Very Wrong Reincarnation: Isekai with Game Nation

Vol. 2 Chapter 9

Parting ways with the prince, I sighed and took in the desolate, strangely Middle Eastern looking castle town situated on the coast. It was odd, seeing people with Arab head coverings while people worshiped a female figure of Jesus Christ on the cross. I suppose Jesus exists in the Muslim texts, both having come from similar ancient regions. I glanced at the streets, observing the people’s eyes.

"It's been years, but these eyes... they are so fake," I muttered. Their eyes were devoid of light. "I know I sound hypocritical since we practice indoctrination ourselves, but..." These people looked fanatical. My people may be unreasonable and lacking in common sense, but not as bad as this.

"Yes, their religion forcibly instills values in their people, by force, and it’s tied it as it a family tradition," Leo said. "They take every word of their religious leaders as law, an absolute command to follow."

"Which means everyone here is an enemy," I said. If their religious fanatic leaders labeled us as enemies, then everyone in this city would surely attack us.

"There are a lot of small countries with considerable populations, including northern Kashim, and some in the eastern regions of Valur too. On the other hand, we have a minority within our lands, mostly illegally attempting to set up churches and religious sectors. It would be acceptable if they were native Cignite Valurian, but most of them aren’t," Leo continued.

"Inserted operatives by those self-righteous priests," I thought. "But we keep throwing them in jail. Mostly, they’re forced into the sidelines and hiding." I pondered for a moment. "Our people tend to be overly hostile to them, though. Is it because we're so far south that they don't fall for the fanatical nonsense in the north?"

"Is it because it's normal for us to see demi-humans on our side?" I asked. "These people tend to be overly wary and suspicious of non-humans, sometimes even treating them as commodities."

"Disgusting practice," I spat.

"Certainly," Leo agreed.

"At the very least, our form of slavery isn't as harsh as what these people practice."

"Uh, Mr. President..." Leo stuttered.

"Well, I'm just choosing the lesser evil," I replied. "I have to say, corporate slavery is still better than the kind of slavery these people use. While they might be exploited, at least they maintain their dignity as humans—or demi-humans," I added. Here, human slaves experience varying degrees of suffering. Some might have it easy, while others endure hell. Demi-humans, though, suffer the worst.

"On the other hand, in modern times, depending on location and company, even a salaryman might work day and night like a robot," I mused, drawing a parallel between exploitation and modern-day struggles.

Leo nodded with a complicated expression. "Should I say you planned everything to bring our population closer and normalize the presence of demi-humans in our country?"

"Not exactly," I replied. "No, not that far, but I certainly wanted a diverse society." In this world, races weren't just black, white, brown, Asian, or any other color like on Earth. Here, there were entirely new races—an actual diversity that was far beyond human skin tones.

"I mean, you did ban child marriages, forced marriages, slavery, and centralized the government, integrating Cignite Valurian into our society," Leo said. "I think ours is the only country that allows free-range 'skinship.'"

"Skinship?"

"Yeah, like with lamias and harpies," Leo explained. "They don’t stick with one mate like humans or other demi-humans. They tend to be more... free-spirited."