dump." the boy said. He was lying. In fact, he had stolen this meat from a beggar.
The girl looked into her brother's eyes with a doubtful expression.
'Damn, why is she so dense?'
"Did you steal this?" she asked in a serious voice.
"N-No, Nee-san, I found-"
"Give it back! We don't need to steal anyone's food." She hated when her brother lied to her like that.
"B-But, we need to eat… we've been hungry for two days already." He couldn't bear to feel his stomach growl any longer.
"...The person you stole could also be hungry." She answered.
*Sigh!*
The boy returned to return the beggar's meat. After that, he returned to his sister.
"Nee-san, I heard that the city gained a new Lord." The boy commented after picking up a wooden sword.
"And what does it matter? They replace the old one and put another scum in power." The girl commented while she was reading a book. She seemed quite fascinated by this book she had recently acquired.
"But I hear she's a very pretty girl." The boy commented as he swung the wooden sword.
"..." The girl looked at her brother with a strange expression. She already knew her brother was naive, but she was always amazed at how stupid he could be.
*Sigh!*
"Nee-san, don't worry. I will become a great warrior so we can live peacefully." The boy said as he swung his sword with a focused expression.
If anyone saw the boy now, he would be surprised to feel blue energy around him.
Mana. The boy was able to utilize mana, despite having read a few books about it. Also, he never had anyone to teach him.
…
"...Yes, you are right." She said with a smile.
The girl knew that her brother could become a great warrior. However, she wasn't good enough to use magic. Her talent was much less than her brother's for that.
*Sigh!*
She sighed and went back to reading. On the book cover was written: How to be a merchant
-
When night came, a loud bell rang in Kiron City.
"Hello everyone, I am Elizabeth Silverlake, the new Lord of this city. This announcement is an invitation to all of you. We shall have a great feast in the city center. So, Please come."
Everyone heard Elizabeth's voice echo throughout the city. She was using a communication matrix to broadcast her voice.
"What?!" Citizens were confused by the announcement but quickly ran towards the center.
-
When they arrived at the center, they saw a huge cauldron with several benches and chairs nearby. They also saw a young girl giving instructions to the cooks.
"I'm glad you came," Elizabeth said as she saw the first guests arrive. The estimate was that over 90% of the guests would be plebs, as the nobility did not like being around plebs.
They looked at Elizabeth with bright eyes. They were so thrilled to see the cauldron of food that they forgot to greet Elizabeth.
"The city center will be dedicated to a special feast. Line up to get your food."
After a few minutes, the center already had thousands of people gathered, and the number kept growing. People who wanted to eat stood in line waiting their turn.
"Nee-san, this feels so good!" The boy said as he tasted the meat.
"...You're right." The girl replied as she watched Elizabeth.
'What's the reason for that?' She thought.
The nobility never did anything to help the population, so Elizabeth's attitude aroused suspicion in the girl's mind.
"Nee-san, I'll get more." The boy got up in search of more meat.
"Wait-" She got up and went after her brother, afraid he might do something stupid. In fact, her concern was not unfounded, as her brother was so excited that he ended up bumping into a fat man who was talking to another man.
When the boy bumped into the man, the leftover food from the bowl ended up soiling both of their clothes.
"I'm sorry!" The boy apologized as he bent down to pick up the bowl that had fallen to the floor.
"Filthy pleb, are you blind?!" Faust screamed at the sight of his stained clothes. His scream made the boy nervous, not knowing what to do.
"Tael!!" The girl called her brother's name with a worried expression.
"Can't you see it was an accident?!" She yelled at Faust with contemptuous looks.
"Huh?" Faust initially showed a surprised expression upon seeing the girl's reaction but changed to anger at the same moment. He was already angry to see so many plebs feed on an amount of meat that would have made a lot of money.
"Filthy commoner, get out of my sight!" Faust pushed the girl, causing her to fall to the ground.
"Nee-san!!" The boy stood up with an angry expression.
"Bastard!" He drew his wooden sword and attacked Faust.
Maron, who was at Faust's side, just watched the situation with a frown. He didn't like plebs either, but Elizabeth was around, so he didn't want to cause trouble.
"Trash, don't test my patience-" Faust exclaimed but was shocked to see the blue energy around the boy.
"What?!" Maron and Faust's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You will pay for hurting my sister!!" The boy screamed.
"Tael, stop!!" The girl tried to stop him, but it was too late.
*Slash!*
*BOOOMMM!*(Mana burst)
The boy's wooden sword struck Faust's abdomen.
The people who were close to the two walked away with an expression of fear. The guards who were nearby were also on alert.
"…Y-Y-You… How… do you dare?!" Faust looked down at his nonstop bleeding abdomen with an expression of disbelief. If he hadn't used mana to enhance his body at the last moment, he would be dead right now.
"I'll kill you!!" Faust issued a killing intent toward the girl and boy.
"Tael…" The girl broke out in a cold sweat as she sensed the murderous intent. She knew her brother was very reckless, but now he had tried to kill someone dangerous.
Tael began to breathe heavily as he sensed Faust's murderous intent.
Faust drew his sword and concentrated his mana. He had been careless before, but now he wouldn't let this boy get away.
"Die!!!" He brought his blade down towards the boy's neck.
"Stop!!" The girl tried to run to save him, but she wouldn't make it in time.
Tael tried to defend himself using his wooden sword but failed miserably. When Faust's blade was close to his neck, he felt as if time had stopped.
'I can't die here. I need to protect Nee-san.' He thought as he closed his eyes.
*BOOMMM!*
"Tael!!!" The girl knelt as tears streamed down her face. She thought her brother would die before her eyes, but she saw Tael alive in front of her.
"Tael?!"
"Nee-san?!"
Both were confused by the situation, and when they looked at Faust, they saw a beautiful girl standing while holding the sword blade.
"Faust, do you want to murder someone during the feast I prepared?" Elizabeth asked with a cold expression. She was gripping Faust's blade effortlessly.
"E-Elizabeth-Sama, that boy tried to kill me!" He replied with an indignant expression.
*Sigh!*
Elizabeth sighed as everyone at the banquet looked at Faust in fear. She made this feast to gain a reputation with the population, but Faust nearly ruined it.
"We'll talk about that later." She said.
"But-" Faust tried to object but Elizabeth looked at him with cold eyes.
"Understood…" He could only be quiet this time.
…
Elizabeth calmed everyone down, and the feast resumed as normal.
-
"Tael, let's go." The girl was afraid Faust would try to get revenge, so she wanted to get out of this place quickly.
"You two, don't even think about leaving." Elizabeth suddenly appeared beside them.
"L-Lord..." 2x