Chapter 504: An Inverted Pyramid Collapses Easily
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 504: An Inverted Pyramid Collapses Easily
This wasn't a matter of being evil or inconsiderate. They simply lived in a different world. To say their common sense was twisted… well, there were quite a few who thought that way. At this point, it was no longer a question of what was right or wrong.
They were just different. And because they built their tower with these different blocks, it was precariously balanced, ready to crumble at the slightest touch. Just like now.
“If you’re so superior, why are you in this situation?”
“Because a beast bit me. But this is the end of it. The homeland may have neglected Ende, but it won’t tolerate a rebellion. Once I inform the vassal state, they will show you the power of humans.”
Well, the vassal state probably doesn’t want to invest too many resources into this godforsaken land either. They have other priorities.
“But it’s all over if you can’t inform them, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“What if I, a person concerned about the rights of pig beastkin, were to stop you right here and sell you to the Orcs? Then all this talk of human superiority and the power of your vassal state would become useless, wouldn’t it?”
As I smiled enigmatically, Welsh flinched and stepped forward. Her ears and tail stood ramrod straight, a sign of extreme tension. Duke Erectus spoke as if he couldn't believe his ears.
“You’d… you’d sell me? You’d side with those beasts?”
“Maybe, maybe not. I’m just curious. What is this human superiority you speak of? Right now, you look more pathetic than anyone I’ve ever seen.”
“Me?”
“Isn’t it true? The very duke who boasts of his superiority is running around looking shabby. If it weren’t for the capable watchdog protecting you, you would’ve been caught long ago. Look. Even now, you’re relying on Welsh.”
The way he clung to Welsh’s back looked less like a master and his servant and more like a mother and son. If he’d seen himself in a mirror, he wouldn’t have been able to argue, but Duke Erectus retorted easily.
“Welsh is my servant, and she is also a beastkin. It’s only natural that she protect me.”
“Nothing in this world is natural. Just like how your reign, which you thought was so natural, has come to an end.”
“That was only possible because those piggy bastards incited the ignorant beastkin and launched a surprise attack!”
“You’re a human, yet you couldn’t incite them better? You were overthrown by a mere surprise attack? Can you really call that gap in power great or noble? You lost with words, you lost with force, and you lost with politics. What exactly do you have left? Your arrogance?”
“Grk…!”
“I don’t know if humans are superior or not, but I do know one thing. If they are, then you, who lost to the Orcs, must be somewhere on the level of a beast yourself. Judging by your current state, that seems about right.”
Duke Erectus pointed a finger at me and shouted something, but I ignored him effortlessly and returned to the main subject.
“Ah, but to be honest, I’m not very interested in you, Duke Erectus. You’re a bit cliché. I came here because I’m more interested in Miss Welsh.”
My declaration of disinterest seemed to sting him more than anything else. Welsh pushed her now-louder master back and stepped forward.
“…If I satisfy that interest, will you let my master go?”
“Hm? I never intended to capture him in the first place. Why would I do that?”
“You’re on the Orcs’ side.”
“No. I’m on the side of humans. And he is a human, too. Just as I help the Orcs, I will help him as well.”
“Help him?”
“Yes. You might agree with me in your heart, but this is helping him. It’s a good experience, isn’t it?”
The loyal Welsh couldn't bring herself to deny it. But she wasn't naive enough to take my words at face value. Still wary of me and her surroundings, and pointedly ignoring Azzy panting nearby, she responded.
“What is your interest in me?”
“I acknowledge that the pig beastkin want their rights back. It’s understandable. And it’s natural to believe that all beastkin are equal. If you’re a beastkin, that is. But what are you? Why are you, a beastkin, protecting a duke?”
“…Is that your question?”
“If your answer is ‘because he is my master,’ then that’s not the question I asked. I want to know what you expect from him.”
She was born a servant and educated to become one. Through training that bordered on brainwashing, Welsh had become a servant who would lay down her life for her master.
But Welsh was still a person. She couldn't possibly protect and follow him with nothing but blind faith. The only group I knew that had perfected such brainwashing was the Sanctum, and even they had accomplished it with the tremendous power of foresight. Comparing them to Duke Erectus was an insult.
“There is no reason to follow one’s master.”
“I told you, I’m not asking for a reason. I can tell just by looking. A stupid master like that isn’t worth serving. But you still follow him because there’s something you expect from him, isn’t there?”
“You bastard! What did you just say…”
It seemed Duke Erectus found it more unbearable to not be the center of the conversation. But he was powerless. He could neither stop me nor shut Welsh’s mouth.
“It’s true. I expect nothing from my master.”
“I know how futile it is to hope someone will change. But there’s still something you wish for, right? A reward, a gift, compensation, a word of praise.”
“I… no longer expect such things.”
She may not expect them, but she still wished for them. The more unattainable the wish, the wider the gap becomes. Welsh clenched her fists and spoke.
“My master is not a kind person. But… there were times when even he was gentle.”
“When?”
“A long time ago, when I was a child. The children who are to become servants are educated alongside their masters…”
The watchdog clans stay by their masters’ sides from birth. This is to instill loyalty by making them recognize their master from a young age. It’s better to raise a purebred puppy than to bring in a grown dog that’s seen the outside world.
“He was mischievous even as a child. When I told him I’d grown strong from learning Qi Arts, he came and beat me with a whip. When I was dressed in clean clothes, he’d splash muddy water on me. He would cackle as I stood there, devastated. My master was always the one tormenting me.”
Wow. What a piece of trash. Rotten from the start.
“But, still, there were times my master was kind. When I was crying in a corner, exhausted, he wiped my face with his own handkerchief. When I lost a precious gift, he dug through the dirt with me to help me find it. Back then, I was so happy, so joyful…”
Recalling a time before his twisted personality had solidified, a time when he was younger and more innocent, Welsh lowered her eyes with a sorrowful expression.
“Looking back, I can count the number of times on my fingers over all those long years. But there were… good times. I don’t expect him to be like that again. But still…”
The attachment lingered.
It was a classic case of gaslighting. She was used and tormented, but because she had experienced it from such a young age, she accepted it as normal and placed excessive importance on the occasional acts of kindness. Just as a single good deed stands out after a hundred evil ones.
But looking at it another way, it meant that even a nasty person like him had an innocent phase. In her heart, she was hoping he would return to being that person.
What a sad wish. How could anyone grant that? You’d have to turn that vile man into a decent person. And changing someone is not something I can do.
Just as I was about to express my sympathy, Azzy suddenly popped up and barked.
“Same as me!”
“…King?”
“Me too!”
Azzy beamed and rubbed her face against Welsh’s.
“Humans, fight each other. But. Tell me to bite humans! Order me. But. Promise, don’t keep.”
Humans fight among themselves, they try to use me as a weapon to hurt other humans, and yet they won’t bother to keep their promise to fight the Wolf King… is what she probably meant.
Wow, that’s really awful. Who did that? For the record, it wasn’t me. The King of Humans, having lost all his power, is irrelevant to the human average.
While I was mentally disowning humanity, Azzy gave Welsh a bright smile.
“Woof! They’ll keep promise someday! It’s a promise!”
“King…”
She was in the same boat as Welsh. No, her situation was on a much larger scale. Welsh only felt that way about her master, but Azzy was fond of all humans.
People are social animals. Seeing Azzy, who was in a much worse situation, Welsh found a small measure of comfort. Then, feeling a brief pang of guilt for taking solace in the King’s misfortune, Welsh asked.
“What if they never keep it?”
“They will!”
“But what if they don’t? What if your friends have a change of heart, or something urgent comes up and they can’t fulfill it?”
“Wait!”
“Until when?”
“When?”
Looking at Azzy tilting her head, one could see the cruelty of a promise with no deadline. It wouldn't even end with death. She would start over, wandering the world until it was fulfilled.
It was a burden beyond comprehension. Perhaps only the Beast King could bear it. Welsh hugged Azzy tightly and whispered.
“…I’m sorry, King.”
“Woof? Why?”
“No reason. It’s just. I wish I could help you fight the wolf…”
She had someone else to protect before Azzy. Of course, the same was true for Azzy. The promise was important, but Azzy protected humans regardless of any promise.
“It’s okay! Humans, protect!”
“Thank you, King. My master is Duke Erectus, but my king is you.”
The dog and the dog beastkin touched their noses, ending their brief reunion. Though they shared a similar plight, Welsh, who was relatively better off, felt more heartbroken than Azzy, who couldn't comprehend her own situation.
“You’re quite lucky. I’d love to have a servant like that.”
Startled by my approach, Duke Erectus nearly fell over backward. I kindly caught him and said.
“To be cared for so devotedly just because you were nice to her a few times when you were young. That’s a loyalty I could never expect from Azzy. She’ll bare her teeth and growl if I don’t give her a piece of meat.”
“And yet you command the Dog King.”
“Azzy? Command her? Haha, you say the strangest things. Azzy is my friend. Friends can ask for favors and help each other out. But that doesn’t change the fact that we’re friends.”
“A friend? With the Dog King?”
“What’s so strange about it?”
“The Dog King is a beast in human form.”
Oh. Now that’s a perspective I haven’t heard in a while. Unlike the Regressor, he treats Azzy like a peculiar dog. Then again, he doesn’t even consider other beastkin to be human, so it would be strange if he treated Azzy as one. I’ll give you this: you’re remarkably consistent.
“I’m the same kind of beast. Is there any reason we can’t be friends?”
“…”
A moment ago, he might have argued. But after hearing the conversation between me and Welsh, he seemed to have a lot on his mind.
“Even humans who aren’t beastkin aren’t equal. Just like you and I are different. But even if we aren’t equal, we can still offer comfort or praise, can’t we?”
“…So. What is it you want from me? For me to consider beastkin as equals to humans?”
What nonsense. Why would I? I couldn’t care less what you think. In any case, since I, the King of Humans, can read the minds of beastkin, they fall into the category of human. Of course, that only applies to me. If you believe otherwise, then so be it.
“No. Why would I try to change your mind? I have no interest in what you think or what you want.”
“What?”
“None. Your desires are so simple I don’t even feel like hearing them.”
It wasn’t that Duke Erectus was particularly evil or cruel.
It was just that, from his perspective, beastkin weren’t human. Since they weren’t equal in the first place, nothing they did had much meaning. One wouldn’t feel happy being praised by livestock or pets, would they?
Perhaps that was why. Duke Erectus wanted a more praiseworthy achievement. Something like taming the Dog King or defeating the Wolf King. A great deed that other humans would acknowledge.
Ah, and now, though he seems to have given up on it, add retaking Ende from the pig beastkin to the list.
Duke Erectus simply had an ordinary desire for recognition, just like anyone else. The only problem was that there were no ‘humans’ around him qualified to give him that recognition.
In that case, what did he need? An achievement? Or a ‘human’ to watch over and acknowledge him?
“You have someone who praises you so deeply for a simple kindness you showed as a child. But you’re not the kind of man to be satisfied with that. Whether you have the ability to achieve more is a secondary issue.”
If you thought about it differently, Duke Erectus already had both. A small act of kindness and a servant who cherished its memory. It was just a small achievement he couldn't accept, from an unqualified beastkin.
Well, there was nothing I could do about him being dissatisfied with the present and wanting more. I could only pray he does his best.
It was the Orcs’ job to catch them and stop them from contacting the vassal state. I took Azzy, who was saying her goodbyes to Welsh, and left the gloomy back alley. I didn't bother to read where the two were headed. There was no need.
Before long, I ran into some Orcs who were restricting passage. Seeing Gulta, who was at the front building a wall of carts, I approached him nonchalantly.
“Haven’t found them yet?”
“We’ve caught the scent and are in pursuit! We’ll find them soon!”
Oho. They’re using a beastkin’s sense of smell to track them. Just now…?
I tilted my head and asked.
“Oh? Then what have you been doing until now?”
“…We were figuring out that method!”
“Ah. I see. You can add that to the manual. Good luck.”
Did they lose the response manual entirely? No matter how much Mayor Triver helps, they’re still making mistakes on these minor details.
As I was about to pass them, Gulta called out to me urgently.
“Wait. Magician! Is there any way you can find him?”
“You mean where they are right now? If it were me, I’d probably hire a beastkin with a good sense of smell to track them.”
It was a rather sharp bit of sarcasm, but perhaps it was too high-level humor for an Orc. Gulta’s face lit up as he asked back.
“Oh! Is there a beastkin with a good sense of smell! If so, introduce me!”
“…It’s too late now. It would be much faster for you to do it yourselves.”
“Tch. Tell me sooner next time!”
Hmm. What a mess, even at night. At this rate, I wonder if they’ll be able to properly rule Ende and seize power.
But it is their ideal, their wish. It is their ability that is being tested. I’ll watch a little longer.
As I started back toward the mansion, Azzy sniffed the scent on her body and asked.
“Woof? Scent, find?”
“No, don’t find it.”
If the wolf were right at our doorstep, I couldn’t just stand by and watch, but… my promise to Azzy comes before their wishes, doesn’t it?
