Chapter 513: The Hour of the Dog and Wolf - 1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 513: The Hour of the Dog and Wolf - 1
“…These have been the most humiliating days of my life.”
Sapien's words were an understatement, if anything, but certainly not an exaggeration. Grul scoffed and shot back.
“Because you lost to a beastkin?”
“Because the beastkin who defeated me is ruining this city.”
Ende was a city founded by Saint Enger himself, who planted his flag and tilled the soil. Over its long history, it had held many names—Dawn Fortress, Pioneer Village, the Margraviate, the Free City—and had undergone changes as numerous as its titles.
A descendant of Margrave Enger, an official of Ende, and a member of the Obelisk, Sapien spoke, suppressing his shame.
“This city is the land that Saint Enger himself named. To not only lose it to beastkin and savages, but to then watch it forsake its pride and duty… The humiliation was so great I wanted to bite my own tongue off.”
“For someone who felt that way, you're quite eloquent. Your tongue must be tougher than you thought.”
“I cannot die and close my eyes in peace until I restore this broken city.”
“You talk a big game for someone who's never died. Of all the dead men I've seen, only one couldn't close his eyes. The one whose eyelids got chewed off first.”
Their conversation was a duel in all but name, lacking only the weapons. Of the two glaring daggers at each other, Sapien was the first to back down. Not because he lacked courage, but because he had already lost once before.
“Don't act like you're some kind of king just because you beat me, Grul. I am but one of the many mediocre talents you'd trip over in the vassal states. As a Qi Practitioner, you wouldn't even rank in the top five there. Include mages, and your rank drops even lower. You'll have to try harder if you don't want to be branded by your origins.”
Despite Sapien’s warning, Grul replied with an air of leisure.
“You know something? In my tribe, once you turn ten, you have to call your parents by their names. We're forbidden from using the words 'Mother' or 'Father'.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“It means that not even a ten-year-old would go whining to their mommy and daddy. Get it now?”
Sapien's face flushed at the blatant insult, but he soon delivered a brilliant counter.
“My apologies. I had assumed that custom arose because parents die young where you're from. I retract my statement.”
“…Hk.”
Struck by the unexpected blow, Grul let out a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a groan. Sapien likely hadn't said it with that knowledge, but the tradition had indeed arisen because they were so often bereaved of their parents at a young age.
No, the fact that he didn't know makes it hurt more. It must mean death is a much rarer occurrence in the vassal states.
Just as they reached a lull, having mutually wounded each other.
Their standoff was broken by the sound of hooves. A horse beastkin bounded in like a gentle breeze, waving cheerfully at Sapien.
“Sapien! You went through a lot! Glad to see you're in one piece, though!”
“Theia.”
Theia, a member of the Obeli and the honorary director of the Courier Clan's postal service, approached Sapien without hesitation and spoke. While Grul watched in bewilderment at her treating an official like a friend, Sapien replied as if it were perfectly normal.
“Did you catch the horse beastkin who were looting Ende?”
“Yep! I might not be great at guarding the stables, but I'm excellent at bringing back the horses that get out!”
“I'm sorry. You're supposed to be recuperating.”
“If you know that, then praise me!”
“Thank you. You did well.”
“What, just with words?”
“…How about we have a race sometime later? Though it's obvious I'll lose.”
“Ehehe! Great! No take-backs!”
Theia shot him a wink and bounced out the door. She seemed to be walking lightly, but by the time one registered it, she was already far in the distance.
Grul was inwardly astonished by her swift movement.
Fast.
It was common sense that horse beastkin were fast, but she was faster than any he had ever seen. Grul asked.
“What was that?”
Sapien frowned and retorted.
“Watch your tongue. She is a Racehorse-kin from the Empire.”
“Racehorse?”
“Horse-kin (Ma-in). A horse beastkin.”
Sensing a need for more explanation, Sapien elaborated before Grul could ask.
“The sport of 'Horse-kin Racing' (Gyeongma-in), where horse beastkin who have mastered Qi Art compete, is still wildly popular in the Empire. And she was the greatest Racehorse-kin of her era. Though she's retired now due to an injury.”
“An Imperial racehorse is on equal footing with an official?”
“Of course not.”
Sapien replied, so quickly it was almost frantic, as if to prevent any misunderstanding.
“I am the one who should be speaking to her with respect. We only speak so openly because of her easygoing personality.”
Grul asked, dumbfounded.
“What? To a horse beastkin? From what I know, discrimination in the Empire is just as bad, if not worse.”
“That's just how it is, Grul. No one in the Empire believes that a Racehorse-kin and a human are equal. But if you asked them to choose which one to kill, countless people would choose the latter without hesitation. Some would even choose the latter a hundred times over.”
Sapien of the Obelisk had experienced enough of the wild. The savage lands, where survival of the fittest was the law, where beasts armed with horns, teeth, and claws spread the logic of the strong devouring the weak through sheer force, were cruel enough.
But when he turned his gaze to the pinnacle of civilization, the Empire, was it truly the opposite of savagery?
Sapien knew it absolutely was not. This was why Sapien, despite reigning as an official, did not look down on or torment beastkin.
Humans weren't even equal among themselves to begin with. Which, conversely, meant he had no qualms about discriminating against beastkin.
Because 'discrimination' was simply a matter of course.
“And if that human wasn't even an Imperial citizen, but some lowborn from a vassal state, it wouldn't even be worth a moment's thought. Grul, you should consider yourselves lucky you only imprisoned me. Had you attacked her, a new sport called 'Beast Faction Hunting' would have been established in the Empire. Not that she's the type to be caught by anyone.”
“…The world is full of strange things.”
“You have to know all those strange things to rule a city. The fall of the pig beastkin was inevitable. They had never governed a city before.”
Since the return of the Obelisk, the city, while still creaking and groaning, was slowly becoming more organized. This wasn't because the Obelisk were exceptional people, but simply because they were more familiar with the task.
But that difference was immense. It was true for an outsider like Grul, of course, but even the pig beastkin who had lived in the city didn't know what resources were where, nor could they even access them.
Without Mayor Triver's comprehensive support, they would have collapsed in a single day. After several days of watching and listening, Grul had come to realize this fact.
And, of course, another fact as well.
“Still, it doesn't seem impossible.”
“What?”
“You Obelisk strut around all high and mighty, but all you're really doing is borrowing and pulling in the power of other clans, right? The sheep beastkin make the munitions, the ox beastkin till the land and set traps, and the horse beastkin gather and move the people. What do you do? Growl? Oops, that's the dog beastkin's job.”
“As the officials of Ende, we coordinate everyone and project our strength—”
“Mayor Triver is the one coordinating everyone. And as for strength?”
The reason Sapien's Obelisk could rule was due to their authority as officials, but of course, their power came first. If the free and violent beastkin could be persuaded by words alone, proverbs like 'reading scriptures to a cow' would never have been created.
Therefore, now that a greater power openly existed, their own significance was bound to fade considerably. Even more so after having experienced defeat.
“Isn't it a bit much for your strength alone? That's why you're borrowing our hands, isn't it?”
Grul pointed this out with a shrug.
No matter how strong the Obelisk's military might was, they were short on hands and slow on their feet. On top of that, with their authority fallen and their forces diminished, the Obelisk alone could not resolve the chaos erupting in various places and prepare for war. Grul, who held the city with the pig beastkin under his complete control, was a necessary power for Ende.
If they just had the Obelisk's know-how, the pig beastkin could run the city well enough on their own? Hmph, as if that's possible…
But it was hard to dismiss the idea entirely, when the city's most significant administrative tasks were being handled by Mayor Triver, a dog beastkin. If Grul had managed Ende from the beginning instead of Okma, the outcome might have been truly different. Sapien was lost in thought.
I'd be grateful if the pig beastkin just didn't cause trouble, but the way they all follow orders in perfect unison is frighteningly... convenient. I have to admit it. The pig beastkin community is far more cohesive and systematic than I expected. They're helpful now, but they could become a threat to Ende later…
But faced with the Wolf King, a small, potential future threat was utterly trivial. Sapien chose his words carefully before replying.
“…We wouldn't have needed to borrow anything if we hadn't fought the wolves.”
“Didn't you say it was your destiny to fight the wolves, like it or not? Sounds like you were bound to need help.”
“Aren't you in the same boat?”
Of course, for the Beast Faction, who were in direct competition with the wolves, the situation was even more urgent than Ende's. Grul nodded briskly.
“First things first, we help the Dog King and get rid of the wolves. Until then, swallow your complaints.”
“…Fine. We'll see after we defeat the Wolf King.”
In the end, their conclusion was the same.
The Wolf King. They would deal with everything else after defeating the villain who threatened humanity.
Suddenly, Grul looked around and said.
“By the way, where's the magician?”
“Why him?”
“He said he had a plan.”
Asking for an outsider in front of Ende's supreme military commander. It was an overreach of authority. Sapien replied, making his displeasure clear.
“If it's a plan you want, we have one too.”
“That stale old plan of setting a bunch of traps is something my own people came up with. I've tried it, and I'm telling you, it's useless. The wolves will either avoid the traps or dismantle them entirely.”
Sapien, who had heard no news during his confinement, asked in shock.
“Dismantle? A mere wolf?”
Sapien was rational enough to accept a given situation, but that was all. He, too, was an official who harbored deep-seated prejudices.
The moment Grul realized this, he felt like giving up on the whole conversation.
“Hah. You and I both. We're full of things we don't know about each other. I bet you don't even know that the wolves use Qi Art.”
“What? As if a mere beast could imitate a sophisticated technique created by humans.”
With enough experience, even pig beastkin could govern a city. A moment ago, he had just been saying it to provoke him, but now Grul seriously thought it was a possibility.
There wasn't much difference between humans and pig beastkin. Just as the magician had said.
Grul asked again.
“So, the magician?”
*
“Hm? What did you say?”
Having luckily run into Theia, I relayed the plan to the woman who would be the protagonist of this war.
“It's exactly as it sounds, Miss Theia. I need you to be the bait to lure out the Wolf King.”