Chapter 24 The Calm Before the Storm...

The players separated the fifty people and imprisoned them in a dozen or so dilapidated houses. The sixteen horses they had acquired this time were tied together with the four they had acquired before.

After administering the medicine and ensuring no one would cause further trouble, Matsushita Yuki ran to Ister, "Your Majesty, do you need to communicate with them?"

East tucked her slightly longer hair behind her ear. "It's impossible to keep supporting them for free. Supporting just me is troublesome enough."

...

“It’s no trouble at all. How could cooking for the little king be troublesome?” Cai Cai had come to invite Easter to dinner, and upon hearing what Easter said, she immediately retorted.

“Well,” East said with a smile, “but I don’t want you to be tired, so let them get out of here sooner rather than later. Besides, this place is too small. You should go and see a wider world.” No matter how unwilling he was, it was inevitable that he would have to go out. He couldn’t stay in one place forever, waiting for waves of enemies to come to him. Who knows when some enemies would come that he couldn’t handle? Rather than sitting and waiting for death, taking the initiative would be a better choice.

"King, are you unhappy?" Cai Cai looked up at Ister, who was smiling and saying something inspiring, but there was not a trace of joy in him.

“No,” East maintained the smile on his lips. “We’ll eat later. I’m going to talk to someone first.”

"Eating is more important," Cai Cai said.

As soon as East turned his gaze to Matsugami Yuki, he heard Matsugami Yuki speak: "The person has been captured, there's no need to rush."

Upon hearing this, Easter said, "Then let's go eat first."

“Your Majesty, you are indeed unhappy, aren’t you?” Matsushita Yuki said softly. “There’s no need for you to do things you don’t like just for our sake.”

How come all of his players are so perceptive and meticulous? He has a sense of shame too; how can he let people read his emotions all the time?

"Don't you want to come out with me?"

"It is my pleasure to serve you, Your Majesty," said Matsushita Yuki in her clear, cool voice.

East's eyes widened slightly, and he chuckled, "This warrior, such words are quite out of character for you."

"Don't be stereotypical." Matsushita Yuki glanced at the smile on Ister's face. Their king needed to go out and about even more than they did. Being stuck in a stuffy place that seemed free but had countless constraints, with nothing to do to relieve his emotions, it was inevitable that he would worry and overthink.

As they walked and talked, Cai Cai, who had been eavesdropping, breathed a sigh of relief. The King's emotions had become increasingly tense since the arrival of the first outsider, reaching their peak today. This was why he was able to so easily detect that the King was lying. Fortunately, after Song Shangxue's guidance, he calmed down somewhat, but without addressing the root cause, the King probably wouldn't truly relax.

Looking at the little firemen racking their brains to make him happy, Easter was speechless, wanted to laugh, and was also moved by their tiresome attempts to cheer him up. "Aren't you all worrying too much about me? I'm twenty years old this year, not a minor."

"Mmm, little king is a big kid now," Cai Cai replied perfunctorily.

Easter, fine, whatever they like. Let them use the thick filter if they want. If it weren't for today's reminder, he would have almost thought that the magic in his body was gone. Is it really uncontrollable? It's kind of scary, it's practically an indiscriminate attack.

Nana and Matsushita Yuki exchanged a smile. So cute and adorable, of course she's a good girl!

...

After finishing his meal, East followed Matsushita Yuki to the place where prisoners were being held.

“There are an apprentice mage and five novice swordsmen inside. If you want to find anyone else, you can ask the little fireman guarding the door,” said Matsuue Yuki.

"I'll go in and talk to them first, then we'll see how things go," said Easter. He had an idea in mind. The contrast between a nation and 110 little firemen was too stark. He was still relatively weak in combat, so adding more or not wouldn't make much difference. He had considered adding more little firemen, but he couldn't control the situation well on his own. Moreover, compared to the current level of the little firemen, their combat power was increasing too slowly. Quantity was important, but when the enemy's level was much higher, quantity wasn't that important. Under such circumstances, he naturally had to think more carefully.

East pushed open the door and went inside. He said the door was a sledgehammer to crack, just two broken wooden planks. The room was dimly lit, and he could vaguely see several figures tied with ropes. He then closed the door behind him.

"No, we haven't gone in yet," one of the players said.

"It's such a small place, what would we do in there? Just cause trouble?" It was Guagua Guagua. Although he was also curious, East's behavior clearly showed that he didn't want them to go in, so of course he had to be a little perceptive.

East paused, his little players were really thoughtful. "System, please turn on a light." He said it in his mind.

[Okay, host.] A small ball of light flew out, illuminating the dim space. Six people were tied up in the small room, and the cramped environment forced them to huddle together, with little room to spare.

Seeing the astonishment on the faces of the six people, Easter gave them an amused smile. "What? Surprised?"

"How is this possible? Felix's bloodline..." one of them exclaimed in surprise, then quickly stopped himself, his expression filled with annoyance and fear.

East took two steps forward, looking down at the six people. "Is it that you mean Felix's bloodline is destined to be unable to awaken magical elements?"

The person who spoke had a clear look in their eyes that they wanted answers.

Easter changed the subject to something completely unrelated, "What's the situation like outside these days?"

"Why do you think we'd tell?" It was the same person again.

"Is he a magician?" Ist asked. Compared to the other five, he was noticeably smaller.

"So what? Do you think you can get any knowledge about magic from me?" He recklessly provoked them.

East was too lazy to argue with a child. With his short flaxen hair, brown eyes, and still-childish face, he couldn't understand whether the Kingdom of Ramon really had no one left, otherwise why would they send a boy who was at most seventeen or eighteen years old?

“Are you looking down on me? I’m a member of the Grimm family,” noticing the change in East’s expression, the self-proclaimed Grimm family magician said smugly, “If you treat me well and tell me how you awakened your magical elements, I might give you some knowledge about magic.”

East remained silent, glancing at the five who hadn't spoken yet. "You came out on a mission with an idiot in tow? You don't even respect me?"

The space fell into a deathly silence. "What do you mean? Who are you calling a fool?"

Easter ignored the fool. He realized that he seemed to be the only one in the room who wanted to seriously calculate and scheme, and he couldn't help but laugh.

"You have a nice smile. If Felix were as good-looking as you, that rumor wouldn't be entirely unfounded," he muttered.

Easter's smile vanished. "Young Master, you seem to have misunderstood something. Our relationship isn't that of friends, but enemies."

"Now that you know I'm from the Green family, would you still dare to touch me? And do you really think I don't have a backup plan to save my life?"

"That's more like the demeanor of a noble young master," Ister thought. The Green family was a noble family of the Sinclair Empire, not particularly powerful, with the highest rank being Earl. They were in the timber business, not exactly a formidable family. However, just two years ago, a mage emerged from the Green family. In a world where strength reigns supreme, the Green family's status naturally rose accordingly.

There's something utterly ridiculous about this: the archmage is the illegitimate son of the Grimm family, and it's said that he had a very miserable childhood. You can imagine how much protection he could possibly have for the Grimm family. There are probably no more than ten thousand archmages on the continent, while the human population is five or six hundred million. Isn't that a terrifying ratio? Just imagine what an archmage means.

So this incident became a huge joke in high society; the family had the potential to rise to prominence, but they ruined it themselves. Therefore, since then, most of the illegitimate children have seen their lives improve, which is extremely ironic.

“Randall Green is Randall Green, and the Green family is the Green family,” East stated a fact.

“You’ve been wasting your breath talking to us, so you’re probably not here to take our lives,” he said calmly, without rebuttal or argument, unlike the foolish young master he had been at the beginning. “I am Ion Green. State your terms.”

"Answer me a question first: why did the Green family get involved?" East asked. The Green family belonged to the Sinclair Empire. Even though their territories were only marginally adjacent, they had always kept to themselves and their small country like East.

Ion paused for a moment and said, "Why ask so many questions? Anyway, we weren't involved in the war that forced you into exile."

“Look at what you’ve done, and listen to what you’re saying. Do you think what you’re saying is credible?” East didn’t want to waste his breath arguing with people, but the existence of this young master seemed to provide the answer to a question he had once wondered about. Why would the Kingdom of Ramon go to such lengths just for Manhattan Port? There really were external factors involved. It really was the Sinclair Empire.

“I snuck out to play by myself, it has nothing to do with the family,” Ion said. “You want to know what’s going on in the outside world? I’ll tell you.”

East subconsciously touched his wrist, but found nothing. He smiled calmly and said, "Go ahead." Whether you know it or not, it's all the same. It's just a matter of preparing earlier or even earlier. That day will come sooner or later.

“I don’t think you’ll stay here forever. Judging from your plans, you want to go back. But I advise you, it’s best not to.” After saying this, Ion began to explain the current situation outside.

East listened quietly, analyzing in his mind where to break through. He also wanted to listen to the advice and not go back, but the development of the situation did not allow him to escape. Staying put was a good choice, didn't he know that? The problem was that people came every few days. He didn't believe there wasn't something fishy going on. This place wasn't very safe. Going crazy would be a thankless task. Instead of waiting for him to fend for himself, they went to great lengths to find him, as if they were afraid he wouldn't die.

What Ion said was not much different from what those who were captured twenty days ago had said. In short, it was "chaotic." The increase in monsters and the tug-of-war between various forces have made the Ramon Kingdom, which was already stretched thin trying to take over the management of the Felix Kingdom's territory, even more stretched thin. The current Ramon Kingdom is severely understaffed and faces heavy pressure, putting it in a dilemma.

"Do you value your lives?" East asked casually. "Are you short-handed? That's great."

"What do you want to do?" Ion's expression was full of disapproval. He had been unusually kind, but this man didn't seem to care at all.

"Answer my question, do you value your lives?" East said, his gaze sweeping over everyone, not just one person.

"Isn't that obvious?" Ion rolled his eyes, once again displaying his arrogant young master demeanor.

“That makes things easier,” Easter said nonchalantly, even smiling as he beckoned the little ball of light over. “Then go do me a favor. Don’t want to refuse? You should understand that I’m not wasting my breath talking to you here. I’m a kind-hearted person and don’t like bloodshed.”

Ion silently closed his open mouth. Weren't they just having a good chat? How did he suddenly start threatening someone?

"By the way, it's best not to agree and then fail to deliver. I bet you're not too keen to know the consequences," Easter added.

“You…” Ion was so angry that he couldn’t even speak.

Easter laughed indifferently, "You're allowed to come with malicious intent, but I'm not allowed to reciprocate? That's unreasonable, isn't it? Just behave yourself, I'm not a bad person."

Ion: "What exactly do you want us to do? It's against all moral conscience. Even if you kill me, I won't do it."

"So nobles do have a conscience after all?!" The exclamation was not intentional, but rather made all the more sarcastic.

“You’re talking as if you’re not a nobleman,” Ion retorted sarcastically.

Easter didn't continue arguing with them; enough time had been spent, and if they kept talking, it would never end. He quietly explained what they needed to do.

"You really aren't afraid of death." That was Ion's first words after hearing the news.

East said, "I also want to live a good life, but there are always people who don't want me to live. Don't think too highly of yourself. If you were really so noble, you wouldn't be here here offering me some self-righteous advice. You shouldn't even be here. Do you know what this kind of behavior is called? Hypocrisy."

“You…” Ion was speechless again.

"Young Master, it's good to have someone protecting you. Don't be reckless next time." After saying this, Easter walked out the door. He knew his words were harsh, but he just hoped they would have some effect.

Stepping outside and standing in the doorway, bathed in sunlight, Easter realized his palms were drenched in sweat. He had truly taken this step; no one had forced or coerced him, it was his own decision. Gently wiping the sweat from his hands with his robe, he thought, "If others are hypocritical, then I am the most hypocritical one."

"King..." He hesitated.

East stared blankly at the little firemen surrounding him, slightly lost in thought. "I was so selfish."

"Your Majesty, what are you saying?" Matsushita Yuki asked worriedly. What exactly did they say inside? The king, who had calmed down a bit after going in and out, was even more tense than before.

Esther snapped out of his daze. "It's alright, we can release them in a bit."

"Your Majesty, don't shoulder everything alone; it's exhausting." Ru Bu Kao Di Gua approached.

“Yes, yes, little king, don’t be afraid, Mommy’s here.” Yunmu chimed in. They had gathered around out of curiosity, wanting to hear firsthand news, but who knew they would see Esther in this state.

East clenched his fists. "This world is rotten to the core. There are too many decadent and filthy things. You will inevitably see them once you go out. Are you afraid?"

“What’s the big deal? No place is truly pristine. Aren’t they all just layers of mud to cover up dirt and grime, but you can still fall in at any time,” Matsushita Yuki said coldly. “Don’t worry that we can’t stand the darkness.” Most people just treat this as a game and don’t think too much about it. Those who do think about it aren’t afraid of the darkness. “Your Majesty, it is your condition that worries us more.”

“King, if you don’t like this corrupt and dark world, then we will help you build it into a better one,” the husky interjected, squeezing forward.

“We are destined to conquer the continent. When the time comes, you can build the kingdom you desire, as you please,” Mei Mei said earnestly.

“Your Majesty, don’t judge us by our appearance and treat us like children. Perhaps all of you here are older than you. What haven’t we seen before?” said Cai Die. If we haven’t seen them in person, haven’t we seen plenty of them online and in books?

"My little king, after the labor pains are over, you will transform from a cocoon into a butterfly," Cai Cai said gently.

The little fire people chattered and comforted him, saying that this was their king, so well-behaved, so cute, and so considerate of them. Wasn't it only natural for them to pamper him?

East raised his hand to cover half of his face. "Thank you." He received more protection and favor than that young master, but this favor was too much and too heavy, like the sea that overwhelmed him. He struggled and floundered in it, at a loss, fearful and uneasy. He couldn't help but wonder, did he deserve it? How could he deserve it? He didn't deserve it.

Yunmu stepped forward and hugged Easter tightly. More little firemen surged up, and Easter was submerged in the sea of ​​firemen. In this noisy, suffocating feeling, Easter actually regained his sense of reality. He thought he really liked this dream, illusory and beautiful.

A note from the author:

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