CHAPTER 4: LONELINESS

**Kuro**

Eventually, I decided to gamble and take Sir Loin’s offer to help with the Chicken warriors’ training. We retreated to the Chicken tribe’s village after cleaning the battlefield of the corpses, both our own and the monsters.

The battle site was some distance away from our destination, so it took us another ‘long sleep’ before we arrived. The retreat took longer than when we’re marching to battle, since we were hampered by the bodies of our dead. Another reason for our slow march was the fact that we were wary of monster ambush (because of the blood from our slain). Fortunately, nothing bad happened throughout our return journey, and the hill where the village stood appeared before us by dinner.

We disbanded the army once we finished burying the dead. Then, after that, I headed over to Sir Loin’s hut to discuss his plans about the training of the warriors.

“Ah, there you are, Kuro mah boy!” the parka guy greeted me halfway through his place, “I’ve been waiting for your ass to get here, but you’re taking long!”

“Sorry for that; I was just giving final instructions to Rumia.”

“The doggie girl? I’d say, though she’s kinda snappy, she’s got talent in this stuff. But you should’ve hurried here.”

“Heh, you jealous because I didn’t come to you first?”

“You bet your ass I am! After that last battle, my poor heart’s been wondering when your ugly face would show up, since I thought training the chickies is an urgent matter for you. And here you are flirting with your doggie girl…”

“Well, here I am!” I pointed out, “And what the fuck? I’m not flirting with her; she’s technically a kid!”

“Right,” Sir Loin’s face drew a wry smile.

“So uh…what’s your plan?”

Sir Loin then took a piece of paper from his pockets and scanned it, “Well, first in my list, where the hell is your barracks?”

“Come again?”

“Barracks, Kuro mah boy. Your ears disappeared or something?”

“We don’t have that. These tribesmen are just what can be called a ‘militia’: they can be called to arms only when necessary.”

“Fuck, scratch that,” Sir Loin was blunt, “If you’re aiming to shape up the chickies for some real battle, go for a professional army. A barracks is a must, you know?”

“Can’t we just call them up or something?”

“Don’t be stupid! Your chickies need to train, eat, and sleep together so they can build that ‘camaraderie’ between them. Helps in upping their morale, see? Also, another benefit of that shit is we can muster them faster than a speeding bullet if they stayed in one place.”

“But that’s impossible for this kind of setting!” I protested, pointing out several issues, “One, we got nothing to pay for professional soldiers. Two, the adult population can’t sustain that. If we remove some of them to serve, other sectors of the economy would be severely affected.”

“Then you have to choose. They go hungry for a bit, or they fatten up to be fried by their friendly, neighborhood monsters.”

Ugh…Sir Loin does have a point. While his suggestions were sound, the Chicken tribe’s army—as well as the other Avinus—were on a ‘tribal’ level. Meaning, their warriors were part-time soldiers who also work as farmers, foragers, miners, hunters, smiths, or artisans. This was a reasonable setup, for their population was small, albeit growing.

However, as my goal was to build a formidable Beastmen force capable of withstanding human armies in the shortest possible time, I had to make concessions…

“You think professionalization of the Avinus armies would work?”

“If you’re worried about upsetting their fucking economics, you can set standards on who would train. For example, only the young chickies would be eligible, something like that. We got no use for old sops anyway, save for cannon fodder.”

I went silent for a moment as I pondered on his argument. Finally, taking a deep breath, I told him, “Alright then, we’ll take that. I’ll talk to Chief Minahaba and propose that we levy tax from the villagers.”

“Good. Now next, gather up some of the boys once again. Show me how you whip their asses.”

“W-What?”

“I mean ‘show me how you train’ them.”

----------

“Fire!”

Successive muzzle explosions echoed through the grounds where we assembled some members of the Chicken tribe’s army. Once we had the warriors lined up in a firing formation, I got them to show their musketry skills to Sir Loin.

“Second line, fire!”

I would throw occasional glances on the parka guy, just to find out his thoughts—for most of the time, I could tell if a person approved of my actions or not just by looking at their expressions. And, though his face remained indifferent, I could tell that he’d roast me after this.

“First line, fire!”

Once the warriors discharged their bullets, that line would march to the rear, while the other line would bring themselves forward to fire volleys. For this demonstration, I had two firing lines interchanging at the front. The sounds of the musket explosions were almost in unison, but Sir Loin wasn’t having it.

“Shush it, Kuro mah boy,” he told me with a dismayed look, “Your chickies could really use some drills.”

“Any pointers?”

“Well, while their firing formation is decent, it took them some time before getting into position. In war, a second lost could lose the battle, or could kill them. Another thing is, their volley fire isn’t what I can call a ‘volley fire’. Some of them would fire earlier than the order, while others would fire late.”

I’m impressed that he could tell those things. For me, who’s untrained in these matters, everything looked fine.

“And third that I noticed is, these chickies are easily unnerved by gunpowder. No wonder why they’d freeze their asses in the middle of the battle; if a simple muzzle explosion can scare the daylights out of them, how much more when they’re facing those friendly, neighborhood monsters of yours?”

“Figures.”

“Don’t worry; I’ll shape up their sorry butts. From here on, I’ll take over for a while,” he tapped on my shoulder as he stood on a prominent spot before the Chicken tribe’s warriors, “As for you, I think you really need some beauty sleep, Kuro mah boy.”

“I’ll watch you for a bit, and then go back to my place after.”

“Ayt. Suit yourself then.”

The moment Sir Loin appeared, the Chickens were quick to stand in attention. Tense silence filled the air around us, as the parka guy showed no emotion, all the while sizing up the warriors like a drill sergeant. Even I couldn’t help but be intimidated by his actions.

“I like big butts.”

The warriors burst out laughing. Sir Loin also joined in on the fun, until he suddenly roared, “Did I tell you fuckers to laugh?”

At once, the Chicken tribesmen—not used to loud noises—fell quiet and went back to their stiff formation. Seeing that he got their full attention, he continued…

“I may be smaller than you, but I can kick all your sorry asses to the sky and back. Now if you’re asking why the fuck I’m here, well, I’m going to train the hell out of you! Why do you need to train? Of course, no one here wants to become monster shit!” the parka guy paused for a bit, before continuing, “It won’t be easy, because I’m not even a certified army trainer. But I’ll shape you up, anyway. If anyone wants to become monster shit, you can start backing out now.”

Every one of us waited for someone to make a move. None ever did, perhaps due to them fearing getting labeled as a ‘coward’. Or, maybe all of them were already seasoned warriors, and they didn’t like the prospect of turning into ‘monster shit’. In any case, it’s a good thing that their numbers remained the same. The more trained men we had, the better the performance of our armies would be in battle.

And of course, they can also pass their experiences to new recruits…

“Good boys!” Sir Loin had a nasty grin on his face as he brought out his gun, “Now for starters, we’re going to begin your training by doing some good ol’ laps around the village.”

“Ha?” some of the warriors complained, “But we just returned from marchi—”

“Did I ask for your opinion?” the parka guy countered, “I also did that march, so I’m just as tired as you! But I’ll run anyway, so shape the fuck up!” Once he got his orders across, he fired his weapon to the sky. The unnerved warriors burst into a run, afraid that Sir Loin would hit them with the butt of his gun (he was swinging it around like a stick).

I don’t know; watching them made me wonder if I made the right decision…

----------

Assured that everything was going smooth in Sir Loin’s training, I left the ‘training grounds’ and headed over to my hut. Honestly, my eyes were already heavy, and all I wanted at this moment was a soft bed to fall asleep in.

I’ll just talk about Sir Loin’s proposals to Chief Minahaba after I wake up…

As I lay down in my bed, my mind was filled with thoughts of everything that happened to me lately. Unifying the Beastmen tribes was a difficult task, but I didn’t anticipate that it was this hard…I mean, the situation was getting more complicated…I don’t know how my mind can still keep up with the problems I have to deal with.

“…”

Gah! Now I can’t sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see Maddie’s form, standing before me. Damn it, when I was in Chersea, I didn’t realize how much I missed her. If possible, I wanted to meet her again, even if it’s through dreams…

I want to hold you, Maddie…I want to feel your warmth once again.

“!!!”

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a soft knock coming from my hut’s doorway. It was a pleasant surprise, for my companions would always come barging in uninvited whenever they wished to see me. This only meant that it was a stranger who’s on the other side.

“Who is it?”

“H-Human Chief?”

I was even more surprised to hear the voice behind the curtains of my entrance. Racing to the door and peeking out, I saw Salis waiting at my porch, alone.

“Uh…m-may I come in?” she asked with hesitation.

“Oh? Where’s your guard?” I looked around as the owl-girl entered, “I thought you returned to your village after the festival.”

“Haa…” Salis let out an exhausted sigh, “My mother and I fought.”

“Why?”

“Well, a prominent warrior of our tribe asked my mother to give me to him as his mate,” she explained, “I flatly refused, so she got angry. She told me I should stop with my senseless ‘inventions’ and bear good children for the tribe instead.”

“That’s absurd!” I exclaimed, shocked at that aspect of Chief Malu. The Owl chief gave an air of dignity and respect; plus, she’s easy to get along with. So I was not prepared to learn that side of hers.

“I know, right?” the owl-girl quickly agreed, “I don’t want to find a mate just yet. I still got a lot of things to do, and places to explore!”

Well, on a hindsight, I think Chief Malu meant no harm for her child. However, as this world was still at its ‘primitive’ stage, I guess she looks at Salis’ penchant for inventing things and being independent as something worrying.

And the solution is to find a good partner and make her bear children. Just like what most traditional parents in my country back on Earth think…

Still, I’m surprised that she went to me for refuge, “So uh, of all the places you would run to, you chose to go to my hut?”

“Is there any other land in Cherwind I could escape to?” Salis countered.

“What happened to ‘me doing weird things’? Isn’t that why you got your guard whenever you come here?”

I saw the owl-girl jolt for a bit. However, she tried to hide it by carrying on with our conversation as if nothing happened, “I feel safer here than in my village.”

“Hoh…”

“I mean, at your place, Human Chief. Exactly at this hut, and not anywhere else.”

“Ha?”

“Come on!” the owl-girl grinned, “Are you really that clueless? Do you think I didn’t do my research on you? Among all the humans I encountered, you’re the first one to reject a Beastwoman’s advances.”

“Y-You…you saw that?”

Salis triumphantly smiled and nodded, “Well, my guard has her uses. And I’m further convinced of your intentions when you didn’t take the leadership of the Chicken tribe. What you did is a proof to me you’re not after satisfying your lust, or craving for power. Aren’t those two what your people—the humans—always covet?”

I found no counter to her words. Indeed, lust and power were two of the things a lot of humans desired of having. Heck, we’d even betray, kill and/or destroy just for the sake of it.

But then, I guess it’s human nature. A lot of popular isekai novels that I read had that main character whose main purpose in his second life was to run after those, and even do questionable things to satisfy his goals. I think its fame stemmed from the fact that most of its audience secretly wish they were in that MC’s position. After all, a common view was that, you’re a ‘successful’ person once you achieved those things.

As for me? There was no question about power; I never wanted to be in the forefront of everything, unless it was necessary. It’s tiresome, and you had to deal with a lot of expectations and responsibilities, to which a lazy guy like me couldn’t keep up. However, on the second matter, I do feel my ‘lustful’ desires surfacing from time to time. But I guess, the life of a teacher became ingrained to me, and now I live my life sticking to my career and principles.

Heh, there’s more to living than fulfilling my desires and running after power.

“Human Chief? Are you alright? You’re silent for a while now,” Salis’ voice brought me back to my senses. Well, that she called me by my moniker among the Beastmen was proof that her respect to me went up a notch.

“Yep,” I shook my head awake, “I just remembered someone dear to me. You closely resemble her, both in looks and in how you think.”

“Hoh? I’m surprised there’s someone who can match my genius!”

“Haha! Well, she’s intelligent alright, but her mouth’s kinder than yours,” I teased.

“Hmph! I’m just like this to ward-off idiots!” the owl-girl declared, “Ever since I was little, all that I hear from the people around me is that they wanted me as their mate when I grow up. They will praise me; however, I know they are just like that in order to gain my favor. I hated that; everyone’s putting a façade to please and have their way on me. But, Human Chief, you’re the first person that actually gave useful insights to my work. I really appreciate that.”

“Oh…thanks, I guess?”

“Heh, such a weak reaction to a praise from a beautiful girl!” Salis wryly commented, “Anyway, since you’re someone who can understand my foulness, I deem you worthy of my genius!”

“Ah, it’s alright! Thank you for your words!”

“As such, I’ll be staying by your side to support you with my inventions.”

“Haha…don’t say jokes like that. Your mother will get angry if you go away.”

“Eh? But I’m serious!” Now that I got to have a good look at her, Salis had a small sack tied to her back. She removed and opened it before me, to show she had clothes and some of her inventions with her. Then, once she knew I fully understood what’s going on, Salis kneeled and said, “My great self wishes to work under you, Human Chief. Use my ideas wherever and whenever you see fit!”

Haha…I’m fucked.

----------

Now this was a problem.

“…”

After Salis insisted on staying at my hut, I found it impossible for me to share a roof with the owl-girl. Not only because I’m a ‘private’ person, there’s also this part of me that wanted to avoid getting too close to her.

“It’s alright, Human Chief, I’ll sleep on the floor,” she insisted. We were both tired: Salis flew from her village to this place non-stop and in a hurry, while I just came from the battle and the marches.

“Ah, please don’t,” as if I could let her make the bare ground for her bed, “Sleep on my bed; I need to go out and check something.”

No matter how hard I try to tell myself that Salis was a different person, or she’s still a kid, I couldn’t help but see Maddie in her. I admit I’m lonely; and after spending a long time away from the people I love, the emotions within me were overwhelming. I’m afraid that if I didn’t do something drastic, I’d end up unable to control my feelings.

I don’t want to break my promise to my girl back in Chersea, nor do I intend to make Salis lose her trust in me.

And so, with no particular destination to go, I just sat outside at my porch. By this time, the ‘long sleep’ had begun, and there were only a few people outside their homes attending to their last businesses for the moment. Well, it’s not that I couldn’t make this part of my hut as my ‘bed’; my porch had a roof over it, and there’s a chair in which I could sleep.

“…”

By the way, now that I heard my stomach grumbling, I realized I had eaten nothing yet after I came back. Maybe I should look for something—

“I haven’t seen you after the warriors returned, so I thought I’ll find you here.”

“!!!”

Just as I was about to stand, I saw Ursura approaching me with a tray of food and drink. “Have you eaten? You look like you’re utterly exhausted.”

“Ah, you’re in luck; I’m starving right now.”

“Well, here,” she set down the tray on a bench beside me. Then the bear-woman sat as well.

“Thanks for this!” I immediately chomped on the food.

Ursura just nodded and grinned. A few moments of silence ruled between us, as I was busy on eating, while she…I think she’s watching me?

“You will not sleep yet?”

“Nah. I can’t sleep.”

“Oh…” There’s something I’d like to ask her, but I had to be careful in saying it, “Err…are you in…err…he—”

“If you’re thinking that I’m in heat, I’m not…” Ursura cut me off.

“My bad.”

“Pft!” the bear-woman snickered, “Hey, Kuro…”

“What?”

“Do you really want to return to Chersea?”

“You know I do. The girl I love is waiting for me back there.”

“I see. What if…just in case, what if she’s not there anymore? I mean, what if the girl you love found someone else?”

“Hmm…Maddie won’t do that; I trust her. Besides, humans here can marry multiple times.”

“Oh…so her name’s Maddie,” there was a hint of sadness in Ursura’s voice; I’m aware of where this talk was heading. But in any case, I’d like to be honest with her than to give her false hopes. “Well, if humans can marry several times, why don’t you…uh…I…”

I stopped eating and looked at the beautiful bear-woman beside me. At that moment, it was the first time I saw Ursura this vulnerable. I mean, I’m used to her tough-talking, blood-seeking battle-junkie self. But the Ursura now before me was a meek girl opening her heart. However…

“I’m sorry…I couldn’t do that.”

The bear-woman couldn’t hide her shock, “W-Why?”

“Ursura…you’re a good friend to me,” my eyes never wavered as I talked, “And as a friend, I don’t want to exploit your feelings for my advantage. You know I won’t stay here forever.”

“But I’m willing to go with you!”

“Aren’t you angry and afraid of humans?”

“That—” Ursura stopped as she realized that. While she may be used to my presence, there’s the fact that her enmity towards my race remained. And, it could end up tragically for her if she went back to Chersea with me…

I don’t want that to happen.

“Human Chief, I think you should have the bed.”

“!!!”

Our conversation was interrupted when Salis went after me and stepped out of the hut. She and Ursura locked stares for a moment, and the bear-woman then turned to me.

“Oh…now I can see why you keep on rejecting me,” her voice had an icy tone, “This foul-mouthed owl is with you.”

“Ha? I think you’re misunderstanding something! Salis ran away from her village and asked if she can stay around.”

“Sure. You’re always the kind-hearted Kuro, anyway,” Ursura was sarcastic, “Always ready to help others.”

“Hey, bear-woman!” the owl-girl defended me, “I asked for the Human Chief’s help! What are you getting angry for?”

“Nothing, I assure you,” Ursura shook her head, “I’m just mad at myself for not having the same appearance as the girl Kuro loved, unlike you!”

“Ursura, please stop it!” I demanded, “You’re reading too much in this situation! Calm down!”

“Isn’t it true?” tears began to fall from the bear-woman’s eyes, “Ever since this owl appeared, you’ve been smitten by her! And don’t deny it; you told me about that girl from Chersea before!”

By this time, Salis’ attention turned to me, and I was frozen in my spot, utterly embarrassed. I couldn’t even get angry at Ursura—she spoke the truth. I could only hang my head in silence, as the bear-woman took one last look at my pathetic self, and stormed away.

“You cannot afford for your followers to be divided!”

Jules’ words echoed in my mind once again. Did I just commit a mistake by treating Ursura as a friend would?

----------

***The port town of Navaren…***

“Boats coming!”

“Clear the beaches!”

The calls from the coast watchers filled the air as a fleet of seven Eagle tribe boats appeared on the horizon, carrying their catch for that moment. A crowd of Avinus merchants and villagers eagerly awaited at the shores as the fisherfolk approached them.

“Haul the boats!”

Once they reached the shallow waters, the fisherfolk began pulling their boats to the beach. The merchants and other villagers surrounded them, even before they were finished in their task. Soon, the shores of Navaren became like a market scene, with the people passing goods and information about the best deals and haggles around.

“…”

Close to the busy shores of Navaren was the chief of the Eagle tribe, Gislaine. She watched the ‘fish market’ with a bit of anxiety in her eyes. The next moment, she was joined by one of her men, who came out from the crowd.

“How’s the catch?” the Eagle tribe elder asked him.

“Chief, I’ll be honest with you,” the tribesman took a deep breath before continuing, “I don’t think that those fishes would be enough for the needs of our entire tribe, let alone this town. See, the fishermen say that they have to return to shore since a storm is brewing beyond the Essus Mountains. They will not risk it.”

A frown appeared on Chief Gislaine’s face as she looked up the skies, “Hmm…what about the farms? What about their produce?”

“Though our farmlands are currently expanding, our growing tribe needs more,” the adviser revealed, “Not to mention, with most of the lands safe from the monster hordes, the other tribes were also expanding their own farms.”

“And the refugees?”

“For now, they settled at the fringes of our villages. While they have foragers of their own, they still need to ask for our food to augment their own supply,” the adviser sighed, “And well, some among those beastfolk refugees are troublemakers accusing us of hiding food from them.”

“What? We’re already helping them in the best way we can, and they still have something to whine about?” the elder could only shake her head, “Haa…those Falcons sure are giving me a headache. They’re the ones who accepted those guys, and yet they’re passing the responsibility of taking care of those refugees to me.”

Her companion could only chuckle.

“Really, while I wanted for those monster hordes to be dealt with, I didn’t expect that having peace would have such an outcome,” Chief Gislaine took a deep breath and massaged her head. It wasn’t rocket science to know that if this kept going, the Avinus and the other tribes that settled with them might soon be competing for lands to farm and food stuffs to forage. If the worst happened, this could lead into a war. And as the paramount leader of the Avinus, she wished to avoid such a scenario.

However, this is their land, and though she wishes to help her fellow Beastmen, Chief Gislaine’s priority is her kin.

“Indeed, chief,” her adviser then added, “By the way, I should also tell you that 22 more eggs were added in the hatchery just now. And 14 chicks were born to our town alone. I’m yet to get the reports from the other villages as well.”

“What?”

The Eagle man had a hopeless grin on his face.

“At this rate, the food we produce would not be enough for all of us!” the young Eagle chief was panicking, “We’ll die of starvation all the same! What should we do?”

“Calm down, chief!”

“I am calm!”

“You’re not. You’re chickening out again.”

“Oh…” Chief Gislaine stopped on her antics and faced her adviser, “I’m surprised you’re calm in this situation.”

“Like panic would solve anything,” the Eagle man chuckled, “Besides, I’m not worried; we got that human chief on our side, after all. I’m sure he knows how to solve this problem we have.”

“Kuro, huh…” Chief Gislaine’s lips drew a grin as she began to see hope in their predicament. “It’s really a waste to see him refuse the leadership of the Chicken tribe. If given the chance, he can become the leader of the Avinus!”

“Indeed, chief! I also couldn’t believe what he had just did. But, in fairness to him, the Human Chief only showed his humility and sincerity in helping us. I doubt the same thing would happen if it’s someone else.”

“Ah, if it’s another human, we’ll all end up dead,” the elder of the Eagle tribe chuckled, “Well, not that the new chief is incapable. Chief Minahaba is famous for being the reason the Human Chief came to our lands and blessed us. She should make him stay here for as long as he lived…”

Her adviser was of the same opinion; together, they looked like villains planning some schemes for world domination.