Chapter 69.

The Sword Hero was her only chance of saving Melromarc.

Every single thing that he had done over the past day was proof. She'd need to show Edgar that he was what they needed but given his accomplishments, she didn't think that would be difficult.

The problem lay in convincing the Hero to bother helping them with a War.

The massive wooden house that he had created to replace the pillars that had been holding up the dome was more than enough proof. It was easily five times the size of the cathedral that held the Dragon Hourglass. A monument in its' own right...and Adrian was using it to house the people of the slums and Demi-humans.

The thought of the utter fury the highborn must have been feeling energized her. Her fatigue receding slightly. Agatha was entering Adrian's fifth pillar house and it was just as large as the others.

Agatha entered Adrian's latest pillar home to a fascinating show.

The Wolf Therianthrope glared at the Hero who had freed him while rubbing at the cut the seal breaking sword had inflicted. He had thrown the food Adrian had given him onto the floor.

"I won't become your pet! You fucking human!" the wolfman said, baring his incisors, "No matter what!"

Adrian had already moved on to the next demi-human and glanced back at the humiliated demi-human with apathy, "You are free," he said with a frown, "That means you choose what you want to do and you live with the consequences. I don't care what you do as long as you don't start committing crimes. And don't waste the food."

Agatha's amusement surged as the wolfman who had been expecting conflict mentally stumbled.

The towering wolfman snarled and some of the younger slaves whom Adrian had treated first shrank into the blankets they were covered in.

Adrian noticed, stood up after freeing the young woman whom he had been helping, and manifested a dozen blades.

"Welkin Anzama Ellisman," the Hero said, his tone flat, "you have your freedom but if you choose to squander it on petty displays of pride then I have no reason to keep you conscious. Your hatred of humans is understandable. If you wish, you may ignore us, but if you disrupt my efforts then I will have to ensure that you are neutralized."

Agatha smiled at the formal, innocent-sounding provocation.

The wolfman, frustrated, furious and convinced that he was being insulted tried to attack the Hero.

It bore repeating. He tried to attack the man who had crushed an entire Wave and had then proceeded to rebuild the whole city. Albeit, in a very different form.

Naturally, the wolfman had been knocked unconscious before he could take a single step. He crashed onto the ground with a thud, a single sword barely penetrating his shoulder. Adrian sighed and turned to glance at all the soldiers who immediately stopped watching the show and got back to work.

"...fucking idiot," muttered the Hero as he continued to help slave after slave and ensured they were organized and protected, "what did he think he was going to accomplish…"

Agatha walked up to the frustrated Sword Hero who was muttering softly enough that only Agatha with her absurd stats could hear him.

"Adrian," she said, having learned over the past hours that he much preferred being addressed by his name, "the fourth pillar is running well. All the rescues have been carried out and supplies are being distributed."

He looked a little surprised but nodded, "Thank you," he said, then exhaled, "I'll finish up here and then move towards the inner districts."

Agatha glanced at his tired expression and shared a look, Brittney, her apprentice was just as concerned about him, "Consider taking a break Adrian," she said, "you've been working for nearly twelve hours if the Waves are accounted for."

He stared at her for a second before shaking his head, "Not yet," he said, glancing at the demi-humans who were eating while seated on the large benches that he had created in the mess hall, "I need to make sure that they aren't mistreated and arrange for some method to keep them safe for now."

Agatha hesitated. His fear was understandable given that more than half the people here were freed slaves whose owners were nobles. Adrian had freed them with ease by crushing their owners but he had made a lot of enemies with that casual move. She didn't think that anyone would move against him but the thousands of slaves he had freed didn't have the protection of being absurdly powerful.

"You could take them to the Seaetto Region," she suggested, thinking hard, "Mirellia will likely place a reliable Lord there and if you helped then a city could be built in no time. With food, water and shelter taken care of things would be simpler."

He snorted, "That place…" he said, "It would be just as vulnerable as before and they could be used as leverage against me forcing me to let everyone here suffer or die. There's a better option."

"What?" she asked, trying to figure out how to keep more than 3000 slaves safe.

"I've been teleporting them to my base," he admitted, "It's not the best place and it's just a temporary option but security isn't a concern there. I've already started...though a few have chosen to stay here so if you could arrange the Seaetto thing for them I'll play my part especially since a lot of them are from Seaetto."

She frowned as the Hero led to an empty bench with a table that was meant to seat at least ten. The moment they sat the people moved away giving them the space they needed. Adrian created some food for them and they had a small snack.

His little teleport trick explained what had happened to Alamos and the others he had imprisoned. She had found them missing after Adrian left the meeting room that he had created. Honestly, she had assumed that he had disintegrated them...but this was more likely.

Then, Agatha noticed not just the people but the absurd amount of monster eggs that a small group of twenty were near and the way they were seated.

He was teleporting them in batches. This whole pillar was a set up to warp people away.

That explained the limited number of soldiers and Adrian's direct involvement for so long and why he had taken the time to bring most of the slaves here using those floating discs of his.

Impressive. He had been planning this from the start.

Agatha turned her attention back to Adrian who was watching some children play with a small smile. He immediately erased it once he realized that she was watching.

"Adrian," she said, wishing that this was some sort of magical task, "I...I wanted to ask if you would be willing to help the people Melromarc survive."

He frowned, "You are referring to the War?" he asked.

She nodded and he sighed.

"I've been thinking about that from the moment you mentioned it," he said and stood up to start pacing, "and I can't see any obvious solution. What can you tell me about the politics behind this war?"

Agatha felt a surge of enthusiasm. He was actually listening.

"Essentially it comes down to Aultcray fucking us over by summoning all the Heroes," she said, throwing the dead man to the monsters, "and then the Church getting the Shield Hero killed. Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden weren't happy that we'd summoned the Hero but getting him killed after that? War was inevitable."

Agatha shook her head, still a little stunned by the sheer stupidity of Aultcray and Balmus. Her fury at Ethan's death returning as she thought about them.

Adrian nodded and frowned, "I imagine that if you had managed to control us then you'd end up ruling the world. The Waves would ruin the other nations while you all sat happily as the four of us threw ourselves at the Waves."

Agatha winced at the perspective he had but braved on, "That might have been Balmus's plan," she admitted, "but Aultcray was probably just an idiotic pawn."

He shook his head, "And what about Mirellia?" he asked, "Do you honestly expect me to believe that her hold on her nation is so weak that she couldn't have stopped this mess?"

At this Agatha had to snort, "The Royal Family is weak." she said bluntly, "Aultcray had a rep as a Star Hero but the House itself is weak. Mirellia has very little power in a lot of sections of the country unless Aultcray supports her. Without him, she would have been killed a long time ago."

Brittany was horrified and silent. It made her realize that she'd given too much of her opinion...but she also suspected that with Adrian lying was suicidal.

Adrian only sighed, "That makes far too much sense."

He then patiently analyzed her explanations. Unravelling the situation as best he could. By the time they were done their food was cold and Adrian was utterly still as he closed his eyes.

When he opened it there was cold calm in his eyes, "I'm not going to give you an answer today." he said, finally, "For now I'll make sure that the Wave is fully dealt with and that your capital is stable."

His tone brokered no arguments and Agatha cursed internally.

"Adrian the nobles will probably just run away to Zeltoble or Faubrey or cut a deal with someone. It'll be the people like them," she said pointing at the demi-humans and soldiers who were working to restore some order to their lives, "who will suffer because Aultcray was a fucking moron...please, we need your help."

He didn't look at her or the people in the pillar but she could tell that he was looking at something. Probably his sensory skills. There was guilt on his face.

She suspected it was because of the people he couldn't save. It was something she vehemently disagreed with him about...but that guilt could help save her people.

So, she said nothing to the man who had saved her life and that of thousands. Agatha prayed that he would save them all again. The sense of helplessness was bitter but she had gotten used to it after being forced to observe the bloody circus for so many weeks. Watching as Aultcray and Balmus went from one fuck up to another.

"I'll speak to you later," he said, as he stared out the window, "I do believe that we have something else to worry about now."

Agatha followed his line of sight and paused as one of Faubrey's massive balloon-like airships began to come closer. It was only the height of the pillar building, higher than the walls around the city, that made it possible to see.

Adrian vanished without a word but she didn't worry about it

Mirellia was here and it seemed that she had earned Faubrey's support somehow. Reluctant respect rose and hope manifested.

The Queen was an amazing diplomat. No matter how much Agatha hated the two-faced bitch she was undeniably incredible at negotiations. Agatha could only hope that the deceptions that the woman would try to weave around Adrian wouldn't lead to him just deciding to kill Mirellia.

The mage paused at that very real possibility and started to walk towards the hill where the central pillar had been located.

She had to tell Mirellia to be honest. They didn't need another dead Royal. Especially since this one was useful.

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