Chapter 86: Chapter 82: First Contact

Liza, Goddess of Law, was carefully watching Ichiro and his party when her concentration was broken by a knock on the door. “Liza?” Jerry asked. “Do you have a moment?”

“Of course.” Liza said, getting up and opening the door. “What is the matter?”

Jerry, walked into the room, a troubled expression on his face. “I understand the swarm is currently under a couple of Oaths, correct?”

“Yes, what about them?” Liza said guardedly.

Jerry closed the door behind him and conjured a seat to sit on. “How are you ruling on them teleporting citizens of the Glens to their dungeon if the citizens are in a dangerous situation?”

Liza’s heart sank. She wasn’t sure exactly how Jerry had found out about that deception, though she was willing to bet Connie had something to do with it. “It’s an unashamed attempt to get around the spirit of the Oath.” Liza said. “Of course it’s not allowed.”

“And you normally would head off such things in the planning phase, correct?”

Liza hung her head. “Yes.” She said.

“Then why did you choose to wait until it was time to act?” Jerry asked softly. “I wouldn’t have had an issue if you had blocked them from the get-go, but I’m afraid misleading them like this is another story entirely. This isn’t like you Liza, does the swarm really bother you that much?”

“Of course it does!” Liza said firmly. “I mean, they’re breaking all the unwritten rules of propriety, you don’t just…do something like this! I don’t get why you haven’t destroyed them already! At this rate, everyone is going to be affected!”

Jerry rose from his chair and gave Liza an affectionate pat on the head. “I know it’s distasteful,” he said, “but I truly think this is best for our people. I know you don’t agree when I say that I believe the ends justifies the means, and that’s fine, but you can’t let your personal biases get in the way of your duty. You’re supposed to be impartial, and doing something like this besmirches your name as the Goddess of Law. You’re free to choose what violates an Oath, so long as it is reasonable, but you have to be consistent with how you choose to do so.”

“But Connie gets to play favorites with her!” Liza complained. “Why can’t I?”

“Because Connie hasn’t broken any rules in doing so. She still requires payment for her services, and though they may be cheaper than what she would otherwise ask, that is acceptable. In the same vein, it is perfectly acceptable if you choose to be as harsh on the swarm as possible when interpreting your Oaths, but you cannot be unfair about it.”

Jerry sighed deeply. “Look, I don’t want to get too much on your case about this, because I understand where you’re coming from. I know you fervently disagree with the swarm, and would rather they don’t exist, and you’re really trying to do what you think is best for the people, but you broke a rule, and you of all people know how important it is to obey rules like this.

“I believe the only fitting punishment is for you to have to let the swarm have this one instance of teleportation. They planned, and you indicated that it was an acceptable course of action, so you must follow through, regardless of your distaste for the situation.”

Liza’s eyes widened. “But that will make dealing with the Hero significantly easier for them!” She protested. “This will have significant consequences, and surely that’s not fair to him!”

“No, it’s not.” Jerry agreed. “But your breach of the rules would have had similarly significant consequences. You are the Goddess of Law, and for you to break a rule like this is a grave matter, and the punishment reflects that. I will not be accepting any argument on the punishment, so I would advise dropping the matter before you make things worse.”

“Fine.” Liza said grumpily. “But let the record show that I believe you’re being far too lenient with them.”

Jerry gave her a sad smile. “I know.” He said. “But the burden of that choice is mine. I only hope you will be able to forgive me for it in the future.” He stood up, unmaking the chair and opening the door to the room. “Oh, and one last thing; give my decisions with regards to the swarm some thought, don’t just reject them on principle. I won’t require you to agree with me, but I will only accept your opposition after you have fully considered my reasons for them. Blind dismissal of anything only serves to prevent you from growing as a person.”

With that, he shut the door, leaving Liza alone with her thoughts.

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“Why are we going to Aura?” Meg asked. “It seems an odd use of our time.”

“Because of the advice of my Goddess.” Ichiro said simply. “We can train on the way, but she wants me to get a true understanding of the state of this world. As we must go incognito, our travel will be rougher than you are accustomed to. So, I’m giving you one last chance; if you wish to return, then now is the time.”

“No, I’m going.” Meg said firmly. “I knew this journey wasn’t going to be all sunshine and rainbows, I was just confused. Why does it matter that we see the state of the world? We just have to deal with the problems that are threatening civilization, right?”

Ichiro sighed internally. There was no way he could tell them that the reason for their trip was because Connie wanted him to see squalor and inequality, to determine if the swarm was truly as bad as he thought.

The swarm was, of course, as bad as he thought; it wasn’t their ideals or society he had problems with, it was their method. The ends do not justify the means, and he found the swarm’s means abhorrent. Besides, he couldn’t bring himself to trust Connie when she said the swarm would not get corrupted. She may be a god, but she was in charge of commerce, not politics.

“I agree, but I won’t question your Goddess’s request so long as it doesn’t interfere with our training.” Neph said. “I’ve charted a course, and we should be able to make it to a minor border village in only a few days. Shall we go?”

Neph began to walk, and Ichiro and Meg followed closely behind. They weren’t traveling in a caravan or even in a carriage, so their safety was no longer quite as guaranteed, but they were a short distance from the border, so it was Ichiro’s hope that they wouldn’t have any major incidents before they got there.

And, in a way, it was even safer than traveling in a high profile way; Lia and the swarm would find it much more difficult to track him down if he wasn’t leaving an obvious trail like he had been with his prior travels.

That assumption seemed to hold true; over the trip, they were only bothered by monsters once or twice, and the swarm didn’t show up even once. And, around noon on their fourth day of travel, the village came into view.

Yet, something was…off about it. It took Ichiro a few moments to place, but, finally, he realized what it was; there was a lot of construction happening. Several new buildings were being built, and the ones that were there were being expanded upon.

“This is strange.” Neph said. “We hadn’t heard of any plans to expand Aura’s border towns…but those look like fortifications. This seems like a rather odd place to build a fort, though; there’s no strategic value to it, and the villagers usually don’t take kindly to soldiers occupying their land.”

“Let’s check it out.” Meg said. “Worst case scenario we reveal ourselves and they can’t hurt us, and if Aura is really planning something, this might be important information for the future.”

Ichiro nodded in agreement, and their group sped up, arriving at the outskirts of town a short while later. Just as Neph said, many of the buildings being built were fortifications of some sort, watchtowers, walls, and the like.

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As they approached, a young bearkin woman kitted in oddly designed armor and wearing an enormous sword came to greet them. “Travelers.” She said flatly. “Though it’s nice to see new faces in our village, you’ve come at a bad time. I’m afraid we don’t have the luxury to be able to accommodate strangers at the moment.”

“Our apologies.” Neph said. “Were we aware the military was here, we would not have come. Still, our supplies are low, and we were intending to trade for more in this village, would it be possible to let us in for a few hours, just to trade?”

The woman frowned. “What military?” She asked. “Stop speaking nonsense.”

Neph blinked in surprise. “My apologies, miss.” She said. “Because of your armaments, I assumed you must have been some sort of soldier.”

“My armaments?” The woman looked down, then seemed to realize for the first time that she did, in fact, look like a soldier. “No, no.” She said quickly. “I’m just head of the village guard, nothing as fancy as a soldier.”

Ichiro frowned. No town guard he had seen had such fine equipment, so this woman was clearly hiding something. So, he analyzed her with his Blessing, and had to fight to keep the shock off of his face as he read. This woman was indeed the head of the village guard, but she was also a member of the swarm. This village…this village had been compromised, somehow.

Unconsciously, his hand strayed to his staff, and the woman took immediate notice. “Stop there.” She said sharply. “Drawing weapons is forbidden within village limits. If you go further, I’ll have no choice but to arrest you.”

“Lord Yamamoto?” Meg asked, taken aback. “Is everything alright?”

Ichiro paused, mind racing as he tried to figure out the best way to handle the situation. “W-we must be going now.” He said awkwardly. “Sorry for intruding.”

The woman squinted her eyes at him. “Why did you choose our village to stop at, anyway?” She asked. “We’re not exactly along any major roads.”

“We were just…seeing the kingdom.” Ichiro said. “Getting a feel for how everything is.”

The woman’s frown deepened, and her hand subtly strayed towards her sword. “On second thought, I think we can accommodate sightseers for an hour or two.” She said. “Come with me, we’ll get you some food.”

“That’ll really be alright.” Ichiro said, looking at his companions urgently. “Our supplies aren’t desperate enough that we would need to impose on you.”

“He is right.” Neph said. “We’ll just be on our way now.”

“No, no, I insist.” The woman replied, hand now resting on her sword’s hilt. “We simply can’t leave people such as yourself without showing our hospitality.”

Ichiro drew his staff, and cast a spell, a tangle of roots erupting around the woman and constricting her. He looked back at his companions…only to find that they were gone.

Enraged, he turned back to the woman. “Where are they?!” He demanded. “What did you do with them?!”

The woman looked nearly as shocked as Ichiro. “I-I don’t know, they just vanished into thin air!”

“Likely story.” Ichiro said coldly, constricting the roots that were binding her. “Speak.”

“I honestly don’t–”

A rock impacted Ichiro’s head, though his stats were high enough that it barely hurt. “Stay away from mama!” A young girl yelled. She was a regular human, and a basket of food had been dropped at her feet. “What’d she ever do to you?!”

His Blessing confirmed that she, too, was a member of the swarm.

“Misty, run.” The head of the guard croaked. “He’s too strong for you.”

“But…but we’re supposed to be able to protect ourselves now!” Misty protested. “That’s the point!”

“NOW!” The head of the guard bellowed. “I’ll be fine!”

The commotion was beginning to draw the attention of the other villagers, and they were rushing over to the scene. Well…one or many, to didn’t matter to Ichiro. He silently apologized to Misty, then cast a spell to catch her as well. “Tell me where they are.” He demanded. “Now.”

“Don’t you dare hurt her!” The head of the guard yelled, her struggles intensifying. “She’s innocent! And I already told you, I have no clue where your friends went, do I look like a mage to you?”

He wasn’t planning on hurting Misty, but he needed her to believe he would, so he ever so slightly tightened Misty’s bonds. “Do you expect me to believe that?” He asked. “Who else could have done it?”

“Me, you idiot.” A voice rang out from the air in front of him, magic in the air indicating that the speaker wasn’t anywhere near. “The name’s Amelia, and I’m this generation’s Hero. If you want to see your friends, come to Aura’s capitol, they’ll be safe and sound there. Oh, and leave these poor people alone, they’re genuinely innocent. I mean, come on, attacking a child? That’s real heroic of you, good job. Anyway, be there, or don’t, it’s your call.”

The message ended, and Ichiro growled, releasing his magic before casting some body enhancement magic and running off. Connie, I need directions to Aura’s capitol, now.

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