"It wasn't always like this. I'm from Blood Port myself, born in the slums of the Lower District. I was always hungry when I was little, too."
Gwen looked up and saw that it was the stoker speaking.
"Tis was always plagued by wars and famines. People died wave after wave. It wasn't just now that people went to Castel—back when hunger became unbearable, they went there too. Pirates might throw them overboard to feed the fish, but at least they wouldn't starve to death. There were plenty of sweet fruits on the islands over there, enough to keep many people alive."
"But if they could scrape by at home, who would want to leave their homeland?"
Gwen could not help nodding. She remembered the village where she had grown up. So much time had passed that the memories had become blurry.
She only remembered that it had been a place that felt peaceful.
Unfortunately, she could never return.
"We went through many lords, but most of them were no different. Some started out better, but soon turned bad again. In the end, everyone was still left without enough to eat."
"Things only began improving in recent years. After the prince... I mean, His Highness William, returned from Rhine, it was as though he became a different person. He killed all the nobles, and everyone's lives suddenly got much better."
"Later, Blood Port fell into chaos. The Mother Goddess Church started a rebellion, and so, so many people died. Many of them only wanted to bring a little more food home for their families... but they all died. Their bodies could not even be found."
"Did you join the Expeditionary Force then?" Gwen asked curiously.
"Haha, how could that be? The Expeditionary Force was established later. After the Mother Goddess