Lord: Starting with Contract Half-Elf Twins

"Toll fees and accommodation expenses?"

Bairga was very familiar with these two words, but hearing them from the mouth of this boy in the wilderness made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"That's only fair. How many gold coins would you like to pay?"

"At this stage, I'm not interested in gold coins."

Sure enough, the boy's words hit the nail on the head regarding Barga's worries.

If he were some magical creature that transcended the mortal realm and transformed, then gold coins would indeed have no value to them.

Correspondingly, the price to be paid for such existence is often far more severe.

If you're lucky, you might encounter a benevolent entity like the Brass Dragon, who enjoys making things difficult for humans and playing pranks.

But things are often not so lucky; evil beings often feed on the suffering of mortals.

What kind of being is this boy?

"I need three things as payment," Allen said, holding up three fingers.

Bairga waited anxiously for his next words.

"First, I want you to open your cabin, and I will pick out something I like from there."

One thing... that's alright.

Even the most expensive goods are nothing compared to the entire cargo ship.

"Secondly, I want you to tell me about the past of Sapphire Bay, how many shipping routes have ever reached here, or used it as a transit point."

Are you interested in the past of Sapphire Bay, this cursed land?

They are indeed outsiders; perhaps they decided to stay here on a whim?

"Thirdly, I want you to swear that you will return here once within a year."

Upon hearing this request, Bairga was taken aback.

If it weren't for the circumstances, he wouldn't have wanted to approach Sapphire Bay so rashly this time.

I want to do it again...

"Excuse me, sir, is your third request that I take a magical oath?"

"No, just swearing an oath is enough."

"swear……"

What Bairga wanted to say was that for mortals, oaths are something that can be abandoned at any time.

But then he thought, was it necessary to explain this to the non-human being who was coercing him?

Or perhaps, he outwardly claims he'll swear an oath, but secretly intends to cast a curse on himself...

Barga does indeed possess an amulet that can withstand one spell or curse, so perhaps this third one isn't so significant.

So he thought about it and decided not to say anything more.

"Then, sir, would you like to select your reward in my cabin first?"

"No, I'd like to hear your understanding of Sapphire Bay first."

Allen gave Solina a look, and Solina turned and went to the kitchen.

Viola had already gone upstairs; Solina simply wanted to stay with Allen while he finished talking to the human.

A moment later, she brought out the meal Viola had prepared and placed it on the table, reluctantly giving a portion to Captain Barga.

Although it was nothing more than roasted meat, soup, and wild vegetables, it was seasoned with spices carefully selected by Solina, making it much more refined and delicious than what was served on the beach.

"Let's eat and chat."

Seeing that Allen and Solina had already started eating, Barja didn't have many concerns and started eating as well.

Now that things have come to this, Bairga has made his own judgment: at least this boy is not some kind of demon.

Then there's no need to consider whether or not poison was used.

Seeing the captain eat so calmly, Allen had a rough idea of ​​what kind of person he was.

Although the ingredients, cooking methods, and seasonings were not particularly outstanding, this meal was still much better than what Barca ate on the ship.

He ate his meal while telling Allen about the history of Sapphire Bay.

When he was in a good mood, he gradually opened up and talked about many legends and anecdotes related to history.

Allen was open to all of these requests, hoping to learn as much as possible.

……

After some conversation, Allen and Solina gained a general understanding of the history of Sapphire Bay.

While it's called history, it's not actually comprehensive.

Captain Barga only knew the history of Sapphire Bay from the time of the Kingdom of Ono to the present.

Admittedly, in the eyes of most people, this is the entire history of Sapphire Bay.

But through his chance encounter with the mermaid girl Elaris, Allen learned that beneath Sapphire Bay, there existed ancient magic even older than that of the Kingdom of Ono.

Allen later told Solina about this as well.

Combined with the information Viola learned from the Elder of the Ancient Tree, the Elf race had at least once occupied the lands of the Kingdom of Ono, and also left traces in Sapphire Bay.

But even if we start from the time of the Kingdom of Ono, Sapphire Bay has a long enough history.

According to Bairga, scholars in the southern kingdoms now consider the year when the demons on the continent of Tyrese were driven back into the abyss as the first year of a new era—the Dawn Era.

The period preceding the Cataclysm is referred to as the Era of Turmoil.

As for the history of the turbulent era, Barga was not a scholar and did not know it.

During the turbulent era, before the demons emerged from the Sea of ​​Horrors, Sapphire Bay was under the rule of the Kingdom of Ono, becoming an important hub connecting the southern kingdoms with the northern lands.

This bay is a natural harbor with a superior geographical environment. A large number of shipping routes are concentrated here, whether from the south or the north, by sea or by land, and all kinds of goods are available here.

This led many spellcasters and alchemists to move their residences here in order to access magical materials transported from various places.

The Kingdom of Ono's reputation as the "Land of Mages" and the "Land of Alchemy" largely originated from Sapphire Bay.

If this reputation is maintained, even if the Kingdom of Ono perishes, Sapphire Bay should be able to recover quickly.

Whether to join a newly rising kingdom or, like many cities in the south, become a neutral nation with its own port, is also an option.

But that's where the problem lies.

During the Cataclysm, Sapphire Bay was destroyed, but no one could explain why.

Demons prefer densely populated inland areas; they are naturally inclined to kill and consume souls. Sapphire Bay is not a primary target area for demons.

Moreover, even if the demons destroyed Sapphire Bay, they should have left behind a large amount of ruins, just like the Kingdom of Ono.

The demon had no interest in thoroughly destroying the entire building.

In fact, even after the Kingdom of Onor was ravaged by demons, the remnants of that kingdom still enabled the later Kingdom of Dorne to rise to power.

Even in the western wilderness, which was not brought under control due to insufficient resources, one can still find various ancient architectural remains.

The closer you get to Sapphire Bay, the fewer these ancient architectural relics there are; it's practically a wilderness.

This has led scholars to speculate that there are other hidden reasons behind the destruction of Sapphire Bay.

Of course, this is just speculation by scholars.

After entering the Dawn Era, there were also many people who wanted to revive Sapphire Bay.

However, each time, they encountered various unexpected events.

Even the traces they left behind were erased for various reasons.

It is now the 423rd year of the Dawn Calendar.

For four hundred years, Sapphire Bay has remained as desolate and pristine as it has been throughout the turbulent era.

People believe that an ancient curse exists in Sapphire Bay, and no one dares to approach it anymore, fearing that they too will be afflicted by the curse.

This claim spread far and wide, and the place was no longer praised as "Sapphire Bay," but rather called an "ominous place."

Of course, there are occasionally people like him who have nowhere else to go and dock at Sapphire Bay, or those who are not afraid of death and take the initiative to sail their boats into Sapphire Bay.

However, the idea that the curse has never been broken suggests that these people have not been able to break it either.

At this point, Barga couldn't help but worry about his own fate.

Solina frowned slightly; Barga's words made her somewhat worried.

Allen didn't react much; he had already heard about the ominous place from Ilaris once.

He was more focused on something else.

"Since this place is called an ominous, cursed land, what happened to the flight routes that originally used this place as a transit point?"