Polymath Redux

Chapter 51: Secret War (4): Sister's Sin

Despite the aureate kingdom's description as the 'Country of the Sun' the southern borders Xagontetia were anything but. Known especially for their punishing tundra, the only thing the eye would see once down there was a murderous pure white. The frigid lands had claimed the lives of many over several centuries and the casualties would only increase every year.

There were an extremely low number of settlements down at the south as the only kind of people who ever venture down were those seeking brave adventure or those who had no other choice. The housing conditions were worse than even that of the capital's vastly neglected slums and the people who lived in this ice box weren't even acknowledged as people. They were largely ignored; in fact it was to the point that the officials didn't even collect taxes from these parts.

In such unforgiving lands the fate of two young girls would be tested to their absolute maximum; the decisions they had to make on a daily basis were as frost-bound as the always forthcoming snow.

Del Granate, the Supreme Commander of the King's Royal Alchemy Commission and a valued member of the Granate Dukedom, yet she had not always been the cloudy girl she had always been. Behind the veneer of a lazy but adorable girl was a hidden past of an adopted abomination and her slow descent into madness. Before she was adopted by the Granate dukedom she had lived a harsh life with a younger sister simply named 'Mel'.

They had no food, no money, no shelter; the only thing these two young girls who did not even reach into their double digits knew was the pure white vision of a malignant frost wind. They had to constantly keep moving or risk being frozen to death on the spot, and coupled with their weak constitution it was a miracle that they were even able to survive for so long.

Indeed it was a miracle, as Del had only barely learnt low level fire magic to keep themselves warmed. However it was evident only after a few times that she did not have the mana capacity to constantly burn the fires that kept their lives alit. Scavenging would only help them so much and scurrying from cover to cover they lived a vagrant life with no real hope for the future. As they continued their shortsighted journey the creeping sensation of hunger ever so riled up within them.

"Sister... I'm so hungry..."

Mel meekly spoke into the frozen year of her older sister. Del was both parent and guardian to her; she was the entire world to Mel and at her insistence Del rummaged through their belongings to find any remaining food items they had. There was only a single piece of bread left that Del was saving up, but with no other choice she surrendered the frozen piece of bread to Mel.

Now there was no more. They truly had nothing other than the clothes on their backs. With it they somehow had to find a way to survive, but the looming sensation of their own mortality had always silently crept up behind them. 'Just how much longer do I have to do this?' Del kept questioning to herself. It would be so easy to abandon her younger sister and be able to survive for just a bit longer, but even then she didn't know how long she would last on her own. At the very least with the two of them they could stay warm with their body heat.

That night Del had made up her mind. Once she confirmed that Mel had fallen asleep she had contacted a suspicious man in secret. Slave traders; the operation of slaves had fallen into a grey area with the law in Xagontetia. Though there were no 'official' slaves in the country, people were still bought and sold through the black market but the powers that be did not do anything to stop this kind of trafficking.

"D- do you have the, the money?"

Del asked the man.

"Yeah, I got it right here."

The man dropped a sizable pouch of gold into her hand; at the very least it would be enough for her to survive in the cold tundra for a little longer. Though heart was torn with every second she was in contact with this man deep down inside she knew that there was no choice. Together they would surely die, but if it was only one of them and she had some money then perhaps it would possible for her to survive. In addition, if Mel was bought as a slave then at the very least she would be given some consideration and protected as 'merchandise'.