Chapter 233: Underground Kingdom (2)

"Damn, I was joking around. Well, nice to meet you both; my name is Arpious, and I hope we can work together later on," I say, putting out my hand for a handshake but was quickly denied as the pair just introduced themselves before walking past me. 

"My name is Charlotte," 

"And my name is Noah… it's a pleasure to meet you, and I hope that we can work well together later on," 

Though Noah said that, it seems they weren't sincere as they didn't even give my handshake a chance. 

Well… whatever… 

After exploring the entire palace, which was pretty much a replica of the one in the Uxtan Kingdom, I made my way outside to look at all the nostalgic things that I hadn't seen after coming to this world. 

Paper, pencils, alcohol, and other basic utilities that could help build up my kingdom's foundation. 

I already knew we needed these, but I didn't know how to make them as I never really studied about them. They were just there in my previous life, and I guess I took all these basic things for granted. 

Clunk Clunk Clunk 

Two mud unicorns passed by me, drawing a carriage, and inside of the grand carriage, a pair of warm eyes looked at me before shifting off of me. 

Though somebody tinted the windows, I could see what they looked like as I had my godly senses activated. 

It was a man with curly gray hair and a slim but frail body. He looked as if he would fall apart at any second, which made sense as he seemed old. Extremely old. 

"That's Stephen… he's a pretty cool guy, and the townspeople love him, but he's reaching death's door," I hear a familiar voice say from behind me. 

"Bridget, what are you doing here?" I ask the woman who tried to creep up behind me, but I instantly sensed. 

"I came to try and find you as Reyna wants me to bring you back, but… how about we try some alcohol as my favorite bar is just across the street," Bridget says, pointing across the gravel road next to us. 

"Why not," I shrug before following Bridget. 

We could hear a jingle of bells as we opened the small door into a cramped bar with absolutely no people. 

The atmosphere and room were dark, fitting for a late-night beer which I was craving. And, it seems Bridget noticed my craving, so she immediately spoke up, calling out the waiter. 

"Sun! Can we get a drink!?" Bridget speaks up, with a bartender coming out just a few seconds after. 

"Oh, whos this pretty woman?" The bartender asks. 

A human man about 6 feet in height with tan skin and glowing red eyes walked out. His short brown hair didn't flow to his ears, but he was still handsome, to say the least. 

"She's one of Reyna's slaves, but she's pretty strong, so don't look down on her," 

"Oh, she started buying slaves, huh? Well... Why would I look down on slaves anyway?" Sun responds while raising an eyebrow. 

What a nice guy… or is there something else? 

"*sigh*... anyway, is Moon here?" Bridget speaks up after we sit down on one of the stools. 

"Nah, he's out getting ingredients," 

"Really? Why would you ever need to get ingredients when you barely get any customers?" 

"Ah, shut up. Anyway, are the rest of the girls coming?" 

"I don't know. I just invited this chick cause she's been craving alcohol," 

"Well then, do you have a preference for a drink?" Sun asks me as I was sitting awkwardly amidst their conversation. 

"Uh yeah… Can I get beer, bring out like 10 bottles? I'll drink them all," I respond with sparkling eyes. 

"Are you sure? The beer here we serve is a bit stronger than normal beer," 

"Yes, I'm sure, now quick, quick," 

"Then please try to drink moderately and get some food in your stomach, so it doesn't hit you as hard," Sun suggests. 

"Sure, get me some meat and a few side dishes," 

"For sure," Sun says before swooping into the back room. 

A few minutes passed, and the door to the bar swung open with the queen, Elisa, and Dorna running in, and a man with stubby white hair and pearly white eyes came with them as well. 

He was about 6'2, and in contrast to his lighter-colored features, he had dark brown skin, making him look extremely handsome. I would've fallen for him if I didn't have memories of my past life. 

"Oh, welcome back!" Sun says, swooping out of the backroom and tossing a few beers at me. 

"Who is that?" I ask Bridget. 

"His name is Moon, and he's practically brothers with Sun despite them not being related by blood at all," Bridget says before standing up and hugging everybody present. 

Ah, how nice. It seems like they're good friends. 

Everybody sat down at the bar and began to mingle instantly with wide smiles and laughs that I had not seen on the queen nor Elisa and Dorna. 

Bridget, on the other hand, was smiling warmly as she talked with her friends. 

Sun, the bartender, was also mingling with them while showing them cool tricks with my food as he cooked it, causing another outburst of laughter and cheers. 

They're just like college friends after a hard day of work… 

"So, do you all have a story?" I ask the group of friends who just began to calm down as I took a swig of my first beer. 

"Yeah, it was a long time ago, and a lot of painful memories come from it, but I guess there's no harm in telling you," The queen says, looking at me for the first time upon coming into the bar. 

"Who is she, by the way?" Moon asks after grabbing a beer from Sun's grasp. 

"Ah, she's Arpious, one of my slaves," The queen says. 

"You bought slaves?" 

"Yeah, but she was really just an extra after I bought Bridget... oh yeah, you can take off the collar," The queen says, directing her eyes at Bridget, who was already in the motion. 

"I see… well, I hope we can be friends," Moon says, reaching out his arm for a handshake while Bridget tossed the collar near the corner of the room.

"For sure," I say, immediately taking the handshake. 

"Huh? Your hands… you practice with a weapon?" Moon says, feeling the slight calluses in my hand. 

But, they were so small that no normal person would've noticed… but after inspecting Sun and Moon, I found out they were just a bit stronger than Elisa and Dorna. 

Plus, it seemed Moon practiced with a spear as he had partial spear mastery. 

"Yeah, I practice with a scythe, but I placed it in my room after one of the maids showed me to my humble abode," I respond before downing my first beer. 

"Okay, okay, we can talk about that later, so let me tell Arpious how all of this happened," The queen says, but she was clearly drunk. 

She already slammed a few beers next to her, so I just smiled slightly before taking a more comfortable position on my stool. 

"So, we were originally slaves in the Uxtan Kingdom. I worked my ass off every day with absolutely no pay and very little food and water. 

My parents tried their best to help me learn anything outside the slavery life, but in the end, that got them beaten and eventually lead to their death by sickness. I cried for days until the need for food suddenly hit me. 

I pounced on the nearest slave who just received their daily helping of bread and water… and I killed them. I didn't kill them with my hands or feet, but my teeth. I tore their face-off, causing them to bleed to death. 

I only realized what I had done until I finished the bread and water. Breaking down into tears was the only thing I could do until Bridget here came up to me and asked what I had done. 

Instantly, I admitted what I had just done and expected death, but Bridget began to support me and became my first friend in life. 

It only went up from there... well, slightly.

A few children who didn't have parents were gathered by myself and Bridget. We all grew stronger together until one grim and rainy day, we were caught practicing with swords and immediately beaten. 

Only the people you see present survived from the beating as the rest bled out to death and were immediately disposed of by our slave traders. 

We were extremely saddened and mad, and so mad to the point where all 6 of us burst into the main cabin where the slave traders stayed and tried to slaughter all of them with anything we could use. 

And I don't know if we were just lucky or this was fate, but we found a weird mini cauldron. It held dark liquid that seemed to be endless as soon as you stared into it. 

So in the middle of the fight, when we retreated into a room due to us being pushed back, I accidentally knocked it over, and the liquid splashed all over me. 

And this was where our life began to turn around," The queen says, downing another beer with everybody in the room just looking at the ceiling as they reminisced of their younger days.