Chapter 549: 474 "The Great Hall of Ash"_2
Under the influence of the magic, Reiger’s eyes were like looking through the lenses of a telescope, his vision suddenly leaped forward, pulling toward the front.
Soon, Reiger saw the grand entrance of a large cathedral.
There, soldiers clad in armor and wielding spears stood guard.
"Humans?"
Reiger recognized the identity of those soldiers.
Indeed, they were not fairies, but humans.
Salisbury in Fairy Country Britain was the only city where humans enjoyed autonomous rights, living there without having to pledge allegiance to any fairy, only obeying the chief of the Wind Clan.
The chief of the Wind Clan in Salisbury had even recruited humans, forming a guard squad primarily composed of humans.
Unfortunately, this did not mean there were no humans in the city who existed as slaves.
Only the humans living in Salisbury were granted autonomy.
And humans brought from other places by other fairies naturally did not receive such good treatment.
"Hurry up, you despicable human!"
Just then, a rather splendidly dressed fairy passed by Reiger and Altoria, cursing at the human beside them as they walked.
"Can’t you even carry things properly, moving so slowly is just wasting my time!"
"Move faster! And hold it steady! If you dare break anything, I’ll send you to Oxford!"
"Such a useless creature!"
The human, being scolded, could only fearfully carry the luggage that was too heavy for him, sweating profusely as he struggled to keep up with his master, panting heavily.
"..."
Having canceled the use of "Thousand Mile Vision," Reiger simply watched this scene silently, expressionless.
"Reiger?" Altoria had also managed to compose herself by then, looked at the expressionless Reiger, then at the scene he was observing, and whispered as if understanding something, "Does it bother you?"
"...Not really," Reiger was silent for a moment, then spoke faintly, "I’ve seen quite a few scenes like this."
In the continent of Akasha, there was still a system of slavery, and the world of the Overlord did not particularly emphasize human rights, so, similar scenes were not uncommon to Reiger.
However, whether in the continent of Akasha or the world of the Overlord, although there were slaves, they were not all-encompassing.
On the contrary, in Fairy Country Britain, humans who were not slaves were the minority, with those considered slaves comprising ninety-nine percent.
Such treatment, where almost the entire race was reduced to a slave group, was something even Reiger had never seen before.
Thanks to this, recalling the treatment of humans in many of the original stories, Reiger’s voice unconsciously became colder.
"To be dominated by fairies like this, it would be better if there were no human race to begin with."
At this remark from Reiger, Altoria could only smile bitterly.
"Fairies will never allow humans to go extinct," Altoria said, "Without humans, there would be no Fairy Country as it is now."
Why say that?
The reason is simple.
"Fairies are the planet’s spirits, not only long-lived and very resilient, they don’t need to eat, nor do they need to consume any resources to survive, as long as they keep their names, their will, and their value, fairies can continue to exist."
"That is to say, fairies can exist without enjoyment, entertainment, or the effort to survive."
"Such beings are omnipotent, yet they don’t make an effort to grow and develop, so wherever they go, fairies lack their own civilization."
Altoria looked around at the exquisite buildings surrounding them.
"That these fairies could build such a city and obtain so many entertainments relies on humans."
"Although humans are full of weaknesses, short-lived, unable to heal wounds, needing food, and dying immediately upon attack, it is precisely because of this that humans, in order to survive and thrive, have almost exhausted all means."
"To fill their stomachs, humans will farm, till the land, and gradually accumulate rich agricultural knowledge, planting many crops."
"To shield themselves from rain, from storms, they will build houses, construct buildings, and eventually even study aesthetics."
"Thus, humans can create flourishing civilizations, making many amusements, satisfying both their physical and spiritual needs."
"Fairies don’t need to satisfy physical needs, but they do seek entertainment, have spiritual needs."
"Thus, humans are able to survive in this country."
In short, fairies are a species that has nothing but strength, yet they all have a heart that seeks to relieve boredom and frolic in the world."
They lack abundant entertainment and cannot create any worthwhile entertainment themselves; thus, they need humans who can create these things.
Fairies keep humans to entertain themselves.
Whether it’s tormenting them to listen to their screams of pain or nurturing them to create interesting things, fairies’ attitudes towards humans may vary, but their starting points are largely the same.
To fairies, humans are a hobby to pass the time, even if not as slaves, they are still seen as items, not as equals in life.