章 146: Dawn Of The Protest
Somewhere along the western edge of the plaza in front of Babel, a massive stall had been set up. Thousands of people were queueing up in front of it patiently - and sometimes quite impatiently - waiting for a chance to get their hands on the innovative product that was being sold here.
"Just 250 valis for a protest sign. Buy three, get one for free!"
Shouting as loudly as she could in an attempt to get her voice heard despite the ambient noise of hundreds of thousands of people overwhelming this part of the city, the jackal-eared Tabitha was waving around a wooden sign that had been connected to a pole of the same material. Although it clearly wasn't made to be especially sturdy, it still looked durable enough to withstand anything outside of a combat encounter. The words 'For freedom, for the future. Release Isaac Blackshaw!' were written on it in bold colours. Many signs just like it were showcased all around the Hermes Familia's stall. There was even an area behind it where many more of them were constantly getting produced. But despite all of that, they could barely keep up with the demand.
"I still can't believe we're doing this. That's a new low for us, isn't it?"
Feeling powerless, Asfi released a sigh and rubbed her forehead. The conflicting emotions that currently assaulted her were causing her a mighty headache. On the one hand, they were making considerable bank, and had already acquired more than a few million valis, but on the other hand, they were supporting a pure farce of a protest and even shamelessly leeching off of it. As for the worst of all? That was the man sitting right next to her.
Hammering a nail through a sign and into a pole with practiced motions, Hermes turned his head to face her, a somewhat childish, bright smile on his lips.
"As long as it's fun, who cares, right? It's not like we're harming anyone."
Because she knew that it would be useless to argue with him, Asfi just shook her head and hopped onto a nearby roof, intending to get some 'fresh air'. Not that the air's quality was any better up there. Shielding her eyes from the light of the sun, she blinked a few times to get used to the increase in brightness and looked into the distance, taking in the mind-boggling headcount.
Usually, the plaza could house a little more than 400,000 people at once - but it would be very cramped. Now, there were more than 500,000 people assembled on the plaza alone, most of them regular civilians. Some of the stronger adventurers had taken seats on the various buildings' roofs all around the plaza. Thankfully, those structures were especially well-built, so they weren't in any danger of getting damaged. Some of the house owners had even rented out the rights to use their rooftops and had made some nice extra income. However, all of the people mentioned so far only made up a little more than half of everyone who had come to partake in the protest. The main streets all around were clogged up to varying degrees, with one of them having it by far the worst.
Aiming her gaze towards the north-west, making use of her unassuming glasses which were actually a Magic Item, Asfi enhanced her eyesight and soon helplessly shook her head. The full extent of the situation felt very hard to come to terms with - after all, this was the first protest of such scale that had ever taken place in Orario. The street in front of the Pantheon, the headquarters of the Guild, was just as crowded as the plaza, with thousands of people holding signs and just as many shouting for Isaac's release - for justice to be done.
Frankly, most of those that had gathered were only here to join in on the fun, they were merely hangers-on who wanted some part of the unusual action. A smaller portion of the whole was truly passionate about the cause or had some history with Evilus that they wanted to address and get off their chest. Their slogans got echoed by the majority, which further increased their spread. Only a miniscule amount of people actually cared somewhat about Isaac, or even knew the man personally - and yet, such a huge movement had been kicked off, all because of him.
Of course, not everything went smoothly. Whenever such a huge number of people is gathered, problems and conflicts will inevitably arise. Small brawls were a common sight, and yet there were those that kept the order.
Many of the law-abiding familias had deployed their members to the site of the protest to support the Guild in trying to de-escalate the situation wherever necessary. It wasn't just the usual suspects - the Ganesha Familia - this time either. Joining them were nearly all influential familias of the city, even the Loki and Freya Familias. Thankfully, none of their members were stupid enough to try to suppress non-troublemakers - not even the usual problem children.
"Having to deal with these annoying weaklings… it's such a pain. I hate it."
A certain Werewolf broke up a small scuffle with a clearly unhappy frown on his face, while an arrogant Cat Person separated five fighting adventurers with his gaze alone.
With many of the city's strongest and brightest all over the place, even should someone with a low Level want to make a scene, they would be surgically targeted and removed in mere moments. None of those that were supervising the crowd dared to say anything about the protest's cause, but anyone who stepped out of line definitely couldn't have chosen a worse time to do so.
If Isaac had been here and had observed the entirety of the crowd, then he would have noticed that most of his acquaintances, except for a few deities, had turned up. Whether that be the majority of the Loki Familia which had been enlisted to keep the populace in line, or the supporter team that he had been a part of, or a few of those that had always eyed him and Ais with envy burning in their gaze when they had wandered the streets, or even the employees of the Hostess of Fertility - they were all here.
-----
Because they had arrived relatively early, were considerably powerful and had lots of connections, Syr, Ryuu, Chloe and Anya had managed to claim one of the more prominent rooftops adjacent to the plaza for themselves. As the only one without a Falna amongst the group, Syr had been carried there by her good friend Ryuu in a pose that had elicited shameless whistles from Chloe - a standard princess carry.
About half an hour after they had arrived, Ryuu began to furrow her brows and muttered to herself.
"It's so loud…"
She was already trying her best to ignore most of the noise, but the chorus of voices was only increasing in volume over time. Truly, it was unpleasant.
'Oh well, I'll just have to deal with it…'
As she was shaking her head, she saw Anya speed over from afar. The dorky cat girl had run off about ten minutes ago after spotting something of interest in the distance. They had originally wanted to follow her, but she had assured them that she wouldn't be long. Now that she returned, she held a couple of wooden protest signs in her arms, her eyes sparkling in excitement.
"Look, look! I got us some nice signs! Now we can also join in properly, like everyone else. And before you ask, I paid for them myself. I didn't steal from your piggy bank this time, Chloe."
A shadow crept on the black-haired cat girl's face.
"How did you even know that I got myself a new one? I thought I hid it as best as I could!"
Innocently blinking as if not sure what her friend was talking about, Anya tilted her head, bewilderment now shimmering in her eyes.
"Huh? I didn't even search for it, though? But since I feel bad about last time, I've decided to never take any of your savings without informing you ever again! So don't worry."
Obviously not buying a single word that her fellow cat girl had said, Chloe chose to move on and glanced at the wooden signs that Anya had placed down next to the four of them.
"What do they say any--- Pfft! Ahahaha!! Who in Tartarus makes these? They're ridiculous! I'll be taking this one."
Tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, the cat girl was holding her stomach, her other hand clutching one of the protest signs.
Intrigued by her reaction, Syr and Ryuu finally paid some attention to the signs as well.
'Let the tyranny end! Let the Guild repent!'
'Vigilante justice is still justice.'
'Deity slayer, my heart belongs to you. Release my beloved, oh unjust ones!'
'Isaac Blackshaw, I want your babies!'
The signs got progressively worse and off-topic. Of course, Chloe had chosen the very last one for herself and was grinning like a Cheshire cat, the look in her eyes a playful one.
"I'm so sorry, Ryuu. I know you actually wanted this one for yourself. Still, first come, first served~"
Blushing up to the very tips of her long ears due to a mixture of shame and indignation, the Elf in question clenched her fists tightly, very close to turning this rooftop into a catfight arena. Still, she ultimately only heaved a deep sigh and ignored the taunt.
"This one's mine."
With sparkling eyes, Anya grabbed the 'vigilante justice' sign and waved it around enthusiastically, eliciting an adoring chuckle from Syr. Seconds later, the grey-haired waitress noticed a certain problem.
"Well, well. There are only two signs left. Which one should I choose? I wonder~"
Smiling mischievously, just like a certain cat girl right next to her, she grabbed the most innocent sign that was left and shot an amused smile at her prude Elf friend.
The redness of her cheeks intensifying by a notch, Ryuu resolutely shook her head.
"No chance. I won't be taking that sign."
Clearly amused, Syr raised an eyebrow and then reached out towards it, soon holding two signs in her hands. Brilliantly grinning, she teased her friend further.
"What a shame. Then I suppose I'll just have to take both."
Although she was aware of the grey-haired waitress' real identity, Ryuu still couldn't really stomach the thought of Syr behaving overly flirtatious and 'cheap' with a man out of nowhere. For a moment, she was about to free her friend from the burden of the more improper sign, but then she caught herself.
'I can't fall into her trap!'
Snorting unhappily, she turned away and scanned the crowd, unsuccessfully trying to reduce the amount of blood that had rushed to her head. Delusions of Syr confessing her undying love to a certain man couldn't help but come to mind constantly and… they disturbed her.
With their daily task of Ryuu-teasing checked off, Syr and Chloe snickered impishly. On the side, Anya simply tilted her head, seemingly not entirely sure why things had turned out this way.
-----
"It feels weird. It's like we're on display."
Furrowing her eyebrows, Mina shook her head in displeasure. The students and subordinates - except for those that couldn't yet see the light of day, like Averin, Ray and Titania - had made their way to the site of the protest as well, because it would look a bit unusual if Isaac's own people weren't even there to fight for his freedom. To keep them all safe from anyone that might potentially try to harm them, they were accompanied by Ais and Lefiya. To be honest, the charming Elf was more of a decoration, because the current Sword Princess alone could easily decimate almost the entire city in a few minutes.
"Yeah. Seems like master was correct. Most influential forces know that we're his people, so they pay more attention to us."
Still practically glowing with self-esteem due to having been praised heavily yesterday evening after his successful detection of the mental layer and even his lake of mana, Quinn showed an uncharacteristically wide smile as he accompanied the rest of the group. Even such an undesirable situation didn't seem to dampen his spirit. For the moment, for once, he felt quite good - and he would enjoy it while it lasted.
"Remember what teacher told us. If anyone tries to network with us, or tries to get in our good graces, we should be noncommittal, and brush them off if possible."
A bit concerned about the entire ordeal, Kalin cautioned the rest of the group.
"Of course! I'd never forget a single one of milord's words!"
Puffing out her chest with pride and wagging her tail a little, Mina nodded, a fire burning in her eyes. Not literally, of course. In any case, her actions still caused a few of the more lewdly inclined people in the vicinity to gulp audibly. She had always been gorgeous, which was what had led to her unfortunate past of having been targeted by slavers. Now that she had been blessed with high quality adventuring gear as well as clothing, extremely good bathing facilities and even a Falna, she had only turned into even more of a charmer. While she paled in comparison to the simply otherworldly beauty of the illustrious Sword Princess, her body was still seductively shaped. Due to this fact, puffing out her definitely not modest chest was like lighting a fire next to a wardrobe full of moths.
To be fair, their group was especially eye-catching. While most mortals in this world were quite good-looking, there were still four women here whose appearances were far above average. Therefore, it was only natural to attract attention. Still, some people should really try to hide their degenerate thoughts a little… Seriously, some of them were even drooling.
Having long since taken note of the various perverts around, Ais shook her head in exasperation before ignoring them. Ever since she had experienced so many years of Isaac's past, she had stopped being naive when it came to these matters. Thinking back on her life so far, she realized how many people had sent indecent gazes her way, which only served to make her feel uncomfortable. Still, there was nothing that could be done about it. The easiest solution was just to pay it no heed, and to be powerful enough so that if someone stepped out of line, one would be able to beat them to a pulp.
Shaking her head to get rid of these pointless thoughts, Ais focused back on the lovely Chienthrope girl quite close to her and showed a small smile.
'In any case, she's really adorable.'
Whenever she saw Mina and Aselina cozying up to her beloved, she didn't feel threatened at all. Not only was she aware that Isaac had no feelings of that sort for the two beauties, but she also understood that the two wouldn't even dare to harbour such thoughts for their most revered lord. Therefore, why wouldn't she think of them as adorable?
"Excuse me, you're the students of Orario's most recent hero, Isaac Blackshaw, right?"
Just like they had expected, it didn't take long for the first observer to make their approach. Almost as if trying to embody some stereotype, the man that stood in front of the group could best be summed up with the word 'sleazy'. He was the spitting image of an almost cartoonishly corrupt politician from Isaac's past world, just clad in the clothes of this world instead. He even used a monocle. Ais had to do her best to suppress a chuckle at the absurdity of the situation.
Not even daring to stare at a figure as prestigious as the Sword Princess, the sleazeball kept his eyes on the other youngsters instead, doing his best to appear prim and proper.
"We are indeed. And who do we have the pleasure of becoming acquainted with?"
Protectively stepping out in front of the rest of the group, in both an attempt to shield them from wandering eyes as well as any and all bad intentions, Kalin shot back a polite smile that he had picked up from Isaac. It wasn't nearly as practiced, but it sufficed.
"Forgive my rudeness, I should have introduced myself immediately. I'm Brandolin Jayklair, a diplomatic envoy from Meilstora. And what should I be calling you, young man?"
Bowing in a gesture of goodwill, the man's lips curled upwards courteously.
"It is nice to meet you, Mr. Jayklair. I'm Kalin Myre, Mr. Blackshaw's second most senior student. Now that all of the pleasantries are out of the way, could you please enlighten us as to what has brought you here? Surely, you didn't just come to greet us."
Putting to use all of the second-hand diplomacy proficiency that he had acquired yesterday evening during his observation of Hermes and Isaac, Kalin quickly got to the heart of the matter. He could already see others inching closer, almost none of them appearing to be respectable figures. Honestly, he just wanted to get it all over with. He had no need to be excessively accommodating, because he could always rely on Ais to pull them out of troubles - well, these weaklings wouldn't even be capable of withstanding a single one of his strikes, they were barely at Level 2. Only the ones that he judged to be upright folk had advanced further than that. He couldn't even accurately determine the stats and Levels of some of them.
A bit displeased, but still keeping up his well mannered facade, the diplomatic envoy nodded.
"What a sharp mind at such a young age! You remind me of myself when I was still a lively youngster."
'In your dreams!'
Of course, Kalin didn't vocalize his disrespectful thoughts, but that didn't stop Jakk from almost choking during his attempt to suppress his laughter. The bunny boy had been very uncomfortable this entire time, so he enjoyed nothing more than getting to distract himself from the very much excessively social environment that he was currently in. This pathetic comedy of a conversation was like a fresh breath of air for him.
Thankfully, Mr. Jayklair didn't seem to mind the disrespect - at least not on the surface.
"Ahem. Anyway, let me get to the point. My country would like to form a business partnership with your teacher, Mr. Blackshaw. His likeness would be a fantastic way to market our wares, so---"
"Hold your horses, my old friend! My homeland Sharm also has an interesting proposal for the young hero."
"Right, right. Meilstora isn't the only country that wants to foster close relations with this new rising star! My Jorling Kingdom also wants to extend an olive branch of partnership."
"Hmph, don't you see that you're overwhelming the nice youngster, you old bats? My Andromeda Islands won't stand for this. Mr. Myre, why don't we find a less noisy area to get acquainted with one another? I know this nice brothel…"
"My Halksvaag Kingdom won't accept being left out like that! Move on over, give me some space!!"
Before the group knew it, a number of shady diplomats from various countries had swarmed Kalin, pushing each other in a fervent frenzy. Even more of them were eyeing the rest of the students, but they didn't dare to come too close, due to the deterrent that was the Loki Familia's Ais Wallenstein. Still, that didn't help Kalin much, because he had stepped out too far.
"Hey, are you okay?"
With a worried look, Mina whispered into Aselina's ear. She had noticed that her best friend had suddenly grown more icy and was exuding a bit of killing intent. Quite concerned, she inquired about what was going on.
"That man… he said that he is from the Halksvaag Kingdom. I'm sure you recall what happened there."
After she mentally processed these words, Mina froze and slowly nodded. She hadn't paid much attention to these annoying flies before, but now that Aselina mentioned it… wasn't that kingdom the one where the Sceaga tribe had all but been obliterated?
"I understand that you might be very angry right now. But let's not make a scene, okay?"
Anxious, she gently grasped the raccoon girl's hand in an attempt to calm her down.
"Don't worry, I won't. This man is just from the same country, and while it's obvious that he's a suspicious character, I won't assume that he's with those that harmed my tribe on such a shallow basis."
Successfully reining her emotions back in again, Aselina gave her best friend a grateful nod before returning her attention to the extremely uncomfortable Kalin.
"Shouldn't we… do something?"
Not sure what to do, but convinced that things couldn't continue like this, she addressed the elephant in the room. Or rather, the buzzing insects on the plaza.
"Yeah, we should step in and dissolve this mob. Let's--- Huh?"
Right as Mina was about to bravely venture out into the horde of disreputable flies, the situation changed.
"What are you doing, you disgusting pigs!? Leave the young lad alone, will you? Some of us here genuinely just want to make friends, so fuck off! Get your filthy faces out of my sight."
"You heard what Her Majesty said! I'd recommend for you all to leave. Else, we might have a diplomatic crisis on our hands."
Accompanied by a group of four guards who - according to Ais' observations - were all Level 4's, one of the female observers that had been overtaken by the corrupt rabble entered the scene.
She was about as tall as the Sword Princess and had long black hair that she had styled in a braid that reached all the way to her lower back. Her eyes were a deep green that was shrouded in purple, and although her smile was an unruly one, her face was one of gentle, regal beauty. On her head, there rested a small golden tiara without many embellishments. Aside from that unusual accessory choice, the rest of her outfit fell more in line with regular adventuring standards. It was mostly fashioned from the skins and pelts of monsters, and very far from as skimpy as normal Amazoness clothing. Still, it wasn't entirely prim and proper either. The brownish-red leather pants were extremely tight, and the black gambeson-style short-sleeved blouse didn't leave much to the imagination either.
The woman had an extraordinarily elegant metal bow slung over her shoulder and a quiver fastened to the back of her waist, to a white belt sporting scale patterns. One other weapon was sheathed at her hip - a curved machete that looked a bit similar to a kukri.
Her appearance only got even more perverts to salivate at the mouth, because she didn't fall short of the other four extraordinary women. Thankfully, nobody was foolish enough to say anything, because the towering guards at her side were quite the threat - their expressions were excessively menacing. As for the guards' outfits, they wore primarily light metal armour strapped over blue gambeson-style protective clothing and each had a variety of weapons at the ready: Pikes, spears, swords, bows and one of them even had a staff fastened to his back. All of them had at least one or two scars exposed here and there, even the woman who they had referred to as 'Her Majesty' - on the back of her neck, there was a long and ghastly one.
The five people looked a lot more lawless than a regular royal delegation, but the respect that the four men had for the one that they were accompanying was most definitely as real as it could get.
None of that was remarkable in Ais' eyes, though. Rather, she raised an eyebrow at the around 20 year old woman.
'Impressive! She made it to Level 5 at that age. That means that she can only be one of a handful of people…'
Her identity didn't remain a mystery for long, because the various envoys quickly distanced themselves from Kalin, as if they were trying to escape a terrifying foe. Still, their warped faces looked like they had been force-fed a generous handful of feces. One of them couldn't hold his tongue for long and shot back some venomous words before charging through the crowd as fast as he could.
"This won't be the last you hear of me, Upstart Queen of Mystldom! My Andromeda Islands will be filing a formal complaint with your kingdom before long. Enjoy your peace while it lasts!"
The man's words served to incense the accompanying guards. Right as they were about to give chase, the casually raised hand of their queen stopped them in their tracks. With a derisive snort, the woman shook her head.
"Don't waste your time. We shouldn't make any trouble in Orario right now. You can search for him later. Make sure you 'take care' of him then."
Her words caused the rest of the envoys that had dared to stick around - aside from the few virtuous fellows that were still patiently waiting nearby - to grow pale in fright and to depart with due haste. Nobody wanted to offend that madwoman.
Quite confused by the entire situation, Kalin tilted his head a bit and then bowed very slightly. He felt like he should portray at least a smidgen of etiquette in front of someone who fashioned themselves the ruler of a country. Before he could even open his mouth to extend a greeting, however, he was suddenly interrupted and became speechless.
With quick steps, the woman had walked up to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, forcing him perfectly upright again. She flashed him an amused grin and powerfully patted his right shoulder twice.
"No need for all of that nonsense. I've tried and failed to convince these damn blockheads to stop it with the excessive etiquette for a long time already, so please don't join their ranks."
When she pointed at her guards with her chin, they only cleared their throats and innocently looked away as if they hadn't heard her, focusing on keeping the perimeter secure. Shaking her head with a forlorn sigh, the queen finally introduced herself properly.
"As that piece of trash mentioned, I'm the Queen of Mystldom. Not sure if you've heard of me before, but it doesn't matter anyway. I don't want to rely on my title to get what I want. My name's Phelia Nihara - just Phelia or Pheli is fine. Nice to meet you all."
Looking at every one of Isaac's people in turn, Phelia's grin widened. She didn't even shy away from looking directly at Ais, although her warning bells went off when she did so. It felt like she had just made eye contact with an unfathomable beast that could rip her apart in less than a fraction of a second. Usually, people would show some amount of fear at that prospect, but it was unknown whether she felt any of it at all, because her expression remained unchanging.
Pretty much everyone but Mina and Quinn widened their eyes at the queen's introduction - apparently, she was quite the famous personage. Well, Ais was another exception to the rule, because she only nodded slightly and gave a mental remark.
'As expected, it's her. Aside from her, there are only three other female Level 5's in their early twenties that are active outside of Orario. Well, there might be some that I don't know about. In any case, the 'Upstart Queen', or rather, the 'Pirate Queen' from the Dizara Region to the south-west, huh? She's not bad. Not bad at all.'
クリエイターの想い 
Shiro_the_Hero
Shiro_the_Hero If only I was a capable cartographer, I could actually create a map of the Lower World for you all... but alas... R.I.P., dream of a map.
Before you go and judge Phelia off of her first appearance, give her some more time - I can promise you that she's not just a bee with an itch who loves to insult others xD
(I love that "bee with an itch" expression, it cracks me up every time.)
Anyway, with that said, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! \o/
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-> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CYHGRR8M/ <-
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Shameless self-promotion aside, I hope you have a wonderful, fantastic day!! o/
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