Chapter 817 - Chaos City Will Protect Them

“Oh? Boss Mag has come to our city lord’s castle with over 100 disheveled elves? Could it be that this has something to do with the incident that took place in the Wind Forest a couple of days ago? But Boss Mag only arrived back in Chaos City today; how has he gotten himself involved with these elves?” A hint of surprise appeared on Michael’s face after hearing the guard leader’s report, and he turned to Novan as he asked, “What do you think, Novan?”

“Mr. Mag is both a kind and courageous man, so I’m not at all surprised that he’s involved himself in this matter,” Novan immediately replied.

Michael faltered slightly upon hearing this before a smile appeared on his face, and he instructed, “Take Mr. Mag to the side hall. It’s quite cold out there tonight, so get the elves to have a seat in the western hall first, and prepare some tea for them.”

“Yes.” The guard leader quickly departed.

“Thanks for your hard work, Novan. You’re really busy with all the things going on in Chaos School at the moment; I really shouldn’t have asked you to go on this trip,” Michael said in an apologetic manner.

“You’re far more busy than I am, so you certainly can’t go, and we definitely can’t count on Rolan, so who else could’ve gone aside from me?” Novan shook his head with a resigned look on his face before asking, “The feasibility of the railway and steam train still hasn’t been verified yet; are you sure you want to organize so many people to promote it?”

Michael smiled as he replied, “Didn’t we decide that if we want to bring true peace to Chaos City, we have to get rid of the concept of borders? During the past 100 years of hard work, Chaos City had mostly managed to accomplish this. However, if we want to promote this concept in the entire Norland Continent, the best course of action available to us would be to make the territories of other races more accessible, thereby allowing all beings on the continent to familiarize themselves with the territories and cultures of other races. That’s the most important step to uniting the continent under a banner of peace.”

Novan’s brows were furrowed slightly as he listened with a contemplative look on his face.

“Think about it, if humans, elves, demons, giant dragons… All types of beings are crammed into the same train carriage to embark on a journey together, and this becomes a regular occurrence all over the continent, won’t that be the best way to allow different races to come together? On top of that, doesn’t this concept remind you of something?” Michael continued as he looked at Novan.

Novan’s eyes immediately lit up as he said, “Mamy Restaurant!”

“That’s right! Boss Mag’s genius truly astounds me. Perhaps he understands the true meaning of peace better than we do.” Michael sighed with a smile on his face.

“It is indeed quite fortunate for our Chaos City that he wishes to stay here.” Novan nodded with an earnest expression.

“I think it’s time we become more daring an ambitious as well. Chaos City can no longer just act as a neutral entity and detach itself from the rest of the world a symbol of peace; we have to start taking some initiative in order to bring about the changes we want to see,” Michael said with a solemn expression.

“Are you referring to that?” Novan turned to Michael with a surprised look.

“We can start there.” Michael nodded in response.

…

After all of the elves were organized into the western hall, Mag nodded with a content expression before following a guard toward the side hall.

“Congratulations on receiving the best dish award at the royal banquet, even though I don’t think it was ever in doubt.” Michael’s boisterous voice sounded outside the door not long after Mag had taken a seat.

Mag looked up just in time to see Michael walking into the room, and he smiled as he rose to his feet. “You’re far too kind, City Lord.”

“Take a seat.” Michael sat down in the chair beside Mag, and asked, “Why have you come to visit me at this hour?”

Mag really enjoyed the straightforward manner in which Michael spoke. He immediately began to recount to Michael the horrific experiences that the elves had suffered at the hands of demon and orc mercenaries.

Michael listened with a dark expression and tightly clenched fists, seemingly willing himself to repress his own fury.

“These elves claim to have been saved by the elven princess, and one of my customers brought them to my attention. Almost the exact same thing has happened right outside my restaurant once, and on that occasion, five-year-old Anna lost her grandfather. Prior to that, her parents had already passed away.” Mag looked at Michael with an earnest expression, and said, “I don’t have the power to stop all this from happening, nor am I able to punish those who benefit from these heinous deals, but I hope that our Chaos City can accept and protect them as citizens of the city.”

“I’ve heard a lot about the situation you’re talking about already. Chaos City has accepted some of these elves in the past, but due to the pressure exerted on us by the Wind Forest, we’ve been forced to adopt a more neutral stance regarding this matter.” Michael nodded as he said in a grim voice, “However, I didn’t think that there was such a sinister chain of events taking place behind the scenes. Even though this is a civil conflict within the elven race, the demons and orcs are clearly in the wrong for taking advantage of the situation in order to benefit themselves. The incident that took place in Chaos City last month has been a real wake-up call for me, and I’ve already established a few bases outside Chaos City. If those mercenaries dare to target any of the elven inhabitants of Chaos City, then they’ll be punished by the laws of our city.”

Mag nodded upon hearing this. As the city lord of a neutral city, Michael couldn’t afford to completely go against the will of the elven race, but at the very least, he was still striving to protect the inhabitants of his city, and that was quite uplifting for Mag to see.

“The same thing has happened over and over again right under our noses. I truly feel ashamed of the decision I made 10 years ago.” A self-critical expression appeared on Michael’s face as he clenched his fists, and said, “After a verification process, these elves will become citizens of and receive protection from Chaos City. The children of suitable age among them will be enrolled into Chaos School, and those above that age range will be given jobs so they can settle in Chaos City. I’ll receive a public announcement tomorrow, stating that all elves in need of protection can come to Chaos City. Chaos City will protect them!”

“That’s the Chaos City I know and love. Thank you.” Mag rose to his feet before extending a deep bow toward Michael.

“I also thank you for choosing Chaos City on behalf of our entire city.” Michael also responded with an earnest bow of his own.

Both of them then smiled as they looked at one another.

“Men sure are strange,” Vivian murmured to herself as she looked at the two people in the room through the window, “But that man really does seem like a good person. Even though he already has a daughter, if Luna really likes him…”

“Let’s go and visit the elves. I hope they quickly come to love our Chaos City as well.” Michael led the way out the door.

Mag followed closely behind him, yet just as he was about to leave the hall, he caught sight of a figure disappearing in a flash through the window.

“Vivian is just as cheeky as ever. She always likes to eavesdrop on my conversations, but she bears no ill will, and she won’t reveal what we talked about to anyone,” Michael said with a doting smile on his face.