"Before the war, the number of newborns with each crest was always equal across the five nations," the old man, Idel, said.
Caelen frowned once again. "How is that possible?"
"That's another topic. For now, just listen. No matter how many children were born each year, the number of crests was always evenly distributed.
And that's not even the most important part. Do you know why it's impossible for the other crest-bearers to have gone extinct?"
Caelen looked at him, waiting for an answer.
"Because the crests were random. Two barbarian parents could still have a child born with a different crest."
"There's no way that's true!" Caelen snapped.
"Huh? Why are you so sure? Are you certain your parents are your real parents?"
Caelen froze, like a bucket of cold water had just been dumped on him.
"I—..."
"I see. So, you already know. Did your parents tell you? It doesn't matter.
Kid, this is the truth. Even though the balance has been broken, that part hasn't changed.
So... what do you think is happening to the children born in Barbara with different crests right now?"
Caelen's face fell.
If crests are random... then why have I never seen a single child without the Crest of War?
The answer was obvious. But Idel didn't wait for him to say it.
"The barbarians kill all the others."
"Shut up! No matter what, my family wouldn't kill babies!"
"Ah—sorry. I didn't mean your family specifically. Let me finish the story."
Caelen hesitated, then nodded. He had to hear the rest of the story to judge it.
"When there was balance, the children were... let's say exchanged.
It wasn't done with bad intentions, but it was impossible for a child with Crest of War to be raised among magi.
So each child was sent to the nation of their crest, placed with foster families, and raised according to their path.
Of course, everyone knew this. So, everyone gave birth accepting this condition. No matter how hard it was to be separated from your children..."
The old man also seemed like thinking about something sad.
Did that also happen to him? Caelan thought. Maybe his parents were from a different nation.
Or maybe his children were sent away.
"Anyway. The peace was held thanks to this. During that time, magi were the strongest ones.
Unlike barbarians, they were intelligent. And knowledge always won over raw strength when the conditions were equal.
But Elarith, the country of magi, didn't fight anyone. They knew that war only brought pain to both sides.
Also, if the other four nations were to make an alliance, Elarith would perish.
This was the reason there was never a war. But then, the balance was broken for some reason.
60% of the newborns were barbarian one year while the others were only 10% each. Of course, no one thought to blame the newborn children.
The exchange continued. But after this new birth rate continued for five years, the barbarians started a war.
Even if they lost people now, their children would grow up to outnumber the others combined.
Before the other four nations could understand what was happening, the barbarians had already prevented them from creating an alliance."
He paused.
"Do you know how they managed that even without strong tactics? Barbarians don't create strategies. They just fight."
"They used magi..." Caelan said with a voice almost as low as a whisper.
"Not just magi! They enslaved people from other nations with different crests. Especially the ones with the Crest of Light."
"Crest of Light? What is it?"
"Sigh... They didn't even teach you the crests... Barbarians only know how to fight. The owner of the Crest of Light can use holy power.
They are good at healing, so barbarians needed them the most since they have to be injured to fight."
Caelen was so shocked by the word "healing" that he didn't even think about why barbarians "have to be" injured.
"Healers... There are healers in barbarian cities!"
"Do you see now? They are barbarians' slaves," Idel confirmed.
"Why?"
"Why? Do you mean why they do that?" Idel asked. "Because barbarians don't think, they just do!"
---
After talking about the history of the five nations, Caelan needed time to think about what he had learned.
Since Idel also needed to sleep, they stopped there for today.
At first, Caelen didn't want to believe any of this, but everything Idel said made sense.
His parents weren't his birth parents.
But it doesn't mean my real parents weren't barbarians.
This wasn't solid proof, he needed to search for more answers.
First of all, there was a big issue here. Why would barbarians let their children be killed?
If two barbarian parents had a baby with a different crest, who would be able to kill the child and the parents without a fight?
But then, Caelen remembered something else. As a kid, he heard families going missing from his friends.
The rumors always found their way to the children, and they were scared. But as they got older, they stopped thinking about it. They assumed those families had just moved away.
Had they actually been killed?
The war started around fifty years ago and peaked around twenty years ago.
So, Caelan needed someone old enough to receive answers from.
And he was heading toward the only place he could find answers.
---
Knock
Knock
Knock
...
Knock
Knock
Knock
It was almost time to sleep when the old barbarian man heard the knocking on his door.
The knocking wasn't patient, so he wondered who was knocking.
Slowly, he approached the door. By now, he knew who was there.
But still, the old man opened the door slowly and showed a shocked face seeing barbarian warriors in front of him.
"Sirs, how can I help you?" the old man asked.
"You are Chief Illgorn, right?" the barbarian warrior who knocked on the door asked. He was probably the highest-ranking one in the group.
There were seven in total, and each seemed strong. They were at the same height as the old man, Illgorn.
"Yes, I am Illgorn. But I have retired, so I am no chief."
"Salute!" the same warrior barked. Despite Illgorn's claim of retirement, he was once a great warrior.
There was almost no one in the military who hadn't heard his name.
"Chief Illgorn, we are sorry for disturbing you this late, but a magus escaped. And we suspect that he can be in this village."
Illgorn frowned. "What do you mean, escaped? Was he one of the war prisoners?"
"No, sir. He came from the outside. But he was apparently searching for top-secret information.
He also stole something from us. We were ordered to kill him and retrieve both. But he escaped from our hands using his crest."
"I see," Illgorn said. "And, what do you want me to do?"
"Ah, sir, we are sorry. We came because you are the highest authority here. Have you seen anyone suspicious these days?
Just as the warrior finished his question, a voice came from behind them.