novelraw Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Ch.36 Abolish Slavery
The Hero Party searched Houston thoroughly for Hans and Leah but couldn’t obtain even a shred of information.
Hans and Leah had originally arrived not in the central region of the New Continent—where the Hero Party had landed—but in the southern region.
Thus, it was only natural that the people of the central region knew nothing about them.
Unaware of this fact, the girls once again made a tavern in Houston their base today as they continued their search for Hans and Leah.
Cecilia, the platinum-haired saint, drained her beer mug in one gulp and spoke in a gloomy voice.
“Kkhuk~! What should we do?”
Though they’d arrived in the New Continent with great enthusiasm, everyone knew it wouldn’t be easy to find Hans and Leah across such a vast land.
At Cecilia’s words, Scarlet frowned.
“Exactly. We need to find them as soon as possible. Mia, can’t you ask the Wind Spirit to help locate them?”
Remembering the Wind Spirit’s exceptional scouting abilities, Scarlet asked—but Mia shook her head.
“I already tried, but the New Continent is just too vast. My abilities aren’t enough.”
‘Well, Mia knows spirits better than anyone—she must’ve tried it first.’
“Sigh… Then what do we do?”
It had already been nearly a month since they’d arrived in Houston, yet they’d heard nothing about Hans or Leah. Frustrated by their lack of progress, the girls grew increasingly impatient.
Just then, a man rushed into the tavern in a panic, searching frantically for them.
“Y-you… Heroines! Something terrible has happened!”
Sweating profusely and wearing a desperate expression, the man caught Mia’s attention. She asked him curiously,
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s… The other cities have banded together and declared war on Houston!”
The girls, having come from the Old Continent, didn’t fully grasp the situation—but right now, the New Continent was deeply divided over the issue of slavery.
Houston, in particular, had supported slavery and acted as a central hub for the slave trade, selling slaves across the New Continent. If slavery were suddenly abolished, many cities would inevitably face severe shortages in their slave supply.
Unaware of these complexities, Scarlet simply asked the man,
“Huh? Why?”
“Well… uh…”
The man hesitated, too afraid to admit outright that the war declaration stemmed directly from the Hero Party’s forceful abolition of slavery.
Seeing him falter, Mia pressed him impatiently,
“Spit it out already!”
“I—I’m sorry! The cities whose slave supply has been disrupted by the abolition of slavery have united and declared war!”
At the man’s words, Cecilia’s expression turned sour.
“They’re starting a war… just over slavery?”
She briefly pondered whether abolishing slavery truly warranted war—but given her own sense of morality, it was impossible for her to understand.
How could people who followed the gods possibly buy and sell fellow humans?
After all, Cecilia was the Saint of Light.
Guided by her faith, her principles, and her conscience, she resolved then and there to reform these people.
“Humans are truly repulsive. It’s hard to believe those wretches are even of the same race as you.”
Mia openly revealed her profound disgust toward humans who would wage war over something as vile as slavery.
Her face twisted as if she’d just witnessed something filthy and grotesque, and she continued,
“First, we must crush those fools who dared declare war on us without fear.”
Scarlet and Cecilia nodded in agreement.
“Right—slavery is evil.”
“Yes. We must reform them.”
Of course, the man listening to them thought silently to himself,
‘Since when did ‘reformation’ turn into outright violence?’
***
Late at night.
Inside a tent belonging to the Pro-Slavery Alliance, generals clad in gleaming armor gathered for a strategic war council.
A large map lay spread out before them, with miniature troop markers placed near Houston’s city center, its flatlands, and the harbor.
“If we surround the city like this, Houston will have no choice but to surrender.”
A man who appeared to be in his early thirties concluded his elaborate tactical explanation.
“Hmm… General Gulid. Your plan seems flawless—but there’s one problem.”
A man in his fifties, his hair heavily streaked with gray, spoke with an air of arrogance.
“I’ve heard that three witches from the Old Continent intimidated Houston into abolishing slavery. Your plan completely ignores how to deal with these witches.”
Several other generals seated nearby nodded in agreement, confirming the older man’s point.
“These so-called ‘witches’ who claim to have slain the Demon King are no ordinary foes. Even if they’re not truly the Heroes who killed the Demon King, they’re certainly not to be underestimated.”
“General Edgar is right. Though Houston isn’t a militarily strong city, it’s still not a place three people could easily overpower.”
“It’s said they possess formidable strength. We must prepare a countermeasure against them.”
These men viewed Scarlet’s party as deranged imposters masquerading as Heroes.
After all, weren’t true Heroes supposed to be righteous? How could anyone believe that such paragons of justice would beat and oppress Houston’s citizens into abolishing slavery?
To them, abolishing slavery was no different from having their property stolen.
As the tent grew noisy, General Gulid stood up and spoke firmly.
“The witches from the Old Continent are undoubtedly powerful—but we’ve assembled an army of over ten thousand troops. Even counting conscripts, Houston can’t muster more than three thousand.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
No matter how strong they were, three individuals couldn’t possibly stand against an army of over ten thousand.
Those gathered here were certain of victory—even if the girls truly were Heroes, which they doubted.
“Good! Then let us move quickly and liberate Houston from those witches!”
“Indeed. If more anti-slavery cities flock to the New Continent, things will only get more troublesome.”
At that very moment, a chilling voice softly echoed through the tent.
“So this is where the trash gathered.”
Startled, the generals frantically searched for the source of the voice.
“Wh—who the hell are you?!”
“Who’s there?!”
“Over… over there!”
Someone pointed toward the tent’s entrance—and there, standing eerily still, was a woman.
With short, ash-gray hair and captivating crimson eyes, she scanned the tent with cold indifference.
“If I eliminate you all, the war will end, right?”
Edgar, sensing the thick killing intent in her dull red eyes, leapt to his feet and tried to shout—
“Guards! What in blazes are the guards doing—?!”
—Sssshhk!
Scarlet swung her dagger, and Edgar’s head tumbled to the ground, rolling grotesquely across the dirt floor.
“Witch! It’s a witch!”
And then, the witch began her dance.
—Sssshhk!
Every time her dagger sliced through the air, crimson fountains erupted.
When the massacre finally ended…
Rustle…
Mia stepped into the tent, breaking the oppressive silence.
“All done?”
“Yeah.”
“You finished faster than I expected.”
Scarlet merely shrugged in response.
The Hero Party had decided to assassinate the enemy leadership to prevent the war they themselves had inadvertently triggered.
Scarlet and Mia had infiltrated the enemy camp: Mia would use spirits to silence the area while the commanders held their meeting, and Scarlet would eliminate them.
Their strategy was quite rational.
In war, nothing devastated troop morale and caused greater chaos than the sudden death of commanders.
“This should put the war on hold for a while.”
Mia nodded at Scarlet’s words.
“At least until they sort out their chain of command.”
Neither Scarlet nor Mia believed this would truly end the conflict.
Anyone willing to launch a war so abruptly would surely recover from the chaos quickly and attack again.
After all, they weren’t as naive as Cecilia.
“Then we should strike the cities before they regroup.”
Scarlet, ever eager to cause havoc like a true Hero who’d once wreaked chaos within the Demon King’s own ranks, was already planning her next assault—and Mia agreed.
“I think that’s wise. If they all attack at once, the cities will suffer.”
Though Scarlet preferred to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, she had no intention of acting carelessly now that war had broken out.
From her long years of battle, she’d learned one crucial lesson: when your enemy falters, you must deliver the final blow.
***
A man in his fifties, with a round face, narrow eyes, and a prominent belly, stared in disbelief, his expression a mix of shock and confusion.
“What… what did you say?! All the generals are dead?!”
The urgent report from the battlefield left Paulo, mayor of the city of Ea near Houston, utterly dumbfounded.
“What… what nonsense is this?!”
He shouted furiously at the messenger from the camp, his imposing presence overwhelming the poor man.
Pale-faced, the messenger stammered his reply.
“W-we went to check when they didn’t emerge by morning… and found them all… assassinated…”
Thud!
The mayor’s face flushed crimson with rage.
“How is that even possible?! Six generals and ten commanders dead! What were you fools doing?! Argh!”
Crash!
In his fury, the mayor hurled an inkwell to the floor.
“We have no idea, sir! There were guards and mages stationed around the tent—yet not a single sound was heard!”
The soldiers felt unjustly blamed. After all, the death of their high command directly impacted battlefield morale.
They weren’t fools—they’d stationed thick layers of guards and even deployed mages specifically to counter magical attacks.
Yet, as if mocking their efforts, the witches had silently slaughtered every single commander.
“Don’t give me excuses! Ugh…!”
Paulo clutched his throat in anguish. The city’s finances had been heavily invested in this war—but instead of gains, they’d suffered nothing but losses.
“How can this be… How can this be…”
When he’d first heard rumors of self-proclaimed ‘Heroes’ causing trouble in Houston, he’d dismissed them as just another group of random frauds.
After all, it wasn’t uncommon for insignificant nobodies from the Old Continent to falsely claim fame—so Paulo’s assumption had seemed perfectly reasonable.
That’s why the six cities never seriously considered the possibility that actual Heroes were behind the Houston incident.
Witches, perhaps—but not Heroes.
Their reasoning was entirely logical.
Why would genuine Heroes—revered as legends in the Old Continent—leave for the still-developing New Continent?
Thus, they assumed the perpetrators were merely arrogant upstarts from the Old Continent and launched a war to drive them out.
The six cities had pooled vast sums of money to assemble soldiers and mercenaries, fully confident they’d rescue oppressed Houston and execute the witches.
Instead, the alliance’s entire leadership had been assassinated.
The witches’ ability to breach heavily guarded defenses and silently eliminate high-ranking officers sent chills down Paulo’s spine.
‘Surely… they can’t actually be real Heroes…?’
For a fleeting moment, Paulo felt a pang of fear—but quickly shook his head.
‘Even if they are Heroes, there are only three of them. Three people can’t possibly defeat all of us. If worst comes to worst, I’ll just bribe them properly…’
Just as Paulo was lost in thought…
Creeeak!
The door to the mayor’s office swung open—and three stunningly beautiful women entered.
Though all three possessed rare and exquisite beauty, that wasn’t what mattered right now.
“Wh-who are you?!”
Seeing the women enter his office as if it were their own, the messenger drew his sword.
But the woman with short, ash-gray hair ignored his warning and calmly drew her dagger.
Slowly, she swung it through the air.
Clang!
As her dagger sliced lazily through the empty space, the messenger’s sword split cleanly in two and clattered to the floor.
“Huh… huh?!”
“What… what is this?!”
Approaching the flustered and bewildered Paulo, the silver-haired nun spoke gently.
“Are you Paulo, mayor of Ea?”
Nodding faintly at the nun’s clear, serene voice, Paulo stammered,
“Y-yes… I am Paulo, mayor of Ea. Who are you?”
“My name is Cecilia. Humble as it may sound, I serve as the Saint of Light.”
At Cecilia’s words, Paulo flinched inwardly.
‘The witches from Houston have appeared here…’
Cold sweat trickled down his back at their unpredictable movements.
“Why have you come here?”
Mia answered his pale-faced question bluntly.
“Abolish slavery.”
Paulo shook his head defiantly.
“Nonsense! Abolish slavery?! Do you think I’d ever yield to such threats, even if it kills me?!”
He spoke with resolute confidence, reaffirming his unwavering stance—
But just a moment later…
“Well… to abolish the evil institution of slavery, we’d need the city council to pass a supporting bill. I happen to know some council members who could help…”
Barely an hour had passed, yet his once-firm resolve had vanished completely. Rubbing his hands together with a servile expression, Paulo eagerly explained how to abolish slavery.
He even spoke with spittle flying, passionately advocating for abolition—though the large bruise near his eye and his split lip remained clearly visible.
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