Book 3: Chapter 267: The Golden Harvest Horn

The station in Asra District was as bustling as ever, with crowds of people surging through. Young people gathered here from all across the Alliance, looking forward to their futures.

But for Anari, standing there motionless, the noise and chatter around her might as well have been coming from another world. She found herself scanning the crowd, counting the number of beastmen among the passersby.

As sparse as ever...

Well, that was to be expected. After all, beastmen weren't good at memorizing complex theoretical knowledge; they relied more on their physical prowess in combat.

She tried to tell herself that this was perfectly normal, nothing to take issue with, but the scenes from that day still floated through her mind—faces that had left forever.

These images churned Anari's heart with unease, and she found herself wanting to hurry back to the older woman on Agate Street, seeking comfort and answers from her.

Her footsteps carried her quickly through the still-lively streets until she reached the familiar Agate Street. In the year since she'd been away, a few new buildings had gone up, but the familiar faces were all still there.

"Anari~ You're back!" A familiar older man waved and greeted her.

"Yes, I'm back." Anari made herself smile and answer, just as she always did.

After that, more people came up to greet her and ask how she'd been. A few kids clustered around her, asking what the outside world was like and whether she'd brought them any fun toys or tasty treats.

"Sorry, I forgot to bring something this time. But how about I take you all to Chive Street tomorrow?" Chive Street was Asra District's famous food street, packed with snack stalls and restaurants.

"Yayyy~" The children's replies dragged out long and loud.

After wrapping up her conversation with the kids, Anari finally reached the familiar restaurant. She slipped in quietly through the back door, greeted the familiar staff, then made her way to the kitchen, where she found the Older Woman hard at work.

"I'm back." Seeing her, Anari set down her things and hugged her.

"Anari's back!" The Older Woman was still holding a spatula. She reached out one hand to pat Anari, but hesitated, afraid of getting grease on her.

"I've probably still got oil all over these clothes. I don't want to stain yours—it's rare to see you in such a nice academy uniform." The Older Woman said with a smile.

"I don't mind at all." Anari looked up, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"Oh, you silly child, why are you crying again?" The Older Woman handed her spatula to the Chef beside her, then led Anari out of the kitchen.

The two of them went to the break room in the back. The Older Woman poured Anari a glass of cold tea and asked about her experiences and feelings over the past year.

"How's life at the academy? Feeling any pressure? Getting along with everyone?" She genuinely cared about these things, because Anari was a beastman, and the members of the mage academy were mostly humans.

"There's some pressure, but I can handle it. Everyone's been really nice and friendly." Anari answered.

For those mage members who'd gotten into the academy, most came from decent backgrounds and rarely interacted with beastmen at the bottom rungs of society. Seeing Anari was simply novel to them; they hadn't shown any particular malice.

"That's good, that's good." The Older Woman repeated, relieved.

The two sat and caught up for a while, then the Older Woman stood up again.

"Since you're back today, I'll go fix you something delicious." With that, she told Anari to go rest and take a nap first, then come back for a meal later.

"Okay, thank you, Auntie." Anari stood up as well, picked up her luggage, and headed to her own room. It was a house not far from the restaurant, where she and the Older Woman had always lived.

Over the next few days, Anari met up with several unfamiliar friends she'd made before, and as promised, took these older kids to Chive Street to play. She also ran into a few former classmates she'd studied with.

Some of them were still preparing for the academy entrance exams, while others had already dropped out to join workshops and start working. Seeing Anari back, there was no small amount of envy in their voices.

Of the members who'd enrolled together back then, less than a tenth managed to get into the academy. The rest had to find other paths, and some, seeing no hope of advancing, left Asra District early and returned to their hometowns.

"Roxas wrote me a letter a while back, said he's settled down in his hometown. He's working at a local herbal medicine shop now, in charge of counting and purchasing local herbs. He also told me that the 'Aroma Sensing Art' he used to think was useless has now become the ability he uses most at work."

"Mostic went to a monitoring tower up north. The tower master there is a Third Tier Official Mage, and his daily job is assisting with recording data from the monitoring instruments, plus keeping the communication equipment running smoothly. The work's pretty leisurely, and he can even score some barbecue from the local herders now and then."

"Zane's the busiest one. He went to a workshop that makes mechanical components, and from what I hear he's been working overtime nonstop lately. At least the pay's decent."

The exchange with her old classmates lifted Anari's spirits considerably, and the lingering sense of confusion and unease gradually faded.

Even though she still couldn't forget what she'd experienced as a child, it was also difficult for her to maintain hatred toward so many innocent people in the Mage Alliance.

The ones who'd done wrong were a certain group of people; she couldn't simply transfer her anger onto those completely unrelated.

...

In August, she and her classmates traveled to Meteorite Lake in the south of the Mage Alliance. This was the Fourth Continent's inland sea, and the only place with a coastline beach suitable for vacation.

"Anari, catch~" A blonde girl leaped up and smacked the ball toward this horned beastgirl.

Anari caught it with a hint of nervousness, then returned the volley. She had to admit, as a beastman, her physical fitness was actually her weak point—she couldn't quite match her classmates.

The group played ball on the beach, and when they got tired, they lay in the shade of the trees, enjoying the sea breeze.

"This place is really nice."

"Yeah, within the Mage Alliance's territory, there's nowhere with such a comfortable seaside."

"There actually is a sea, but it's the Ice Sea up north—too cold." The group chatted about their holiday impressions.

"Is this Merchant Capital Alliance territory?" Someone suddenly asked.

"Of course. Didn't the instructor teach us before? The shores of Meteorite Lake and the several islands within it are all under the Merchant Capital Alliance's sphere of influence."

"But those ships over there—whose faction are they from?" One classmate pointed into the distance.

Far out on the horizon, row after row of towering sail warships advanced side by side, their sails fully unfurled and emblazoned with the emblems of "Golden Harvest" and "Horn." After docking at the port, teams of elite warriors in white-and-gold-trimmed uniforms disembarked from the ships, then marched in formation. Before long, the flags that had been flying in the port were replaced.

"Is this a change of rule? Or some kind of coup?" A classmate watched the scene from afar.

"The process was exceptionally peaceful. There wasn't even a scuffle, like a smooth handover."

"I'm not sure, but I feel like something big is about to happen. Maybe we're witnesses to it." Someone pointed at the docked sail warships in the distance.

"Look closely—the cannons on those warships are very new designs. Just looking at them, you can tell they pack serious firepower. Technology like that would rank in the middle tier even in the Mage Alliance, and I've never heard of the Merchant Capital Alliance having a fleet this powerful before."

"Something's not right. Maybe we should head back." Among them, a few had already advanced to Third Tier, but they still didn't feel safe. After all, this wasn't Mage Alliance territory—if a conflict broke out, no one would come to protect them.

"Yeah, let's get going."

And so, their seaside vacation came to an early end. Before leaving, Anari took one last look back at the port they'd arrived at, where the City Lord's flag had now completely changed.

On the way back, the group noticed that many cities of the former Merchant Capital Alliance had changed their flags and leadership, taken over by a brand-new organization called the "Golden Harvest Horn." Not only did it possess all the territory of the former Merchant Capital Alliance, but it also occupied dozens of surrounding countries both large and small. Its sphere of influence was approaching the standard of an empire, and the population under its rule was roughly estimated at nearly 100 million.

After more than a decade of ceaseless conflict, warfare, negotiation, consultation, and mediation, the Hidden Grove Alliance's integration plan had finally reached its final stage. With the Hidden Grove Alliance's backing support, the southern continent gradually gave rise to five super-large nations, each claiming its own territory, and each approaching an empire's population base and strength.

The establishment of these super-large nations gradually unified the scattered factions of the southern continent, allowing resources to be allocated fully and uniformly, and overall strength to grow ever more formidable.

The Golden Harvest Horn was one of these newly established five nations. Because it sat at the crossroads of the Mage Alliance, the Harp Flower Union, and the Hidden Grove Alliance, it was naturally suited for trade. Within its sphere of influence, handicraft and agriculture flourished, and a vast number of trade guilds gathered.

The nation's governing body was the "Merchant Assembly Parliament." Its members were all representatives of trade guilds, with votes allocated according to the taxes each guild contributed. The entire nation worshipped money and wealth, and its social system favored those who could create prosperity. The state strictly protected citizens' rights and safety, but citizenship had to be maintained through tax payments. Those unable to pay would lose their citizenship rights—along with countless other privileges—making survival extremely difficult.