Ajax and Shaula listen carefully to the good news about the end of the deity war. Very few of the heroic nobles died during the campaign. Every single dragon knight was annihilated. Osva slew Semjaza. The so-called Supreme Semjazan Empire is more or less defenseless now.

Baron Liri claims that the Empire will crumble even without the Federation acting. However, this nation and its people must still act quickly to secure the Empire’s land and resources. This segued into news about the South.

There was an earthquake that caused a tsunami in the Southern oceans. Thirty million people living near the southern coastline of the Federation were wiped out. A lot of farmland was destroyed as well, resulting in the South losing considerable agricultural production. About two billion people living in that region can no longer stay there and hope to survive.

In order to provide for those displaced citizens, the Federation must invade the Empire as quickly as possible. This is the Baron’s argument. The Federation will treat the displaced Southerners as settlers. They can live in the captured cities and cultivate the Empire’s farmland.

The Baron explicitly puts it in terms of a domestic migration crisis that can still be averted through conquest. The name given to this colonization project is the Final Crusade.

Ajax and Shaula understand what the Baron is saying all but explicitly. The Empire’s natives will be wiped out to make way for the displaced Federation citizens. He uses flowery language and a lot of mental gymnastics to paint this as a purely righteous cause. He also speaks while affecting deep patriotism.

As if no other solution to the migration crisis is worth pursuing.

As if this entire formal announcement is for both the people of the South and the progress of this nation.

As if there are no other interests at play here.

At the end of his speech, the Baron even claims that he wants a few minutes of silence. This is to respect the people who lost their lives in the Earthquake. He lays the blame for the earthquake directly on Semjaza.

Once the announcement ends, the people cheer, laugh, and cry. They celebrate the end of a war that could have destroyed them. They are just glad that their period of despair is over. Some of them even speak of this as the start of a “Golden Age”. Semjaza has been a fixture of terror hanging over their lives.

If Ajax and Shaula learned that all evil on Earth was destroyed, they would be just as happy.

But here, they’re not happy in the slightest.

The two of them feel unsettled by every word out of the Baron’s mouth.

They walk away from the celebration through the Sinem square exit. They have lots to think about, so they walk in silence. They aimlessly wander the streets. Both of them are trying to consider the announcement from any angle they can.

This nation is embarking on a war of conquest and colonization. A war that will definitely end in ethnic cleansing, and may end in genocide, or even extermination. It doesn’t sit right with them, but what can they do about it?

Is it even their place to meddle in this world’s affairs? After all, they are working hard to find a way home. Earth is where they have the desire to act, not Omicron.

If they intervene in this Final Crusade, they would have to deal with the consequences. The pain, both physical, emotional and mental. If they were to try and help the Empire, they would have to take responsibility… Whether their actions bring good or bad, they would be at fault.

If they were to return home during the war, what would have been the result of their interference? Aren’t they just drifters in essence? This place is… only a waypoint.

They also do not know the extent of what the demons have done to humanity in the past. Is the anger against the Empire unwarranted? They do not even know why Semjaza had attacked Osva in the first place.

Did she just want to outright exterminate the Federation? Or did she want to conquer its land and resources for her people? Is this Final Crusade a reaction to that? If it is, why should they get involved for one side or the other?

Or, what if Semjaza had started the war for purely personal reasons? What if she was a tyrant who ran her country with an iron fist? Should a nation of potentially innocent people be exterminated for the actions and commands of their supreme deity?

For now, it wouldn’t hurt for Ajax and Shaula to gain more information about all this. Neither of them believe that they will be here long enough to accomplish anything on the scale of nations. At least with more info, they’ll know what’s going on.

Neither of them know if they would be able to fight and win against the heroic nobles.

Neither of them know if they would be able to fight Osva himself.

But, Shaula doesn’t believe that she will do nothing if it truly is just a war of colonization and extermination. The Empire is not just made up of demons. Beastkin and draconids live there as well as dragons. Regardless of the demons and dragons, the beastkin and draconids are just like humans.

Their lives are as precious as human lives are. Shaula just needs more information before acting in whatever capacity she sees fit.

Ajax wonders if violent intervention would do any good at all. Those who intervene in a complex crisis like a war, especially through force, don't always get what they want. What if by intervening, their poorly thought out actions make things worse?

He considers other possibilities, more peaceful ones. Actions that would create less confusion. Maybe the two of them can involve themselves by defending civilians without attacking? Maybe they can focus on helping people evacuate? Maybe they can bring people food, water, and medical supplies?

Now that Ajax has power, would he feel alright with not using it to help people? He and Shaula need so little to survive. But, the people of this world still need air, food, water…

As the two of them continue walking, they eventually reach an area with a crowded open air market. Unlike Sinem square, there are demihumans around this area. They walk through here while watching people trade goods, mostly food, but some articles of clothing as well.

Shaula pauses in the middle of a walkway to see an old beastkin woman haggle for the price of brown sugar. It smells just like the brown sugar back on Earth.

Ajax stops beside her. People continue to walk around them through the market. One person lightly bumps into Shaula.

“Oh, sorry about that.” The person, a young man wearing a brown cloak, makes a small apology without turning towards her. He then continues walking. Shaula stares at him as he walks away. Within a few seconds, she loses sight of him in the crowd. She sighs.

She’s almost happy for this new distraction.

[Ajax.] Ajax doesn’t respond, he’s quite amused by the haggling woman; by the entire market actually. It’s so unlike what he’s seen at home in his daily life. But, it does remind him of the New Amsterdam City fish markets.

“Ajax.”

“Huh?”

[You know what I smell like, right?]

[…Yeah?]

[Can you track down my scent?] Ajax is surprised by this inquiry. He answers slowly while trying to think about what Shaula could be asking for.

[I could… I think your scent is pretty familiar to me.]

[Creep.]

[You’re telling me you can’t track my scent?]

[No, I can, I’m known for being creepy too.]

[No, you’re not. Whatever. What about your scent?]

[Well, I didn’t want to make a scene, but did you notice that guy who bumped into me?]

[…Vaguely?]

[He just stole my coin pouch.] Ajax looks at her belt and sees that her pouch is not there anymore.

[…I still have mine, we should be alright if we want to buy anything right now.]

[No, I want you to track it down. It should have my scent on it. We can follow that guy and get it back.]

[…You can’t track down your own scent?]

[No, not really. I feel like I got too used to it, so my nose doesn’t even register it. Can you smell yourself and separate it from other scents?]

[Hmm. I’ve never tried, but if you can’t…]

[Yeah.]

[Why do you want it back though? It’s just one pouch?]

[Ajax, it’s the principle. You never let anyone steal from you! The minute one guy does it, you’ll let the next guy go as well. Where does it end?]

[You mean, you’re mad that he was able to grab it while you were distracted.]

[I was watching that sweet old lady, you know! That was just rude!] Plus, she’s happy for a little diversion from their more serious thoughts. A pickpocket is more in their lane than a war between two nations with many billions of inhabitants.

[Fine, fine, but it’s just a pickpocket, no roughhousing.]

[Of course not, we’ll be quick and clean. It’ll be fun!] Shaula smiles brightly.

Ajax sighs. He calmly sends the energy flowing through his body towards his nose, the “idea” of his nose. He then discreetly sniffs the air. He can tell that his sense of smell has gotten stronger. There are a lot of odors in the area. They’re all mingling into one another, and his nose can separate them efficiently. The general aroma is not too bad.

Medieval streets on Earth were known to smell like garbage and excrement, but Tritol has more advanced city services. This isn’t just a medieval or even an 18th century city. It’s even more advanced than modern Earth cities in some ways, even while backwards in others.

Shaula’s scent feels like it’s not distinct enough for him to track. But he’s not out of ideas yet. Ajax takes out his own coin pouch and sniffs the material. He considers the way the smell of the pouch material mixes with the smell of the bronze and silver coins. He asks Shaula to hold his coin pouch.

He then memorizes this new combination; Shaula’s scent mixed with the smell of coin pouch.

Then, he tries searching for this specific odor. He finds success.

Ajax catches this scent in the direction where Shaula had seen the pickpocket go. A good sign that this is the right scent he’s tracking. Ajax walks nonchalantly in the direction of the scent. Shaula follows behind him, far enough away that her smell won’t interfere with his tracking.

Ajax’s tracking is slow, but he does indeed have a solid trail.

The two of them walk calmly for fifteen minutes through another street of Tritol filled with both humans and demihumans. This one is not a market and less crowded. But, it does have a restaurant nearby with outdoor patio tables.

[He’s there.]

Shaula spots the pickpocket sitting at one of those tables. She recognizes his brown cloak. He’s having a drink, something that looks to Ajax like beer.

Now that Shaula has sight of him, she won’t lose him again.