Hello Scrolls and Nazarins, Mr.Bones with the first chapter of the Yuri Alpha arc, from my fanfic: The One Who Came Back.

A little about the capital of the Sorcerous Kingdom.

Thanks for reading this work, if you want to share, the link will be in the comments.

With you

The One Who Came Back

Chapter 32: E-Rantel

The city of E-Rantel has undergone a tremendous transformation in the past two years. For most of its existence, it was a border village that grew into a city and then a mercantile hub. It later became the first line of defense against invasions, a landmark for adventurers seeking fame and fortune. One thing led to another, and over the decades, it became one of the most important cities in Re-Estize. Now, in just a few months, it has become the capital of the new Sorcerer Kingdom, doubling in size, with its population quintupling.

Due to its new status, its commerce attracts merchants like never before, and adventurers flock in droves.

Life is good, but all of this demands relentless service and superhuman effort. Luckily, we're talking about the Sorcerer Kingdom, where public servants never rest. At any time of day or night, you can go to one of the government offices and be assisted by an Elder Lich. The Construction Army works tirelessly, and the Security Army remains active indefinitely. After all, a city with such wealth attracts all sorts of criminals, but they are swiftly prevented from causing any unrest. Death Knights patrol the streets, while Liches administer prisons and trials.

One of the greatest advantages of humans is their ability to adapt to any environment, probably due to their low sense of danger and self-preservation. Thus, where other species might think twice about establishing a village, humans tend to overestimate themselves and found one at the foot of a volcano. This lack of instinct makes them highly adaptable to both natural and social conditions. So, when they are forced to deal with certain daily situations, they have only two options: flee or acclimate.

When the Sorcerer King conquered the city, the population believed they would be massacred. However, thanks to the intervention of the Hero Momon, their lives were spared. After that, they were forced to witness a daily parade of the dead through the streets. Everyone hid in their homes, businesses remained closed, and fear reigned.

Even with the Hero's patrols, few dared to venture out and speak with him. Until the fear was shattered by the most oblivious creatures of all: children. These small beings of all species tend to be a constant nuisance, requiring constant supervision, or else they end up getting hurt or causing trouble. Even locked in their houses for weeks, it became impossible to keep them quiet.

No one knows exactly how it started. Perhaps a human child ventured out of the house or went to help their father in search of food. They encountered another small human, and then another, and instinctively they banded together. Then a street kid appeared with plans on how to become heroes by defeating the Sorcerer King.

So, they would secretly set out every day, determined to defeat the Undead Knights. Naturally, their tactics had no effect. In fact, the Knight ignored them. So, they attempted a bigger action, and that's when there was a reaction. After being hit by a falling wardrobe from one of the buildings, the Knight went to find his attackers.

Death chased the children through the streets, and soon there were multiple Death Knights pursuing them. Grunts urged them to run farther away from where they lived. From their windows, people on every street witnessed the chase of the children. It would be their end. Hero Momon couldn't be everywhere, so the chances of encountering him were nil. They ended up cornered in front of the Institute, with only the mastermind of the attacks having escaped. He was never seen again, probably fleeing the neighborhood and the city. After all, E-Rantel was not a prison.

A Lich materialized before the children, but before it could inform them that they would be detained, a woman approached. She wore a maid's outfit and had an austere demeanor. She whispered something to the Lich, who nodded.

"You!" the Lich said with a voice as rough as sandpaper. "You must be punished. Follow me."

The children were escorted, openly crying or trying to appear strong, but their tears gave them away. People looked out through their windows with sadness, pity, anger, or a desire for revenge, but no one ventured out onto the streets until they had passed, and then they followed them from a distance and with caution. The procession arrived at the commercial street where the parents of the children lived above the shops.

"PARENTS OF THESE PRESENT BEINGS! BY ORDER OF THE SORCERER KING, YOUR PRESENCE IS REQUIRED," the Lich's voice was not loud but strong and authoritative.

Families gradually came out, each of them imagining that they would be executed on the street as an example to others.

"Your charges are destruction of private property and disobedience to the order to stop. Your actions have been witnessed by this servant, so there is no need for mental intervention to search for evidence. Therefore, as an Itinerant Judge under the power of His Majesty the Sorcerer King, I hereby determine that your sentence shall be applied immediately."

This was the moment they would die.

"The children are sentenced to detention at the Orphan Care Institute for a period of no less than two months, where they will remain from dusk until twilight."

"But... they won't die for attacking a Death Knight?" one of the parents murmured.

People were familiar with the Institute, where orphans were being held captive, widows were enslaved, and who knew what kind of tortures were taking place. It would be worse than death.

"That will be up to the Director. Be ready to be collected at first light." As if that were the signal to depart, the Lich vanished into smoke, and the Knights withdrew, except for one.

The parents hugged their children and wept for their fates. They gathered together and thought about how to save the children. Perhaps it was possible to escape, so they looked at the street and saw the Knight standing guard, still with a piece of wardrobe impaled on one of its spikes. No one would escape.

Morning arrived, and no one except the children had slept. All the families were together. As the first light began to appear, the sound of hooves could be heard, likely a cart with bars and a demon as the guide.

What arrived, however, was a different kind of carriage, large and black, with the symbol of the Sorcerer Kingdom and the Institute on the side. It had open windows, benches, and a cover. It was guided by no one, but what pulled it was a Soul Devourer.

The children had had their last breakfast with their parents; it was a farewell. Some revolted, but they were restrained by their relatives. After everyone boarded, the crying was so intense that the sidewalks were washed clean. When the Knight of the Wardrobe left, the neighbors finally mustered the courage to join the parents of the victims again. They spent the entire day there mourning their loss, too weak to do anything, as if they wanted to punish themselves for not having protected their children.

The day was coming to an end, and so were their hopes, as there was no sign of the carriage. Until they heard CLOP CLOP CLOP, the sound of the Soul Devourer's hooves approaching. It reached the front of the group of parents and stopped.

"MY CHILD! GIVE ME BACK MY CHILD!" they pleaded until the children began to descend, all with lifeless looks. There was widespread weeping.

"What have they done to you? What have they done to my children?"

The children looked at each other, seemingly unsure of what to say or lacking the strength to speak. They all appeared exhausted, and the eldest among them began to try to explain.

"They asked us questions, lots of questions..."

'They were interrogated' one of the parents thought.

"Then we were taken to a white room and poked, squeezed, and measured..."

'EXPERIMENTS!' another parent concluded.

"We had to run..." the youngest interrupted.

"You tried to escape?"

"No, they told us to run and jump, roll and climb a rope and run..."

'Torture...' a mother almost fainted.

"They gave us food..."

'They fed the prisoners, of course,' a grandmother nodded.

"In the afternoon, we went to a place with other children much younger than me," the eldest said. "It was strange; I had to sit in a small chair for a while."

'More torture,' the parents couldn't bear to hear the account anymore.

"There was a person; they wrote something on a black wall. They spoke and made us repeat."

'Indoctrination, they're brainwashing them, sniff!' the mother of the eldest was in tears.

"They gave us food again and sent us away. Tomorrow we have to go again," a girl said, yawning. All the children imitated the gesture.

"The other children, what were they like? Did they say anything?"

"UAAAH! They talked to us during the break. They said we shouldn't annoy the Director."

'Solidarity among prisoners, there is still hope,' one of the parents tried to remain firm.

"Mooom! I want to sleeeep," the youngest said, and all the children nodded.

"Go, you can sleep," one of the mothers said through tears.

Everyone was holding back. For the second night, no one slept, but this time more neighbors gathered in the larger marketplace, showing solidarity and forming their own assumptions. The Knight of the Wardrobe was still on guard, preventing escape.

Every day was the same. The children arrived so exhausted that they could barely answer the barrage of questions.

Each day, more neighbors joined the group of parents. On the sixth day, a surprise swept through everyone, causing such a commotion that almost a riot broke out.

This time, accompanying the carriage, was none other than the Black Hero, Momon.

"My Lord! You've come to free the children!" some shouted.

"Hello, I've come to talk. In these tumultuous times, I hope you don't say something that can be used against you."

Everyone trembled; the undead were lurking, waiting for the first sign of rebellion.

"Right, Lord Momon, thank you for bringing our children back from that prison."

"Hmm, I think there's been some misunderstanding; that is not a prison. In fact, the Director asked me to come here and talk about it."

"What?! But they tortured our children. They arrive barely able to keep their eyes open. They're indoctrinating their minds. They could be killed at any moment for attacking a Death Knight."

"Hmmmm! Now I understand what's wrong. You see, even if they were threatened, I would protect them. But that's not the case. They are indeed being punished, but not for attacking a guard. In fact, no harm was done to him, so there was no loss. Of course, if this kind of thing happens again, there may be punishment for inciting a revolt, so be careful" everyone trembled again "but the children were caught destroying the wardrobe."

"The wardrobe? THAT WARDROBE!?" said an older man, pointing to the piece of wardrobe stuck on the knight's spike.

"Yes, even though it was inside an empty house, it could still have an owner. It seems that the laws of the Wizard Kingdom are quite strict. Destroying something that is not your property is punishable. Here, take this, I have a copy of the laws."

"I don't know how to read..." said one of the men, the neighborhood blacksmith.

"Is that your son?"

"Yes, the oldest one."

"Well, he's learning to read. He can help you with that."

"Reading?! When is he learning to read?"

"Every day. That's what they're doing at the Institute. None of them can read, as far as I know. So they will learn to read, calculate, and exercise, at least for the duration of their sentence."

"But what kind of punishment is this?"

"IT'S TORTURE!" shouted the blacksmith's son. "There's something to do all day long: studying letters, studying numbers, doing exercises, studying laws. I'M TIREEeed..." he whined.

"They're studying with the orphans. At some point in the future, I think they'll start learning a trade. But there's a shortage of masters in all fields, like the blacksmithing. Maybe I'll even teach some fencing classes myself."

This last part simply awakened all the children. A dreamy smile appeared on each face as they imagined themselves learning how to use a sword from a legendary hero.

"Well, I just wanted to reassure everyone. I'll keep an eye on the children, and if something doesn't please me, I will take action with the Sorcerer King." This statement could be interpreted in two ways, but the parents could only imagine the one that suited them best.

That night, all the parents finally managed to sleep, comforted by Momon's words. The following week, the routine continued as usual, and by the following week, the children arrived wearing uniforms, and no one questioned it. At the end of the second month, the children could read and calculate to some extent. And then the punishment was over.

"Darling, he's gone."

"Huh? Who?

"The Knight of the Wardrobe, he's gone. I think the sentence is over."

"Seriously? Already?!!

"I think so. What should we do? Business is still slow. We can't let them roam the streets again; they'll cause trouble" the mother said with a worried tone.

Then they heard the familiar CLOP CLOP CLOP* of the horses approaching until they stopped where they always did. They looked at each other and nodded.

"CHILDREN! QUICK! GET DRESSED. You'll be late for class..."

No one asked if they could keep going or not. Even when one of the siblings who had never participated wanted to join, he only returned with a note that said:

...

"The Orphanage Care Institute appreciates your preference.

For enrollment, we kindly request that parents visit the Institute to discuss the curriculum.

Sincerely

Yuri Alpha

Director of the Orphanage Care Institute."

...

The next day, the boy's mother, accompanied by three other interested neighbors, went with more children to the Institute