Enemies Are All Nourishment for My Fungi

The maid recognized Ye Nai's background with a glance, and Ye Nai was impressed by her perceptiveness since the villagers of Beigen Village had no idea where she came from that day.

Then, Ye Nai quickly severed half of the maid's vocal cords, rendering her completely mute. Her mouth agape, she wasn't able to make a sound.

Ye Nai cleared her ears, annoyed by the noise. Even with half her vocal cords cut, the maid's screams were still piercing. The Political Hall had a large dome which created an echo; it left Ye Nai's head buzzing.

"Keep screaming, can you still make a sound?"

The maid lay on the floor, shaking her head in panic and fear.

"Sit up slowly and look around you. Is everyone from the Royal Palace here?"

Propping herself up with her hands, the maid found her body extremely weak, her legs as if they didn't exist. She widened her eyes in shock and looked around, recognizing a few familiar faces and opening her mouth to scream again.

Fortunately, she couldn't make a sound.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions. You better answer honestly. If you lie on a single count, you won't live to see another day."

A submachine gun suddenly appeared in Ye Nai's hand, its barrel pressed against the maid's forehead.

The maid nodded frantically in terror.

Only then did Ye Nai relax her vocal cords by a third, enabling her to speak quietly without the need for loudness.

"Why is there so much dust here?"

"This place hasn't been used for many years."

"Why hasn't it been used? Where are your Sire and the others?"

"They are in the Otherworld."

"They? Besides the King, who else?"

"The King and all the nobles and ministers have moved to the Otherworld. It is said that if any of them returns, it denotes a severe mistake and they have been kicked back, never to be used again in their lifetime."

"The King and ministers have all fled; aren't they afraid that this country will be invaded and swallowed by others?"

"No, the other countries are the same. Many, many years ago, after the Otherworld was conquered, all the kings, nobles, and ministers from various countries moved to the Otherworld."

As the maid spoke, her voice grew softer, and she looked at Ye Nai timidly.

"Has that Otherworld really been completely taken over?"

Ye Nai gave a sardonic smile, not quite concealing her amusement.

"What do you think?"

The maid hurriedly shook her head, "I don't know."

"This place is supposed to be your source of power. Did you just abandon it and transfer all your strength to the Otherworld?"

"I wouldn't know about that. I'm just a maid who cleans the Royal Palace."

"You, who work in the Royal Palace every day, don't have any insider information? Don't you want to go to the Otherworld as well?"

"I'd like to. They say it's better there than here. Otherwise, why would all the dignitaries run off there? But it's hard for the commoners to get there. The easiest way for men is to join the army; then they have a chance to be stationed in the Otherworld. For women, it's tougher. They either marry soldiers stationed in the Otherworld, or have family members with the ability to take them over."

"What if they don't take either of those routes?"

"Pay money, lots and lots of money. I want to go too, but I don't have the money, nor can I marry a good man..."

"Is this common knowledge among the citizens of the Royal Capital, or is it something you only know because you work in the Royal Palace?"

Ye Nai didn't say it was common knowledge throughout the nation, as she suddenly remembered the villagers of Beigen and the lower nobility. The villagers were utterly oblivious, and the men from the lower nobility didn't seem to be training hard to go to the Blue Star.

"I'm not sure about other places, but everyone in the Royal Capital knows about it. However, they don't let outsiders know. Each family does whatever it takes to be able to go to Otherworld. I became a maid in the Royal Palace just to earn more money. It's a job where the work is easy and the money is good. They only recruit a few new people when the old ones retire. My family spent all our savings on gifts to get me this job. But even with my income, saving to buy a transfer quota is still too expensive."

"If you managed to buy a quota, is there someone responsible for sending you there?"

"Yes, yes, there's a special person who comes to pick us up."

"Who? Is he in the city? Tell me the name, and an address would be best."

"That person isn't here every day. They only come back once a year, I heard it's to take new soldiers and also bring a group of civilians with them."

"The autumn harvest has ended now, has this year's opportunity passed?"

"Not yet, it hasn't started yet. Generally, during the two months from the official start of winter to before the New Year, that person will come on a certain day, and they'll take people away within a few days."

"Will they come to the Royal Capital?"

"Yes, the troops selected from the entire country will all gather in the Royal Capital. Everyone leaves from here."

"All troops mustered? There must be a military camp then, right? Do you know where it is?"

"There's a camp to the south of the city. Including the civilians set to leave, everyone gathers there in advance."

"You know quite a bit."

"I really do want to go. Everybody in the Royal Capital wants to go."

"But you don't know what good comes from going there. You only know that the King and the Nobles have gone, and you commoners want to follow."

"Yes, yes, a place where they don't want to return from must be a good place, right?"

"No, it's a completely different world on the other side. There's no Wizard culture there, no wizard power. This is your foundation. I also want to know the answer to your question."

The maid looked suddenly enlightened. "No wonder I often see Wizards walking the streets. It turns out they're not accustomed to it there, and only His Majesty and the big shots have gone."

Ye Nai said she didn't know, but in her heart, she had an answer.

It was still an issue of the huge time difference between the two sides. The high and mighty authorities, who would give up their power so easily? What they valued most in their life was longevity, to live a long and extended life, to continue their reign.

Fifty years had passed on Blue Star, while three thousand years had passed here. Who wouldn't want to live on Blue Star? As long as all resources were supplied from this side, it would be fine since the Nobles could afford it and didn't care about the cost of using Heart Cores.

She had many more questions, like the ones she had experienced before. Some Transmission Platforms were connected to the Secret Realm and then went to Blue Star and Otherworld, while others connected Blue Star and Otherworld directly.

She wanted to know what was the difference?

Moreover, with her only experience, when all the Transmission Platforms in the Secret Realm were collected, the entrance and exit of the Secret Realm would close. What was the principle behind this?

"Have you seen a Transmission Platform?"

"I have seen one. There's one in the Royal Palace."

"In the Royal Palace? Where does it lead to?"

"I don't know that. Only the Guard Captain and the soldiers guarding the Transmission Platform would know."

"Show me who the Guard Captain is?" Ye Nai put away her light machine gun, flipped her palm, and a gold coin appeared in the center of her hand. "Cooperate well, and I won't treat you unfairly."

The sight of the gold coin transfixed the maid, who started to seat herself using her hands and feet.

"Is this really for me? I only earn just over four silver coins a month."

"Just over four silver coins, you call that good money?"

"Working in the Royal Palace, they provide one meal at noon, no accommodation, and I don't have to serve any big shots. Over four silver coins is certainly a lot. Working as a private maid, you get room and board, but you only earn just over one silver coin a month. A better position might go up to two silver coins. And if you hire children around ten years old, you can even push the cost down to under one silver coin."