Chapter 272
One piece of information that caught Ikem’s attention was about a good friend of the apelings: "The people of Omadi."
The people of Omadi were among the first humans in the eastern continent to have close contact with the apelings. Though they never set foot in the apeling kingdom, they were accommodated in a mountain not far from the apeling kingdom.
Because of Osita, the cambion—a half-human, half-demon—Omadi, his friends, and family had to flee their home and territory with the help of the apelings.
This encounter with the apelings transformed the lives of Omadi and his people as they were introduced to a more magical world. At that time, Zephyr, who was playing with Ikem, shared some of the magical knowledge they had gathered with Omadi to help him create a stronger community or kingdom that would keep Osita in check.
The intention was good at the beginning, but as Omadi and his people grew in population and size, Ikem realized he might have been naive in his thinking.
It was only years later, after he met Ursula, that he realized he wasn’t the only one who had underestimated the situation. Ursula had similar thoughts when the harpies began helping the development of the Sun Kingdom.
It was only after some time that she and her people, like Ikem and Zephyr, realized how wrong they were. In the beginning, it was easy to help, as the human population was still small, and resources seemed endless, but as they grew, so did the burden.
Ikem realized that in the process of helping Omadi grow his community and kingdom, he had indirectly become the king of another kingdom, and the humans grew dependent on their help.
At first, humans being dependent on them seemed like a good thing, but when Ikem realized he was too preoccupied to lead his own people and that his thoughts were constantly consumed with how to make the humans stronger, he began to see how mistaken he was.
Realizing this, Ikem started thinking about how to gradually distance himself from Omadi and the humans, allowing them to find their own path and move forward.
Fortunately, around that time, the dragons made their appearance. With the dragons taking the stage, Ikem slowly withdrew from Omadi and his people.