Unruly Summon Chapter 3: Decision (Patreon)

"Good question," nodded Wendy. "I've been wondering what caused this war myself. I spent a few months concentrating on research, then suddenly there are knights banging on my door, and I stick my head out to discover that a quarter of our territory has been overrun!"

"Allow me," chimed in Christine. "The specific events that led up to the outbreak of war are complex, but the underlying issue is simple enough: the populations of the kingdoms are growing, but arable land is shrinking, and even the land still considered viable loses fertility year on year. We've once again reached a tipping point, in which we're unable to feed the growing populations of the four kingdoms. We've tried policies such as limiting birthrate, but getting international agreement is... difficult. The elves have naturally low birthrates, so they claim they should be exempt. The dwarves claim that their research towards underground farms has boosted food production by more than enough to offset their population growth, so they should be exempt too. Due to the nature of demon procreation, they claim that controlling their birthrate isn't feasible at all. Each kingdom continues to put themselves first, at the expense of the world as a whole, and now the demons have decided to expand their farmlands by force."

Hah. Even in this fantasy land, the prisoners' dilemma still rears its ugly head. "Why is arable land decreasing?"

"The damn monsters," answered Wendy. "I mentioned miasmic floods. Whenever enough of them gather, they migrate and bring miasma with them, and once land is polluted, it's lost forever. Even after hundreds of years, we haven't found any way to cleanse an area that has been poisoned. I've been grappling with the problem myself, and I'm ashamed to say I've made no headway. The best we can do is continuously cull the monsters and prevent the problem getting worse, but even then, the number of people strong enough to push deep into the corrupted lands is insufficient. We've only ever been able to delay the spread, and never stop it completely or turn it back."

If it was insufficient before, what was it now? Presumably, all of humanity's strongest had been recalled to fight the demons, so even if they survived this war, would they then have to face a vast monster flood?

"And each time a dragon returns to the surface, entire regions can be rendered uninhabitable," added Christine.

"It sounds like you're screwed whatever the outcome of this war..." I pointed out.

"If you're willing and able to solve our miasma problem, you'll truly be a hero in every sense of the word, but unfortunately, it's not the sort of problem that can be solved with brute force," said Stephanie. "To be truthful with you... you aren't wrong. But that's our problem to solve. Mine especially, as part of the royal family. We only ask for your help against the demon aggressors. We can't ask for more than that."

... What an awful fantasy land this was. I wandered over to the window, taking a better look at the stinking town below. After that story, it was hard to see it as anything other than a mess.

There was an obvious plus point to dealing with that mess, though; magic! "Lux," I chanted again, summoning another small ball of light. Despite pushing as hard as I could, the resulting light was no brighter than my previous attempt. Did I need a different word to make a stronger light? What were the rules? What else could I do? The thought of getting to play with magic got my heart thumping with excitement.

It was a shame about the price I'd need to pay. Kill or be killed. That was... not cheap.

Short of my death, I didn't need to worry about Earth. At least, assuming they were telling the truth. It wasn't as if I'd obtained information from a large pool of people here. They could be telling me whatever they liked to encourage me to stay. By the time they sent me back, if they turned out to be lying, it wasn't as if I'd have any recourse. Nor did I have any way to confirm their answers. Maybe I could find a knowledgeable elf or dwarf to check with? Which raised an interesting point.

"What are the elves and dwarves doing in this war, then?"

"Remaining neutral," answered Stephanie.

"The idiots," spat Christine. "If we fought together, we'd have a chance. By choosing to stay out of it, they're doing nothing but sealing their fates. The demons will simply pick us off one by one."

"I don't like this..." I admitted. "But... I'd feel bad if I just abandoned you. I still need more information, though, and I'll warn you now that I have no idea how I'd react in a real fight. I might simply freeze up."

"That's normal," said Christine. "Rather, I'd be worried if you could simply kill someone without hesitation or emotion. We would certainly never allow such a person to become a knight."

"So... What now?" I asked.

"Not much," answered Stephanie. "We're hardly going to send you to the front lines immediately. Until you're capable of handling yourself, it's safest to keep your existence a secret. Christine will teach you swordplay and combat skills, on top of acting as your bodyguard. Wendy will teach you magic and associated lore. I'm sure she'd be overjoyed if you want to try your hand at some enchanting, too, but there's unlikely to be time. I will teach you history, geography, politics and whatever local knowledge you need. I'll also be your liaison, so if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me. And finally, Mary will act as your personal assistant, taking care of food, clothing, chores, or any other needs you might have. She also has a mild affinity with white magic, and is able to cast lower class healing spells. Frankly, I'd rather have a fully qualified healer attached to you on top of Christine, but certified healers are too valuable to spare right now, and we have no reason to believe information about your summoning has leaked. We aren't expecting assassination attempts, and Mary will be sufficient to deal with training accidents and suchlike."

Wow... Shit just got real. The thoughts I'd had about her weird inflection on 'other' were blown away by the casual mention of assassination. I hadn't even considered assassination attempts. I'd said I didn't have enough information, and that was a definite point against. I looked over at Mary, who besides her five word introduction, hadn't said a word throughout the entire conversation. Her expression had barely even changed, despite the heavy topics, and she was still smiling gently. Catching me looking, she gave a curtsy, spreading the skirt of her black-and-white dress as she dipped her knees and bowed her head.

"I look forward to serving you, Master," she said, and this time it was the thoughts on assassination that were immediately shunted to the back of my mind as my eyes fixed on the metal collar she was wearing.

"Huh?" she asked, catching my gaze. The smile finally gave way to an expression of confusion. "Is something wrong?"

I'd spotted the collar the first time I'd looked at her, but I wasn't about to question the local fashion. Coupled with her calling me 'master', though, I was starting to get suspicious. Perhaps that was just what local culture dictated maids would call those whom they served, but in the corner of my vision I spotted Stephanie tense up, her expression turning even more nervous than when I'd asked for the cause of the war. That was evidence enough for me that something was up.

"Please tell me what purpose that collar serves."

"Oh, this?" asked Mary, tapping it. "It's just my slave collar."

"I changed my mind," I said, turning back to Stephanie. "I'm going home."

"Whu?" gasped Mary, panicking. "What happened? Did I do something to displease you, Master? What did I do wrong?"

"I... What...? Why?" stammered the princess, apparently completely blind-sided by my sudden about-face. To her credit, she collected herself quickly, but for a moment she'd shown as much panic as Mary. "Okay, but please can you tell us why you changed you mind?"

"Isn't it obvious? You keep slaves!"

"Would you rather she was left on the streets to starve?" asked Christine, raising an eyebrow.

"What? Why would she starve?"

"Mary?" asked Stephanie, ceding the floor to the still-panicking slave. "Please fill him in on the details of your status."

"Y... Yes! My family ran a small clinic on the outskirts of the capital, but it ended up a victim of the church's universal healing initiative," she fired out without even taking a breath. "We needed to pay off loans, and because of my age, I was the most valuable family member, so I volunteered!"

"I think you've skipped a lot of important detail there," I grumbled, but the poor girl was obviously still flustered, apparently blaming herself for costing her kingdom a hero. Her family had been driven out of business by the church? It came as no surprise that there was a church, given that Wendy had already directly referenced gods. Given the outline, I could guess they'd started up some scheme to provide free healing for all, and it had driven commercial healers out of business, but I failed to see how that was any sort of valid excuse.

"If I may," added Christine, who remained very much unflustered. "Nineteen seasons ago, the church launched the universal healing initiative, providing free healing magic for all who required it. As a natural consequence, established healers lost their business because there was no way for them to compete. That was an obvious and foreseeable outcome, so the church took steps to mitigate it by offering ordination to any affected healer, bringing them into the church's ranks. Many took up the offer, but others were disinclined to accept the cut to their income that such a move would entail. Of the group that didn't join the church, most changed career, or joined the army, but a minority refused to believe the church's initiative was sustainable, instead believing that they could wait it out. Mary's parents were a part of that group, and they took out extensive loans to cover operating costs, expecting to repay them when business picked back up. It never did, and by that point, they were stuck. The church was still willing to take them on, but they wouldn't pay off the loans, and the debt had grown beyond the point that could be covered by the salary of a church healer. With no means of repayment on the horizon, the creditors began legal proceedings to seize Mary's parents and their property. Such an action would have left Mary and her younger brother to fend for themselves, without a home. Mary could have joined the church as an apprentice healer, but her brother was too young for employment, nor would the church house the family of a mere apprentice, so this was the decision she reached to protect her family. I know you come from a different culture, but if you'll forgive my rudeness, please don't use that as an excuse to belittle her sacrifice."

I treated Christine to my best glare. Belittle her sacrifice? Of course I wasn't! Mary was the victim here, not anyone I had any intention of blaming! What sort of society let someone sell themselves to pay off a loan? If the church could afford to give free healing to everyone, surely society could have some sort of basic state welfare?

And I couldn't help but note that Christine had given that entire spiel without once using the word 'slave'.

"And why do you wear a collar?" I asked.

"I have to! It's the law!" Mary fired out, still launching her words at a hundred miles an hour. "Do you not like it? This is just a basic one, but they come in a range of styles and colours! I could change it!"

And then she took it off, holding it out towards me as if expecting me to inspect it.

"Uh..." I commented, not having expected that. I'd seen 'slave' and 'metal collar', and perhaps had jumped to some unwarranted conclusions, like it being an evil mind control device. But she just took it off, all on her own, and no-one in the room batted an eyelid. Now that I could see the whole thing, it had a simple catch on the back, with hinges on either side. There didn't even seem to be any means of locking it. "So it's just... something that signifies that you're a slave? It doesn't force you to obey orders?"

She shook her head madly.

"Using any sort of magic that overrides free will against any sapient, slave or free, human or otherwise, is a serious crime," explained Stephanie. "No exceptions. Not even against demons."

"If the idea of people selling themselves for money disgusts you, I'll add that since the outbreak of war, the practice has actually been suspended," added Christine. "Not by law, but because of simple market forces. There are laws about the treatment of slaves, including the requirement to feed them, and in the current climate... Let's just say that the supply of willing volunteers started to vastly outstrip demand. For a brief period before the suspension, people had to pay to enslave themselves. Things have reached the point that enslavement is rarely even used as a criminal punishment, due to the incentive it was causing the poorer citizens to commit petty crimes."

"Seriously?" asked Wendy. "Things are that bad? Sheesh, I really need to get out of my lab more."

'Seriously' was right. That was utterly ridiculous. Slavery had been banned not out of any sort of morality concerns, but because they had too many people who wanted to be slaves? What sort of state was this country in for the people to be that desperate? People selling themselves just for the chance to eat?

Drat. I looked around the room. Mary, who'd put her collar back on, was watching me with fearful eyes, still obviously blaming herself. Christine looked as steady as always. Wendy looked surprised, apparently not having known how bad things were.

But Princess Stephanie was the worst. She was a bundle of nerves, a mix of hope and fear evident as she waited for my next words.

Dammit. I still didn't like this. This kingdom was obviously not squeaky clean, but I had to admit Earth wasn't either. I had the distinct impression they hadn't given me complete answers to a few of my questions, and the way Christine had brushed off the exact cause of the war as 'complex' without offering any explanation hadn't escaped my notice, but if they weren't planning to send me to the front lines immediately, I had the chance to do my own research before I did anything I couldn't take back. Besides, if they weren't being honest with me, how could I trust them to send me home?

That applied even if their reasoning was purely practical rather than malicious, given the state the princess had been left in. I had no reason to believe sending me back was any easier than summoning me. If I turned out to be no use, wasn't there a chance I'd be killed rather than sent home, so that a replacement could be summoned quicker? Even if I didn't want to help them, it would be safer to stick around and learn the spell to send myself home than to admit my unwillingness to them here. But, if they were being truthful—and to some extent, perhaps even if they weren't—if I wanted to do some good and improve lives, whoever's lives they were, wouldn't I have a better chance here, where I apparently had a bunch of gods backing me, than back on Earth where I was just a bog-standard powerless university student?

"Fine. I'll stay. For now."