Chapter 49 - The Azure Dragon and a Princess

—Cole POV, Flashback Dream—

It's been nineteen years since I was sent to the world of Alestar to help its people. Raised by my parents till the age of nine, priests from the Church came and took me away in the middle of the night after telling my parents I was destined to be a Hero. From the day I set foot in the Church's Headquarters, in the Human Capital City of Davos, I was forced to train rigorously to be ready for war.

Due to widespread famine and plague, the Church was concerned I would be needed to quell any fighting among the races. Since these races included Orges, Trolls, Dragons, and many more…the Church put me through hell to make sure I was ready for anything the world threw at me. After ten grueling years of training and isolation from the public, the Church finally released me to assist the Human King Vargas and begin my adventuring.

Walking down the long stone corridor to the Throne Room, I couldn't help but notice how thin and frail the servants and guards were. Due to the skills I gained from the title Hero, my body needed only a little food, water, and rest to maintain a peak physique which made me feel all the more worse for them. It made me feel terrible that I looked in perfect condition while the people around me were withering away.

'The whole way here people have been scowling at me…I can't blame them for thinking I have been living in luxury though.', I thought as I approached the door to the Throne Room, 'I hope the royals don't think the same way, or this might get awkward.'

Nodding my head at the guards standing watch, they pounded on the door and announced my arrival. Getting the go-ahead to proceed, they pushed the massive oak and iron door open for me. Stepping into the room, I caught my first glimpse of the royal family. Having expected to see them looking vibrant and healthy, I was shocked to see they were no better than the common folk.

Before me sat King Vargas, Queen Valance, Princess Iris, Princess Elouise, and Prince Casper all of whom wore defeated looks. According to what the Church had told me, the Human Royal Family was in dire straights as the threat of war loomed overhead. Knowing that war would only lead to many deaths and worse famine, the King was desperate for me to step in to broker peace between the races.

"Hero Arthur, my apologies for taking you away from your journey.", Vargas told me with a grateful nod, "As the Church must have told you, we are on the brink of war with our neighbors…all of whom are starving like we are. We…no I need your assistance to broker peace and use your otherworldly knowledge to save our world. Anything you can share with us to improve our situation is very appreciated."

Getting off of his throne, he got down on his hands and knees and then pressed his head to the floor.

"Arthur, I am willing to do whatever is necessary to get your assistance. If it is within my power to grant, I will give you anything your heart desires.", he offered me.

Glancing up at Elouise, I quickly looked back at him before anyone saw. Having been around men only since being taken in by the Church, the thought of having a girlfriend or two sounded very appealing to me. I was a man before being a Hero, after all, I had needs too.

"Your Highness, we can discuss that at a later time. As you are well aware, I have been in the Church's care for ten years now. I would like some time to ponder that, in the meantime, I can start trying to broker peace and restore the food supplies.", I said offering him my hand, "You don't need to bow to me either, I am a man the same as you."

Taking my hand, I helped him to his feet.

"Before I can start on that, I will need to get a team together to assist me. Since relations between the nations are bad, it is probably best to get non-human companions to get a foot in the door.", I advised, "Is there anyone you can recommend?"

"Unfortunately no, our relations with non-humans were cut by my father fifty years ago. You will have to start from the bottom with that.", he replied with an apologetic look, "I am sorry I won't be much help on that front."

"That being the case, I was advised that purchasing slaves would be the next best option. Can you point me in the direction of the nearest Slave Trader?", I requested not really keen on using slaves to further this agenda.

"Elouise, please take him to see Foreman at the Slave Market. Tell him that Arthur is permitted to purchase any slaves he wants.", Vargas commanded writing a letter on my behalf.

Doing as her father commanded, she and two guards accompanied me to the Slave Trader. Walking back out onto the roadway, I again saw children sitting in the road curled up in balls. Due to the famine, families were having to abandon children they couldn't feed and leave them outside to die. Having come from a world where something like this was nearly non-existent, it was a lot for me to take in.

'Even though my parents were assholes…I always still had at least a loaf of bread to eat.', I thought.

Pushing the thought of the world I left behind aside, I turned to Elouise and asked for details about the famine. My knowledge of the subject was solely from a religious standpoint as the Church believed that famine and plague were Divine Punishments. They never explained what anyone did to cause it, but they kept insisting it was.

"The famine began nearly one hundred years ago, harvests slowly began dwindling till about fifty years ago. Out of frustration from waning crop production, my grandfather started a war to capture fertile land from our neighboring countries…which ended up making things worse.", she explained, "All the pent-up frustration, rage, and tension exploded on the battlefield leading to the destruction of fertile lands as the original owners had to retreat. By the time the war finally ended…no one lost or gained any ground. Instead, all of us were left with less farmland than we once had."

"Another result of that war was the plague.", one of the guards added, "All the bitterness, pain, and blood spilled on the battlefield created many evil spirits that began spreading diseases to all the races. The Church managed to subdue all the spirits within a few years, but the damage was already done. To this day, the plague is still running rampant among the races."

Making mental notes of that, I was curious if they were actually spirits or something else. With so many men out on the battlefield, that left many crucial jobs like waste removal, street sweeping, and pest control by the wayside. Even now shit was piling up in alleyways as there was no one actively trying to clean it up, or trying to set up a waste removal system.

"We will definitely need to address that…", I muttered, "This is just disgusting…"

"Address what?", she inquired having heard what I said.

Telling her my concerns were over the build-up of human waste, she asked if it really caused any problems. Violently nodding my head, I informed her that leaving it sitting around like it currently was caused many diseases to spread rapidly.

"In my previous world, unhealthy environments like that helped prolong the Black Death by several years. That plague killed millions of people before it eventually died off.", I warned her.

"I will speak to my father about having it removed.", Elouise assured me, "Anything we can do to improve our situation is very welcome."

Thanking her, she started asking me questions about my past life. Asking me about my home, family, lifestyle, and what I did for fun…a lot of what I told her she didn't understand. Having nothing to compare a car, apartment building, or college made it a bit difficult for me to explain things to her. Questioning her on the same topics, we carried on talking with one another till we arrived at the Slave Market. As we entered the market, I was surprised by how many slaves they managed to house in their market square.

I could see Elves, Goblins, Ogres, Wyvern, and many other races locked up in cages. Most of them were almost skin and bones at this point as they barely got anything to eat. While I was taking in the view, a skinny, tan man approached us from the center of the market. Wearing silken clothing, the man certainly had to be a powerful merchant to afford such luxuries in this economy.

"Princess Elouise, it is unusual for you to be away from the castle.", he said bowing his head, "Who might this young man be, a potential suitor perhaps?"

"Hehe, maybe one day…", she laughed casually, "This is the Hero Arthur, the Church just released him from their care today. He is in need of some slaves, my father has granted him permission to purchase any slave he wants."

Handing over the letter, he confirmed that her words were indeed truthful. Asking them if there was any reason a normal person couldn't do the same, Foreman nodded his head.

"Some exotic races are reserved only for nobility to buy such as Pheonix Harpies and Mermaids.", he told me, "So Arthur, what sort of slaves are you looking for?"

Explaining my thought process to him, Foreman agreed that my method was the best approach given the current relations between nations.

"So where do you want to start, we have a little bit of everything here.", he asked.

"Well…I think we should probably look at Dragonic races first. If war does break out, they are going to be the biggest threat given their size and power.", I suggested.

"Absolutely, I have seen firsthand what happens when they get pissed off.", he replied with a shiver, "Watched an entire village get wiped out in two passes from a single Dragon…never seen such carnage in my life."

Taking me to the Dragonic section of the market, I told him I wanted females only. Stating that I was sick of being around men all time, due to being isolated from the public, he understood where I was coming from. Telling me that many knights and paladins from the Church did the same, he didn't blame me for feeling that way.

"What do you think of our lovely Princess Elouise?", he inquired as he had his men bring slaves forward, "Surely she is someone you'd be interested in."

"She is quite a beautiful woman, but I have a long ways to go before courting her. I'd rather get to know her first instead of using my title of Hero to force it.", I remarked, "Nothing good comes from using your title to win people over to you."

Seeing a smile creep over her face, Elouise seemed to appreciate that. Given how beautiful she was, I had no doubt many nobles were trying to curry favor with the King for her hand in marriage.

'Once I fix the food problem, she will easily be a one hundred out of ten.', I thought imagining what she'd look like in a healthier state, 'Haha, oh yes!'

Bringing several Dragonic women forward, most of them were in pretty rough shape. As I was trying to pick one out, I watched the men bring out a blue-scaled woman that piqued my interest. Seeing her golden blue horns, she certainly stood out from the rest.

"Let go of me!", she hissed in anger, "I am a proud Azure Dragon, release me at once!"

Looking over at Foreman, he cleared his throat and explained her situation.

"She crashed into a farm a few miles from here about a month ago, she accidentally killed a few cows which is why she ended up being enslaved.", he said with an irritated look, "Several nobles expressed an interest in buying her, but she has almost killed them every time."

"As I have said many times, I am sorry for the damage! Enslaving me is too harsh of a punishment for a few cows!", she spat.

Turning back to her, Foreman glared at her with anger.

"Those cows you killed could have fed many people. There was hardly anything left because of how mangled they were!", he shouted at her, "Do you know how many people will starve because of you? I have children of my own to worry about, even with all my wealth I will have to watch several of them die this year! You don't know how painful it is to watch the people you love starve to death!"

"I…I…", she stuttered unable to argue anything now.

Stepping forward, I knelt down and took a look at her stats. Thinking that I was going to do something to her, she lunged forward and attempted to attack me. Bashing her on the top of the head, I sunk her into the pavement leaving everyone in else shock.

"Would you calm down already? If you don't cut it out, I may have to keep you in the stables.", I told her with a slightly annoyed look.

Shakily picking herself up, she looked at me in shock. Judging by her expression, it was the first time anyone had handled her so roughly before.

"No human should be able to do that to a Dragon…just who are you?", she inquired.

"I am the Hero Arthur, I am not here to buy you as a sex slave or even a normal slave. What I need from you is help trying to broker peace between the races so we can stop the famine and plague.", I told her, "Are you going to be a stubborn bitch, or are you going to help me? If you aren't, I will choose someone else."

"I…I see that you are being honest with me Hero, it isn't often we meet someone like you. If what you need is assistance to save our world, I will help you.", she replied using her magic to check for lies, "...just please don't hit me again, I am afraid my horns will break!"

"You got yourself a deal.", I chuckled offering her my hand.

Helping her to her feet, I paid Foreman twenty gold for her as he just wanted her gone. Leaving the market with her, as soon as we were outside the market I asked her something important.

"What should I call you by the way?", I asked.

"I…I no longer have a name.", she said with a somber tone.

"Very well, I will call you Sapphire then because of your beautiful scales.", I stated with a big smile, "I look forward to adventuring with you!"

Giving me a smile back, she said she was happy to tag along with me.