Chapter 119: On the Road, far from Home.

Chapter 119: On the Road, far from Home.

There once existed a human kingdom in the western regions of the continent of Altrust, one under the name of the Leosfalt Kingdom. Although nowhere as massive as the Folschreck Empire, the Leosfalt Kingdom could proudly call themselves one of the largest human countries. Due to their geographical location, they not only had access to the ocean, but also the Belzac Forest, Saelariel Forest, and the Ankoran mountain ranges.

However, due to the influence of the wise elves from Saelariel and the industrious dwarves ruled by the Ankoran King, the north of the Leosfalt Kingdom slowly changed from the rest of the kingdom. A rift formed between the ideals of the noble lords of the north and those of their southern brethren.

The first king of the Leosfalt Kingdom spent his entire life fighting and fending off beasts, developing a deep-seated disgust and fear of those born with the heritage of a beast and human as a result. Their extraordinary natural physical abilities reminded him too much of the monstrous creatures he had fought against in order to establish his country. Even though beastmen and humans had lived amongst each other ever since the descent of the Origin Gods, the king couldnt suppress his hatred.

However, eradicating all beastmen would be a fools errand. Not only would it be impossible to track every beastman on the continent, but he would also anger the Goddess of Light. Humans prayed to the divine Mother for her protection and love. The first king was no exception. Many beastmen prayed to Aurena as well; slaughtering them would deprive his beloved Goddess of followers. If their deaths couldnt satisfy this mans hatredthen bondage would.

These poor beings are humans, too! Make them work for the future of the Leosfalt Kingdom and amend their ancestors sins!

His charisma hid his cruelty in front of his subjects. In the Leosfalt Kingdom, beastmen had no rights and anybody who would mate with them or a beast would have their rights as humans taken away. Slavery would serve as their penance.

Although the other countries had the concept of slavery, none were as harsh as the Leosfalt Kingdom; however, no one denounced this decision. Although cruel to beasts and beastmen, he was kind and wise to humans. His kingdom grew under his rule.

His descendants, the Leosfalt royal family, ruled with the teaching of the first king as their mantra, so the changes in the north couldnt be tolerated. The elves of Saelariel were allies with the children of the oceans and the ancient dragons, while the dwarves had contact with the beastman alliance in the east. The humans of the north choose to adapt in order to gain what they could from the elves and dwarves friendship.

This displeased the royal family, but the northerners contributions helped the kingdom. The first king may have hated the beastmen, but the later generations of royalty didnt. They saw the beastmen only as pitiful pups and kittens whenever they brought a glass of wine. Unlike the elves, humans forget.

However, that uneasy balance changed once the Empire called for the hunting of faefolk. As a vassal country, the Leosfalt Kingdom had to obey. Even if it were optional, none of the nobles could ignore the potential of the endless mana source of the faefolk. Most of the northern nobles participated in the capture of fairies and sprites, so as to harness the faefolk mana to strengthen themselves.

However, not all nobles agreed to do this. The ancestors of the Morgiana and Myrddin houses stayed neutral due to their friendship with the elves, while the Groushias prevented anybody from capturing the faefolk in their lands due to the dwarves. A divide in the country due to different ideals began to manifest.

As the kingdom closest to the elves of Saelariel, the Leosfalt Kingdom was quickly decimated under the power of the elven forces. In the aftermath of the War for the Faefolk, the king and queen died. The power struggle between the remaining royal families and relatives began.

That was when another claimant to the throne appeared. A young man with white and black wings, eagle-like eyes, and sharp talon-like claws on his feet called out, The crown is my birthright!

He might have been an arvisian, but his claim was legitimate through the possession of the [Prince] title. His grandmother, a princess of the Leosfalt royal family, had been thought to have been kidnapped and killed by the ruler of Griffonpeak, but the truth was different. A bond between a young woman and a griffon was made, and the result was the young mans mother. His words were true. He was a royal, even if he was a beastman.

Almost all of the nobles wanted to deny him, put him into a cage. A prince, no matter how noble, was weak without any support. He had the support of his grandfather, but a kingdom ruled by griffons and arvisians would face hardship with their low numbers.

Marquess Morgiana will support your claim! The fae have suffered enough of human greed!

Arcaliess Myrddin will right the wrong with your guidance, my Prince!

House Groushia will trample the fools from the south! We will support your claim!

Morgiana, Myrddin and Groushia, however, wished for peace with the elves and the dwarves. To them, the prince was a welcome surprise.

My father was a fool! Greenveils bow will shoot down your enemies, my Prince!

Equevanna seeks the best outcome of this situation. Our treasury is yours to use, my Prince.

The hope for the desolated Greenveil, which stood no chance against the power of the elves, and an opportunity for the Count of Equevanna, who suffered the most from elven and dwarven trade sanctions.

I have come to repay my debt to you, my friend. Lecartiglio will storm the land with your hippogryph knights!

Even the usually beastman-hating House Lecartiglio couldnt deny the young man, for he brought peace between the land of Lecartiglio and the predators of Avitor Peak.

A civil war erupted among the lands, but as Morgiana, Myrddin, and Groushia had barely taken any damage from the War for the Faefolk, the south lacked the power to put down the new avisian princes forces. The difference in ideals finally divided the land officially, splitting the Leosfalt Kingdom, with its longstanding history, into the Artorias Kingdom and Atadoro Kingdom. The arvisian with the blood of royalty and a Griffon ruled the young Artorias, while a member of the royal familys branch family ruled the south as the new king. Although a ceasefire has been established amongst the two kingdoms, the hostility wouldnt die any time soon.

The civil war ended in 2493. This was the fall of the Kingdom of Leosfalt.

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That is what I learned about the kingdoms history. Apparently, the ruins have been here since before the Leosfalt Kingdom! Saori informed us with a bright smile, fully enjoying sharing the knowledge she learned.

Ahh, so thats the reason. Ellaine did surprise me when she said the royal family wasnt human. I found it weird to imagine a couple of arvisians founding a country with mostly humans, I commented. Hmm, so I would guess Artorias might have intentions to reform the political ties with the elves? Morgiana and Myrrdin supported the young prince for that reason, probably.

Hmph! That is wishful thinking. Similar to how the elves still remember how they fought alongside the dwarves during the war, they wont be easily swayed by a simple change in leadership. Even if they are beastmen, Tasianna stated with derision. Her own disdain for humans probably got roused by the story.

Tasianna, are you still not okay around humans? To be honest, I thought your anger had subsided during our stay at Ellaines. You even work well with Svena. I wasnt intending on chiding her; rather, I was actually curious about her current opinion on humans. Weve been living among humans for a while, so I was opportunistic that it helped cool her hatred for a bit.

Lady Hestia, I can control myself better because of your and Miss Saoris support, but that doesnt mean I have forgiven the human race as a whole. I can now distinguish between a kingdom and an individual because of you, although tolerating any of them is annoying, Tasianna explained with a troubled face, before shyly scratching her head. Also, I can see from Manuelas behavior how much she wants to repent, but it isnt her fault. The fault lies with her ancestors. She feels uncomfortable around me and I feel uncomfortable around her. I just cant fully embrace the humans around me, but that doesnt mean I would let that disrupt my duty to you. As long as you must work with humans, I must, too.

Great! Thats definitely some progress!

After leaving Firwood, we literally sprinted in the direction Saori told us to go, using the map we got from the hunters guild as a guide. A normal person wouldve had to hire a carriage to travel, which would take at least three days to reach our destination, Rashan Village. However, being stuck in Firwood for a week without doing any Quests made us want to just run and stretch our legs. After Tasianna transformed back into her fairy form, Saori and I ran as much as we could.

We planned to camp outside for today and reach the village tomorrow. With our travel speed, we could do it. The reason why we were walking and talking about history right now is due to Saoris Stamina. Unlike me, who can replenish my Stamina as long as the sun is up, Saori needed rest as running nonstop was tiring.

So, what do you expect from the ruins, Saori? I asked while munching on some jerky.

Saori shrugged at my question, pulling out the commission paper for our current Quest. Im a bit uneasy, to tell you the truth. I dont know what to expect from the sound of this Quest. I hope nothing happens to the village until we arrive.

The details of our Quest are as follows:

Raaaarrrgh.

As Saori entered the woods, twirling her daggers with exceptional dexterity, growls came from behind multiple trees. As eight of them came out, I noticed their appearances. They were large, white-furred monsters that looked similar to a rabbit. They had two thick antlers like a stag on their heads, four large incisors in front of small sharp teeth, claws on their front legs, and thick hind legs like a kangaroo.

Loopridae were rabbit beastmen that lived in Firwood. If beastmen were born between humans and monsters, then what kinda giant rabbit created those loopridaes? Well, these things were large enough for the task.

Mana Eyes.

Loopriszar

A loopabit that has survived its vulnerable early evolutions and has evolved into a true predator. Although equipped with large antlers and steel-like teeth, loopriszars inherited the cautiousness of their early evolution, knowing when to quit if they face a strong enemy. Their strong legs allow them a strong forward jump. Rank D

Because [Identify] merged into [Mana Eyes], I am now forced to use this mind-numbing skill whenever I want to identify something. It still hurt when I activated this skill, all the mana in the surrounding entering my vision and taxing my brain as it tries to deal with the sensory overload. I wouldve complained about it more if [Mana Eyes] hadnt gained the [Blacksmiths Appraisal (Incomplete)] skill.

Rank D! It is leveling time! Saori was a bit too excited in my opinion.

The loopriszars eyes focused on our party as saliva was dripping from their mouth. It was winter, so it was likely that these monsters were starving.

As I was thinking that, one of them rushed at Saori with its mouth open.

Slow.

Rabbit stew, Lady Hestia?

As if she responded to our words, Saori sidestepped the attack and stabbed her silver dagger into the rabbits arm before submerging into its shadow while pulling its arm with her. Instead of diving into the shadow with Saori, the rabbit screamed in pain as its arm was stuck in the shadow.

Saori then jumped out from a trees shadow. At the same moment, the rest of the loopriszars charged at her, shrieking an ear-piercing sound. Unlike the danger that was heading her way, Saoris expression was calm and serene. She knew what to do.

Using [Air Walk], Saori kicked the air and dodged the attack. Simultaneously, black tendrils erupted from the trees shadow and tangled around two of the rabbits legs, holding them back from attacking.

Shadow Pierce. Falling from the air, Saori blackened her silver dagger and perfectly pierced the back of the first rabbits head, instantly killing it.

Experience has reached multiple breaking points. [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]s Job [Cleric] has risen from [Level 0] to [Level 3]

Attributes have increased due to level up

Three at once? Damn.

Without batting an eye, Saori pulled her dagger out of the dead rabbits head, blood flowing out like a sprinkler. With one dead and two struggling to free themselves from her [Dark Tendrils], Saori only had to deal with five more. She bent her knees, lowering her body, and raised her daggers as she faced the monsters.

Dodge and stab and it repeated itself four more times. Saoris movements were powerful and graceful, flowing through the combined attacks of the rabbit, as her daggers precisely stabbed once before continuing with the next loopriszars. There were no wasted movements, her daggers hit the neck of each rabbit every single time. Death followed.

R-Reeeee!

The two captured rabbits suddenly freed themselves from Saoris tendrils and were about to flee from the battle. They knew they had lost. However, Saoris focus was already on them. With two quick flicks, her daggers flew through the air and hit the rabbits. Once again, they hit the loopriszars necks.

Experience has reached multiple breaking points. [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]s Job [Cleric] has risen from [Level 3] to [Level 5]

Max level of Job [Cleric] has been reached

Attributes have increased due to level up

Awesome, the first day of the Quest and I already max leveled my Job. Imagine if we have to kill more monsters, what a waste that would be, right?

I dismantled the loopriszars, since I had the highest level in [Dismantle]. While I was doing that, I learned Saori and Tasianna leveled up once. Saori was now level 20, or 70 as a wolfkin, and Tasianna was at level 51. It was a very exciting day for them, as we hadnt leveled up in a very long time. What a shame that I couldnt join in the fun.

Oh yeah, how did you hit them all in the neck? You were so precise. Kill in one shot, wow, I praised her. Even I wasnt as precise with my attacks.

I found a teacher in Firwood. Tasianna and I have been training with him, much like youre been training with the guild master.

That was why she was always so ruffled up whenever we returned to the mansion. I never asked her about it as I never was that curious. As usual, Saori and Tasianna were always diligent. I wonder what they thought about me when I was lazing around all the time. I really dont dare to ask them that.

After Id dismantled all the rabbits, our party sprinted toward our destination until the sky went dark. We made camp and made some stew with what Saori had hunted today. Rabbit stew, delicious!

As we were enjoying our dinner, Saori once again noticed a presence, making me wonder if this was the Belzac Forest. As Saori was about to head out again, she suddenly frowned and instead shouted out, Stop!

Please, travelers, I come in peace. I mean no harm!

The voice that responded sounded like a womans voice, soft and clear. As her silhouette became clearer as she approached, Tasianna stood up. She was currently in her elven form. Saelari! she cried out with a face filled with not just surprise but also happiness as she smiled.

Saelari?

The woman then removed her hood once she felt the heat of the campfire. Saelari?! Seolu sifla Saelariel famno isschata kelg?!

Her flowing lime hair illuminated the dark while her fair face was beautiful like a master painters magnum opus. Her ears were round and had two elegant earrings. Just as I started to wonder at Tasianna happily greeting a human, the woman removed her earrings, and her ears suddenly became long and sharply pointed.

Elf?