Chapter 491 - Rotten Fruits and Rotten Hearts
They ate, chatted, played some word charade games and even meditated all the way until the capital of Smargdas was within view.
"We’re almost here," Bob informed them and Truen quickly wove the illusion spell.
"Let’s stop by the forest in the North," he told Bob who agreed. That was still part of the Smargdas region even if most of the forest belonged to Altear. Thankfully, it was a neutral zone where small towns mushroomed due to travelling needs. They could definitely top by a small town to send word ahead to Mitchnew.
Finding a small clearing from the sky, Bob landed gracefully and Zero was the first to hop off, eager to stretch his legs and look around. According to the mini-map, the town near them was a very basic one with only an inn, a tavern and some small provision shops. There weren’t many villagers but there were many travellers who would stop by before reaching the main city.
Zero noticed that there was a very strange atmosphere even in the small town. Unlike Half Moon Village and New Moon Village, the disparity and treatment of various people were very obvious. Nobody was hiding their discrimination against some races like beast folks. On the other hand, some people would support magicians who were recognised by their uniforms and elves who stood out in the crowd.
"Is this the so-called political arena?" Zero whispered and Truen nodded.
"Pull up your hoods," the elven archer advised Bob and Zero. Bob chose to travel in his human form and was a teenager who was about half a head shorter than Zero’s current vessel. The dragon stood out more than Zero and it was easy to tell that Bob wasn’t human. His light blue hair that’s almost white and yellow snake-like eyes were a dead giveaway.
The trio travelled silently through the crowd, following Truen’s lead. As they walked, Zero discreetly observed how there were many people who didn’t think that mistreating those who were less fortunate was wrong. He felt his anger boil when he watched a fruit shopkeeper beat a beggar who was eyeing some fruits at his stall. The skinny boy was clearly starving and the fruit shopkeeper had more than enough to spare. The beggar boy wasn’t even stealing, would it hurt the shopkeeper to have more compassion? The boy was only eyeing on the rotten fruits that the shopkeeper threw! Nobody would want those anyway, why couldn’t he give some to the starving kid?
Bob noticed his master’s stares and shook his head. "Don’t look, master. You might be able to help one poor beggar kid but what about the thousands when you get to the city? It’s better to turn a blind eye to the situation for now. This is a job for the king and not you."
Truen stopped walking and turned around when he heard that. He had been too busy looking for their scout and contact in the town that he neglected Zero who was new to all these. As expected, getting Zero to start his adventures in Magnus Hilda was a good choice. If Zero found it hard to accept the situation in Smargdas, it was only going to get worse when he visited the other more problematic countries where moral compasses weren’t a thing.
"You can still help that child out if you want," Truen told Zero kindly. "However, you’ll only be able to help him and not the other beggars he lived with."
"There are other beggars?" Zero was horrified. He knew that Smargdas was in a bad shape that’s why he told King Brice that he would help find Misana only if King Brice made his country a better place than it currently was. However, hearing and seeing were two different things.
Feeling the pain in his heart, Zero tore his eyes from the scene and tried to walk away but his legs remained rooted to the ground. Truen wasn’t surprised. It was hard for Zero to do such a thing but both Bob and he hoped that time would help steel Zero’s heart.
"I’m sorry," Zero apologised before breaking from the group and walking over to the fruit stall. As a doctor, he couldn’t overlook it when someone was injured. He might not be able to help this starving child but he won’t stand for violence and bullying if he came across it.
"Hold it!" Zero called out just as the fruit shopkeeper was about to grab a broomstick to chase the beggar child who refused to leave. He was still asking for the basket of rotten fruits to bring back and Zero frowned. That child was also too stubborn.
"What’s it to you?" the shopkeeper sneered. "If you’re not buying anything then scram!"
Zero paused and looked around. There were many kinds of fruits in the shop but nothing that really interested him. He also didn’t feel like spending money to contribute to the horrible shopkeeper’s pocket by buying anything. Instead, Zero kicked the basket of rotten fruits onto the ground and blocked the beggar child from the shopkeeper.
The child was quick and his hands reached for as many rotten fruits as he could before running for it. Enraged, the fruit shopkeeper tried to give chase but Zero stood in his way with his arms wide open to block the man’s way. The beggar child was fast and Zero smiled when he got away.
"You-!" the fruit shopkeeper was livid and wanted to rough Zero up when he felt the cool sharp metal of a blade on his throat. When did someone get behind him?!
"Try it," the voice was as cold as steel. It dripped of poison and Zero slowly walked backwards before disappearing in the direction of the beggar child. He had to remember to thank Truen later. His best friend can be really scary if he wanted to.
Helplessly, the shopkeeper could only quake in his boots and watch Zero getaway. His basket was still there but the rotten fruits were all gone, not that it was a huge loss. Only when Truen was sure that Zero made a clean getaway, he withdrew his blade and left the shop as quickly as he came. Bob was already telling Zero and Truen where the kid went and rested on a rooftop near the alley the beggars were.
The smiles on their faces when the oldest beggar child brought back more rotten fruits than they could ever dream of made the dragon sigh. This is why he didn’t really like humans. They were often selfish and silly creatures. Why steal rotten fruits and hurt your tummy when you could steal good ones when the opportunity presented? Besides, they had more than one child there. If they worked as a team, that silly shopkeeper wouldn’t be able to do anything against them in a lawless town like this.
Zero appeared just as the children were eating the distributed fruits happily and the oldest beggar kid stood up in panic, ready to fight Zero to defend his younger siblings. Zero quickly took a few steps back and raised his hands to show that he meant no harm but the children who were full of smiles earlier now huddled together with cautious looks on their faces.
"Don’t worry, I’m a doctor. You shouldn’t eat rotten fruits, they hurt your tummy. Here, these are some leftover sandwiches someone made for me before I left for my travels. They were meant to be lunch but you and your siblings can have them instead. In return, won’t you answer a few of my questions?"
Truen joined Bob on the roof and observed how Zero effortlessly bought over the beggar children’s hearts. Instead of giving them charity outright and making them more cautious about his intentions, Zero decided to go for a trade to make them feel better about his generosity.
"I see," Zero nodded. "What about a squirrel beast folk girl? Or any newly captured beast folks wandering around with slave traders?"
Truen pricked his elven ears and Bob held his breath. Of all the questions Zero asked so far, this was probably of actual importance.
The oldest beggar child tilted his head to a side in thought and a small girl tugged on his sleeve. "Dina..."
As if remembering something, the boy clapped his hands together and turned to Zero. "That’s right. Beggar friends have also been captured in Smargdas capital. The sisters never came back but Dina left a message at our meeting point. Slave traders are finding new goods for Grey Legion’s new order. Maybe the girl you are finding is there."
Zero had many questions and frowned. This was something new.
"Who is Dina? Where can I find Dina? Does Dina know who the slave traders are?"
At this, the boy who was very honest and eager to tell Zero things earlier clamped up. Zero saw the hesitation in the children’s eyes and retrieved something from the bag.
"Medicine, I made it myself. It will help the young ones suffering from bad food there. You can make them eat it now, they will be well very soon. If I am lying, you don’t have to tell me."
Medicine was expensive and from the looks of this, the beggar children knew it was very expensive. Only rich merchants and nobles can afford something like that. They didn’t know who Zero was or what he wanted but they didn’t have anything to lose by trying it out. If it truly was poison, none of them would survive anyway.
Zero bent down and the boy whispered lowly, telling the other children to keep a lookout from the alley.
"Dina is our King. They call Dina the Beggar King in Smargdas and even Lady Death finds him sometimes. He protects us and gives us money, Dina is a good person and he is very smart. But Dina doesn’t like a.d.u.l.ts. He will not meet with you even if you go to the meeting area."
The boy grabbed Zero’s hand and gave him a pebble with some carving on it. "Take this and go to Black Boar’s inn. There is a horse stable beside it, hide it under the water of the third horse stable from the right. Dina will appear the next day when the moon is high in the middle of the sky when the stone is gone. The innkeeper is kind to beggar children, he lets us sleep in the kitchen when we need to see Dina."
Zero looked at the stone and then to the children. "What about you? How will you find Dina if you give me this?"
The boy grinned, showing off his missing front teeth. "Dina taught us how to make more sign stones in case we lose it. Doctor, please use it and save other children. Many times a year slave traders come and snatch beggar children from the streets. We lost many brothers and sisters already and nobody knows who will be next."
From the rooftop across the alley, Bob and Truen were grim. Indeed, nobody knew who was going to be the next victim. Even if they could save Misana, they couldn’t save all the slaves.
"Do you think it was a mistake?" Truen asked Bob.
"What mistake?"
The archer watched how Zero hugged the children, not caring if they smelled or were filthy. That kindness was something that saved Truen on so many occasions and it was scary to think how someday that too might disappear.
"Telling him not to abolish slavery. What we’re doing right now is merely elevating the value of slaves. We’re still putting a price tag to human lives."
Bob hummed. "I’m a dragon. Human lives are all the same to me. Some I like more than others but at the end of the day, everybody is food when I am hungry."
Truen said nothing and watched as Zero left the alley. Bob might be right. Perhaps there really wasn’t any difference when they talked about a bigger picture. Like those fruits, some of them were tasty and some were rotten but at the end of the day, everything returned to the soil. It didn’t matter if they were grown in an expensive pot or land that nobody wanted, they were all equal in death.
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