Today was the day. The day we return the illegal slaves home.
It has been 15 days since we discovered that operation and freed the slaves, but because of diplomatic problems, I couldn’t just immediately return all of them to where they live.
… and because we needed mapping for where they live and so forth. And I’m decently sure Duke Burch sent some sort of letters to the countries the slaves originated from, apologizing for the situation and saying that the slaves would be returned at this time.
Out of the seventeen slaves, of course four were now with me, working at HomeBase. Another three were hired by Duke Burch and three more are trying their luck working independently as adventurers/something else. The last seven were the ones we were going to return home today. That included the three elves, two foxfolk, a horsefolk and a dogfolk. All of them were female, as Karl was the only male of all of the illegal slaves.
Now for their return address, yes that does sound like they are mail, what of it? The elves were all from the same elf village, so that was going to be an easy return. One of the foxfolk and the dogfolk were also from the same town, so that was another stop. And then the horsefolk and the other foxfolk were from places of their own, so that was two more stops, for a total of four.
And I know you might think that is a one day job, and you would be correct. If we used my speedrunning style of getting stuff done. But because diplomatic relationships were involved in this operation, Duke Burch was making sure we did everything correctly. Especially as some United States faction has been gaining control of the small countries to the north, unifying them under one power. While not all of the small countries to the north had joined, a lot of them already had. And Duke Burch saw it only as a matter of time until the rest would join, either willingly, or by force, so he didn’t want to get into diplomatic trouble with the countries.
On day one of the operation, we were taking the elves home. There were three of them, so they were seen as a priority.
I was of course in charge of transport, but I was also seen as an agent of the System/the Goddess, due to me having the System Support. From my crew, other than me, I had both Alice and Lua with me, and I also took Einar and Eline with us. I thought about bringing Ria, but I decided to leave her to be in charge of HomeBase with Agunan instead. And I do want to start bringing the others to cool places, even if Ria is the OG. And yes, Lua did have to take a break from her teaching job, but having a few days off is a good thing.
Also, the Duke came with us, and he had with him his own crew of people. I did tell him to keep it small, as there was a limited amount of space on my airship, so he only had four people with him, matching the size of my crew. Those four people consisted of two civil officers and two guards.
Mariina was also with us, as she was someone capable of representing the Sage’s tower. And as the tower was a part of the Hero’s country, it was respected even in the northern countries, so she decided to come along.
So all of us, with the three elves, we had a total of fourteen people on board.
As for our ride, we were in B.E.S. Covered Core. I picked Covered Core, as it has the largest inside space out of all of my B.E.S. monsters.
Spoiler [collapse]I feel like I really should look at Boss Rush, the B.E.S. Field Spell. With it, I could probably get some of the B.E.S. monsters I don’t have yet, like Big Core MK-2 and Big Core MK-3. Not that I really need them, I just want them.
Spoiler [collapse]
Getting everyone on board Covered Core was of course no problem. Their reactions… well, they were a small problem, but we dealt with that. No, we didn’t knock them out, though that is an option. Have Alice put them all to sleep with her magic. It would be easy and hassle free. Maybe we will do that with criminals in the future?
But no. Instead we just let them gawk at the wonder that is Covered Core. Sure it takes a bit of time, but as we only are taking one group today, we have all the time we need. It is better to just corrupt people to accept my norm than … well, than not doing it. This costs nothing, except a bit of time which I was already going to use for this job.
Alice was taking charge of answering everyone’s questions. Well, some of the answers were lies, but still. I was flying and I let Lua control the screens that showed the outside to our passengers. Einar and Eline were alternating between being seated in the gunner seats and serving our guests. Also, I don’t know if I ever mentioned it, but I did make a tuxedo for Einar, so he would look more like a butler. At least my vision of a butler.
After just under an hour of flight time, we reached the area where the elves said they were from. It was a forested area, with a small village built along the trees in a way where it would minimize the amount of trees that had to be cut down. It was also under some sort of a barrier spell, but the B.E.S. sensors were still able to pick up on it, so it was probably a weak barrier.
By the instructions of both the elves, as well as one of the civil officers who came with Duke Burch, I beamed us down a bit away from the village from where we would be approaching on foot the rest of the way. No point in spooking out the locals by teleporting into the middle of town.
I was a little hesitant on making a literal Duke walk, but this was his idea, so I’m not going to say no. Sure I could get my carriage out of Storage, or even summon something for him to ride, but I’m not going to. If he asks for it, maybe, but as a free favor, not happening. I’m not selfish, I just don’t want to do too many free favors for high ranked nobles or they might think I just do anything for free, just because the recipient is a high ranking noble.
Duke Burch sent two of his men, well one of them was a female, to hurry towards the village to announce our arrival and we followed soon after them.
As we got to the outer edge of the village, we passed through a barrier. At least that is what I think it is. Again, I’m not the best at detecting magic like that, but I’m learning. Lua and Alice both picked up on it as well. It didn’t seem to be any sort of defensive barrier, as we could pass right through, and it wasn’t great at hiding this place either because the B.E.S. sensors saw through it, so maybe it is some sort of a monster repelling barrier. I wonder if the villagers will answer if I ask about it.
As we got even closer, we saw the two people Duke Burch sent to announce our arrival, and a group of seven armed people, who I assume are some sort of guards. Out of the seven, five were elves, one was some sort of fox or wolf-folk, and the last was a birdfolk.
As the guards saw us, one of them quickly moved towards us. At first, I thought he was a threat, but as soon as one of the elves we brought here stepped up meet with him, I realized what was going on.
“Umi!” The male guard called out the girl's name as they embraced each other. Her full name was actually Umithra, but that isn’t really important at this moment.
I just watched as the two had a heartfelt reunion. The man she was embracing was her lover, Morishin. This was something I had learned while we were assisting in the … clean-up operation. The elves actually shared quite a bit of information about themselves, so it would be easier for us to find their home and return them there.
After a while, and a few more tear-jerked reunions, we were brought to meet up with the village leader/elder, whichever you prefer to call this old guy. He was an elf, and looked to be around 70. By the way, elves of this world do live a lot longer than regular people. For most humans, they live around 70 years, but can live up to 100. Being higher leveled and of course being a master or a founder of a dungeon helps to live longer. Elves, and actually dwarves as well, generally lived about 2.5 times that, so from about 180 years to 250 years. So for someone that looked to be in their 70s, the elder was probably more like 180.
As for me, well, it is complicated. Not just because of my race, but also because I was the founder of a Chaos God Dungeon. And that could easily screw up my lifespan, so I really didn’t know what to expect for myself. I guess wait and see.
“I extend my gratitude to you.” The elder ended his statement.
“Of course. It was my fault that the border guards weren’t able to catch the slave traders, so I must also thank you for your leniency.” Duke Burch replied. He was acting very humble for someone with the rank of Duke.
“Yes. I just hope this will be the last trouble those girls will face. They might just have a difficult life ahead of them.” The elder sighed, almost like in resignation.
“Has something been troubling you?” Duke Burch asked. “If it is in my power, as an apology, I can assist you in that matter.”
“No. This isn’t something where another country can simply step in to help.” The elder said. “The United States has been bothering our small kingdom to join. I am just afraid they will do so by force if our leaders don’t agree.”
… really? What the heck, states? You are putting a bad name on the United States, even if they aren’t the United States I know.
“Yes. That would be the case. I would offer our protection, but I cannot bring our Kingdom to a potential war.” Duke Burch said. “However, I am willing to offer citizenship to anyone that wishes to leave this country and move to the Ruiso Kingdom.”
“And for a small fee, we are willing to add transport in the form of my airships.” I added, even if it wasn’t my place to cut in. I was expecting the Duke to say something, but he kept it in, so maybe he approves of my offer.
“I thank you. I really do.” The elder answered. “But we simply cannot abandon what we have. No. Not we, I cannot. I shall extend your offer to the villagers, giving those that are afraid a chance to run away. But I will not. This is my home. This is where I was born and this is where I will die.”
“You do seem convicted in your ideals.” Duke Burch said. “But you are a good man. Being able to put aside your ideologies for the younger generation is admirable.”
“Do not say it like that. We elves have grown a lot from what we were in the times of the Demon Lord.” The elder joked. I wonder what that was about?
“There is nothing wrong with hiding from the greatest evil in history.” The Duke said.
After a bit longer of a chat, during which Alice was subtly asking about any information the village elder might have about the illegal slave traders, our group left the elder’s house and then the village. For our return trip, I used B.E.S. Tetran. Like Covered Core, Tetran had a single large inside area that extended to the bridge. Covered Core’s inside area was a bit bigger, so technically it was better for transport. But I do want to use a variety of monsters when possible, so that is why I used Tetran this time. And if someone asks, I’ll say mana reasons or something.
Spoiler [collapse]
Over the next two days, we returned the other four slaves to their homes. The second day was for bringing the fox and horsefolk, who didn’t share a hometown, so we had to do two stops that day. And on the third was the other foxfolk, as well as the dogfolk who both originated from the same village.
Like with the elves, the villagers were glad to have their own back. But unlike the elves, they didn’t seem too worried about the threat of the United States, as it seems like the beast-folk are a bit more open to change than the elves, or something like that.
I do wonder, should I ask the Goddess about that? Should I act on it? I mean, I could, but just because I can, doesn’t mean that I should. If I am some sort of an enforcer of the Goddess, is it my place to prevent wars between countries?
I don’t think it is. Like sure, some people will die if a war breaks out, but it isn’t my job to save everyone. At least not from human … humanoid caused problems. Dimensional Fissures are a different thing.
Well, if the Goddess asks me to do something, for a reward, I of course will. I need new sets after all.
… am I too easy? Is my carrot just getting access to new cards? Well, what can I say? I’m a Dragon Hearted. I hoard cards and getting new ones is worth putting in some effort. My hoard has to be the ultimate hoard, even if it is just magical cardboard.
Today was the day. The day we return the illegal slaves home.
It has been 15 days since we discovered that operation and freed the slaves, but because of diplomatic problems, I couldn’t just immediately return all of them to where they live.
… and because we needed mapping for where they live and so forth. And I’m decently sure Duke Burch sent some sort of letters to the countries the slaves originated from, apologizing for the situation and saying that the slaves would be returned at this time.
Out of the seventeen slaves, of course four were now with me, working at HomeBase. Another three were hired by Duke Burch and three more are trying their luck working independently as adventurers/something else. The last seven were the ones we were going to return home today. That included the three elves, two foxfolk, a horsefolk and a dogfolk. All of them were female, as Karl was the only male of all of the illegal slaves.
Now for their return address, yes that does sound like they are mail, what of it? The elves were all from the same elf village, so that was going to be an easy return. One of the foxfolk and the dogfolk were also from the same town, so that was another stop. And then the horsefolk and the other foxfolk were from places of their own, so that was two more stops, for a total of four.
And I know you might think that is a one day job, and you would be correct. If we used my speedrunning style of getting stuff done. But because diplomatic relationships were involved in this operation, Duke Burch was making sure we did everything correctly. Especially as some United States faction has been gaining control of the small countries to the north, unifying them under one power. While not all of the small countries to the north had joined, a lot of them already had. And Duke Burch saw it only as a matter of time until the rest would join, either willingly, or by force, so he didn’t want to get into diplomatic trouble with the countries.
On day one of the operation, we were taking the elves home. There were three of them, so they were seen as a priority.
I was of course in charge of transport, but I was also seen as an agent of the System/the Goddess, due to me having the System Support. From my crew, other than me, I had both Alice and Lua with me, and I also took Einar and Eline with us. I thought about bringing Ria, but I decided to leave her to be in charge of HomeBase with Agunan instead. And I do want to start bringing the others to cool places, even if Ria is the OG. And yes, Lua did have to take a break from her teaching job, but having a few days off is a good thing.
Also, the Duke came with us, and he had with him his own crew of people. I did tell him to keep it small, as there was a limited amount of space on my airship, so he only had four people with him, matching the size of my crew. Those four people consisted of two civil officers and two guards.
Mariina was also with us, as she was someone capable of representing the Sage’s tower. And as the tower was a part of the Hero’s country, it was respected even in the northern countries, so she decided to come along.
So all of us, with the three elves, we had a total of fourteen people on board.
As for our ride, we were in B.E.S. Covered Core. I picked Covered Core, as it has the largest inside space out of all of my B.E.S. monsters.
Spoiler [collapse]I feel like I really should look at Boss Rush, the B.E.S. Field Spell. With it, I could probably get some of the B.E.S. monsters I don’t have yet, like Big Core MK-2 and Big Core MK-3. Not that I really need them, I just want them.
Spoiler [collapse]
Getting everyone on board Covered Core was of course no problem. Their reactions… well, they were a small problem, but we dealt with that. No, we didn’t knock them out, though that is an option. Have Alice put them all to sleep with her magic. It would be easy and hassle free. Maybe we will do that with criminals in the future?
But no. Instead we just let them gawk at the wonder that is Covered Core. Sure it takes a bit of time, but as we only are taking one group today, we have all the time we need. It is better to just corrupt people to accept my norm than … well, than not doing it. This costs nothing, except a bit of time which I was already going to use for this job.
Alice was taking charge of answering everyone’s questions. Well, some of the answers were lies, but still. I was flying and I let Lua control the screens that showed the outside to our passengers. Einar and Eline were alternating between being seated in the gunner seats and serving our guests. Also, I don’t know if I ever mentioned it, but I did make a tuxedo for Einar, so he would look more like a butler. At least my vision of a butler.
After just under an hour of flight time, we reached the area where the elves said they were from. It was a forested area, with a small village built along the trees in a way where it would minimize the amount of trees that had to be cut down. It was also under some sort of a barrier spell, but the B.E.S. sensors were still able to pick up on it, so it was probably a weak barrier.
By the instructions of both the elves, as well as one of the civil officers who came with Duke Burch, I beamed us down a bit away from the village from where we would be approaching on foot the rest of the way. No point in spooking out the locals by teleporting into the middle of town.
I was a little hesitant on making a literal Duke walk, but this was his idea, so I’m not going to say no. Sure I could get my carriage out of Storage, or even summon something for him to ride, but I’m not going to. If he asks for it, maybe, but as a free favor, not happening. I’m not selfish, I just don’t want to do too many free favors for high ranked nobles or they might think I just do anything for free, just because the recipient is a high ranking noble.
Duke Burch sent two of his men, well one of them was a female, to hurry towards the village to announce our arrival and we followed soon after them.
As we got to the outer edge of the village, we passed through a barrier. At least that is what I think it is. Again, I’m not the best at detecting magic like that, but I’m learning. Lua and Alice both picked up on it as well. It didn’t seem to be any sort of defensive barrier, as we could pass right through, and it wasn’t great at hiding this place either because the B.E.S. sensors saw through it, so maybe it is some sort of a monster repelling barrier. I wonder if the villagers will answer if I ask about it.
As we got even closer, we saw the two people Duke Burch sent to announce our arrival, and a group of seven armed people, who I assume are some sort of guards. Out of the seven, five were elves, one was some sort of fox or wolf-folk, and the last was a birdfolk.
As the guards saw us, one of them quickly moved towards us. At first, I thought he was a threat, but as soon as one of the elves we brought here stepped up meet with him, I realized what was going on.
“Umi!” The male guard called out the girl's name as they embraced each other. Her full name was actually Umithra, but that isn’t really important at this moment.
I just watched as the two had a heartfelt reunion. The man she was embracing was her lover, Morishin. This was something I had learned while we were assisting in the … clean-up operation. The elves actually shared quite a bit of information about themselves, so it would be easier for us to find their home and return them there.
After a while, and a few more tear-jerked reunions, we were brought to meet up with the village leader/elder, whichever you prefer to call this old guy. He was an elf, and looked to be around 70. By the way, elves of this world do live a lot longer than regular people. For most humans, they live around 70 years, but can live up to 100. Being higher leveled and of course being a master or a founder of a dungeon helps to live longer. Elves, and actually dwarves as well, generally lived about 2.5 times that, so from about 180 years to 250 years. So for someone that looked to be in their 70s, the elder was probably more like 180.
As for me, well, it is complicated. Not just because of my race, but also because I was the founder of a Chaos God Dungeon. And that could easily screw up my lifespan, so I really didn’t know what to expect for myself. I guess wait and see.
“I extend my gratitude to you.” The elder ended his statement.
“Of course. It was my fault that the border guards weren’t able to catch the slave traders, so I must also thank you for your leniency.” Duke Burch replied. He was acting very humble for someone with the rank of Duke.
“Yes. I just hope this will be the last trouble those girls will face. They might just have a difficult life ahead of them.” The elder sighed, almost like in resignation.
“Has something been troubling you?” Duke Burch asked. “If it is in my power, as an apology, I can assist you in that matter.”
“No. This isn’t something where another country can simply step in to help.” The elder said. “The United States has been bothering our small kingdom to join. I am just afraid they will do so by force if our leaders don’t agree.”
… really? What the heck, states? You are putting a bad name on the United States, even if they aren’t the United States I know.
“Yes. That would be the case. I would offer our protection, but I cannot bring our Kingdom to a potential war.” Duke Burch said. “However, I am willing to offer citizenship to anyone that wishes to leave this country and move to the Ruiso Kingdom.”
“And for a small fee, we are willing to add transport in the form of my airships.” I added, even if it wasn’t my place to cut in. I was expecting the Duke to say something, but he kept it in, so maybe he approves of my offer.
“I thank you. I really do.” The elder answered. “But we simply cannot abandon what we have. No. Not we, I cannot. I shall extend your offer to the villagers, giving those that are afraid a chance to run away. But I will not. This is my home. This is where I was born and this is where I will die.”
“You do seem convicted in your ideals.” Duke Burch said. “But you are a good man. Being able to put aside your ideologies for the younger generation is admirable.”
“Do not say it like that. We elves have grown a lot from what we were in the times of the Demon Lord.” The elder joked. I wonder what that was about?
“There is nothing wrong with hiding from the greatest evil in history.” The Duke said.
After a bit longer of a chat, during which Alice was subtly asking about any information the village elder might have about the illegal slave traders, our group left the elder’s house and then the village. For our return trip, I used B.E.S. Tetran. Like Covered Core, Tetran had a single large inside area that extended to the bridge. Covered Core’s inside area was a bit bigger, so technically it was better for transport. But I do want to use a variety of monsters when possible, so that is why I used Tetran this time. And if someone asks, I’ll say mana reasons or something.
Spoiler [collapse]
Over the next two days, we returned the other four slaves to their homes. The second day was for bringing the fox and horsefolk, who didn’t share a hometown, so we had to do two stops that day. And on the third was the other foxfolk, as well as the dogfolk who both originated from the same village.
Like with the elves, the villagers were glad to have their own back. But unlike the elves, they didn’t seem too worried about the threat of the United States, as it seems like the beast-folk are a bit more open to change than the elves, or something like that.
I do wonder, should I ask the Goddess about that? Should I act on it? I mean, I could, but just because I can, doesn’t mean that I should. If I am some sort of an enforcer of the Goddess, is it my place to prevent wars between countries?
I don’t think it is. Like sure, some people will die if a war breaks out, but it isn’t my job to save everyone. At least not from human … humanoid caused problems. Dimensional Fissures are a different thing.
Well, if the Goddess asks me to do something, for a reward, I of course will. I need new sets after all.
… am I too easy? Is my carrot just getting access to new cards? Well, what can I say? I’m a Dragon Hearted. I hoard cards and getting new ones is worth putting in some effort. My hoard has to be the ultimate hoard, even if it is just magical cardboard.
