Chapter 199: Book 15(1)
Chapter 199: Book 15(1)
The contents of Volume 15 of the Xenon Biography were, for the most part, closely related to the Beastkin.
It marked the starting point where Albenheim had been occupied by demons, and humanity, sensing a crisis, began planning to form an Alliance Army.
The Elves were already sharpening their blades of revenge against the demons since their homeland had been taken, and the Demon Clan—whose lives had been turned upside down because of the demons—were in much the same position.
Humans and Dwarves had also suffered immense damage and, knowing that a terrible catastrophe was imminent, they added their strength to the creation of the Alliance Army. However, there was a variable: the Beastkin.
While there was a perception of Beastkin being bellicose and barbaric, that was an old story; they had been interacting with many nations since establishing their own country.
Yet, just like in reality, the Beastkin in the novel were at odds with humans, and their relationship was extremely poor. Although they maintained diplomatic ties with a few human nations, distrust was inevitable.
Above all, human political maneuvering had provided the catalyst for 'Satan' to become 'Wrath' and defect to the side of the demons. Naturally, the Beastkin couldn't help but distrust humans even more, believing they had resorted to dirty tricks.
In this situation, Xenon’s party heads to Hiktone, the nation of the Beastkin, to request their help in forming the Alliance Army. The Beastkin are essential, as every single one of their warriors possesses martial prowess rivaling that of an Elven ranger.
The result?
The Grand Chieftain tells them not to talk nonsense and declares that as long as Xenon’s party represents the Alliance, they will never join.
Xenon’s party tried their best to persuade him, but the Grand Chieftain ignored them completely. Due to the incident involving Satan, his distrust of humans remained absolute.
Since every Beastkin was an elite warrior, they were indispensable to the Alliance Army. However, the Grand Chieftain was so stubborn that Xenon’s party was on the verge of giving up.
That was, until Caind—the Grand Chieftain’s son and Satan’s half-brother—offered them his help.
Caind was born with a weak physical body, but he was able to wisely overcome various crises using his extraordinary intellect.
However, even though they had established a nation, the Beastkin still held a strong "survival of the fittest" mentality, and they couldn't help but look down on someone like Caind.
They openly said that if it weren't for his status as a prince, they would have dealt with him long ago.
Despite such contempt, Caind survived by utilizing 'intelligence,' which could be even more powerful than brute force. Given the Beastkin's characteristic hatred for politics, Caind’s existence played a very significant role.
He coaxed the Grand Chieftain with his silver tongue and presented a proposal to Xenon’s party that left them deep in thought. Ultimately, unable to accept the proposal hastily, Xenon’s party stayed in Hiktone for several days.
During those few days, Satan led an army to attack and challenged the Grand Chieftain to a Holmgang.
Through the Holmgang, the Grand Chieftain suffered a humiliating defeat. Satan beheaded the Grand Chieftain—his father and a traitor—and returned triumphantly to his base.
The story ended there, describing the chaos unfolding in Hiktone due to the absence of a leader.
[The Grand Chieftain hated politics, yet he used politics to murder his own son who posed a threat. The height of irony.]
[Politics is essential for a nation. But this is the end for those who only try to avoid it.]
[Who will Hiktone establish as its leader? Someone with great martial power, as per tradition? Or Caind, with his superior political skill?]
After the story of Volume 15 concluded, the overall reaction was somewhat lukewarm. The story was generally interesting, but it was about the Beastkin, who didn't usually interact much with humans.
Since Arwen took power, the Elves had actively interacted with humans, so people knew a lot about each other. As for the Demon Clan, Sacran’s story alone was enough to leave a strong impression.
The Beastkin, on the other hand, were different. Since there was no way to know exactly what was happening internally, people simply accepted it with a "So that's how it is" attitude.
It wasn't a failure in terms of sales or reviews, but the reaction could be seen as rather mild compared to before.
[Is the reason Animus is so quiet because their Grand Chieftain received a Holmgang challenge, just like in the novel?]
[Animus is going through a period of political turmoil. That might really be why they're silent.]
Of course, it wouldn't be complete without a "Why is this real?" moment. People were speculating that something similar to the events in the novel was happening in Animus.
It was nothing more than speculation, but since Animus had been too quiet until now, people couldn't help but look at them with suspicion.
Amidst these speculations, Animus maintained its silence, refusing to issue a statement until the very end.
"So, how do you feel? The reaction is completely different from before."
"I'm so happy I could die."
I really liked these reactions. Every time I released a new volume, some ridiculous news would break out and give me a headache, so it was unusually peaceful for once.
They say once a person gets a taste of excitement, they can't quit, but not me. On the contrary, every time I tasted that "excitement," stress piled up until I felt like I was going crazy.
There were still some lingering eyes suspecting me of being a prophet or a regressor, but it was significantly better than before. Thanks to that, I was able to find some peace of mind.
"That's strange. Most people would be disappointed if the reaction was just okay."
Lina, sitting across from me, spoke with a look of surprise. From her perspective, it made sense to think that way.
But just as one craves water or milk after eating something spicy, I felt the same way.
Having only tasted "spicy" flavors lately, I wanted something "bland." The reaction to Volume 15 was exactly that.
Sometimes, one needs a smooth rest period without any stress.
"I suppose so. But it's been like that from Volume 11 to 14. I just want to relax a bit now."
"And yet, this is the person who killed Kair?"
"..."
When Mari, sitting to my right, dropped a subtle fact bomb, I was left speechless. Honestly, that was an unavoidable part of the plot development.
Kair had to die for Elisha to break down mentally, and Mary, who watched it all happen, would then confess to Xenon.
Thanks to that, an unprecedented social upheaval known as the "Half-blood Incident" was triggered, but it was resolved well, so there was no problem.
"Exactly. It's hard to believe those words coming from the person who came up with Sacran's story."
This time, Cecile, sitting to my left, spoke to me in her characteristic playful tone. Now that I thought about it, the "spicy" content had been there since Volume 5.
As she said, at that time, the perception of the Demon Clan was so low it was hard to even mention them, so it must have been more than just spicy—it must have been tongue-numbing.
Am I a specialist in spicy flavors after all? Even if it looks normal to me, it was provocative in the eyes of the people of this world.
"...Well, anyway, let's move past that. I want to enjoy this situation for now. By the way, I wonder why Animus is so quiet."
"This is just my guess, but they might be going through a period of political turmoil, just like in your book. It's a bit strange that there's been no reaction at all until now."
Lina spoke her mind while elegantly sipping her coffee. It was a similar story to what I had seen in the newspapers.
Immediately after the Race War ended, Hik himself founded the nation of Animus. It started as a small village, but Beastkin who heard the rumors gathered and formed a city, eventually leading to the establishment of a nation.
Now, 300 years later, unlike Helium, which was semi-forcibly isolated, they were strictly isolationist. Very occasionally, they traded with neighboring countries, but even that was rare.
That didn't mean Beastkin were forbidden from going abroad. You could see Beastkin working as police guards just by walking down the streets of the Academy.
However, most of them were second-generation—Beastkin born in the human world. Beastkin born and raised in Animus, like the Demon Clan, rarely went outside.
"That's why our side is also sensing something strange and dispatching personnel. Political turmoil could be an opportunity for us. We didn't have an opportunity in Albenheim because the Queen handled things well, but Animus is a bit different."
"What do you plan to do if a gap opens up?"
"Naturally, we have to wedge ourselves into that gap. In the future, the enemy of humans is more likely to be the Beastkin than the Elves or the Demon Clan. We need to weaken their power in advance."
Lina spoke in a calm voice, but I couldn't help but be impressed inwardly. I, too, had judged that if humans were to have an enemy, it would be the Beastkin.
The Beastkin had a history of being massacred by humans on a racial scale 300 years ago, and the amount of food each individual consumed was insane. Even the slender Leona could easily devour three T-bone steaks.
So, even if only for the sake of food, the Beastkin were bound to clash with humans in the near future. Coincidentally, the Beastkin had a birth rate similar to humans, so their population would eventually reach a saturation point.
'I wonder what Leona is up to right now.'
I thought of Leona while listening to Lina. I expected her to be reading Xenon Biography as well, and I was curious about what she thought after reading this volume.
I should probably meet her separately soon, using steak as an excuse. I could ask her the questions I've been saving up while I'm at it.
"Well, I'll stop the boring political talk here. By the way, Isaac. Have you heard the news?"
"What news?"
"The news that Cardinal Kate is coming to the Minerva Empire."
"Ah. I know about that. Didn't they say she's visiting the Academy too?"
When I tilted my head at the news I was hearing for the first time, Mari spoke up in a bright voice. It seemed she had heard the rumors as well.
I knew about Cardinal Kate. A cleric who rose to the position of Cardinal at a young age and became the Grand Inquisitor. And she had personally set out on a pilgrimage to find me.
I didn't know what she planned to do once she found me, but since she was a cleric, I figured she wouldn't do anything useless. Besides, she wouldn't be able to find me anyway.
"Yes. So you'd better be careful. If the Church of Luminous finds you, things will get really complicated."
"It's fine. They won't know it's me anyway."
Instead, I planned to visit the temple this weekend. The reason was thanks to the two women sitting on either side of me.
As for Mari, she said she was holding back lately, but it was only in words; she was still as vigorous as ever. And with Cecile, I felt like my energy was being drained every time we did it.
Though my stamina was improving day by day by exercising with Adelia, dealing with two people was difficult even for me. I was in desperate need of Lord Luminous's divine power.
"Still, be careful. Lord Luminous might have given her an oracle. Especially since your hair color stands out, it could be dangerous."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"But Isaac."
"Yeah?"
I turned my head at Cecile's call and met her eyes. She then spoke to me in a tone that suggested something was bothering her.
"Lately, haven't you felt like someone is following you or watching you?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I've been feeling like someone's been following us for a while now, including just a moment ago. Do you have any idea who it might be?"
"Hmm..."
I thought deeply about that question. Lately, I had indeed felt like someone was tailing me.
It was too vague to call it a mere delusion, and if Cecile was saying such a thing, it was certain that someone was stalking me.
That gaze was surely...
'...Cherry. It must be her.'
It could only be Cherry, the pink-haired junior with the large chest. Ever since I comforted her that one time, she had been visiting Elena's laboratory every chance she got.
She was even skipping classes, and it was no use even when I scolded her harshly.
'But she's a good kid, so...'
She was just broken because of a family environment no better than Adelia's, but her heart itself was kind. Since it was clear she was struggling mentally to the point where she couldn't even express herself properly, I was currently coaxing her gently.
Of course, stalking is a wrong act. I planned to call her out separately soon and scold her, telling her she shouldn't do this.
"No. I have no idea."
For now, I'll just feign ignorance.
*
Two days later.
[Animus Finally Breaks Silence! "There are currently no problems in Animus."]
Animus, which had kept its mouth shut until now, finally stated its position. At first glance, it seemed fine, but...
'These guys definitely have a problem.'
It was certain that there were political issues. If there weren't, they wouldn't have rushed to release a statement like this.
'Don't tell me, again?'
Please, not again. Let me rest.