Inheriting a Lost Bloodline, My First Task is to have heirs?!

As if a switch was turned on, some light returned to his eyes. At least he doesn't look like he lost his soul anymore. His head snapped to look at my direction then he started crawling towards my feet with difficulty. He almost stumbled a few times since his body was weak due to hunger but he still bravely approached me.

Once he reached the area right in front of me, he bowed with his forehead touching the ground. He then spoke with a hoarse voice, "Qziubi dizq gi" (Please help me.)

I smirked at his sudden change in attitude. For sure, he knew I was a mystique. I used merfolk language so suddenly and he immediately understood that I knew with just one look who he was and where he was from. I then asked, "Aeoh qieqzi uhi xlecl jeh kiylf wollylf ulm eqqehpolybpyw, Cdup ceozm Y fip jeh dizqylf aeo?" (Your people are known for being cunning and opportunistic. What would I get for helping you?)

HIs body started shivering from my response which was a very direct question. With what I said, he must have understood that I am not a beast man from his tribe but I am mystique from another race. I don't know how he ended up in a human territory and became a slave but again, I don't keep useless people. Even my husbands or those people from that fallen kingdom who were all humans weren't exempted to this rule.

He looked up and stared straight into my eyes to show his sincerity. He then answered me with a shaky voice but this time using the common mystique language instead, "Usstan shlu'ta sundu lu'alure. Ussta krik'vlicss shar'tleg ulu nolien. Usstan shlu'ta dro wun jala khel d'niar. Usstan tlun naut brillig xuil cahallin. Usstan shlu'ta xun jalbol dos ssinssrin." (I can sing and dance. My tears turn to pearls. I can live in any body of water and I am not picky with food. I can do anything.)

I kept my face cold as if I am just making another business deal, "Ele ph'dos gultahin dosstan 'zil ussta rothe? Xuat dos ssinssrin ulu alu rath ulu dosst delmah? Dos shlu'ta fridj railur uns'aa gajak, dos zhaun?" (Why are you offering yourself as my slave? Don't you want to go back to your home? You can just repay me later, you know?)

He gave me a smile that does not reach his eyes and replied, "Usstan xuat inbal natha k'lar xor natha fuma ulu alu delmah ulu. Ka Usstan alu rath ulu l'nec'perya, Usstan orn fridj starve ulu aphyon xor tlu soled 'sohna ulu foluss dkinoss." (I don't have a place or a family to go home to. If I go back to the sanctuary, I will just starve to death or be sold again to someone else.)

(Author's Note: I will be having the dialogues in English from now on since it is so hard to go back and forth with the translator. Ugh.)

I raised my hand and used magic to clean him up and heal his injuries. I also removed the chains that were binding his limbs. I gave him clothes that better cover his body, some cooked fish that I kept in my storage for him to eat and water to drink. I don't know if he prefers to eat raw seafood but he did say he is not picky so he should be able to eat these somehow.

He looked at me with surprised but thankful eyes. When he saw the clothes, he shakily stood up and removed all of the clothes he was wearing right in front of me. He did not even hide some place else, my gosh! At least he immediately wore the clothes I gave him but I already saw everything that can be seen in his body. He then ate the food I gave him quickly and even choked a bit with how fast he was swallowing his food.

Once he was fed and clothed better, I asked him curiously, "Aren't merfolk living prosperously under the ocean? Why are your people even selling their own kind on land? The oceans are rich with marine life so how can you even starve?"

He stayed sitting on the ground but with a soft voice, he started telling how life has been for the merfolk for the past few centuries. He said his name was Marius and he is over two hundred years old which surprised me because he barely looked 20. He then shared that he was living in the outermost circle of the merfolk kingdom called the Ash City. He said that the sanctuary was called Ceryneia and it was divided into 5 circles.

The core circle was Indigo City where the royals and nobles lived. The circle after it was Coral City where the rich folks lived, mostly merchants and relatives of nobles. The third circle was Cobalt City where most of the government workers and skilled workers live. It is also where the educational institutions were found.

His voice sounded a bit stressed out as he continued. He then said that the last 2 circles are where the poor merfolks lived. The fourth circle was called Coal City where the manual laborers and enslaved families lived. The last circle was Ash City where the orphans left by those dead working class merfolks and the food hunters and scavenger families lived. He said that anybody living in the cities of Ash and Coal have barely enough to get by and there are days when there is nothing to eat.

He added that the mortality rate of the people from Ash and Coal city are the highest since they were the ones tasked to get out of the barriers protecting Ceryneia and forage for aquatic plants and hunt for sea creatures for food. For short, they are treated as expendables. Given that the human realm does not have much mana, the bodies of mystiques have long been weaker making them easy targets for large and ferocious sea creatures of the deep so most of the people sent out never return.

He ended his story on that and then it was my turn to ask, "Don't you have friends or foster family members that you think would like to get out of that place? If I tell you that I can give you a better place to live in, would you come with me and bring your trusted people?"

He looked at me in confusion and replied, "I think anybody from the third circle outwards would love to move to a better place. We are practically either slaves or beggars in Ceryneia. Only the first two circles are enjoying the fruits of everybody's hardwork but those working don't even have the resources to feed themselves and their families."

I was silent for a while since I am thinking that this situation is another "Freyheimr mission" for most part. I will technically be stealing people and resources from the ocean then rebuild a new Ceryneia in the world tree realm. I may have to make a trip and hunt stuff to fill the deep oceans that I asked Laerad to make.

After several minutes, I asked him another question, "Can you guide me to Ash City? I want to look around and get samples of sea animals and plants since I am an alchemist by profession. If you do so, that will be your repayment for me getting you out of this auction house."

He looked at me with fear but he honestly answered, "It will be hard to get inside the barrier if you are not a merfolk. I can get killed for bringing in an outsider. I can guide you around to get the plants and animals though. They should sell well on land especially the medicinal and poisonous ones."

I smiled at him and asked for his right hand which he shakily gave me. I placed the seal of Marahuyo on it and another soul seal to keep him from divulging my secrets. He squirmed and gasped in pain as the soul seal took effect. Tears fell from one of his eyes which turned into a pearl before it hit the ground. His weak body slumped onto the floor. He was breathing heavily and asked with a weak voice, "What did you do to me?"

I replied, "I'm sorry but I can only trust you with my secrets if I put a soul seal on you. You said you can do anything for me so it should be fine, right?" He weakly nodded to answer my question.

I continued, "Since the soul seal is in place, I want to introduce myself formally. My name is Luna and I am the new queen of Eieneos. The better place I was talking about is the new world tree realm that I have just rebuilt. As for that barrier around Ceryneia, you don't have to worry about that. We can get in and out without alerting anybody so you just have to guide me there, quietly follow me inside Ceryneia and stay as obedient as you are. I may kill merfolk if I need to, I may steal things from under the ocean as well as bring people out without permission from the royals and nobles too. Will you take part in all my plans?"

He slowly sat up from the ground and looked at me. He then answered, "I would take part in your plans, our queen. I have a number of good and honest merfolks that I want to bring out from that place. I have know them since I was young and I believe that they deserve a better life. Please save us. I can assure you that they will follow you earnestly as I will do from now on."

I looked at him meaningfully and he shuddered suddenly. I then responded, "Of course. I should at least show appreciation for everything that you had to do and go through just to meet me today." With my last statement, his face paled and he started apologizing profusely.