And while they were walking towards the town where the sword was supposed to be delivered, Leon asked Helmod a question: "Hey Helmod, tell me, who rules Wonderland now?"
Under normal circumstances, Helmod would have scoffed at this question, but he had grown accustomed to Leon's ignorance in his view: "Hmm, tell me, how ignorant are you of everything around you?"
Leon answered him coldly: "Everything. Didn't you say Athena disappeared two thousand years ago?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Good, I'm ignorant of everything that happened in those two thousand years." Upon hearing this, Helmod realized there was something strange about Leon, but he didn't want to pry too much, so he contented himself with just answering Leon's questions.
"Hmm, well, there isn't an actual ruler for this continent."
Leon was surprised to hear this, as if he was expecting a different answer: "What do you mean by that?"
Helmod sighed a little, then began his reply: "What I mean is that the continent is divided into several kingdoms that share the rule of the continent among themselves."
Leon thought about it for a moment, several kingdoms sharing the rule of Wonderland, which prompted him to ask about those who claimed kingship in these days: "So, who are those who claim kingship these days?"
The way Leon phrased the question was suspicious in Helmod's eyes. What did he mean by 'claim kingship'? "Ah, but what do you mean by saying they 'claim kingship'?"
Then Leon looked directly at Helmod and answered him: "Since when do these fake rulers rule Wonderland, in your opinion?"
Helmod answered with a little hesitation: "Hmm, I'm not entirely sure, but the rule of these kingdoms began a very long time ago. I believe most of these kingdoms mentioned in history were founded in the hundredth year after the disappearance of the Lords."
Only the last part of Helmod's words caught Leon's attention: "Since the disappearance of the Lords?"
"Yes, ancient stories say that after the disappearance of the Lords, a fierce war broke out that lasted a hundred years among the inhabitants of the continent. Its goal was to determine the ruler of Wonderland after the Lords."
[Notification: It seems that the old dwarf Helmod means 'players' when he says 'Lords']
Looking at it from this perspective, Leon found the matter becoming more logical. If the inhabitants of this world describe players as Lords, this is not strange, as players once dominated the entire continent.
But Leon was suspicious of something. This world still remembers the players and even Athena, but it remembers them only as history, a history that, according to Helmod, disappeared more than two thousand years ago.
At this moment, a strange idea flashed in Leon's mind. If the inhabitants of this continent still remember the players, then perhaps they know something about the reason for their disappearance: "Hmm, hey Helmod, tell me, do you know the reason for the disappearance of these Lords?"
Helmod shrugged his shoulders and nodded in denial: "Hmm, are you saying you don't know the reason?"
"No, but I'm saying I'm not sure of the reason. There are many stories that talk about this matter, and all of them are just assumptions, nothing more. No one knows what happened back then."
Leon felt a little frustrated. He thought he had grasped the thread that would lead him to discover the truth, but he failed: "Well then, can you tell me about those who ruled Wonderland after the Lords?"
"Well, after the first hundred-year war since the disappearance of the Lords, the continent was divided into a group of kingdoms that shared the lands of the continent among themselves. And if we want to be more specific, we can say that the races that served under the banner of the Lords in the past are the ones who inherited the rule after them."
As Leon expected, he realized that the only ones who could establish such a system and kingdoms were a group of races that once served under their banner. Leon already knew the names of these races, but just to be sure, he asked Helmod about them: "Good then, can you mention these races to me?"
"Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Winged, Savage Humans, and Spirits. These are the six races that have ruled Wonderland for two thousand years since the disappearance of the Lords."
Exactly as Leon expected, these are the only races that were subject to their rule in the past, six races alone were allowed to live within the continent of Wonderland under the rule of the Lords.
At this moment, Leon had already assumed that he was now in the land of the Dwarves based on Helmod's residence there: "So I assume we are now in the Dwarf Kingdom."
But Helmod's answer shattered Leon's hypothesis: "Hmm, you are mistaken, we are now in the eastern region of one of the human kingdoms."
"Hmm, humans? They allow a dwarf to roam their lands freely?"
As soon as Helmod heard Leon's words, he burst into laughter: "Hahahaha, hahahaha, what's strange about it? A dwarf in human lands? Hahahaha, do you think we are in a period of fierce racial wars? It's okay, these kingdoms have pledged to bring peace to the continent a long time ago, so don't worry, no human will harm a dwarf, or vice versa."
Helmod's words were very far from what Leon knew. The image in Leon's mind was completely different. When the Lords ruled the continent, humans were in constant enmity with the rest of the six races, so he assumed that enmity continued until now.
"Hmm, good, that's a little reassuring."
And while the two were busy talking, their bodies continued to move forward, and it wasn't long before the two were on the outskirts of the town. Neither of them realized their approach until they found themselves directly in front of the gate.
"Whoa, we've arrived already, I didn't even feel the time pass."
Helmod and Leon advanced towards the town gate, and as soon as they crossed it, the world around them changed. The sounds of bustling markets crowded with people, the voices of vendors calling out to people to buy their goods, life was pulsating throughout the place. It was a scene Leon was not used to seeing often.
"Come on, we can visit the markets later, our priority is to deliver this sword to the client on time."
After Helmod interrupted Leon's silence, they delved deeper into the town's streets. Leon followed Helmod without knowing the shape or nature of the place they were heading to, and as soon as they arrived, Helmod stopped in front of the doorstep of one of the buildings in the town.
It was a slightly luxurious building, distinct from the rest. The difference could be noticed just by looking at the door handle adorned with decorative carvings: "So where is this client who...."
Leon didn't finish his sentence before someone interrupted him. The door suddenly opened, and a person wearing beautiful clothes came out, but from the first glance, it could be said that he was not a noble: "Haaah, here you are, Master Helmod, Master Albert has been waiting for you inside for a while."
"Ah, I hope I haven't kept him waiting for too long, hahahaha."
The man who opened the door took Helmod's hand and led him inside, and Leon followed Helmod as well, but suddenly the man holding Helmod's hand stopped abruptly and said: "Who are you?"
Leon was a little surprised by the man's words. He seemed unwelcome in this place: "Hmm, me?"
"Yes, you. Is there anyone else standing there?"
At this moment, Helmod intervened to settle the matter before it escalated: "Ah, there's no need to worry, he's an acquaintance of mine and helped me make the sword, so it's fine for him to come with us."
The man turned his face and ignored Leon as soon as he heard these words, and as he turned his face, he gave Leon a look of contempt, ignoring him as if he were nobody.
This situation angered Leon, and he was about to do something crazy if it weren't for Helmod's intervention again: "Ah, Leon, what do you say we forget about this? The client is waiting for us inside, why don't you just hurry in?"
Leon backed down from what he was about to do this time, just for Helmod's sake, otherwise, he would have made that person suffer the torments of hell for what he did.
And as soon as this problem was resolved, Helmod and Leon went up to the upper floor of the building. At the end of the corridor, there was a clearly distinctive door. As soon as they arrived, the man accompanying Helmod and Leon knocked on the door, saying: "Master Albert, Helmod the Iron-Fisted Blacksmith has arrived."
As soon as he said this, a voice came from inside the room, saying: "Ah, let him in, I'm waiting for him."
As soon as approval was given, the accompanying man opened the door and asked Helmod to enter: "Please come in, Master Helmod."
As soon as he said this, Helmod stepped forward and entered the room with Leon. As soon as they entered, the man sitting in the chair rose from his place and welcomed Helmod: "Whoa, you've come, Helmod, I'm truly grateful for your doubled efforts, and I also renew my apology for forcing you to deliver the sword before the scheduled delivery date."
Helmod rubbed his chin, then let out an amusing laugh and said: "Hahahaha, no need to apologize, I fully understand that you were forced to do so, and I am also a little to blame, as my skill has declined greatly in recent years, otherwise I would have delivered your order within a week, I think my performance has become disappointing, hahahaha."
"Don't say that, Master Helmod, you are still a legend of your time, and also, why are you still standing? Please rest."
Helmod sat on the chair next to him, which was made of luxurious leather and seemed like another indication of its owner's immense wealth. After Helmod sat down, the man's gaze turned towards Leon. The initial image he formed was of a human youth with black hair and yellow eyes, also wearing worn and old clothes. All these qualities pointed to only one thing: "Whoa, have you taken a slave to help you with work, Master Helmod?"
At this moment, Helmod's features were in an extreme state of strangeness. Sweat began to pour from all over his face, his face also turned intensely red, and his eyes widened greatly, and he was making strange gestures with his face and hands, but the noble man did not understand: "Hmm, what happened to you suddenly? Are you feverish? I'm sorry if this is because of the doubled work I assigned you."
At this moment, Helmod shouted at the top of his voice: "No, no, that's not the reason, let's just deliver the sword quickly and I'll leave."
Suddenly, Helmod seemed eager to leave and was very confused. He knew very well that if things continued this way, a real disaster would occur.
"Ah, well, I don't mind, come on, show me the sword."
And before Helmod took out the sword, the atmosphere of the room began to change little by little. The pressure increased more and more until Helmod realized the extent of the disaster that this noble Albert had caused.
While Helmod was lost in his thoughts, hoping that Leon would not react recklessly, Albert was in a completely parallel world: "Oooh, the air in this room suddenly became suffocating, someone open the window."
In response to Albert's request, the man who was accompanying Helmod and Leon rushed towards the window to open it, but before he could grasp the handle, a terrible explosion occurred.
Suddenly, the window glass collapsed and shattered under the pressure. It was a strange scene that made Albert reproach the man, saying to him: "Hey, what did you do to the window?"
The man tried to defend himself a little, saying in a confused voice: "Ah, sir, I didn't do anything."
But Albert ignored his words and reproached him even more severely: "Ah, are you denying what you just did? Get out of my sight, I have an important guest."
And as soon as the man moved a little away from the window, the vase that was placed on the table directly in front of Albert began to crack and then shatter forcefully, as if an explosion had occurred inside it. Now Albert shifted his gaze towards the shattered vase in astonishment, while Helmod put his hands beside his head, bewildered by the calamity they had fallen into.
In these moments of terrible silence, there was one whispering sound that could be heard: "Slave? Haaah, do I look like a slave to this failure?"
Upon hearing these whispers, Albert turned his gaze towards the place from which the faint sound came, and to his surprise, there was one person standing alone in that corner, while a charged aura with a huge amount of magical particles surrounded him.
As soon as Albert saw this, he was struck with extreme panic to the extent that he became unable to speak and uttered incomprehensible words.
At this moment, Helmod quickly rose towards Leon, trying to calm him down: "Hey, Leon, wait a moment, Master Albert didn't mean what he just said, you can vent your anger on me, for I am the one who didn't introduce you properly."
Despite Helmod's attempt, Leon's anger continued, and all he could do was ask something: "Do I look like someone's slave to you, Helmod?"
"Ah, no, no, it's impossible for me to think of such a thing at all."
"Then why did this lowly creature call me a slave just now?"
At this moment, Albert jumped from his place and knelt on his knees, beginning to plead: "Ah, I'm truly sorry, I was very wrong, the fault lies in my eyes that did not recognize your greatness."
At this moment, Leon whispered in a terrifying voice: "Eyes that do not see my greatness are useless."
Albert jumped from his place, accompanied by terror. He thought that Leon would pluck out his eyes, and unfortunately, this was the idea that was going through Leon's mind at these moments until Helmod intervened.
"Leon, please stop, Albert is an exclusive client of mine, so I cannot afford to lose him. What do you say we forgive his rudeness this time, just for my sake?"
End of Chapter