CHAPTER 7: JOURNEY ACROSS CHERWIND

***The Battle for the Refugee Camps…***

“Ruro, I’m telling you one more time, leave that bear-woman alone!” Kuro’s hand continued to glow intensely as the spinning clouds slowly crept and touched the ground. By then, everyone could feel the earth shaking, and even the armies nearby had to stop their battles since they couldn’t stand properly.

Ruro, upon seeing her master use her god-power, smiled, “So you really can use the god-power of the Beastman Saint! You’re really my master, someone who is fit to be a god!”

“I don’t give a damn about divinity; I just want to return home!”

“But you don’t have a home! The humans threw you after they were done with you, and I’m the one who saved you!”

“Maddie is waiting for me, and you know this!”

Ruro could only shake her head, “I’ll make you see reason, master! Please forgive me!”

“!!!”

At that moment, she charged towards him, aiming to push him down. Kuro, however, wouldn’t give her any chance, and so he let loose the tornadoes that he was holding back before. The pillars of swirling winds danced around the battlefield, hitting both sides and causing casualties.

The wolf-saint had a difficult time evading Kuro’s attack, for she had to move the stunned Telis and the Duchess of Malvette out of harm’s way first. When she finally made sure that her allies were safe, Ruro returned to confront the whirlwinds.

“!!!”

Stretching out her hand, she summoned her mana to prevent the tornadoes from cutting a huge swath of carnage. However…

“Kuh…”,

The tornadoes that Kuro generated just won’t dissipate. Ruro could feel her body slowly being pushed back, as the others were picked up by the violent winds and were thrown a few distances away from where they formerly stood.

“!!!”

The wolf-saint increased her powers to where small wounds were coming out from her hands. At that moment, there was a slight decrease in the intensity of the tornadoes. It was then that she realized, it’d take an entire amount of mana in her body to stop Kuro’s magic.

“Aaaahhh!!!”

Telis and the Duchess could only watch in awe and terror—along with their men—at the sidelines, as Ruro channeled every mana available in her body just to make the tornadoes disappear. The wolf-saint’s body was now glowing, and her clothes turned to ashes. And then…

“!!!”

With a deafening explosion and a powerful shockwave that brought down everyone nearby, the tornadoes dissipated. Ruro almost fell down on the ground, weakened, had it not for Telis’ quick reflexes.

“Are you alright, Your Holiness?” the fox-woman checked her liege’s body for injuries.

“D-Did you…see, T-Telis? My m-master’s god-power!” was all that the wolf-saint could say.

“Yes, it was really powerful, Your Holiness!”

“Where is he?”

Telis looked around. Aside from a few mangled corpses and injured bodies of friends and enemies, as well as twisted heaps of wood and metal, there was no sign of the black-haired human, nor his bear companion.

----------

**Kuro**

The battle for the refugee camps was a lost cause. Well, I also contributed to its downfall. See, when I returned after talking to that former god, Gaius—I mean, Jules, I was forced to activate the Beastman Saint’s god-power. However, as usual, I wasn’t able to control what kind of weather it would bring out. Intense tornadoes appeared.

“…”

Though I threatened to release nature’s fury against them, Ruro still tried to counter my god-powers, and you know what happened next. Amidst the confusion, Ursura brought me back to my senses and pulled me away to escape.

Soon, we were reunited with the orphans, who were hiding on the other side of the river to the north.

“Chief!” the children greeted me with warm embraces when they saw me. Some refugees also stayed with them and were happy to know that I’m still alive.

“We’re worried that you didn’t escape the bad weather and the humans back at the camp,” they told me.

“Haha…well, it was scary,” I admitted to them. Yep, I’m terrified of my god-power, but at least I could control it to some extent.

“So we’re parting ways here,” Ursura said to the refugees.

“Yes, we understand,” their leader bowed before us, “We’re headed to the mountains, where the humans can’t reach us. We’re just hoping that East and West Ursus would accept our people.”

I could feel the awkwardness of Ursura when she heard the words ‘West Ursus’.

“Please take care on the way!” I waved my hand in a final farewell, “Hope we see each other again!”

“Thank you, Lord Kuro!”

We stayed on our spot as we watched the refugees slowly disappear on the horizon. Once we confirmed they were safe, we moved on, heading west. Minahaba, who told us about the lands of the Avinus down south, was the one leading us.

----------

***The refugee camps…***

By that time, the banners of the human armies led by the Duchess of Malvette were flying over the incomplete ramparts and palisades of Konka’s settlement, or what was left of it. Some of the human cavalries were conducting the mopping-up operations against the Insetus woman’s guards who escaped the siege.

As for Konka herself, she is nowhere to be found. Nor is her captain, Banu of the East Ursus.

However, all was not lost to Ruro of the Wolf, as she surveyed the place that she had just conquered. At least, she dealt her rival a blow, further weakening her base of support.

“Your Holiness, my men had found tracks of Beastmen heading to the mountain ranges to the northeast,” the Duchess of Malvette told her, “Do you suppose that the Lord Kuro was among those people?”

“Kuro knew that and thus, he won’t take the risk of coming along with the refugees,” Ruro surmised, “However, as a reward for helping us defeat Konka, I’ll let you pursue those traitors. You may do to them as you wish.”

The Duchess nodded and gave her respects as she took her to leave. It was then that a member of the Fox tribe came in with his own report.

“Your Holiness, we searched the prisoners for the Lord Kuro…”

“And?”

“W-We couldn’t f-find him—guoh!”

The fox tribesman was slapped by Kashca Telis, who was standing beside Ruro and sent him to the ground. His comrades were reluctant to help him as their captain hit him repeatedly.

“You stupid foxes! Running after that human should be easy for you!”

“Stay your hand, Telis,” the Beastman Saint told her, “It’s not his fault that I let him slipped my grasp.”

The fox-woman desisted on punishing her kin. “Please don’t blame yourself, Your Holiness. We could still go after the Lord Kuro; I bet he’s not far off from this region yet.”

“Indeed. Send your fastest men and track him,” Ruro ordered, “However, don’t capture him yet.”

“Huh? But Your Holiness, I thought—”

“I don’t need your opinion, Telis,” the saint quickly shot her down, “My orders are to follow and protect him from the shadows, that’s all. Do nothing else.”

The fox-woman remained silent. Her hands tightened on the hilt of her sword.

“What? Are you doubting my wisdom, Telis?” Ruro asked, provocatively, “And here I think that the Fox tribe are true to their vows of faithfulness to me! Where’s your loyalty?”

“Y-Your Holiness…your words are our life,” the fox-woman bowed and apologized, “Please forgive my doubts. Your orders shall be done immediately!”

----------

**Kuro**

The journey to the territories of the Avinus tribes was a long, uneventful one. It took us once again along the fringes of the human lands, just north of the Grand Marshes, crossing a junction of rivers that feed the body of water known to the Beastmen as the ‘Great Lake of Cherwind’. And then, after that, into the plains where several Canus tribes formerly inhabited.

“Why formerly inhabited?” I asked Rumia, who claimed she was from this place.

“Those lands where my brothers and sisters lived were now infested with groundworms, Chief,” she explained as we marched along a narrow path that crossed the countryside, “I only escaped being swallowed whole because I was in Malvette during the groundworm attack that killed my whole village.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Rumia,” I gave her a head pat.

“It’s alright, Chief. This is the way of our land: fight or die,” she shrugged, “Heh, I remember some of our elders would say that before the humans came, our ancestors lived in harder times. There are no ‘Outer’ nor ‘Inner’ walls we can run into whenever there are attacking hordes.”

“What did they do back then?”

“They battle it out with the leviathans and groundworms. If they win, they get to live for another ‘long sleep’. If they lost, they get eaten.”

I couldn’t believe that a child was telling me such depressing stories. Looking around, it’s hard to imagine that this beautiful place was the one that Rumia was telling me about.

“…”

Man, I mean, I just love those golden plains that stretched as far as my eyes could see, interrupted only by some patches of trees. To my left and right, which were to the west and east respectively, majestic blue mountain ranges greeted my sight. The azure sky bordered the horizon, and I could make out a group of wild leviathans grazing peacefully, far from where we were.

Somehow, I can tell why Rumia’s ancestors would never want to part from this land…

“I’m really envious to hear your stories about Chersea,” Rumia continued, “where everyone could live safely from the monsters.”

“And humans!” Luka added to the conversation while he was busy erasing our tracks; just in case Ruro sent some people to follow us.

“Are you an idiot, Luka?” Rumia chuckled, “Of course, it’s safe from humans; humans are already living there since the time of Lord Gaius.”

Heh, Gaius. Honestly, that former god broke all my expectations. I mean, when I was reading about him in the books at the Holy Palatial Gardens, he seemed so grand and dignified to me. But meeting him back then was kind of disappointing.

Well, he did mention that he was retired already, with no hope of coming back…all because of that hero, Cassandra David.

“…”

That Cassandra David sure made a mess of this world, eh?

Even so, while I felt comfortable around the High King of the Gods (even enjoyed playing chess with Him), there’s something in Gaius—I mean, Jules, that I didn’t like. Perhaps it’s his way of talking as if he disregards the lives of his followers…or maybe he really didn’t seem to be the god I imagined.

----------

“Hey!”

“!!!” My spirit almost jumped out from my body when I felt someone slapped my back.

“You’ve suddenly fallen silent; what happened to your conversation with Rumia?” it was Ursura, bringing me back to my senses.

“Huh?” I looked around and found the dog-girl walking beside and chatting with her brother. She was carrying Teviki behind her back; perhaps the little tiger-girl got tired of this almost endless walking and fell asleep.

“Honestly, I don’t like it when it happens to you. You seem to think something nasty.”

“I just possess a nasty face.”

“I know…despite that, I don’t like that look of yours when you’re pondering.”

“Shut the fuck up,” I smirked, jokingly pushing Ursura away from me. The bear-woman just laughed and returned the favor by slapping my back. It hurt.

“But Kuro, seriously, what are you thinking?”

“Hm? Well, have you ever thought of reaching for the skies?”

“I’m not an idiot like you; I can’t jump that high.”

“No, what I mean is, have you ever wanted of something big in your life, like power? Or glory? Or followers?”

“Heh, I won’t lie to you; I did happen to like those,” Ursura smiled, “However, I ended up killing many, and got abused because of that.”

“Well, indeed. Those things require a lot of sacrifices to attain,” I could only sigh, “That’s why I only wish for a simple life.”

“Pfft! What are you saying? Aren’t you the legendary—”

“And I was betrayed because of that. You know, the higher position a person attains in his/her life, the lonelier and more dangerous it becomes. Could you blame me for desiring a humbler dream because of those things?”

Ursura fell silent for a few moments.

“That’s why once I come back to Chersea, I’ll make sure I’d stay away from all the spotlight. I don’t need those; I just wanted to be with my loved ones.”

“I don’t know Kuro…” the bear-woman sighed, “…but if you’d ask me, I guess you’re just wishing for the impossible.”

“What do you mean?”

“The humans. Those refugees. These children. And…” Ursura blushed, “…m-me. I don’t know if you’re aware of it, but for us, you’re someone we would follow.”

“You’re just with me because we’re friends.”

“Heh, if you’re my friend, once you did something stupid, I might not be following you anymore,” she snickered, “And you did a lot of stupid things, you’re actually an idiot!”

“Fuck you!”

“Haha…anyway, seriously Kuro, you’re someone who won’t be in that position if you can’t lead. Believe more in yourself. Trust me; I know a leader when I see one. I was in a mercenary company before, remember?”

I couldn’t say anything in return to what Ursura told me. She just stared at me as we walked, and I had to avert my gaze from her. I mean, with those expressions of hers, I knew she was not joking around. Well, I guess I should just end this talk; it wasn’t good that Ruro and Jules’ words were slowly getting into my head. I’m just a teacher, a nobody.

Being a god isn’t something I dare to dream…

----------

There were times we had to stop to rest. So when we do, I would always set aside some moments for training my little army. While it was a fact that we came out of that refugee camp unscathed, there’s no telling when we’d find ourselves in a similar situation in the future.

And yes, I didn’t want to lose a single member of my orphans. More than my charges, these kids had gotten close to me; it’s as if they’re a part of my being.

In fact, I’m thinking of taking these guys back with me when I return to Chersea…if they want to.

“…”

“Chief!” it was Minahaba, just coming back from her scouting mission.

“Yep? Got anything new?”

“Ah, nothing,” she sat on a nearby rock as I prepare our supper. “I’m just pretty excited. After a long time, I’m returning to my village.”

“Wait, you already have a tribe outside the refugee camps?” Ursura asked her, with the bear-woman’s eyes wide in surprise, “I thought you’re an orphan!”

“Well, yes, I’m not really someone who’s without a tribe…” the falcon-girl had a nostalgic expression on her eyes, “You see, before I came to mainland Cherwind, the Chicken tribe adopted me.”

“Eh? The Chicken tribe?” I exclaimed. Somehow, my interest was piqued by this falcon-girl’s story.

“One of the Avinus tribes,” Ursura explained to me, “And they are said to be the weakest of among them.”

“Yes, though it irks me to hear that from a fellow beastfolk, I learned to admit that those kind people who adopted me are weak. You see, I was born among the tribe of the Falcon, yet when I cracked my egg, there’s no parent for me. I was an orphan.”

“Oh…” My head quickly imagined little Minahaba crying out from her little egg; it felt weird, honestly. I mean, save from her avian-looking legs and a pair of beautiful wings on her back, her body was that of a human—two arms with hands, head of a human, and…well, a ‘healthy’ woman’s chest and torso.

“You’re imagining something weird, Kuro?” Ursura whispered.

“Fuck off; I’m trying to listen!”

“And because of that, the Falcon tribe elders put me up for adoption. Nevertheless, no one from my tribe wanted me, so I was without a home,” Minahaba chuckled, “And so when I was old enough to flap my wings, I left them.”

“…” Now it was Ursura’s turn to be silent. Minahaba and her story had similarities. They were both considered ‘undesirables’ by their own kin and suffered because of that.

“My travels around the lands of the Avinus brought me the village of the Chicken tribe, where their elder adopted me as one of his own daughters.”

“But how did you get here if the Chicken tribesmen received you well?” I asked her.

“Chief…” the falcon-girl laughed, “Do you really want to know about my stupidity?”

“Haha…only if you wanted to tell us.” But hell yeah, I’m curious.

“Well, it’s not like I intend to hide it forever. In fact, if I am, to be honest with you guys, the reason I invited you to come with me to the lands of the Avinus, is connected to the reason I left the Chicken tribe village in the first place.”

“Hoh? Then what is it?”

Minahaba stood up and pulled out her sword, “See, I wanted to prove to everyone that the Chicken tribe could stand on their own. And so, being a daughter of the elder of the tribe, I left the village to find and kill the two greatest human heroes currently alive.”

“Err…” I looked back at Ursura, “You don’t mean to say…”

“Yes, Chief. It was my plan to kill either the Iron Princess or the Commoner General.”

----------

It was quite a weird revelation by Minahaba. Basically, she meant what she said; she went on an adventure on her own, to prove that the Chicken tribe could fight on par against the humans. And she would do this by bringing home my head or Lily’s…

“…”

Well, I’m kind of unnerved that someone who’s trying to murder us is actually right beside me.

However, the problem with Minahaba’s plan was that she didn’t know the personal identities of the Iron Princess, nor that of the Commoner General. All that she knew was that those heroes lived in the world of humans, Chersea.

And good thing she did not hear how Konka, Banu, and Ursura refer to me…or else, it’ll be a problem.

Ursura had a nasty smirk on her face, as we exchanged glances, “By the way, Minahaba, did you ever imagine what those people looked like?”

“Hmm, now that you said it…” the falcon-girl pondered for a bit, “The Iron Princess must be a beautiful and powerful human princess. You know, someone who’s on the shadows of that human knight, JimmyN Rubinforth?”

“Oho…” the bear-woman narrowed her eyes, “I’m more interested in how you see the Commoner General.”

You fucking bear! Are you trying to rat on me or something?

“Ah! He must be a dashing, and handsome knight!”

“Pfft!”

This bear-woman is enjoying this!

“Ah! Look at the food, guys, it’s already done and ready!” I tried diverting the talk. If I were to admit, hearing those words about myself was really awkward.

Like, damn, I’m a dashing and handsome knight? Me? Handsome? That’s bullshit!

“Oooh! Food’s ready! Yay!” as usual, Teviki was the first to come to our makeshift dinner table.

But Minahaba was still in her day-dreamland, “In fact, I don’t think I could fight the Commoner General properly once I saw his face! Kyaaaa!!!”

Ursura’s trying in vain to stop herself from bursting into uncontrollable laughs. Her contorted face looked stupid, and really, I wanted to punch her if I could. But nah, I’m not raised by my parents to hit a woman.

“Hey! Hey! Minahaba…” she continued on her antics, “What would you do if the Commoner General is nearby?”

“I’d kiss him before killing him!”

Urk!

“Don’t you think that Mr. Chief over here could’ve seen what the Commoner General actually looked like? He’s from Chersea, remember?”

“Oh right!” the sparkles on the falcon-girl’s eyes reached stupid proportions, “Chief! I know you’ve seen the Commoner General before! What’s he look like?”

“He looks like an ass.”

“Wha—”,

“And he stinks. He rarely takes a bath.”

“Such bitter human…” Ursura commented, shaking her head.

“Indeed, I didn’t know that Chief is this bitter,” Minahaba backed her up.

“Shut up, you idiots!” I countered, “Every human being out there has an issue or two about themselves.”

“Ah, anyway, Minahaba,” the bear-woman deliberately ignored me, “Would you like to know his true identity—”

“Oh look! There’s a big leviathan coming our way!”

“What? Where?” everyone turned around to the direction I showed.

Then, without warning, I slapped Ursura’s head.

“Ow!”

Yeah, that’s for the insults, you stupid bear-woman! I smirked as she stuck out her tongue towards me.

----------

Then came the time for us to cross the western mountain ranges. As Minahaba told us before, the land of the Avinus was actually a chain of islands located to the west-southwest of Cherwind. To get there, we had three routes: the first, go to the ‘Enclave’ and catch a boat in the human port city of Calles. The second was to take the path across a heavily-forested area at the southern end of the mountain range in front of us. And third, cross the mountain range itself and get a boat in one of the villages on the other side.

“What do you think, Kuro?”

“Well, the first option is a ‘no’ from me,” I told the bear-woman, “We risk getting captured once we go through the human territories.”

“The second one is also dangerous…” Minahaba noted, “The forest at the end of the Ersus Mountains is infested with man-eating harpies and groundworms.”

Ursura stared at me, “You think you can take the mountain route?”

Honestly, I’m not sure myself. Just one look at the seemingly endless rows of mountains in front of us already took the enthusiasm away from me. But well, I needed to know the risks first, before deciding on the better route to take. “What are the dangers?”

“Well…aside from the steep paths and occasional blizzards at the top, there’s nothing there.”

“Oh, right!” Minahaba suddenly exclaimed, “Chief, the bear-woman is from these mountains! She’s from the West Ursus Tribe!”

Huh? How can you tell? Banu and Ursura look so similar; I only know because she told me before that she’s from the West Ursus!

“…”

These Beastmen really pique my interest…

Everyone’s eyes fell on Ursura, who had an awkward expression on her face, “Y-Yeah…I came from these mountains, thus, I know some safe routes.”

“Are you sure about this?” I asked her, sensing her reluctance, “Maybe we could take another—”

“This is the safest path; let’s go!” the bear-woman took the lead.

----------

On our first ‘long sleep’ since deciding to take the mountain route, I had to divide our group into three ‘shifts’ of watchmen, as the others took their rests. Ursura estimated it would take us five more ‘long sleeps’ before we fully traversed this road, and once we arrived at the other side, we’d have to make boats to get to the Avinus territory.

“…”

Ah, it’s quite a long travel, but I guess I’m pretty safe from Ruro’s hands for now.

“Oi, Senna and Gero, I know you love to play, but you need to sleep for now,” I saw some of the rabbit-children still awake, though they’re already lying down.

Knowing that I won’t leave them until they closed their eyes, Senna and Gero did what I told them.

“…”

I remained for a few moments, just to make sure that they sleep for good. Heh, I’d been a kid once; and sometimes, I pretended I’m sleeping, just to get my parents to leave my room.

What the heck? I feel like I’m taking on the role of these guys’ father!

For now, I’m on my shift, together with Luka, Yufa, and Yufos. For our place to stay, Ursura led us to a cave, since it was getting cold. The bear-woman said that Ersus Mountains were well known for their snowy climate.

“…”

Well, so much for being ‘watchmen’. Yufa and Yufos were drifting from being awake to dozing off as we all sat by the entrance. I guess I couldn’t blame them; such cold weather was a good time for some animals to hibernate. Maybe these guys were the same?

The only one that were properly doing his responsibilities was Luka and me. However, I could feel the invisible barrier being put up by the dog-boy; he just wanted to be left alone.

“…”

Good lord, this is boring…

I guess the never-setting sun of Chersea and Cherwind was a god-send too. I’m not used to looking into the dark because all my life I lived in a modern Earth city. Back here, there were no streetlights, and I couldn’t say if these skies had something like a moon. Now, imagine it was night and cold. Who knows what might creep towards us if it’s pitch black, just like that person over there?

“…”

Wait, there’s really a person a few distances away from us. And, hmm, is that Ursura?

“The bear-woman went outside while you’re talking to Senna and Gero,” I heard Luka say.

I saw the bear woman still wide-awake, sitting by a boulder and facing towards the northern direction when she’s supposed to be resting because her shift’s the next one. She seemed to ponder about something, and, when I tried to approach her, she almost jumped in surprise.

“You almost killed me there, Kuro!”

“Haha! Sorry! What are you doing here, anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?”

“Well, you see, Ersus Mountains is my former home.”

“Yeah, you did tell us before,” I climbed the boulder and sat near her, “It’s freezing; why don’t you come back to the cave?”

“I miss this cold wind, you know?”

“Oh…”

“And…well, going back to this place made me remember my village,” she pointed to a certain direction ahead of us, “The West Ursus tribe lives there.”

“You want to visit them?”

“Heh…remember when I told you I wanted power and glory? When I left, I swore to myself that I’d return when I have those with me.”

“I see…”

“I…you know, I’d like to, just to see my sisters and mother once again,” the bear-woman smiled and shook her head, “Though, really, the village already banished me, so I don’t give a damn about those guys.”

“But you wanted to come back, no?”

The bear woman remained silent.

“Hey!”

“What?”

“I have an idea.”

“Hm?”

“You wanted power and glory, right? And I wanted to come back to Chersea in one piece, all the while helping your people throw off the yoke from the humans,” I stood up on the boulder we were sitting on, “And I know a way to do it!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Let’s unite the Beastmen tribes!”

“Ha?”

“Think about it. Your people were easily conquered because the Beastmen were divided; some support the Beastman Saint, Ruro of the Wolf, while others are for Konka of the Insetus. However, both of their visions for Cherwind were leading your people to their ruin.”

“I can’t…understand?”

“Look, Ruro believes in the supremacy of humans and will sacrifice her people’s freedom for protecting them from the monster hordes. And we know what happened: the Beastmen were enslaved.”

“…”

“Likewise, Konka is the promoter of Beastmen dominance, disdaining every human idea, even if it would help your people. And that battle back at the refugee camps showed the failure of this policy; humans are highly-adaptable, while the Beastmen are stuck in their old ways of fighting.”

“And we? What should we believe in?”

“That humans and Beastmen could co-exist together, for a common goal!”

“Like us?”

“Yep, just like our group. I’m a human, and you guys are Beastmen. Yet, we are successful despite our differences.”

“So what do you propose we should do?”

“For us, we’ll be mixing the human ways, and the Beastmen ways.”

“Impossible.”

“No, it’s not! You witnessed how effective our fighting formation is, right? I assigned the children their roles in battle, creating a more efficient way to fight. That’s the human way! And combine the Beastmen bravery and loyalty with that, and we’ll have an invincible army that could steamroll the entire land of Cherwind!”

“H-Huh? Steam…what?”

“Steamroll. Basically, it’s like a carriage rolling over its enemies, get it?”

“I don’t.”

“We’ll just defeat those who stand in our way easily, okay?”

“And you intend to do that at the Chicken tribe village?”

I smiled for my answer, “I know of mighty empires that once thrived in the diversity of its people. What makes Cherwind different from those?”

“You’re asking for a headache, you know? The Chicken tribe is the weakest tribe among the Beastmen!”

“And it’s even better! Think about it when the ‘weakest’ became the strongest? Don’t you think it’s the most legendary story that you could ever tell?”

Ursura’s face was filled with expressions of disbelief, initially. And then, when it slowly sunk into her, she exclaimed, “You’re one crazy-ass human! While I do have my reservations, I guess it’s a worthy gamble, eh? Count me in!”

“See? If you lead the Beastmen, and we won this fight, you get the power and glory you need. And I, get to return to Chersea in one piece.”

“What about Lady Ruro and Lady Konka?”

“When you’re the most powerful in the entire land, you can always force a solution on them,” I jumped down the boulder and continued, “I’ve seen a lot of rulers of the past do that, so it’s possible.”

“Alright, you’re convincing me.”

“It’s a long shot, but we can definitely do it. I’ll be your adviser, and you’ll be the queen.”

“Heh…a queen, huh? I like the sound of that; you’re a fucking genius!”

She reached out her hand and I shook it. Right here, on this boulder we’re sitting on, came forth the beginnings of the Kingdom of the Beastmen.