Epic of Ice Dragon: Reborn As An Ice Dragon With A System
Chapter 1180: Starving Children

"I can feel a big shard in that place, or near it… The other's… not here exactly, but very close. Underground?"

I looked underground and stopped myself from recklessly unleashing my Divine Sense, which might alert everyone I was a God, I cannot investigate things in detail without revealing my divine powers in the middle of the streets. But I was sure I could sense something down there.

"Underground? So they have one hidden, maybe?" Wondered Benladann.

"Perhaps… This is going to be a bit hard. We'll need to either find a way down or dig. I don't want to make a fuss and end up letting everyone know I am a God, that might bring retribution from Fate, or whoever other God might be here could come for me." I sighed. "Alright Slimes, its up to you guys."

I covered my hand with Illusion Magic and quickly let a few dozen tiny slimes go out, which separated from my hands as each of my fingers turned into a tiny slime, camouflaged so nobody could see them.

"I'll let them go loose to find a way to the shard underground. The other seems to not be so hidden, it is in that castle or the temple behind." I said. "Now the problem will be taking it away and all…"

"Well! For now let's just enjoy ourselves! I want to eat some seafood- Oh, it's our turn already!" Yuki said, jumping out of our group and talking with the big and burly Shark-type Merman selling grilled seafood skewers.

"A beast girl! It is rare to see your kind around here little… rat girl?" Wondered the Shark-headed fellow.

"I am a monkey chinchilla!" Yuki angrily said. "Anyways, I want that big oyster over there! And some grilled salted fish… Oh, and do you have more lemon?"

"Hahaha you're so little yet you've got so much appetite!" Laughed the man, he was merry at least.

We quickly walked to her side.

"Sorry about that, we are with her… Hey Yuki! You're not my kid, stop acting like a baby all the time." I reprimanded her.

"E-Eeeh?! Aw come on!" Complained Yuki angrily.

SMACK!

I gave her a gentle reminder that if she acts cocky and screams at me like that she'll get a nice gift in her head.

"Ouch, ouch, you're the worse, hitting such a cute girl like meee~" She began weeping, but we all ignored her.

At the end, we ended buying almost everything the man had to offer us, leaving with tons of food in our hands. Even the silent Ruby with Rakasha and Ruby's mom were enjoying themselves. Thanks to Ruby's special bloodline, those that drank her blood would gain high resistance to sunlight, although it still weakens them, it doesn't hurt them enough that they'll begin burning while bathing on it.

"Hmmm… This place's pretty. The entire city is decorated with tons of statues and decorations. Some areas of the floor are paved prettily with shiny ceramic, and there's several small temples where people gather to pray to their god of the sea." Said Ruby, her analytic prowess was quite surprising. A little comment gave us a lot of info we were missing.

"Yeah it is quite pretty… I had never left our home ever before. Knowing and seeing new places really excites me… there's so much to do and see everywhere!" Her mother seemed enchanted by the entire place.

"Milady, do you have to hold my arm as tightly though?" Sighed Rakasha.

"I-I am a bit nervous in new places so bear with it Rakasha!" Ruby's mother seemed to have grown very attached to Rakasha. I can tell there's something romantic brewing in there.

"Wait, you're right though…" Pekora noticed, pointing at Ruby's comments. "Ruby, you said these areas are paved and prettier, but where we came from, all houses were mostly made of wood and there wasn't any paved floor… there's a clear difference between the areas where rich people live and where the more… humble families do."

"Oh, I hadn't realized that…" Ruby said. "Probably because I lack experience in exploring places and all of that… But yeah, there's a clear difference- Oh, look, there's kids roaming around."

Suddenly, as we were walking to the nearby plaza, a bunch of kids, some as little as my two daughters, approached us. Benladra and Kate immediately noticed them, as they were kids just like them, the two were naturally interested in them.

"Please, can you spare a coin mister big giant?" Suddenly, a little pink-haired mermaid girl with slime-covered gills approached. She looked very pale, and rather sickly.

"W-We're hungry…" A boy with corals growing over his left arm showed up, he also had a sickly appearance, with slime covering his gills.

"P-Please anything will do! Please!"

"We are starving…"

"Nobody feed us!"

"A coin, a little coin will do!"

"Would you buy this flower if you don't want to give us a coin for free? I-It is a medicinal flower I picked up!"

The pink haired girl approached me as she showed me a blue-colored flower, named Aquarian Flower. It wasn't actually medicinal, but it had some relaxing effect once consumed.

I felt slightly shocked over this happening. Is the situation so bad in here that children go out the streets asking for food? This is beyond what I expected…

"Eh? Y-You kids are starving? And would you look at all of you! You're all so pale…" Benladann quickly gave them all the attention she could.

"Ya hungry?" Wondered Benladra, quickly sharing her salted grilled fish with the pink-haired mermaid. "Here! Eat! Fo free!"

"Uwaah! T-Thanks!" The little mermaid quickly began eating almost desperately, to the point she chocked and began coughing. "Cough, ugh…"

"Rose! Give me some! Don't be greedy!"

"I want some too!"

"Give it to me!"

"No, it's mine!"

The children started fighting over the salted fish, the little mermaid didn't wanted to share it with anybody, ferociously eating it before anybody could snatch it away from her hands.

"Alright, alright, calm down. I've got tons of food if that's what you want… But first, where did you come from? Are there more like you here-"

However, before they could answer, a group of guards approached us.

"Halt in there, you damn nasty brats!"