Main Branch of the Adventurer Management Office, Events Before the Emergency Declaration
After reporting the dungeon break to the royal palace, it wasn' t long before the king issued an order. The kingdom would enforce martial law and authorize the declaration of a state of emergency.
Employees from every department scrambled chaotically to carry out their tasks.
As quickly as possible, the orders were organized, and the sequence of announcements was prepared. A group of royal mages hurriedly arrived at the office.
They headed straight to the broadcasting room, where a large rectangular crystal rested on a pedestal. Activating it required the king' s key and an infusion of magical energy.
"Since this isn' t an enemy invasion, the broadcast won' t be confined to within the city walls, but it will be restricted from reaching the slum district," one of the mages announced.
Rosen, overhearing this, quickly protested, having already reported that several guilds had entered the slums.
"But sir, there are hundreds of guilds in the slum district right now!"
"So what?"
"Well… several major guilds are among them."
"Tch, what a wasted opportunity. I thought we could uproot the kingdom' s filth in one fell swoop."
"My apologies, sir."
"Forget it. Hurry up and make the announcement."
Rosen took the script prepared by the staff and stood before the pedestal.
"The key has been activated!"
"System activation normal! No issues detected!"
"Commencing mana transfer!"
"No leaks detected! Everything is functioning normally!"
"Mana capacity at maximum!"
"Conducting system test!"
"System test complete! No issues found!"
"No malfunctions detected!"
"Ready for operation!"
"Begin the announcement!"
*****
*****
After the announcement, soldiers immediately began herding slum residents back into the slum district, as per the rule requiring citizens to return to their homes—slum residents' homes being considered within the slums.
Over a hundred slum residents who resisted and attempted to flee were killed in clashes.
Labor slaves, initially forced to comply, reluctantly sought out slave traders to reclassify themselves as pleasure slaves.
Istaf quickly reclassified nearly all his slaves as pleasure slaves and sent them back to his shop, keeping only those capable of fighting to protect him. As an adventurer, Istaf himself was conscripted but was later escorted out of the conflict by the king' s personal knights, along with his remaining slaves.
The guilds involved in the slum sweep and the search for Calika' s sister suffered the heaviest losses, as they had to hold the line until royal soldiers, knights, and adventurers arrived.
Food prices skyrocketed, yet supplies were quickly snatched up.
The outer city descended into chaos with widespread looting, assaults, and theft. The inner city had to dispatch soldiers to assist in controlling and suppressing the unrest.
The primary cause was fear that prolonged martial law would lead to starvation. Unlike the inner city, which provided free food, the outer city relied on government convoys selling food and essentials—at prices arbitrarily set by nobles.
Nobles forced merchants to sell goods to them at cost, citing "humanitarian aid." As a result, citizens with limited savings resorted to stealing food or money to ensure their families' survival.
Outer city soldiers were overwhelmed, barely able to manage the chaos.
*****
Calika Nehu
I rode on the back of the ice soldier again for speed.
As we ran, the soldier commander rode up beside me on horseback.
"Young miss, due to your concealed identity, I haven' t had the chance to introduce myself properly, as is customary among nobles. I am Rokta Jentia."
"Nice to meet you," I replied, quickly brushing it off. Who cares about introductions right now?
"Young miss, a word of advice. Without displaying your family crest, all your slaves will be conscripted to the slum district as frontline fodder immediately."
"What?!"
"From the announcement, if Elda, the one you' re searching for, is from the slums, she' ll be stuck there until martial law is lifted unless you, a high-ranking noble, escort her out with your crest. Words alone won' t suffice anymore. Low-ranking soldiers have the authority to execute violators on the spot."
"No way…!"
What do I do? Both Elda and I are from the slums. Even if I find her, if we' re both forced to serve as frontline shields…
And with Sister Tiara in such critical condition, if something happens to us, I can' t imagine who would care for her or find a way to heal her.
What do I do?
"Young miss, regarding your slaves, if you don' t want them conscripted to the front lines, I can arrange for a slave trader to release them from bondage. I' ll cover the costs for now. But as for Elda, I truly can' t help."
Rokta then ordered the immediate execution of the slave traders to save time, rather than imprisoning them. He also commanded his subordinates to summon all adventurers in the forests and dungeons back to the kingdom.
After issuing his orders, Rokta rode off toward the city.
I have to find Elda. I hurried back to the city.
At that moment, countless cavalry units poured out of the city, splitting up to head in different directions.
One cavalryman, following Rokta' s orders, brought a slave trader to me.
I had the trader release all my slaves, granting them freedom. They bowed in gratitude, but I had no time to linger. I ordered the ice soldier to take me back inside the city walls.
*****
Since the slave emancipation took place outside the kingdom, martial law didn' t apply, and the freed slaves couldn' t be forcibly sent back to the slums.
They discussed their options and came to a decision. Some, with families still in the slums, chose to return—those with families in the city were luckier, but those with families in the slums went back, at least to die together.
Others, with nowhere to go, decided to start anew in a village far from the slums, where they wouldn' t be forced into slavery again.
Each vowed to one day repay the kindness of the young girl who freed them.
*****
Calika Nehu
This is how things are. I' ve made my decision. If I keep searching aimlessly, it' ll be too late.
Even if I find her, we can' t leave.
We might even be ordered to stand as shields on the front lines. If both of us die, Sister Tiara has no hope of survival.
Would it be selfish to ask the [Resonant Magic] guild for help again?
Every adventurer is fighting for their life right now. They wouldn' t send their entire guild to help me search.
They only helped because of Lera.
Elda doesn' t mean as much to them as their own lives do right now.
I' ll have to beg the three guilds for more help.
I laughed at my own patheticness.
If I didn' t look like this, I' d just be a worthless [Rank F] piece of trash to those three guilds.
Fine, if they want me, they can have me. They can boil me, stew me, whatever.
So I decided. Whoever finds her, whatever they ask of me, I' ll give them everything—even if it means being a slave for life.
As for Sister Tiara and Elda, I' ll have the ice soldier protect them and escape as far as possible.
That' s enough. That' s… all I need.
At that moment, the translucent window that had been displaying the same message for so long faded away.
Yeah… that' s right.
Someone like me could never get a dungeon core.
It was never going to activate in the first place.
…
…
…
[Calika Nehu, Status: Newly Born]
[Requires Dungeon Core 0/1 to evolve into: Oger]
[As a new breed of Oger, unrestricted by human, monster, beast, or other racial development limits.]
[Calika Nehu can save her younger sister and older sister.]
…
…Huh?!