Chapter 474: Cathedral of the Ash Tree

Just like Artoria had said before, Salisbury didn’t really have anything special besides its cathedral, but it had a bit of everything, and nothing was lacking.

In this city, there were dazzling goods for sale, all kinds of buildings, beautiful scenery, and relaxing spots like fountains, streams, pavilions, and gardens.

Every fairy who came here looked like they were on vacation, as evidenced by how they came and went with smiles on their faces, showing they were pretty happy.

In a city like this, Riezel and Artoria were just two insignificant faces in the crowd since nothing about them stood out or attracted any attention.

At least, this was true for them, who had already disguised their true appearances with illusions. No one could tell there was anything unusual about them, and no one gave them a second glance since they looked just like ordinary tourists, wandering around the city doing nothing remarkable.

Maybe the only thing they might’ve done that stood out was probably all the shopping.

"A full map of Britain, enough food and water for two people for a whole month, spare clothes and toiletries, and some handy tools we might need on the road—did we get all that?"

Walking along the laid-back, vacation-like streets, Riezel checked the supplies he had stashed in the storage space of the Dimensional Magic Cube while asking Artoria, who was walking beside him.

"Y-Yeah, we got everything..." Artoria looked kind of hesitant. "But... was it really necessary to buy stuff for me too?"

One couldn’t really blame her for saying this.

She was a fairy, not a human, so she didn’t even need to eat in the first place. From her perspective, buying food for two was just wasting money, and it wasn’t just a little—Riezel had bought an entire month’s worth.

Besides that, Riezel also bought clothes for her, which were a far cry from the villager-looking outfit she was wearing now. While they weren’t exactly fancy, they were already way more luxurious than anything a countryside fairy would normally wear.

Moreover, Riezel had also picked up a full set of toiletries just for her.

All of this made Artoria feel super awkward, especially since she hadn’t paid for a single thing herself.

Of course, more than awkward, she was just stunned by how rich Riezel acted.

It couldn’t be helped.

No matter what Riezel bought, he just casually threw gold around—anyone from a rural village would be completely blown away.

Riezel, however, just smiled at her words.

"It’s better to buy it now just in case. Who knows if we’ll need it later, or if we’ll even get another chance to go shopping like this?" Riezel said casually. "Don’t overthink it. Gold isn’t that big of a deal to me. I was actually kinda worried fairies in Faerie Britain wouldn’t accept gold as currency, but luckily, they love treasures. I mean, that’s the only reason we had such an easy time buying all this stuff."

"But still..."

Artoria still looked like she couldn’t accept it.

"Just think of it like something you picked up for free, alright?" Riezel said with a chuckle. "Back in Tintagel, didn’t the fairies take the treasure near you the same way?"

Hearing this, Artoria immediately went quiet.

Riezel didn’t say anything more to her either and just lifted his gaze and looked ahead.

Over there, a grand building stood, giving off a solemn vibe completely different from everything else around it.

"Hmm... that’s the cathedral, right?"

Riezel spoke like he was talking to himself.

"Yeah..."

Just like Riezel, Artoria looked at the massive, cathedral-like structure, responding in a voice that sounded unusually complicated.

"That’s the center of Salisbury and also where the bell tower is... It’s the oldest monumental structure in Faerie Britain—the Cathedral of the Ash Tree."

’Ash Tree’, also known as ’Aesc’, was a name that held deep meaning for Artoria and every fairy in Faerie Britain.

Thousands of years ago, in the distant past, Faerie Britain had seen another savior.

That savior had wiped out many Calamities and saved countless fairies.

That savior had stopped wars and created peace.

Just like Artoria, who wielded the Staff of Selection, that savior was also a Fairy of Paradise and possessed a weapon of the same nature but in a different form—a spear.

Because that savior had made many contributions to the future of Faerie Britain, to honor her, the very first massive building ever constructed in Faerie Britain, Salisbury’s cathedral, was named after her—the Cathedral of the Ash Tree.

As for the ’bell tower’ Artoria mentioned, it was, as the name suggested, a place that held a bell, which was none other than the Bell of Pilgrimage.

Aside from one of the six Bells of Pilgrimage, whose location was still unconfirmed, the other five were currently housed in the bell towers of Salisbury, Gloucester, Norwich, Oxford, and Orkney.

In Salisbury, the Cathedral of the Ash Tree served as a bell tower, and at its highest point rested the Bell of Pilgrimage, guarded by the Wind Clan.

Knowing the previous generation’s savior and the Bell of Pilgrimage were connected to this cathedral, it wasn’t surprising that Artoria’s tone had become so complicated.

"Clairvoyance."

Riezel quietly used a sensory enhancement magic that let his vision leap forward and see distant scenery.

Thanks to the effect of the magic, Riezel’s eyes, as if looking through a telescope, suddenly stretched into the distance, pulling his view far ahead. Before long, he saw the entrance of the cathedral, spotting soldiers in armor standing guard there, each holding a spear.

’Humans, huh?’

Riezel recognized their identities.

Indeed, they weren’t fairies but humans.

Salisbury was the only city in the Fairy Kingdom that granted humans independent rights, and the humans who lived here didn’t have to pledge loyalty to any fairy, only to the head of the Wind Clan.

In addition, the head of the Wind Clan had also recruited humans in Salisbury, forming a guard unit mainly composed of them.

Unfortunately, that didn’t mean no humans were living as slaves in the city.

Only the humans who lived within Salisbury were granted autonomy, while those brought in from other places by other fairies as their property naturally weren’t treated so well.

"Hurry up, you lowly human!"

Suddenly, a fairy dressed in relatively fine clothing happened to walk past Riezel and Artoria, yelling at the human beside them as they went.

"You can’t even carry a few things properly and walk so damn slow! You’re just wasting my time!"

"Move faster! And hold them steady! If you break even one thing, I’ll ship you off to Oxford!"

"Useless piece of trash!"

Being scolded, the human could only carry the luggage, which was clearly too heavy for him, with a terrified look, sweating profusely as he struggled to keep up with his master, gasping for breath.

"..."

Riezel, who had just canceled the use of Clairvoyance, silently watched the scene with an expressionless face.

"Riezel?"

Artoria, who had already calmed herself by then, looked at Riezel’s expressionless face, then at the scene he was watching.

"You can’t stand it, can you?" Artoria said softly as if she understood what he was thinking.

"Not really..." Riezel paused for a moment, then replied in a quiet tone. "Scenes like this... no matter where... I’ve seen plenty of them..."

On the Akasha Continent, slavery still existed, and the world of Overlord didn’t exactly value human rights either, so Riezel had seen many similar situations.

However, whether on the Akasha Continent or in the world of Overlord, not everyone was a slave. In contrast, in Faerie Britain, humans who weren’t slaves were the minority, as about ninety percent of them were treated as slaves.

A situation where almost an entire race had been reduced to slaves—even Riezel had never seen that before. Because of this, as he recalled how humans were treated in the original work, his voice unconsciously turned cold.

"Being ruled over by fairies like this... might’ve been better if humans never existed in the first place."

Hearing this, Artoria gave a bitter smile.

"Fairies would never let humans go extinct, you know?" Artoria said helplessly. "If there were no humans, there wouldn’t be a Fairy Kingdom today."

Why was that?

Simple.

"Fairies are parts of the planet. Not only do they live long lives, but their vitality is especially resilient. They don’t need to eat, nor do they need to consume any resources to survive. As long as they don’t lose their name, their will, or the value of their own existence, fairies can live on indefinitely."

"In other words, fairies can exist without needing enjoyment, without needing entertainment, and without needing to struggle for survival."

"With such traits, they are capable of anything, yet they don’t actively try to grow or put in effort. So, no matter where they go, fairies don’t have their own civilization."

Artoria spoke while looking around at the beautiful buildings.

"In the first place, the reason fairies can build cities like this and enjoy so much entertainment is because of humans."

"Even though humans are full of weaknesses, short-lived, in need of food, and will die easily if attacked, it’s precisely because of these weaknesses that humans, to survive and thrive, will go to any lengths."

"To fill their stomachs, humans will farm, till the land, and gradually accumulate rich agricultural knowledge to grow vast amounts of food."

"To shelter from the rain and storms, they build houses and structures, and eventually even study aesthetics."

"In conclusion, humans can create prosperous civilizations, manufacture various forms of entertainment, and satisfy both physical and mental needs."

"Fairies don’t need to meet their physical needs, but they do desire entertainment and have mental needs."

"That’s why humans can survive in this country."

In short, fairies were beings who had nothing but power, yet they possessed a heart that sought to dispel boredom and play around.

Because they didn’t have much entertainment and couldn’t create decent entertainment themselves, they needed humans to create these things for them.

Fairies raised humans for their own amusement.

Whether it was torturing them and taking pleasure in their screams or training them to create interesting things, fairies might vary in their treatment of humans, but the underlying purpose was largely the same.

For fairies, humans were just something to pass the time— not equals, but rather items, even if they weren’t slaves.

For this reason, the Queen controlled humans, even regulating their population and distributing them across various cities in a certain ratio, which was undoubtedly a form of resource distribution.

Even though the cities in the Fairy Kingdom may not have been built by humans, they certainly utilized human imagination and creativity.

Including the Cathedral of the Ash Tree, every building here was filled with human societal style, making it clear how fairies had exploited humans to come up with these architectural designs.

This was the role of humans in this world.

This was the position of humans in this world.

They could be things of interest.

They could be victims of abuse.

They could be toys to play with.

They could be tools to use.

They could even be food for consumption.

"Salisbury here is already quite good—at least the head of the Wind Clan has granted humans some independence..." Artoria continued explaining softly. "If it were humans in other cities, their treatment wouldn’t be as good."

For example, in Gloucester, humans were commodities to be sold or even auctioned.

In Oxford, some parts of a human’s body were served on the dining table as food.

Riezel, who was familiar with the original work, naturally knew about such matters, or else he wouldn’t have said that.

"Yeah, fairies are not beings worth saving."

After dropping this indifferent remark, Riezel turned and walked away.

Artoria hurriedly followed.

"You better not mess around, Riezel." Artoria observed his expression and carefully advised. "I can understand how you feel, but even if you throw a tantrum here, the way humans are treated won’t change."

"I know..." Riezel replied calmly, his tone remaining indifferent. "I don’t plan on causing a scene... at least, not for now..."

Leaving behind this unsettling remark, he continued walking forward.

Artoria silently followed, but as she did, she suddenly sensed something was wrong.

"Um... isn’t this the way to the cathedral?" Artoria asked hesitantly, and a sense of unease started to grow within her.

"Yes, this is the way to the cathedral." Riezel admitted calmly.

"You... You want to go to the cathedral?" Artoria asked, fear creeping into her voice. "What for?"

Was he going to meet with the head of the Wind Clan?

For the humans in this city?

Artoria began to let her imagination run wild.

She couldn’t help it.

With her Fairy Eyes, Artoria had already vaguely figured out Riezel’s intention to go to the cathedral.

Sure enough, Riezel said the words that made Artoria’s unease explode.

"Isn’t that cathedral supposed to serve as the bell tower?" Riezel casually remarked. "Since that’s the case, I’ll take you to the Bell of Pilgrimage there so you can ring it."

Riezel’s tone was as easygoing as saying

’Let’s go check out the scenery,’

which made Artoria think without hesitation and turn to run.

*Pa!*

Riezel was quick to grab Artoria by the nape of her neck, pulling her back.

"No! Let go of me! Let me go!"

Artoria struggled, shouting hysterically, which drew the attention of several passersby.

"Why are you running?"

Riezel narrowed his eyes, staring at Artoria.

"Why? Can you blame me?!" Artoria struggled and yelled. "You don’t plan on going into the bell tower the proper way, do you?!"

"Well, isn’t that obvious?" Riezel responded bluntly. "Do you think the people of the Wind Clan will let strangers like us approach the Bell of Pilgrimage?"

Indeed, the Bell of Pilgrimage was a symbol of the great fairy clans, tightly guarded and protected by them, so how could an ordinary person just wander close?

Not to mention, ringing the Bell of Pilgrimage was a necessary condition for a Fairy of Paradise’s awakening. Whether it was the current Artoria or the past savior Aesc, both of their missions required ringing the six Bells of Pilgrimage.

Moreover, considering Artoria’s objective in ringing those six bells was to overthrow Queen Morgan’s reign, could the Queen tolerate that? Would the clan heads loyal to her just stand by and watch?

Given all this, ringing the Bell of Pilgrimage with the permission of the clan head who watched over the bell was clearly impossible.

If that was the case—

"Why don’t we just teleport right in front of the Bell of Pilgrimage?" Riezel proposed a solution that was, in many ways, both simple and effective. "You’ve seen my teleportation magic, right? As long as the cathedral doesn’t have any means to block teleportation, I can easily get you right in front of the Bell of Pilgrimage."

Indeed, as long as the location of the Bell of Pilgrimage was known, getting there and ringing it would be no challenge for Riezel, who could use teleportation magic.

"But we’ll be in serious trouble with the Wind Clan!" Artoria continued to protest.

"Duh, we already pissed off the Fang Clan, so what’s the problem adding one more like the Wind Clan?"

Riezel spoke indifferently while rolling his eyes.

"Besides, I might end up fighting the Queen someday, and you might have to overthrow her as part of your mission. If we’re going against the Queen, then that means we’re going up against every fairy clan loyal to her."

"So what’s the big deal about making enemies with one or two clans ahead of time?"

Upon hearing Riezel’s reasoning, Artoria was left speechless.

"It’s decided then. Let’s go find the Bell of Pilgrimage." Riezel made a firm decision.

In the next moment, he cast teleportation magic and vanished from the street.

===

At the same time, two armies of fairies arrived one after another in Salisbury.

"Hmph!"

Looking at the Fairy Knight in front of him, Woodwose snorted coldly and took the lead, entering Salisbury.

"Keep up."

Gawain spoke softly, then led her large army into the city with great momentum.

Just like that, the atmosphere in Salisbury suddenly shifted, becoming tense and intense.