Chapter 179

“What do you mean, it’s gotten weird?”

Lady Kisea asked with a puzzled expression. The old man didn’t respond, instead grabbing a freshly baked, steaming hot loaf of bread from the hearth and taking a bite. Though the bread likely had no flavor, the old woman seemed to enjoy it, mixing it with her hunger and savoring it with a sweet expression. Her mouth opened wide, but the bite she took was small.

“What exactly has gotten weird?”

Lady Kisea couldn’t hold back and pressed for an answer. But the old man just kept chewing his bread, ignoring her.

Unable to contain herself, Lady Kisea was about to explode in anger for the second time but was stopped. The Princess, with an awkward expression, tightly held onto Lady Kisea.

“Let me go! Just let me go! Can’t you see? They’re completely disrespecting us!”

“Ranga, even so…”

“Do you hate being ignored?”

Finally, the old woman stopped eating her bread, though her eyes remained closed as she replied.

“Then why did you wolves just stand by and watch as we fell? No, it was worse than that. It wasn’t even passive observation. You claimed to be the rulers of the plains, but when the plains were in crisis, you were too busy running away.”

“Running away?!”

“Even petty thugs protect their own turf. What the wolves did was worse than thugs. While Epirna was ruining everything, where were the wolves and what were they doing?”

The old woman snorted, looking at Lady Kisea with almost contempt.

“We didn’t run away! Most of our Gray Wolf clan was petrified! Know your facts before you speak!”

“That’s beside the point. The Gray Wolves eventually gave up fighting Epirna and ran, only to be chased by monsters and end up like that. If not, if they had fought to the end, this old woman would kneel in respect.”

Lady Kisea was furious, but her eyes trembled uncontrollably. She even took a few steps back without realizing it. The old woman’s cold anger had completely overwhelmed Lady Kisea’s fiery rage.

“When the position of Beast King was first established, it was only the wolves and tigers who vied for it. The plains were always ruled by one of the two. Back then, I should have left the plains and begged in the city, even if it meant siding with humans.”

“Humans? Humans? Do you think they would treat us any better? Just a bunch of gutter rats! We couldn’t even get respect from our own kind, and you think humans would treat us well?”

Lady Kisea sneered. The children were trembling, so I went to comfort them. I also asked Roka to calm Lady Kisea down if she got too heated. The child nodded.

“At least it would have been better than now.”

From all around, weak eyes watched us. They were all emaciated, hunched over, and could barely keep their eyes open. It was clear they had been starving for a long time.

They trudged toward the hearth. Some buried their heads in the spring I had created, drinking water like mad. They coughed and choked but didn’t stop drinking.

It seemed none of them had groomed in a long time, as their fur was overgrown all over their bodies. There was no distinction between men, women, or children. Though, in such a cold place, that might have been an advantage for survival.

Even beggars in the Capital don’t live like this. Even in famine-stricken villages, it’s rare to see people in such dire straits.

Still, where there are people, there are temples, especially the Nemi Church, which is famous for spreading across rural areas.

In times of severe drought, distributing food is their first priority. That’s why the Nemi Church boasts the largest following on the continent and why famines rarely result in massive casualties.

But where there are people, there is faith, and where there are no people, there is no faith.

In places like this, it’s hard to find even a single priest sent by the Nemi Church, let alone any other new religions trying to spread their faith.

Even if the Capital seems bleak at first glance, there are many institutions and facilities built to help people. Even in smaller cities, there are people like Ralph and Clark and the charities they run.

But in places like this, there’s truly nothing. It’s the wild in every sense of the word. When you’re on the brink of death, there’s no one to extend a helping hand.

The old woman, who had lived in such a place, had a fierce glint in her eyes. She stood her ground against Lady Kisea’s masterful aura. It was the kind of boldness only someone who had lived close to death could possess.

“This is the problem with beastmen. Look at those humans. When trouble arises, they know how to unite. If there’s a common benefit, they’ll hold hands until they achieve it.”

“Meanwhile, what about us? Even with humans as our enemies, we were all thinking differently. We didn’t want to give up what our tribes had, and we expected others to sacrifice for us.”

“In the end, this is the result. If all ten beastmen tribes had united and fought together, we wouldn’t have been driven to such a place. The lions and bears wouldn’t have gone extinct either. We’ve learned nothing from our past.”

Still fuming, Lady Kisea watched as the old woman cooled down first. She sighed and sat down.

“Talking about this now feels like a dream. It’s all regret. Regret. I should let it go, but seeing a wolf after so long made me unnecessarily angry.”

“What’s wrong? Do you want to die?”

“Using the energy from eating bread to throw a tantrum here, I’ve just wasted the bread. What am I even doing with this hot-headed one…”

It seemed like Lady Kisea wouldn’t get any information, just more frustration. Eventually, I stepped forward to ask. The old woman was clearly less hostile toward humans than wolves.

“Grandma. We’re heading to the Eastern Plains. If you know a way, could you tell us?”

“I could tell you, but the terrain has likely changed. We haven’t used those paths in a long time. You’d be better off asking others, not relics like us.”

Taking the opportunity, I also asked about the Eastern Plains. The old woman just shook her head.

“I don’t even want to think about what happened there. Epirna rules the beastmen harshly. No one is happy there. I still don’t understand why you’d want to go there. Everyone’s desperate to leave.”

*****

“That old woman is so annoying! I should’ve smashed the hearth before leaving!”

Even after leaving the village, Lady Kisea kept grumbling for a long time. But there was nothing to be done. She was just a frail old woman.

Even if the old woman got angry, Lady Kisea couldn’t just get angry alongside her. We had to leave quickly, partly because we were afraid she might actually do something.

Thanks to that, the Princess’s forehead was creased with worry, but Lady Kisea didn’t notice. She still looked furious.

“If there was anything worth stealing, I would’ve taken it! But the house was so old and falling apart, there was nothing to take, and I couldn’t even go in without it collapsing…”

To some extent, it seemed like she wanted to show off the thieving skills she’d gained from the Phylogenetic Seedling. She was such an energetic wolf. Though, in a way, it was a success.

Lady Kisea no longer got angry at Roka. With a more annoying target in mind, she even grabbed Roka first and started lecturing her.

“Don’t believe what that old woman says. You can’t trust the words of rats. The wolves didn’t run away. They just valued their tribe and family.”

“Ah, yeah. Sure.”

“We didn’t have much power back then, so we didn’t have much responsibility either. Wolves aren’t greedy. Is wanting to preserve our clan such a big greed?”

“I understand, sis.”

Roka’s eyes were filled with doubt as she answered with a lifeless expression. It seemed she didn’t want to know the clan’s secrets this way.

“Right?”

“Of course.”

Lady Kisea, beaming, hugged Roka, who couldn’t bring herself to laugh. Roka tried to smile but only managed a stiff, awkward expression.

“After all, kin is the best. I’m sorry for speaking out of turn, sis. These clothes can’t be more important than family.”

The Princess and I quietly slipped away and whispered.

“The wolves probably abandoned the rest of the beastmen, right?”

“Without knowing exactly what happened, we can’t jump to conclusions.”

Among us, only Lady Kisea knows the exact history of the beastmen, and it’s obvious she’d give a biased account favoring the wolves.

Anyway, the more pressing issue is that we still don’t know the way.

And Lady Kisea still has no intention of speaking up. In the end, we decided to head toward the plains while looking for another village.