The Fallen World

Three

I don't know what Reinor is talking about with the Alchemists, but seeing them nodding excitedly. After talking for a while, he turned to say something to Porse and then went back to his crew.

“They want us to blow it up now.”

Reinor spoke quietly to the group.

"Crazy man, we just finished building it, haven't done any safety checks, but already blown it up?"

Yorn looked displeased.

“That's right, the old man and those people just went, go and tell them again. It takes an hour or two to explode.”

Others in the group of workers spoke up.

“Let's see, as long as they stay away from the explosion area. There's no stone in the way up and down that falls on your head, right? Moreover, if there were, the Storm Nation soldiers here would create air shields for them. I'll go tell them this, okay? This is where we show our worth.”

Reinor tries to convince everyone.

It seemed that Reinor's persuasion had shaken the workers, and as expected, for all the soldiers present at the scene, their worries turned into vain. They had to rush after the spear.

Reinor went back to the Alchemists to talk about his intentions, the rest of them began to return to the cavity to check again before detonating. Levis counted the number of burning wires and then bunched them up. Everything happened quickly.

After Reinor's lengthy speech, he began to pick up the torch, signaled everyone to retreat to the crater, and lit the bundle of ropes with fire. Sparks from the slow-burning wire began to run straight into the mouth of the cavity.

Everyone was anxiously waiting.

The explosions in the rock cavity were not very loud, but enough to make the rock face in the hole shake, many more explosions continued, the rock surface vibrated continuously.

"Haha!"

Some people shouted excitedly.

“What did the old man say? Their group is the best, see? No landslides at all!”

Reinor said in a proud tone and cocked his face like "I've got it all!"

At that moment, the group of workers entered. The layer of granite at the mouth of the hole was broken. Now just dig all this out and there's a larger cave opening.

Levis took a shovel and a pickaxe and brought it to the crew. The Royals of the Sercei Kingdom began to disperse to explore deeper into the pit. Anyway, these are rocky mountains so they are pretty clean. In addition, this pit is dug quite wide, so it is very convenient to travel.

“Hey, stay out of the pile of stakes, don’t step in!”

Levis turned to speak to a young girl who had just walked over.

The ceiling of the cave began to make strange noises.

"DANGER!"

After a loud scream, both children were dropped by a series of rocks where they were standing in the shock of the people around.

***

Never before has the Veronica mine been so chaotic. It was almost nighttime and people were still digging. Curses and cries echoed everywhere. Convoys of stone trucks followed each other in and out of the second hole to transport the collapsed stones to another place. The search continues. With each passing moment, the glimmer of hope fades in the survivors whose loved ones are buried.

The group of workers who went inside were either dead or trapped. The people in the Royal Alchemist Kingdom, because they didn't go deep inside, were mostly unharmed, only…

The girl standing near where Levis worked was buried with him. Piles of earth

"Margaretha, Margaretha!"

The sobbing cries of the Alchemists.

"Can't you dig faster?"

A man from the Alchemist group shouted at Porse.

“Sir… Sir, we have already mobilized the entire workforce here.”

Old Porse stammered in reply. He was also extremely scared because he was responsible for the things here.

“Reinor's group has been found, Mr. Porse, Yorn is seriously injured, the rest are dead. The Princess and the other boy have not been found yet.”

A worker ran up to the manager to announce.

The crying grew louder.

Yorn was laid on a wooden stretcher and carried away. The young man was covered in dirt and dust, his arm bones were broken, his legs were bleeding and his head was torn with a long cut from the top to the ears.

“Sir… Mr. Porse… let’s dig… in the wall of the hole, where the… stand. Just now… Levis… and the girl… there…!”

Louis swore.

When Porse heard that, he rushed down to the second hole to urge the workers.

Two more hours of productive digging, the cave entrance under the hole was opened. Midnight has come.

"I see! I see it, everyone!"

Before the eyes of those present in the second hole, an unbelievable scene appeared before their eyes: the young Levis was sheltering the Princess, around him was an aura that protected them both from the huge falling rocks. . The princess appeared to have passed out from lack of oxygen, but Levis was still conscious. His forehead was bleeding and his body was scratched, but perhaps he still didn't realize that he was saved. The shield was still raised, strong and windy, blowing away the small broken rocks around, unable to reach the rescuers who ran.

“Bitch, WIN!!!!”

Old Porse shouted.

Recognizing the familiar voice, the boy slowly raised his face. The wind from the shield he created began to weaken.

The whole Light Adver Royal Family seemed to burst. Their little princess lived.

Levis was carried away on a stretcher. He was about to fall into a coma. The last thing he remembered was Fione's tearful face of pain and joy when she saw him being pulled out of that terrifying hole.

Are you here too? He mumbled before his eyes closed completely.

“Did you see that wind shield?”

"Yes, it's insanely strong."

“How can one kid create such a strong and long-lasting shield?”

“Even though it saved the Princess, it broke the law.”

A group of rescuers spread this magical story to each other, they were all worried about the fate of the young boy.

Yorn looks like it will take a long time to recover. And Levis lay flat for three days.

“Levis, Levis, wake up!”

Fione hurriedly ran to Levis' bed, flipping the blanket over. Levis was lying in a fetal position looking very amused.

"Wake up!"

Chapppp!!!

Fione smacked Levis hard on the butt, causing him to cringe even more compactly than the fetal position. After the twitching, the boy began to jump up as if there was something urgent.

“You want to kill me again?”

Levis snapped.

"Hurry up, someone from the Alchemy Kingdom is coming."

"WHAT?"

Levis startled again, he hurriedly got out of bed.

The people of the Alchemy Kingdom were already sitting in the living room. Levis didn't even get a chance to properly wash up. The man wears a yellow suit with eye-catching patterns and is full of metal jewelry worn on his hands and clothes. “Do the nobles in that country like to wear metal on their bodies?”

“Ch… Good morning, sir.”

He's witty. It was hard to believe that such a noble would come to the home of someone at the bottom of society like Levis and Fione.

“Okay, no need to draw. Our country owes him this time. Here's a little kindness from the Alchemy Kingdom."

Saying that, the person pulled out a large bag filled with Tomame coins.

The two sisters looked at each other with their eyes wide open. With this amount of money, the two sisters can live happily for several years, of course, if properly spent. Levis and Fione had never seen so much money in their lives.

“I'm quite busy today, so I can't stay any longer. Farewell, sisters."

The man quickly put the bag of money on the table and quickly walked out the door, not giving Fione and Levis time to say another word.

Levis and Fione went to the gate to say goodbye to the guest. They watched the visitor's back until he disappeared behind the houses.

“Are you guys having fun?”

The two sisters turned around startled. Before they could rejoice, Old Porse was already behind the two of them.

"What did you come here for?"

Levis asked, still not completely shocked by the unusual appearance of the fat man in charge of the mine.

“I came to visit the benefactor of the Alchemy Kingdom.”

“C… Thank you for your concern.”

Fione nodded and smiled at Porse's words. Levis started to show a displeased expression on his face

“You did save the Princess, but either way, you broke the law, remember?”

“Yes sir…”

He couldn't make any excuses. So he's threatening?

“You have broken the law, which is punishable by death. But because you saved the Princess, you only have to pay a fine."

"How much is the fine?"

Levis began to sweat from fear. But I don't know if there is such a law or not. But with the current situation, the sisters couldn't think of anything else but how to hide it.

“One hundred Fundamentals.”

“Where do we dig such a large amount of money?”

Fione was bewildered. With a hundred dong, the two sisters are lucky to be able to do it for the rest of their lives.

“In the bag he brought just now was a hundred coins the Tomame Alchemist gave your little brother. Are you going to be fined now? Or should I go deliver newspapers to the capital?"

"How do you know it's a hundred dong?"

Levis resisted.

“Because they themselves asked me how much is a reasonable reward, ha ha.”

Old Porse smiled wryly. So this bastard has already counted.

"Grandfather..."

Levis was about to lunge at the greedy manager. Fione stopped Levis and gave him a stabbing pain in the butt.

“Yes sir, we would like to pay the fine. But can you give us a few bucks? Anyway, thanks to that incident, we got this money.”

Fione bargains.

“I do not accept payments from any of the “Remnants”.”

"Come on, good Mr. Porse, everyone knows you're a very responsible person, and you have a majestic appearance and aura, how can you be so petty with lowly people like us?"

Fione began to flatter Porse. His face turned a bit shy

“In the Veronica mine, you are a very powerful man. As long as you give the order, all the workers will not dare to say anything. If you do that, it won't come out, and you can keep the fine."

“Minimize five bucks.”

Old Porse said after a snort.

"Divide fifty-fifty."

Fione continued to try to negotiate a price increase for her and her brother.

"You're twenty."

“Come on, be generous with us.”

Fione continued.

Old Porse paused for a moment and thought about something. In the surrounding houses, people began to notice the presence of this fat guy. The situation did not seem to be very good, so he decided to close:

"The final bid for you is thirty, or I'll report it to the Capital."

"The deal is done, please come inside."

Fione breathed a sigh of relief and quickly closed his words.

In the end, the sisters took the full thirty Fundamentals, and gave the rest to Porse. The old man scornfully turned his back on the boy's anger. Fione still maintained a smile that was somewhat fake to let Porse disappear and then lowered her face.

“That girl, the impulsive temper is not spared? Do you know who that person is?”

Fione frowned and scolded her brother.

"But he's just too much."

Levis argued.

“Now our safety is the most valuable thing. I only have you, please don't do anything stupid and leave me alone, you stubborn ass."

Levis was silent for a moment after her sister's harsh words. His face was contemplative like an old man. Looks like he realized he was wrong.

"I'm sorry."

He hummed in his throat and lowered his head. Obviously his actions are wrong, the consequences are very unpredictable if he dares to say offensive words or commit thugs to Porse. Seeing Levis' apologetic attitude, Fione softened her voice and continued:

"Hey Levis, you're going to change jobs soon."

Fione told him.

“Why is that? If I quit my job, where will I get the money to spend it?"

Levis raised his face in surprise.

Obviously that's it. Levis' wages are savings for the family. If he quit his job, he would certainly not have any extra money to pay for if something happened. The fact that he stayed at home for three days without going to work but only recuperating was already consuming a lot of money for medicine.

“We are living comfortably on thirty Fundamentals for the time being, while you look for another job, I can introduce you to Count Zhephy's lizard farm. I don't want you to work for a greedy, dirty guy like old Porse. Working in an ore mine is also dangerous. And you know I lied too, old Porse hit me many times, right?"

“You… you know what?”

Levis was surprised. It was hard to get past Fione, partly because he was also pretty bad at lying.

“We are sisters, right? I lied very badly. Who in the world falls constantly like me, and what kind of fall is really cool, bruises in a straight line, the surrounding area is fine."

"Sure, I'll listen to you."

Levis obediently accepted Fione's proposal. It's true that he's very bad at hiding.

“Now sit over there so I can change the bandages, okay?”

Fione motioned Levis to sit on a chair by the window. She began to open the small wooden box to get bandages and antiseptic. Levis was still drowsy so he fell asleep while his sister worked on his torn head.

Quit one's job? Going back to work at the earl's house, and then what? – Levis began a stream of thoughts in his head. Working for an earl is not very hard work, and is treated well. But the most important thing is that the salary is not high. What Levis wants is lots of money. With money, you and Fione will live more comfortably.

"Yes!"

Levis was startled to drift away from the stream of thoughts before the electric current from the wound ran straight to his brain.

"It hurts, sister, take it easy for me."

"What kind of weak man is that?"

Grumpy sister.

“Because I'm never gentle then… Ah ah… Are you going to crush my head?”

"Don't say such sensitive things, okay?"

As if under actual torture, Levis twitched in pain at Fione's act of tightening the headband.

“And you, you just have to work hard all the time. At least make some friends, right?"

Fione looked worried. Levis barely had any friends.

“I have no interest in those idiots. They only know how to do useless things.”

“So what is it that interests you?”

Hearing Fione's question, Levis thought silently for a moment.

“I wish one day you and I could leave here, live our lives freely and explore the world. Or if we can't get out of here, at least we don't have to worry too much about money."

Levis replied like an old man.

“Are you reading “The World”?”

Based on the younger brother's answer, the older sister judged that "he's probably reading that book."

“Yes, it was really interesting. I want to know, I want to experience many things!”

"Really?"

Fione laughed. A sad smile. The boy was sitting with his back to his sister, so he couldn't see that smile. She never knew when the day her brother had been waiting for.

That same day, Fione led Levis to the count's ranch. Mr. Karma is currently working there

The storm lizard farm is about a half hour's walk from the Chiron area, not far from it is Count Zhephy's mansion. Fione worked as a maid for the count's house, so she went straight to the mansion, while Levis stayed on the farm with Karma.

"Just help Karma, I'll tell the earl that you've returned to work at the camp."

Fione instructed Levis.

"I got it."

The two said their goodbyes at the farm gate. Old Karma is preparing food crates nearby.

"Hello, Uncle Karma."

“Glad you're okay, Levis, what a miracle.”

Karma said as he was still pulling the string to tie the hay into bundles.

“Please don't say anything about that, okay? You'll be in trouble."

Now the boy grumbled at the old man who kept the lizards. It's really bad luck to say – Levis growled inwardly. Having received a lot of money but also brought a lot of trouble, he began to feel that the money was not enough.

“It's just the two of us here. I was just curious how you were able to create such a powerful air shield.”

Sighing an hour and then taking a deep breath, Levis began to explain:

“I tried it once before after I saw some soldiers on Veronica Street doing it because it looked good, when I was six, maybe. Father Lindon knew about it, so he scolded him a lot. Since then, I don't do it anymore. There's nothing wrong with a few air shields?"

Levis began to briefly but thoroughly explain the matter of the air shield.

Karma nodded as if he understood everything. For a six-year-old who had created an air shield on his own without any guidance, he was a pretty good kid, but unfortunately it was stamped. – The old man who raised the lizard felt sorry for a child prodigy.

“I see! But its shield…”

“Shall we stop talking about this?”

Levis showed a disgruntled expression at him, startling Karma and awkwardly dropping his next sentence. He gave a wry smile and replied:

"Yes, yes, I understand."

Suddenly a strange voice appeared.

“Why are you so hostile towards someone older than you?”

It was a girl's voice, to be more precise it was a girl's voice.

Levis turned to look inside. A pretty girl with long platinum hair tied up in a high ponytail with a gem-studded ribbon and the Alchemist's white-gold dress was standing with her hips glaring at him. The boy was a bit surprised by those blue eyes because they were exactly like Fione's eyes.

Looks younger than me. Huh, stinky chip but brazen, right? – He thought, then clicked his tongue when he heard the voice that sounded like someone rubbing a rag against a slick floor tile. It's really heart-wrenching.

"How dare an ugly wretch like you speak harshly to Karma?"

Now that little girl stretched her whole neck and pulled out her pretty little mouth to the fullest extent and yelled at the boy in the face.

"Who's this girl, Karma?"

Levis turned to ask.

“He talks so much he hates it.”

He added another sentence, without any respect.

“Hey kid, be careful what you say! This is Princess Margaretha of the Alchemy Kingdom.”

Karma exclaimed in alarm, his mouth hanging open at Levis' extremely insolent words.

Pausing for a moment, the little girl began to examine the boy. She walked in circles around him, then put one hand on her chin, the other patting her forehead as if she wanted her brain to spit out some information she had memorized in the past.

“I saw you the other day at the ore mine. You are the sickest youngest of the workers.”

The girl clapped her hands and beat her.

"Does it have anything to do with you?"

Levis was annoyed.

“So… Well, well… how should I say it? How many people survived that day? Anyone else but you?"

Now she turned to stammer.

“Why did this girl come here, Karma? I thought everyone in the Alchemy Kingdom was already on the streets, who would come to this suburban livestock farm?"

Levis was curious, ignoring her question.

“I am the food supplier for the mounts of the Alchemist caravan, so I see them often. Also, over there wants to see my beautiful lizards, they've come here a few times. The princess is very interested in this farm, so she often visits.”

Karma explains in detail.

"But you don't remember anything? You saved the princess."

He was also quite surprised that Levis completely did not recognize who was standing in front of him.

Levis looked around. There seemed to be no one other than the three of them. There must be no one left, he began to clear his throat.

“So that scumbag who ran into a cave and left a stone on top of someone who almost died?”

Tet!

The Princess's hand slapped Levis' cheek, seemingly lacking in strength, so there was only a small "Teak" sound. But for Levis, the slap was a bit painful, because his face was aching from the mining accident.