Chapter 156: Shirone Kingdom

Indeed, Roa needed more helpers.

Mitsuri Kanroji was undoubtedly a high-quality potential asset, with decent abilities and other talents.

He placed the figurine on the bedside table, next to a life-sized figure that was a proportional imitation of Roa.

There was no need to say much about the figurine; anything produced by Roa was bound to be a masterpiece.

Each piece was meticulously crafted and polished, so the quality was naturally very high.

After handing the Roa version of the figurine to Mitsuri Kanroji, she was once again moved to tears.

Once everything was explained, Roa prepared to set off for the Shirone Kingdom.

At the door, Paul stood to the side, while Aisha clung to Roa's leg, crying with tearful eyes.

Lilia stood nearby and said to Aisha, "Come back, Aisha."

Aisha ignored her, still desperately holding onto Roa's leg.

Zenith pulled Norn's hand and said to Roa, "I know you have a lot on your plate; after all, a powerful person carries more burdens. But you should still come home and visit."

Roa nodded, picked up Aisha, patted her head, and smiled at her, saying, "Aisha needs to help Mommy well, and don't bully Norn. You two should get along."

It must be said that compared to Norn, Roa preferred Aisha a bit more.

Aisha was livelier and more mischievous than Norn.

And Aisha had spent the most time with Roa.

During their free time, Aisha liked to come up to Roa and listen to him share some personal experiences.

Then Aisha would show an admiring expression, listening to Roa boast.

When Roa reached an exciting part, Aisha would appropriately display a look of admiration, clap her hands, and gaze at Roa without blinking, exclaiming, "Brother Roa, you're amazing~"

Without a doubt, being praised by such a cute little girl made even Roa feel proud.

Roa's vanity was satisfied; one was willing to listen to compliments, and the other was willing to give them, making their interactions very easy.

Norn, on the other hand, was much shyer. Compared to Roa, he often hung back behind Paul and Zenith.

It's worth mentioning that Sylphy often came to their home to help with small tasks within her ability, and Paul would sometimes invite Sylphy to stay for a meal.

When Sylphy saw Roa, she was as surprised as Paul, and when she learned of Roa's identity, she appeared even more shocked.

Then she eagerly asked if Rudeus had come back with him.

Roa glanced at the petite and cute Sylphy, shook his head, and she showed a disappointed expression.

However, this expression was quickly concealed by Sylphy, as it was an extremely impolite look.

Roa and Sylphy didn't have much to talk about, so they only exchanged a few casual words. He then informed Sylphy that Rudeus was doing quite well recently, ending their conversation.

Usually, Sylphy would stay at home for half a day, and her appearance time was not fixed; sometimes it was in the morning, and other times it was at noon.

Perhaps it was too early, as Sylphy was not among the crowd.

Roa was not particularly concerned about farewells; he nodded to everyone and prepared to leave.

He pulled Aisha away, bent down, and said to her, "Aisha needs to work hard, okay?"

Then he flashed a smile, revealing two rows of white teeth, and reached out to stroke the girl's red ponytails.

Aisha stared blankly at Roa, and in the end, she couldn't help but want to leap into his arms.

Roa found himself somewhat helpless against children; fortunately, Lilia, who was standing nearby, had already grabbed Aisha by the arms and whispered something into her ear with a straight face. Aisha was slightly taken aback, and then, as if she thought of something, she managed to hold back her tears.

With Aisha no longer clinging to him, Roa felt a sense of relief. To be honest, he found himself inexplicably powerless against his own sister.

Leaving home, he followed the road, along the path, passing by the pear trees planted in the front yard, preparing to embark on his journey again.

Mitsuri Kanroji watched Roa's departing figure and shouted loudly to him, "Hey, Roa, I will wait for you to come back."

Roa waved his hand, carrying his burden, and walked into the distance.

As the perspective shifted, Roa, burdened with a heavy load, felt a sense of nostalgia.

His sister had grown up so much, and Paul and Zenith's family were doing well; it seemed everything was fine.

In the morning, there weren't many farmers working the fields. Roa felt the flowing magic in the air and glanced back.

He was somewhat speechless; that foolish dragon had chosen to roost directly in the woods behind him to avoid trouble.

Not to mention, Roa really needed to use it.

Since it was daytime, to avoid complications, Roa decided to walk a distance by himself and not let the foolish dragon come out.

Roa moved quickly, his figure becoming a blur, and in just a few breaths, he disappeared from the spot.

The forest was not far from here; it was quite large, as even a dangerous species like the red dragon could rest there.

When Roa found the red dragon, he discovered it was playing with a trembling magic wolf that was scared out of its wits.

The magic wolf's four legs trembled, constantly shaking, while the red dragon curiously observed it, gently poking it with its claws.

Roa watched in speechless disbelief.

When Roa appeared in front of the red dragon, it instinctively shivered, then shook its body and immediately bowed its head to Roa.

Roa didn't waste words and said to the red dragon, "Take me to the Shirone Kingdom."

The red dragon tilted its head, grabbed the trembling magic wolf, and stuffed it into its mouth. With just one bite, the magic wolf didn't even make a whimper before being swallowed whole.

The action was swift, and it was clear this creature had done this many times before.

Roa couldn't be bothered with its antics. He leaped up and landed on the dragon's back. The red dragon's back was not as comfortable as he had imagined due to its scales, so Roa shifted forward to the dragon's head and knocked on its skull.

The red dragon flapped its wings, soaring into the sky, its scales shimmering with a red sheen under the sunlight.

Roa shouted to the red dragon, "Take off, fly higher."

The red dragon obediently complied, flying upwards until it looked down and saw its territory was just a small dot. Roa took out a map and identified the location of the Shirone Kingdom.

Although the Shirone Kingdom was a small nation, it had a history of about two hundred years.

In a world where history changes in millennia, two hundred years might seem not very old. However, this is because, in the war four hundred years ago, all human nations except the Asura Kingdom and the Millis Holy Kingdom were annihilated.

The southern part of the central continent is fertile land, but until the Dragon King Kingdom dominated the southernmost area about three hundred years ago, it was a region of constant fierce conflict.

By forming an alliance with the Dragon King Kingdom early on to avoid being swallowed, the power gap was too great, making it a de facto vassal state, with its economy controlled to some extent. The Shirone Kingdom was effectively used as a buffer zone between the Dragon King Kingdom and the strife zone.

Because it served as a buffer zone, war could break out at any time, which is why the cities of the Shirone Kingdom are surrounded by thick walls.

These walls are much taller compared to those in the territory governed by Philip.

After identifying the location of the Shirone Kingdom, Roa instructed the red dragon to fly towards it.

Even with a creature like the red dragon, it still took quite a bit of time.

The distance between the Shirone Kingdom and the Asura Kingdom was not short.

To avoid being seen by humans and raising their alertness, Roa thought of various ways.

Unfortunately, any flying creature would attract significant attention from every country, especially a dangerous species like the red dragon.

After all, there have been cases of dragons or other creatures causing chaos in human cities.

Roa infused magic into his eyes and looked down.

There were quite a few labyrinths near this country, complex and numerous, with almost all surrounding areas being of this type.

On the way, he could see many agile adventurers.

Many adventurers made exploring labyrinths their main occupation. For example, Paul, Zenith, and Ghislaine used to be like that.

And it seemed that Roxy had also spent some time exploring labyrinths.

This time, she was hired by the Shirone Kingdom as a court magician because she had solved a relatively difficult labyrinth, which caught the attention of the Shirone Kingdom.

In fact, Roa was somewhat worried about Roxy. Although her age was not even comparable to the combined ages of Paul and Roa, given Roxy's personality, it was hard not to feel concerned for her.

In reality, Roxy did give off an extremely unreliable vibe, always giving the impression that she might mess up at a critical moment.

Roa was also pondering how to approach the Shirone Kingdom. Directly riding a dragon and showing up would come off as a provocation, but if he just walked over slowly, he didn't want to waste that much time.

Roa began to think about whether there were any experts in the Shirone Kingdom. After some thought, he felt he should keep a low profile.

Roxy's position as a court magician meant that such a level of magician was not something one could just meet; perhaps he wouldn't even be allowed through the main gate and would be kicked out.

But then he thought, why should he announce himself? He could easily sneak in.

After a moment of contemplation, Roa decided to act this way.

With Roa's strength, even in the capital, he could easily blend in.

Without further ado, Roa had the red dragon hover in a forest. Although the Shirone Kingdom had many labyrinths, mountains and forests were present in every country.

He had the red dragon hover in mid-air and then leap down directly.

The whistling wind hit Roa's cheeks, blowing his long hair around. Roa felt a sense of weightlessness as he jumped from a high place, experiencing a strange thrill.

Roa clicked his tongue; no wonder so many people in his past life loved bungee jumping.

The speed increased, and soon Roa became a black dot plummeting toward the ground.

The red dragon hovered in mid-air, flapping its wings, looking down at Roa's descent, wanting to give him a blast of dragon breath.

But when it saw Roa slow down midway, he floated gently in the air.

The wind element gathered below to counteract the impact of his own gravity.

Eventually, Roa landed softly on the ground.

This forest was very wide, and since it was the season of summer and autumn intermingling, the surrounding insects were particularly lively.

The insects in this other world were mostly bizarre in shape, with many unidentifiable arthropods crawling on the trees. Roa merely glanced at them and felt a chill.

Ignoring these insects, he ran toward the distance.

The capital of the Shirone Kingdom.

Crossing the city wall into the city, Roa initially thought there wouldn't be any powerful adventurers nearby, but it seemed he had underestimated the situation.

Indeed, the national strength of the Shirone Kingdom was not strong, but due to the labyrinths, many powerful adventurers had gathered around.

Of course, the term "powerful" is relative, and if something were to happen in this country, most of these adventurers would likely just watch from the sidelines.

As Roa walked down the street, his conspicuous appearance naturally drew attention.

When these adventurers noticed Roa, they instinctively paused for a moment. Some bolder female adventurers directly teased him, saying, "Hey, that kid over there, still a virgin, huh? Want me to teach you a thing or two?"

Adventurers are like that; being flirtatious is a must. Of course, if you really nodded or casually said something, they might actually take it seriously.

In this world, people seem to have a very relaxed attitude toward sexual matters.

Of course, it was similar in medieval Europe in his past life.

Roa glanced at the woman and found her unexpectedly attractive.

She was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, not particularly beautiful, but she could be considered fair-looking. Although her skin was dark from years of sun exposure, she still exuded a strong wildness, giving off a sense of beauty and vigor.

However, Roa countered, "I just spent an entire night with one of my wives not long ago. What do you think?"

The woman was momentarily speechless, her initial teasing intentions quickly fading. She waved her hand and said to Roa, "Alright, alright, I thought you were a virgin."

Roa rolled his eyes at the woman and walked directly toward the center.

His destination was, of course, the Royal palace.

The surrounding streets were narrow, especially after entering from the outskirts; the main street twisted and turned, sometimes even narrowing to the point where carriages couldn't pass each other.

After passing through this street, Roa instinctively noticed some unpleasant scenes due to the presence of a slave market facing the main street.

On a raised platform similar to a stage, several slaves were lined up.

Among them were three humans and one beastman with rabbit ears.

Two males and two females. Regardless of gender, they were all bare-chested, and even from a distance, it was clear their skin was shiny, perhaps oiled for appearance.

Roa frowned; he had always felt extreme disgust toward such matters.

Roa was not a saint, but he genuinely felt a sense of revulsion when faced with such situations.

The slave trader standing to the side noticed that Roa's pace slightly faltered. His eyes narrowed, and a plan formed in his mind. He stepped forward to block Roa's path, bowed, and greeted him with a humble smile while making various explanations.

Roa was hesitating about whether to resolve this matter. In his view, even if this issue were settled, related industries would still exist elsewhere. If such things were not eradicated at the root, they would only become more rampant.

Moreover, seeing the other party so brazenly engaging in the slave trade here suggested that this country likely tacitly approved of such activities.

Roa looked coldly at the trader, whose face was full of excess flesh, giving off a distinctly unsavory impression.

The trader continued to chatter on endlessly. Roa said little, his expression blank as he asked, "How much?"

The trader was overjoyed at the question and was about to engage in a more direct conversation with Roa. However, Roa suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Is your life worth the price of these people?"

The trader's face went blank, and upon seeing the disgust in Roa's eyes, he suddenly understood something. Just as he was about to speak, he felt a sudden shock as a thin thread silently tightened around his throat.

The trader wanted to move, but the thread had already cut through the skin of his neck.

In that moment, he understood what was happening. His plump cheeks trembled slightly as he whispered to Roa, "Young man, I used to be filled with a sense of justice like you, but there is no pure justice in this world. The fact that I can stand here says it all."

Roa was too lazy to listen to the trader's nonsense and directly asked, "Is your life enough to buy these people?"

The fat trader swallowed hard, looking at Roa with resentment, and nodded with difficulty, saying, "Fine, kid, you're ruthless."

The trader didn't say anything more threatening; he only uttered that one sentence. As the saying goes, "A barking dog seldom bites; the truly noisy ones won't bite."

The trader had some connections that allowed him to engage in the slave trade here. He planned to use his connections to make this stubborn young man suffer a bit.

Roa glanced at the four slaves on the platform and said nothing more, simply stating to the trader, "Alright, from now on, they belong to me."

As soon as he finished speaking, the iron cage burst open. The four were stunned, staring at the broken cage, unsure of what to do.

Roa casually took a few copper coins from his pocket and tossed them to the trader, saying to the four, "Go buy me something."

He stepped onto the platform, pulled the slave trader close, and whispered to the four, "Don't get caught again."