CHAPTER 11: THE REFUGEE CAMPS

**Kuro**

When I woke up, Ursura’s face was before me.

“…”

“Oh, you’re fine now?”

“What else do you think is the reason I’m displaying my face before you?”

“Well, you could’ve answered ‘yes’ instead of being sarcastic.”

“Are you getting sarcastic about me being sarcastic with you?”

Oh, brother…I’m not in a mood for arguing, so I just kept mum and sat up. Honestly, the cool and homely atmosphere of Konka’s house was a breath of fresh air for me, having spent the recent days in that dark, dirty dungeon of the Black Tower. Plus, while I’ve been on the run, it’s nice to stop and take a rest once in a while.

“By the way, where’s Konka and Banu?” I asked for I noticed that both of them were missing.

“They are out in the camp, doing some community work.”

“I see…” Well, it’s not that I’m doubting them, but I had enough of betrayals lately. But then, I guess these folks were trustworthy. I mean, they were Ruro’s enemies, and of course, ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’.

Ursura remained in her position, sitting on her knees, and was awfully quiet.

“What? You’ve been pretty silent, it’s creeping me.”

“K-Kuro, we-well, y-you see…”

“What?”

“Ugh…I couldn’t believe I’m actually saying this to a man, especially a human man!” Ursura took a deep breath before continuing, “Look, we beastfolk have our own ways different from you humans, and we have this thing called ‘beastfolk loyalty’, which differs greatly from that traitorous ‘loyalty’ of yours.”

“Uh…okay?”

“So, uh…well, you helped me countless times when I’m injured, so…honestly, you earned my trust. And when I heard your story of how you came to this forsaken place, I couldn’t help but to want to help you.”

“Ah, about my kidnapping…it’s fine. I’m sure you have your own problems to attend to.”

“I think you’re missing my point. See, when someone earns the loyalty of the beastfolk, it means we’ll be forever by their side,” the bear-woman then blurted out, “Please become my master, Kuro!”

“No way! I refuse!”

“Wha—” the shock on her face was clear, but it quickly changed into sadness, “Oh right…you humans highly-value the virginity of a person. I understand that I’m just a ‘used rag’…”

“Oi, please stop that,” I tapped her on the head, “In the first place, I didn’t even tell you why I refused, and yet you assumed I did that because of such things. Listen here, what happened to you wasn’t your fault, and you should stop referring to yourself as a ‘used rag’. You’re not one, even if you’re violated repeatedly.”

“Then why did you refuse?”

“I don’t like keeping slaves…it’s something I’m not in favor with,” I laughed, patting her head and ruffling her hair like I always did to my students before, “Besides, the girl I love is waiting for me. I need to return to Chersea as soon as possible, so I won’t be staying here much longer than I have to. If I were to disappear, what will happen to you if I’m your master?”

The bear-woman was silent, but I could tell she understood what I meant.

“Well then…” I fixed the wrinkles in my clothing before standing up, “I’ll go talk to Konka for a bit. Want to come along?”

The bear-woman shook her head.

“Alright. Will come back later.”

“Ah yes…” Ursura gently smiled at me for the first time, “That girl waiting for you back in Chersea sure is lucky; now I understand why Ruro would do that to you…”

----------

Lucky, huh? If there’s anyone lucky between me and Maddie, I’d say I’m the one who’s fortunate to have her. She might be spontaneous and whimsical, but that girl was stronger than she thought she was. Maddie knew what she wanted and would never go astray from her plans and visions.

And for that, I wanted to support her…that’s why I’d do everything in my power to come back to her in one piece.

“…”

Anyway, I found Konka and Banu going around the village and discussing things with each other. Perhaps these two knew each other well in the past, for the bear-man was quick to trust the former when we first encountered her back in Malvette.

“…”

I had to be careful with my approach, for the beastmen villagers never took their judging eyes off me. Though Banu may have calmed them down and explained my presence, I could still feel their sharp stares piercing through my soul. At that moment, I wanted to at least cloak myself with an invisibility spell, if such magic exists.

Kuro, these guys had traumatic experiences with humans. You’re the one who can understand; you should be the one to give them patience.

Yes, I had to remind myself of that from time to time, because, honestly, I’m getting annoyed with how these people treat me. Perhaps the villagers made me remember my early days at the Holy Palatial Gardens, where the maidservants of Maddie avoided me like a plague.

Well, I’m just here to talk to Konka and nothing else. Beastmen guards followed their entourage, as well as some groups of little beast-children.

“!!!” Just when I was about to approach them, the guards quickly barred my way with their spears.

“Let him pass; he’s a noble, though he may be a human,” Banu told them, and they withdrew their weapons.

“How’s your sleep, uh, Kuro?” Konka asked with a smile.

“It’s been nice,” I admitted, “Honestly, that was the most beautiful sleep I had in recent days.”

“Looks like you really went through some tough times, milord,” Banu commented.

“Ugh…you don’t know how hard it is for me…” I shivered whenever the memories come back to me: my time in Ruro’s cave-palace, my subsequent escape, and that stint in the dungeons of the Black Tower.

“Anyway, do you, uh, need something from me, Kuro?”

“Well, the thing is…ever since our conversation last time, I’ve been thinking if you could help me cross back into Chersea,” I told insect-woman, “See, I was told before that it was closed. I’m new to this place, and I don’t even know which direction should I take to reach the crossing into the human lands. In return, I could tell the Human Saint about the situation of your people, and she’d definitely do something about it.”

Banu and Konka, however, exchanged glances while I explained my intentions. Then, it was Banu who said to me, “Milord, perhaps you don’t know how the ‘crossings’ work?”

“Err…I’m sorry, but you’re right. Please do tell me how it works.”

Konka answered, “Uh, we cannot simply cross into the other realms, Kuro. We need the permission of the ruling Saint to open the crossings. If it remains closed, we would simply be wandering off to the unknown parts of this land.”

“I don’t understand…what do you mean?”

“This world is divided into five realms, separated by an invisible veil into which anyone can cross, as long as the saints permit it,” Konka explained, “The human realm, Chersea, is ruled by the Human Saint. The elves were given Cherwoods, to the east of this place, as their home. To the dwarves, their land has lost its old name, for they chose to forget it for a new one. Cherwind is our land, and the Beastman Saint is supposed to be the one guiding it.”

“And the demons claim the fifth realm, Cherflammen,” Banu added.

“I see…so it’s not possible to cross into Chersea, as long as Ruro wouldn’t allow it?” I could feel my heart sink as I listened to them.

“Well, uh, she closed it not too long ago. It’d be hard to do any crossings.”

A big part of my mind was telling me it had something to do with my kidnapping. Perhaps she didn’t want Maddie to come to my rescue and made sure she held the cards over me by closing the Cherwind-Chersea crossing, to the detriment of everyone else—human or beastfolk.

“Ah, don’t be so downcast, milord…” Banu said to me, “As long as you’re with us, Her Holiness Konka could protect you from Ruro. Back when they were still young, Lady Konka always bested the wolf-lady in magic.”

“Well, I just wanted to go back home to Chersea…”

“I, uh, understand your sentiments, Kuro,” Konka patted my back to console me, “Uh, look, I did not say that we can’t cross; I just wanted, uh, to tell you that without Ruro’s permission, it’s difficult to pull it off.”

“You mean you can do something about it?” A little ray of hope rose within me.

“Officially, I can’t,” Konka confirmed, “But, you see, I don’t believe that I couldn’t do something. I mean, I’m a former Saint candidate…if, uh, Ruro—who’s supposed to be weaker than me—can do it, what makes it impossible for my magic to accomplish? After all, the permission to cross into other realms isn’t a god-power.”

“And if it’s not a god-power, then it means you can do it?”

The insect-woman nodded.

“Indeed,” Banu was quick to support her, “Lady Konka has never failed us before.”

“Only I would request for your, uh, patience, Kuro,” she said, “Discovering new magic takes time, and, uh, lots of practice. I won’t give you false assurances; but in return, would you grant this lady’s request?”

“…” Err…while normally I would find it hard to believe the insect-woman’s words, in my current situation, I would cling to any sliver of hope left. For short, I had no choice but to trust her.

“Alright then, what are your terms?”

----------

“Man…Ruro sure made a mess of this land.”

“Why, you’re more than correct, Kuro,” Konka agreed with my observation as we looked around the village. Part of her condition to help was for me to give to her people in return, which meant I’d be using Maddie’s god-power to heal them. As we go travel along, she and Banu narrated the horrors that they witnessed in the past, when several Beastmen tribes rose against the human colonists.

“Yes. Everything escalated when the ‘Bloodbath of Telessaria’ happened,” Banu told me.

“Bloodbath of Telessaria?”

“Telessaria was the first human colony, and it’s larger than the city of Malvette,” the bear-man explained, “Several Beastmen—slaves and free beasts—conspired to murder the entire population, in revenge for the atrocities committed to our race by the humans. You could say that ‘Telessaria’ was where the rebellion took its ‘shape’, and from then on, a lot of Beastmen tribes united to drive the human colonists away from our lands.”

“Then, if you’re united, why were you eventually defeated?”

“Well, the demon weapons that came out several seasons after the massacre at Telessaria,” Banu answered, “See, while we’re more than a match to the human armies in close combat, the ‘demon weapons’ leveled the situation of the battlefield, and eventually tilted the favor towards your people. While it takes several human knights to subdue a single beastman warrior, a lone human soldier armed with a demon weapon can easily dispatch his beastman enemy in one shot.”

“You see these beastfolk around? They are the remnants of their respective tribes, which were annihilated by the human armies under the auspices of the Beastman Saint.”

My eyes went around the village. Aside from the guards of this place, most of them were just simple folk who were out here trying to live their lives. The men would either be busy with repairing their family’s shelter or doing other work, like farming for their food. I could also see the women tending to their children, or helping their husbands, or relatives with the house chores.

“Damn…” I couldn’t help but mutter under my breath. Alein and Vulhex did mention it to me before, but witnessing first-hand their people being enslaved and pushed to their limits because of the weapon I introduced…

I don’t think I can stomach this anymore.

“…”

Though they were not human, I could only imagine what hardships these people went through in their pasts. Watching them try to bring back the normalcy in their lives reminded me of my country.

Incompetent leaders romanticizing our supposed ‘resilience’ to disasters, when in reality, they should be doing more for our welfare instead of lying around and stealing from our nation’s coffers.

“…”

Ah, I don’t want to get political here. I’m in another world, after all. I should worry about my own ass…

“It’s, uh, a good thing that you came to us, Kuro,” Konka said, “You see, your god-power of healing could be used in helping these poor folks.”

“Hmm? What happened?”

“Well, we’re currently being plagued by a mysterious disease,” the insect-woman revealed, “Several villagers began vomiting and having loose bowels after some refugees from the Enclave came to us. I’m thinking that it must be Ruro’s doing; she must’ve sent some of her agents to find and destroy us by sickness.”

“I see…” Now that she said something about spies if only I had Maddie’s power to read minds, tracking that spy would be easy. However, I guess I had to make do of what I currently have, “So, you wanted me to heal your sick villagers with my god-power?”

The insect-woman nodded, “I tried my own healing spell on them, but only the Human Saint’s god-power could heal them in an instant. And with you around, I’m asking if you can do this as a favor for me?”

“Okay, show me where the patients are.”

----------

Konka led us to a small hut in a corner of the village, which served as a makeshift infirmary. There, I found a great number of beastfolk that had fallen mysteriously ill. The place was dark, for the windows were closed. Flies could be found almost everywhere; from the sick, lying on the cots, to the cloths used as towels.

“It’s a human!” one patient exclaimed, “A human has come to curse us!”

The others who could move wasted no time in keeping their distance from me. Some of them even pulled their loved ones away, like I’m some kind of plague.

“Please don’t be scared!” Banu was trying to placate them, “The Lord Kuro is a friend to our people; he won’t do you any harm!”

Well, no matter. It’s not like I’m offended, or anything, anymore. I mean, I understand they were afraid of my presence. I just needed to heal them, right?

“…”

And goodness, the smell in here stinks! If I am in their place, I’d really get sick with such conditions. This looked like a scene from a medical disaster movie, only the patients were beastmen.

“Please, uh, do be careful,” the insect-woman reminded me as we wormed our way across, “You might end up getting the bad air from these fellows and get sick as well.”

“Get sick as well? Did anyone else get sick?”

“Well, uh, it’s mostly the ones who were taking care of them. At the start, we got lots of volunteers. But then, when they became ill as well, soon, uh, there were only a few who would even come near this place. Some had already died, by the way. Ruro’s really, uh, punishing us for defying her.”

I’m forming a picture of what’s really happening, and I highly doubt it’s directly Ruro’s fault. But just to be sure, I came near one of the patients to check on him. It was a dog-man, and he feared me…I could tell from his eyes. Nevertheless, I’m fortunate because he was weakened, so I could examine his body.

“Milord, what are you—” the bear-man tried to stop me from touching the patient.

“Don’t worry Banu, it’ll be fine…” I reassured him, “…well, if my hunches are correct, that is.”

Honestly, I know nothing about the sicknesses in this world. While I do remember Eris getting sick before when she got wet in the rain, there’s nothing severe that happened while I was there.

Perhaps that is because of Maddie’s god-power? I mean, it certainly would be ironic if the land being watched over by the Saint of Healing would have a pandemic.

“…”

However, though I may be in another world, this situation at hand was eerily familiar. Vomiting and lose bowels. A mysteriously spreading disease from human lands. I softly pinched the patient’s skin and—true to my suspicions—it lost its elasticity. Placing my ear on his chest further confirmed my guess.

“What is he doing, Banu?” I heard Konka ask the bear-man, though in whispers.

“I don’t know as well, Your Holiness…”

Ignoring them, I questioned the patient about his condition, “Are you feeling thirsty and weakened right now?”

“W-Why would I…answer you?” the dog-man weakly said, “I…don’t trust you!”

“Well, I’m not asking you to trust me,” honestly, I’d do anything to return to Chersea right now, and I won’t let some beastfolk stop my plans, “I’m just asking you if you’re thirsty and weak. Simple question, right?”

Sensing that I’m getting annoyed, the dog-man nodded.

“Thank you!” I tapped on his shoulder, “Look, Lady Konka has requested my help to heal you. I know you’re angry at me and my people, but please understand that I’m not like most humans. I’m a friend of your race.”

The patient, though apprehensive, let me touch him. Soon, his body was back to its healthy condition.

“Ah! Thank you so much for your help, Lord Kuro!” Konka was all-smiles once I’m done healing the villager, “Would you like to take a rest before healing the next patient?”

“Don’t worry, Lady Konka, I’ll be fine,” I turned to her, “However, I’d like to ask a few things from you, to help your people. The first thing is, I’d like all the patients in this place moved to another clean hut, and second, this one should be washed clean…”

“While I do get the request to clean this hut, uh…why should we move them? Isn’t it dangerous for others? Besides, uh…I’m only asking you to heal them though…”

“Yes, I would get to it. However, I prefer to do it in a cleaner place. Don’t worry about spreading the disease for the meantime,” then I demanded, “Plus, once I’m done here, I’d like to have the entire village gathered in one place. There’s something I’d like to tell them.”

“Well, uh, it could be done…but, I don’t know if they’d, uh, listen to you…”

“I’m expecting they won’t; I’m a human. But, I think they should hear what I’m going to tell them. The future of this village is at stake here,” I explained, “Trust me in this, okay?”

“…”

The insect-woman was apprehensive to agree to my requests, but she eventually consented in the end. Soon enough, after I’m done with healing the rest of the patients, Konka sent a crier around the village to announce that they had something to talk about.

----------

Cholera.

During the 1800s back on Earth, cholera was a ‘killer disease’, prevalent across multiple continents and countries. It was only solved when governments introduced modern water and sewage treatment systems, which eliminated its spread by contaminated water.

And of course, for non-modern worlds like Chersea and Cherwind, this was a real problem. In this village, though Konka insisted that there’s no nearby water supply that could be contaminated by the cholera bacteria, I’m not taking any chances.

“…”

This was like the case of the Indian natives of the New World during the Age of Exploration. The Europeans who went to their lands brought sickness from Europe, to which the natives had no natural ‘immunization’, and killed scores of them that soon they couldn’t put up an effective resistance.

It’s clear what’s happening in this world…which is also being colonized by humans.

“From now on, please never drink water that is not boiled,” I said to the villagers, “And when you handle drinking water or cook food, please wash your hands thoroughly.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” a villager asked, “Do we have to boil our drinking water every time we drink?”

“And wash our hands every time we cook?” said another.

“If possible, then yes. Or you can store your boiled water in clean jars for future consumption,” I suggested, “Also, wash your hands every time you use the latrines, and after doing some work.”

“Why do we need to do these things? Does it have any connection to Ruro’s attempt in poisoning us?”

“Well, not to defend Ruro, but this is clearly not her work.”

“See? You’re an agent of the humans and that accursed saint!” a beastman cried out, “Why should we believe you?”

The other villagers were up in arms and were about to beat me when the patients I healed and Banu came to my rescue. Konka quickly ordered the village guards to hold back the angry mob.

“Please listen to this man before you hurt him!” one former patient—the dog-man earlier, pleaded, “He may be a human, but he healed us!”

“Don’t be hasty, my brethren!” Banu backed him up, “Let us listen first to Lord Kuro’s words!”

The skeptic crowd eventually backed down, especially when Konka stood between us. She remained silent, but the villagers knew they should listen to me, or else…

“Okay…” I cleared my throat before continuing, “As I said before, this isn’t directly Ruro’s fault. See, what happened to your village was a case of cholera. Basically, it’s a human disease that can be transmitted to another person by contaminated water.”

“Hah?”

“I know it’s quite difficult to understand, but this problem could easily be solved by proper hygiene among the populace.”

“Wait, you mean to say that the humans transferred their sickness to us?”

“That’s what I’m telling you. Lady Konka has told me, this started when some refugees from the human territories arrived and mingled among you, the villagers. My suspicion is that several of them were already infected by the sickness, and unknowingly spread it in your sources of water.”

The villagers exchanged worried glances once I finished my explanation. However, they had to do it, and soon; this sickness won’t wait for them to adjust.

“Milord, but you healed the villagers already, right?” Banu asked.

“Yes, I did. However, this would only repeat itself for as long as you won’t adopt good hygienic practices. And let me tell you honestly…though my god-power of healing is effective in these cases, it’s not the panacea for this problem. Only prevention could help your people’s health if you aim to get back your land from us, humans.”

“Prevention? Hygiene? Those are just human things!” one villager said, “We, the proud and noble Beastfolk, won’t easily fall down from your puny illnesses! This is clearly a curse from that Ruro! Don’t believe this clown, my brethren! He’s just toying with and making a fool of us!”

The entire village was getting divided; with the former patients who experienced being ill first-hand siding with me and the healthy ones being stubborn.

Goodness, idiots like this guy won’t shut up, huh…

“Alright, proud and noble Beastfolk!” I had no choice but to go along with them for a while, “You say that ‘Prevention’ and ‘Hygiene’ are just human things and our diseases won’t affect you. But then, tell me, why did the others of your race fell ill?”

“It’s a curse! It’s from Ruro!”

“Yeah!”

“You sound like you’re believing that Ruro’s all-powerful, huh?”

“She is! That’s why we’re being cursed!”

“She’s the Beastman Saint after all!”

“Then answer, if Ruro’s that powerful, why was I able to heal your loved ones’ illness?” I put up that question, “Do you mean to say that I’m just as powerful as her, or even more powerful?”

At that point, the naysayers fell silent. Maybe they realized something is wrong with their reasoning of blaming Ruro for this disaster? If that’s the case, then this was a good chance to sway them to my side…

“If I’m just as powerful as Ruro, then what’s the reason you won’t listen to me?” I continued, “Ruro may have cursed you, but I healed her ‘curse’ and made you healthy! And being healthy, isn’t that the very reason you’re trying to keep on living? You wanted to live, because sometime later—when the opportunity presents itself—you would take up arms and avenge your people!”

From the looks of it, the villagers were being convinced. I could see a lot of them doing occasional nods to each other, as they listen to my words…

I guess I needed to push them a little more…

“Or are you telling me you’re giving up on this struggle already?”

“What do you know about our experiences?” someone shouted.

“Yeah, did you even go through those things?” another one never hid his emotions.

“We will crush your despicable race, human!”

The crowd was in an uproar once again. Banu and Konka’s guards were bracing themselves for a riot. However, I think that their help won’t be needed this time…

“Then, proud and noble Beastmen!” I also could feel an overwhelming emotion rose within me; perhaps getting carried away by the villagers’ feelings, “Crush the human vermins! For Cherwind, let’s get healthy!”

“Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

The entire village let out a terrible war-cry for a few moments. I think their voices made the heavens tremble and the mountains cower in fear. It was a hair-raising experience; but deep inside, I’m happy that they could understand my point.

“…”

Though…I guess I went overboard with that. I mean, it’s just all about taking a goddamn wash, and being clean…