Lucky Prodigy

5: The Treaty

"I do not doubt it... and I would rather speak on the subject of why the towns are separated like this? Some sort of rivalry?" I gestured at the four different towns.

She nodded. "Ahh, that... Well, it's rather simple, actually; a long time ago, this lake didn't have any villages around it. There was only the Holy City, and this lake, which together as a pair make up the God Ganesha's footprints, from some ancient battle. This one filled with water, and became a lake, while the other was built in, and became a city for various monster clans and gods' worship... but, around 300 years ago, the Hero fought the Maou, -as they are wont to do, blah blah blah who cares,- and then there were a few groups of people that needed to have new homes, the strongest of all the Monster Clans." She sat down on a small bench in front of the lake, and patted the seat next to her.

I sat down, and cleared my throat when she scooted closer, pressing her shoulder against mine. She was far too small for my tastes, -not in height, but in physical age, she looked about fourteen, which was too young for me,- so I scooted away a bit in a clear signal.

She pouted a bit, but continued. "Hmph... anyway, those people were us; the Orcs, Ogres, Dragons, Dryads, and Dwarves. We weren't allowed to live in the city; after we were forced to side with the Demons, the Godly types wouldn't let us in. So, we came here, and we built our own little towns. We weren't really friends, then, so we didn't intermingle, and after a while we set up the bartering system, by way of a Treaty; we were always bickering over resources, before that, but now we've been peaceful for almost 150 years!" She nodded.

"A blink in the eye of an immortal, but yes, an achievement nonetheless." I shrugged. "I imagine you still get humans traveling through?"

She frowned severely. "Those bastards stay far away from our Lake... they go to the Holy City, but that's it. They know they're not welcome here."

"Humans live the shortest lives, and so their mistakes and prejudices seem more frequent and potent, but when compared to longer-lived species', they are actually quite average." I raised an eyebrow at her blatant favoritism.

She tilted her head, and thought deeply for a few moments. "I suppose you're right... but grudges are difficult to forget; it was only 300 years ago that we were at war, after all, and I was alive, then, as were most of the people here. We don't exactly give birth that often, I'm sure you understand." She gestured at the all-female town, with only six men that I'd seen so far; two very old-looking Ogres, Ken and Zoken, and two young Ogre men, about 19-20, who were being 'spoiled' by a group of about ten women apiece inside one building.

I chuckled softly. "I can't imagine it's a bad thing to be a man, here, though for women it must be a little sad... children are the greatest joy in life, after all."

"Oh? You want children, do you? The Dryads will be happy to hear that, considering you are the same Race... almost. Elves and Dryads mix well, I think." She chuckled.

"Thinking of selling tickets?" I raised an eyebrow sarcastically.

Her eyes glinted dangerously. "What a wonderful idea..."

I snorted softly and patted her head, avoiding her horns. "Good luck with that. I survived 100,000 years in the Spirit Realm being tempted by every type of Succubus and Fertility goddess that exists." I walked over to the lake as she hummed and looked out to the north, were a small forest was grown; presumably the Dryad Village.

The water of the lake was clear, and glacially cold, but I stripped my thin thread shirt and shorts off, and dove in, enjoying the cold on my skin.