Chapter 95: Humanity
Morning light climbed over the eastern horizon, first a faint wash of gold, then spreading gradually outward until it had settled over the entire capital in a warm, encompassing glow.
Lucian stopped and turned to look at Sebas.
Sunlight fell across the side of his face, catching his pale green eyes and lighting them up.
"Three years ago, in a small Dragon Kingdom town that had been under beastman occupation for years."
Lucian's gaze moved from Sebas and came to rest on the sky that was waking above them.
"I rescued some humans the beastmen had been keeping as livestock. They were the same."
He paused. His throat moved slightly.
"No — they were worse. When I cut the chains off some of them, a few of them fought me. Because the beastmen I'd killed were the only masters they had ever known."
His voice carried no condemnation. Only something close to pity.
"But it wasn't their fault. They had been raised from birth as livestock. They didn't know anything else."
The women stood with their heads down, the chain descending from the shackles still on their wrists, catching the morning light in a dull, rusted gleam. Their eyes were on the ground at their feet, as though what Lucian was saying had nothing to do with them.
Only the youngest of the girls glanced up at him.
Lucian smiled back at her immediately, warm in the light.
But the girl dropped her gaze again in fright and pressed her face into the hem of the adult in front of her.
"And then?" Sebas asked.
"Then they were resettled in the Dragon Kingdom's rear territory." Lucian brought his gaze back, and something lighter had entered his voice. "When I went to see them last year, a good number of them had settled in. Some of them cried and thanked me."
He said this with a bashful smile, the kind that comes over someone who doesn't quite know what to do with themselves when praised to their face.
"Is that so." Sebas answered with a quiet smile of his own. The warmth in his eyes was something warmer than the morning light.
But there was one thing Lucian didn't say.
A very small number had chosen to slip away and return to the beastman kingdom, to go back to being livestock.
There was no greater sorrow in human nature than that.
Lucian turned and waved to one side.
Several men who had been waiting stepped forward. They were in plain clothes, swords at their hips, their bearing steady — clearly trained. The one leading them was a middle-aged man who gave Lucian a brief bow and took the chain from his hand.
"Get their injuries treated," Lucian said, with the quiet authority of someone accustomed to giving instructions. "Then take them to the Aindra domain. Give them a month there."
He added: "After that month, the choice is theirs. Those who want to stay, find them housing and work. Those who want to leave, give them enough for the road and don't hold them back."
The middle-aged man gave a clean nod.
The women were led toward several carriages waiting at the mouth of the alley. They walked slowly. The chain had been removed, but their steps were still stiff, as though the weight of shackles that were no longer there hadn't entirely left them.
The last girl in the line stopped. She turned and looked back at Lucian.
Lucian winked at her.
The girl startled. Then she turned and ran to catch up with the others.
Sebas stood watching Lucian's calm, precise arrangements, something deepening in his gaze.
When the carriages had disappeared around the street's corner, Lucian turned back and dusted off his hands, as though brushing away whatever weight the morning had carried with it.
"Sebas, I still have some loose ends to deal with. You should head back."
"You don't need my help?" Sebas tilted his head slightly.
"Eight Fingers' connections run in all directions." Lucian shook his head, and a faint rueful look crossed his face. "If you come along, it might end up causing trouble for So..."
He let the sentence trail off deliberately.
"Just leave it to me."
Sebas understood.
Lucian didn't want his own involvement exposed in a way that could reach back and create problems for Solution. Lucian really is the genuine article, Sebas thought. Doing all of this for Solution's sake, and still unwilling to bring trouble to either of us because of it.
"Understood." Sebas inclined forward slightly. "Then I'll head back."
"Yes. Sebas."
Sebas turned and walked toward the townhouse at his steady, unhurried pace.
Lucian stayed where he was and watched Sebas's back until it was gone.
His thinking on the matter was actually very simple. In a moment he was going to see Lakyus and the rest of Blue Roses.
Blue Roses was entirely women.
If he brought along the capital's foremost expert at charming them, what exactly would happen?
Lucian turned and headed toward the main avenue.
*
The morning had reached the capital's main thoroughfare, and the streets were filling gradually.
Early-rising vendors were pulling open their shop fronts. The smell of baking bread drifted from a bakery. The first hammer strike rang out from a smithy.
The city was waking up, as though nothing had happened the night before.
But Lucian knew: this city had, in fact, become a little bit better.
Though as long as Ramposa III stayed in power, the incompetent old king would let the darkness grow back. But counting the time, Ramposa III didn't have many days left.
Once the Second Prince was on the throne, things would improve considerably.
But before the dawn arrived, someone always had to bear the cost of sweeping the darkness away.
Lucian knew that dismantling Eight Fingers would bring no small amount of trouble down on the Aindra family. He had operated carefully, but careful didn't stop a determined investigator. If Barbro found out, he would probably be furious. After all, Eight Fingers was partly his operation.
The simplest plan: say goodbye to Lakyus and head to the Dragon Kingdom to keep his head down for a while. Let the old man stay in the capital and absorb some of the pressure.
The corner of Lucian's mouth curved. A sly smile.
His father should have more than enough experience handling this kind of thing. And given the Aindra family's standing among the royalist faction, Barbro wouldn't dare move openly even if he was furious.
Lucian stopped before an adventurers' inn on the main avenue.
It had stables, accommodations, and a courtyard wide enough for sword practice. The exterior was striking enough that the interior clearly matched it. The guest room windows were set with clean, clear glass.
This was the capital's finest inn — the kind of place where adventurers who had confidence in their own abilities and could afford the steep rates came to stay.
Lucian walked past the guards on either side of the entrance and pushed the door open.
The entire ground floor was a single spacious inn and dining hall combined. Given how large it was, the number of adventurers present was remarkably small.
Which was itself a statement about how rare high-ranking adventurers were.