Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Protagonist Drop!
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No helping it!
Protagonist drop!
After Kim Yoo-hyun obliterated the异族 slave market, the beastkin didn't immediately flock to follow him.
The atmosphere was still thick with distrust toward humans, so the novel's protagonist had gone through quite a bit of hardship.
But he wasn't without allies.
The cat beastkin—known as the Myoeun tribe—had actively supported him.
They first persuaded their fellow beastkin, the wolf tribe, and then arranged a meeting with the moon wolf tribe, giving Kim Yoo-hyun the chance to earn their recognition.
‘To Kim Yoo-hyun, the cat beastkin were these inexplicable backers who showered him with trust and support for no apparent reason.’
With no explanation given, readers had speculated it was just another new heroine pulling strings behind the scenes to help him.
And honestly, it wasn't a stupid guess, since that had happened a few times already.
‘But damn!
What the hell!
So there was a reason after all?
Hey, author—scratch that, you bastard!
Put this shit in the actual novel!
What am I supposed to do when you just set it up and gloss over it!’
Now he finally understood why the cat beastkin had been so favorable toward Kim Yoo-hyun.
Staring at the lightning-shaped scar on her forehead, Sion wondered if he was dreaming, but unfortunately, it was all too real.
‘Why the hell is this woman here!’
There was only one beastkin in any fantasy novel with a lightning-shaped scar like that.
‘Winnie Potterble,’ the one called the princess of the cat beastkin.
The child chosen by lightning.
Sound familiar somehow?
You got it.
Your suspicions are spot on.
The author was a die-hard fan of that scar-wielding wizard series, and he'd shoehorned it in here too.
‘Winnie got captured by the slave market at this exact timing!
Kim Yoo-hyun suppressed the northern rebellion and came to the Conean barony a month later, turning everything upside down...
Shit, it lines up perfectly.
He ended up rescuing Winnie without even knowing it!
That's why the cat beastkin loved him so much!’
If it hadn't been for Kim Yoo-hyun, then as Viscount Conean said, Winnie—fully broken in—might have been sold to humans and subjected to all sorts of horrors.
Sure, she'd suffered being captured by the slavers, but she hadn't endured worse, so for the cat beastkin, it was a blessing in disguise.
‘She couldn't wield lightning powers properly yet since she wasn't mature.
It teased that she'd show immense power once she did, but then she died fighting to save Kim Yoo-hyun before even awakening...’
She barely even appeared, so she didn't even rank on the heroine list.
Unlike that other world's Potter, she was a woman who lived—and died—the absolute worst life.
‘More importantly, we're screwed.’
One of the beastkin traits: ‘Imprint.’
They engraved favors and grudges deep into their brains, like ultimate holders of grudges. They repaid benefactors without fail and exacted revenge on enemies as a matter of course.
That was the effect of a beastkin's imprint.
Yes—whether benefactor or enemy, they seared it into their memory forever.
And right now, to this girl, Sion looked—and was perceived—as someone out to harm her, just as much as Viscount Conean.
Grrrr!
Grrowl!
Plus those three women over there struggling to break free of their bonds.
‘Must be her guards.
But seriously, why the hell is the cat beastkin princess here?’
This was some next-level bullshit.
His head throbbed, and he clutched his forehead for a moment. Rishika subtly stepped in front of him.
“Master.
I really don't like this.”
“...Is that so.”
Rishika's traits leaned toward the canine side, right?
Loyal to a fault, craving attention and love from her object of devotion, whimpering like a puppy begging not to be abandoned.
In that sense, maybe this knightess and the cat girl were natural opposites.
‘No, that's not the point right now, you idiot, Sion!’
Screw this up, and he could end up imprinted as mortal enemies with the cat beastkin princess until the day he died.
Even if the princess and her guards melted away in the slave market until they craved reason above all else, their hostility toward him wouldn't vanish easily.
And simply letting them go without incident wouldn't erase that suspicion either. Obvious as day.
“Viscount Conean.
You do know exactly what that cat beastkin is, right?”
“A juvenile cat beastkin, yes?
Oh, Young Lord Sion has noticed how exceedingly rare and valuable she is.”
Notice my ass, you moron.
Well, he had noticed one thing.
That you'd be suffering under those crazy cat punches until your dying breath?
‘...Money's the best thing in the world, but picking fights with异族 is a hard no.
If it were just strangers, maybe—but becoming mortal enemies? Straight path to total ruin.’
With things like this, only one option remained.
“...Viscount Conean.
That cat beastkin will do.”
“Oh, really?”
“What?”
“M-Master?”
Viscount Conean beamed with delight, while Lilith and Rishika stared in shock.
The guy who'd shown zero interest in异族 slaves until now suddenly pointing at one and claiming her? Highly suspicious.
But Sion silently endured the two women's gazes.
‘I can't exactly explain it here, damn it!’
*Hey, this cat here is actually your world's princess.*
*No idea why she got nabbed, but we gotta start painting a good picture now to avoid beefing with the entire cat beastkin tribe!*
Yeah, that explanation would have to wait.
“The wound to my feelings from your actions can be soothed by this cat beastkin girl.”
“Excellent.
Truly splendid.
In that case, perhaps you'll cut the price on our first transaction...”
“Want me to beat you to death?”
True to form, Sion kept the money talk crystal clear.
Viscount Conean sighed and nodded in agreement.
He started dragging Winnie toward the tent to begin the conditioning.
“Wait.
I'd like to train that feisty one myself.”
“Pardon?
Young Lord Sion.
This is a cat beastkin.
She's as fast as a mid-tier knight.”
“Which makes her all the more fun to raise, doesn't it?”
“But...”
Normally, he'd refuse for the customer's safety.
However, the expressions on the two women beside Sion were downright terrifying, so Viscount Conean handed over the cat beastkin girl without protest.
If smoothing over offending Sion Cloudzen meant profit for him, it was a win.
“Still, do be careful.
She's extremely dangerous.”
Unable to offer it directly to Sion, Viscount Conean handed the leash to Rishika beside him.
Rishika scowled, clearly displeased with the cat, but when Sion stroked her head as if to say *lighten up*, she broke into a happy *hehe!* grin.
“Me!
Why don't you pet me!”
Lilith—who'd just been bullying his private soldiers like rats—blushed with jealousy. To Viscount Conean, it was pure shock and horror.
How the hell did a mana-less guy like that end up with such fearsome women?
The mystery of the age.
Grrr!
Kyaaak!
Realizing she was being separated from her guards, the cat beastkin princess Winnie bared her fangs desperately.
Of course, the gag muffled it, but she didn't care—she snarled ferociously.
Kyaaaoo!
Kaaak!
Her guards rattled their heavy chains, refusing to be parted from their princess, but further resistance was futile.
Mana cuffs completely sealed their mana use, and the double-layered steel chains and ropes were unbreakable by strength alone.
“Stop resisting.
Consider it fortune that you're going under Young Lord Sion Cloudzen.
Under any other noble, you'd be utterly ruined!”
Slap!
Viscount Conean suddenly backhanded Winnie's cheek.
He figured it'd break the cat beastkin girl's spirit and maybe score points with Sion—a little performance.
Winnie's eyes widened in shock, but Sion was even more flustered.
‘You crazy bastard!’
He wanted to yell at him to cut the crap.
These were beastkin with imprint traits—crystal clear on favors and grudges—and he'd slapped their charge right in front of her guards.
It was like shoving your face in front of a hissing, claw-extended cat.
“Viscount.
That's enough.
You're damaging the merchandise.”
Hiding his panic, Sion spoke up. The viscount let out an *ah!* and apologized, stepping back.
Having handed Winnie to Sion, the viscount requested time until tomorrow morning to settle the transaction payment.
Sion nodded and turned to leave.
Winnie, the cat beastkin princess, was dragged along by the leash in Rishika's hand.
Naturally, she and her guards *kyaaak!*ed their refusal to part, but when Viscount Conean pressed knives to the guards' throats with a *tsk*, the cat beastkin finally quieted.
“Follow the path you took to arrive, and the butler will be waiting.
He'll guide you.
I must now turn these into proper merchandise.”
The "merchandise" Viscount Conean meant were Winnie's guards.
Winnie shot her kin an anxious glance.
She sensed instinctively that they—and she—faced horrors ahead.
Mmph! Mmmph!
She whipped her head toward Sion desperately.
Her words were muffled, but her plea was clear.
*Take them too! Them too!
Whatever awaits, let us face it together!
Please!
Nya nya nyang!*
Winnie begged desperately, but the human man just looked down coldly and shook his head.
As if asking *why the hell should I?*—his face frozen in icy detachment.
Furious, Winnie clenched her fists and trembled.
Humans—all of them—were just vile.
Trusting these rotten bastards even briefly made her the ultimate fool and idiot.
“Let's go.”
Her pleas ignored, she was led by the knightess out of the slave market.
It seemed she'd parted forever from her guards, who were like sisters.
The thought filled Winnie's eyes with tears unbidden.
*No, no!
Don't cry, don't cry, you fool.
Stay strong.
Never submit to humans.
Bide your time until the perfect moment to escape.
And...*
But meeting the knightess's cold gaze shrank her resolve; she swallowed dryly.
That woman was clearly a powerhouse. Escaping those eyes seemed impossible.
“Master.
The inn is just ahead.”
Leaving Viscount Conean's estate behind, they reached the inn on the city's outskirts. The man nodded.
For its size, the high-class inn was eerily quiet.
Winnie didn't know yet, but the man and his group had rented the entire place.
Forced to follow the ascending man and woman up the stairs.
Once inside the room, the man turned and silently stared at Winnie.
His gaze made her back away instinctively.
“Urrrgh!”
*Stay strong,* she'd told herself, but face-to-face like this, she cowered.
She'd heard enough from those around her about the atrocities human-captured women endured—ears numb from the tales.
Imagining it happening soon, the tough-acting but fragile girl Winnie was terrified.
Urrrgh!
She screamed for him to stay back, but no one was around.
The gag garbled her words anyway.
She wanted to bolt, but the knightess's icy *you dare?* stare froze her feet.
Chin—.
His hand finally touched her shoulder. Winnie squeezed her eyes shut.
*Whatever happens, endure it.
No matter what, endure!* she vowed desperately.
“...Huh?”
Suddenly, the gag filling her mouth came loose.
Moments later, the mana cuffs on her wrists clanged to the floor.
“Hmm.
These chains will take a bit to undo.”
“If you give me a moment, I'll handle it, Master.”
“Rishi, mind doing the honors?”
With that, Sion gently stroked the head of the dumbfounded, unresponsive cat girl and spoke.
“Want to save your friends?”
“E-Eh?”
“Answer me.
Those friends from earlier.
Want to save them?”
She had no idea his intent, why he'd say such a thing.
But Winnie had no time to ponder.
“O-Of course!
Absolutely!
Th-They’re!”
“Okay, good.
That's enough.”
Satisfied, Sion smiled and turned to Lilith, who lounged nearby with legs crossed, yawning lazily.
“Lady Lilith.
Lucia’s almost here, right?”
“Yeah.
Felt her mana just now.
She’ll be at the inn soon?
But why wait for Lucia?
Hungry for more women besides me, Rishi, and that cat beastkin?”
“No way.”
Sion let out a cold sneer.
The chill in his smile made Winnie flinch again.
He wasn't waiting for Lucia.
It was her ultimate weapon companion.
*You lot.
Protagonist lightning drop, you fools!
Was gonna just pay and bounce, but you touched the cat beastkin princess—now you're on your own!
Hehe, full power!
Go get 'em, Kim Yoo-hyun!
Tactical nuke headbutt!*