Chapter 234: Undercurrents Part 4

[AN: Bonus Chapter 6/7]

"Lock him up!" Claine decisively ordered.

The man panicked as he raised his head and yelled: "Wait! Why are you locking me up!?  I told you everything!" 

"Yes, you may have told us a story, but unless I have solid evidence that these words of yours are true, I can not just take your word for it. As of now, you are under arrest for child trafficking. I will keep you from the death penalty for the time being. If your words turn out to be true, you will be sentenced for your crimes but will escape death. If we are unable to turn up any evidence on what you said within thirty days, you will be immediately executed. I want you to understand one thing, in my kingdom, slavery, trafficking, no matter the race, will end up with the same sentence if found guilty. I do not care what your race is, unlike you humans. I treat all my people the same. All crimes must be punished. Your's will just be lighter. Guards, come take him away." Claine narrowed his eyes and stared at the man. His kingly aura was in full swing, causing the man to quickly lower his head. He could only hope that they found evidence to verify that he is telling the truth, and then maybe he would live longer. He would rather live than die no matter what he had to go through. 

Four guards came and pulled the man out of the room while Tilia still stood in front of her father. Claine looked at Tilia and smiled warmly at her. "Tilia, you have done very well. But I must ask you to stay in the castle for the time being. I have a feeling our peaceful lives will soon be filled with unrest once again." 

"Father, if war does come knocking on our doorsteps once more, I will once again head to the front lines to heal those who are injured. I do not wish to sit idly away protected in the confines of these castle walls. I want to be where those who need my healing magic the most are. It would be a waste of resources which can be used for the greater good." Tilia replied firmly. She understood Claine truly cared about her and wanted her to be safe, but she just could not stand by when she could be out helping those in need. Just like how she received help from her sister, who, despite not trusting humans, was still willing to side with her and assist her. She will never forget Kana and Ceilie's act of goodwill towards her, and she wished to spread that goodwill to others. She wanted to help this kingdom that loves its people no matter what race they are. 

Claine looked at his stubborn daughter and let out a long sigh. He knew when she got like this, she wouldn't budge. "Alright, fine, but take your guards with you. Under no circumstances are you to be without guards. During times of war, anything can happen. So make sure you have someone with you who can protect you… But I will only relent this far, so until war does break out or this whole thing blows over, you are not to leave this castle, do you understand?" 

Tilia smiled and nodded her head: "Yes, father. I will be sure to stay safely in the castle until that time. I have been meaning to brush up on some things anyways, so I will be spending my time in the library. I will take my leave." 

Claine nodded and waved his hand, dismissing Tilia. When she finally left the room, Claine let out a sigh of relief. He looked over at the shadows by the wall and said: "Keep an eye on her just in case." Only a faint grunt of acknowledgement was heard coming from the shadows.

---

"Wake up! Shift time!" Captain Fos's voice shook Kana awake. She groggily sat up and rubbed her eyes. She really did not get enough sleep. Aoi and Naru woke up along with her and took their places, hiding in her hair. After stretching a bit, Kana put on the clothes she received from the barracks and exited her tent. Her new companions also slowly climbed out of their tents. They did not seem to be doing any better than herself. 

Captain Fos gave an apologetic smile to the girls as she knew the girls did not sleep much. "I know it will be rough on you since you will be going to the battlefield without much rest, but we have no choice. I need you to head out right now. We have no time for delay. Follow me. We will head to the battlefield now."

Kana and the other girls followed after Captain Fos as they did their best to wake up. They were quiet as they boarded the wagon that would take them to the outer edge of the front line. The front line was still a ways away, so even by wagon, it would still take an hour, never mind by foot. Now, if Kana were to run at her top speed, she could easily be there in ten minutes. 

The silence was broken when Pel had noticed something strange. "Kana, where is your weapon?" 

The others turned to look at Kana, who was sitting there in nothing but her clothes. She had no weapon at all. While everyone else had a full set of gear on. Pel had two swords. Yori had two belts of round metal looking objects with strange patterns on them strapped to her waist. On her back was a large backpack. As for Mina, she had a large sword strapped to her back that seemed taller than herself. How she was carrying it, Kana did not know. Seeing this, Kana realized she looked as if she was not going to the battlefield to fight but for a walk. 

"Don't worry. When the time comes, you will understand." Kana gave a mysterious answer as she grinned at them. She did not plan to get into a head on conflict with anyone. She planned to cause a massacre on a global scale. She had been thinking about it and decided that she would use her [Call Meteor] spell and flatten the whole area. She figured if she combined this with Aoi and Naru, they would be able to wipe out millions of enemies with ease. Upon thinking about this and then thinking about what Aoi had said before. Kana glanced at the other girls for a second before saying: "Whatever you do. If I tell you to run, run. Protect yourselves as best you can." 

Kana's words confused the other girls. Only Captain Fos, who was sitting at the side, had a bit of information she received from the capital. This information came from the king himself. He had said: "You will be the captain of the Draco unit. There will be one girl with you that you must listen to even if she is a new recruit. If she says run, run. Her power is unimaginable." Although the king did not know the true extent of Kana's power, he knew of Aoi and Naru. He knew that Kana would more than likely use the two elementals while on the battlefield to move things along more quickly.