The Martial Unity

Not only was his tone neutral, but his conduct was neutral as well, making it impossible for Rui to gauge his emotions.

And yet, it was his word choice that betrayed him.

Since the war, his Master epithet of Dawnbringer had become radically more popular than the epithet that he had gained after his identity as the royal prince of the Kandrian Empire had been revealed.

This was especially true after he had begun traveling around the world as one of the pillars of hope in the Era of Darkness.

And yet, despite that, the official envoy sent to welcome and guide addressed him with the epithet of Void Prince rather than Dawnbringer.

That little clue alone allowed Rui’s sharp mind to derive an endless number of inferences about the stance of the Royal Sol Family regarding him. The fact that he didn’t so much as acknowledge Amare irritated Rui, but more importantly also told him about their stance regarding her. And yet, what drew his attention the most was the Martial Sage’s complexion.

He didn’t even look like a normal human being.

His skin was entirely golden, shining brightly in the bright light of the scorching sun.

“I am grateful to the Solaris Kingdom for this honored welcome from none other than a Martial Sage like yourself,” Rui replied with a formal tone. Once more, not even the slightest hint of emotion could be detected on the Martial Sage’s face. “Allow me to guide you and your companion, Prince Rui.”

He gestured to the Solaris Kingdom as he rose to the air with a powerful gait. Rui and Amare exchanged a brief glance before following the Martial Sage into the air towards the nation.

Their elevation and approach allowed them to get a good view of the Solaris Kingdom.

And what they saw was unlike anything they had ever seen before. The Solaris Kingdom was painfully golden-white in its color profile.

The sandy roads of the Kingdom, the architecture and infrastructure, its people and their attire. Additionally, it appeared that the sol people harbored a grudge against anything that absorbed the light of the sun, for Rui had never seen such a reflective place in the entirety of his life or the memories of John’s life. It was like mirrors covered everything, and everything was polished to be as smooth as glass.

Rui and Amare discovered that even the people were glossy and glistening in the light of the Sun, enhancing the luster of the golden tone of their skin. And yet, strangely enough, the average sol citizen didn’t have the kind of glorious shining golden skin that the Golden Guardian guiding had.

Their skin was only lightly golden and was much more human, as though they weren’t nearly as pure-blooded descendants of Solaris as Golden Guardian was. And yet, amid them, Rui and Amare spotted normal humans as well, many of whom were shackled in golden chains and scantly clothed.

Rui’s eyes sharpened as he instantly understood what he was looking at.

Slavery of non-sol human beings.

Amare’s expression crumbled with much greater horror. Only Rui’s warnings about being careful about her interactions with the Solaris Kingdom prevented her from lashing out at what she saw.

Rui heaved a sigh of relief inwardly as she saw her control herself.

He, too, was disturbed to see how far the ethnoracial supremacy of the sol people went, but he knew that there was no good to be obtained by lashing out. Unfortunately, human civilization on the Panama Continent, in general, had not risen above a lot of cruel and inhumane practices and trades.

And some nations, like the Solaris Kingdom, took it to the very extremes.

Their ideology of sol supremacy was founded on their alleged blood relations with the Sun God Solaris himself, regarding themselves as godkin, while the rest of humanity was no more than evolved animals.

This sentiment was visible in the architecture that was spread across the entirety of the nation.

Countless statues, paintings, engravings, and carvings depicted the Sun God Solaris as a masculine man in magnificent golden-white depiction, around whom were his family and descendants, the sol people who glowed with a more humble gold, and further away were the kneeling, gray humans of the Panama Continent.

They weren’t particularly subtle about their views on non-sol people. Considering this heavy racial supremacistic identity and the fact that his hair and eyes were of a cursed color, he couldn’t help but be impressed that the Golden Guardian was able to completely conceal any and all hints of prejudice against Rui.

“What do you think of our nation, Void Prince?” his neutral voice reached Rui.

Rui was surprised when he took the initiative to speak with Rui outside of formalities.

“…It’s truly unique,” Rui replied with a composed voice. “I don’t think there’s any other nation quite like it.”

He meant that there was no nation quite as insane as the Solaris Kingdom, of course, but he ensured that there was no way his words and tone could be read that way.

“Indeed.” the Golden Guardian nodded as he turned to look at Rui from the corner of his eye. “It is indeed quite a unique nation. I, too, feel this way.”

Rui frowned at the strange words of the Golden Guardian.

The man gazed at Rui knowingly.

“If there was one shortcoming our great nation had, what would you say it is?”

The air tingled as Rui and Amare exchanged a glance before turning back to him. Rui was truly mystified by the strange remarks and questions that the Golden Guardian had asked.

He wasn’t even sure if it was tenable for him to answer the question honestly.

What was wrong with the Solaris Kingdom?

He hadn’t even known the nation for very long, and yet, he could already name a hundred things that were wrong about the nation from his point of view.

“All nations have shortcomings. However, I do not consider myself well-versed enough on the Solaris Kingdom to offer any criticism on it,” Rui carefully remarked. “Thus, I find myself unable to answer that question.”

The Golden Guardian paused, turning towards Rui from the corner of his eye.

“That is quite the diplomatic answer.”

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