"Things had drastically changed in this continent sss," said Sliddy as Rose and I were having our breakfast by the counter bar.
"There was barely any hails or stormsss recently. They do come every once in a while but it was far lesss and few in between as sss compared to last time. I see that you had brought your winter clothingssss with you. You should bring along in case it comes in handy sss. Even I cannot predict the weather here anymore sss," she continued.
"Do you.. happened to know where Kronk is?" I asked her.
"Kronk? Come to think of it, it's been a while since I last saw him sss. I wonder where he went sss," she poundered in her thoughts.
"Have you heard about the humans that had inhabited this continent? Rumour has it that demons avoided them and did not attack ever since they set their foot here. Is that true?" I asked Sliddy.
"I.. can't really comment on that as sss it was Kronk who told us about it sss. We had never seen any of those humans sss that wondered into our town so far sss. Aside from the occasional traders or adventurers sss of course sss," she explained.
"I see. Thanks for all your help, Sliddy. I really appreciate your hospitality," I bowed to her lightly.
"Oh you.. very rarely do humans sss treat us in such a polite manner sss. You are my best human customers, Zen and Rose sss," she bowed back to us.
I scratched my head as it was weird to hear someone calling us as "human customers".
We got ready and headed out to start with our task. I had prepared all that I could including whatever alchemy that I brought over for this trip. Let's get this over with and hopefully we can return back to the west as soon as possible.
We stood at the edge of town right before the gate. It was here that we first fought with the Great Demon that wandered into the town. And I got my ass whooped hard. The four of us had difficulties in killing it for sure. May Pietro rest in peace. I really wondered what happened to him. John refused to tell me what happened to him aside from sort of confirming that Pietro had indeed passed.
Rose told me to wait here while she scouted ahead using her Sacred Wings. She can fly high and look for where the potential human settlements might be. Not long after, she came back and confirmed that the location marked on the map is indeed where the humans might be as she saw smoke trails arising from that direction.
Rose started walking ahead but stopped as she noticed that I wasn't following along. I was thinking whether someone would actually be kind enough to quicken our pace. I summoned Inazuma and talked to it, asking for permission and pleading to it. Rose looked at me as though I had lost it. She was checking my head temperature to make sure I was alright.
A spectral horse appeared which frighten Rose and made her shriek. I told her this is the spectral form of Kirin and we can ride on him to our destination. She was at a lost for words. All these time she had assumed that Kirin and Byakko was just the name of the weapon that I wielded. She always assumed that my conversation with them was nothing more than my curse giving me a dream that I talked to them. Even my wife doesn't trust me.
I hopped on to Kirin's back and extended my hand for her to hop on.
"Thank you, Kirin-sama for allowing us to ride your back," said Rose as she bowed to the spectral form of Kirin.
"Hmph, I see your wife have more manners than you," said Kirin.
"Of course, that is why I chose her. Haha!" I laughed.
"I wasn't complementing you but your wife," Kirin replied with a speechless face.
"Any complements to my wife is basically an agreement that I had made a right choice," I chuckled.
"Really now? I thought you would had chosen Lily instead seeing as she caught your eye first," said Kirin.
"I thought so too. I wasn't expecting him to choose me as well," answered Rose.
"Wait, how did this topic even come up in the first place?" I asked both of them.
"Is that why you are allowing him to have Lily as his second wife?" asked Kirin as he ignored what I just said.
"I sort of understand that onii-chan had a deep fetish for female elves which runs in his veins. So, rather than him cheating on me with some random elf, I would rather give him permission to choose Lily instead seeing that I am already familiar with her," explained Rose.
"Excuse me, are you saying you have so little faith in me, Rose? I did not even cheat on you at all," I pouted at her.
"It is only a matter of time, Zen. Only a matter of time," chuckled Rose.
I showed her an unamused face. She was already judging me when I literally did not even cheat on her. Hmph, if she has so little faith in me then perhaps I should get together with Lily and make her eat her own words.
We galloped towards our destination, all the while keeping an eye out on the weather. Things are certainly much different in this continent right now. There was barely any demons in sight nor was there any dangerous monsters or plants.
"Onii-chan, is it just me or is there more normal looking flora and fauna than I last remembered? asked Rose.
"It's not just you. According to Sladar's report, there had been more flora and fauna recently in this continent. Now it barely looked like some wasteland but more like some rainforest. Where are the demons though? Did Sladar hunted all of them or something?" I scratched my head.
***
We reached the settlement within half an hour. There was absolutely no attacks at all from anything. I felt like all my preparations was for nothing. Kirin dropped us off before we reached the location as he was still shy in showing people his spectral form. Both Rose and I peeked our heads out from a tree. The settlement was actually of a decent size. How many humans are actually living here?
He walked closer to the settlement. A couple of children saw us and waved at us. There are children here as well? We stood by the gate, or I should say a short-fenced gate. There is barely any protection at all in this settlement. Just a hop and you're in for a human buffet.
We were greeted by a man who was shirtless but wore a golden necklace with a strange shape. He does not look skinny so they seems to be well fed here.
"Greetings, I'm…"
"I know who you are, Master Zen and White Angel Rose. Only a fool would not know the name and face of the fourth and hero of the war. Welcome to my settlement. I am sure you have questions seeing as you were willing to come all this way to this humble abode. You can address me as Son by the way," he said.
"Um, thanks. You can just call me Zen actually. Is your real name really called Son?" I asked with curiosity.
"A humble man but I'm afraid calling you by your direct name goes against the teachings of the Imperatrix. Do forgive me. We value title and manners in our teachings. As per your question, it is merely my title. I had abandoned my real name a long time ago," he said as he led us into his settlement.
"As you can see, we are living in harmony here with plenty of supplies that can sustain all of us. We collect water from rain or directly from underground sources. Animals brought over from the mainland were cared and kept properly as our source of proteins. Crops are also growing well as you can see," he guided us around the settlement where he showed us the farm and barn.
"Why stay here in the first place? Is the mainland not comfortable enough for you all to stay there?" I asked him.
"It is to test our faith, Master Zen. As per our teachings, a strong faith in the Imperatrix is all we need to overcome all odds. The Imperatrix protects," he made a prayer sign with his hands and bowed to a statue that I presumed is the image of the Imperatrix.
"So you are saying that all of you came to this continent just to test your faith? Does all your lives matter so little?" I asked bluntly.
"I understand your concern but we moved here to prove ourselves to our Father that faith is all that matters when we worship the Imperatrix," he spat.
"By Father, are you referring to the priest of the Church of Imperatrix in the City Of Pines?" I asked.
"Indeed, he had lost his ways. Instead of preaching about the glory of the Imperatrix, he chose to follow a different path instead," he complained.
"As in to cure the people of all sickness? Is that even true?" I asked.
"I have no comments about that. I brought over my flock as I disagree with the direction he was heading. But I had certainly proven myself that faith prevails all. Bless the Imperatrix," said Son.
Rose was tugging on my cloak. Perhaps she is finding this conversation too annoying for her liking. But it is our duty to check on this settlement. We have to question them about their living condition here.
"Is it true that there was absolutely no attacks from any demons or other beings throughout your entire stay here?" I asked Son.
"Yes indeed. The moment we stepped our foot on this continent, the weather changed and nature started to change before our very eyes as though to welcome us here," he explained.
Uh huh. Did angels started flying around or perhaps fairies were sprinkling fairy dust on all of you while birds carried ribbons and place them atop of your head? I rolled my eyes without even realising it.
"I can see that you do not believe in what we had experienced and I do not blame you. The Imperatrix only bless all that follows her guidance and she rewards those that follows her faith," he bowed once again to the statue.
"Do you mind if we stay here for a night? Is there somewhere we can spend the night?" I asked him.
Rose started tugging my cloak even harder now as though she is about to rip it apart. I am sorry Rose, we have to investigate this place thoroughly if we were to report back to the guildmasters.
"Of course, we do have a guest house for anyone that wish to stay over. We will be expanding our compound later as more of my flocks will be arriving in a matter of days. Allow me to guide you to where you will be staying tonight," he started leading us.
"Right, before I forget. Had you seen a lizard man that had perhaps visit here before?" I asked him.
"Are you referring to Kronk? Yes he had visited us some time ago. It's been months since I last saw him. I am afraid I do not have any latest information to provide you with," he bowed lightly to me.
"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it," I said.
He brought us to a small looking house close to the edge of the gated compound. The interior looked comfortable and had all the basic necessities needed for us to survive the night. I thanked Son for his hospitality and he assured us that meals will be provided to us for both lunch and dinner. I wanted to pass him some coins as thanks but he refused and said that coins have no value to him. Rose started questioning my decision to stay the night as soon as Son left.
"Why? Just why? Do you want to hear more of his ramblings before you are satisfied?" Asked Rose with an angered tone.
"Rose~ You do realised we need to investigate this place thoroughly, right? And I find this place extremely suspicious. Is there really no attacks on them at all? Did this "Imperatrix" really blessed this place to welcome them?" I said as I started wondering in my head.
"Oh no, don't you start talking crazy, onii-chan. Your curse is nothing compared to these fanatic idiots. I had dealt with a lot of them before and I can assure you that talking to them had reduced my half of my lifespan. Nothing good will come from talking to them," sulked Rose.
"I know, I am not asking you to learn about their religion or even mingle with them. We just observe them for a day then we will head back tomorrow. That's all. Please?" I pleaded with wimpy eyes.
"Alright fine. We will just be keeping an eye on them. No naughty things today. I don't want these fanatics to peek in on us," she crossed her arms.
"So you're ok with non-fanatics peeking in on us during our naughty time? Rose.. I didn't know you had such fetish in you," I gasped at her.
"What no?! Just a slipped off my tongue. I don't have such fetish!" She shouted.
"You know I wouldn't say no to outdoor sex, right?" I chuckled.
"We are not having this conversation ever," she sulked and looked away.
"Only a matter of time, Rose. Only a matter of time," I used her own words against her with a grin.
Alright, our infiltration job is simple. We just need to keep an eye on this location for about a day. When nightfalls, Conceal is going to help me dig out the secrets of this place if there are even any. I look forward to finding all the dirty secrets of this place.