Exchange
“You want… to go to our city?”
Honestly speaking, I genuinely didn’t consider that problem. I never expected that would be his request. I didn’t think they would choose to become permanent residences. Further, I didn’t want to let them go to the town. Due to the chapel’s previous activities there, the townsfolk were on edge and the town, as a consequence, was highly susceptible to conflicts. If a group of aggressive people joined the town, as well, it’d be too risky. I wanted their land, not their people.
“The world has changed.” The elder looked at me then turned back to look at the books. He continued in a soft voice, “Very soon, we will no longer be able to look at the future through the lens of the past. The world is changing too rapidly. The death of the Demon King was a beginning. The world is changing; if we do not change, the world will eliminate us. As such, I, too, want to go to the centre of civilisation, the centre of the world, for that is where the future of our people lies.”
I didn’t respond. I still didn’t want to let them into our town, not because I was I was petty… okay, I admit, there was a selfish reason for my reluctance, too. Anyhow, I didn’t want to bring in a group of outsiders the townsfolk couldn’t accept. To add, they were nomads who relied on hunting for survival. What would they do once they got to the town? They didn’t have fields to plant crops in, and I doubted they would be willing to anyway. They might as well have stayed where they were to mine.
I knew that it was pointless to consult Veirya since she definitely wouldn’t care. She calmly looked at the elder as I predicted. However, I felt that she just didn’t want to bother with anything and might’ve been spacing out.
I was going to have to take responsibility for the group of Anks in the future. I could turn them down since we were the ones with the initiative in the negotiation. They couldn’t protest if I refused them; at most, they’d just name another condition. I wondered if they were truly useless, though. Perhaps they might not have been useless if I keep them with us.
Francis whispered to me, “They’re a rare breed of warriors, you know?”
I, obviously, knew that. There was the townsfolk riot last time. I felt sorry for Angelina, Anna and Ciara, the only three maintaining security in the town. Our town didn’t have its own defence force. Queen Sisi wouldn’t allow us to have our own military force for sure. But nevertheless, we needed a small team that could protect the town.
The team that would protect our town could not be fodder. They had to be the elites among the elites, who were capable of handling any abrupt situations, and had to be absolutely loyal to Veirya. I never had any suitable candidates before. The townsfolk were farmers, not soldiers. Trusting them was no different to using paper for bulletproof vests.
We could instate the group of Anks as soldiers. They couldn’t defeat Veirya, true, but there were few people in the entire world who could. They could be mightier than others for all I knew. I suppose aforementioned point would qualify them as professional guards. The chief potential hazard was whether they’d guard the town or sabotage it. They could help deal with foreign threats; however, what would we do if they started trouble within the walls? They weren’t just guards. The religious, lifestyle and culture differences might lead to internal strife. How would we resolve internal conflicts? Tell Veirya to slash and gash them? It was easy to see they were a double-edged sword. No one could guarantee the policy would work in our favour. A sharp blade could slay your enemy, but at the same time, it could be your own undoing. I lacked information to conclude if it was a good opportunity or otherwise.
“Sir, is there anything else that you need to worry about? We do not want to receive anything. It is just that this place is no longer suitable for living in. Our lifestyle will be abandoned. History has abandoned countless people; we do not want to be its next victim. I believe the young ones can respect Lord Veirya, which means their loyalty shall continue.”
I explained, “I am not particularly worried about whether they are loyal or not. My main concern is whether or not you can continue to be respectful and humble. Your young ones insulted Veirya and my daughter right in my presence. After they lost the duel, they made an attempt on my life. Do you think I can trust such folks?”
“You would be aware that all young ones have that same issue. Indeed, it is a problem brought on by our traditions. Our young ones are overzealous about battle and lack respect. It is unquestionably a problem. With that said, you must understand it is a fact that we are behind civilisation. Among our young generation, I cannot find anyone who can inherit these books from me. We did have a civilisation, but the demon race destroyed our homeland. These books contain the knowledge and intellect our predecessors painstakingly acquired and recorded. My lifespan as a human is coming to an end. I want to rescue my race. During the war, being well-versed in combat was valuable. Nevertheless, the Demon King is dead. If we do not change the way we live, we will history’s next victim. Change is hard, and it will definitely eliminate some. If someone starts a fight, we will leave it up to entirely to judge them.”
The elder was incredibly sincere. Now, the cornerstone questions: Was what he said actually useful? Would the young ones outside obey what he says? He said we could punish anyone as we pleased, but could he guarantee he could appease their anger? Could he guarantee the young ones wouldn’t harbour any incandescent feelings?
I didn’t know the answers to those questions. There was a time and place where you could plausibly gamble. If this gamble ended up as a loss, the entire town would be in peril. Our base was the town in the North. Should the town meet with mishap, we would be stranded. As a last resort, we would need to turn to Queen Sisi. That was the last thing that I wanted to happen. Businessmen do not act on impulse. We could not gamble with our capital.
Veirya, who was next to me, ostensibly noticed that I was stuck in a dilemma. Subsequently, she whispered in my ear, “I think. It will work.”
“Normally, Veirya wouldn’t concern herself with such matters. Why did she suddenly speak her mind this time?” I wondered.
Veirya elaborated, “If they. Step out of line. I’ll. Kill them.”
“Yes, but nothing would happen if we didn’t bring them back in the first place.”
“Her Majesty. Will be very happy.”
Veirya’s statement enlightened me. She never thought about keeping them for herself; she planned to pass them on to Her Majesty. That would, supposedly, leave us without any problems.
“Why didn’t I think of that?” I cursed in my mind. If we handed them over to Queen Sisi, problem solved. Queen Sisi would probably love the excellent soldiers. Veirya’s idea was sound to me.
“All right, then. You hand us this block of land, and come back with us.”
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