Ch.254Pioneer’s Perspective, Water Monarch Clan’s Perspective

The ten fully armed Aqua-Leonians who came to our party arrived just as we were finishing our morning meal and cleaning up.

Their leader was a lioness-headed woman wearing a cape embroidered with elaborate patterns, leading eight women, including the trio we met yesterday, and one man.

“I am Hatsha Coco Marinda, the leader of the Aqua-Leonians.”

“I’m William J. Kim, a human adventurer. These are my companions traveling with me.”

“Companions… how bold of you to call slaves with collars around their necks by such a name.”

As Marinda frowned and pointed at Iris standing behind me, Iris stepped forward to defend me.

“Please don’t misunderstand. I wasn’t forced into slavery; I chose it myself to reassure the colonists.”

“And I suppose you’re saying that because your ‘master’ ordered you to.”

“If you don’t believe us, I can nullify Iris’s slave contract right here. It would be a bit troublesome when we return to the city, but it’s possible.”

After I shrugged my shoulders saying that, Marinda looked back and forth between Iris and me with suspicious eyes, then quietly nodded.

“Fine. Even if it’s a lie, we can’t keep arguing about this forever.”

“A wise decision.”

“So, what business do colonists have with the Aqua-Leonians? If you’ve come to threaten us to move further away because colonial power has expanded this far, I’ll have no choice but to send back only your heads as an answer.”

“I’m here to prevent things from reaching that point. At the request of Jeronimo Günter Brauhorn, the Director-General who represents colonial society.”

Having set the topic, I explained the details of the murder case in Westend Sevens, the circumstances behind the perpetrator, and how public opinion toward the Aqua-Leonians was rapidly deteriorating because of this incident.

I also revealed that the presence of Aqua-Leonians hiding in this area had been discovered, and that Director-General Jeronimo was desperately trying to calm public opinion to prevent an all-out armed conflict.

The Aqua-Leonians were outraged to hear that Kasim was a boy who had been captured and forced into slavery twenty years ago, and some of them gritted their teeth at Hell’s Garden’s actions in using him as a spectacle in betting matches.

However, their representative Marinda didn’t say a word until the end of my story, listening silently, and only after everything was said did she sigh briefly and speak.

“…So, you’re saying that the colonists are once again blaming the Aqua-Leonians and seeking war over an incident caused by a young man who couldn’t contain his anger after being captured twenty years ago?”

“More precisely, there are people who think that way. I don’t feel much like defending the Hell’s Garden people, but there were also innocent civilians who were killed without knowing anything.”

“So, what exactly do you want us to do? If you’ve come to recommend surrender, you’d better save time and go back.”

“What to do… that’s the problem.”

Telling them that the atmosphere in colonial society is unsettling lately, and unfortunately, their presence here has been discovered, so they should flee before colonists arrive?

Even if the Aqua-Leonians were on the losing side, they have their pride—they wouldn’t simply accept such a suggestion.

It might be Director-General Jeronimo’s wisdom to buy time, but it clearly reveals that he too is human, on the side of the colonists who won the war.

“Director-General Jeronimo wants you to hide and seek safety until the war sentiment against the Aqua-Leonians subsides. His idea is to put out the immediate fire first, then gradually improve relations between both sides.”

“The colonial leader speaks of dreams. We have already become enemies who cannot live under the same sky after killing each other’s families. How could we possibly join hands now?”

“Do you really think that’s the only way? That we must fight until one side is completely wiped out?”

“This Grantis was originally our land! Before you colonists appeared, we lived peacefully in our own territories without any significant conflicts or disputes! Wasn’t it you who provoked the natives by spreading like mold under the pretext of western expansion?”

As Marinda, who had been calm until just now, suddenly showed heightened emotions, murmurs of agreement like “That’s right,” “True,” and “Colonists should leave” erupted among the surrounding Aqua-Leonians.

“Even uncivilized beasts know not to build nests in front of others’ homes, yet why are you colonists so greedy that you never seem satisfied and keep trying to take more land? What right do you have to trample on the rules and laws of the natives who lived on this land?”

“I don’t know.”

“What?!”

“I said I don’t know. The six of us here don’t know how you Aqua-Leonians have lived until now, what rules or laws exist between Elves, Dwarves, Aqua-Leonians, and other beast tribes, or whether representatives of the colonists have ever had proper negotiations about these matters.”

At my bold answer of “I don’t know,” Marinda and the Aqua-Leonians seemed at a loss for words, their eyes wide open as they pointed fingers at us.

Ignoring their reactions, I continued speaking in a calm manner.

“The red-haired mage and the cat-folk ladies here weren’t even born when the war broke out in Riverside. The two Elves and Dark Elves were the Elder’s successor and family from a place called the Willow Sanctuary, so they weren’t in a position to travel freely, and the Dwarf was focused on his main occupation near Zemest, so there’s nothing more to say. I myself have only been in Grantis for just over three months. It’s natural that we don’t know what happened over twenty years ago.”

“W-well, that’s true, but stories from our elders—”

“Stories you’ve heard. Yes, stories. ‘Aqua-Leonians are fierce beasts who kill colonists indiscriminately,’ ‘Colonists are villains who steal Aqua-Leonian land and take them as slaves.’ A generation raised on such stories has grown up and is now trying to wage war again without even considering what circumstances the other side might have had. Is this right? Is this truly the correct path for both colonists and Aqua-Leonians to follow?”

“…”

“You said you don’t understand why colonists are so greedily expanding their territory. If you had attempted negotiations before starting the war twenty years ago, you would have known the reason. Of course, few among the colonists would consider the circumstances of the Aqua-Leonians. But before defining each other’s future as mortal enemies, shouldn’t we at least have a proper conversation about this? A meeting between the very generations, the very people who experienced the war.”

“The very generations who experienced the war…”

Marinda, the Aqua-Leonian representative, repeated those words with an expression that suggested she was shocked by what I said.

Her reaction seemed to some of the surrounding Aqua-Leonians like she was being persuaded by a colonist, and protests erupted, but Marinda silenced them with just a look before slowly turning to me and speaking.

“Do you really think it’s possible? Finding common ground between colonists and Aqua-Leonians after twenty years have passed.”

“I can’t guarantee it either. As I said earlier, I only came to Grantis about three months ago.”

My soul isn’t pure enough to guarantee a fairy-tale ending where twenty years of grudges would magically disappear just by talking to each other.

After all, my knowledge of Grantis’s history is thinner than an onion skin, so I can only offer general principles.

“But if we don’t try, the possibility is zero. Even if this negotiation fails and we end up fighting, understanding the other side’s position might create another opportunity in the future. At least it would be better than continuing the war from twenty years ago without any dialogue.”

“…This isn’t something I can answer immediately. I’ll go back and discuss it.”

“Please do. We plan to stay here for about two more days, so feel free to come find us if you need anything.”

After parting with Marinda, we stayed near the ruins waiting for the Aqua-Leonians’ answer.

But even after three days had passed and we retreated to Westend Sevens, neither Marinda nor any other Aqua-Leonian came to find us.