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The third day of the fifth month of the 725th year of the continental calendar.
Having received the Imperial order, Duke Agnus, the Dark God, set out toward Reinhardt with an army of three hundred thousand men.
Reinhardt was a neutral city that did not belong to any one country; however, it was a strategic region that only made it more valuable to the other countries.
The other countries were appalled at Avalon’s actions. This was the prelude to a full-scale continental war.
The fourth day of the sixth month of the 725th year of the continental calendar.
In just over a month, Reinhardt fell at the hands of the Dark God.
Excluding the time in transit, the actual battle took place in less than a day.
While this was happening, Grand Duke Lucifer of the Swallow Empire succeeded the throne, and Hubalt’s civil war ended with an overwhelming victory in favor of the imperial faction.
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Feeling a sense of crisis, the other kingdoms quickly formed an alliance.
The tenth day of the ninth month of the 725th year of the continental calendar.
Three months after Avalon occupied Reinhardt, the continent received shocking news: Hubalt and Swallow had formed an alliance and were planning to invade Reinhardt.
The twenty-third day of the eleventh month of the 725th year of the continental calendar.
The three empires finally engaged in a fierce battle on the Great Plain of Kraden—Reinhardt’s front yard.
This was a battle that ended with hundreds of thousands of casualties and would go down in history.
It was also here that Duke Agnus was attacked by three Stars.
The first day of the twelfth month of the 725th year of the continental calendar.
A week after the war started, the continent fell into shock once again.
The famous Dark God had been killed in action, and the Avalon Army completely lost its fighting spirit.
Riding their momentum, Swallow and Hubalt launched an invasion on the mainland of Avalon; however, another Absolute appeared on the battlefield of the Great Plain of Kraden. It was Reinhardt’s “real” king, who had appeared a beat too late. He was a strong man who had defeated many heroes at the young age of fifteen.
That day, he was given a new name: the hero above heroes, the Hero King.
The twenty-first day of the twelfth month of the 725th year of the continental calendar.
The two empires were opposed only by one being, but they abandoned the invasion of Avalon.
Around that time, Emperor Marcus also went missing for mysterious reasons.
Just as Hubalt had been, Avalon was torn apart by a full-scale civil war as the two princes fought to be the next Emperor. Avalon’s borders closed, and the other two empires’ attention was directed elsewhere.
But by now, the Continental War had already broken out, and the rulers of both empires were too ambitious to give up.
The first day of the first month of the 726th year of the continental calendar.
A new war dawned with the beginning of a new year.
This time, it was Swallow who attacked first.
Swallow’s army had been stationed in Reinhardt by mutual agreement with Hubalt, but they struct Hubalt’s army in a surprise attack. Due to this battle, Hubalt had no choice but to abandon Reinhardt to Swallow completely.
However, this was just the start of the war…
The first day of the twelfth month of the 728th year of the continental calendar, three years since the dawn of the Continental War.
A cold northern wind blew.
An endless procession of people lined up near Erhaim’s gates. Erhaim, formerly known as Reinhardt, was located in the center of the continent. Until recently, it had been under the control of the Hubalt Empire; after they had lost, Erhaim was now ruled by the Swallow Empire.
Halfway to the gate, the so-called war-slave traders looked at the line in front of them with worried faces.
“Will we be able to get in today?”
When the fat slave trader verbalized his worries, the slaver next to him frowned in discontent. He was skinny with a particularly long chin that was quite memorable.
“That’s why I told you to drink in moderation! You lost track of time because of your whoring…”
“What? Who was it that went drinking with me?”
“...Fuck. If only that elf hadn’t been taken out of the cage…”
The fat man smiled sinisterly as the memory of the night before suddenly came to mind.
“What? You didn’t like it?”
“Because of that fleeting pleasure, a year of my work might be ruined!”
“Don’t worry about it.”
The fat man pulled something from his sleeves with a wide smile. It was a heavy-looking leather pouch.
“With this, we’ll get a free pass.”
The skinny man’s eyes widened.
“Is that a bribe?”
“Kind of. It’s twice the usual fee.”
“Are you insane? Farge, you bastard, have you completely lost your sense of money because you’re making some nowadays? Don’t you know how much they’re already extorting in the name of tax?”
“So then, what?”
“Huh?”
“You want to just wait here without a plan and watch as our competitors beat us?”
“Well—”
The skinny man was about to say something, but he hesitated. He finally realized that he had been speaking too loudly; everyone around them was staring. He lowered his voice and continued.
“Just what the hell are you thinking? Your eyes might be getting bigger than your stomach!”
“There’s no way that’ll happen,” the fat man responded confidently.
The skinny man shut his mouth.
“As long as this damn war doesn’t end, there’s nothing for us to lose.”
“Farge, you—”
“Isn’t it ironic? The lives of the common people are getting more and more impoverished, but in the midst of this war with endless weeping, our work is enjoying the greatest growth in history.”
“....”
“But then again, it’s only natural. Food, sleep, and sexual desire are said to be the three basic human needs. With brothels booming, the military is directly buying sex slaves to boost the morale of the soldiers.”
Farge gave a nasty smile.
“The military says it’s to protect the commoners from the soldiers caught up in their bloodlust. But ha! That just makes me laugh. They just need a convenient plaything to take around so they can release their lust whenever they want.”
“Farge, if anyone is listening…” the skinny man spoke softly, anxious.
Farge simply laughed in his face.
“And we don’t even need to talk about dwarf slaves,” Farge said, quickly changing the topic. “During a war, there’s no one better than them to make weapons.”
“....”
“And since Swallow took the initiative again, their leniency towards us slavers is good… except for those damn tariffs, they’re too high. Swallow is much better than Hubalt with their high and mighty noble act.”
“Well, that’s… things might be different if it was a regular slave trade, but you know that the Hubalt Empire sets very strict standards when it comes to trading different races. And seeing how that’s our main business, it might be fatal for us…” The skinny man suddenly flinched. “...Huh?”
“What’s the matter?”
“I feel like… someone was staring at us?”
“...?”
Farge tilted his head in confusion, then looked around. But then, they heard “Next” come from ahead of them.
Farge quietly frowned.
“Who are you say is watching us?”
“I’m pretty sure it was from behind…?”
“Are you talking about our products? Merchi, that’s your biggest problem. How can we accomplish anything big when you, the manager, are worrying about everything?”
Merchi’s gaze turned toward the back again.
Rattle.
Soon, a dozen wagons came into sight, carrying cages of iron bars. Lifeless beings were locked inside the cages. Beings of various races were crouched inside with their limbs bound.
“I’ll go ahead and get things started. Bring them with you.”
Farge began walking away.
“Um…” Merchi stood still and stared at his back. “Wait for me!”
The skinny man hurried after him.
***
Two robed figures quietly slipped out from the middle of the line.
The taller one spoke angrily in a low tone.
“You shouldn’t have shown your killing intent that openly!”
“How can you expect me to stay calm after hearing that? Those guys are more like demons than human beings!”
The taller one shook their head as they sighed.
“What should I do with this eunuch who’s driven only by his will and sense of justice?”
“What!? Eunuch?!” the smaller figure spoke furiously.
“Aren’t Holy Knights celibate? Even if you have it, you can’t use it. Isn’t that basically an eunuch?”
“Let’s straighten something out,” the shorter one argued. “ We Holy Knights are different from the priests. We can get married and have kids if we want to!”
“Yes, yes, I’m sure you can. So then, why aren’t you married even though you’re in your prime?”
“I’ve been bedridden for a long time now! And, aren’t we the same?”
“Ho? What are you saying? I’ve said it multiple times now, but I’ll say it again: I have someone. But with the things being what they aren’t, we can’t show it yet.”
“Don’t tell me… is it her?”
“Why not?” the taller one grinned as he spoke.
“Well, that just seems to be you thinking that.”
“Seeing how you’re trying to deny the facts, are you jealous?”
“...Why am I even bothering with you.” The small man paused as he turned around.” Then…”
“...?”
“I should tell her everything. I’m going to tell her that you insulted the Holy Knights and called us eunuchs. I remember her warning you about that before…”
The taller man’s face crumpled immediately as soon as he heard that. He was so pale it was almost pathetic.
“Sir Christian—-no, Lord Christian.” The taller man bowed. “Please don’t tell her that…”
The tables had turned in an instant. The smaller man, Christian, gave the other a look.
“Why can’t you can’t like this normally?”
“Ah, okay, I got it.”
“Hmph.”
Christian turned around. The movement caused his long blond hair, which had been escaping from under the robe, to sway.
The taller man observed him enviously.
“Ahem…” he cleared his throat. “Anyway, keep in mind. The first reason we came here was for reconnaissance. The second is to collect any information regarding my master. If we detect even the slightest bit of danger, we need to retreat to our base as fast as possible.”
“What do you plan to do if someone tails us?”
The taller man’s eyes turned cold.
“I’ll remove them. I won’t make the same mistake as you. That’ll never happen.”
The taller man muttered those last words as if to make a promise to himself.
“...Have you still not heard from your master?” Christian asked cautiously, watching his partner.
The other man flinched.
“It has already been three years since he disappeared. If he had been there…” Christian bit his lip before resuming. “Erhaim, no, Reinhardt would never have lost here, and—”
“Let’s stop talking about that. What difference does it make to talk about spilled water?”
“... I think I overstepped my bounds by bringing up your master. That was my mistake, and I apologize for it.” Christian bowed his head respectfully.
‘Master.’
The big man’s powerful hands clenched into fists. Christian stood there and watched him.
Three years was a period of time that was both long and short. Within that time, the continent faced an era of upheaval unprecedented in its history.
Their surroundings, too—
“Impossible!”
“...?”
The taller man’s thoughts were interrupted by a loud shout from ahead. From next to him, Christian also tilted his head in confusion as he stared at the shouting man.
“Wh-why are you being like this? Is the money not enough?”
“Look at the times. Do you really think petty money like this would be enough?”
It was the slave traders.
Glaring, a middle-aged man stepped out from amongst the gatekeepers guarding the gate. He seemed to be the most senior of the guards.
Merchi, a member of the Hobbs Merchants, broke into a cold sweat.
“But, before—”
“Before? When do you mean by before? Are you referring to the time when Hubalt and their infinitely dirty hypocrisy managed this place?”
‘We’re fucked.’
Merchi’s face crumpled as the middle-aged man berated them.
It was clear that the Swallow Empire was abusing its power after it seized control of Erhaim. As the victor of the war, it was their chance to profit and to set an example.
The problem was that guards had decided to turn the slave traders, who had been trying to pass through the gates a little faster, into examples.
‘Damn it.’ Merchi swore to himself. ‘What do we do now—?’
He looked around for any sort of help.
Suddenly, Farge came forward with his fat body. Perhaps this was the answer to Merchi’s desperation?
“Sir.”
“...?”
“Won’t you take a look at the third wagon behind me?”
The man turned to look at the wagons. He flinched.
Inside the wagon were iron cages where dozens of figures, half-naked in their tattered clothing.
Among those wagons, the third wagon had…
“Elves?”
“They’re luxury items that haven’t even reached a hundred years yet.”
The man nodded after glancing at the wagons.
“...I see. You’re part of the Hobbs Merchants, right? The ones who’s been making a great profit by trading different species.”
It was only for a moment, but greed flashed in his eyes.
“But even if it’s an elf…”
“That’s not all.”
“What?”
“Look behind them.”
This time, Farge’s tone was more of a command than a request.
With a slight frown, the middle-aged man turned his head. His eyes grew wider.
“That's…!”
There was a man behind the trembling elves. His clothing was stained in various places, but the pattern on the breast of his garment revealed his identity.
“A priest of… Hermes?”
“According to the laws of war, we can’t trade prisoners of war as slaves to enemy countries… but it’s a different story as long as we aren’t caught, right?” Farge continued to whisper in his ear. “Moreover, a priest of the Hubalt Empire— when will you get another opportunity like this?”
Gulp.
The man gulped. Farge’s words were like the devil whispering into his ears.
Someone else also noticed the man’s reactions.
Christian gritted his teeth until his companion could hear them.
“Don’t even think about stopping me this time.”
“I don’t plan to.”
“...?”
“I feel the same way as you this time.”
Naturally, Christian turned to look at him in surprise. The taller man was glaring at one fixed spot. If looks could kill, the one he was looking at would be dead.
“...Sir Cain?”
Christian’s doubts were quickly dispelled as he heard Farge’s next words.
“I also have another high-quality slave! At one time, his country dominated the continent, but now, they’re closed off.”
“....”
“Avalonians.”
“...!”
“He came from the northwestern region, directly from Viscount Harry…”
Once Christian heard the familiar name, he didn’t hear anything else. His eyes widened.
“If it’s Viscount Harry—”
Cain’s large frame disappeared from sight.
It had been three years since the start of the Continental War. People’s lives had been getting harder and harder by the day, and in every country, the streets were filled with war orphans while slave trading was thriving in the shadows.
There had been another big change. At one point in time, Avalon had been at the forefront of the three empires, but Avalon had been defeated and was considered a loser.
Cain’s master, who should have had his coming-to-age ceremony, was no longer by his side. Because of that…
“I will do it.”
Cain de Harry had to be the one to clean up the trash in front of his eyes.