Elijah released Taelia, and just as promised, she didn't scream or try to run.
"Good. Now tell me, what's the name of the country I'm in?"
Taelia went silent for several moments, her face a picture of bewilderment.
"What do you mean, Elijah? Our continent of Erevos doesn't have any countries."
"Say what now?"
Elijah took in his surroundings once more, and for sure, this was a military camp. How was it possible for a military to exist without a nation? Elijah realized that was now the most important turn of events.
"Tell me, who controls the army of this continent of Erevuus?"
"Erevos."
"Yes, what I said."
...
Taelia walked over to a water barrel and sat down, clearly aware this was going to be a long conversation with the strange Kin suffering from memory loss.
"Our continent of Erevos is controlled by an alliance of three thousand Umbral Kin tribes, led by the seven most powerful tribes. These seven later came together and built a massive city at the center of the continent."
"Kinda like a capital city?" Elijah interrupted.
"Yes, except its power is divided and controlled by each of the seven chieftains, appointed through a political voting system from the same seven powerful tribes. They coordinate our economy and supply our military, but they don't control the army itself."
Taelia paused to breathe.
"The army is controlled by the generals, who are appointed based on contributions within the army itself."
Elijah signaled for her to stop by waving his right hand.
"So in the end, the army is more or less fully autonomous. But again, do they own their own manufacturing factories?"
"Unfortunately, they don't, and this creates a situation where the army depends on the politics of the seven major tribes for all their supplies. And of course, anyone with half a brain would realize that..."
"That the army will be unable to function as it's supposed to." Elijah finished in Taelia's place.
Elijah had his hand on his jaw, processing the information Taelia just gave him. Judging from what she said, it was a given that their continent would be losing the war against... Elijah's train of thought ended when he realized he didn't even know who the enemy was.
"Hey Taelia, is the enemy within the continent or outside of it?"
"The enemy we've been fighting in this part of our continent for the last fifteen years is a nation from beyond the sea. It's a human nation called Thalora."
"Tha-lo-ra," Elijah repeated slowly, as if doing so would grant him more understanding.
Elijah suddenly raised his head, startling Taelia.
"So humans do exist in this world. But then why wasn't I dropped off on their side of the world? What kind of dumb luck has me thrown in with the demons instead?"
"What can you tell me about this country from beyond the sea?"
Taelia smiled cheerfully and began to regale Elijah with the wonders of the nation of Thalora.
"The nation of Thalora is a beautiful place with fresh air, pretty flowers, and people that look normal, unlike our poisoned continent"
Elijah frowned lightly.
"Get to the important stuff already. What's the culture like, political dynamics, general human behavior, and their level of technology? Etcetera etcetera."
"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that."
Taelia continued with a serious expression.
"The nation of Thalora is a highly religious and conservative place where the rule of law has been replaced by divine guidance. Their faith shapes every aspect of society, and the people are ridiculously devout. It's a place where public life revolves around worship, festivals, and sometimes even rituals. Thalora's culture is rigidly structured, with a powerful theocracy that controls both governance and spiritual matters."
Elijah nodded with satisfaction. Clearly, Taelia wasn't as ignorant as she looked.
"If this country is so religious and pious, why would they want to go to war with your people?"
"Because they believe we are enemies of the divine and should all be eradicated from this world."
"Oh..."
Elijah went silent. Clearly, this was your good old racism, but none of it really mattered to him. After all, he's really human. Although not of this world, it should still count for something.
But then...
Elijah's train of thought was efficient, and he remembered that the system called them humans as well, so being the enemies of the divine shouldn't make sense unless...
"Tell me, what are your people called again?"
"Umbral Kin."
"Did you give yourselves that name?"
"No, it was forced on us by the nation of Thalora several centuries ago."
"Centuries?"
Elijah was starting to understand what the beef was really about.
"Hey system, why are these people freakish-looking?"
[NOTICE: The humans of the continent of Erevos were poisoned by the miasma from the corpse of the ancient demon lord. Over time, the miasma transformed them and their descendants into what the present human powers refer to as Umbral Kin.]
"Why didn't they just leave the continent? Clearly, they should have known staying would only poison them."
[NOTICE: The Umbral Kin are the descendants of the army led by the ancient hero. After they defeated the demon lord's army, they stayed within the continent to guard his unbreakable flesh and prevent him from reviving.]
"Well, that's depressing. All they did was try to help, and instead their descendants are treated like vermin that need to be exterminated. Well, not like that's my problem."
Elijah ended his session with the system and redirected his attention toward Taelia.
"So the conflict between your people and Thalora began well before fifteen years ago?"
"Yes, actually. Our people have been in many wars against the seven foreign human countries. We have tried talking to them, but they are convinced that we are monsters that don't deserve to live in the same world as them. And, um, Elijah, why do you keep speaking as if you're not one of us? Surely you didn't hit your head that hard."
Taelia said with a light smile, her hand covering her adorable mouth.
"What are you talking about? I'm human."