WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 489: Ende's Spring - 2

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Like every other city, Ende had a dump.

And in Ende, a city where beastkin gathered, there was a residential district mainly inhabited by pig-kin.

The two were one and the same.

Cities built by humans resembled the Creator's body. They greedily consumed food, gathered the waste left after digestion, and expelled it from the body. Before discarding it, they made one final search to see whether anything could still be reclaimed. That place was the dump.

It was where pig-kin lived and worked.

"Oink. Oink oink."

The stench was so terrible that mucus ran freely from their noses. Even pig-kin, more resistant than other beastkin, could do nothing about the foul odor stabbing at their nostrils. Their congested noses produced sounds little different from actual pigs.

The pig-kin rummaged through the trash, making pig noises.

"Oink?"

One pig-kin boy digging through the garbage found something amid the stench. Guided by his keen sense of smell, he searched through the trash and soon began digging into one particular spot. At some point, his face lit up with joy.

"Oink! I found it!"

A large sack was full of meat bones. They had apparently been boiled for so long that the bones were completely white, without a trace of blood or even anything resembling meat.

Even so, they were precious food. Split them in half and suck on them, and a little flavor came out. Scrape the membrane clinging to the ends with a knife, and it was almost like thinly sliced raw meat. Finding something like this in the dump was a rare windfall.

"Oink. What kind of bastard wrapped this up so tightly? I could hardly tell what it was."

Anyone could see it was pork... but for people desperate to survive one more day, what did the type of meat matter? The pig-kin boy rejoiced as if he had found treasure in the middle of the dump.

There were dozens, hundreds of pig-kin like him. Pigs in a shit pit, digging through the city's filth to survive.

"They still live like this."

Someone watching them approached with a sigh. Startled by the sudden presence, the pig-kin boy hid the bones beneath his body.

"W-who...?"

When he turned his head, an enormous pig-kin stood before him.

Countless scars ran across muscles that looked ready to burst. Most were marks left by beasts tearing into that body. Yet they looked less like signs of defeat than proof of toughness.

Two curved blades resembling tusks hung at the pig-kin's waist. The being looking down at the boy with eyes full of both contempt and pity was... another pig-kin.

Only after noticing the folded ears did the boy clutch the bones tightly and shout.

"These are mine! Don't even think about taking them. Get lost!"

"Don't worry. I'm not here to take them. I have no interest in them."

"Then why are you here?!"

"My name is Gruel. I'm one of the wild folk living on the Enger Plain."

Gruel's name was well known among pig-kin. Gruel was a warrior who had grasped the Way, a great figure who protected the wilderness beyond Ende.

The presence Gruel gave off was too extraordinary for an impostor. A glimmer entered the pig-kin boy's eyes.

"Are you really Gruel?"

"I'll show you."

Gruel raised a hand and thrust it into a pile of garbage, then forcefully lifted that arm.

Rustle.

Dozens, hundreds of heaps of trash rose into the air at once without scattering or falling.

It was something possible only through energy. A feat that required tremendous strength, as well as the ability to send energy into each separate pile of trash. It was far more likely that someone with energy like this was truly Gruel than an impostor.

And Gruel was indeed Gruel.

"Why would Gruel come to a place like this...?"

Faced with the glory of the orcs, the boy suddenly felt something was wrong. The glory of the orcs had come before him while he happily rummaged through a dump for discarded bones. It felt like some great absurdity. The pile of bones he had been so delighted to find moments ago now felt like a terrible humiliation. He wanted to throw them away at once.

Gruel knelt on one knee before the boy, whose face had turned red.

"How long will you live like this?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"I mean this life of digging through the dump. Enduring the stench, searching through garbage, treating scraps others have eaten and thrown away as treasure. This miserable life."

It was neither criticism nor insult. Gruel was simply facing the truth as it was. The pig-kin boy pressed his lips together. If he said anything more, he felt he would only become more miserable.

As if Gruel understood the boy, Gruel said, "Rather than live like this, follow me. It isn't too late for you. If you learn from me, you too can become the master of your own life."

A warrior who had grasped the Way was offering to teach him personally. Missing this chance would surely become a lifelong regret. The boy answered the unexpected offer.

"I don't want to."

It was an abrupt answer, but it was sincere. Instead of throwing away the pile of bones, the boy held it even tighter. Gruel's eye twitched.

"Hmph. You want to keep living like this?"

"What's wrong with living like this? Everyone lives like this! Me, my parents, my friends, all of us!"

The boy spat on the ground. Once he let it out, it felt as if all the dark feelings he had kept inside came pouring out too.

"How else am I supposed to live? A deliveryman? Horses do that. Make clothes? Sheep do that. Should I make a living serving humans? Dogs do that too! Digging through garbage is all we can do!"

"There are other ways."

"You mean risk my life in that harsh wilderness and sharpen my energy like you? In a place where I could be wounded, injured, or die if I'm unlucky?"

Though young, the boy was still pig-kin. He knew how Gruel had grasped the Way.

And he knew what went on outside Ende.

The wildlands. A place where predators with sharp teeth stalked prey. A wilderness beyond civilization, where rank changed according to strength and the weak became food.

He might have been ashamed of digging through the dump, but he did not want to die in the wilderness. Even if it meant rolling in shit, he wanted to live in this world.

"Oink. No. I want to live."

"Even this miserably?"

The pig-kin boy hugged the bones tightly and looked up at Gruel with resentful eyes.

"The one making me miserable... isn't this place. It's you, Gruel."

The two stared at each other for a long time. The pig-kin boy, weaker than anyone, and Gruel, who had grasped the Way. Gruel was the first to break the standoff.

"...I'm sorry."

After forcing out those difficult words, Gruel turned away. As Gruel walked slowly off, the sound of someone sniffing came from behind. Whether it was because of the stench or because of Gruel, Gruel did not know. Gruel decided not to think about it.

After passing through the dump, someone approached Gruel, who was walking without much strength. It was a water buffalo beastkin wearing leather armor and a necklace of bones. There were many cattle beastkin in Ende, but this water buffalo beastkin with curved horns looked far rougher and fiercer, even without the bone necklace.

The water buffalo beastkin snorted.

"Chieftain. I found you. Where did you go?"

"Since I was here after so long, I stopped by my hometown for a moment."

At the word hometown, the water buffalo beastkin fell silent for a moment before speaking as if it meant nothing.

"The Obelisks are waiting. Since you suddenly disappeared, the two sides can't do anything and are stuck in a standoff."

"I understand. Let's go."

"Aren't you sorry?"

"Me? To you? Why?"

Gruel had left without a word while visiting Ende. Because of that, the fierce Beast Faction warriors were locked in an uncomfortable standoff with the Obelisks. They were struggling to prevent a clash from breaking out. Any normal commander would have been troubled by the situation.

Gruel was not a normal commander.

"Hmph. If you don't like it, you can charge in. At me or at the Obelisks! You have the strength and will to do that, don't you?"

"Well, that's a little different."

"Then I have nothing to be sorry for. You couldn't do it. I don't feel sorry over things like that."

Gruel strode past the water buffalo beastkin. Dumbfounded by the shameless answer, the water buffalo beastkin gave a hollow laugh and followed.

* * *

That day was noisier than usual. Although the mansion stood in a remote area, an unusual number of people were coming and going, every one of them busy as if chased by something.

The clattering sounds came right up to the door, then quickly faded away. Puzzled by the frequent signs of people nearby, I asked, "There are an unusual number of people going around. Shei, is something happening today?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"You go in and out of Oberli often. I thought you might know something."

Perhaps because so many people were hovering around us, the regressor was more on edge than usual as she replied irritably.

"Something is happening, but it has nothing to do with them."

"What's happening?"

"It's nothing. Gruel is coming."

"Gruel? The fierce orc warrior Gruel? The one who lives on the plains outside Ende?"

Gruel, the pig-kin who had grasped the Way. Though I hadn't been in Ende for long, I had heard stories about Gruel. Gruel was supposedly an outstanding figure who had grasped the Way through energy despite being pig-kin.

It was quietly impressive. Energy was difficult for beastkin to learn. It was a human technique developed over thousands of years, and beastkin, whose senses differed from humans', struggled to master it.

For example, imagine training by lowering your stance, keeping your balance, and not dropping plates placed on your head and knees. A human would need to tense every muscle and focus, but beastkin instinctively used their tails to balance themselves.

You might think they could simply avoid using them, but forcing themselves not to do so was a huge disadvantage in itself. If they used them, they moved that much farther from energy training. Ears and tails were clearly advantages, but they were also obstacles to training, especially when energy was involved.

There was a reason Lieutenant General Ebon of the military state had cut off his own ears and tail. They said that in the past, many beastkin had cut off their ears and tails to overcome discrimination and learn energy.

"Then it is a pretty big deal."

"That big deal hasn't reached the people of Ende. It's confidential, so it can't be why they're all running around so busily."

"Then it must have leaked."

"Who would leak it? Who would come down from Oberli to Ende and spread that information?"

"Wasn't it you, Shei? You're the best at speaking carelessly."

"I don't have anyone here to talk to except you!"

"That's a little sad."

Instead of only telling me to go out and work, she should try going outside and making some friends herself. She was always busy working and never socialized at all.

Anyway, suddenly curious, I got up.

"Should we go out and take a look?"

"Let's. It's bothering me too."

"Gruel is coming. Aren't you going?"

"There's no need. It's a matter between the city and the Beast Faction. I won't be in Ende forever, so it would look strange for me to get involved."

'There'll be political discussions, and that's both annoying and beyond anything I can handle.'

Of course. As if she'd thought that far ahead.

I put on my coat and prepared to go outside. Azzy's ears perked up.

"Woof? Walkies?"

"No, you're staying home and guarding the house."

"Grrrr!"

"Ahhh! Fine!"

She really wouldn't let it go. I took a shabby robe from the coat rack and handed it to Azzy.

"Here. Put this on."

"Woof? It's stuffy!"

"Now, now. You can't go for a walk unless you wear it."

We couldn't have her drawing every dog beastkin's attention as she walked down the street. Once Azzy settled down, I put the robe on her and headed out into the streets with the regressor.

The mansion really was in a remote location. As we neared central Ende, the commotion grew more heated. People stood packed together as if blocked by something, while shouting and cheering filled the street beyond them.

All kinds of emotions echoed. A fierce wind was blowing. A wind blowing in people's hearts.

Hmm. So it had come to this. This was... troubling.

The regressor, shorter than me, had not yet grasped what was happening.

"What is it? Did something worth watching happen?"

"No, that's..."

"I'll fly up and take a look."

She shot up in an instant, then gasped at the sight before her.

"Ende! Hear our voices!"

"We are all equal beasts!"

"Stop discrimination!"

"Pigs are not food!"

There were many beastkin in Ende. But pig-kin outnumbered them all by far. Even if only ten percent of their population of more than thirty thousand gathered, that would be three thousand. More than many armies.

A number no smaller, and perhaps even larger, filled the streets as they marched.

Footnotes:

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