Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
After recording the scene Bubble described, Xi Wei glanced at her and said, “Good. You’ve been requisitioned by the castle. You’ll start working tomorrow, and your workplace will be on my floor, on the public balcony. There’s a small fountain there, so you can stay in it for now.”
“Ooh, okay…” Bubble nodded, still a bit dazed. She couldn’t be away from water yet. While a fountain wasn’t as freeing as a lake, at least she wouldn’t be scooped up by a fishing net anymore. However, out of a sense of pride in her personality, she still hesitantly asked, “C-can I not go? ( ′◔ ‸◔`)”
“No.”
“Wuwu… Glug glug…”
Xi Wei signaled the guards to carry away Bubble, who had already submerged, and then turned his gaze to Nina.
“L-Lord! My name is Nina!!”
“Not bad, very spirited. But don’t shout so loudly next time.” Xi Wei helplessly rubbed his ear. Sky Knights had rather sensitive hearing.
“Yes—!!” Nina brought her legs together, her expression solemn, her head held high and chest out.
“…” (* ￣ー￣)
“Tell me, what did you see during your epiphany?”
“I… First, I saw pitch black darkness, with dirt all around… Then there was the Gobi Desert, the seabed, volcanoes… and all sorts of stones…”
“All sorts of stones? Minerals?” Xi Wei was taken aback. He wondered if this little loli’s future skills would be throwing stones or making stone golems. Although he was puzzled, Xi Wei still jotted it down diligently. After all, they would awaken their skills after three consecutive epiphanies within three days, and then he would know what skills these two little lolis had.
He tapped the table, thinking for a moment. Under Nina’s nervous and expectant gaze, he said, “You’ve also been requisitioned by the castle. For now, I’m not sure what to assign you to, so you’ll be in charge of that group of little radishes. Help me manage them.”
“As you command—!! Lord—!!!”
“…” Xi Wei wearily wiped his face and signaled her to leave.
Next was the handling of the remaining demi-humans. However, he didn’t need to do this personally anymore, so he directly called Clemon over.
“Clemon, how is the renovation of the outer city coming along?”
“Young Master Xi Wei, the outer city renovation is basically complete. All the thugs have been sent to mine iron ore, and the tile-roofed housing area has been redecorated, but…”
“But, young master, we seem to be running out of money.”
“Out of money again?” Xi Wei frowned. He wasn’t troubled by a lack of money, but rather by who to rob. The round table meeting a few days ago had included nobles from around Eagle Territory, and now was a special period; it wasn’t time to fall out with them.
After thinking for a long time, Xi Wei’s eyes lit up, and he said cheerfully, “At nine o’clock tomorrow morning, gather all the wealthy merchants in the city for me. I want to have a meeting with them. If anyone doesn’t want to come, send them to mine iron ore.”
“Your will is my command. Tomorrow, the wealthy merchants of Winter City will gather at the castle’s conference hall on time.”
“Very good.” Xi Wei nodded and continued to instruct, “Please register these demi-humans, record their names, family members, and specialties, and assign them jobs within Winter City based on this information.”
“As for housing, they can choose rooms in the newly built tile-roofed housing area. These demi-humans have strong abilities in creating their living environment. It won’t be long before those tile-roofed areas are more beautiful than the houses in the inner city, so you don’t need to worry about them.”
“Also, provide them with three days of food for free. After that, we won’t need to manage them. They eat if they work; Winter City doesn’t raise slackers.”
Clemon silently took in everything Xi Wei said. Then he hesitated and asked, “Young Master Xi Wei, how should we address the discrimination against demi-humans shown by the townsfolk of Winter City?” Actually, for the demi-humans, whether they could live in Winter City depended on the attitude of the original townsfolk towards them.
However, Xi Wei wasn’t too worried. Many people had received treatment from Loli by now, and their attitudes towards demi-humans had greatly improved. Plus, this order was issued by him personally, so even if there was discrimination, it wouldn’t be too severe. Still, as a precaution, Xi Wei suggested, “Select some strong male demi-humans from among them and let them join the city guard. Those who are ambitious can challenge the captain of the city guard; if they win, they can become captains.”
“Also, select a few quick-witted demi-girl and have them assist in Loli’s medical clinic. This should help speed up the acceptance of demi-humans by the surrounding townsfolk.”
Xi Wei’s gaze was calm, and his expression was serious as he looked at Clemon and said loudly, “Eagle Territory will be built into an inclusive territory in the future. Not only demi-humans, but perhaps orcs, elves, giant dragons, and even titans may appear in the future.”
“Our first step now must start with the demi-humans, starting from Winter City. This matter is very important. If anyone dares to obstruct my path, they will be killed without mercy.”
…
The sunset sank into the orange sea.
A few mountain finches chirped on the windowsill, bathed in the gentle evening breeze.
When Xi Wei returned to his office in Winter Fort, Loli and the elf girl were already waiting. Only now did Xi Wei realize that Loli’s tears when she looked at the elf girl were triggered by fleeting images in her mind. She did sympathize with the elf girl, but she wouldn’t actively cause trouble for Xi Wei out of sympathy.
“So, Loli, can you still remember the images you saw before?” Xi Wei pulled Loli into his arms, letting her sit steadily on his lap, and asked gently.
Loli shook her head, her expression a little distressed and frustrated. “I’m sorry, Master… Loli is silly… I can’t remember anymore…” She felt like she had caused trouble for Xi Wei, and yet she hadn’t remembered what she saw in her mind, so she couldn’t provide any help, which made her very self-reproachful.
Xi Wei looked at Loli’s adorably naive appearance and couldn’t help but plant two kisses on her fair and soft pretty face, comforting her. “It’s okay, if you can’t remember, forget it. Don’t blame yourself. Let this elf girl follow you from now on.”
After speaking, Xi Wei’s gaze fell on the elf girl. The elf girl’s injuries had been healed by Loli, and she had changed into a set of Loli’s clothes. However, due to her taller stature, they seemed to be a bit ill-fitting. She stood there motionless like a statue, her silver hair cascading behind her. The sunset cast a beautiful silhouette on her face through the window. Unfortunately, her golden, magnificent eyes held only numbness and emptiness.
“What is your name?” Xi Wei’s voice was flat, devoid of any emotion.
“…” Seeing the elf girl’s listless state, Xi Wei sneered, “I’ll give you three seconds to answer my question, or I won’t hesitate to send you back to the prince.”
The elf girl lowered her head, her delicate figure trembling slightly. After a moment, her stuttering voice came through. “Riling… eras… naer.”
“Speak the continent’s language! You’re speaking elvish to me, what the heck do I understand? I’m not an elf!” Xi Wei said impatiently. He felt like this elf was deliberately causing trouble.
The elf girl trembled under Xi Wei’s fright. She cautiously raised her gaze, looked pitifully at the man with the rough tone in front of her, bit her lips, and murmured in broken Continental language, “Ai… Liya, I… My name is Alia.”
