Prime Originator

A short while later, several soldiers arrived to escort the hired laborer group to the back of the camp where newly-erected tents were located.

Each tent was a separate survey booth.

As such, the hired laborer group's members were all split into each unoccupied tent, which they thought was strange.

It became even strange when they noticed soldiers guarding the entrance, preventing them from leaving.

The solemn air immediately made it feel like an interrogation room rather than a survey.

…

"Sit," Faelyn instructed the female laborer from across the table.

Then, she took her seat without waiting for the female laborer and flipped open the document on the table containing a list of questions.

The female laborer was filled with suspicions.

But even if the female laborer was suspicious of the survey, there was nothing she could do but comply.

"What's your name?" Faelyn started with a casual tone.

"I… I am called Sorella," the female laborer nervously stuttered, despite Faelyn not putting any pressure on her.

It was as if Sorella could instinctively feel she was in trouble.

"What do you think of your present life in the North Reclamation Camp?" Faelyn asked with a warm smile to make Sorella feel more comfortable.

"My present life?" Sorella paused in thought.

"There's a bit of dispute here and there. However, the work is easy, and food is completely provided. We don't have to worry about our next meal. And if we wanted to, a luxurious meal only cost a few contribution points."

"The price is very generous. Even the past sects might not have better conditions than the current North Reclamation Camp. Overall, my current lifestyle is much better than before," Sorella stated.

"I see. That's great to hear," Faelyn nodded before jotting down everything on paper.

"Do you feel any discomfort about anything related to your work? Is there anything you dislike in the North Reclamation Camp? What do you think the North Reclamation Camp is missing that could make your experience here better?"

Faelyn continued to ask Sorella normal survey questions.

The other group members in the other tents were also being asked the exact same question. However, the situation was completely different from Faelyn's tent.

"Y-your Imperial Highness!" the male laborer uttered with shock.

"Yes, I've heard you for the sixth time now. Can you just answer the survey questions normally, please?" Leon requested with a helpless look.

"Y-yes, Y-your Imperial Highness!" the male laborer answered.

"Enough. Take it that I'm begging you, alright? You don't need to keep addressing me so formally. Just answer the damn question," Leon was quickly losing his patience.

He wondered whether he should just skip the survey and move directly onto the main questions about the refugee's religion.

If he did not want to see whether the refugees could still be redeemed from the religion, he would not have made the extra effort to survey them.

Nevertheless, the situation was even worse for the other two tents, which were actually being managed by the two Paragon-level Winter Cats, Rainshine and Snowscar.

Bang, bang!

Snowscar slammed his paw on the metal table in frustration after failing to get the male laborer to cooperate with the survey.

"Oi, So-leh! I'm asking you a damn question, So-leh! For the love of God and nine generations of your ancestors, what is your name?!" Snowscar spoke in a deep and manly voice, unbefitting his adorable furry appearance.

They were still stuck on the very first survey question. The male laborer sitting across the table from Snowscar was simply too shocked.

Meanwhile, the official assigned to record the hired laborer's answers on paper for Snowscar could not help but smile wryly.

Anyone else would also be shocked if they were put in the same position as the male laborer.

Facing a Paragon-level Winter Cat was already quite the shock, let alone one that can talk in the human tongue so well.

However, the most shocking of all was its deep and manly voice, which was comparable to the most alpha male they could think of.

"Y-you can talk!" the male laborer finally uttered some form of response.

"Of course, I can talk! Why state the obvious? You got a problem with that, So-leh?! So what if I can talk? This isn't a survey about me! It's a survey about you! What is your name, So-leh?!" Snowscar thundered.

…

Besides Faelyn, who was leading the survey, perhaps, Rainshine was the next to make the most progress in her survey.

"Can I pet you?" the female laborer assigned to Rainshine asked after recovering from her shock.

"Will you answer all my questions if I let you?" Rainshine replied in a soft, soothing, and cute voice that invokes fondness from those that hear it.

Even the official assigned to Rainshine wanted to pet her.

"Yes!" the female laborer nodded repeatedly.

"Great! This noble one will allow you to pet this noble one for each question you answer, human. Now, let us start over. What is your name?" Rainshine calmly inquired with a posh look.

…

Nevertheless, as time went on, everyone managed to pass the survey phase and proceed with the interrogation phase.

"Great. You have a positive opinion about the empire and the imperial family. So why did your faith into something else? Don't you think this is considered betrayal against the empire?" Faelyn asked Sorella with a stern look, catching her off guard.

"W-what do you mean by that?" Sorella asked with a trembling voice, intimidated by Faelyn's sharp gaze and suffocating aura.

The good impression Sorella developed disappeared in an instant.

"You don't understand? We know you have joined a religion of unknown and dubious background. If this is not an act of betrayal against the imperial family, then I don't know what is."

…

"Y-your wrong, Your Highness! It's not like that! This is different, Your Highness!" the male laborer defended himself after hearing Leon's accusation in his tent.

"How different? Now is your chance to explain to me about this religion," Leon pressed with a firm tone.

"Who knows, perhaps you can even convince me, the first prince of the empire, to become a believer of this religion. However, I must remind you that the others are also undergoing the same interrogation."

"If we see any discrepancy when we crosscheck your answers, we'll know if anyone is lying. And there will be serious consequences for that."