Chapter 34: Autumn Settlements
“I am Fisher Benavides, a scholar. I am on my way to Krit Port in the north. I heard that the City Lord is restricting people from leaving the city, so…”
“Ah, Mr. Fisher, I have long admired your reputation. I saw your research at the Nali Academic Salon before, and your contributions to steam ethics have greatly benefitted me.”
A wisp of steam emerged from under Feilon’s mask; even though Fisher could only see his eyes, he could still detect some joy in his voice.
“Oh? You know me?”
“After all, not everyone has the opportunity to study in the highest academic halls, but I still long for the academic atmosphere there, which is why I pay special attention to the academic news from there, such as ‘The Rebellious Royal Academy,’ Mr. Fisher.”
This was the kind of respect that Fisher Benavides should have in Saint Nali. The respectful attitude from someone like Keken surprised Fisher somewhat.
After all, his credentials and research direction deviate from the current research trends, and his answers often shock people, leading them to think he is “rebellious.”
“I haven’t heard genuine Saint Nali-style evaluations in a long time, and just like this Feilon City, it makes me feel as if I have returned to Saint Nali. Except here, I can’t smell the dirty gas.”
“Hahahaha.”
Fisher teased Feilon, who also chuckled, then seemed to remember something and said,
“I almost forgot, Mr. Fisher. How about you wait in my mansion for a while? I will attend to these subhumans before we talk at the dining table?”
“Sure.”
Fisher turned and called Raphael and the others down from the carriage. The moment he saw the crimson dragon disembark, the cowgirl behind him visibly changed her expression, seemingly wanting to remind Feilon to be cautious, but he raised his hand, silencing Nana’s words.
“Let’s assign these new subhumans to the newly built area first. Each three households will have an accompanying official to ensure they can adapt to life here.”
“City Lord, there are not enough accompanying officials who speak Werewolf language.”
“Werewolves learned Nali language earlier, so let’s hire them for assistance. Their pay will be the same as the accompanying officials.”
“Understood.”
Nana directed the soldiers to move the subhumans in another direction, while only Harry and his group remained still, glancing at the children in their arms.
“City Lord, these children’s parents have…”
Feilon’s single-goggled mask turned towards the children as he slowly walked in their direction. The goblin children saw his non-human appearance and immediately began to struggle in fear, their characteristic cries quickly filling the space in front of the Lord’s Mansion.
“Ahhhhh!!”
“Hey, don’t cry, this is the City Lord…”
Feilon raised his hand to interrupt Harry, then gently picked up the sobbing goblin child.
“Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!”
Feeling the child’s severe struggles, he adeptly held him up, allowing him to look into his eyes. The goblin child’s gaze passed through the gas mask and saw gentle eyes, devoid of eyelids.
“Can’t even speak? You’re still so small…”
“Waaah…”
As the crying gradually decreased, Feilon lightly chuckled and patted the goblin child’s forehead.
“From now on, you will be called Ryan. I am your father.”
“Ba…”
“Hahahaha.”
Feilon hugged the now quiet child, then addressed the other soldiers, “Take these parentless children to my mansion. Qiqi, you now have little brothers and sisters.”
Several subhuman children behind her pouted and came to hug Feilon’s legs.
“I don’t want them; Father is mine!”
“He’s so ugly.”
All those subhuman children spoke Nali language, and they spoke it very fluently, clearly having received Nali language education since childhood. Perhaps they hadn’t even heard their own languages before being brought to Feilon’s side.
“Don’t say that, Pochi. They will be just as cute as you when they grow up.”
“Waaah.”
Fisher crossed his arms and watched Feilon. Even Raphael was somewhat surprised, taking stock of the surrounding inner city environment, where subhumans could be seen living and working peacefully, conversing in clumsy Nali with the accompanying officials responsible for arranging their lives.
Is this paradise?
After witnessing so many tragedies, just seeing such a scene still made Raphael feel somewhat dreamlike.
“You all go back first. You’ve worked hard. Mr. Fisher, please come this way. I’ll go call the maids to prepare dinner.”
“Thank you.”
Fisher glanced back at Mill and the others, who were slowly getting off behind Raphael. They were also curiously examining their surroundings. Perhaps it was too peaceful here; even the usually lively Ral momentarily forgot to speak, just committing the scene to memory.
However, upon entering Feilon’s Lord’s Mansion, she quickly became captivated by the various fascinating steam machines inside.
“Fisher, look, what is that?”
“Those are mechanical toys.”
Fisher pointed out the diverse toys displayed on the shelves, explaining to Ral.
“Mr. Fisher, do you speak Dragon language?”
Feilon glanced over, surprise evident in his single eye.
“I know some everyday phrases.”
“Haha, that is still quite an achievement. After all, the dragonfolk we see now are either children who cannot speak or half-dead warriors. Learning their language is indeed quite difficult.”
Feilon looked at the toys on the shelf, then laughed, “I have many children at home, so I made some small toys to distract their lively spirits. You all stop causing trouble and go play with Sister Philin. Mr. Fisher and I have something to discuss.”
“Daddy, remember to come see my drawings tonight; I made so many.”
“Go on, Qiqi, or I’ll finish your milk.”
Feilon then handed the child he was holding to a maid to take care of and watched as the children ran further away before leading Fisher to the adjacent dining room.
The well-decorated dining room already had several maids tidying the dining table. Mill and the others completely could not understand the language spoken between Fisher and Feilon, so besides Ral, who was looking around, everyone else was quite well-behaved.
It wasn’t long before the cowgirl Nana also completed her tasks and walked into the dining room.
“Lord Feilon, everything is arranged.”
“That’s good; let’s eat.”
Nana nodded and seated herself next to Feilon.
Feilon took a knife and fork, cutting a piece of meat into sizes appropriate for consumption, then slowly pushed the plate towards Nana.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Fisher, I can’t eat in front of you; just go ahead and eat without worrying about me.”
He pointed to his face covered by a gas mask and explained, “A long time ago, my body was burned. For many years I have tried to treat it, but now it has deteriorated to the point where I have to keep it wrapped in a healing solution.”
“I haven’t breathed fresh air for a long time; what a pity.”
As he spoke, wisps of steam trickled down from his mask, making Nana look at him with a hint of sadness.
“Let’s not talk about this. Mr. Fisher, you intend to head north, right?”
“Yes.”
“This may be quite difficult. The Lord Alliance of Shivali has about a dozen members and is a force not to be underestimated across the Southern Continent. Many subhuman tribes have perished at their hands. My greatest mediation has only been to shelter those remaining women, children, and the elderly.”
He said with some regret, his magnetic voice articulating clearly, “This time is the same. They discovered a large gold mine and are unwilling to refrain from fighting the largest goblin tribe that resides there. Both sides have suffered heavy losses, but it won’t be long before the goblin tribe completely vanishes from the northern map.”
“This process won’t take long; according to intelligence, it won’t exceed fifteen days.”
He lamented, then continued, “However, human plunder has become inevitable, protecting those subhuman tribes means being at odds with all the humans on the Southern Continent. But after fifteen days, you can leave the city with my team tasked with accepting the remaining women and children. They will ensure you get to Krit Port in the north.”
Fisher tapped his fingers on the table. Staying here for fifteen days would amount to doubling his original travel time, but he had no better way to get out. The joint action of the Shivali Lord Alliance would equate to warfare; rashly crossing over with Raphael and the others would undoubtedly be suicidal, as dealing with either side would be troublesome.
“Okay, I will wait here for that. During this period, I will trouble you.”
Feilon nodded, and before he spoke again, Nana, who had finished her food, suddenly addressed Fisher.
“Wait, before that, I have a question I want to ask you, Mr. Fisher.”
“Please, go ahead.”
Nana looked up, her gaze serious as she looked at Fisher.
“Do you know Auren? The Auren of Feilon City.”
Fisher’s fingers stiffened for a moment, and the atmosphere seemed to grow slightly tense in that second.
Please follow up and vote, thank you all.
(*`*)
(End of Chapter)
