Chapter 198

“Old man Urban. Are you on our side?”

As we stepped inside, wary gazes turned toward us. They were somewhat gentle toward Roka, but still sharp when it came to me and the Princess.

These people carry memories of a time when they were at odds with humans. It’s only natural that they’d look at us, whom they’ve never met before, with suspicion rather than trust.

“Two humans? What are you scheming?”

“One of them is the Princess of the Illumina Empire?”

“Is the Empire trying to swallow this entire plain? No way. This is our land!”

“Well, there was a time when they might have wanted to.”

Misunderstandings were about to snowball, so the Princess had to clarify. Her explanation didn’t need to be long. Simply stating the facts was enough.

“We gave up because we realized this land would only cost us money and yield nothing in return.”

“Your words are too blunt. We’re hurt. It’s not wrong, but did you have to say it like that? It’s a bit harsh for us Beastmen.”

Ah, I can tell the difference. They’re not dogs, after all.

The cat ears are clearly different from those of a dog. A woman who seemed to be from the Cat Tribe puffed her cheeks and voiced her dissatisfaction.

“Anyway, old man. Can we really trust them? They’re not spies for Epirna, are they?”

“Why would the Princess of the Empire come all the way here to serve as that woman’s lackey?”

A man who appeared to be from the Lion Tribe answered instead of the dog. Among the Beastmen, they’re an extremely rare race, and even after traveling the continent, this is the first time I’ve seen one in person.

He was more open-minded than I expected, trusting us readily. Crossing his arms, he spoke on our behalf.

“Leon.”

“You can trust them. Especially the Priest here—he’s the one who saved us. I understand being suspicious, but if you doubt everything from start to finish, you’ll never accomplish anything.”

“I didn’t want to hear that from a lion whose brain is all muscle.”

The dog shrugged his shoulders.

“As you can see, the situation is like this. The only thing we have in common is resisting Epirna. Our races are different, and so are our sympathies. Even if we were united, it would be hard to face her, but we’re a mess. It’s no wonder we’ve been stuck as stone statues.”

“Let me say this upfront, old man. I have no intention of fighting this Epirna person. Neither does my Master. Can’t you just make us a sword?”

“W-what?”

The answer didn’t come from the dog. A Beastman we’d never seen before shouted.

Suddenly, all eyes were on me and Roka. My skin tingled from the intensity.

They looked at Roka and me with expressions of disbelief, even shock. Among them were a few who seemed to be from Lady Kisea’s tribe.

“Hey. You, you’re a wolf, right? A Blue Wolf! How could the greatest race of wolves…?”

“We need to re-educate her immediately! This is a serious problem! I’m scared the kids might see and imitate her!”

Probably Gray Wolves, they vented their anger one by one. But the child stood her ground. Ignoring their stares, she wrapped her tail around my leg. It didn’t even surprise me anymore.

“A priest, huh?”

Among all the comments, the man named Leon’s remark stung the most.

“Is that even allowed? Well, if you two are happy, I guess it’s fine.”

“I’m Roka’s Master, but Roka is also my Master. It’s something like that…”

“I see. I think I get the feeling.”

Thankfully, he nodded heartily. I wasn’t lying either.

Even though Roka keeps calling me Master, I’ve never once thought of her as my slave.

In fact, I often feel like I’m the one being pulled around. Living together must be something like this.

We’ve already become each other’s. Does it even make sense to distinguish between master and servant? I held Roka, and Roka held me.

The Gray Wolves were furious at the sight of her clinging to me tightly, refusing to let go. They were angry at me, and they were angry at Roka.

“This is a disgrace to wolves! A wolf being taken by a human woman!”

“Following a human instead of her own kind, she’s not even a wolf anymore. She’s just a dog. That damn dog!”

“What kind of guy are you?!”

As they raged, Roka also got angry. She bared her teeth and growled. Watching her unleash her aura without restraint, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

“Uh-oh.”

For a moment, my eyes met Sir Leon’s. He seemed to be thinking the same thing, as a troubled expression appeared on his face.

“The young lady is stronger than I thought. With this level of energy, even Epirna would’ve noticed…”

It seems our stealth mission has failed. Still, I didn’t feel like blaming Roka. Instead, I wanted to praise her self-control for only getting angry after hearing such insults.

Anyway, this is their fault. When Roka got angry, the Gray Wolves instinctively bowed their heads. They couldn’t utter another word.

“If you have complaints, come out and say it. I’ll take you on.”

“Wolf lady.”

The one who actually spoke up wasn’t a wolf, but the lion.

“Are you really not interested in the Beast King’s throne? A lady like you could easily challenge for it.”

“Not interested.”

“Even if you’re not interested, Epirna might be. Then again, it’s laughable for someone like me, who’s already been defeated, to suggest this.”

“What exactly is this Beast King challenge?”

I asked on behalf of Roka, who looked completely uninterested. Honestly, just from the context, I could guess what it was.

Sure enough, the answer was exactly what I expected.

“When the first Beastmen leaders agreed to establish the Beast King’s throne, the greatest warriors from each tribe fought for it. Epirna won that fight, and I came in second.”

“This guy narrowly missed becoming the Beast King. That was the beginning of his misfortune.”

“Old man. You don’t need to gild my face. It wasn’t a narrow margin. The gap was too wide to bridge by chance.”

With a dejected expression, the lion sighed.

“That fight was the first and last Beast King challenge to date. I’ve been a stone statue all this time, rotting away here without any progress. Now, I don’t even have the right to challenge her strength.”

“Epirna must be similar, right? Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

“Old man, that’s different. The Epirna I know is a ruthless woman, but she’s not the type to dull herself. She’s harsher on herself than anyone else. She wouldn’t have stopped growing.”

The Cat Tribe woman who had been bickering with Sir Leon earlier widened her eyes.

“Wait a minute! So you’re saying this kid is stronger than you, the greatest warrior of the Lion Tribe? Strong enough to face Epirna?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know how much Epirna has progressed.”

“Then what was the point of suggesting she challenge for the throne? Are you trying to get her killed?”

“But it’s certain that she’s stronger than Epirna was in the past.”

The lion scanned us with fiery eyes. Then he closed his eyes and spread his energy around. After a moment, he opened his eyes slightly and looked at our group.

“You shouldn’t judge people by first impressions, but I think you’d make a better king than Epirna. If you’re not interested, then so be it.”

After pondering for a moment, he looked around and spoke.

“When Kisea returns, there will be four Masters gathered here. There’s no need to run. Trying to escape with this many people would only increase the damage.”

“Why do I have to fight this Epirna person?”

“I didn’t say you have to fight. Just hold your sword and stand ready. She’s clever, so she won’t charge in recklessly for a one-on-one fight.”

The bewildered Princess responded.

“Am I included in those four?”

“You too, draw your sword and stand ready. The best way is to make her back off on her own. As a Princess, you should know how to bluff without me telling you.”

“That’s not it. If I fight the Beast King, it’ll cause diplomatic issues…”

“Enough, she’s coming!”

Suddenly, he shouted. Then he pointed at the window with his finger.

The atmosphere instantly grew tense. Everyone looked at the window with nervous expressions. There’s no way the rumored Beast King could appear before us so quickly… or so I thought.

“I caught him… Why, why is everyone looking at me?”

We were surprised, and Lady Kisea was surprised too. The man named Pedro, who was being choked by Kisea, was also surprised.

“Well, Kisea’s here.”

Only the lion nodded. The Princess blinked her eyes, realizing something was wrong, and continued.

“No, actually, I shouldn’t be here as a person of my status…”

“Let’s hear Kisea’s story first.”

“Huh? No, if I draw my sword here, it’ll cause a major diplomatic issue…”

“Epirna will be here soon! Kisea, quickly interrogate him and get the information!”

Animals aren’t as stupid as people think. Beastmen are even more so.

They might seem a bit slow at times, but they’re actually quite cunning. This Leon guy, for example, might look like a brave lion who only knows how to charge, but it’s clear that’s not all there is to him.

The captured fox widened his eyes in disbelief at the scene.

“Y-you people…! How did those who were petrified…?”

“Where are we, and what’s been happening? Tell us everything you know.”

“I-I can’t…! I can’t say anything. I have a family…!”

“Fine then. Priest, I’ll need your help.”

Suddenly, he called for me, and I was startled. When I heard what he wanted, I was even more startled.

“If I burn this guy with Flame Energy, heal him before he dies, Priest. If we repeat that, he’ll talk eventually.”

“You jackals. Do you think I’ll talk just because of that…!”

“Do you think I don’t know your foxes? You’re just Epirna’s lackeys, acting all high and mighty. But fire is honest. Flames know the truth.”

He looked at me with expectant eyes, so I shook my head desperately. Divine Power isn’t meant to assist in torture.

“I won’t do it!”

“Kisea. Then you cut off his fingers one by one.”

“M-me?! Why me?! No way!”

Lady Kisea also panicked and jumped. Then, swallowing hard, she pulled out a dagger from her sleeve.

“B-but… if you don’t tell us where our parents are… I might really do it? It’s okay. The Priest over there will heal you anyway.”

“I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything I know!”

The fox wasn’t as brave as I thought. The threat ended up being just a bluff, and that was a relief.