Side Story 49: Saori, Leader of 1357 Beastn.
[Humanize (Moderate)] inflicted on [Young Stygian-Scaled Fenrir, Saori Segawa]
Saori Segawa, vice-leader of Aurora, and Princess Hestias head retainer. A pleasure to et you once again, Madam. The burly man and I grasped our hands in a handshake, with both of us putting our strength into it. I was originally intending to hold back, but this man was strong enough to make change my mind.
Staring into his scarred face where I noticed he was blind in his right eye, I gave him a short curtsey out of respect, before standing as tall as I could, but he was still a bit taller than . He was probably around the sa height as Yorshka, or perhaps a bit shorter. Regardless, despite eting in a suit, I could see his muscles barely being contained behind his clothes.
Marquess Alessio Franzesco Lifcio, correct? You say et, but at best, we have only seen each other twiceonce during the anniversary ball and another ti when Lady Hestia spoke with King Drangleic and all seven dukes.
I was speaking about that ti we went to that ball made in honor of the founding anniversary for the Kingdom of Artorias, and then latter was when Hestia formalized our alliance with Artorias.
When the man heard say this, he released my hands and gave a hearty laugh, stroking his shaved chin with an interested look. He agreed, but the fact I knew his na despite never personally eting was what impressed him. After all, as a princesss retainer, why would I need to know the na of so marquess?
Well, the reason was this marquess was the ruler of Port Annencia, Artoriass only harbor city, and the right-hand man of Duke Lecartiglio, the current Grand Duke of Military Affairs. As if I wouldnt try to know the important personages of this country. And, thankfully, knowing who I was supposed to address helped quite a bit when I had to find a place to dock four grimgarian-made ships full of beastn slaves.
Once again, networking was king. It also helped that I borrowed Ellaines manatech bird to send a preemptive notice about our arrival so our ships wouldnt be sunk by the cannons.
The rebuild seed to be going well, I brought up, prompting the Marquess to agree, telling the mages did a good job.
Looking around the city, I was currently in the port area of Annencia. About a month ago, this whole city was the recipient of a grimgarian attackthe sa attack I had intended to thwart with my attack on Grimirgon, the grimgarian nation founded by the Ogre King, Kreigst Thunderslayer.
There wasnt any rubble lying around and the many houses I noticed in this giant multi-layered city had already been repaired. Although it didnt look like an attack had happened, it was easy to notice that the majority of the buildings looked brand new.
I looked up and took in the multi-layered view of the city, with the harbor town at the very bottom protected by giant walls built on the ocean floor right in front of the piers, with three gates allowing ships to enter. The second layer looked like the commoners part, as most of the buildings didnt really catch your eyes aside from their sturdy design, probably made that way in case of tsunamis, sieges, or such. The third layer was the noble district, with their mansion hos, and at the very top, you had the palace itself.
If I had a cara, I would immortalize this sight. Just like Griffonpeak, I was astonished by this incredible scenery.
Tasianna told the city was in a terrible state when you left. I know mages expedite construction, but this is still spectacular, I noted.
Lady Duchess Morgiana sent her mages to help us out, and then we had Lord Duke Myrrdin doing the sa. Both of them wish to have Lord Duke Lecartiglios support for the next Grand Duke selection, he inford . Well, good for us! The Lecartiglio Duchy puts more focus on martial achievents, so if youre a mage, you would rather go sowhere else. Extra hands made sure our kingdoms only big port is back in business.
So, when not around to help Hestia or their king, the nobles are being nobles. Well, to be expected.
However, this little greeting of ours had to stop when the Marquess sighed and looked behind . Well, I would love to show you my appreciation for helping my city by invading the grimgarians' base. We have a fantastic winery which uses a sea fruit to create wine even sailors cannot handle more than three glasses of, but business, Madam. Sadly, business.
His frown drew my attention to the four docked grimgarian ships, where I noticed a large commotion. The beastn slaves were slowly walking down the exit ramp, only for them to be confronted by guards blocking their paths. Similar to entering a city through the gates, you had to get your identity verified before you could enter. While Asaka and I didnt have any issues since we had our IDs, there were over 1000 beastn who didnt. Another logistical nightmare.
Back away! Put your hands up! One of the guards called out as multiple of his colleagues drew their spears at an approaching leonid.
The lion beastn snorted with a gruff tone, cracking his hands at this threat. I fought and killed more than my share of human fodder. You western humans are softer than the Empires, so how do you think you can stop us?
Hand ups? You drop your weapons, or Ill ram my horn into your head! Not even your mother would recognize you! a rhinoncerum growled. Despite being in nothing but rags and bits of rusted tal armor he picked up from so orc, he and many other of the warrior caste beastkin were not exactly being cooperative.
Over a 1000 of them have you heard how we have an immigration problem right now? I nodded at the Marquesss question.
My students had told us how beastn slaves from the Atadoro Kingdom were fleeing into the Lecartiglio Duchy, causing a huge public safety issue as many were stealing and harassing the residents. It was a large enough of a problem that Duke Lecartiglio was forced to leave the capital and return to his ho to handle the matter right before the demonkins attacked Griffonpeak.
Tensions are high for dealing with any beastman. Our duchy and nobles were never big fans of them, but it has just gotten worse. Unless youre a Caedhulen or Loatryxian, my seaman will dislike you, the residents will mistrust you, and our beastn residents, those who've lived here in the city for years, will avoid you. With everything happening, they dont want to associate themselves with foreign beastn.
[In other words, you would need to push your authority onto them to let these thousand into the city,] Belzac spoke with , and I agreed.
It took us two days to reach Port Annencia by ship due to the beat-down state of them. Since they were carried by the wind and using the oars, instead of so sort of engine, it took us a while for the malnourished and weakened beastn to row us over here. We had to have Shoyi push them during the night to even make it in ti.
As ntioned, there were over 1000 beastn spread on these four ships, including my pack and I. We required a ton of food, and while we fortunately got so rations by stealing from the grimgarians, we only had enough for a day until people began to go without als. The slaves were already used to scraps of food, so they, thankfully, didnt eat much. Water was also easy to make since a few of the beastn were shamans and had [Create Water].
I couldnt enter the subspace during this ti since I was forced to act as the peacekeeper. People might have been celebrating being freed, but that also ant old tensions were reignited. I was used to caring for, at most, 100 students on a school trip. Not a 1000 children, teenagers, and adults all cramped on four separate ships with vastly different cultures I couldnt understand, not to ntion, so of them couldnt even speak Common!
Regardless, I had to control them. They were here because of , and my Divine Quest wasnt over just yet. I still had to bring them to the dwarves so they could help them return to Carmaniate.
When I walked up to them, the normal, non-aggressive beastn took a step back, separating themselves from the 47 warriors confronting the guards. The citys guards noticed this and took a step back, giving the space to confront them.
So of the larger beastn sub-races, like the leonid, rhinoncerum, and bovline, towered over . I recognized a few who scorned for running away from the Ogre King, but after our one night stay on the ship, most didnt want to stand in my way as I walked over to their leader. Surprisingly, when I learned about this yesterday, I didnt expect who this leader of theirs would be.
Tell them to stand down, Shizar, I ordered, prompting the person to reveal themselves behind two panthereons.
It was a loopridae woman.
You think were the ones at fault here, Belzacs Successor? the rabbit beastman rebuked , eying in anger with her two elongated upper canines. She tilted her head, letting her one intact rabbit ear hang loosely to the side. We aint taking this shit. We got the treatnt from those demihumans, we aint ignoring it for humans. Especially not so soft westerners.
Looking at rabbit beastnthe loopridaewas a constant reminder that in the far past, there was so super strong rabbit monster that managed to turn into a humanoid with a skill before, ahem, making love with sobody. I have t so feisty rabbit monsters before, but I had not expected the leader of this group to be a rabbit. A rabbit who earned the respect of leonids, rhinoncerum, and many more.
Looking at this shorter woman, I noticed her human-like face had a deep gash scar underneath the left side of her head, exactly where her missing left ear was supposed to be. As a mber of the warrior caste, she was a soldier and had fought the Empire before being enslaved by the grimgarians. A war vet, essentially, and her glare showed how undaunted she was, even towards .
I thought I had already made myself clear. While I am on this Divine Quest to bring you back ho, you will not cause trouble to the people on our way. You will not loot, kill, or otherwise vandalize their lives. I crossed my arms, trying to act intimidating without using my skills. You owe your freedom.
And I am holding everybody back. You know what we did with humans directing their weapons at us back in Carmaniate? We strung them by the legs and dragged them on the hot ground of the savannah to make them regret what they did. They do this in the north? The snowfolks bury them in an early snow grave, the brown-white furred loopridae spoke back. We are being tolerant. You think we can fight cities like this?
She gestured down at her bodythin like a stick, barely enough muscles to perform physical labor for the grimgarians. She was wearing a ragged one-piece dress made from linen, so used up there were holes which showed glimpses of her dirted, rough skin and fur. The other warriors were in the similar situationjust enough muscles to work, but not enough to fight for too long.
In their situation, even if they managed to unarm so of the soldiers and take so weapons, I knew the Marquess wouldnt let this sit. I havent appraised any of the beastn yet, but even if they had sobody who was over level 100, you couldnt do much with nurous ailnts weakening your body.
You want us to stand down? You tell them to stand down, Belzacs Successor. Carmaniate follows the strong, we respect those able to stand tall. We endured the grimgarians long enough because they beat us, but you are telling us to lower our heads for these humans?! We would rather die!
TO THE DEATH! The over 40 warriors around her shouted in unison.
I failed. As such, I activated [True Wolven Bloodlust].
Grk!
And just like that, everybody was silenced, as my bloodlust was spread through my aura. The howling of wolves replaced their roars as the four original mbers of my shadow pack erged from the various shadows around, heralding the appearance of mother, Varya, and Shoyi. Shere and Ajay, Rajahs siblings, also showed up, trying their best to roar, but it only made them seem cuter. Thankfully, they were sitting on their growling mothers back, a rank B tiger with fur as sharp as blades, so nobody could make fun of them.
I didnt assu my true form as all of us stared the beastn down. Carmaniate respected strength? Then so be it. I shall handle it like a Carmanian.
I do not want to lecture you here; we are not friends, only acquaintances at this point. While I am trying my best to change, I like it best when things go smoothly. One part about it is to respect another culture or city whenever you travel. It makes sense. I noticed my eyes were exuding red mist, sothing the even Shizar couldnt help but gulp at. Respect must be earned, I agree with that. It also works vice-versa, for them.
I pointed at the guards, then the Marquess, and then to his bodyguards behind him.
You are here as guests; these people are willing to grant you a safe haven because I asked them to. I asked them to give you a space to recuperate, so we can make our way towards the dwarves, allowing all 1357 of you to return to Carmaniate! If you disrespect them, you disrespect ! I put my foot down, unwilling to let any beastman the chance to do whatever they wanted. It would be chaos. Tell , Shizar, can you control all 1357 who ca on the boat? Can you ensure they will not cause any trouble?
I cannot. The shamans do not look up to , but to you. You are a Champion of Goddess Edna, after all, Belzacs Successor. There are rogues amongst us, too, people I would not give a chance to creep out of their holes. So warriors will also not agree with , or you, because they co from a different tribe, the loopridae answered as precisely as she could, just like a soldier reporting to a superior.
Exactly. Do you think I can control all of you when I do not know anybody well enough to build rapport? It is impossible, even with my shadow pack. And you are asking to have the people in this city to make room for you? Can I vouch that you will not blemish my reputation, Shizar?
I then looked at the warriors around . Can any of you? Or, do you not respect for doing what was correct? Dying against the Ogre King in a duel? For whatever reason. Honor? Glory? I do not share your vengeance, nor is my life worth throwing it away like a coward.
You dare call us cow
Grrrk! Just as a rhinoncerum was about to rebuke , Uno already had his jaw around his head, ready to bite it off before he could react in ti. With Unos fangs penetrating his skin, letting blood flow down his face and neck, the rhinocerum beastn could only shudder as he glimpsed at his death.
Yes. You are cowards, I reiterated myself. Tell , is your life so worthless you wanted to throw it all away in a worthless fight? Even if I had an escape plan where my shadow pack could protect all of you? I managed to protect those who couldnt fight and the shamans, but you warriors allowed yourself to die! I cannot stop suicides!
I still rembered the blood-soaked harbor village filled with grimgarian and beastn bodies. Most of the deaths were from the warriors, with a few being from enthusiastic youngsters. They overestimated themselves. Yes, your opponents were goblins and kobolds, but still healthy, well-fed goblins and kobolds with weapons.
You should hold those who died in your heart, those who endured slavery with you, but to those who threw away their lives for honor or glory and nothing else? You should be ashad. Heroes are those who have died to save others, to buy aning with their deaths! Do not spoil their deaths with your selfishness!
I took a deep breath there, realizing I was turning emotional from my mory of my human father. Another person I couldnt forget was EsheHestias Saintess ntor, and a good friend to her, who gave her life to save the people of a foreign country.
Once I recovered, I continued, Call a coward, but my life has more aning than to die by the hand of a king. My life has a higher calling to serve my mistress, a person I have dedicated my dream with! I have a duty to prop her up! I have a duty to live for her and our friends sake! Can any of you say the sa? Or are you only fueled by pitiful vengeance? You!
I pointed at a bovline woman, the sa one I chastised for trying to continue fighting to avenge her fallen partner.
Will you die to join your partner? Are you willing to die in the grimgarians' land? Do you not have people back ho?
She went silent, looking around with her brows wriggling around in contemplation. O-our children. My parents. Our siblings. Those we helped escape during the raid. I-I need to know if they are still alive.
And you wanted to die before knowing that? I dug that point even deeper into her conscience.
Her eyes widened up, mouth agape. She clenched her hands, gritting her teeth together to hold back the anger and tears. I forgot. I forgot. It has been so long
And the sa realization happened to the many beastn around her, even those behind this warrior caste group began to reminisce about their past. The years of working had broken them down, fueling their hearts with only hatred. Now, free from bondage, they were allowed to rember the happiness they left behind in their ho.
My mate. H-has she forgotten about ?
My son would only think of as weakling. Beaten by grimgarians, enslaved, and left to die. I cant allow that as his father!
Whatever their reason, I could tell I was getting to them. As such, I turned to Shizar who had her eyes closed. When I called her na, she opened them and looked straight into the eyes.
I need your word and your assistance. It will be a long trip.
Students rarely ever spoke with teachers about their inner problems or troubles. While I would regularly have students coming into the teachers room to ask for advice or study tips, I rarely got to know them intimately. Even in my class, I hadnt known Tatsuyas hatred for Franz was so deep-seated. I didnt know Franz t Tatsuya once along with his young cousin.
Even Kyouya, who couldnt forgive himself for losing contact with his childhood friend just because his parents moved away. He felt betrayed that Tatsuya didnt tell him about how his mother was sued and how their family was put in a precarious and controversial situation. Kyouya, though, understood why and always wanted to pay him back for it, developing so sort of martyr complex.
I an, I didnt even give Asaka a chance. I was so tunnel-visioned on making money, I was never able to think of her as anything but a risk to my raise and bonus. I was a terrible teacher who only thought of her students as nothing more than a financial boon. It took dying, eting Hestia and Tasianna, and then eting my students in this world to understand it all.
I am pathetic.
However, at the sa ti, I also realized why student representatives were so invaluable. People the rest of the students could speak with about their troubles. Have a reliable student take care of the classs problems while relaying everything to . In addition, they understood themselves better than an outsider like . Teachers in Japan were, after all, respected figures similar to a public servant. That also ant you couldnt always confide with them.
Shizar, understanding the aning behind my words, nodded. I shall also introduce you to the other groups leader, Belzacs Successor. I apologize. I acted out of line. I shall follow your orders as long as you lead us well. Maam!
She suddenly saluted with the rest of the warrior caste.
Good.
With things settled, the identification process could continue. In the anti, I also asked the Marquess if he could help transport these beastn to the dwarves, but he told it would be quite expensive. I told him to put a tab on Aurora, only to have his assistant show a recipe of Auroras debts made in Hestias na.
So, how much did yo Hestia?! HOW did you
Madam? Marquess Lifcio called out worryingly.
Sorry, I think I just had a heart attack. A blackout.
The amount of money Aurora owed people was so astonishing, my brain imdiately pushed the number to the back of my head. It was so drastic, my heart skipped a beat or two. For so reason, I wanted to puke right about now. My stomach felt bad.
In any case, Marquess Lifcio had an open plain right in front of the city, next to a farming village, reserved for and the beastn to settle in for a few days. Allow them to gain so strength while doing so jobs. We would build the refugee camp there until all the slaves regained their energy and we could move up north, make our way to the dwarves.
Leaving the area for a while, I went into an empty alleyway where I opened the subspace. From inside it, Asaka walked out, looking squeaky clean. I couldn't help but feel happy to see her finally have the chance to take a bath, as it ant that I could finally have a proper bath of my own after like a week! I felt so grimy.
Sadly, Asaka wouldnt let have this without so bad news.
Hestia was sent into a trap?! I let out while keeping my voice quiet to prevent people from hearing , only to use [Air Shield] around us to stop everybody from eavesdropping.
Asaka then explained to everything Svena was told about the situation in Inkoran-Tazul, the capital of the dwarves. The rest of my students appeared there to hunt Hestia down, and for so unexpectant reason, chaos was currently wrecking havoc inside there as the Dwarven High King entered the dungeon to save Hestia from dragonslayers and whoever took over the dungeon she was diving into.
This was the reason why Hestia was gone for so long. Why she couldnt enter her subspace to teleport people. She was trapped and probably had her [Room] runes broken. It was the worst situation.
Im going there, Asaka stated. However, Segawa, you need to stay here to make sure those beastn cant cause any trouble. If you leave now, all hell will break loose here. Dont worry, the mont I find Hestia, Ill have her teleport you to the dwarves.
Make sure you stay alive, alright! I told her, trusting her with this mission.
Tsk You know you have this terrible personality of always putting pressure on , right? Its a real curse getting all these responsibilities. She grimaced, reminding of one of the reasons why I disliked her back on Earth. Now, though, I have accepted this part of her personality. But sure. Haruka will be in danger if Hestia dies.
She then took out what looked like a small statue of an elven woman. She was wearing a long, black robe, covering up everything but her pale face as she gaze into a ghost-like object. This was Ilsaphones small portable shrine, given to Asaka for her to pray and speak to her.
She set it down and prayed for a mont. Minutes passed before she opened her eyes again.
She told if I visit the onnikai village, then she will officially recognize as her Saintess, she told ; aning, she would fulfill her Divine Quest once she returned to the village.
In other words, her unique Job would be unlocked and she would gain the real effect of her title, adding another blessed to Auroras power. It felt a bit strange to say Asaka would beco a power figure for our future.
Then, Ill be off, she told before we went back to the Marquess, requesting for him to have a griffon or hippogryph knight to fly her towards her destinations. Once they were off, I could only pray that everything would work out fine.
My shadow pack is ready to fight Auroras enemies, Hestia! Call for !
A note from AbyssRaven
The shadow pack is ready to woof!
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