Chapter 81: An Uneasy Alliance

Neo’s POV:

I watched the fear bloom across her face the moment she recognized my voice, and honestly, I couldn’t help but feel a small, tired satisfaction at catching her so completely off guard.

"Relax. I’m not here to drag anyone back to that fortress," I said, raising both hands slightly, palms open to show I wasn’t about to do anything stupid.

Diana’s eyes narrowed further, her grip on the girl beside her tightening protectively. "You’re... how are you even alive? How did you find us?"

"With this many people, you didn’t exactly make yourselves hard to track," I said, glancing at the trail of footprints stretching across the wasteland. "It took me a while, but I eventually caught up."

A murmur rippled quickly through the camp as more of the former slaves noticed me standing there, their earlier exhaustion replaced almost instantly with wary, uncertain whispers. A few of them edged closer, curiosity clearly outweighing caution, while others shrank further back into the shadows, clutching whatever meager belongings they carried.

"Who exactly are you?" one of the older men asked, his voice shaking slightly despite his obvious attempt to sound firm.

I figured there was little point in hiding it anymore, not after everything that had happened at the fortress. "I’m Neo Draven. The heir to the Draven Dukedom."

The name meant absolutely nothing to any of them. I watched their faces carefully, waiting for even a flicker of recognition, but there was none. Just blank, confused stares exchanged between each other.

"Draven?" someone finally asked. "Never heard of it. Is that one of the wasteland tribes?"

I blinked, momentarily thrown off. "No, it’s... it’s one of the strongest dukedoms in the Velkrath Empire."

More confused silence followed. A few of them exchanged uncertain glances, clearly trying to place the name and failing entirely.

’Wait... They don’t even know the empire exists? Or do they just not recognize the name?’

I studied their faces a little longer, piecing together the strange gaps in their knowledge. It slowly started making sense. These people likely had no real concept of the empire at all, not beyond vague warnings about the forest bordering their territory being dangerous, filled with monsters and unknown threats lurking just past the tree line.

’Guess from their side of things, the forest isn’t just a border. It’s basically the edge of their entire known world.’

It was a strange thought, realizing that somewhere out here in the Desolate Land, an entire group of people lived their whole lives completely unaware that kingdoms, empires, and dukedoms even existed on the other side of that same forest.

I decided not to press the matter further, not wanting to overwhelm them with information that clearly wasn’t going to mean anything useful to them right now.

"How could a kid defeat an entire garrison of trained knights?" one of the men muttered skeptically, eyeing me up and down. "He’s probably from some renowned family with connections. Bought his way out somehow."

A few others nodded along, clearly finding that explanation far easier to accept than the alternative.

Diana finally spoke again, her voice sharp and guarded. "What exactly do you want from us?"

I met her gaze calmly. "Just point me toward whatever direction leads back to civilization. The empire, specifically. Once I know which way to go, I’ll leave you all alone."

The group exchanged uncertain looks again, clearly unsure what to make of such a simple request. After a moment, one of the older women stepped forward, leaning in close to whisper something quietly into Diana’s ear. ℯ

Diana’s eyes widened sharply, her gaze flicking toward me for a long, considering moment before shifting back toward the older woman, clearly torn over whatever had just been suggested.

Finally, she let out a heavy sigh.

"You can come with us, there’s a way to send you back safely once we reach our settlement. But you have to promise us something first. You will not betray us."

I nodded firmly. "You have my word."

With that settled, the group slowly began preparing for rest, murmurs of exhaustion finally overtaking their earlier curiosity and suspicion. I waited until most of them had drifted off before quietly stepping closer to where Diana sat near the edge of the camp.

"Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you did to me," I said, keeping my tone deceptively warm and casual.

Diana looked up at me, her expression carefully blank. "I did what was necessary for the good of my people. And how exactly was I supposed to know you weren’t one of the people responsible for our suffering in the first place? We can’t afford to trust humans. Not at any level."

I let out a slow, tired sigh, shaking my head. "Pure fanatics, the lot of you."

"Excuse me? What did you just say?"

"I said you’ve fixed yourselves firmly onto one belief and refuse to see past it... Can’t really blame you, given everything you’ve been through, I suppose. But just know this. If I ever find myself wandering into your territory someday, and you decide to have me arrested for no good reason, I won’t hesitate to kill you."

Diana’s lips pressed into a thin, tight line, though she offered no response, clearly unwilling to give me the satisfaction of an argument.

I settled down a short distance away, intending to finally get some actual rest after the chaos of the past day, when I noticed a bright, curious gaze fixed intently on me from across the fire.

Mira sat beside Diana, her dark eyes practically sparkling with unrestrained excitement, staring at me with an intensity bright enough to be almost blinding.

"So, you’re really the one who saved us? That was you back there?" she said eagerly, scooting a little closer despite Diana’s obvious disapproval,

I raised an eyebrow slightly, mildly amused despite my exhaustion. "Yeah. That was me."

Her entire face lit up even further, practically glowing with excitement. "I knew it! I told her you looked just like the knight from my grandma’s stories! You were amazing back there, taking down all those guards like it was nothing!"

Diana shot her a sharp, warning glance, though Mira either didn’t notice or simply chose to ignore it entirely.

I let out a small chuckle despite myself. "I wouldn’t exactly call it amazing. Mostly just exhausting."

"That still counts," Mira said stubbornly, her excitement not fading in the slightest. "And... thank you. Really. For saving us back there."

I studied her bright, grateful expression for a moment; the gratitude so genuine it felt strangely out of place after everything else I’d experienced tonight.

"Yeah. You’re welcome," I finally let a small, tired smile curled up across my face.