Johan entered the city and looked around for an inn. The city looked to be prosperous with large houses built much like he knew they did but they looked much sturdier than he thought they would be. The city had very well built roads and small aetherial lights were dancing around in specific places, lighting up the road the way a street lamb would.

Johan did not have the time to look around the interesting architecture of a city from the past so he cut to the chase. He looked for the inn with the most noise and quietly slipped into it. 

The inn was filled with people drinking all kinds of foul smelling booze along with the more familiar smell of beer. But something stood out, one of the patrons looked off. He was a large anthropomorphic fish. He had a plump body that was covered by an element suit and a face between that of a person and a catfish with large whiskers. His hands were exposed, revealing that his fingers were connected by a membrane.

Johan was taken aback by the man's appearance, letting out an audible gasp to which the patron turned his head and laughed.

"Never seen a Sah-ree before?" He said.

"I'm sorry. I haven't. I come from far away." Johan replied

"Really. Seems to me like you are from the north. Huehuehue." He laughed, his friends joining in as well. 

"Actually, I am." he played along. 

As the words left his mouth, the group of men froze up. Their laughter stopped and their look changed to one of fear. 

"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I didn't know." The Sah-ree replied with a trembling voice. 

"Y-yeah. It's just that northerners are isolated so they don't know about a lot of-" one of the Sah-ree's friends tried to say but was cut off when the Sah-ree slapped the back of his head.

"Shut up." The Sah-ree whispered.

Are they scared of people from the north?

"Don't worry. I hold no ill will towards you. But if you would be so kind as to tell me the news in this city I'd be thankful." Johan said with a half sinister smile.

The Sah-ree flinched but regained his composure quickly.

"O-of course I can." The Sah-ree replied.

Johan just nodded in reply. Stressing out the Sah-ree even more.

"S-so. Our lord has been imprisoned and is to be executed tomorrow over charges of drug trading. And harvesting. But if you want to know my opinion it's all whalecrap. We all know his cousin was eyeing Fera for a while. But since Duke Eris backed him up, a lot of people are unsure and those that know can't fight back." The Sah-ree said.

"Oh really?" Johan replied. His assumptions were correct. It truly was framed. 

"How can you know for certain?" Johan asked

"How can I know for certain? We are talking about the man that hunts his own food so he can use the money saved to help others. The only reason he has staff in his estate is to give jobs to the less fortunate. He was framed for a crime that wasn't there for trying to make the slums livable." The Sah-ree raised his voice as he spoke and even slammed his arm on the table by the end, though when he realized what he did he looked mortified. 

"I see. So he is a good man. What a shame." Johan said as a notification popped up in front of his face. 

***

[Magic is being used to put you to sleep. Do you wish to resist?]

***

Magic? What's going on?

"Yes"

[Magic is being used to put you to sleep. Do you wish to resist?]

[Magic is being used to put you to sleep. Do you wish to resist?]

[Magic is being used to put you to sleep. Do you wish to resist?]

[Magic is being used to put you to sleep. Do you wish to resist?]

"What the-" 

The patrons of the inn started dropping one by one in a deep slumber. Johan tried to stay awake yet also fell victim to the powerful spell.

-

The loud sound trumpets filled the entirety of the city. The tune was one of celebration instead of one of grief. 

Johan was awoken by the tunes along with everyone else in the inn. All the patrons had a look of confusion on their faces yet they didn't get an opportunity to voice it as a squad of five iron clad soldiers entered the inn. One of them had a much more ornate helmet which clearly marked him as the leader of the squad.

"Follow us. You are to bear witness to the execution of the corrupt lord. You cannot refuse." The leader said. 

Some of the patrons voiced their unwillingness to follow but Johan decided to go with the flow. He didn't want to raise any suspicion so he silently followed the soldiers. 

The people from the inn were led to the city center along with many others from all-around the city. It looked as if every single person was forced to participate. 

The city center had a large platform set up. There were two men situated on it. They each held a spear with its tip being replaced by a long blade. 

When the sea of people stopped arriving the soldiers started to create a perimeter. There was an inner circle with a row left open to bring in the one to be executed covered with soldiers and there were also soldier squads placed every 10 meters surrounding the crowd. It was a clear show of power from the Duke and the soon to be new count of Fera who were next to the execution platform surrounded by a dozen people in robes. 

"You have all been gathered here to witness the execution of the corrupt man that had control over this territory for years. You have all been deceived by his kind demeanor and so have I. If only I could have seen through the lines and past his veil of lies I would have acted sooner. I apologize for letting this man impoverish the territory's vaults for his own gain while spreading drugs in this and other territories." The Duke said. 

Some of the crowd applauded yet a big part of it remained silent.

"Now, without further ado. Bring forth the criminal!" He continued. 

A few ironclad knights moved through the opening of the inner circle, dragging Rey on the ground. His head and hands were placed in a pillory. His bruised and tired face looked pathetic encased in the wooden restraints. 

He didn't even have the strength to lift himself up. His knees were dragging on the floor and many wounds had opened up on the way. He was on the execution platform and he grunted in pain on impact. Many of the crowd looked mortified. The heroic count they once knew was now beaten and bruised, unable to hold his own weight and unable to look at the crowd. 

One of the knights approached the duke and spoke something into his ears. The Duke nodded his head and spoke yet again. 

"I have come to know that there was a rebel force that wanted to attack us. They wanted to free the criminal and take over the country through sheer force. But I can assure everyone that they have all been taken care of." He said. 

Rey's eyes widened. His lips spelled the word "no" over and over yet his voice was too weak to be heard. 

"Now. For the honour of the city of Fera. Kill the criminal. May we live and prosper." The count ordered and the two executioners moved to stab Rey. One aimed at the heart and the other on the stomach. 

As both spears were about to pierce the former count's flesh a sword flew by and stabbed one of the executioner's hands, throwing his spear off the platform. Yet the other executioner successfully penetrated through Rey's stomach. 

"That's not gonna be enough you bastards!" Johan said, jumping over the line of soldiers and near the execution platform using one of the civilians as a jumping pad.

Rey looked at Johan in surprise. He could speak but Johan knew full well that he was being scolded for interfering.

"Why didn't you tell me, old man? I'm getting you out of here. Let me heal you up first. {HEAL}" Johan said.

[This skill is not compatible with the people of this world.]