Resolving cognitive dissonance
Resolving cognitive dissonance
Saklasi was inexperienced. That was because hearing about [Wish] from his friend was all he had. It was natural that he wasn't as accustomed to it as the people of this world.
But that was only for a moment. Now, while listening to Shed and Mokai's conversation, he could maintain and release 'Mist Transformation' freely.
As he listened to their conversation,
'Rottweilers are my favorite dog breed.'
Shed, who had followed his first order, deserved a passing grade. He seemed worth keeping by his side a little longer.
However, seeing Mokai's attitude, Saklasi felt he understood what the Emperor and the Princesses were worried about.
'You need dignity.'
'Yes, you are absolutely right.'
He had heard enough. It was time to make him pay the price. Saklasi naturally released 'Mist Transformation', landed on the ground, and said,
"I've heard everything, haven't I?"
Mokai was so shocked his eyes nearly popped out.
'Where did he come from all of a sudden!?'
Then, his gaze landed on the Duke's emblem hanging on one side of Saklasi's chest. He wondered if it was really true that he hadn't even been in the Imperial Palace for half a day. To have been granted a title so quickly.
'Things were going great, and now it's gone to the dogs.'
He had come to talk to Shed for no reason. Still, he thought that he, at least, would be able to sweet-talk this young Soi tribe brat.
"Oh!? To think I'd meet such a famous person in the world like this! It's an honor! Your Excellency Duke!"
He hurriedly bowed his head, showing the top of his head. If it were Shed, he would have just knelt on one knee and waited for the other person to speak in this situation, but Mokai was different. He lifted his head, flashed a good-natured smile, and said,
"If my words made you uncomfortable, I am truly sorry! I must have made a slip of the tongue. I will apologize once again."
Mokai thought he was treating the mere Soi tribe member with the utmost respect. 'Lower yourself and elevate the other person.' He had never seen anyone who disliked this.
"You said, 'I will apologize'?"
"Your Excellency Duke?"
[Blood is also water]
In an instant, Mokai's head spun. When he came to, his head was buried in the ground.
'What kind of [Wish] is this?'
An indescribable difference in status. In just a brief moment, he felt like he had lost all control over his body and mind.
Shed, who was next to him, also had all his fur standing on end. Even though the [Wish] wasn't directed at him, he wanted to leave this place immediately.
"I, I was wrong. Please calm your anger!"
And there were Imperial Defenders watching this scene.
As signs of a duel between two Viscounts appeared, the Imperial Defenders guarding the vicinity of the Imperial Palace gathered.
While watching the situation and looking for a timing to intervene, Saklasi suddenly appeared. And that [Wish]. Even they, who were high-ranking ability users, wanted to take a step back. That was how shocking Saklasi's [Wish] was.
However, they were the Imperial Defenders, the force the Empire boasted of. They couldn't just back down like this.
A number of people equivalent to the military power of an average kingdom instantly surrounded Saklasi, Mokai, and the other two.
Although they didn't fully understand the situation, they saw the Imperial Duke emblem on one side of Saklasi's chest.
The surrounding Defenders turned their backs. Their red cloaks completely blocked the inside.
Even if that Viscount were to be torn to shreds, what happened inside would be something no one would ever see.
"Knight Shed."
"Yes! Your Excellency!"
"Do you know the hierarchy and titles of the people who appear to be Defenders?"
"They are indeed the Imperial Defender Knights! They are mostly high-ranking ability users, and even the regular knights are equivalent to the rank of Count!"
"Viscount Mokai?"
"Yes, yes! Please give your command!"
"Why do you think I'm displeased?"
"Th-that is...!"
"Shall I tell you?"
Saklasi strode forward. His foot stepped on the back of Mokai's head. He had only applied a little weight, but it was pressure enough to crush the skull of a mid-level enhanced ability user.
Saklasi leaned down and whispered into Mokai's ear.
"Because you don't know your place."
While stepping on Mokai's head, Saklasi grabbed his tail and ripped it off.
"Ghhhk!!!!"
"You said you were a Viscount, you said you were a mid-level ability user."
The tail that had fallen from his body didn't even need a [Wish].
"Even those high-ranking ability users, the Defenders, show respect, yet you dare?"
In Mokai's eyes, he saw his own tail shriveling up and scattering like sand. Unless he poured Elixir on it, he would have to live without a tail for the rest of his life.
"Now, how will you distinguish yourself from the Soi tribe you looked down on?"
Mokai endured the burning pain of his tail stump and answered somehow.
"I never looked down on them at all. Please calm your anger!"
He had to avoid this situation somehow, as even the Imperial Defender Knights were tacitly allowing it.
"Isn't mocking a knight under the Duke's command the same as looking down on me?"
"Th-that is...! We knew each other, so I must have acted too informally. I never had any intention of mocking the Duke's knight."
The foot was lifted from Mokai's head. Just as he felt a moment of relief,
Crunch!
"Aaaargh!"
This time, Mokai finally burst into a scream.
The hand he had pressed against the floor was crushed. It was mangled to the point where its shape couldn't be recognized, and blood and flesh burst out.
As expected, regeneration was impossible unless he poured Elixir on it. That amount of Elixir was something difficult for Mokai's financial means.
"It seems you didn't know about that famous black-haired Soi tribe member either, seeing as you've ended up in this situation."
'!!!!!'
It was what Mokai had said as soon as he saw Shed.
It had been from the beginning. That Soi tribe member had been listening to everything from right beside him, almost from the very beginning.
Even he, an enhanced ability user, hadn't noticed at all. He hadn't felt any presence at all, so how?
"I... apologize."
"Knight Shed."
"Yes! Your Excellency!"
"How should we handle his punishment from here on?"
"I think it would be best to send him to the Defenders where Pink Grima is!"
Shed was overwhelmed with emotion at Saklasi's heart in taking care of him right now.
'How can such a person exist!'
The dog-beastkin's cognitive dissonance was being resolved in real-time.
The fulfillment of a fundamental desire that even dog-beastkin themselves don't perceive.
It was something Saklasi's friend had seen on TV. It was an expert's solution from the episode 'The dog that only barks at my dad.'
Saklasi had just asked Shed because he was thinking, 'What do I do now?', but accidentally, it became the solution to cognitive dissonance for the dog-beastkin.
'Pink Grima? Just hearing the name gives me goosebumps. Was this a dark fantasy?'
"Is there a person in charge among the Defender unit?"
At that moment, one person turned around and said,
"Please give your command to me. I am Hordona, a senior knight of the Imperial Knights!"
He was a large figure with wide, thin ears, tusks—an elephant beastkin.
'He looks reliable.'
"I will leave the punishment of that servant to Shed. Can you send Viscount Mokai to the Pink Grima Defender unit?"
"As Your Excellency wills!"
Shed was immersed in an indescribable emotion.
Since he often took walks along the 「Drevo」 River, there were people who recognized him while he was wearing rags during his 'Wait.'
But when Shed, feeling ashamed, lifted his gaze to the sky without saying a word, they also turned their heads away on their own. They were pretending not to know.
How much humiliating time had passed? Shed didn't even ask the servant for the time. Even if the sun set and rose again, he thought he had no choice but to wait like this.
But now, what is this fullness welling up as he looks at His Excellency? Shed had been satisfied just by being loyal to the Empire, but this was an emotion that couldn't even be compared to that.
Of course, this was also because of the four methods for dog-beastkin loyalty that Saklasi's friend had thought of.
Saklasi had satisfied all of these at once today. The command 'Wait' was no longer humiliating. It became a command he wanted to keep for a long time in even harsher situations.
Furthermore, entrusting the punishment of Mokai and the servant to him was a reward for Shed.
And now, a different kind of shame washed over him.
'Why haven't I even tried to learn his name until now?'
He himself was no different from Viscount Mokai. It was just that from now on, no matter what happened, the only way was to follow His Excellency.
Albrecht, who had fought Saklasi, dragged his injured body and barely managed to return to the royal castle of the 「Raigen」 Kingdom.
"It was all a futile struggle."
"Your Highness!"
"Father! What on earth happened!"
Even though he could have poured Elixir on himself, he left his broken arms and collapsed ribs as they were.
He felt desperate. When he closed his eyes, he could still hear that laughter.
Saklasi, standing with his head held high while bleeding. The sight of him reattaching his neck even after it had been cut off.
An incomprehensible being.
A Transcendent.
"I didn't think... it would be to that extent."
"What on earth happened! Please tell me, Father!"
"I raised a rebellion against the Empire."
"Father! Why did you make such a decision!"
"How many Seongwi are there in the Empire already! High Elves are born every 100 years. Those immortal monsters will continue to! Continue to ascend to Seongwi! It was the choice of the weak, struggling not to be trampled by the Empire!"
Albrecht no longer had any pride. To the extent that he described himself, a Seongwi ability user who wasn't even one of the top ten in the world, as weak.
"There was a reason. A reason worth standing up to the Empire. But... I didn't know that person was a Transcendent!"
"Who are you talking about?"
"That Soi tribe member who is a Seongwi water ability user. He was a Transcendent!"
"That can't be!"
"The Emperor also thought it would somehow work out. A message had come from 「Dragonia」."
"Are you saying they were still alive?"
"I will abdicate. Even if those people send a message, ignore it. I have only now realized that it was all a futile endeavor. It is all my fault. Now, we have nothing left but to beg for our lives."
Albrecht's eyes were dying.
"They didn't know either, since they were wiped out by one 'So-taeyang'. Even without that, a Transcendent is an existence that makes no sense. There are two such monsters in the Empire."
He dropped his head.
"They will know too once they face him."