Rise of The Holy-Realm Rebel

"Before you all leap before looking, Leah here sold herself to us in order to survive," the masked man announced, and a wave of silence swept the crowds as we struggled to digest what our ears just heard.

'What?' My eyes grew wider when understanding dawned on me and those who did not want to hide from the reality of his declaration.

My gaze locked with Eiko's and the shock written on her features was more evident than her previous anger.

The crowd was obviously stupefied by his words, yet the man did not stop. Despite the silence and pale faces all around him, he did not hold back.

"Yes, you heard right, she sold and offered herself to us for the promise of food and shelter, and we have stuck to the deal. But we can do whatever we want in return since she now belongs to us."

"Or do I speak lies, Leah?" He turned and addressed the obviously embarrassed lady. The gazes of over a hundred people landed on her bare skin and she shrunk, yet she nodded, disappointing our hopes.

Her affirmation of the purchase dealt more damage to the townsfolk than it did me

Nura and Eiko shared their pain. As for me, the sting of regret intensified, as my sense of responsibility weighed down on me.

I regretted establishing Ushan many times over as the man continued to explain the idea he said we would like.

According to his words, no one could be forced to become their property as it was actually a legal contract accepted by the Empire. I sensed the hearts of the people further shatter when he mentioned that Yukov had indeed agreed to it too.

That mere declaration had more weight than anything he and said up till then. An atmosphere of dread and doom formed over our bowed heads as the reality of that war struck our hearts like swords.

Any, interested in selling themselves could approach their establishment within the town—He gave a clear description of its location.

After giving the best explanation, he bowed and left with his men; who did not bother to cover her. She had become their lawful captive, and there was nothing we could do about it.

'Hunger and desperation are terrible things,' I sighed, guilt crushing my conscience. And although I knew they did not know, it suddenly felt difficult to interact with both sisters.

If only they knew I had established the empire that would one day birth this monstrosity.

The crowd slowly dispersed after that point, and the darkness that hung over the town seemed to deepen. It was already sundown, and that timing fell in line with the dimming light of their hearts.

"What do we do now?" I asked a severe Eiko who looked at me, and sensing the sadness in my heart, she furrowed her brows, corrected her expression, and cast her gaze down the street.

Some of the stalls that opened were beginning to pack up. I suspected the town also had a problem with thieves. How could they not? People were hungry.

"Well, for one, I least expected that," she exhaled, seemingly drained.

"None of us could have," Nura added, her emerald eyes were dim from sadness. My heart ached.

"Those men weren't weak too, if not…" I commented, recalling the level I assessed them to be at.

One of those nine had been Hill-Stage, the rest being at the peak of the Plateau-Stage. A formidable force when compared to the rest of the people. Though weaker than Eiko herself.

"There's not much we can do about that. You heard what he said, Yukov agreed to that type of thing," she shrugged.

"I reckon they did so understanding that many were being deprived of food."

"Still…" I said, a difficult expression forming on my face.

Eiko could only shake her head.

"Now that we understand the situation, my urgency to find him has increased," she stated, and we shared her conviction. I was now more invested than I was before.

"My lead ends in the town itself, so we'll have to find the rest ourselves... Will you help?"

I nodded in response to that question. I would be heartless not to.

"Alright, although we don't have any solid leads, I have a few guesses on where he could be."

"He had a crest just like Nura did. This would have at least singled him out. His hair color is also rather… unique. So describing him shouldn't be too difficult," she explained while we walked. The streets were already getting scanty.

"The issue is; my guesses will likely lead us into the hands of the Ragi's. I just hope what happened the other time doesn't. Your slave camp had been an unnatural occurrence. It generally shouldn't repeat itself... hopefully. "

"Would it not be best if we prepared for unnatural occurrences though...?" I suggested, and the two sisters looked at me strangely.

"What? It's the safest thing to do," I defended myself. But they merely nodded. In their minds, I was the most unnatural occurrence.

Moving on.

Eiko's guesses turned out to be two major figures within the town's leadership structure.

The town master, and the head of the guards.

Or possibly the former head of the guards. It was possible that he had been killed when the Empire took over.

Nevertheless, our approach from then on would need to be grounded in even more caution. The towns-master was still alive according to her information, but his surroundings would feature the enemy.

She laid out our general plan for a bit more time before deciding to find a place to sleep.

War might be ongoing, but she expected inns to still be available, and after searching for an hour straight, we found something.

It wasn't the best of places but was much better than the forest. Although it cost more than she had expected she still paid for a second room, which I would be staying in.

Thankfully I had my sword with me.

I would be fine as long as my opponent wasn't in the Hill-Stage.

Moreover, not to seem arrogant, but not many could handle the sword like I could—It didn't matter what era I was in.